The Government has planned to invest a total capital of 1.25 trillion VND (54.3 million USD) to three large projects in the Central Highlands region, focusing on agricultural production, wood processing and real estate.  

Seeing ten potential, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW dated October 6, 2022, on the direction of socio-economic development and assurance of national defence and security in the Central Highlands until 2030, vision to 2045 with some new focus on promoting the development of transport infrastructure of the Central Highlands, connecting with other regions.

Accordingly, in the resolution, nine important transport projects in the Central Highlands region from 2030 to 2045 will be invested, including five important road projects, namely Quy Nhon – Pleiku, Khanh Hòa – Buon Me Thuot, Tan Phu – Bao Loc, Bao Loc – Lien Khuong and Gia Nghia – Nhon Trach.

The investment would help the Central Highlands connect with other key economic regions, especially the south-central economic region, and to help the Central Highlands develop tourism in the coming time, said Deputy Minister Dong.

Ministry of Industry and Trade may issue renewable energy price framework in late November

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is expected to complete the appraisal of the new renewable energy price framework on November 25-30, which is a basis for Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to negotiate the specific price with the investors.

“On October 3, the MoIT issued Circular No.15/2022/TT-BCT providing regulations on the method for formulating power generating tariff ranges for electricity generation of transitional wind and solar power plants,” said Pham Nguyen Hung, deputy director of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Department.

“The price framework is the basis for EVN to negotiate with the investors of renewable energy projects. To date, there are approximately 4,000MW of transitional wind and solar power sources,” Hung said.

Regarding the projects being operated and enjoying feed-in-tariff, the MoIT will propose the prime minister to issue the document to guide authorities to review the contracts between EVN and investors.

Besides this, the MoIT will propose the prime minister remove Decision No.13/2020/QD-TTg on the mechanism to encourage the development of solar power in Vietnam, and other decisions providing mechanisms to support the development of wind power projects in Vietnam.

Explaining the reason for MoIT’s proposal to remove above these decisions, which means that there will not add any new renewable energy projects to the planning by 2030, Hung said that the latest draft of the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP 8) has added 726MW of concentrated solar power. Over 400MW is completed, 300MW is being installed.

On October 12, the Electricity Trading Company (EVNEPTC) sent an urgent document to 293 units and projects that have signed contracts with EVN to ask them to provide the necessary information and comments about the new price framework and then send it back to EVNEPTC before October 21.

However, by the deadline, 59 units and projects replied and some units and projects submitted details but still lacked some information.

Vicem Hoang Thach Cement Co. Ltd. chairman detained

The police in the northern province of Hai Duong recently detained Le Thanh Long, chairman of Vicem Hoang Thach Cement Company Limited, the local media reported.

On November 12, the Hai Duong police issued an arrest warrant for Long, 59, who was also a member of the board at Hoang Thach Bagging Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of Vicem Hoang Thach Cement Company Limited.

The information was revealed in the Hoang Thach Bagging Joint Stock Company’s paperwork sent to the State Securities Commission of Vietnam.

Long has been chairman of Vicem Hoang Thach Cement Company Limited and a member of the board at Hoang Thach Bagging Joint Stock Company since January 2020.

Recently, investigators also arrested Nguyen Van Chang on allegations of bid-related wrongdoings that caused serious consequences during his tenure at Hoang Thach Cement Company Limited.

At the time, Chang was chairman of Vicem Bim Son Cement Joint Stock Company and a board member at Vicem Packaging But Son Joint Stock Company.

Food production boosted in preparation for shopping spree 

Food and beverage manufacturers are ramping up output in preparation for a demand surge at the end of the year.

According to an analysis of Mordor Intelligence Inc, a leading market research company, the Vietnam food service market is projected to register a compound annual growth rate of 8.65% from 2021 to 2026.

The forecast shows a positive outlook for the industry amid widespread economic distress caused by Covid-19 and input price upheavals. Still, there is considerable scope for growth in the sector.

Vinh Thanh Dat Food Corporation reported that it had produced a massive amount of egg products, enough to meet the market demand even if it surged by 50%. The company predicted that egg prices would not rise in the coming time.

Ly Kim Chi, chair of the Food and Foodstuff Association of HCMC (FFA), said most enterprises in the industry had stored goods for adequate supply until February 2023. However, they accumulated stocks for just three months instead of six as usual due to a lack of capital, she added.

In a recent report, FFA projected that the demand for food products would soar by 30% in late 2022.

Statistics from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam showed that the food service market accounted for nearly a fifth of the manufacturing and processing sector, the highest among other industries.

Danang revokes long-stalled railway station project

Danang City has decided to revoke the 18-year railway station project in Lien Chieu District, the local media reported.

Le Quang Nam, vice chairman of the Danang People’s Committee, on November 17, ordered termination of the city’s railway station construction plan in an area encompassing four communes of Lien Chieu District.

The new railway station will be relocated to Hoa Vang District as part of the city’s overall planning for 2030, with a vision to 2045, authorized by the Prime Minister.

As Danang’s current station is located inside the city, the new station project is aimed at reducing traffic congestion and improving the railway operating efficiency.

The former station project, approved in 2004, consisted of two components with a total investment of roughly VND12,600 billion.

As planned, the authorities would move the station to the city’s west, construct a new railway section stretching 29 kilometers and develop additional technical facilities.

Still, the project has yet to get off the ground due to implementation obstacles. With the revised plan, there will be a commercial and service center in the area initially intended for the construction of the station in Lien Chieu District.

Over 5,000 Vietnamese accommodations receive Booking.com’s sustainability badge

Digital travel platform Booking.com has granted its Travel Sustainable badge to 5,093 accommodations in Vietnam since the launch of the programme one year ago.

The programme was introduced in 2021 to provide travellers with transparent and credible information to make more mindful choices for their trips, according to Booking.com.

A report released by the travel website in April showed that sustainable travel has become a new trend all over the world, including in Vietnam, during the post-pandemic period.

Specifically, 96% of surveyed Vietnamese travellers responded that they want to travel more sustainably, while 93% said that they would be more likely to choose a sustainable accommodation, whether they were looking for one specifically or not.

Aware of the trends, accommodations in Vietnam have been renovated to meet the criteria of an environmentally-friendly accommodation.

Statistics by Booking.com shows that Vietnam ranks 5th in the Asia-Pacific in terms of the largest number of accommodations with the Travel Sustainable badge, behind India, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Globally, the leaders are Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the US, Brazil, India, the UK, Greece and Poland.

North-South Expy contractor may be replaced for construction delays

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang has sought the suspension of the Hoang Long Construction Investment Corporation if it fails to meet the deadline of the North-South Expy project.

The request came after Minister Thang found construction delays in the Mai Son-National Highway 45 section during his inspection of the expressway project in Thanh Hoa Province yesterday, November 17.

A report from the Transport Construction Investment Management Authority shows that Hoang Long Construction Investment Corporation has yet to mobilize enough machinery, equipment and human resources for the construction of the Mai Son-National Highway 45 section.

According to the previous plan, the 53-kilometer expressway section will be open to traffic at the end of 2022. However, work on the remaining 10-kilometer section of the project has yet to be completed.

Given the construction delays, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang required the functional units to assign the remaining work to the Deoca Group if contractor Hoang Long fails to meet the deadline.

The contractors must speed up the construction and complete the expressway section before December 15 this year.

Minister Thang said that any contractor failing to meet the deadline of the North-South Expressway project phase one would face punishment and not be allowed to participate in the project for the 2021-2025 period.

The Ministry of Transport has carried out 11 components of the North-South Expressway project phase 1.

Some four components, comprising the Mai Son-National Highway 45, Cam Lo-La Son, Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay sections, are expected to be completed at the end of 2022. The other seven components will be completed in 2023 and 2024.

Gov’t approves 400-hectare industrial park project in Dak Nong

The Government has given the green light to the Nhan Co 2 industrial park project, which will cover 400 hectares of land in Dak R’lap District in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong.
Tran Van Dieu, head of the Dak Nong government’s office, said on November 17 that Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh signed a decision allowing investment in the industrial park in Nhan Co Commune.

Capella Quang Nam JSC will be the investor of the project, which will operate for 50 years, the local media reported.

The Government tasked the provincial government with directing relevant units to estimate the project’s total cost and ensure capital mobilization for the project in line with the prevailing regulations.

Besides, the province was told to speed up the processes of land reclamation, resettlement and conversion for land use purposes.

Investment options weighed for Con Dao Airport upgrade

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has requested the Ministry of Transport and relevant agencies to evaluate two investment options for expanding and upgrading the Con Dao Airport off the coast of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

The first investment option suggests the expansion project be carried out in accordance with the investment law and the law on public investment. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam will be the main investor of the project.

This option will help ensure the rights of state-owned enterprises, stable operations, as well as the national defense and security role of the airport.

However, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) still could not secure a budget for the 2021-2025 period to invest in the Con Dao Airport expansion project in accordance with the approved plan.

Regarding the second option, the project will be funded by the private sector under the law on public-private partnerships. The Ba Ria-Vung Tau People’s Committee will be in charge of implementing the project in this case.

It helps share the financial burden with the Government and the ACV.

Nevertheless, the operation mechanism of the airport will be changed as the state-owned enterprise ACV is no longer the main investor in this second option. Therefore, the coordination in national defense and security of the airport will be greatly affected.

Night-time economy development grapples with inadequacies

Despite the night-time economy showing a lot of potential, the country’s five biggest cities are finding it tough to develop it due to inadequate investment in infrastructure, according to the Departments of Industry and Trade of these cities.

The HCMC Department of Industry and Trade (DOIT) held the fifth conference of the industry and trade sector 2022 between five centrally-run cities on November 16.

According to a representative of Danang, the city has had a hard time developing the night-time economy as it has no abundant products and services, and most of the projects serving the night-time activities are small-sized and spontaneous.

Other factors such as culture, traditional management and concerns over the night-time economy’s negative impacts have hindered the development of night-night services.

The five centrally-run cities share common obstacles as they have the same socioeconomic development level, said a deputy director of HCMC DOIT, adding that the night-time economy can help boost economic growth if materials and infrastructure are exploited effectively. However, all activities serving the development of the economy are currently focused on the daytime, resulting in traffic congestion and noise pollution.

Currently, there is no statutory provision detailing the management and operation of the night-time economy. Therefore, municipal governments have no legal basis to advise businesses when they register their projects.

In the coming time, HCMC will focus on building night shopping quarters, city tours by boat and food courts to develop this economic model. Districts 1, 7, 11, Phu Nhuan and Can Gio District will be the first to run the trial program.

Fuel shortage drags on in Can Tho, Binh Duong

The fuel shortfall continued to linger in the southern province of Binh Duong and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, forcing local retailers to put up “out of stock” notifications. The shortage was caused by an inadequate supply from fuel wholesalers. 

The Vietnam News Agency reported that the lack of fuel in Can Tho resulted from Nam Song Hau Trading Investing Petroleum Joint Stock Company (NSH Petro) failing to satisfy the city’s demand due to delays in the shipment of RON 95-III gasoline from the Dung Quat oil refinery and MTBE, the material for fuel blending.

The two localities have worked with gasoline distributors and told them to boost supplies to cope with the shortage.

NSH Petro said it would tap the reserves to supply local retailers, preventing them from shutting down. Besides, it raised the discount rates for gasoline to VND200-350 per liter.

The Binh Duong Department of Industry and Trade has ordered Thanh Le General Import-Export Trading Corporation and Petrolimex Song Be Company Limited to increase output by 10-12% over 2021 to ensure adequate supply for the province.

Meanwhile, the suppliers in the province voiced their concerns over the low base price of fuel petrol and oil, saying it is no longer appropriate under the current circumstances. They also proposed allowing tank trucks to transport fuel between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Massive layoffs result from slow order growth

Many employees are dealing with reduced work hours or layoffs due to difficulties plaguing the manufacturing sector caused by a lack of new orders.

Statistics from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) showed that in recent months, the work hours of around 562,400 workers had been cut, over 31,000 were forced to take unpaid leave and some 31,370 were laid off.

The HCMC-based Footgearmex Footwear Company Limited announced it would fire nearly 1,200 workers on December 1 due to weaker new order growth, forcing the company to downsize.

The Vietnam Samho Company Limited in Cu Chi District also said it would dismiss over 1,400 employees, equivalent to some 16% of its total staff, for the same reason.

Massive layoffs have occurred in 25 localities until now, including 100 domestic enterprises and 331 foreign-invested companies, most of which operate in the manufacturing sector, said Tran Thi Thanh Ha, head of the Labor Relations Department of VGCL. 

HCM City enters peak season of int’l tourism

Ho Chi Minh City’s travel market is forecast to boom later this year and early next year, especially during Christmas and New Year holidays.
 
HCM City welcomed 546,000 foreign visitors in October, lifting the total number of international arrivals to the city in the last 10 months to 2.65 million, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.

The local tourism sector has developed new products, and prepared events to promote local tourism potential, aiming to attract more tourists in the remaining months of the year.

Local travel agencies have been improving the quality of products to bring unique and unforgettable experience to visitors.

They have also joined events and fairs to introduce tourism attractions in the city to international travelers.

Domestic car sales to rise before Tet holiday: experts

Vietnam’s automotive market is expected to see car sales rise during the holiday season, as the industry continues to recover after sluggish sales during the global pandemic, according to experts.

According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA), sales volume of automobiles in Vietnam reached 36,560 units in October, an increase of 9.3% over September and 22.7% against the same period last year.

The number of passenger cars sold increased by 10% from the previous month to 28,230 units. Deliveries of commercial vehicles grew by 6% to 8,003 units, while deliveries of special-purpose vehicles rose by 4% to 327 units.

Meanwhile, there were 20,051 completely knocked-down (CKD) vehicles and 16,509 completely built units (CBUs) sold in October, a rise of 17% and 1%, respectively, compared to last month.

In total, 397,457 vehicles were sold by VAMA members in the first 10 months of 2022, up 52% from the same period last year. Auto sales could exceed 400,000 for the first time in eight years.

Apart from car sales of VAMA’s members, Vietnam’s automotive market also saw strong sales of car manufacturers such as Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo as well. However, they did not make public their sales figures.

Other car manufacturers, such as Hyundai and VinFast, recorded combined sales of 10,000 cars per month. If those figures are added, Vietnam’s car sales would surpass the 400,000-unit mark for the first 10 months of the year.

Experts said Vietnam’s macroeconomic stability, increasingly stable car supply and impressive sales of many newly released models will continue to help the local auto market maintain its growth in upcoming months.

The domestic auto market is expected to remain robust in the remaining months this year as it enters the peak season in preparation for coming Tet (Lunar New Year 2023).

Dealers have been giving discounts for the end-of-year holiday season and Tet, Vietnamese biggest holiday, which falls in late January in 2023.

Sectors on course to surpass 2022 export goals

With ten-month positive results, Vietnam’s major currency earners like aquatic products, rice, coffee, footwear and handbags are very likely to exceed their export revenue targets set early this year.

With its 10 billion USD goal this year, aquatic products already brought home 9.5 billion USD in the ten months of this year, up 34% annually. The figure for the whole year is estimated at 11.2-11.4 billion USD, a record in the past more than two decades.

The rice sector targeted selling 6.3 million tonnes worth 3.3 billion USD, but the Vietnam Food Association said 6.5 million tonnes of rice valued at 3.5 billion USD are likely to be consumed soon, given that exporters sold nearly 6.1 million tonnes for 2.95 billion USD in the past 10 months, up 17.2% in volume and 7.4% in value.

Coffee has also surpassed the goal of 3 billion USD as it earned 3.27 billion USD from exports in the period, up 33.4% in value and 10.6% in value year-on-year. It is on course to achieve 3.8 billion USD this year.

The goal of 25 billion USD by footwear and handbags sector is also within reach as it raked in 23.34 billion USD in January-October. With an average turnover of 2.2 billion USD each month, it is completely feasible to reach 27 billion USD this year.

However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said in recent months, the number of new orders has been falling while inventories in retail system remain high.

Against that backdrop, the ministry directed the Vietnam Trade Offices abroad actively instruct firms to switch to Asian markets that are less impacted by inflation to diversify markets and ease reliance on traditional markets.

Over 7 million EUR to aid delta farmers’ green production

The German-funded Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food Sector (GIC) project worth over 7 million EUR is underway in Mekong Delta localities.

Co-implemented by German development agency GIZ and the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development, the project aims to promote the introduction and replication of innovative models and solutions through various agricultural products in contribution to sustainable rural development.

Accordingly, a series of goals have been set, including helping farmers reduce 40% of water use, 25% chemical use, 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, and 60 of pesticides.

Beneficiaries are the provinces of An Giang, Kien Giang, Hau Giang, Dong Thap, Soc Trang, and Can Tho city.

Kamila Tovbaeva, Coordinator of the Component Coordinator of Capacity Building for Cooperatives and Farmers under GFA Consulting Company, said the GFA will provide assistance to 90 cooperatives in the Green Innovation Project located in six delta localities as well as business training for nearly 8,000 farmers until 2023.

Green FDI inflows promoted in Vietnam

Danish toymaker LEGO has officially begun the construction of its 1 billion USD project in the southern province of Binh Duong as green investment starts to take shape in Vietnam.

The project covers an area of 44ha in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park III, making it the company’s sixth in the world and second in Asia.

LEGO CEO Niels B. Christiansen said it is the first factory designed as a neutral carbon facility. Apart from solar panels on the roof, the factory will also have a nearby solar power farm to meet annual energy demand and use energy-saving equipment to meet the minimum standards of LEED Gold, a green building certification used worldwide.

Once completed in 2024, the factory is expected to generate thousands of jobs for skilled workers, contributing to Binh Duong’s economic development in the coming years.

Although LEGO's project is considered an important milestone, this is not the only one contributing to the trend of green FDI inflows in Vietnam.

A few months ago, Pandora, a Danish jewelry manufacturer, decided to invest 100 USD million in building a new facility in Binh Duong. The plant is set to follow the LEED Gold standard and be powered by renewable energy. It will create jobs for more than 6,000 craftspeople and have an annual capacity of 60 million pieces of jewellery.

Recently, DHL Express, the world's leading international express delivery service provider, inaugurated its newest operation centre in Vietnam. It is worth mentioning that, with the goal of sustainable development at the heart of all business activities, the centre has been equipped with a series of technologies to help reduce carbon emissions and optimise efficiency.

Notably, European investors are very interested in green projects in Vietnam.

Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) Alain Cany said that EuroCham is implementing an investment promotion programme, planning to bring 300 European enterprises in green economic fields to Vietnam to explore investment opportunities. Related feedback has been positive.

With policies to encourage sustainable growth, Vietnam can leap ahead of many other countries in the region, said Cany.

Vietnam, China bolster customs collaboration

The eighth dialogue between the Customs Departments of three northeast provinces - Lang Son, Cao Bang, Quang Ninh -  and their counterpart in Nanning, China, took place in Lang Son on November 18 in virtual form.

Both sides noted that after the seventh dialogue, thanks to their joint efforts, customs clearance of goods through border gates have been improved with higher efficiency.

However, limitations remain due to the implementation of disease control measures in border gates area, hindering import-export activities at times. 

At the dialogue, participants looked into outstanding problems in their coordination and suggested solutions to them, with a view to promoting the cooperation between the customs agencies of the three Vietnamese provinces and Nanning towards greater efficiency.

They agreed on a number of cooperation contents and programmes which will be deployed in the coming time.

This year, customs agencies of the two countries have detected and handled 189 cases of smuggling goods worth over 5.1 trillion VND (204 million USD). They also discovered nine cases of illegally transporting drugs through the border gates.

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