The first working group, led by Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, is responsible for monitoring public investment progress by the Office of the National Assembly, the Office of the Government, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Government Inspectorate, the State Bank of Viet Nam, the State Audit Office, the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labor, the Central Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Viet Nam Women’s Union Central Committee, the Viet Nam Development Bank, the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies, the Viet Nam Cooperative Alliance, the Alliance of Arts and Literature Associations of Viet Nam, the Viet Nam Journalists' Association, Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Can Tho City, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, An Giang, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau. 

The second working group, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, will oversee public investment disbursement by the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Transport, Construction, Information and Communications, Science and Technology, Education and Training, Health, Culture, Sports and Tourism, Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Natural Resources and Environment, the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences, the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology, the Ha Noi National University, the HCMC National University, the Management Board of the Viet Nam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, the Management Board of the Hoa Lac High Tech Park, the Viet Nam National Tobacco Corporation, and localities namely Ha Noi, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa. 

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang is the head of the third working group in charge of monitoring public investment disbursement by the Offfice of the Party Central Committee, Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuracy, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs, the Management Board of the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Viet Nam News Agency, the Voice of Viet Nam, the Viet Nam Television, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, the Viet Nam Farmers' Union, and localities including Hai Phong, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan, Bac Giang, Hoa Binh, Son La, Lai Chau and Dien Bien. 

The fourth group, headed by the Minister of Planning and Investment, is responsible for monitoring public investment disbursement by the following localities: Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Thai Binh. 

The Minister of Finance leads the fifth working group to inspect public investment disbursement by Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lam Dong, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. 

These five working groups comprise leaders of the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Justice, Construction, Transport, Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment, Industry and Trade, the State Bank of Viet Nam, and relevant agencies. 

Public investment capital for 2023 totalled over VND 700 trillion (US$ 29.85 billion in 2023, VND 140 trillion higher than the plan in 2022 and VND 260 trillion higher than 2021.

The Government has doubled efforts in accelerating disbursement of public investment since the beginning of this year after missing its target in 2022.

On February 21, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a national teleconference to seek ways to step up public investment allocation and disbursement in 2023 as well as the socio-economic recovery and development program. 

The Government chief tasked subordinate to rate the disbursement rate to at least 95 per cent of the total public capital planned for this year.

Public investment disbursement in the first two months of this year reached nearly VND49 trillion or 6.55 percent of the initial whole-year plan, according to the Ministry of Finance.

As many as 50 out of 52 ministries and central agencies and 19 out of 63 localities had their disbursement rates less than 5 percent.

Slow disbursement was mainly due difficulties arising in land acquisition, building of resettlement areas, compensation, poor planning, rising input material prices and transportation costs. 

In addition, many contractors hesitated to undertake projects and were awaiting instructions for additional capital to come through due to the rise in the price of materials.

Chinese tourists flock to Vietnam amid reopening of group tours

Many Chinese tourists are planning to visit Vietnam following the northern neighbour reopening group tours to the country from March 15, according to industry insiders.

Specifically, the northern province of Quang Ninh is expected to welcome a group of 150 Chinese tourists entering through Mong Cai border gate at noon.

Furthermore, the northern province of Lang Son will also receive its first group of 124 Chinese tourists this afternoon through Huu Nghi border gate, with the group planning to take a four-day tour in Hanoi and Ha Long, said Nguyen Thu Hoai, representative of Phuong Nam Tourism Company.

Le Hong Tu, director of BT Tour Company, said that the firm is anticipated to receive a group of 16 Chinese guests from Shanghai on a flight to Tan Son Nhat International Airport on March 16.

The group will stay in the nation for eight days, during which time they will make use of four and five star services and visit popular destinations in Da Lat, Nha Trang, Mui Ne, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Tu added that the unit will welcome additional delegations from Shanghai in April with about 20 Chinese tourists for each group.

Nguyen Thi Hai Nam, deputy general director of Vietnam Global International Travel Joint Stock Company, said that the company plans to welcome a group of 46 Chinese guests on March 19.

The group will take a Ho Chi Minh City - My Tho - Mui Ne tour for six days, making use of four and five star services, including two nights at a luxury resort in Mui Ne.

Nam revealed that the company has focused on exploiting the high-end segment following the Chinese tourism market reopening. Moving forward, it will receive more Chinese groups of tourists keen to visit Hanoi this April to experience golf courses in the northern region.

Along with travel firms, Vietnamese airlines are also actively deploying plans aimed at fully tapping into the Chinese market by increasing the number of charter flights from China to Cam Ranh to 20 in late March, as well as maintaining direct flights from Hanoi to Tianjin.

HCMC calls off major commercial complex project

The HCMC government has announced its decision to cancel a commercial complex project which has been put on hold for 16 straight years.

The HCMC departments of Investment-Planning and Justice have been tasked with preparing paperwork for the cancellation of the project invested by the Bitexco Group of Companies.

The project is located in a quadrangle known as Ma Lang surrounded by Nguyen Trai, Cong Quynh, Nguyen Cu Trinh and Tran Dinh Xu streets in District 1.

Before 1975, the location was a graveyard. The municipal government later replanned the site, and many people came to settle down there. It has over 530 houses smaller than 20 square meters each and they have deteriorated.

In 2007, the city approved the Bitexco Group to clear the site and build a complex of hotels, office buildings and commercial centers.

There are over 1,400 houses that need to be cleared. The site clearance and resettlement work was planned to start in June 2018 but was delayed until now.

$5 billion credit package authorised for the real estate sector

A new government resolution has tasked the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) with overseeing the execution of a $5 billion lending scheme and coordinating with commercial banks to ease the burdens in the property sector and promote development.

Resolution No. 33/NQ-CP will see some of the country's largest banks, such as Agribank, BIDV, Vietcombank, and Vietinbank, provide financing to investors and homebuyers for social housing and the refurbishment of existing apartments. This loan package represents approximately 12 per cent of the capital required to accomplish the objective of constructing at least one million additional social housing units by 2030.

During this period, the interest rate will be 1.5–2 per cent below the median and long-term lending rates of state-owned banks. The government has ordered that the SBV instruct credit institutions to audit their construction projects to ensure the safe function of the financial sector.

In addition, cutting operational expenses will allow for the reduction of interest rates on loans in the industry and will help ease access to credit.

According to the document, the SBV is to instruct the financial system to carry out a risk assessment on each business and venture to evaluate lending requirements.

The SBV has been granted the authority to deem what it considers acceptable risk parameters in the market and oversee laws pertaining to corporate bonds in accordance with the government's policy for the corporate bond market.

Furthermore, the government has identified the construction and growth of social housing for low-income employees as an expenditure element in the medium and long-term financing of municipalities. A resolution is to be drafted in the National Assembly that will kickstart initiatives encouraging the construction of such projects.

Particular focus is to be given to issues such as land allocation, along with rental and purchase prices, according to the resolution.

Vietnam a 'star in global supply chain'

Vietnam is a star in the global supply chain in terms of garments and textiles, footwear and electricity, according to a new report.

This was the conclusion of the Vietnam Association of Foreign-Invested Enterprises (VAFIE) at the second annual report of foreign investment in Vietnam in 2022 on March 10.

Prof. Nguyen Mai, chairman of VAFIE and author of the annual report, said Vietnam was a star in the global supply chain. Projects relating to garments and textiles, footwear and consumption of electricity accounted for a large market share. Vietnam has become a manufacturing hub for electronic products over the last two decades.

The exports and imports of Vietnam set a new record in 2022, unlocking tremendous potential in international trade, the report said.

The report provides an objective and scientific assessment of foreign investment in Vietnam and the country’s overseas investment, in comparison with annual, medium-term, and long-term targets. This gives an all-around view of the foreign direct investment's (FDI) role and impact on Vietnam’s economy and society.

This year’s version consists of three chapters: the global and ASEAN situation, foreign investment in Vietnam, and directions and solutions.

“The highlight of the report is that along with conference of documents of many prestigious international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, VAFIE surveyed 12 localities attracting and using FDI capital with high socioeconomic efficiency to evaluate, research, draw lessons, and find opportunities and challenges in improving the quality and effectiveness of FDI inflows,” Mai said.

“Besides this, the report is based on survey results conducted by KMPG on over 100 foreign-invested enterprises to have trust and objective opinion,” he said.

The report also proposes solutions to effectively implement FDI attraction policies. Accordingly, the report said that Vietnam needed to improve its policies to attract and use FDI with a focus on green growth, digital transformation and supply chain connectivity of domestic and foreign-invested enterprises.

Construction machinery market lures foreign suppliers

With a scale touching tens of billion US dollars, Vietnam’s construction machinery market proves a magnet to foreign manufacturers and distributors.

Tong Van Nga, chairman of Vietnam Association for Building Materials, noted that despite enduring heavy effects from the pandemic, the country’s construction sector still expanded 8-8.5 per cent in 2022.

Also, the urbanisation pace inched up 1.2 per cent reaching 41.7 per cent last year, instrumental to a more vibrant machinery and equipment market to feed investment and construction needs.

Amid exacerbating competition between local and foreign players, local contractors have embraced radical changes, capitalising on machinery and technology investment to improve their execution and management expertise.

Machinery and technology development helps construction businesses to boost efficiency and precision in execution, from savings on materials and fuel, to personnel costs.

A representative from Tin Quang Equipment JSC (TQEQ), an authorised agent providing branded machinery for partners from the US, Japan and South Korea in the Vietnamese market, said that the country had enticed many foreign distributors of machinery and equipment in the construction sector.

Despite slightly diminishing revenue figures in the last two years due to pandemic effects, the market signals are improving, the source added.

Better market signals are also evident in the number of foreign businesses registered to join Contech Vietnam 2023, an international exhibition tailored to Construction, Mining and Transport - Machinery, Equipment, Technology, Vehicles and Materials slated for April.

Le Thi Lan Anh, director of Hanoi Advertising and International Fair JSC, the fair organiser, said she was surprised with the high number of firms from Asia and Europe having registered to participate in the fair, and the occasion would help local peers to reach equipment innovation targets for improved efficiency and work quality.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Linh, director of Green Laser Co., Ltd., a firm under China’s Senfeng Group active in providing construction machinery and equipment such as laser cutters and welders, will soon join Contech Vietnam 2023 and said that from late 2022 Senfeng has worked on a plan to come back Vietnam to enhance business networking after a lull due to the pandemic.

The country’s spending on machinery and equipment imports is expected to surge 3-6 per cent in 2023. Last year, Vietnam’s total import value amounted to $358.9 billion, up 7.8 per cent on-year.

Credit growth slowing down, raising fear of business contraction
     
Credit growth in the first months of this year slowed significantly due to high interest rates and firms’ poor health, raising concerns about rising bad debts.

Credit growth by the end of February 2023 increased by nearly 0.8 per cent, equal to only one-third of the rate in the same period last year.

However, the low credit growth is not because of banks’ shortage of capital and credit growth quota like at the end of last year.

The banking system's liquidity is currently in excess with more than VND50 trillion (US$2.1 billion), higher than the SBV’s mandatory requirements. The credit growth quota of banks is also very abundant in the wake of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s credit growth quota granting early this month.

Governor Nguyen Thi Hong attributed the slow credit growth to some reasons.

First, she said, the first two months of the year coincided with the Lunar New Year, so capital demand was low during the long holiday.

Secondly, many firms are still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, thus they are unable to meet the banks’ lending conditions.

Orders at many firms declined, making the demand for loans to fall from last year.

Finally, the difficulty of the real estate market has also caused the loan demand to decline, the Governor said.

In a report sent to the Government, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said the low credit growth showed difficulties in absorbing the capital of firms and the economy.

According to many firms, their orders decreased, so they almost had no demand for loans. Even instead of borrowing more capital, many firms have tried to pay off existing loans to reduce financial pressure.

Most export firms are facing a decrease in orders. High inflation and declining purchasing power in major markets such as the US and the EU directly hurt firms.

A representative of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association said the decrease in global purchasing power would likely cause the number of orders of the whole textile and garment industry to decrease by 25-30 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

The situation is not brighter for firms in the wood and furniture industry. Do Thi Kim Loan, general director of Sao Nam Trading and Production Company Limited, said orders from her company decreased by 30-35 per cent compared to last year.

Banking expert Can Van Luc told the Viet Nam News that besides decreasing consumer demand, firms are also facing difficulties in accessing capital and high interest rates.

As firms’ health is exhausted, Luc is very concerned about the risk of rising bad debt.

“Currently, the bad debt ratio of the whole banking system is still under control with an on-balance sheet bad debt ratio of 2 per cent," Luc noted. "However, bad debts can worsen under the context of adverse impacts of the unfavourable conditions post-pandemic while the economy is at risk of a slight recession and the foreign exchange rate is under rising pressure.”

Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said high interest rates are the biggest concern of firms. Therefore, he suggested the SBV offer a more preferential interest rate policy for seafood exporters, who are under great pressure due to high input costs.

Pham The Anh, head of the National Economics University’s Economics Faculty, said many factors would support interest rate reduction in 2023.

Viet Nam should accept the devaluation of the Vietnamese dong in the short term to reduce interest rates as high interest rates are more harmful to the economy than the devaluation of the dong, Anh suggested.

The good news for firms is that commercial banks have agreed to further reduce the interest rates by 0.2-0.5 percentage points for 6-12 month deposits since early this week to pave the way for a reduction in lending interest rates.

Currently, the highest deposit interest rate is 9 per cent per year against more than 10 per cent last year.

SP Group acquires solar farms in Vietnam

SP Group, a sustainable energy solutions provider in Asia Pacific, has acquired 100 megawatts-peak (MWp) of solar power assets in Vietnam, showing a long-term commitment to the country.

The two solar farms acquired by SP Group, the Europlast Phu Yen Solar Power Plant (50MWp) and the Thanh Long Phu Yen Solar Power Plant (50MWp) in Phu Yen Province, are both located in the south-central coast of Vietnam. The Europlast Plant has been in operation since 2019 and generates 60 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean electricity annually, while the Thanh Long Plant was established in late 2020 and has been generating 70GWh of clean electricity annually.

The two solar farms will provide a total of 130 GWh of clean electricity to the Vietnam Electricity power grid annually and can power more than 36,000 households in the country. Both solar farms combined will help Vietnam to reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 105,000 tonnes annually.

Logistics industry should accelerate digital transformation

Digital technology applications among logistics enterprises and domestic businesses in general are rather limited, urging acceleration to lessen the gap with the world.

Statistics reveal that investments in AI-solution companies in Vietnam as well as many ASEAN countries are still inadequate while nations like Singapore, China, and the US have poured much more money on AI implementation. This has forced Vietnam to allocate more capital to digital platforms in both product manufacturing and distribution for further economic growth.

The first step is for enterprises to realize the benefits of digital transformation such as increasing efficiency, building trust among trading partners, developing optimal supply routes, better administering transportation means, and making wiser decisions via cognitive computing using AI.

Specifically, the national GDP of Vietnam could increase by over US$100 billion in 2030 when the logistics industry completes its digital transformation to optimize its communications with clients, supply chain management, and cost control.

Along with the efforts of the business community should be the development of macro policies.

Firstly, the country's common logistics standard policy should be formulated in line with the standard trend and digital transformation rules of industrialized nations in order to ensure a perfect connection as to logistics software and hardware as well as traffic systems to create synergy.

Secondly, the human resources of the industry should be trained as to digital technology skills via a shared commitment of the business community.

Lastly, all socio-economic resources (capital cluster) should be closely connected since the logistics industry is the basement of all economic activities like tourism, trading, and investment, not merely supply chain ones. Due to its critical role, the industry needs the most resources.

When successfully applying digital technology, logistics will become the most important among national resources. It can be transformed from a link for the other four (natural resources, human resources, financial resources, and social resource).

As to social resource, traffic facilities like sea ports, port supporting services, air and ground routes, the railways, and the domestic water routes should be developed to link industrial parks, commercial zones, and urban areas nationwide. In addition, the development of e-customs, logistics associations, educational institutes to do intensive research in the field should be carried out in a specific area.

Regarding financial resource, it is necessary to concentrate capital on businesses with sensible strategy for digital technology application. This can be done via public investment policies, monetary policies, and public-private partnership in logistics.

The chosen human resources should be fluent in both professional knowledge and skills.

The natural resource in the logistics industry, when being modernized via digital transformation, can create breakthroughs for socio-economic growths as well as environment protection.

All done, the national logistics industry is truly the foundation to position the national economic scale in the global stage.

International collaboration to develop logistics centers, especially in key economic zones such as the Mekong Delta, Red River Delta, and the Central region, must also be focused on. It is necessary to consider economic integration in ASEAN, with a clear focus on forming a nation strategy for supply chains to ensure the important role of Vietnam in the region.

Exclusively, the project to construct Kra Canal in Thailand will obviously change the landscape of the maritime industry of not only ASEAN but also the world. This canal will bring great economic benefits to Vietnam.

Finally, cyber security must be taken care of to eliminate potential risks in the digital transformation process. This can be done via more cooperation and skill boosting.

Investor wants contractor replaced in long-delayed road project

The investor of the long-delayed Dong Van Cong Street expansion project has proposed the HCMC government authorize it to replace the contractor with a sub-contractor to get the remaining workload done.

The project to expand a section of the street from Giong Ong To 2 bridge to the My Thuy intersection in Thu Duc City is already more than two years behind schedule.

The investor of the project — the Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority of HCMC — has written to the municipal government seeking permission to appoint a sub-contractor to execute the half-finished work, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

In late 2019, the Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority signed a contract with Lac An Joint Stock Company to expand Dong Van Cong Street, but the contractor has failed to meet the project’s schedule, said the investor.

The investor, therefore, proposed terminating the contract with Lac An Joint Stock Company and putting up for tenders the remaining components or assigning a sub-contractor to execute the outstanding works of the contract.

Of the above two options, the first one taking six months or longer to implement would not ensure the execution progress and completion date of the project, according to the investor, adding that it would prefer choosing a sub-contractor to take charge of the remaining works.

If the second proposal is approved, the investor would find a qualified sub-contractor to carry out the remaining works this month.

According to the HCMC Department of Transport, the project has favorable conditions for execution as its site clearance has been completed. However, the project is 27 months behind schedule.

Ministry focuses on intellectual development in Mekong Delta region

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that the Ministry focused on intellectual development in the Mekong Delta region by increasing the proportion of university students, and expanding the educational institutions.

The Minister made the statement at a conference on Education and Training Development in the Mekong Delta region to 2030 with a vision to 2045 and implementing the Politburo’s Resolution No. 113/2022 on socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security organized by the Ministry of Education and Training today in Can Tho City.

According to a report of the Ministry of Education and Training, over the past 10 years from 2010 to 2020, the education sector in the Mekong Delta has developed by building more schools and classes in addition to the deletion of old schools. Local authorities in the region paid attention to appealing to parents to send their children to schools.

Local administrations’ efforts have been rewarded as the number of nationally- standardized schools and higher education institutions increased over the years and education universalization and illiteracy eradication have achieved many outstanding results.

Furthermore, investment in education is increasing from VND14,062 billion in 2010 to VND35,409 billion in 2021 and the quality of education and training is constantly improving.

However, the current situation of education and training in the Mekong Delta still has many shortcomings and certain limitations due to objective reasons such as geographical location, investment in facilities and human resources for teaching and learning is not as much as in other regions.

Specifically, the region has about 92,912 classrooms of preschool and high schools, but only 75,746 rooms are in good repair accounting for 81.5 percent. In extremely difficult areas, 1,279 classrooms of preschools and primary schools are temporary shelters.

The ratio of minimum teaching equipment to meet teaching needs is still low, on average, the Mekong Delta only meets 46.4 percent.

In addition, the age-old literacy rate in the Mekong Delta is still lower than the national average. The number and percentage of preschool children and high school students who attend two shifts per day by grade level is still low compared to the national rate. Total state budget investment expenditure for education and training in the region has increased to 13.5 percent but most of the expenditure is on human resources including wages, salary allowances and salary-based contributions whereas the region spends little on raising teachers’ professional skills.

The Mekong Delta is the region with the lowest percentage of trained workers at 14.9 percent and the lowest proportion of the workforce with a university degree or higher at 6.8 percent in the country according to the annual economic report in 2022. Although the scale of training has increased in the past 10 years, it has only partially met local inhabitants’ need to access higher education.

The Minister of Education and Training suggested that the Mekong Delta localities have a total solution, including urgently solidifying schools and classrooms, investing in classroom equipment to serve the new program and allocating budget resources for education and training in a reasonable and effective way, especially in the school year 2023-2024.

MWG suspends cooperation with F88

Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) has halted its cooperation with personal financial service provider F88 after the police searched the latter’s headquarters.

F88 offers loans to consumers who use their motorcycles, automobiles, laptops, or smartphones as collateral, with an interest rate of 7.5% per month, or 90% per year, for a 12-month loan.

The business, which has hundreds of employees working as debt collectors, is alleged to have threatened debtors and have shown signs of extortion.

Explaining the suspension, MWG said it acted as an intermediary between borrowers and F88, while loan procedures, repayment terms and debt collection activities are all done by F88.

Since late 2021, MWG has partnered with F88 in facilitating loan agreements between borrowers and F88. To put it another way, borrowers can apply for loans from F88 at MWG’s stores.

Vingroup establishes EV rental business

Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, yesterday, March 6, announced the establishment of Green-Smart-Mobility JSC (GSM), which will use VinFast electric vehicles and scooters for rental and taxi services.

GMS is reportedly the world’s first multi-platform green transport rental and taxi service aiming to popularize electrified mobility while promoting a green lifestyle in the community.

The EV rental business has total charter capital of VND3 trillion, with chairman Pham Nhat Vuong holding a 95% stake, the local media reported.

GSM will operate in the two main sectors of EV rentals and e-taxi services.

The newly-founded firm will offer EV rental services to traditional taxi firms and tech-based ride-hailing service providers and their employees. Besides, GSM will operate its own taxi business using its electric cars.

In addition, Vietnam’s first pure electric taxi company, founded by GSM, will be put into operation next month in the capital city of Hanoi and expand its scale nationwide this year.

GSM will use all VinFast electric vehicles to offer the services, with around 10,000 cars and 100,000 scooters.

According to Nguyen Van Thanh, CEO of GSM JSC, the establishment of GSM is expected to further develop the green and smart mobility ecosystem in Vietnam, providing people with more options to use electric vehicles at reasonable prices.

GSM wants to promote the habit of using electric vehicles among locals by raising awareness about the convenience, intelligence and sustainability of EVs.

Positive outlook for Vietnam's coconut exports: experts

Maintaining raw material areas for the industry, improving the value of products, and ensuring incomes for farmers are major goals of Vietnam’s coconut sector this year, according to Vietnam Coconut Association.

In 2022, Vietnam’s exports of coconut and coconut products reached over 900 million USD. This does not include those made from coconut wood and commercial handicraft products using raw materials from the trees.

Vietnam's coconut industry currently has nearly 90 products offered in the market. Besides, there are nearly 200 food products using coconut ingredients.

Cao Ba Dang Khoa, the association’s acting general secretary, said that in 2023, the coconut industry will maintain its processing and export capacity and bring the turnover up to about 940-950 million USD.

With the current growth momentum, within the next two years, the country’s coconut exports will surely top 1 billion USD.

Despite being optimistic about the export of Vietnamese coconut products, Khoa is still concerned about the prices of raw material which fell sharply from the second half of 2022.

He said the current coconut price is more than 10% lower than the lowest in 2018 due to the reduced number of orders – a visible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry.

The lingering pandemic also affected the developing of organic coconut areas and applying technology to control the transparency of raw coconut sources, Khoa said, adding that the factors are important in promoting the export of high-value coconut products which are used in industries of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, or food production.

According to the association’s official, besides promoting exports, the coconut industry will also focus on developing the domestic market.

He explained that when coconut products are sold in stores in the domestic market, it can help to prove the origin of Vietnamese coconut products and prove they are environmentally friendly.

Nguyen Thi Truc Lien, Material Division Director of Ben Tre Import-Export Joint Stock Company (Betrimex), said that Vietnam has huge potential for exporting coconut products as parts of coconut trees can be used for production.

Moreover, many local coconut businesses are further investing in modern processing technology.

Bui Hoang Yen from the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Department of Trade Promotion said that the international coconut community has forecasted demand for products by 2025 to grow by 10% per year, in which demand for coconut milk will increase by 15% and coconut jelly 5.6%. With the growing demand in the world market, the opportunity for Vietnam's coconut industry is not small, she said.

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