With sound partnerships with Muslim-majority countries, the Halal industry will become an important field of cooperation, helping further promote Vietnam’s substantive ties with such partners and contribute to common development and prosperity, said former Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu.

Hieu, who is now Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan, made the remark during a recent interview granted to the press about the implementation of the plan on enhancing international cooperation to develop the Halal industry of Vietnam by 2030.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated with other ministries and sectors as well as consulted domestic and international experts, Vietnam’s overseas representative agencies, localities and businesses to make the plan, which was approved by the Prime Minister on February 14.

Hieu said this is the first plan to outline national-level orientations for mobilising international resources for building and developing the Halal industry in a methodological, professional, and comprehensive manner.

It also set up a new direction for implementing economic diplomacy, tapping into the highly potential global Halal market, and creating a new impetus for sustainable economic development, especially when traditional markets of Vietnam are grappling with difficulties due to inflation and economic recession.

In that context, diversifying export markets by exploring new ones is considered the “golden key” to bolstering export and contributing more to national economic development.

Besides, the plan implementation will help further intensify Vietnam’s relations with large Halal product consuming countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, thereby contributing to raising the role and stature of Vietnam and its enterprises in the global Halal market, the official noted.

He went on to say that to Vietnam, opportunities in the global Halal market are considerable as this market had some 1.94 billion people in 2022, or nearly one-fourth of the world population and still growing.

Its value stood at 7 trillion USD last year and is expected to reach about 10 trillion USD by 2028. Halal products are consumed worldwide, from Muslim to non-Muslim countries.

Spending on those products has also been on the rise because they meet many criteria for food safety, quality, and environmental protection. In addition, most of the biggest Halal product manufacturing countries are non-Muslim.

A number of Halal product consuming or exporting countries such as the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Malaysia have also shown interest in and wish to boost cooperation with Vietnam in developing the Hala industry here.

Vietnam also holds numerous ideal conditions for developing this industry, including a favourable geographical location, strengths in agriculture, food, tourism, and services, along with intensive and extensive economic integration into the world through its participation in many leading regional economic connections, including new-generation free trade agreements. The Government has also paid great attention to assisting enterprises to explore and effectively engage in the global Halal market, according to Hieu.

The official added by joining the global Halal market, Vietnamese enterprises will have a chance to develop tourism, bolster the overseas shipment of the products they are strong in, and attract foreign investment to the country. They can also improve their capacity, competitiveness, and human resources quality while further equipping themselves with production and transportation technologies meeting Halal standards.

Ho Chi Minh City boosts tourism promotion in Australia

A Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Programme was held on Jackson Sydney Harbour Luxury Cruise in Sydney, Australia on May 12.

This is the first among a series of activities jointly held in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from May 11-17 by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia, and the Consulate General of Vietnam in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.

Leading the delegation, Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the HCM City Department of Tourism, was accompanied by more than 20 representatives of leading airlines, travel agencies and hotels in the city, as well as several firms from Hanoi and Hoi An.

The event was also attended by nearly 150 guests who are from travel businesses in New South Wales.

It aimed to enhance engagement and create business opportunities between Australian and Vietnamese travel businesses to meet and discuss tourism partnerships.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, Australia is among the top ten markets with the highest number of tourists in Vietnam and HCM City in recent years.

HCM City welcomed more than 130,000 Australians last year, accounting for 3.5% of the total number of visitors to the southern metropolis.

Ha Nam promotes investment in Netherlands

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ha Nam province Truong Quoc Huy has called on Dutch enterprises to invest in hi-tech agriculture, supporting industry, logistics and tourism at a recent investment promotion conference in Amersfoort.

The event was jointly held by the Dutch Business Association Vietnam (DBAV), the provincial People’s Committee, and the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands.

Huy introduced participants to potential and opportunities to invest in the northern province, which has a favourable geographical position and convenient infrastructure system, rich natural resources, and abundant and high-quality labour resources.

Over the past years, Ha Nam has always seen an economic growth rate of over 10%, and maintained in Vietnam’s top 15 in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction.

Briefing Ha Nam representatives on information about the Netherlands, Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Viet Anh expressed his belief that the event will open up new opportunities for Ha Nam and Dutch partners to form partnerships, contributing to promoting the Vietnam-Netherlands Comprehensive Partnership in general and the bilateral economic cooperation in particular.

At the conference, participating businesses paid attention to policies, procedures and the investment environment of Ha Nam.

Vinh Phuc seeks car registration fee cut

The northern province of Vinh Phuc has proposed cutting the registration fee by half for locally-made cars as auto inventory has built up due to weak demand.

In a report sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Industry and Trade Department of Vinh Phuc said Toyota Motor Vietnam Company, the largest foreign-invested automaker based in the province, has cut its output by 37% against the first quarter last year, or over 2,800 units.

Its January-March sales fell by 24%, or 1,760 units. Its stockpile rose 347% at 1,931 units.

The department attributed the situation to the poor demand and the high registration fee that makes cars expensive.

Rising fuel and input prices, supply chain disruptions and recession fears have left negative impact on car manufacturers and assemblers in Vietnam.

The province also asked the Government to allow payment deadline extensions for special consumption tax on locally made and assembled autos.

Louis Holdings’ former chairman sentenced to over five years in prison

The Hanoi People’s Court yesterday afternoon, May 12, sentenced Do Thanh Nhan, former chairman of Louis Holdings Group, to five years and six months in prison for stock market manipulation.

Pham Thanh Tung, former chairman of Tri Viet Securities Joint Stock Corporation, was sentenced to three years on probation for the same charge.

The three other defendants from the Louis Holding Group also received sentences from the court after a five-day trial.

Trinh Thi Thuy Linh, managing director, got a jail term of 12 months and 22 days, while Vu Ngoc Long, former deputy general director, and Ngo Thuc Vu, general director of Louis Capital JSC, got a prison term of six months.

Do Duc Nam, general director of Tri Viet Securities Company, will stay behind bars for four years. His two subordinates, Le Thi Thu Huong, deputy general director, and Le Thi Thuy Lien, financial services employee, were sentenced to jail terms of 15 years, and 12 years and 22 days, respectively.

The court also banned the defendants from working in the securities and finance industries for one year after serving their prison terms.

The court ordered the retrieval of VND154 billion as compensation for the loss in the case. Tri Viet Securities Company already submitted VND14 billion, while Nhan and Louis Holdings were required to submit VND140 billion to the State.

The indictment stated that Do Duc Nam colluded with Do Thanh Nhan and others for nine months, from January 4 to October 6, 2021, to manipulate the share prices of Louis Capital (TGG), Louis Land (BII), and other companies by using 17 trading accounts to buy and sell them.

Nhan created a group on social media called Louis Family with over 10,000 members and regularly posted articles urging people to buy shares of BII and TGG.

After nine months, the price of BII shares, which initially ranged from VND1,000 to VND5,000, had been inflated, topping VND33,800 per share. Meanwhile, TGG’s shares peaked at VND74,800 per share, up around 42 times over the initial prices.

Nhan and his accomplices sold their shares to make profits.

This illegal trading practice earned them over VND154 billion.

Heavy debt eats into wind energy companies’ profits

High financial leverage and negative cash flow are weighing on wind power firms, making their debt five- or six-fold higher than equity.

Trung Nam Dak Lak 1 Wind Power JSC, which owns the largest wind power plants in the country with a designed capacity of 400 MW, incurred a loss of VND860 billion in the first quarter this year, compared to the net profit of over VND1 billion in the year-ago period.

Ia Pet Dak Doa Wind Power Plant No. 1 JSC and Ia Pet Dak Doa Wind Power Plant No. 2 JSC in Dak Lak Province also saw losses topping hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong. And these are just some cases in point.

Most loss-making wind farms obtained funds from the corporate bond market, with annual coupons ranging from 9-10.75% in the first few years and then turning to floating rates, according to the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

Trung Nam Dak Lak 1, for instance, now sees its debt four times higher than its equity, at over VND12.1 trillion. Outstanding corporate bonds contributed nearly VND9.9 trillion to the total.

As interest rates jumped sharply last year, financial expenses ate into the company’s profit. Last year, it had to pay around VND1,140 billion in bond coupons and principal, equivalent to 40% of its equity.

In addition, projects ineligible to enjoy the Feed-in Tariff mechanism faced greater challenges as the new price framework issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) was 20%-30% lower than the previous one.

Recently, 23 solar and wind power project developers have proposed the Government remove regulatory bottlenecks to facilitate pricing talks with the Vietnam Electricity Group over the energy price framework of the MOIT.

Though construction has been completed, the projects could not be put into commercial operation due to low electricity purchasing prices, which may put them on the verge of bankruptcy if the situation persists, they said.

According to securities firm ACBS, renewable energy companies now have a yearly negative cash flow of VND1 trillion, excluding maintenance costs, taxes and inflationary factors.

Total investment in Ba Na Hills ecotourism complex raised to nearly $1.7 billion

Last week, Danang Department of Planning and Investment granted a revised investment certificate to the Ba Na-Suoi Mo ecotourism complex project from the developer Sun Group, with the investment value now approximating $1.7 billion.

The project was first conferred a registration certificate in May 2008. The move aims to meet the development requirements and visitors' tastes whilst ensuring harmony between the natural landscape and the architecture.

Accordingly, the project has been adjusted to meet the standards of construction density and land use coefficient according to the approved planning, minimising the impact on the natural surroundings and promoting the diverse biology in the Ba Na-Nui Chua ecological area.

In light of the revised certificate, the Ba Na-Suoi Mo ecotourism complex will feature various work items including a French village, a fantasy park, the Ba Na by Night resort, cable car routes, a railway station, a slide sports area, a beer garden, a multipurpose entertainment and performance area, and a castle zone, among others.

From 2009 to 2018, the number of visitors to Danang swelled by 463 per cent and those visiting Ba Na Hills also spiked by more than 160 times.
At the foot of Ba Na Mountain, the complex encompasses a cable car route, a departure station, a city gate area, the Hoi An waiting house, a Trinh Temple model, and accompanying public facilities.

The Ba Na-Suoi Mo ecotourism area came into operation in 2009 with the opening of the Ba Na-Suoi Mo single-wire cable car system, following which, a series of items serving the tourism industry of Danang have been pressed into operation.

As a result, from 2009 to 2018, the number of visitors to Danang swelled by 463 per cent and those visiting Ba Na Hills also spiked by more than 160 times.

Ba Na Hills is located 25km southwest of Danang, on the most beautiful mountain in the city at an altitude of 1,487m above sea level. Ba Na is considered the green lung of the central region and the pearl of the climate of Vietnam.

This location attracts visitors not only with the shimmering, fanciful beauty of the mountains and the rich vegetation, but especially the fresh climate and the convergence of four seasons into one day. It sits amidst immense natural scenery, gathering an entire green area of the city on the banks of the Han River.

Vietnam taking stock of industrial park capacities

Many localities want to expand high-tech industrial parks to resolve the overload of existing parks and simultaneously welcome new high-quality capital.

A May 2 dispatch from the government has requested localities to review and evaluate the occupancy rate of industrial parks (IPs), clusters, economic zones, and high-tech zones, as well as the rate of land use for production and business purposes.

The dispatch was also sent to various relevant ministries as well as people’s committees nationwide.

It was issued in the context that a number of localities have requested adjustment of land use planning targets to 2030 and proposed adjustment of land use plan targets to 2025, focusing on using land for IPs, traffic, energy projects, and high-tech zones, among others.

Bac Giang People’s Council decided to approve draft planning for three IPs – Chau Minh/Bac Ly/Huong Lam IP (CBH), Yen Lu IP expansion, and Quang Chau 2 IP. The three IPs cover nearly 550 hectares in Hiep Hoa, Yen Dung, and Viet Yen districts, which are planned as multi-sector parks with modern infrastructure and technical systems.

The CBH park will attract businesses in forestry, food processing, mechanics, electronic components, packaging, and auxiliary industries with modern and environmentally friendly technology. The expanded Yen Lu and Quang Chau 2 will be developed into multi-sector, high-tech parks.

Meanwhile, in late April, Ho Chi Minh City sought approval of two additional IPs in the city’s IP planning, Pham Van Hai I and Pham Van II, which are also expected to welcome high-tech ventures.

The city has waited for the approval of the two IPs for a long time. Hua Quoc Hung, head of Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Management Authority, said, “The city has had no new IP in a long time, meanwhile the occupancy ratio of existing IPs is considerable.”

In the 2010-2015 period, Ho Chi Minh City was the leader in terms of land for IPs, Hung said. “However, available land has narrowed since. At present, the total area for rent in existing IPs is approximately 300ha only,” he added.

Le Thi Bich Loan, deputy head of the Saigon High-tech Park, said, “Many large investors from the EU, the United States, South Korea, and suppliers of Intel want to invest in our park but we can’t meet their demand. For example, Samsung had plans to hire 100ha but we have had to refuse due to lack of land.”

Bac Giang faces a similar situation. The northern province currently has four IPs at full occupancy. Two others are now completing infrastructure construction. It has also established clusters to beckon more investment.

For example, LG Display and LG Innotek have plans to expand their operations in Vietnam. LG is increasing its research and development activity in terms of electronic vehicles via establishing a new centre in Danang, Sun added.

Tax sector boosts digital transformation to curb tax losses

Vietnam’s tax sector will speed up digital transformation, the application of e-invoices, and the strengthening of taxes relating to e-commerce activities to prevent any tax risks, according to Deputy Director of the General Department of Taxation Dang Ngoc Minh.

Speaking at a recent conference in northern Quang Ninh province on information technology (IT) in the tax sector, he said IT has been widely applied in tax activities, from expanding the implementation of e-invoices from cash registers to conducting e-tax payment services via eTax Mobile, an e-electronic tax application for mobile devices.

The department also launched a web portal for foreign providers of e-commerce services.

In order to successfully and effectively boost IT application in the future, the tax sector will focus on accelerating the implementation of e-invoices nationwide, particularly those from cash registers; maintain e-tax payment services; and implement IT solutions to ensure tax management over e-commerce activities and other services from both domestic and foreign providers.

Practical incentives needed to help firms adopt green practices: official

Investment in sectors related to green growth has been on the rise, but it is necessary to devise practical incentives to help businesses effectively adopt green production and business practices, an official has said.

Enterprises in Vietnam, both foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic ones, have invested about 9 billion USD, or 2% of GDP, in the fields related to green development such as renewable energy, clean energy, and equipment serving a green economy.

Investment in green growth has increased by some 10 - 13% over the last two years, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), told a recent discussion.

Contributions by the business community, including FDI firms, to green growth are substantial, which is an encouraging sign, he opined, noting that enterprises have helped change production, business, and consumption practices towards green growth.

In the past, they faced a number of difficulties and challenges to realising the green growth target, but now they have turned those obstacles into competitive edges, he went on.

Nguyen Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), cited data as showing that before 2021, only 5% of FDI companies used high technology, 80% medium technology, and 15% low technology. During that period, the country attracted FDI at all costs to create jobs and boost exports while lacking due attention to environmental protection.

However, Vietnam is no longer pliant in investment attraction, he noted, adding that the prioritisation of FDI in green development has proved effective as seen in the projects using high technology of such enterprises as Lego and Nestlé.

Toan held that the situation has improved much in the last three - four years, especially since the Politburo issued Resolution 50-NQ/TW on orientations for perfecting regulations and policies to improve the quality and effectiveness of foreign investment cooperation by 2030. The country has attracted FDI in a selective manner.

Besides, the global minimum corporate income tax of 15%, initiated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and to be imposed on multinationals with annual revenues of 750 million EUR (over 820 million USD) or more, will also give a boost to the revision of the foreign investment attraction strategy, he said.

Tuan said though Vietnam is considered an example of success in FDI attraction thanks to better regulations and investment climate, political stability, and good growth potential, green growth is still a challenging target.

Facing that fact, the MPI has submitted proposals to the Government and coordinated with other ministries, sectors, and localities to fine-tune the legal framework for green development.

Vietnam has issued a green growth strategy and an action plan whose content has been integrated into socio-economic development plans of localities to be carried out, but that is not enough, the official pointed out.

The Government should continue ordering ministries and sectors to review and ensure that the legal framework is truly favourable for green practices. It is necessary to devise practical incentives to improve enterprise awareness and help them effectively adopt green production and business practices, according to Tuan.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), described the role of enterprises in implementing the national strategies for green growth, climate change response, and sustainable development as highly important.

It’s time for enterprises to consider how they can create added value during the implementation of the green growth strategy so as to meet the demand for green, sustainable, and inclusive development, he added.

Canada to promote its foods online to reach Vietnamese consumers

The Government of Canada (GoC) is determined to promote Canadian food products on digital platforms, with the goal of introducing a wide range of high-quality products and enhancing awareness of Canadian food among Vietnamese consumers.

The announcement was made at the event launching the "Canada, Bet it’s Extremely Good!" promotion campaign in HCM City late last week where the Government of Canada affirmed that the promotion of e-commerce will start from this year.

The campaign is part of GoC’s mission to make high-quality and safe food products produced in Canada easily accessible to Vietnamese consumers at reasonable prices.

"Viet Nam has always been an important market for us in the Asia Pacific. Through this campaign, we aim to provide sustainable, nutritious, and top-quality food that meets the world's most stringent standards to cater to the needs of Vietnamese consumers,” said Jeffrey Lang from the Government of Canada.

The "Canada, Bet It's Extremely Good!" campaign is a collaboration between GoC with Shopee. Beginning on Saturday, consumers can find over 15 high-quality Canadian food products in the official Food category on Shopee.

"The pandemic has transformed the business landscape, including the way commerce is carried out. Hence, it's evident that the Canadian food industry must adapt to keep up with the rapid pace of digital consumption and continue to meet the needs of consumers," said Lang.

GoC and Shopee will organise several campaigns on special occasions to promote Canada's renowned food brands, featuring appealing offers that underscore the quality, versatility, and affordability of their products. Through these campaigns, Vietnamese consumers can effortlessly search for products, shop conveniently, and relish exclusive offers from the official distributors of Canadian food in Viet Nam.

Canada's agricultural exports to Viet Nam have been diverse in recent years, ranging from staple cereals, oilseeds, seafood, beef, pork, and fruits to processed food products.

In particular, the export value of beef products from Canada to Viet Nam saw robust growth of 55 per cent in 2022, with Viet Nam being one of the two largest import markets for Canadian beef in Southeast Asia.

The robust partnership between Canada and Viet Nam has been thriving since 2015, with Viet Nam being Canada's top trading partner in ASEAN and Canada ranking among Viet Nam's top 10 import partners.

The implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) since 2019 has further boosted bilateral trade, particularly in the agricultural sector. As a result of the CPTPP tax reduction roadmap, up to 94 per cent of Canadian agricultural products exported to Viet Nam will benefit from 0 per cent tax incentives. 

Over $500mln to be invested in transport projects in Long An

The Ministry of Transport will focus resources on investing in the construction of three priority transport projects in the Mekong Delta’s Long An province with total estimated investment of over VND12.5 trillion ($527 million).

One of the project is to upgrade National Highway No. 62 and Road N2, at an estimated cost of more than VND2 trillion ($84 million). It is listed as one of the projects to use financial support from partner donations to reach sustainable development goals in the Mekong Delta region in climate change adaptation.

Another will build a section of Ring Road No. 3 in Ho Chi Minh City passing through Long An province. Investment in the 7-km section is over VND8.3 trillion ($350 million).

The first phase of the Ring Road No. 3 project began in 2022 and is expected to be completed by 2025 and open to traffic in 2026.

The third project will build a section of the Ho Chi Minh Highway passing through Long An province. It is 21 km in length and will cost an estimated VND2.2 trillion ($92 million).

4M exports of machinery and equipment reach $13bln

Vietnam earned $13 billion from exporting machinery and equipment in the first four months of 2023, a year-on-year fall of 5.9 per cent, figures from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show.

The fall was a result of the global economic downturn.

Vietnam recorded total machinery and equipment export revenue of $44.75 billion last year, up 19.4 per cent against 2021 and accounting for 12.32 per cent of total export turnover.

Exports by foreign-invested enterprises totaled $42.55 billion, a year-on-year rise of 19.38 per cent.

Such exports to members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) hit $13 billion in 2022, up 23 per cent against 2021, to members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) $6.14 billion, up 21 per cent, and to markets under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) an estimated $5.63 billion, up 38.5 per cent.

PM asks for loss-making projects to be addressed

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) to resolutely handle loss-making projects and enterprises in May and to report to him on the results.

Such projects include expansions to the Thai Nguyen iron and steel plant in northern Thai Nguyen province, exploiting iron ore at the Quy Xa mine in northern Lao Cai province, developing an iron and steel plant in Lao Cai, and building Dung Quat Shipyard in central Quang Ngai province.

He also asked the CMSC to complete its production and trade and development investment strategy during 2021-2025 for State-owned corporations and groups before May 30.

It was also instructed to complete the restructuring plan for each State-owned corporation and group during the 2021-2025 period, for his consideration.

China Trust Vietnam Opportunity to invest $163mln in Vietnamese securities

The China Trust Vietnam Opportunity fund from Taiwan (China) will continue to raise investment capital in Taiwan (China)'s currency  (NT$) in Vietnam.

This will be the fund’s fifth capital increase, with a total of around NT$5 billion or $163 million (VND3,824 billion). Following the capital increase, the fund’s total capital mobilization will be about NT$16.5 billion, or $537.9 million (VND12,616 billion).

As of the end of the first quarter of this year, China Trust Vietnam Opportunity, owned by CTBC Investments, had grown to NT$22.78 billion ($742.7 million), making it CTBC’s second-largest international equity fund in China.

According to the fund, Vietnamese equities have risen by more than 4 per cent this year, leading ASEAN stock markets.

According to Mr. Zhang Chenwei, Director of China Trust Vietnam Opportunity, following the release of the first quarter business results, most investors continued to wait for the stock market to see reduced liquidity, resulting in ongoing selling pressure in heavy stocks.

Regarding the market outlook, Mr. Zhang Chenwei believes that Vietnamese stocks remain volatile and weak since investor confidence has not been restored, but the medium and long-term economic outlook remains unchanged.

According to China Trust Investment Trust, Vietnam possesses many advantages, including strong GDP growth, low inflation, and a stable currency. The emerging economy also has among the most free trade agreements (FTAs) in the world. Most notably, the EUVFTA agreement between Vietnam and the EU has come into effect and promises to boost the domestic economy.

2023 Banking Forum focuses on monetary policy

Vietnam’s banking sector needs to reduce interest rates, increase capital access, adopt policies to restructure debts, and speed up the reform of credit institutions as part of measures to maintain the pace of economic growth, analysts told the 2023 Banking Forum on May 10.

The forum focused on Vietnam’s monetary policy amid global economic uncertainties.

Monetary policy needs to diversify its goals, including stabilizing the monetary and finance situation in the context of uncertainties in the market.

Analysts recommended continuing policies to extend and reduce taxes and fees and to speed up value-added tax (VAT) refunds.

hey also suggested improving the investment and business environment and boosting administrative reform.

It is also necessary to speed up the disbursement of public investment capital and the socio-economic recovery program, according to participants.

Yen Bai withdraws investment decision on building urban area

The Yen Bai Provincial People’s Committee has decided to withdraw its decision to issue a license to the Chan - Thien - My company to build a new urban area in the capital of the northern province, Yen Bai city.

The company was to build the Golden House urban area on 88.3 ha and with a population of around 6,500. Total investment was estimated at VND5 trillion ($210 million).

However, Decision No. 133/QD-UBND issued by the provincial People’s Committee on January 20, 2017 was found to not meet legal processes and procedures relating to the land, housing, and real estate business.

The People’s Committee instructed the company to complete related legal procedures after the decision was revoked.

The provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment will coordinate with the Department of Construction and the Yen Bai City People’s Committee to select new investors for the project in line with regulations.

Vietnamese mobile users download 6,000 apps a minute

Vietnamese mobile users download around 6,000 mobile apps each minute on average, according to data analytics firm Data.ai.

This puts Vietnam in second place in Southeast Asia in terms of the number of downloaded mobile apps.

The study also showed that users are spending a lot of time on mobile apps. Android users spent more than 4,000 billion hours on apps globally in 2022 and about 83 billion hours in Vietnam.

Mobile banking apps in Vietnam posted impressive growth of 40 per cent year-on-year in 2022, with 18 million downloads. The download of e-wallets, meanwhile, rose 7 per cent year-on-year.

Vietnam has 94.2 million smartphone users and 82.2 million mobile broadband subscribers, accounting for 74.3 per cent of the national population as of December last year, figures from the Ministry of Information and Communications show.

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