Vietnam’s key agricultural and fishery products, including cashew nuts, pepper, coffee, tea, lychee, logan, dragon fruit, frozen shrimp and fish, are on display at SIAL Interfood 2022 that opened in Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 9.

The annual event saw the participation of nearly 900 businesses from 27 countries globally showcasing foods, beverages, additives for food processing, production lines, raw materials, services and cooking equipment.

Pham The Cuong, Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Indonesia, said Indonesia is a promising market which has a great demand for foods and beverages such as confectionery, dried fruits, tea and coffee-based beverages, fruit juices, vegetables, and canned fruits, as well as milk and dairy products. These are products that Vietnam can completely supply and contribute to diversifying the tastes of Indonesian consumers.

In addition, Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world, with a market size of foods and beverages reaching up to nearly 170 billion USD per year.

According to statistics from the organisers, this year’s event is expected to welcome about 95,000 visitors from 62 countries and 88,000 from 11 provinces of Indonesia.

First batch of macadamia nuts exported to Japan

The Central Highland province of Dak Lak on November 9 held a ceremony to export its first batch of dried macadamia nuts to Japan. 
      
The shipment includes 2,200 barrels of dried macadamia nuts weighing a total of six tonnes.

The export of the local farm product is part of a contract signed on the same day between Nguyen Phuong Macadamia JSc of Vietnam and OLTY Co., Ltd. of Japan.

Otsuka Tokuro, director of the OLTY Co., Ltd., noted that besides macadamia products imported from Australia, those nuts on offer from Vietnam were also warmly welcomed by Japanese consumers.

The initial batch of Vietnamese macadamia nuts is set to be sold across 180 supermarket chains throughout Japan from December 1, and OLTY Co., Ltd. plans to display Vietnamese macadamia nuts at the largest Japanese food expo in February 2023, he added.

Ports see Jan-Oct cargo throughput rising 3% y-o-y

Cargo throughput at ports nationwide reached 608.3 million tons between January and October, meeting 84% of the year’s target and rising by 3% year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Maritime Administration.

According to SSI Research, the shipping sector’s growth prospects remained grim in light of the weakening global economy.

However, many domestic port operators saw positive results in operation despite socioeconomic challenges.

In the north, the Port of Haiphong Joint Stock Company announced a consolidated pre-tax profit of VND222.2 billion in the third quarter of 2022, increasing by 20% year-on-year.

The Danang Port Joint Stock Company in the central coastal city of Danang recorded that cargo throughput and total services earnings between July and September rose by 3.4% and 14.4%, respectively.

16.08 billion USD needed to upgrade seaport system

Vietnam will need nearly 400 trillion VND (16.08 billion USD) to upgrade its seaport system by 2030, heard a workshop held by the Ministry of Transport in Hanoi on November 8.

The workshop looked into the detailed planning scheme of seaports, harbours, wharves, floating terminals and water areas and another planning scheme of the inland container deport system in 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang said the domestic seaport system, with more than 90km in total length, can handle about 750 million tonnes of cargo each year.

More than 90% of Vietnam’s exports and imports have gone through the seaports, helping the country ensure its macro-economic stability, the official added.

Seaports have been formed at northern and southern gateways like Lach Huyen in northern Hai Phong city than can handle ships of up to 132,000 DWT and Cai Mep in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province which is designed to sustain ships of up to 214,000 DWT.

VAT refund delays spell trouble for wood exporters

Replanted-forest wood exporting businesses are finding it tough to claim VAT refunds, which have reached VND1,000 billion since January this year.

The Association of Vietnam Timber and Forest Product (VIFOREST) has written to the Ministries of Agriculture-Rural Development and Finance, proposing removing obstacles in verifying replanted-forest wood for a VAT refund.

According to VIFOREST, until now, the VAT refunds of replanted-forest wood exporters are stuck.

Under the prevailing regulations, the time limit for VAT refunds does not exceed 40 days upon the tax authorities’ receipt of the valid dossiers filed by the enterprises. However, the VAT amount, which replanted-forest wood exporters have yet to receive, has reached VND1,000 billion.

VAT refund delays have caused some wood exporting enterprises to suspend exports and limit operations. If the situation continues, many wood exporting enterprises will be forced to close their businesses, negatively affecting the replanted-forest wood supply, including millions of forest farmers.

There is a bottleneck in the VAT refund settlement because of the inconsistency of forest products-origin tracing regulations between the General Department of Taxation and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The requirement for each locality and forest owner to verify in detail the wood origin made by the above authorities is not practical as there are multiple intermediaries in the supply chain.

VIFOREST, therefore, proposed the ministries maintain consistency in guiding the enterprises to verify wood origin. It also requested the tax authorities to carry out VAT refund settlements for the enterprises at the earliest.

HCMC realty sector seeks Govt help

The HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA) and businesses have proposed the Government and the Ministry of Construction take action to deal with difficulties faced by the city’s real estate projects.

According to the Ministry of Construction, many realty companies are narrowing their investments, while some have been forced to suspend or delay their projects.

The current situation has forced many realty enterprises to downsize by laying off employees.

Representatives of real estate companies such as Phu My Hung, Novaland, Nam Long, Hung Thinh and others shared the same opinion, adding that the realty sector is encountering extreme difficulties. They urged the Government to come up with coping solutions.

According to Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HoREA, real estate businesses lack capital as all funding sources such as bank loans, corporate bonds and share sales, and capital mobilized from customers are currently stuck.

HCMC has over 100 real estate projects with regulatory bottlenecks for a decade. For example, some projects could not be carried out due to site clearance problems, while others could not be developed because of a lack of land delivery procedures.

Besides many inactive projects, the real estate market has shown signs of exhaustion and low liquidity. Many representatives of the estate businesses in HCMC expressed their significant concerns over the current situation and asked the Government and related ministries and departments to remove regulatory bottlenecks to balance the supply and demand in real estate.

Report advises enterprises how to adapt to crises

The Business Registration Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has released a report assessing Vietnamese enterprises’ responsiveness to the COVID-19 pandemic, and proposed some measures for improving their adaptability to crises.

The pandemic has greatly affected production and business activities at Vietnamese enterprises, forcing many to suspend operations and even pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy, Director of the agency Bui Anh Tuan told the report launch held with support from the Aus4Reform programme on November 9.

The majority of Vietnamese firms are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and being relatively new, they often lack resources and experience in responding to crises with large-scale and long impacts such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global political and economic situations have also witnessed complex and unpredictable developments recently, causing new risks and challenges to the recovery and development of economies, including Vietnam, Tuan noted.

Given this, enterprises should plan their response to risks, uncertainties and crises to develop sustainably and enhance their immunity against crises, and also strengthen the economy’s resilience, he added.

The research group and experts also said that owners and managers of enterprises should raise their awareness of the importance of risk governance and form short-, medium- and long-term plans.

They recommended the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities fine-tune policies and laws; step up administrative reforms; assist firms to conduct digital transformation, apply science and technology, and optimise chances created by the Fourth Industrial Revolution; and train high-quality human resources to help businesses boost their responsiveness to crises.

Measures sought to speed up digital transformation in SMEs

A forum discussing ways to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to accelerate digital transformation took place in Hanoi on November 9.

Addressing the event, VCCI Vice President Bui Trung Nghia said digital transformation opens up opportunities for all countries, especially developing countries, to grow faster and upgrade their development ranking.

According to Vice Director of the Enterprise Development Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment Bui Thu Thuy, in recent years, the VCCI has cooperated with multiple organisations to support tens of thousands of businesses in accelerating application of digital tools in developing their businesses, contributing to changing the awareness and ability of the business community in this field.

With a population of nearly 100 million, including 70% with internet access, and about 72% using smartphones, Vietnam is considered one of the countries with the highest growth in the digital economy in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam’s digital economy was valued at 21 billion USD in 2021, up 31% year-on-year, and making up 5% of national GDP.

The country’s economy has recorded rapid changes through the application of digital technology. Its digital economy is expected to reach 57 billion USD in 2025, ranking second in Southeast Asia, with annual growth of 29%.

Vietnam’s major air traffic markets predicted to rebound in 2023: VNDIRECT

The international aviation sector is predicted to grow strongly in 2023, motivated by the recovery in the number of international tourists, according to analysts.

In its recent research, securities firm VNDIRECT held that most of countries have removed the restriction for tourists, and this will boost both outbound and inbound travel demand.

It noted that international arrival throughput jumped 35 times year on year in the third quarter of 2022, recovering to 49.8% of pre-pandemic level.

In the base case scenario, the firm expected China to gradually relax the travel restriction from the second quarter of 2023. Thus, the international inflow recovery rate might reach 84% in the second quarter of 2023 and 100% in the fourth quarter to help the total international volume to grow 195% year on year in 2023.

Having high revenue exposure to international air travel, airport retailers will be the most beneficiaries of the recovery of international arrivals, according to the report.

For airport, VNDIRECT held that the growth is crystal clear but might be dented since 2024 onwards due to the capacity constraints. The recovery prospect of airlines is overshadowed by high fuel price, exchange rate volatility, and rising interest rates.

VNDIRECT experts also give forecast on the recovery of major air traffic markets of Vietnam.

It noted that Vietnam's major air traffic markets in Southeast Asia including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia have all fully reopened and developed bilateral tourism with the country. It expects international visits from SEA to recover to the pre-pandemic level by the first quarter of 2023.

VNDIRECT also predicted that international arrivals from Europe will recover to the pre-pandemic level by the second quarter of 2023, and those from Russia by the third quarter of 2023.

India is considered a potential new market for Vietnam's tourism. Vietjet Air, Vietnam Airlines, and India's IndiGo and Spice Jet have launched new routes between the two countries. In particular, Vietjet Air has been granted the right to operate more than 20 new routes from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc to new destinations in India such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Gaya as well as increase the flight frequency to Delhi and Mumbai from July 2022.

VNDIRECT predicted that international visitors on this route will reach 5% of the total recorded in the whole market before the pandemic broke by the second quarter of 2023.

Pangasius fish exports grow strongly

Pangasius fish exports had amounted to US$2 billion in the year to mid-October, an increase of 81% over the same period last year.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, this is the strongest growth rate among Vietnam’s aqua-product exports this year.

Vietnam’s two largest Pangasius fish export markets are China and the U.S., accounting for 30% and 23%, respectively.

Vietnam has also boosted exporting Pangasius fish to the CPTPP markets and several Asian countries.

Vietnam has over 400 enterprises exporting Pangasius fish, most of which have seen higher revenue than the same period last year. If growth is maintained, Pangasius fish exports will reach over US$2.5 billion at the end of this year, up 58% from last year.

Pangasius fish exports now make up 27% of the total of the aqua-product sector and are likely to increase.

Binh Duong still an FDI magnet in the south

The additional 2.7 billion USD poured into Binh Duong in the first 10 months of 2022 has helped the southern industrial hub rank second in Vietnam in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction.

The figure represents a year-on-year rise of 57%, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

In the period, manufacturing and processing drew the most from foreign investors, with 1.66 billion USD, accounting for 63.5% of the total registered capital. Real estate ranked second with 939 million USD, making up 35.8% of the total.

Denmark was the biggest investor of Binh Duong in the period under review, with 1.32 billion USD, followed by the Netherlands with 609 million USD, and China 258 million USD.

According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Vo Van Minh, as of October 31, Binh Duong ranked second the country in FDI attraction, after Ho Chi Minh City, with 4.053 valid projects totaling 39.6 billion USD, or 9.3% of the nation’s total FDI.

Sixty-five nations and territories have registered to pour capital in the southern industrial hub, with Taiwan (China) ranking first with 859 projects totaling 6.27 billion USD. It is followed by Japan with 333 projects totaling 5.86 billion USD, and Singapore 277 projects and 5.4 billion USD.

HCM City hosts int’l exhibitions on processing & packaging, water treatment

The 15th International Processing and  Packaging Exhibition and Conference for Vietnam (ProPak Vietnam 2022) and the 13th International Water Supply, Sanitation, Water Resources and Purification Exhibition & Conference (Vietwater 2022) kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on November 9.

ProPak Vietnam 2022 attracted over 400 exhibitors from many countries and territories, including Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Singapore and Thailand.  

The event features 10 groups of products and services in packaging technology, raw materials, beverages, pharmaceuticals, printing, cold supply chain, logistics, and warehousing.

Meanwhile, Vietwater 2022 gathered 250 businesses and organisations, including leading companies from hi-tech parks of 25 countries and territories such as the UK, Germany, the RoK, Singapore and Japan.

The event introduces famous local and foreign brands such as Nagaoka, Organo, HCP Pump, Norma, Seika, Atlas Filtri, Cheonsei, Fujikin Vietnam. The two events with last until November 11.

Number of new accounts continue to fall last month
     
On the stock market, domestic investors opened 96,427 new accounts in October, a slight decrease month-on-month, data from the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) showed.

This was the lowest number of new accounts opened by domestic investors since February 2021 and marked the fifth consecutive month of decline.

Specifically, retail investors opened 96,290 new accounts, while institutional investors opened 137.

Over the first nine months of the year, domestic retail investors opened 2.4 million new accounts, far exceeding the combined figure of 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

As of the end of September, retail investor accounts exceeded 6.65 million, or about 6.6 per cent of the population.

The number of new accounts opened by domestic investors continuously declined sharply, which also partly affected the stock market's liquidity recently.

According to statistics, last month, the average matching value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) was only VND9.3 trillion (US$374 million), a 21 per cent decrease compared to the previous month and the lowest level since the beginning of 2021. Moreover, many trading sessions' matching values didn't reach VND7 trillion.

Lenders told to meet fuel importers’ credit needs

The central bank governor has written to commercial banks urging them to give fuel companies priority access to new loans.

In an official dispatch sent to bankers, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) stated that fuel is a strategic commodity, so it plays an important role in macroeconomic stability, business operations and daily life.

Vietnam has in recent weeks faced a fuel shortfall, with hundreds of gas stations in major cities shutting down or limiting sales due to financial difficulties and tight fuel supplies.

To avert the fuel crunch, the central bank has told banks to accommodate fuel trading firms’ demands for loans to buy petroleum products and ensure supplies for the domestic market.

Besides, banks were tasked with reporting to the central bank the progress of lending money to fuel retailers and importers.

Vietnam’s fuel imports in the year through October had soared 22.7% year-on-year to 7.1 million tons. 

Its crude oil imports in the period rose 17% to 9.4 million tons, all for Vietnam’s two refineries, which meet 70%-80% of the country’s fuel needs.

Vietnam imports CBU cars mostly from Indonesia, Thailand and China

September saw Vietnam importing 18,303 completely-built-up (CBU) cars, mainly from Indonesia, Thailand and China, according to data from the General Administration of Vietnam Customs.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the 18,303 CBU cars imported into Vietnam in September were worth US$367 million.

Of the total CBU cars imported, Indonesia supplied 9,314 units, Thailand 7,102 units and China 1,347 units.

Under-nine-seater cars made up the majority with 15,594 units, worth US$274 million.

Most of the CBU cars were imported through Haiphong Port in northern Vietnam, with 7,985 units, followed by the ports in HCMC with 7,604 units.

In the first nine months of 2022, the country imported 114,496 CBU cars worth US$2.61 billion, up 0.3% in volume and 3% in value year-over-year.

Indonesia was Vietnam’s biggest CBU car supplier with 47,783 units worth over US$691.37 million, accounting for 41.7% of the total volume and 26.4% of the total value.

Thailand came second with 44,850 units, followed by China with 14,515 units.

Savings rate hikes ease

Commercial banks have been in a race to hike savings rates to attract clients, especially since the State Bank of Vietnam’s two recent interest rate increases. But savings rates have fallen below 10%-11% which were briefly reached.

A report from the Analysis Center at SSI Research showed that compared to the end of 2021, the average annual savings rate has picked up three to four percentage points while the rate for savings of fewer than six months has soared to a peak of 6% a year. The rates are not expected to go down in the coming months.

In late October, Nam A Bank offered the highest savings rate at 11% per year. However, the rate was only applied for the first three months of the nine-month tenor, while the rate for the remaining six months stood at 5.95%. As such, the average rate for savings of nine months was 7.63%.

In November, the highest deposit rate at Nam A Bank was 8.9%, applied for savings of VND500 billion or more for tenors of 36 months.

Similarly, at the National Commercial Bank (NCB), the rate at 10.5% for savings of VND500 billion or more for 12-month tenors is no longer quoted. Instead, the bank reported its highest rate at 8.95% for tenors of 24 months, 8.85% for 15-18 months and 8.75% for 12-13 months.

VPBank, on November 5, announced its rates for savings, with the highest at 8.9% for tenors of 18-36 months. A few months ago, the bank quoted its highest rate at 10.02% for the first month of 36-month savings.

At four major State-owned banks, BIDV, VietinBank, Vietcombank and Agribank, the highest rate for savings stands at 7.4% for tenors of 12 months or longer.

WB warns of job losses amid digital transformation

The World Bank has said that if Vietnam’s pool of skilled workers falls short of what is required by a rapid digital transformation process, the economy could lose as many as two million jobs by 2045.

Under the dual impacts of the digital age and the pandemic, the future of work for Vietnam will witness significant evolution in terms of workers and the workplace.

Nguyen Thi Nga, a representative of the World Bank on employment, told a workshop that digital skills cover the range of skills, abilities, knowledge and work habits that allow people to access and use digital technologies. This is an important requirement for workers in the context of constantly changing work patterns and nature.

Nguyen Xuan Son, country operations manager for Staffing & Outsourcing services at ManpowerGroup Vietnam, said at the workshop “Labor Market Trends in The Digital Age” in Hanoi City on November 8: “Major trends like the growing importance of contingent workers, companies’ efforts to rebuild employee capabilities via skill development programs, and the rising of a hybrid work model in the new normal will take place in the coming time.”

Given the acceleration of digital transformation, many jobs will disappear, while new roles will be created. Meanwhile, with only 11.6% of highly skilled workers, the Vietnamese workforce is seen as less competitive than some regional markets, such as Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, in terms of skills.

Andree Mangels, general manager of ManpowerGroup Vietnam, said technology is constantly evolving and that employers need an agile approach to employee skilling and create long-term learning strategies that equip their staff to do jobs that exist now and those that will be created in the future.

According to statistics in Vietnam, 68% of current jobs require digital literacy with basic digital skills, while one-fifth need particularly intensive digital skills. Besides, the use of digital skills at different levels in Vietnam is also different from other countries in the region and the world.

ManpowerGroup Vietnam and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) held the workshop to discuss major labor market trends under the impact of the digital age and the Covid-19 pandemic.

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