Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Industry and Trade will deploy a number of measures to enable it to always stay ahead of trends, helping the city maintain its role as the economic locomotive and take the lead in innovation in the country, according to the department.

The department targets 6.5% growth of its index of industrial production (IIP), 11% growth in retail sales of goods and services, and export turnover of businesses passing through the city's border gates to increase by 10%.

According to a report at a meeting held late last week in HCM City to review industrial production and trade in 2023 and set tasks for this year, the sector recorded a strong recovery last year, with the index of industrial production up by 4.3%, higher than the national average. The city’s total retail sales of goods and consumer services in 2023 increased by 10.8%, and total tourism revenue rose by 22% over 2022.

International visitors to the city surged by 44.3% and the number of newly established businesses increased by 10%.

Tourism revenue rose 25% from 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out to 160 trillion VND (6.56 billion USD), the highest in five years.

Bui Ta Hoang Vu, the department’s director, said businesses would continue to face difficulties this year, such as lower demand in the country’s key export markets, stricter access to bank loans, raising input costs, unstable global supply chain, high logistics costs and others.

In order to realise the goals set out for 2024, the department will focus on developing the high-tech industrial sector, supporting industries, and the four key industrial sectors comprehensively, he said.

It would pay greater attention to promoting key industrial products and those with potential in 2021-2025 to foster development, and encourage and instruct enterprises to enhance digital transformation and green production.

It will step up export promotion to help firms expand markets, especially to countries with which Vietnam has free trade agreements.

The department would also seek to boost the development of e-commerce to meet consumption trends, and develop the logistics sector into a key service sector.

Other plans included strengthening links between producers, distributors and retailers, bolstering connections between businesses and banks to make it easy for enterprises to access bank loans, and setting up a commodity exchange and large-scale supply and distribution chains with the participation of leading retailers and logistics firms, farms and enterprises, he said.

Nguyen Van Dung, Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee, appreciated efforts made by the department and businesses last year.

Expecting businesses to continue to face difficulties this year, he asked the department to understand the operational situation of enterprises so as to propose measures and to focus resources to help solve their difficulties (if any) in a timely manner.

He urged the department to implement efficiently the investment stimulus policy for the industrial sector and supporting industries and continue to foster trade cooperation with other cities and provinces to help firms expand consumption markets, ensure balance between goods supply and demand, and stable prices.

The city's industry and trade sector needs to improve its forecasting capacity to raise its management efficiency and better support the business community, he said.

Ministry expands scale of minerals exploitation

Minerals exploitation in the coming time will not only be on the mainland but also extended to islands and the continental shelf across the country, according to planning released on Friday by the Ministry of Construction (MOC).

The planning was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 1626/QĐ-TTg on December 25 last year.

In the “Planning for exploration, exploitation, processing and use of minerals as construction materials for the 2021-30 period, with a vision to 2050", Việt Nam will explore 518 mineral areas and issue mining licences for 931 others in the period.

In the period to 2050, the industry will explore 177 mineral areas and grant mining licences to 931 others.

Total resources in the planning are 26.6 billion tonnes of minerals of different kinds.

Talking about reasons for expanding the exploitation scope, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyễn Văn Sinh said that to well manage the exploitation, processing and use of resources in the right direction and based on legal regulations, updating the planning was necessary and appropriate.

Đào Công Vũ, deputy director of the National Institute of Mining – Metallurgy Science and Technology under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, emphasised that planning in general and planning for exploration, exploitation, processing and use of minerals as construction materials in particular, were the basis for licensing mineral activities.

The planning must be in accordance with the potential of each type of mineral and each stage of the country's development.

The previous planning showed that the results of basic geological surveys were limited and had not been regularly and systematically updated.

Information on many mineral areas in the planning is not accurate or complete, according to the official.

In addition, the planning targets that by 2030, the industry of exploiting and processing minerals as construction materials will become a modern and green industry.

It will thoroughly apply smart technology solutions, big data and artificial intelligence, and meet the needs of domestic consumption and export of high value-added products.

Along with that, recent planning for urban areas, industrial parks and eco-tourism are overlapping with the mineral exploitation planning in some localities.

At present, mineral exploration is not at a depth to fully exploit reserves, so the mineral reserve assessment is not exact, leading to waste.

Vũ said that the previous planning was also having problems in some places which have been put into prohibited areas.

The Law on Planning regulates planning adjustment according to new regulations with a period of 10 years and a vision of 30-50 years.

Vũ added that the planning aimed to sustainably develop exploration, exploitation, processing and use of minerals as effective construction materials.

It aimed to meet the economy’s needs for raw materials, commensurate with mineral potential, while minimising negative impacts on the ecological environment and landscape.

​The planning would also promote the efficiency of existing facilities for processing and using minerals as construction materials, increasing investment in technological innovation to improve product quality, save mineral resources and energy, and reduce costs.

Deputy Minister Sinh said that the new planning basically resolved the shortcomings and obstacles in the previous one, especially the overlap between mineral areas with local socio-economic development areas and prohibited areas.

Trading through commodity exchanges can bring benefits to stakeholders

Trading through commodity exchanges would help mitigate risks for both buyers and sellers and create fair, competitive prices for Vietnamese agricultural products as well as prevent the recurring crashing of prices when farmers have bumper crops, speakers told a seminar in HCM City late last week.

At the seminar "Buying and Selling through Commodity Exchange - Sustainable Business Solutions, Multiplying Profits" held by Doanh nghiệp & Hội nhập magazine, Phạm Hải Tùng, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said commodity exchange is popular around the world.

Indices of a number of reputable commodity exchanges have become benchmarks for the world market, he said.

While it is possible to trade in physical commodities, it is far more common to trade in financial contracts based on commodity prices, known as derivatives. 

Tùng said the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV) was established by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in 2010. The legal corridor for trading on the exchange is as open as at international exchanges.

MXV currently lists 45 products under five commodity groups connected to eight major commodity exchanges in the world.

By the end of August 2023, the number of accounts on the MXV platform reached more than 30,000. The average transaction value per session in the first eight months of last year was VNĐ4 trillion (US$163.4 million), with the peak session topping VNĐ9.5 trillion ($388.2 million).

Dr. Đinh Thế Hiển, director of the Research Institute of Informatics and Applied Economics, said the commodity exchange plays an important role in the process of developing a market economy, a financial market and an agricultural market.

“When participating in the commodity exchange, a farmer can sell the crop in advance at a known price via futures contracts, manufacturers can purchase raw materials in advance to hedge against a potential rise in input prices in the future, saving on storage fees, while exporters can sell in advance to fulfill price commitments with foreign customers, and investors can make profits through the use of leverage," Hiển said.

Participating in the commodity exchange will also help create fair, competitive prices for Vietnamese agricultural products and prevent prices of produce from plummeting when farmers have bumper crops, and enable farmers to directly access the market and connect with the global agricultural market.

Nguyễn Quốc Thịnh, chairman of Gia Cát Lợi Commodity Trading JSC, said that participating in the commodity exchange may bring superior returns to investors and businesses regardless of the market's ups and downs. The market features flexible transaction time, high liquidity and fast transactions. In particular, investors do not bear much inventory risks when trading on the exchange.

However, according to Hiển, the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam has not fully promoted its role in contributing to the development of the agriculture industry and creating benefits for farmers and agricultural production companies.

Products listed on the exchange are of foreign commodity exchanges, without any domestic products listed on the MXV platform yet despite Việt Nam having strengths in the production and export of Robusta coffee, pepper, rice, seafood and other farm produces.

Therefore, MXV needs to do more in order to bring more benefits to local agriculture, farmers and businesses, he said.

Lương Văn Tự, former chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, said that there is huge potential for selling agricultural products through commodity exchanges. But this is a form of investment, so there is still potential risk if investors do not have knowledge and experience.

He noted that they need to participate in professional training courses before joining in the market. They also need to keep abreast with market information and factors that could affect prices, he added.

Domestic steel sector sees high hope for recovery in 2024: Experts

With bright signs seen in the last months of 2023, many experts predicted that the domestic steel sector can recover in 2024.

According to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), steel sales in November and December 2023 reached the highest levels in 20 months with growth between 20-40 per cent for different products.

This year, along with a bright outlook of the domestic economy plus the Government’s policies to promote public investment, steel production and consumption may reach 29 million tonnes and 21.67 million tonnes, marking rises of 6.7 per cent and 7.4 per cent year on year, respectively, it said.

Meanwhile, Việt Dragon Securities forecast that construction steel sales of Việt Nam’s leading producer – Hòa Phát Group, will surge 29 per cent to 4.8 million tonnes in 2024 due to higher demand for construction materials.

In the last month of 2023 alone, the Vietnam Steel Corporation (VSA) sold more than 324,300 tonnes of steel, up 53 per cent over the previous month and 36 per cent year on year.

To meet the market's increasing demand, the Hòa Phát Group plans to put the second phase of its factory complex into operations in 2025, doubling the plant’s hot rolled coil production capacity to six million tonnes.

Steel expert Nguyễn Văn Sưa held that as domestic firms have recovered and stayed ready for opportunities, the Government, ministries and sectors should design stronger policies to boost the real estate market to support the breakthrough development of the steel sector in 2024.

He advised steel producers to focus on green production by applying green technologies to reduce carbon emissions and expand export markets.

VSA General Secretary Đinh Quốc Thái asserted that domestic steel demands will surge again along with the recovery of the real estate market in 2024, with an expected increase of construction projects. The Government is likely to speed up the disbursement of public investment capital in 2024 to create breakthrough growth, motivating the expansion of some sectors, including steel.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that it will continue to research and apply suitable trade defence measures to protect the domestic steel market, while coordinate with associations and businesses in the industry to grasp opportunities in the domestic market.

Particularly, in the third quarter of 2024, the ministry will complete the building of a steel strategy until 2030 with a vision to 2050 to lay a foundation for the industry’s fast and sustainable growth.

Aquatic product exports to recover only slightly in H1: Association

Vietnam’s aquatic product exports will experience only a slight recovery in the first half of this year due to market volatility and a host of challenges to the global economy, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The sector expects to earn 9.5 billion USD from exports this year, up 3% from 2023 when the value reached 9.2 billion USD or 92% of the yearly target.
 
The lower-than-expectation inflation in various country and the persistently high loan interest rates have stymied global economic recovery and, as a result, consumers are not ready to open their purse, the association said.

VASEP Communications Director Le Hang noted that the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other geopolitical issues will continue disrupting  the global trade, including the aquatic product market, resulting in surging transportation and input costs which would cause a new inflation storm, thus affecting demand in 2024, she elaborated.

According to VASEP, with rosy signs in late 2023, exports to some markets like the US, the European Union (EU), and the Republic of Korea (RoK) would bounce back in the first months of this year. Besides, Vietnamese exporters are still seeking ways to expand the markets.

Hang said Vietnamese shrimp will further face competitions from Ecuador and India in terms of price and supply in such markets as the US, China, the EU, and Japan.

Notably, the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood remains a challenge to aquatic exports, the association said, stressing that it must be lifted within the year to pave the way for shipments to the EU.  

However, tra fish (pangasius) exports will be a silver lining as inventory in the US, China, and the EU has decreased significantly. Its price, therefore, is expected to increase in the markets.

VASEP forecast that the sector will rake in 4 billion USD from shrimp export and some 1.9 billion USD from tra fish this year.

Sixty-three housing projects eligible for VND120 trillion credit package

A total of 63 projects were eligible to receive soft loans from the VND120-trillion credit package in 2023, according to the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency under the Ministry of Construction.

During a press conference held on January 12, a representative of the department announced that 27 localities nationwide had published lists of the 63 eligible projects for the year 2023. These projects have a total financial requirement of VND27,960 billion.

As of now, several social housing projects in Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Phu Tho, and Binh Duong have received funding of around VND179.5 billion out of a total of VND1,095 billion.

In 2023, 44 social housing projects for low-income earners were either completed or granted permits to commence construction.

Among these projects, 28, consisting of 13,864 units, have been completed, while the remaining 16, comprising a total of 22,398 units, have been granted permits and have started construction.

Car license plate auctioned for VND75 billion

The license plate with the number 30K-999.99 has been successfully auctioned for a staggering VND75.2 billion, the highest price ever paid in a car license plate auction in Vietnam to date.

The auction of the 30K-999.99 license plate commenced at 9:15 a.m. this morning, January 13. Within just one minute, the highest bid had already reached more than VND25 billion.

As the auction extended into the fifth minute, the bidding price surpassed VND75 billion. Ultimately, the winning bid was announced at over VND75.2 billion at 10:45 am.

As of the end of January 8, over 11,000 car license plates were successfully auctioned, with winning bids totaling nearly VND1,700 billion, according to Tuoi Tre news site.

HCMC continues resolving legal problems for development of real estate market

Over the past 2 years, Ho Chi Minh City has implemented policies to remove obstacles especially legal bottlenecks plaguing real estate projects. However, difficulties are still existing.

In recent days when the Lunar New Year is approaching, residents at the De La Sol apartment project in District 4 invested by CapitalLand Development Company (CDT), are eager to buy furniture for their new house in time for the celebration of the traditional Tet holiday (the Lunar New Year).

This 900-apartment building project has been completed after 4 years of construction and buyers moved into their apartments at the end of 2023. De La Sol is one of seven projects that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee prioritized while removing difficulties from the beginning of 2023. This project previously encountered problems because it was related to the equitization of enterprises. The hiccup along the way is now resolved.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, by the end of 2023, out of a total of 189 recommendations in 148 projects facing problems, the city directed departments and agencies to handle nearly 60 proposals from 44 projects. After May 2023, the government’s working group has worked to remove difficulties and obstacles in investment projects in Ho Chi Minh City.

In particular, the city agreed to the policy of selling 50 percent of apartments at apartment buildings such as Gotec Land's Shizen Home project in District 7, the Celadon City project of investor Gamuda Land in Tan Phu District and the Metropole project of investor Quoc Loc Phat in Thu Duc City.

In addition, the city resolved problems in adjusting investment policies at the Metro Star apartment project of investor CT Group in Thu Duc City. The Prime Minister's Working Group and Ho Chi Minh City's Working Group have also helped to partly remove obstacles in the projects of two giants Novaland and Hung Thinh.

However, according to representatives of real estate businesses, there are still some important difficulties that make solving problems less effective including the time competent authorities spend on giving opinions or approving legal procedures that are still not synchronized with the actual development process, causing the stages to be delayed.

In addition, there is a lack of uniformity, overlap, inconsistency and impracticality between legal and sub-law documents.

Real estate businesses are still waiting for removal of legal hiccups

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, the real estate market currently still has many difficulties and obstacles including the procedural problem of ‘investment policy approval concurrent with investor approval’ for social housing projects and commercial housing projects where the investor already has land use rights in accordance with planning provisions in Decree 31/2021/ND-CP on appraising the compatibility of investment projects with planning.

Additionally, the regulations on ‘residential land’ or ‘residential land and other land’ are also another impediment to property projects.

Under the regulation, investors of commercial housing projects are required to have the right to use residential land; and have the right to use residential land and land other than residential land that meets the conditions for changing land use purposes to implement investment projects.

Currently, hundreds of commercial housing projects in the country, that are not completely built on residential land, built on non-residential land or land other than residential land, are not recognized as investors of commercial housing projects, even though these enterprises have received land use rights for agricultural land or non-agricultural and non-residential land as permitted by the 2013 Land Law.

The third problem relates to specific land valuation, land price appraisal, and land price determination to calculate land use fees, and land rent for real estate projects, commercial housing. Next, real estate firms are facing problems because they are only allowed to transfer projects or parts of commercial housing projects when they have had a certificate of land use rights for all or part of the transferred project which has fulfilled its financial obligations. This regulation does not ensure the ‘business autonomy’ of enterprises.

The next problem is that competent state agencies are slow to promulgate regulations to handle public land areas located interspersed in commercial housing projects. Although the Decree 148 took effect in February 2021, some provinces and cities have not issued regulations guiding implementation, so many commercial housing projects are delayed.

According to some real estate business leaders in Ho Chi Minh City, legal problems are the biggest problems in recent times, accounting for 70 percent of difficulties of real estate projects due to some inconsistent and inconsistent legal regulations which have made it difficult for many businesses to implement projects on schedule. This caused the project to prolong construction time, leading to increased costs; therefore, customers can not move into their houses as per contracts between them and real estate firms.

Container spot rates increase on routes to America, Europe

The Vietnam Maritime Administration has just reported to the Ministry of Transport about the increased price of container shipping services to the Americas and Europe.

Shipping lines preferred their vessels' access to the Red Sea region and the Suez Canal. However, since the end of 2023, they have been forced to avoid the Red Sea region due to the rising tensions there. Shipping companies have had to change their routes by going through the Cape of Good Hope which serves as an alternative pathway.

Nevetheless, navigating this route involves a much longer journey around 10-14 days compared to before, incurring many more shipping costs, leading to increased shipping prices and a possible shortage of containers.

According to statistics from Drewry, an independent maritime research consultancy offering market insights and advisory services to senior stakeholders across global shipping, the price of container transport services from Asia to Europe and America in the first week of January increased by about 60 percent compared to the end of 2022 and 25 percent over the same period last year.

Currently, some shipping lines have announced that the freight rate from Vietnam to US West Coast ports is US$2,650 per 40-foot container while the prices to US East Coast ports and to Europe are $3,900 per 40-foot container and $4,900 per 40-foot container respectively.

Vietnam to mobilize resources for north-south expressway

 The Vietnamese Government would prioritize investment in transport infrastructure, especially the North-South Expressway, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung at the agency’s year-end meeting this week.

Dung stated that the government partially addressed the issues of scattered and insufficient investment in public infrastructure last year and is focusing its resources on investing in large-scale projects such as inter-regional connectivity and coastal highways. These projects are seen as a breakthrough in the country's infrastructure development at both national and local levels.

As a result, the number of projects funded by the state budget in the 2021-2025 period has decreased by nearly 42% compared to the previous five years.

“This reduction aims to more strategically allocate resources and investments to the fundamental infrastructure that supports the economy,” he said.

Vietnam has set a target of 3,000 kilometers of highways by 2025, rising to 5,000 kilometers by 2030. The Government also aims to launch the North-South high-speed railway project by 2030 to enhance the national multi-modal transport network and improve the country's competitiveness.

In late November 2023, the Ministry of Transport sought opinions on three scenarios for the North-South railway project: one with passenger trains running at 350 km/h, one for passengers only, and one for passengers and freight.

At the conference, Dung expressed concern about how to make more efficient use of resources and leverage the roles of state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and attract foreign investment in the current situation.

As national governance, decentralization, a delegation of powers, and regional connectivity have not yet become the main driving force for rapid and sustainable development, Dung stressed the importance of reducing conditions and permits and improving the business environment to overcome difficulties for businesses and projects.

In 2023, FDI attraction reached $36.6 billion, an increase of over 32%, with many high-quality projects in phone manufacturing, electronic components, and chip production. Disbursed FDI exceeded $23 billion, the highest to date.

Public investment disbursements were a bright spot in 2023, improving significantly throughout the year to reach an annual rate of about 95%, higher than in 2022.

2024 is expected to be a breakthrough year for the 5-year socio-economic development plan (2021-2025).

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the need for the Ministry of Planning and Investment to make efforts in macroeconomic management, improve mechanisms to implement the three strategic breakthroughs (institutional, infrastructure, and human resources), and effectively mobilize and utilize investment resources for development.

"It is necessary to promote the rapid and strong disbursement of public investment from early 2024, avoiding scattered and wasteful investments," he said.

Additionally, the Ministry advises on new economic models, researches amendments, and supplements investment and trade agreements to adapt to the new situation.

In this regard, Dung expressed determination to boost public investment disbursement and achieve over 95% of the Prime Minister's assigned plan for this year. "Public investment capital must act as a catalyst to attract investment from other economic components," he added.

The ministry will also study and develop a plan for a regional and international financial center and a decree on the establishment, management, and use of the Investment Support Fund.

Vietnam to set up task force to speed up renewable projects

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has proposed the establishment of an inter-agency task force to address obstacles for LNG (liquefied natural gas) and offshore wind power projects to be commissioned before 2030.

According to the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8), the total capacity of 23 gas-fired power projects to be operational by 2030 is over 30,420 MW, of which 13 will use LNG, accounting for 74% of the total capacity. Currently, only the O Mon I Thermal Power Plant (660 MW) has been operational since 2015, and the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 Thermal Power Plants (1,624 MW) are under construction. The remaining 18 projects are in the preparation phase (23,640 MW), and 3 others are selecting investors (4,500 MW).

Offshore wind power is expected to reach around 6,000 MW by 2030, according to the PDP8. However, no projects have yet been decided on or allocated to an investor.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) expressed concern that LNG and offshore wind power projects may struggle to be commercially operational before 2030. The implementation of LNG projects typically takes 7-8 years, and offshore wind power projects   6-8 years, while many policies for these types of energy sources are still unclear.

In a recent report sent to the Prime Minister, the ministry highlighted the barriers to developing these projects as a "very new issue, involving multiple authorities and sectors." Therefore, the ministry proposed to the Prime Minister that an inter-agency government task force be established to study, propose mechanisms, and policies, and coordinate the modification of synchronized regulations.

Issues in the development of LNG projects are outlined in the energy management agency's report to the government. These include a lack of legal framework for negotiating power purchase agreements (PPAs) with long-term production commitments and the mechanism to convert gas prices into electricity prices. These are also reasons why the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 projects, though 73% complete, have not yet finalized PPA negotiations with the Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

Moreover, foreign investors have additional requirements, such as applying foreign laws (British or Singaporean), government payment and termination guarantees from EVN, and foreign exchange risk related to project interconnection and transmission progress.

The MoIT stated that there are currently no regulations on minimum production commitments for power plants participating in the electricity market. EVN and the plant owners negotiate and agree on the production quantities according to the contracts.

However, this can lead to situations where committed production exceeds actual demand. In such cases, the plant will not generate electricity, but EVN will still have to pay, affecting the financial balance of the group. Therefore, the MoIT recommended that the Government instruct relevant ministries to establish financial mechanisms for EVN to avoid putting pressure on electricity prices and burdens on the state agency.

Regarding EVN's obligation guarantee in power purchase agreements, the MoIT stated that this is a simple commercial contract between the investor and the enterprise, and the Government does not fulfill this guarantee obligation. In other words, state-owned enterprises must take responsibility for their capital like other businesses, according to the ministry.

Furthermore, there is currently no mechanism for the State Bank of Vietnam to guarantee exchange rates for investors. This means there is a legal gap in implementing foreign exchange conversion guarantees for gas power projects, according to the report sent to the Prime Minister.

With the mechanism of converting gas prices to electricity prices, the MoIT stated that the Government has agreed in principle to convert gas prices to electricity prices for projects such as Block B, Blue Whale, LNG Nhon Trach 3 and 4. However, the Government noted that the negotiation of electricity and gas production commitments at the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 projects is a business agreement between enterprises.

Due to various obstacles and a lack of legal foundation, the ministry estimated that only six projects, with a total capacity of 6,600 MW, will be operational before 2030. These include O Mon Power Center projects, Nhon Trach 3, Nhon Trach 4, and Hiep Phuoc. The remaining projects will only be commissioned before 2030 if power purchase agreement negotiations and capital arrangements are completed before 2027. As for gas-fired power projects in Block B, Blue Whale chain, it depends on the progress of the upstream gas project – Block B.

Regarding offshore wind power, the reason for no projects being implemented is due to various regulations in the Law on Resources, Sea and Island Environmental Law, Investment Law, Bidding Law, and National Marine Spatial Planning.

In addition, to ensure that LNG and offshore wind power projects are operational according to PDP8, mechanisms related to laws such as Land Law, Price Law, Bidding Law, Electricity Law, and related guidance documents need to be revised and resolved by the competent authorities.

In late November, businesses proposed to the MoIT that a resolution and policy from the relevant authorities regarding special mechanisms for investors deploying projects of these two types of energy sources is needed.

ACFTA upgrade to further facilitate Vietnam’s exports to China: official

Vietnam serves as chair of the sessions on food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary measures during this time’s negotiations on the upgrade of the ASEAN - China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), expected to further facilitate Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s exports to China.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, Le Thanh Hoa, Director of the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam), said the participation in the negotiations on SPS measures in free trade agreements (FTAs) has helped promote Vietnam’s stature, especially within the frameworks of ASEAN’s deals with such large trading partners as China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Australia/New Zealand.

Chairing the sessions on SPS measures during the ACFTA upgrade negotiations, Vietnam will help connect ASEAN countries with not only the General Administration of Customs China but also related agencies in terms of SPS measures, food safety, and trade with the neighbouring market. This will further facilitate Vietnam and other ASEAN countries’ exports to China in the time ahead, he noted.

With the upgrade, the contents on SPS measures that Vietnam previously agreed on with ASEAN and China will also be lifted to be on par with those in the FTAs with the countries, he went on.

Hoa said ASEAN and China set up working groups on food safety, sanitary measures, and phytosanitary measures. The groups have been playing a highly active role in dealing with information and certificates on food safety and SPS measures for goods exported to China, thereby creating favourable conditions for trade between ASEAN, including Vietnam, and China.

During this time’s negotiations, relevant parties will discuss to reach consensus on technical issues to further facilitate trade, the official said, adding that when there are any changes related to SPS measures, they will have to release clear notifications, build a coordination mechanism for handling technical issues, and jointly deal with technical obstacles so as to foster trade more strongly.

Via the SPS mechanism, China has pledged support for ASEAN countries and helped such countries as Laos and Cambodia to enhance capacity. Vietnam has also received China’s assistance in technical training to improve its staff’s skills in terms of animal and plant disease detection and food safety.

Hoa said that 17 years since it became a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Vietnam has made comprehensive changes. Legal regulations on food safety and SPS measures, managerial agencies, and monitoring processes have accessed advanced standards. Businesses have also applied standards like HACCP and ISO as well as good production practices to meet markets’ requirements.

SPS Vietnam will continue coordination with specialised units to provide sufficient and timely information for businesses, but companies themselves also have to comply with standards to minimise risks during cross-border checks, reduce customs clearance time, and lower expenses, he recommended.

The good compliance with SPS measures has been promoting the export of agricultural, aquatic, and food products and also affirming the quality and safety of Vietnamese products in the global market, according to the official.

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