The first-ever Vietnam Fisheries Technology Exhibition (FISTECH 2023) opened in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh on July 5, featuring around 100 booths from nearly 100 domestic and international firms and organisations.

Introduced at the three-day fair are various aquaculture and seafood processing products, including feed, medicine, additives, machinery, and equipment.

On the sidelines, there is a seminar on Vietnam’s fisheries technology, where leading domestic and foreign experts are sharing information, updating knowledge, and presenting the latest technologies in aquaculture.

The seminar is set to cover such topics as the application of advanced technologies for efficient commercial shrimp farming, and sustainable marine aquaculture development in Quang Ninh and other provinces in the Red River Delta, among others.

The event is expected to attract around 8,000 visitors, including scientists, managers, businesses, farmers, and students from across the northern region.

Close to 180 trillion USD raised through G-bond auctions in first half

The State Treasury raised over 179.89 trillion VND (7.57 billion USD) worth of Government bonds via 84 auctions on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) in the first six months of 2023.

The amount was equal to 62.52% of the issuance plan in the second quarter, and 44.97% of the plan set for 2023.

In June alone, 16.94 trillion VND, or 85.77% of the total G-bonds on offer, was mobilised via 14 auctions on the HNX. Most of the total volume offered in the month was 15-year and 10-year bonds, accounting for 50.18% and 45.75%, respectively.

On the secondary market, the State Treasury mobilised more than 154.87 trillion VND in June, with the average trading value reaching 7.04 trillion VND per session, up 16.83% from the previous month. The total volume traded via outright transactions made up 73.05% of the total. Bonds with 10-, 15-, and 10-15 year maturity were traded the most, accounting for 15.92%; 15.13% and 11.82%, respectively.

In the first half, foreign investors' total trading value amounted to 22,196 billion VND, accounting for 3.13% of the total market trading value, with the net selling value standing at 5.108 trillion VND.

OVs help popularise Vietnamese products

The more than 5 million Vietnamese people living and working in 130 countries have helped bring Vietnamese goods, especially farm produce, to the world.

The consumer market of Vietnamese products in the world is increasingly expanding. In addition to the efforts to standardise the quality of products and the capacity to exploit the market of Vietnamese enterprises, there is also a significant contribution by the Vietnamese community in the host countries. This is also considered an important factor that helps Vietnamese goods to reach further and gain a firm foothold in major markets around the world.

According to Nguyen Le Quoc Tuan, general director of Song Huong Foods specialising in exporting Vietnamese specialties to the US, the company’s export activities have been more favourable as it gets help with procedures to apply for a certification from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

One of the reasons for its export of homegrown specialties to expand in the US market is the clips of Vietnamese cuisine being watched a lot by expatriates, Tuan said, adding that the enterprise itself has also actively propularised products to the overseas Vietnamese (OV) community through social networks.

Nguyen Ngoc Luan, Manager of Global Trade Link Co., Ltd. which is exporting fruit-flavoured coffee and fruits to Australia, the US and the Republic of Korea, said that initially, his company chose distribution partners. However, they did not care about Vietnamese brands, so despite a lot of marketing costs, the firm’s strategy failed.

After that, the company shifted to cooperate with overseas Vietnamese-owned businesses in the host countries. To date, 80% of the company's partners abroad are OV, and its cooperation in distribution of goods is very convenient. Notably, there is a major distributor in Europe that imports not only coffee but also pomelo and coconut from Vietnam, stated Luan.

Speaking at a hybrid conference on the role of OV communities in the “Vietnamese people prioritise made-in-Vietnam goods” campaign held in Ho Chi Minh City in late June, Pham Viet Hung, director of the department for economic, scientific and technological relations at the Foreign Ministry’s State Committee for OV Affairs, stressed that Vietnamese goods are imported into other countries mainly by foreign firms.

Given this, it is necessary to set up networks and associations of OV entrepreneurs to promote the distribution of Vietnamese goods in foreign markets and prevent market risks, he noted, adding that connection should also be boosted to organise more business forums in other countries to expand the presence of made-in-Vietnam goods in the world.

Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Australia Nguyen Phu Hoa said that the Vietnamese Embassy is working to diversify trade promotion programmes and coordinating closely with Vietnamese firms to step up marketing goods from the country, especially agricultural products and apparel, in Australia.

At the event, representatives of OV associations and entrepreneurs affirmed that the OV communities are always interested in and want to use Vietnamese goods, and that they are ready to help advertise and establish distribution networks for made-in-Vietnam items in their host countries.

They also suggested some measures to promote the export of Vietnamese goods to global markets.

Value-added tax cut welcomed

Consumers and producers are happy to see the implementation of the 2% reduction of value-added tax (VAT) for products starting from July 1.

The Government on June 30 issued a decree on reducing the VAT in line with the National Assembly’s resolution dated June 24, 2023, on the matter.

Accordingly, the 2% VAT cut is applied to goods and services which are currently subject to a rate of 10%, except for those belonging to the groups of telecommunications, financial and banking activities, securities, insurance, real estate business, metal, and cast metal products, products of mining (except for coal), coke, refined petroleum, and chemical products.

Last year, under an NA resolution on financial monetary policies for the socio-economic recovery programme, the implementation of VAT reduction helped businesses and people save a total of about 44.5 trillion VND (1.87 billion USD). The VAT reduction partly helped the country's total retail sales of consumer goods and services increase by 19.8%, while domestic VAT collection increased by 10% year-on-year.

The continuation of the VAT reduction policy from July 1 to December 31, 2023, is expected to benefit both consumers and enterprises.

Reducing 2% VAT leads to a reduction of the final price that consumers have to pay, then pushes consumption. Therefore, businesses have simultaneously applied the new VAT rate and notified customers and consumers about the reduction.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Trade Cooperative Union (Saigon Co.op), it is ready to offer discounts on thousands of products for the entire retail system with 800 points of sale nationwide as soon as the 2% VAT reduction takes effect.

Nguyen Ngoc Thang, operation director of the Co.opmart chain, said that it is a practical plan in response to the country’s socioeconomic recovery programme.

The tax cut together with promotion programmes of the Co.opmart offer opportunities for the consumers to enjoy big discounts.

A staff at Co.opmart Nguyen Dinh Chieu in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 3 said that products in five categories including groceries, fresh food, processed food, garment, and home appliances are discounted from 22% to 62%.

More than 2,000 products sold at Co.opmart in the fresh food category, mainly meats and vegetables, have prices reduced by 22% on average.

Products like soft drinks and milk have prices decreased by 32% on average; fashion products’ prices 42%, prices of household items including pots, pans, and electric kettles by an average of 62%.

According to statistics from the financial industry, over 20,000 products belonging to categories of dried food, beverage, milk, confectionery, fashion, and household goods sold in supermarkets are subject to the 2% VAT reduction.

The items with VAT reduction to 8% are in the essential goods basket, accounting for 75% of the products consumers usually shop for at supermarkets.

Seven out of every 10 shoppers in supermarkets will get benefits from the Government’s VAT cut, an economist told Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper.

Positive signs in FDI inflows in H1

Despite a 4.3% reduction in the volume of foreign investment inflows into Vietnam in the first half of the year, experts said there are positive signs when looking into the structure of the investment.

Out of more than 13.43 billion USD worth of foreign investment poured into Vietnam in the first six months of this year, newly-registered capital reached almost 6.5 billion USD, accounting for 48.3% of the total, up 31.3% year on year.

The value of capital contribution and share purchase deals surged 79% to over 4 billion USD, accounting for 29.9%.

Only additional capital for existing projects showed a reduction of 57.1%, but the number of projects raising their capital went up 29.8%.

General Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO) Nguyen Thi Huong said those figures reflect the confidence of foreign investors in the stable macro economic policy and safe investment environment in Vietnam.

New projects are still concentrated in localities with advantages in investment attraction, good infrastructure, stable human resources, drastic efforts in administrative reform and dynamic investment promotion, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Giang, Binh Duong, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh and Dong Thap.

Hanoi was the leading destination of foreign investors in the reviewed period with 2.26 billion USD, higher than the figure of the entire 2022.  

HCM City also recorded a surge in the number of new FDI projects (69.1%) and a 3.6-time increase in capital contribution and share purchase.

With high expectation about FDI attraction this year, Director of the Foreign Investment Agency Do Nhat Hoang said the country will continue to improve its business and investment environment, focusing on administrative procedures following licensing, and issue policies to attract investment into fields with great potential for breakthroughs such as high technology, semiconductor and innovation.

Government regulates supply, use of cross-border insurance services

The Government recently issued Decree 46/2023/ND-CP regulating the supply and use of cross-border insurance services in Vietnam.

According to regulations under the decree, those providing cross-border insurance and insurance brokerage services are foreign insurance and insurance brokerage enterprises with headquarters in countries or territories with which Vietnam has signed international treaties on trade, including agreements on the supply of cross-border insurance services in Vietnam.

Users of those services are foreign-invested economic organisations and foreigners working in Vietnam.

The decree stipulates that in order to be allowed to provide cross-border services in Vietnam, a foreign insurance or insurance brokerage company must have a licence from a state management agency in charge of foreign insurance where the firm is headquartered, and must provide proof that it has been operating legally for at least 10 years until the time it begins to provide cross-border insurance services in Vietnam. 

It also must have a document certifying that it has not violated legal regulations on insurance business and brokerage operations, and other legal regulations within three consecutive years preceding the year it begins providing cross-border insurance services in Vietnam.

The regulations also require total assets of at least 2 billion USD for a foreign insurance enterprise; and 100 million USD for a foreign brokerage firm in the fiscal year preceding the year of providing cross-border services in Vietnam.

Foreign insurers have to be rated at least "BBB" by Standard & Poor's or Fitch, "B " by A.M.Best, or "Baal" by Moody's, or have equivalent ratings in the previous fiscal year; and have gained profits in the three consecutive fiscal years preceding the year it begins to provide cross-border insurance services in Vietnam.

Foreign insurance companies are required to provide cross-border insurance services in Vietnam through an insurance brokerage company licensed and operating in Vietnam, while foreign brokerage firms must provide brokerage services for foreign insurance firms or branches of foreign insurance firms licensed and operating in Vietnam.

Vietnam still “an FDI darling”: Singaporean bank

Vietnam’s 2023 growth is below-trend amid global external headwinds, but its position as a manufacturing FDI darling remains intact, DBS, Singapore’s leading consumer bank, said in a report released on July 3.

The report pointed out that economic growth in externally oriented Vietnam rebounded in the second quarter but stayed sluggish, given the challenging global economic environment.

In the second half of this year, Vietnamese exports will likely improve modestly as the global electronics cycle rebounds. Vietnam’s domestic services and foreign tourism will likely continue outperforming and stay supportive.

The economy will be held up by easier fiscal and monetary policies, the report said, noting that Vietnam’s construction growth picked up strongly in the second quarter, with momentum to be supported by increased implementation of government infrastructure projects. Improvements would be critical for Vietnam to stay competitive and continue attracting foreign investments over the long term.

Yet, tight monetary conditions in advanced economies will likely restrain a strong upturn in global external demand for Vietnamese products and overall growth prospects, it said.

“Despite the cyclical headwinds, FDI will remain a structural tailwind amid global supply chain diversification,” according to the report.

Vietnam’s export-oriented manufacturing growth decelerated sharply amid global external headwinds but bounced in the second quarter. Similar uptick was also seen in monthly goods exports figures. Electronics, the largest goods export product at nearly 30% of total, could turn positive by the second quarter.

“We expect Vietnam to remain a key beneficiary for re-location or co-location of production, supported by its already well-known and favourable factors,” the report said.

These include competitive costs for a relatively skilled workforce, extensive free trade agreements (FTA), its bright medium-term growth prospects of 6%-7%, and a growing electronics ecosystem.

Total newly registered FDI in Vietnam grew by around 30% year-on-year in the first half after performing poorly in 2022.
Crucially, new manufacturing FDI inflows picked up strongly in 2023, despite global economic headwinds, and after being resilient over the past couple of years (2020 to 2022) when the world suffered from the pandemic.

“This trend reflects foreign investors’ still-high confidence in Vietnam’s long-term potential. Its position as an FDI darling will likely to stay intact for some time,” the report said.

Vietnam hopes for stronger cooperation with WB in sustainable clean energy

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang on July 4 expressed her hope that Vietnam and the World Bank (WB) will step up their cooperation in the time ahead, prioritising the improvement of energy efficiency and sustainable clean energy.

At a Hanoi reception for Wempi Saputra, Executive Director of the World Bank Group of Southeast Asia, Thang appreciated cooperation, support, and close coordination of the WB in the development of the Vietnamese energy sector towards green growth, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and sustainable development.

She affirmed that the Vietnamese government will continue prioritising the use of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loans in the 2021-2025 period to serve large-scale socio-economic infrastructure programmes and projects in transport, irrigation, green growth, climate change response, and urban infrastructure.

She suggested the WB increase investment projects in energy saving in industries, and provide technical assistance for Vietnam in building mechanisms and policies and implementing policies and regulations on energy saving.
 
The official also called for more support from the WB in improving capacity of Vietnamese officials to effectively devise regulations on electricity activities and power market development amid energy transition towards green growth.

For his part, Saputra said the WB and other international organisations highly value Vietnam’s development, especially in comparison with countries in the region and the world.

He also informed Thang about cooperation orientations between Vietnam and the WB and the implementation of WB projects in the Southeast Asian country, and shared his view on the use of IBRD loans.

Saputra spoke of the WB’s support in climate change response and energy transition, and experience of countries where the bank has rolled out cooperation programmes in the fields.

Vietnam hopes for stronger cooperation with WB in sustainable clean energy

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang on July 4 expressed her hope that Vietnam and the World Bank (WB) will step up their cooperation in the time ahead, prioritising the improvement of energy efficiency and sustainable clean energy.

At a Hanoi reception for Wempi Saputra, Executive Director of the World Bank Group of Southeast Asia, Thang appreciated cooperation, support, and close coordination of the WB in the development of the Vietnamese energy sector towards green growth, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and sustainable development.

She affirmed that the Vietnamese government will continue prioritising the use of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loans in the 2021-2025 period to serve large-scale socio-economic infrastructure programmes and projects in transport, irrigation, green growth, climate change response, and urban infrastructure.

She suggested the WB increase investment projects in energy saving in industries, and provide technical assistance for Vietnam in building mechanisms and policies and implementing policies and regulations on energy saving.
 
The official also called for more support from the WB in improving capacity of Vietnamese officials to effectively devise regulations on electricity activities and power market development amid energy transition towards green growth.

For his part, Saputra said the WB and other international organisations highly value Vietnam’s development, especially in comparison with countries in the region and the world.

He also informed Thang about cooperation orientations between Vietnam and the WB and the implementation of WB projects in the Southeast Asian country, and shared his view on the use of IBRD loans.

Saputra spoke of the WB’s support in climate change response and energy transition, and experience of countries where the bank has rolled out cooperation programmes in the fields.

FISTECH 2023 attracts 100 domestic and foreign businesses

Nearly 100 domestic and foreign businesses are showcasing their products and technologies at the Vietnam Fisheries Technology Exhibition 2023 (FISTECH) which opened in the north-eastern border province of Quang Ninh on July 5.

On display across 100 pavilions are food, medicine, bi-products, machinery and equipment in aquaculture and seafood processing.

A seminar was also held with the participation of leading seafood experts in Vietnam and abroad to share information and provide up-to-date knowledge as well as latest technologies in the aquaculture industry.

This is the first time that the Vietnam Fisheries Technology Exhibition has been held. It is expected to welcome 8,000 visitors, scientists, managers, business executives, aquaculturists and students.

The exhibition is scheduled to last through to July 7.

HCM City’s H2 positive growth scenario requires 155,000-165,000 jobs

If the global economy and Vietnamese one grow positively in the second half of this year, Ho Chi Minh City’s labour market will need 155,000-165,000 more jobs, according to the Centre of Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information (FALMI) under the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Labour, Valids and Social Affairs.      

Meanwhile, if the global economic growth and some major economies tend to slow down, the city's human resources demand in the last six months will be just about 145,000 - 155,000 jobs.

According to FALMI, in the second half of this year, the human resources demand in the trade and service sector will account for 64.57% of the total, that in the construction industry for 34.62%, and the agriculture-forestry-fishery sector for 0.81%.

Human resources demand in four key industries accounts for 21.97% of the total, with that in the mechanical industry accounting for 6.11%, electronics - information technology 7.2%, food processing 4.02%, and pharmaceutical chemicals - rubber 4.64%.

The demand for trained workers accounts for 86.13% of the total human resources demand.

In the first half of this year, more than 163,000 labourers in the city found jobs, up 0.21% year on year, while more than 79,900 new jobs were created, a rise of 0.25%, according to the municipal labour department.

Vietnam hoped to welcome 12 million foreign tourists this year

Vietnam’s new visa policy may help the country welcome 12 million foreign tourists this year, far surpassing the target of 8 million set previously, said Hoang Nhan Chinh, Secretariat Director of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB).

On June 24, the Vietnamese National Assembly approved the Law on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on the Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens, as well as the Law on Foreigners’ Entry into, Exit from, Transit through, and Residence in Vietnam.

Accordingly, upon being granted an e-visa, a foreigner can enter and exit an unlimited number of times within 90 days, without having to go through procedures for obtaining a new visa.

Citizens of countries that are unilaterally exempted from visas by Vietnam will be granted temporary residence for 45 days (up from 15 days) and can be considered for visa issuance and temporary residence extension according to regulations.

Currently, the e-visa issued by the Immigration Department to foreigners through the electronic transaction system is only valid once. Vietnam is issuing e-visas to citizens of 80 countries.

Chinh affirmed that Vietnam’s new visa policy is more favourable, which will give a very strong push to the tourism industry when the peak season of international tourism at the end of the year is coming.

The more favourable policy will help the tourism sector diversify markets, increase the number of visitors to Vietnam, prolong their stays, and increase their spending. In addition, this policy will help raise the number of air passengers, facilitate international trade exchanges, and attract more foreign investors to the country, Chinh stressed.

However, he noted that Vietnam currently allows citizens of only 80 countries to apply for an e-visa to the country, and apply visa exemption for international visitors from 24 countries, much less than other countries in the region such as Thailand (76), Malaysia (156) and Singapore (162).

Therefore, the list of visa-free countries, if quickly expanded, will create a great opportunity to attract more visitors to Vietnam from the third quarter of this year, he said, adding that the more foreign visitors come, the sooner the country's tourism will recover fully.

At present, Vietnam is applying the unilateral visa exemption policy to 13 countries, namely Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Belarus, the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

The TAB is proposing the Government expand the application of this policy from August to 33 other countries that include the remaining 20 countries of the European Union, and some other countries with large numbers of visitors to Vietnam, such as the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland, Chinh added.

Assoc. Prof., Dr. Pham Hong Long, Head of the Faculty of Tourism at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, said that the openness in visa policy will bring about “dual benefits”, as whether or not foreign visitors evaluate Vietnam as an attractive destination depends on this policy.

According to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), a favourable visa policy can increase the number of foreign visitors by 5-25% each year.

However, to make the most of this policy, the non-smoke industry is advised to take concerted measures, including speeding up promotion activities, developing more typical and attractive products, well managing destinations and developing high-quality human resources.

Vietnam welcomed over 5.57 million foreign tourists in the first six months of 2023, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Vietnamese airlines resume Da Nang – Guangzhou/Hong Kong routes

Vietnamese airlines have resumed two direct air routes connecting the central city of Da Nang to Guangzhou and Hong Kong (China) after a period of temporary suspension caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first VN-549 charter flight of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, departing from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, landed at Da Nang International Airport at midnight on July 3.

According to Vietnam Airlines, it operates three weekly flights on the route on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays using Airbus A321s. The flights are scheduled to depart from Guangzhou at 9:40 p.m. and land in Da Nang at 22:55 p.m.

This is a positive signal for Da Nang’s tourism industry as its main source market is China.

Previously, budget carrier VietJet Air relaunched its direct services from the beach towns of Da Nang and Phu Quoc to Hong Kong (China) amid a tourism rebound.

There are three weekly flights running on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays on the Phu Quoc-Hong Kong route, with a one-way fare starting at VND90,000, equal to US$3.80.

There are four weekly flights between Da Nang and Hong Kong (China) on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays with fares starting from VND70,000.

Rubber exports shrink during first half of 2023

Vietnam exported approximately 766,000 tonnes of rubber worth US$1.05 billion in the first six months of 2023, down 2.6% in volume and down 22.9% in value against the same period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.      

Despite this drop, rubber exports in June brought in US$239 million, up 53.7% in volume and up 51% in value from the previous month. Indeed, the average export price of rubber stood at US$1,327 per tonne, marking a fall of 1.8% compared to May and 19.6% lower than that of June 2022.

During the opening five months of the year, the key rubber products for export included mixtures of natural rubber or similar gums with synthetic rubber coded HS 4002.80, SVR 10, SVR 3L, RSS3, Latex, SVR CV60, and SVR 20.

The strongest growth was recorded in rubber coded HS 400280, which accounted for 66.93% of the country's total rubber exports.

Most notably, exports to China made up 99.82% of the total amount of natural and synthetic rubber exports with 391,740 tonnes, worth US$357.1 million, up 11.7% in volume but down 11.5% in value against the same period last year

Experts anticipate that the world’s consumption demand for rubber is currently not high and rubber export prices will not bounce back this year due to factors such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and high inflation globally.

Positive disbursement of public investment set to leverage economic growth

The disbursement rate for public investment of 30.49% recorded during the first half of the year is widely viewed as one of the key driving forces in accelerating Vietnam’s economic growth ahead in the remaining months of the year, according to insiders.      

At the Government’s regular press briefing on July 4, economists pointed out that the six-month disbursement rate reached 30.49%, equivalent to nearly VND216,000 billion, doubling the average level in the 2016 to 2020 period.

This positive disbursement is anticipated to exert a great impact on the overall economic recovery and development of businesses amid continued global economic and political fluctuations.

Most notably, nine ministries, agencies and 32 localities recorded a disbursement rate of over 30%, including Tien Giang at 52.82%, Dong Thap at 50.28%, Long An at 48.9%, the Development Bank at 100%, and the State Bank of Vietnam at 47.08%.

With regard to key transport projects, the east section of the North-South Expressway project in the 2021 to 2025 period secured a disbursement rate of 54.5% of the total assigned plan.

These are positive signs in terms of disbursement of public investment capital in the first half of the year, said Deputy Minister of Planning and investment Tran Quoc Phuong.

He noted that it is a heavy task ahead to disburse a total public investment capital of about VND711,000 billion this year that requires great efforts from all economic sectors in order to fulfill the target of disbursing 95% of public investment this year as assigned by the Prime Minister.

Experts suggested that local authorities take drastic measures to tackle difficulties in project implementation, particularly obstacles relating to site clearance and investment procedures in order to further speed up capital disbursement till the end of the year.

Vietnam represents potential lucrative market for Korean beauty products

Vietnam is seeing exponential growth in demand for Korean cosmetics, according to The Korea Herald.

The newspaper quoted data by the Korea Cosmetics Association as saying that Korean cosmetics exports to Vietnam from January to May this year surged by 43.4% compared to the same period last year, raking in US$187.5 million.

This is the highest growth rate the Republic of Korea has acquired from the Vietnamese cosmetics market, followed by the United States (25.7%) and Hong Kong-China (16.7%).

Elsewhere, cosmetic exports to China, which has historically been the RoK’s biggest cosmetics exports destination, stood at at US$1.2 billion, a drop of 25.7%.

its cosmetics exports to the Japanese market also saw a 5.3% decrease to US$323.9 million.

“Additional data showed that K-beauty's performance in Vietnam has been gaining traction,” said the media outlet.

It also cited data from the US Department of Commerce showing the RoK had the largest market share in terms of Vietnamese imported cosmetics market at 30%, followed by the EU at 23%, Japan at 17%, Thailand at 13%, and the US, 10%.

The Korea Herald stressed that currently, 90% of all cosmetics consumed in the Vietnamese beauty market are from foreign brands.

According to a survey conducted by the Korea International Cultural Exchange Agency on consumers aged 15 to 59 in Vietnam, 91.2% respondents said they have purchased at least one Korean cosmetic product over the past year, and some 68.8% buy Korean beauty products frequently.

“The growth in Korean beauty products in the Vietnamese market points to the possibility that the country could potentially function as an alternative market for Korean beauty companies, whose performance in China has been stalling recently,” said The Korea Herald.

It also reported that Statista, a German data analysis platform, noted that the Vietnamese beauty market is likely to grow to US$2.7 billion next year.

Businesses moan about weak local logistics industry

Many businesses moaned that they are facing difficulties due to the weak capacity of the domestic logistics industry.

At the seminar ‘Green logistics - from trends to practices and roles in food production and export’, businesses said that they bumped into problems because of the weak local logistics industry.

Currently, 68 percent of logistics enterprises in the country demand sea transportation while 50 percent commodities are transported by road and air, railway and inland waterways transport account for the same rate of 8 percent.

However, in contrast to the needs of businesses, the capacity of the domestic logistics industry is mainly road transport, accounting for the majority with the rate of 74.4 percent, inland waterway tops 19 percent and the rest is air, rail and sea transportation.

Ho Chi Minh City attracts 2.9 billion USD in FDI in H1

Ho Chi Minh City attracted 2.9 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) from the beginning of this year to June 20, an increase of 30.7% compared the same period last year, the city’s Statistics Office has announced.

In the first half of this year, the country's economic locomotive granted new investment certificates for 514 projects with a combined registered capital of 231 million USD, marking an increase of 69.1% in the number of projects compared to the same period last year.

Of the projects, 207 were in wholesale, retail, and repair of automobiles and motorbikes with registered capital totaling 93.9 million USD, accounting for 40.6% of the newly registered capital.

Among the nations and territories pouring capital into the city, Singapore ranked first with 89 projects and a total registered capital of 126 million USD, accounting for 54.6% of the newly registered capital.

It was followed by Japan with 43 projects and 21.7 million USD, accounting for 9.4%, Hong Kong (China) with 36 projects and 12.7 million USD, accounting for 5.6%.

According to the city People's Committee, as of May 20, the city had 11,868 valid foreign investment projects with a total new investment and added investment of more than 56.8 billion USD.

AI-powered agents for enterprises introduced in HCM City

Trusting Social, a leading Asian fintech artificial intelligence (AI) company, officially launched its generative AI platform called Agent Foundry that provides trainable, AI-powered autonomous agents to enterprises.

Agent Foundry integrates Microsoft’s cloud and AI technologies, including Azure cloud service, which is secure and open-source friendly; and GitHub Enterprise, the developer and productivity tool for Startups Founders Hub.

Foundry agents include ALICE, a generative AI-powered sales and relationship management agent that helps brands reach out to millions of consumers; ANANSI, a business and data analytics agent; and ALAN, an AGI-based software programming agent.

They combine high-level business reasoning with powerful Big Data predictive modeling, vast industry domain knowledge, a wide range of digital skills from using office applications to advanced data analytics and coding, and enterprises’ rich customer data to assist knowledge workers to become more productive.

They appeal to enterprises thanks to their design that adheres to high standards for data privacy, security, social sensibility and controllability, their ability to strictly follow business rules, learn on the job, and proactively take action in a business context with minimal human supervision.

Nguyễn An Nguyên, CEO of Trusting Social, said the company was thrilled to bring AGI products to the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian markets.

"Foundry agents aim to help businesses transform themselves in the age of generative AI," he said.          

They empower human workers to focus more on creativity, strategic thinking, decision-making, and human interactions, instead of repetitive, quantitative, and mundane tasks. 

“These agents aid humans in problem-solving rather than taking over their jobs as employees' creativity and judgment cannot be replaced,” he said.

The company aims to serve multiple industries, starting with the financial sector and soon expanding to consumer goods, telecommunications, and professional services, according to Nguyên.

The launch of Agent Foundry shows the company’s decade-long commitment to advancing AI to enable businesses to serve consumers better with lower costs.

Nguyễn Quỳnh Trâm, country general manager of Microsoft Vietnam, said this collaboration with Trusting Social would empower world-class financial access for unbanked users.

“AI is a defining technology of our time, we are optimistic that it will benefit underserved communities in Việt Nam and Southeast Asia,” she said.

Last year, Trusting Social was selected to join the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, a new digital and truly inclusive platform for Founders in Asia. The company was provided free access to Microsoft's technology, tools, and resources to develop its AGI-empowered tools to deliver financial access for all.

At the event, a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Trusting Social and Microsoft on collaboration in research and development.

Both sides will pursue strategic research, technical development, and go-to-market collaboration.

Trusting Social will integrate Microsoft Azure's cloud computing platform, services, solutions, and other technologies in connection with data analytics, OpenAI, and cognitive services for an Azure AI project. 

HCM City rolls out three-month consumer spending promotion

Authorities in HCM City will run a promotion programme from now until September 15 with attractive discounts to increase spending. 

Nguyen Khac Hieu from the Import-Export unit of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said the annual programme previously lasted one month but this year city authorities have decided to extend the promotion campaign to three months to boost demand amid economic challenges.

Around 3,000 companies are participating in 7,000 sales promotions.

As part of the programme, there would be a ‘cashless payment month’ event, river tourism festival and super sales for fashion, cosmetics and jewellery products.

Travel agencies would be allowed to launch summer travel tours for students and their parents, who will be offered a discount voucher when shopping cashless at certain malls.

Thousands of products from fresh food to technology products, appliances and apparel at supermarket chain Saigon Coop will be offered with discounts of up to 60 percent.

Total retail sales of consumer goods and services nationwide in the first five months of this year increased by 12.6 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

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