With the above figure, Viet Nam accounted for nearly 20 percent of global supply (1.25 billion mobile phones).

Last year's total production cost of phone components valued VND 580.8 trillion (US$ 26 billion), up 29.5 percent against 2020, said the ministry.    

The xport turnover of phones and spare parts valued US$ 57.5 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 12.4 percent, making up 17.1 percent of the nation's total export revenue.  

The FDI sector completely owns “Made in Viet Nam” mobile production and export, Samsung occupying 60 percent of the national output. 

Viet Nam is one of the five biggest mobile phone manufacturers in the world.

Negative influences from US stock market cause VN-Index to fall nearly 32 points

After the recovery session on the previous day, Vietnam’s stock market was bearish in the trading session on May 6 because investors’ sentiment was heavily affected by negative fluctuations from the US stock market.

From the beginning of the trading session, many groups of stocks were flooded in red with the selling pressure overwhelming throughout the market, causing the VN-Index to sometimes drop by more than 32 points.

Not only speculative stocks in the FLC and Louis ecosystems, such as FLC, ROS, SMT, APG, TVB, and LDP, hit the floor prices, but securities, banking, and oil and gas stocks also quickly plunged at the end of the trading session. Many securities stocks, namely VCI, SSI, HCM, and VND, were dragged down to the floor prices.

While the whole market plummeted simultaneously, steel stocks and a few other stocks still managed to maintain in green, including HPG, HSG, REE, VHC, VSH, ANV, NLG, and GMD. However, these winning stocks failed to prevent the index from falling deeply.

At the end of the trading session, the VN-Index lost 31.42 points, or 2.31 percent, to close at 1,329.26 points, with 59 gainers, 394 losers, and 29 unchanged stocks.

Closing the trading session on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index slumped 15.29 points, or 4.26 percent, to finish at 343.46 points, with 38 winners, 195 losers, and 34 unchanged stocks. Although the market liquidity surged by 2 percent compared to the previous trading session, it was still at an extremely low level. The total matching value was more than VND16.72 trillion (US$729.68 million). Foreign investors net sold about VND60 billion ($2.61 million) on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.

CAAV proposes extending landing, takeoff fee cuts

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has proposed the Ministry of Transport extend the 50% reduction in the landing and takeoff fees for domestic flights until the end of 2022 to support local carriers affected by the pandemic.

CAAV proposed the ministry allow applying the minimum fee of zero dong to specialized aviation services from January 1 to December 31 this year, the local media reported.

The proposals were made as the Government is still adopting many measures to remove obstacles and financial woes facing companies, including airlines.

The aviation sector is gradually recovering, but global economic and geopolitical uncertainties have pushed up prices of jet fuels, leading to a spike in costs for local airlines, according to the aviation authority.

The fee reductions will help airlines overcome financial difficulties and develop further.

Total assets of many small banks dropped significantly by end Q1 2022
     
Despite gaining positive profits, total assets of many small banks by the end of the first quarter of this year decreased compared to last year due to a drop in deposits.

According to Petrolimex Group Commercial Joint Stock Bank (PGBank)’s Q1 financial statement, its total assets by the end of March 2022 fell by 7 per cent compared to the end of 2021 to only VND37.79 trillion.

Of the PGBank’s assets, cash increased by 36 per cent compared to the beginning of the year to VND252 billion while deposits at the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) decreased by 48 per cent to VND539 billion. The bank’s lending to customers also dropped by 8 per cent to VND25.36 trillion while deposits of corporate and individual customers at the bank slightly fell by 3 per cent to VND27.35 trillion.

A positive point at PGBank in Q1 2022 was its bad debts, which decreased by 8 per cent to VND635 billion.

Similarly, the total assets of Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Industry and Trade (Saigonbank) by the end of March 2022 were VND23.43 trillion, down 4.8 per cent over the beginning of the year. Specifically, cash was slightly up by 2.9 per cent to VND211 billion and lending to customers increased by 0.9 per cent. Meanwhile, the bank’s deposits at the SBV declined by more than 11 per cent and deposits at other credit institutions also sharply fell by more than 21 per cent to only VND4.42 trillion. Deposits of corporate and individual customers at the bank also inched down by 0.5 per cent.

The same trend was also seen at Viet A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VietABank), whose total assets as of March 31, 2022 decreased by VND10.03 trillion to VND91 trillion compared to the end of 2021. The cause of this decrease mainly came from the reduction of deposits at the SBV (down by about VND1.08 trillion); and of gold and cash deposited at other credit institutions and loans to other credit institutions (down by about VND7.98 trillion).

By the end of Q1 2022, VietABank’s customer deposits reached VND67.56 trillion, inching down 0.2 per cent; while the lending to customers was VND56.82 trillion, up 4.3 per cent.

The total assets of Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (BacABank) as of late Q1 2022 also fell slightly by 2 per cent compared to the beginning of the year, reaching VND117.07 trillion, with its deposits at the SBV and other credit institutions declining significantly by 41 and 32 per cent to VND600 billion and VND5.92 trillion, respectively.

Meanwhile, BacABank’s lending to other credit institutions, and corporate and individual customers grew by 36 and 3 per cent to VND2.59 trillion and VND86.98 trillion, respectively. The bank’s customer deposits also slightly increased by 2 per cent to VND95.03 trillion. 

New real estate firms up sharply in Q1

The number of newly-established real estate companies surged 47.2 percent in the first quarter of 2022 on the back of the reviving property market after COVID-19 outbreaks, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Firms resuming operation totalled 845 during the period, up 92 percent year-on-year.

Provided with post-COVID-19 growth momentum, these companies are accelerating progress of projects and expanding land banks to quickly revitalize in the early months of the year, a source from the Ministry of Construction said.

The property market has come back to life after months of stagnancy caused by COVID-19, with an increasing number of home searchers and transactions.

Statistics from the Ministry of Construction shows that about 800 real estate exchanges have reactivated their services, doubling the previous quarter’s figure. The exchanges have applied high technology in managing information, transaction, payment, sales and marketing.

Vietnam draws over 10.8 billion USD of FDI in four months

Vietnam attracted over 10.8 billion USD of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first four months of this year, equivalent to 88 percent of the amount recorded in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

While a decrease of 56 percent was seen in the newly-registered capital to nearly 3.7 billion USD, a respective surge of 92 percent and 74 percent was recorded in the investment injected into underway projects to nearly 5.29 billion USD, and capital contributions and share purchase deals to 1.83 billion USD.

Foreign investors invested in 18 out of 21 economic sectors, mostly in processing-manufacturing sector.

In the first four months of this year, Singapore led 72 countries and localities investing in Vietnam with 3.1 billion USD, making up 28.8 percent of the total FDI.

The Republic of Korea came second while Denmark was the third with Lego factory.

Among 44 cities and provinces receiving FDI in the period, the southern province of Binh Duong took the lead, followed by Bac Ninh province and Ho Chi Minh City.

Mekong Delta Resilient Business Network officially makes debut

The Mekong Delta Resilient Business Network (MRBN), the first of its kind in the country, made its debut during a ceremony held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)'s chapter in Can Tho and The Asian Foundation (TAF) on May 6 morning.

The MRBN will work to strengthen partnership for the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta, climate change adaption and reduction of climate change impacts.

It now has operational rules and a 39-member executive board comprising academics, business executives and experts in rice and fruit exports, resilient technology and logistics services.

In his remarks, Director of VCCI Can Tho Nguyen Phuong Lam outlined a number of activities underway in the Mekong Delta, including studies on the state of the ongoing drought and saline intrusion in the region and negative impacts of climate change on local enterprises and economy, surveys on climate- and drought-resilient business models and symposiums with domestic and foreign specialists seeking solutions for the management of and long-term response to natural disaster risks.

Lam voiced his hope that the MRBN will not only create initiatives and promote experience sharing but also act as a think tank for the government in policy making.

During the event, the MRBN signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Can Tho University’s Research Institute for Climate Change (DRAGON-Mekong Institute) for future cooperation.

Vietnam Medipharm Expo 2022 returns to capital

The 29th Vietnam International Medical, Hospital and Pharmaceutical Exhibition (Vietnam Medipharm Expo 2022) will return to Hanoi next week.

IT will draw over 150 foreign and domestic exhibitors, including those from Japan, the Republic of Korea, mainland China, Taiwan (China), Australia, the US, Belarus and the Czech Republic. 

The four-day event will start on May 11 at the Hanoi International Exhibition Centre. State policies and laws in pharmaceutical and medical areas will be introduced while the latest achievements and products in the pharmaceutical sector, including medical equipment for hospitals, clinics and healthcare, will be on display. 

Vietnam Medical Import-Export JSC (VIMEDIMEX VN), in collaboration with Vietnam Advertisement and Fair Exhibition JSC (VIETFAIR), have successfully organised many pharmaceutical and medical exhibitions over the past years.

Vietnam Medipharm Expo 2022 will be the first pharmaceutical and medical event in the capital in two years, due to the pandemic. 

Room for ASEAN rice exports to grow: MoIT

ASEAN's 700-million market has a lot in common with Vietnam in terms of culture, habits and preferences, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), and there is still room to grow for Vietnamese exports in ASEAN markets, including Vietnamese rice, a major export of the country.

To answer questions related to rice import and export among ASEAN markets, the ministry's trade facilitation department held a working session with Vietnamese exporters on May 5 in the southern province of An Giang, a major producer of rice in Vietnam.

According to the ministry, the Philippines was Vietnam’s largest rice buyer in 2021, with a purchase volume of 2.45 million tonnes and a turnover of 1.25 billion USD.

On average, Vietnamese rice to the Philippines fetched 509 USD per tonne, a 10.7 percent increase in volume and 7.1 percent in price from the previous year.

Export to the Philippines alone accounted for 38 percent of the country's total rice export throughout the year.

During the first quarter of 2022, the Philippines remained Vietnam’s largest rice buyer, accounting for 48 percent of the country's total rice export at more than 672,000 tonnes at an average of 462.8 USD per tonne, totalling 311 million USD.

Aside from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei were also top buyers of Vietnamese rice among ASEAN countries.

Pangasius exports to US enjoy record prices

The average price of Vietnam’s tra fish (pangasius) exported to the US increased sharply in the first quarter of this year to the highest ever level of 4.5 USD per kilogramme, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Exports to the market grew by 123 percent year-on-year to 160 million USD since demand was high and supply was modest. Increased transportation costs due to the impact of COVID-19 was a contributing factor to the increase in prices, not only to the US but to all markets.

Exports to the EU market fetched 2.9-3.45 USD per kilogramme.

Total exports topped 646 million USD, year-on-year growth of 88 percent, according to VASEP.

The high global demand drove up the average export price of frozen pangasius fillet to 3.4 USD, 0.25 USD higher than in January this year.

In the Chinese market too, prices are much higher than last year, ranging from 2.4 USD to 3.25 USD per kilogramme compared to 1.9 - 2.7 USD a year earlier.

After falling for many exports to the EU jumped by 86.2 percent in the first quarter of 2022 to 46.7 million USD, with huge increases seen in shipments to all the major markets in the bloc like the Netherlands (86 percent), Germany (97 percent), Belgium (120 percent), and Spain (67 percent).

It is forecast that the demand for essential goods, including food and seafood, will increase sharply in the EU providing a good opportunity for Vietnamese companies to export frozen pangasius, VASEP said.

Vingroup issues 525 million USD bonds on international market in May

Vingroup has just announced its bond issuance on the international market in 2022, worth 525 million USD, with the offering price of 1 million USD a bond. The issue date is expected to be in May. 

This is part of a plan to issue up to 1.5 billion USD worth of the company's bonds, which has been approved by Vingroup's Board of Directors recently. With the 5-year bonds, the bondholder will be given the right to choose shares of VinFast owned by Vingroup.

Besides paying fees and expenses for the bond issuance, the raised capital will be invested in VinFast to develop its car production complex.

The bonds were expected to be issued in the first quarter of 2022 before being delayed and divided into two times.

“Fruit garden of Vietnam” on display at Italy’s Macfrut trade fair

Vietnamese agricultural products are on display at Macfrut 2022: Fruit and Vegetable Professional Show held in the city of Rimini, Italy from May 4 - 6.

The Vietnamese pavilion called “Fruit Garden of Vietnam” exhibits fruit processed products, tea, coffee, spices and others, which have drawn the attention of quite many enterprises from not only Italy but also Europe. 

It is the second time Vietnam has attended the show.

The exhibition of Vietnamese agricultural products at Macfrut 2022 can enable the expansion of cooperation and exchange between the two countries and push bilateral investment activities, General Director of the Italian Trade Promotion Agency (ICE) Roberto Luongo told Vietnam News Agency. The two-way trade stood at around 4.5 billion EUR (4.75 billion USD) annually, he noted. 

He revealed that ICE wants to promote the image of Italy in Vietnam and support companies from both sides to obtain more business opportunities. 

ICE will support a working group of the Italian government, accompanied by enterprises, to visit Vietnam at the end of this year, he added.

Macfrut is the second largest annual fruit and vegetable show in Europe. This year’s event features some 800 pavilions and expects to welcome about 32,500 visitors.

Strong demand to fuel tra fish exports in Q2: VASEP

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has forecast a bright future for the tra fish industry this year on the back of strong demand from major markets including the US, Europe and Asian countries. 

Tra fish exports surged nearly 90 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022 and accounted for about 27 percent of the country’s total seafood shipments. Most major markets have seen double- or triple-digit growth in tra fish imports from Vietnam.

By the end of March, exports to the US exceeded over 160 million USD, up 123 percent from a year earlier, according to VASEP. The association attributed the sharp increase to strong demand for food caused by record inflation, supply chain disruptions, and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Tra fish sales to Europe reached 46.7 million USD during the period, a year-on-year spike of 86.2 percent. The highest growth was seen in exports to Belgium (120 percent), followed by Germany (97 percent), the Netherlands (86 percent) and Spain (67 percent).

Shipments to China also bounced back after months of decline due to China’s “Zero-COVID” policy. Vietnam exported 183.4 million USD worth of tra fish to China from January to March, up 163 percent year-on-year. 

Malaysia’s tra fish imports from Vietnam rose by 138 percent to hit 7.45 million USD by mid-March as a result of recovering demand.

Vietnam's air freight industry accelerates despite COVID-19: Nikkei Daily

Japan’s Nikkei Daily has run an article highlighting the strong post-COVID-19 recovery of Vietnam’s air cargo industry.

According to the article, the industry is pushing through the pandemic and other headwinds in the global economy, with the number of flights surging and a new homegrown freight carrier set to take to the skies.

It quoted local media as saying that the nation's air cargo traffic in 2022 is expected to grow 17 percent from last year to more than 1.52 million tonnes, accelerating beyond average annual expansion of 15 percent over the last 30 years.

That comes amid surging demand for domestic and overseas freight as Vietnam cements its position in global supply chains for everything from electronics to clothing, with its overall exports jumping nearly 20 percent to about 336 billion USD in 2021. Major cargo operators such as Germany's DHL Express and Japan's ANA Holdings have increasingly been targeting the country.

Nikkei also cited a senior executive at a major foreign logistics company with a facility in Hanoi as saying March was a record in terms of volume handled.

Growing appetite has pushed up the cost of exporting by plane, however, with several industry insiders saying such air freight rates are still two to four times higher than pre-COVID levels, Nikkei wrote in its article

Project launched to help Vietnam spur energy efficiency

Using energy economically and efficiently is a practical solution to help ensure national energy security, develop the economy, protect the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Trinh Quoc Vu, Deputy Director of the Department of Energy Saving and Sustainable Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said on May 5.

He made the statement at the launch of the Vietnam scaling up energy efficiency project which aims to encourage the business community to change technology towards economical and efficient use of energy in the industrial sector.

Surveys of the National Programme on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy for the 2019 - 2030 period (VNEEP3) showed that Vietnam’s energy use can be cut by 20-30 percent, he said, adding that the industrial sector accounts for more than 47 percent of the country’s total energy consumption.

The project is expected to contribute to promoting industrial enterprises to pursue the goals of saving energy, ensuring national energy security, as well as accompanying the Government in implementing the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and responding to climate change, Vu said.

Chu Ba Thi, a representative from the World Bank (WB), said the project, with total investment capital of 11.3 million USD, will be carried out from March until January 2026.

Once joining the programme, industrial enterprises have chance to apply advanced technologies to reduce production costs and energy consumption, thereby enhancing their overall competitiveness in domestic and international markets.

Vietnamese economy to recover fast this year: UNDP representative

There are promising signs for Vietnam and its economic recovery this year, Caitlin Wiesen, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representative in Vietnam has said.
 
In an interview granted to Vietnam Investment Review, the official also spoke highly of the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to put the security and safety of the people as a priority during the pandemic, especially the government’s leadership in the rapid and equitable deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccination campaign has enabled the government to open up further for business and tourism, she said.

Wiesen noted that last year, Vietnam introduced two support packages for those affected by lockdowns and social distancing, the first worth 2.7 billion USD and the second, 1.13 billion USD.

She highlighted that growth will accelerate this year, as tourism, transport, and other services are open. However, it is unrealistic to think that there will be an immediate return to the growth path experienced before the pandemic. The official pointed to multiple challenges including a climate crisis; rising fuel prices; supply chain disruption due to prolonged lockdowns; and the knock-on effects of the war in Ukraine.

The government, therefore, plays an important role in ensuring growth is sustainable beyond this year. This will include an increasing supply of long-term finance, facilitating growth among domestic firms through technology upgrades and public investment, and increasing climate finance, among others, she said.

To meet the objective of achieving high-income status by 2045, Vietnam needs to invest a larger share of national output into national competitiveness, increasing value in domestic industries, and upgrading technological and innovation capabilities, the official suggested.

Regarding the UNDP’s commitments to Vietnam in realising its goals of becoming a high-income economy by 2045 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, Wiesen said that to support the development of strong domestic productive capabilities, the UNDP is conducting research with the Ministry of Planning and Investment on linking public investment to development outcomes, strengthening the domestic capital market, and restructuring national development banks.

Shrimp, pangasius exports enjoy April surge

Pangasius and shrimp represent two key Vietnamese export items that maintained high growth in April, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The export turnover of pangasius in April reached US$297 million, a twofold increase compared to the same period from last year.

The April figure raised the four-month export value of pangasius to more than US$950 million, representing a year-on-year rise of 94% and meeting 60% of this year’s export target.

Meanwhile, the country’s shrimp export value in April reached US$406 million, up 35% compared to the same period last year. In total, the four-month export value of shrimp rose 41.5% year on year to US$1.36 billion.

According to the VASEP, Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first four months of the year reached approximately US$3.6 billion, up 44.5% year on year.

China and the United States continue to be the two largest importers of Vietnamese seafood. The past four months saw the US and China consumed US$842 million and US$578 million worth of Vietnamese seafood, up 74% and 94% respectively.

Shipments to China have also bounced back after months of decline due to its “Zero-COVID” policy, while the positive growth in exports to the US comes following a zero anti-dumping duty imposed in the 17th review (POR17) of the US Department of Commerce.

Great potential exists for Vietnamese exports to Brazil

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacting the economy, trade between Vietnam and Brazil has continued to grow, creating plenty of opportunities for businesses to increase trade turnover in the future, according to insiders.

Ngo Xuan Ty, head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Brazil, said Brazil represents the largest consumption market of 200 million consumers in South America. On average, each year sees Brazil import more than US$236 billion of goods, 30% of which come from Asia.

Brazil currently makes up Vietnam’s largest trading partner in South America, while the latter is the former’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. Yet, trade relations between the two countries remain modest, with Vietnamese exports to this market only accounting for 1.4% of its import demand.

Vietnamese leather, shoes, and clothing only meet approximately 6% to 7% of Brazil's consumption demand, meaning that the South American country is still a potential market for Vietnamese items, Ty assessed.

Recently many local products have attracted the attention of Brazilian consumers. However, the market share of Vietnamese goods in the Portuguese-speaking country is still very modest, making up only 1.5% of Brazil's total annual import turnover.

According to statistics compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, two-way trade between both sides hit roughly US$1.7 billion in the first three months of the year, an annual rise of 11.9%.

Most notably, Vietnamese exports to Brazil were valued at US$533.2 million, rising by 3.5%, whilst Vietnamese imports from the South American country reached US$1.175 billion, up 18% against the same period from 2021. 

The export of consumer goods to Brazil is expected to increase once social distancing measures are completely removed and a high rate of nationwide vaccination is achieved. In addition, key Vietnamese export items will find it easy to penetrate Brazil which is not a demanding market globally.

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