Vietnamese lobster exports during the opening nine months of the year witnessed a seven-fold increase year on year to US$179 million, with 90% generated from the Chinese market, recording a three-digit growth.      

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the spike in lobster exports can largely be attributed to high consumer demand coming from China.

The purchasing power of the aquatic product is anticipated to continue increasing in the remaining months of the year, particularly as Chinese consumers prepare for the traditional Lunar New Year holiday that falls in January 2023.

At present, the export of lobster makes up over 5% of the total shrimp export turnover.

Phu Yen and Nha Trang are home to largest lobster farms in Vietnam, with 90% of lobsters in these farming areas purchased by Chinese traders.

An enterprise operating in Ho Chi Minh City recently signed a contract to export fresh lobsters to Kunming in China, with the export volume set to reach 2,000 tonnes till April 2023.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has formulated a project aimed at developing lobster farming and exports until 2025, with total farming output amounting to 3,000 tonnes per year and export value hitting US$200 million annually.

Vietnam’s nine-month shrimp exports increased by 23% year on year to nearly US$3.4 billion. However, the export of the product has shown signs of slowing down in the coming months.

Second Hyundai Thanh Cong auto factory inaugurated in Ninh Binh

Auto manufacturer Thanh Cong Group and Huyndai Motor Group inaugurated the second Huyndai Thanh Cong Vietnam factory in Gian Khau industrial park, the northern province of Ninh Binh, on November 15.

The second factory spreads out over 50ha and has a total designed capacity of 100,000 units per year, raising the total capacity of two Hyundai Thanh Cong factories in Vietnam  to 180,000 units by 2025 to meet demand at home and abroad.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Quang Ngoc said it is one of the 16 key projects for 2021-2025 in the province. Thanh Cong Group and its joint venture partner Huyndai Motor Group have so far invested in eight projects worth nearly 12.3 trillion VND (512 million USD) in Ninh Binh.

Argentine businesses study Vietnam’s food market

A programme to promote trade connection between Vietnam and Argentine businesses was held in HCM City on November 15 by the Argentine Embassy in Vietnam, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in HCM City (VCCI HCM), and the Federal Investment Council (CFI) of Argentina.

The business delegation of Argentina, is now in HCM City explore cooperation opportunities with enterprises in the southern hub. 

According to Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam Luis Pablo María Beltramino, Argentina is Vietnam's third largest trading partner of Latin America, while Vietnam is the biggest trading partner of Argentina in Southeast Asia and the sixth largest in the world. 

Vietnam hopes Argentina will create more favourable conditions for the Vietnamese business community to access the Argentine market, especially for products that Vietnam has strength such as farm produce, textiles, furniture, and handicrafts, said Vice Chairman of the VCCI HCM Vo Tan Thanh. 

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Argentina hit 2.8 billion USD in the first seven months of 2022. Vietnam’s export turnover to Argentina topped 577 million USD, while it spent over 2.3 billion USD on importing goods from the Latin American market.

Vietnam Grand Sale 2022 launched

The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) launched a national promotion month - Vietnam Grand Sale 2022 - in Hanoi on November 15.

The programme, to run until December 22, is expected to help raise the total retail sales of goods and services, thus contributing to maintaining the national economic growth.

MoIT Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said in the first 10 months of this year, the combined retail sales were estimated at 4.63 quadrillion VND (186.91 billion USD), up 20.2% year-on-year. The ministry is calling for the engagement of industry and trade departments of cities and provinces, associations, businesses and individuals in the implementation of the programme, he stressed.

According to Acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan, her agency has received about 10,000 registrations for the programme with an accumulative promotion value of up to 20 trillion VND, focusing on food, consumer goods, apparel, pharmacy, electronics - telecommunications, banking and real estate.

Organisers expect that the retail sales generated from this year’s programme will double the 458.5 trillion VND in 2021.

Banks face challenges in improving credit quality
     
Though banks gained profits of trillions of Vietnamese dong in Q3 2022, credit quality has remained a concern of the banking industry, especially when Circular No. 14/2021/TT-NHNN on loan rescheduling for COVID-19 affected borrowers expired at the end of June this year.

HDBank’s bad debt ratio dropped from 1.65 per cent at the beginning of 2022 to 1.54 per cent, while that of SeABank also fell from 1.65 per cent to 1.59 per cent, and Techcombank, from 0.66 per cent to 0.65 per cent. The ratio of BaoVietBank, MSB and Eximbank also declined from 4.9 per cent to 3.2 per cent; 1.74 per cent to 1.08 per cent; and 1.96 per cent to 1.9 per cent, respectively.

Though the bad debt ratio on total outstanding loans of the banks all declined, their irrecoverable debts increased at some banks. The increase of irrecoverable debts at SeABank, HDBank, Techcombank, MSB and Eximbank was 11.2, 35, 46, 3 and 21 per cent, respectively.

Other banks including ABBank, TPBank, BacABank, Saigonbank, PGBank, LienVietPostBank, VietCapitalBank, ACB and MB recorded an increase in the bad debt ratio. In which, only PGBank saw a slight decline in irrecoverable debts. The increase in irrecoverable debts was 124 per cent at TPBank, 131 per cent at ACB, 85 per cent at MB, 99.7 per cent at VietBank, 43 per cent at Saigonbank, 35.6 per cent at LienVietPostBank and 39 per cent at ABBank.

According to banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu, Circular No. 14/2021/TT-NHNN, which allowed banks to reschedule the loan payment time and maintain the same debt group for COVID-19 affected borrowers, has caused the bad debts of the banking industry to be calculated inaccurately, as under the regulation a number of debts that should have been bad debts have been restructured and maintained to be qualified debts.

The expiry of Circular No. 14/2021/TT-NHNN from the end of June this year had more realistically reflected the bad debt situation at banks, experts said.

As bad debts have increased, many banks, such as Techcombank, VPBank, BacABank, HDBank, ABBank and Eximbank, also raised their provisions for risky loans correspondingly in Q3 2022 compared to the same period of last year.

The increase in the provisions caused profits of some banks to see a slowdown. At Saigonbank, for example, the risk provisioning costs of banks in Q3 2022 nearly doubled to VND20.8 billion, which was one of the reasons for the bank’s low profit growth rate of 4 per cent in the period.

Dong Nai’s industrial zones attract US$900 million of FDI in Jan-Oct

The industrial zones in the southern province of Dong Nai reported US$900 million in new foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals, reaching 129% of the target.

There are 23 foreign-invested projects in supporting industries, with total pledged capital of US$231 million.

Most of these investors lease ready-built factories to produce products for local and foreign markets.

The sectors that lured the most FDI in the period are plastics, engineering, food, and logistics.

There are no projects in environmental pollution or labor-intensive industries.

Vietnam’s exports to Germany grow

Vietnam’s exports to Germany have grown strongly since the European Union–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into force on August 1, 2020.

Vietnam’s exports to Germany amounted to US$7.29 billion in 2021, and the first 10 months of this year saw the shipments continuing strong growth.

Vietnam exports 29 products to Germany, including electrical equipment, shoes, garments, coffee, fruits and interior furnishing items.

If growth is maintained in the rest of the year, Vietnam’s exports to this European market would amount to US$9.3 billion this year, up US$2.03 billion against last year.

Given the strong growth of Vietnam’s exports to Germany, there remains room for Vietnamese enterprises to export products to this market. EVFTA has created more opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to boost exports to Germany.

Vietjet offers 150,000 vouchers for year-end festive season

Budget carrier Vietjet will give all customers 150,000  vouchers worth up to 500,000 VND (20.2 USD) applying for the entire flight network with flexible flight time in a move to welcome its 150 millionth passenger and the year-end festive season.

From November 16 until the end of January 31, 2023, passengers who book and pay successfully Vietjet’s flight tickets and register information at evoucher.vietjetair.com will have the opportunities to receive vouchers worth from 100,000 VND to 500,000 VND.

In addition, all customers will immediately receive a voucher worth 50,000 VND when having registration information to get vouchers. The e-vouchers are applicable on all routes covering Vietnam and internationally to India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, etc. with flexible flight time.

VIB’s leader registers to buy 1.5 million shares

Ho Van Long, deputy CEO and CFO at Vietnam International Bank (VIB), has just registered 1.5 million shares.

The registration was made after VIB announced its business results for the first 10 months.

The bank recorded a profit of $351.5 million during the period, up 44 per cent against last year. It plans to pay cash dividends of up to 35 per cent.

The purchase is aimed at a long-term investment and transactions are slated to be conducted from November 18 to December 17 according to the method of order matching and agreement.

If he fails to buy the shares, he will still own a total of 10.68 million shares, increasing his ownership ratio from 0.436 per cent to 0.507 per cent.

Quang Ninh welcomes back largest foreign tourist group in post-COVID period

The northern coastal province of Quang Ninh on November 15 received a group of 650 travelers from Sarawak State in Malaysia, marking the largest foreign delegation to visit the locality after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During their four-day stay, the tourists are scheduled to tour Ha Long Bay which is a UNESCO-recognised world heritage site, explore traditional food, and go shopping.

Yap Oi Leng, director of Malaysia’s Energy Travel agency, said the company chose Quang Ninh for the tour as the locality boasts many beautiful and renowned sightseeing spots with modern infrastructure.

During the 17th East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF) organised in Quang Ninh on October 25, leaders of Quang Ninh and Sarawak held a working session to promote tourism connection and strengthen cultural exchanges.

Earlier, Quang Ninh received 150 Korean tourists from Jeju for a three day tour following the EATOF gathering. So far, Quang Ninh has welcomed over 10 million arrivals, most of them domestic holidaymakers.

Vietnam urged to improve productivity for economic reform

Increasing labour productivity, ensuring fast and sustainable growth and overcoming the middle income trap are priorities for the country in terms of economic reform.

Dr Can Van Luc, Chief Economist of BIDV and a member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council, made the statement at the conference 'Australia – Vietnam Economic Reform (Aus4reform): results, lessons learned and future direction' held in Hanoi on November 15.

Vietnam aims to become a developing country with modern industry, overcoming the middle income trap by 2025 with an average GDP growth rate of 6.5-7% a year.

Luc said to achieve the target, Vietnam should increase labour productivity as its productivity is still low with 4.87% in the 2011-20 period, higher than the average rate of ASEAN (3.11%) but lower than that of China (7%) and India (6%).

According to International Labour Organisation (ILO), if Vietnam’s labour productivity increases by 1%, GDP will increase by 0.94 percentage points.

Sharing the ideas, Dang Duc Anh, deputy head of Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) said in order to open up space for new economic activities sustainably, the country should promote innovation and digital transformation; developing labour skills associated with digitalisation, thus helping increase labour productivity.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said that in the process of implementing the policy of restructuring the economy and renewing the growth model, Vietnam had achieved some results, but also encountered many challenges.

Two more Vietnamese fruits receive green light to enter New Zealand

Lemon and pomelo are the next two Vietnamese agricultural products that will be exported to New Zealand, alongside mango, dragon fruit, and rambutan.

A document to this effect was signed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and New Zealand's Ministry of Agriculture and for Trade and Export Growth, Biosecurity, Land Information and Rural Communities, in Hanoi on November 15 during NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Vietnam visit.

The signing of the agreement is said to open up bright prospects for other Vietnamese agricultural products to penetrate the demanding market moving forward, according to MARD officials.

Statistics from the MARD show the trade turnover of agro-forestry-fishery exports between Vietnam and New Zealand last year reached approximately US$550 million, accounting for 41% of the total bilateral trade revenue.

Both sides also inked an agreement to facilitate customs clearance of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products through the use of electronic certificates in July 2020.

At present, working groups of the two countries have deployed an electronic certification system on a pilot basis. They are now facilitating procedures to open each other’s markets for agricultural products.

MARD Minister Le Minh Hoan expressed his hope that both Vietnam and New Zealand will cooperate in developing high-tech agricultural value chains, as well as strengthening connectivity with the global market.

Corporate bond sales plunge

The bond market is going downhill, with a plunge in corporate bond sales volumes between January and October, the Ministry of Finance said in a recent report.

Bond sales in the 10-month period dipped 25.2% over the same period in 2021 to VND328.9 trillion, with over half of the bonds being unsecured and offered by financial companies.

The first quarter saw VND134.8 trillion worth of corporate bonds sold in the market. The figure ebbed steadily to VND122.4 trillion in the next quarter and halved in the third quarter, at VND65.9 trillion, before taking a nosedive to VND5.8 trillion in October.

Corporate bonds are the most common in the market, accounting for over 41.3% of the total bond sales. Of the amount, the bonds offered by real estate and construction companies made up nearly 28.9% and 7.8%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the number of bonds redeemed before maturity surged 49.6% to VND152.5 trillion over 2021.

The market has begun to encounter financial woes since the leaders of the Tan Hoang Minh Group and Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group Corporation were detained and rumors of some property corporations grappling with difficulties flew around. Besides, banks have successfully wooed investors into the savings channel with high interest rates, placing a strain on the market.

Ministry seeks feedback on fuel management and regulations

To mitigate the ongoing fuel shortage, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has drafted two official dispatches on the management and regulations on trading fuel and sent them to authorities.
In the documents, the ministry asked for feedback from provincial and municipal governments and relevant authorities on eight main issues.

They comprise the interval between fuel price adjustments, regulations on discounts for retailers, whether retailers are allowed to buy gasoline from different fuel wholesalers, obligations and rights of fuel distributors, unifying state management agencies of petroleum products, the management and use of the fuel price stabilization fund, and regulations on fining violations related to trading petroleum products.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade and fuel wholesalers to report on fuel import costs.

Through observation, the MOF held that the country’s fuel base price of petrol and oil had been higher than the import costs of recent petroleum shipments.

Can Tho to break ground on VND4-trillion beltway project

A beltway project west of Can Tho City will get off the ground tomorrow, November 17, with an investment of nearly VND4 trillion, according to the Can Tho Department of Transport.
The project will connect National Highways 91 and 61C, and pass through five districts and towns in Can Tho, including O Mon, Binh Thuy, Phong Dien, Ninh Kieu and Cai Rang.

It will be 19.3 kilometers long and 33 meters wide, with a maximum speed of 50-60kph.

Additionally, the project will have 14 culverts, nine interchanges, nine turnarounds and 25 bridges, of which the Ba Lang Bridge crossing the Can Tho River is the largest, with a length of 518 meters.

Work on the project is expected to be completed in 2026.

The beltway is an important part of the city’s transport infrastructure as it connects three arterial routes of the Mekong Delta region, comprising national highways 91, 61C, and 1, stated the Can Tho People’s Committee.

Thereby, it will help ease traffic congestion, reinforce the inter-regional traffic system, connect Can Tho City with neighboring provinces and create a strong motivation for socioeconomic development.

In recent years, traffic congestion in Can Tho City has worsening, especially in inner-city districts such as Ninh Kieu, Binh Thuy and Cai Rang.

Railway across Hai Van Pass proposed for renovation

Vietnam Railways has written to the Ministry of Transport proposing renovating and reinforcing the railway section across Hai Van Pass to ensure safety and enhance the effectiveness of the North-South railway.

Recent storms and heavy rains have caused landslides and destroyed the infrastructure of the railway in this area which had initially deteriorated and had yet to be adequately invested in, leading to the unsafety of the train operation.

Representatives of the Ministry of Transport and relevant agencies conducted an on-site inspection on November 1 to evaluate the current status of the railway infrastructure section across Hai Van Pass.

After the inspection, 20 landslide positions on the railway were found, causing serious damage to the infrastructure and risks to railway operations if they are not fixed in time.

Vietnam Railways, via the Ministry of Transport, requested the Prime Minister to allocate VND1,332 billion from the State budget for fixing and renovating this railway section.

The renovation will include reinforcing the talus of sections vulnerable to landslides, renovating railways and bridges and upgrading three tunnels.

The railway section across Hai Van Pass on the Hanoi-HCMC route is 20 kilometers long, with one side being a mountain and the other being a deep abyss. This is one of the important sections of the entire railway system but also a capacity constraint on the North-South route, as the train is normally operated at a very low speed of 5-15 kilometers per hour to ensure safety.

Vietnam Foodexpo 2022 kicks off in HCM City

The Vietnam Foodexpo 2022, one of the major exhibitions in the food industry, opened in Ho Chi Minh City on November 16, drawing nearly 400 businesses from 30 domestic localities and nearly 20 foreign countries and territories.

More than 500 booths at the event are showcasing agricultural products, raw and processed aquatic products, processed foods, machineries, equipment, food processing technology, food preservation and packaging technology, food safety and hygiene technology.

According to the organising board, a series of trade and investment promotion activities will be held within the framework of the exhibition which will last until November 19.

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