Each bank is required to review its banking system while giving tough penalties on those who require customers to buy insurance that is not really necessary when granting credit to customers, and approving loans to customers in accordance with regulations, according to the State Bank of Vietnam’s request.

The State Bank of Vietnam's branch in Ho Chi Minh City has just issued a written request to credit institutions and foreign bank branches citywide to comply with the direction of the State Bank of Vietnam regarding insurance business and insurance agents.

The State Bank of Vietnam’s branch in Ho Chi Minh City said that it had previously received complaints from associations and manufacturers that businesses were forced to buy insurance when applying for loans. This made the input costs of enterprises surge, causing difficulties in the context of increasing input costs and this is not in line with administrative reform of the banking sector.

Accordingly, the state bank has written requests to credit institutions in the city to continue to reform administrative procedures as well as digital transformation to help administrations faster and increase service convenience to reduce costs for customers.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam branch in Ho Chi Minh City, credit institutions should expand and develop services to facilitate stable lending interest rates and support businesses. In addition, credit institutions ought to continue to implement the Government’s preferential credit programs with interest rates as well as the municipal People's Committee’s direction on capital concentration for production and business.

In addition, this state bank branch also required credit institutions to strictly comply with regulations on interest rates, credit, and exchange rates, and strengthen internal inspection and control to ensure compliance with the banking sector’s regulations.

Particularly in the foreign exchange sector, the State Bank asked commercial banks to pay more attention to cross-border money transfers, foreign currency trading, payment and exchange at the end of the year.

Trade data remains positive in January-October period

Viet Nam's trade with the rest of the world reached US$616.3 billion in the first ten months of 2022, up 14.1 percent over the same period in 2021.

According to official statistics released by the General Department of Viet Nam Customs on November 21, 2022, the total import-export value of the whole country in October reached US$58.27 billion, a slight increase of 0.1 percent (equivalent to an increase of US$67 million) compared to September.

The trade balance of goods in October recorded a surplus of US$2.47 billion, bringing the goods trade surplus in 10 months this year to US$9.59 billion. Specifically, exports in October 2022 reached US$30.37 billion, up 1.9 percent (equivalent to US$552 million in absolute terms) compared to the previous month.

In the first ten months of 2022, the total export value stood at US$312.94 billion, up 16 percent (equivalent to US$43.1 billion) over the same period last year. On the contrary, imports of goods in October 2022 were estimated at US$27.9 billion, down 1.7 percent (equivalent to US$485 million) compared to the previous month.

Some good groups witnessing a sharp decrease in import value include machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts (down US$309 million); crude oil  ($224 million); computers, electronic products and components (US$221 million); raw materials for textiles, leather and footwear (US$105 million).

Regarding the import-export market in January-October period, Viet Nam's goods trade with Asia reached US$398.41 billion, accounting for 64.6 percent of the country's total trade volume.

Trade value with America reached US$131.23 billion, up 16.8 percent; Europe - US$64.7 billion, up 8.9 percent; Oceania - US$15.02 billion, up 30.4 percent and Africa - US$6.94 billion, down slightly by 1.5 percent compared to 10 months of 2021.

The import-export value of FDI sector in the first ten months rose 14.6 percent on year to US$428.99 billion.

Vietnamese rice export showing impressively positive signs

Economist experts commented that the target of Vietnam to export 7 tonnes of rice in 2022 is within the power. In addition, the export price of 5-percent broken rice is leading the world, at US$425-230 per tonne. These are truly positive signs to the national economy at the end of this year.

Rice growing and exporting of Vietnam so far have received several good news. The ST24, ST25 rice type have entered the top-4 most delicious rice in the world. Trung An Hi-tech Farming JSC. (in Can Tho City) has its rice products accredited under GlobalGAP standards and accepted in picky markets like the EU and the Republic of Korea.

Vietnam each year imports around 1 million tonnes of rice, while it is a renowned rice exporter. For instance, in 2021, the country bought 999,750 tonnes of rice from other nations, 72 percent of which came from India. This has raised certain concern in the community.

The reason why Vietnam has imported 100-percent broken rice from India since 2021 is its cheap price ($100-140 per tonne) compared to the domestic price ($430-450 a tonne). This rice type is used for brewing wine and beer, producing vermicelli and pho noodle, making animal feed, which is obviously profitable.

However, rice experts worry that when the imported rice prices are cheaper than the domestic ones, rice businesses might buy even rice for daily meals, negatively affecting rice farmers in the country. That is why the Ministry of Industry and Trade has lately proposed to add regulations on rice import into Decree No.107 on rice export business conditions.

This amendment is considered necessary to perfect the legal frame for management units to monitor this important produce according to the real context and timely handle any arisen issues for sustainable rice production and export. Yet this control over rice trading should not be administrative orders or rigid regulations that might cause more difficulties for rice import-export businesses.

Email system helps promote Vietnamese tourism

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has developed a special email system as part of efforts to promote Vietnamese tourism at https://mail.vietnam.travel.

This marks the first time that the Vietnamese tourism industry has had an email system in order to serve tourism promotion activities.

The purpose of the move is to enhance digital transformation in the tourism sector, focusing on building tools and applications in a bid to increase travel experience.

The target subjects of the email system are those who work in fields which promote Vietnam's tourism at tourism management agencies, tourism promotion centres, associations, and businesses.

According to VNAT, the email system plays an important role in building professional and efficient communication and transaction tools, thereby contributing to introducing Vietnamese tourism brand to the international market.

Over 520 foreign firms attend 20th Vietnam Expo

More than 520 businesses from 20 countries and territories around the world are anticipated to attend the 20th Vietnam Expo between December 1 and December 3 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The highlight of the event will be the Republic of Korean’s pavilion which will see a total of 61 businesses operating in the fields of beauty products and equipment, household and digital technology from leading manufacturing regions such as Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Daejeon.

Furthermore, there will also be a booth from Tianjin City in China, with 28 suppliers of mechanical goods, machinery, components, electronics, food, and consumer goods, while businesses from Pakistan and Sri Lanka will display products related to food and beverages, as well as an abundant source of raw materials for processing.

As a means of optimising the brand identity of the 520 participating businesses, organisers have been proactive in arranging exhibition areas corresponding to specialised exhibitions.

This includes International Hardware & Hand Tools Expo (Hardwar & Hand Tools Expo); International Exhibition of Landscape & Horticultural Technology (Garden& Landscape); Vietnam Supporting Industry Products Exhibition (VSIF), and the International Exhibition for Elevators, Lifts, Technologies & Accessoriess (Vietnam Elevator Expo).

Moreover, a series of seminars will be held within the framework of the exhibition.

Da Lat-Lam Dong welcomes more than 7 million visitors in 2022

This information was announced by the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee on November 22 during a conference to review the socio-economic situation in 2022 and deploy tasks and solutions in 2023.

Accordingly, there have been 150,000 international visitors, reaching 100% of the set plan, an increase of 700% compared to 2021. Visitors registered to stay overnight reached 5.5 million, reaching 110% of the plan and up 300% over the same period in 2021.

Revenue from accommodation, catering and tourism services reached VND 11.9 trillion, up more than 122%.

Implementing the Lam Dong Provincial Party Committee’s Resolution No. 18-NQ/TU, dated July 25, 2022, on developing high-quality tourism in the province to 2025 with orientation to 2030, the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee has directed and organised many programmes and events to attract domestic and foreign tourists, such as Lam Dong Tourism Golden Week, and has also been promoting the reopening of several charter flights from the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia to Lam Dong from July 2022.

Therefore, tourism activities in the province have recovered quickly.

The 9th Da Lat Flower Festival - 2022 is expected to attract a large number of visitors. The festival will feature a series of events from November to the end of December, consisting of nine main programmes, held mainly in the space of Da Lat City and Bao Loc City, along with 12 response programmes and more than 30 other events.

Gia Lai set to develop 135 renewable energy projects

The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai plans to invest in 135 renewable energy and power grid projects, with a total capacity of some 15,566 MW, between 2021 and 2030.

This plan was put forward at a meeting on November 21 on renewable energy development between the provincial People’s Committee and the Ministry of Industry and Trade and EU delegations.

The provincial government at the meeting proposed that the prime minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade consider adding 135 projects to the national power development plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

To date, Gia Lai has attracted renewable energy investors and received the green light from authorities to invest in 88 projects, whose total capacity reaches nearly 4,400 MW.

Additionally, the province is set to expand its project to provide electricity to rural areas. The expansion project is expected to cost VND1,217 billion.

Food enterprises accelerate investment to meet increasing demand in countries

Export turnover of agricultural products and food groups achieved a growth rate of over 20 percent in the first 10 months of 2022. Realizing the increasing demand in countries for agricultural products and food at the end of the year, many enterprises have accelerated investment to seize the golden opportunity.

It is estimated that by the end of November 2022, seafood export turnover achieved US$10 billion which comes earlier than expected. Vietnamese food has been sold in markets of member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) generating revenue of about $2.6 billion, an increase of 40 percent compared to 2021 and an increase of 13.6 percent compared to 2018. Exports to each country in the bloc also grew by double digits compared to 2021, such as Japan up 33 percent, Canada up 67 percent, Australia up 53 percent, Malaysia up 34 percent, and Mexico increased by 59 percent.

Generally, export turnover of the group of agricultural - forestry - fishery products from the beginning of the year until now has recorded an increase of $45 billion, up 14.1 percent compared to the same period last year and is sprinting to achieve $55 billion by the end of this year. Amongst commodities, there are 8 products and product groups with an export value of over $2 billion including coffee, rubber, rice, vegetables, cashew, shrimp, pangasius and wood products.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of the Export Support Center under the Trade Promotion Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, added that coffee in the Chinese market is forecast to grow at an average of 10.42 percent per year in the 2022-2027 period.

International plastics, rubber expo opens in HCM City

The 20th Vietnam International Plastics and Rubber Industry Exhibition (VietnamPlas 2022) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on November 23 with both offline and online displays.

It has 270 manufacturers from 19 countries and territories showcasing their latest technologies and development trends in the plastic and rubber industries.

High-profile international brands such as Haitian (Huayuan), Yizumi, Borch, Fu Chun Shin, and Chen Hsong are displaying plastic injection moulding machines, Chen Way and Full Shine have plastic blowing moulding machines with a variety of applications and Polystarl has equipment for plastic recycling, in which Vietnam has huge potential.

Rusplast and Sibur from Russia, Duromer from Australia, Kyodo from Japan, Motan from Germany, and PGPICC from Iran have brought quality raw materials.

Leading brands from Europe and North America such as Boucherie, Roll-o-Matic, Davis-Standard, Milliken, and Datacolor are displaying their latest technologies for various manufacturing solutions. 

The four-day event will see a number of seminars, including on ‘Compliance Regulations for Toys and Food Contact Products Exporting to the US and EU Markets’ hosted by the Vietnam Plastics Association.

Vietnam Expo 2022 to open in HCM City next month

The Vietnam International Trade Fair 2022 (VIETNAM EXPO) will take place from December 1 to 3 in Ho Chi Minh City, expecting to draw 520 businesses.

According to the Vietnam National Trade Fair & Advertising Company (Vinexad), the organiser of the event, the exhibition will cover 10,000sq.m at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC), attracting roughly 20,000 visitors.

The event has received registrations from foreign businesses from many countries and territories, including the UK, the US, Japan, Germany, Russia, Spain, the Netherlands, Thailand, Switzerland, China, India, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong (China), Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Slovenia, Italy and Vietnam.

The fair has four exhibition zones, the Vietnam Elevator Expo, Hardware and Hand Tools, Vietnam Supporting Industry Fair and Garden and Landscape.

The Korean national pavilion will also be one of the event’s features. With a total area of nearly 500sq.m, some 61 businesses will be exhibiting products that are the RoK’s strengths such as beauty products and equipment, household appliances and consumables and digital technology that come from leading manufacturing regions such as Gyeonggi, Incheon and Daejeon.

Da Lat to supply nearly 200 million flower branches on Tet

Da Lat City in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong will provide around 200 million flower branches of different kinds for the coming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Local residents started growing flowers for the Tet season from the ninth lunar month, including 300 hectares of daisies and roses and 100 hectares of lily flowers. Farmers also plant other kinds of flowers such as orchids and carnations.

To date, the city’s total flower area has risen to 850 hectares.

The major market for Dalat’s flowers are HCM City, southeastern and central localities.

Each hectare of flowers produces value of between VND900 million (USD36,29) and VND1.2 billion (USD43,387).

Commercial banks asked to lend more for production and business

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) requires credit institutions with room to actively disburse loans for production and business, especially in priority areas.

SBV's request came as an official dispatch to credit institutions and foreign bank branches on credit growth in 2022.

Accordingly, the SBV requires credit institutions that still have room to actively disburse loans into production and business, especially in priority fields such as agriculture, rural areas, export, small and medium-sized enterprises, supporting industries, high-tech enterprises, and other fields that are drivers for economic growth.

In addition, credit institutions must ensure stable liquidity, safe banking operations, and strictly control credit from potentially risky areas.

Going forward, the SBV will provide appropriate management solutions following the government's policy and demands of commercial banks and enterprises.

Transport link between Mekong Delta and Cai Mep, Cat Lai ports proposed

The Vietnam Ship Agents, Brokers and Maritime Services Providers Association (VISABA) has proposed establishing a waterway transport route from the Mekong Delta region to the deep-water ports of Cai Mep and Cat Lai through Quan Chanh Bo Canal.

Some 70-75% of the Mekong Delta region’s annual imported and exported cargo is transported to the ports in HCMC and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The majority of this cargo is now transported using road transport, while the port cluster in the Mekong region could not be fully exploited.

Currently, the waterway transport routes connecting the port cluster in Can Tho to Cai Mep and HCMC are mainly traveling through the Tien River – Vam Nao River, with a length of 367 kilometers, and Tien River – Cho Lach District – Mang Thit River, at a length of 235 kilometers, costing some VND7 million per TEU.

According to VISABA, the proposed waterway transport route, connecting the Mekong Delta region to the deep-water ports of Cai Mep and Cat Lai through Quan Chanh Bo Canal, which is 200 kilometers long, will help reduce the transport cost to VND3 million per TEU.

Besides easing road traffic congestion and logistics costs, the proposed waterway route is expected to reduce the need to dredge canals for heavily-loaded vessels in the Mekong Delta region.

High lending rates dampen housing market

Increasing interest rates are forcing homebuyers to make difficult decisions, including selling their homes to pay off their mortgages.

Interest rates on consumer loans have increased by two to four percentage points against early this year to 12-13%, bringing many borrowers to their knees.

Last year, annual interest rates ranged from 7% to 8%, but now it is impossible to take out a loan with an interest rate below 10%, said Pham Anh Khoi, head of the Finance – Economics – Real Estate Institute of Dat Xanh Services.

Tight monetary policy in other economies, coupled with soaring inflation and local banks having used up their credit growth quotas, has resulted in the recent spikes in interest rates, a commercial bank leader said.

Under the current circumstances, it is difficult for homeowners to sell their homes to pay off their mortgages, as buyers hesitate to take out loans due to high lending rates, further paralyzing the housing market.

Bank deposits increase again

According to the latest updated data from the State Bank of Vietnam about customers' deposits in the credit institution system, after decreasing for two consecutive months, deposits have increased again, gaining more than VND106 trillion in September.

Specifically, deposits of institutional customers rose by nearly VND105 trillion in just one month, reaching VND5.78 quadrillion. While two months ago, this block's deposits fell by VND170 trillion.

Deposits of individual customers also increased slowly, only going up by VND1.44 trillion compared to the end of August, reaching VND5.63 quadrillion. While two months ago, individual deposits surged by more than VND17.5 trillion.

Since the beginning of the year, deposits of the whole system have climbed by more than VND475 trillion, equivalent to 4.33 percent. Meanwhile, in the first ten months of the year, the credit balance of the whole economy gained by 11.05 percent, exceeding VND11.57 quadrillion.

Vietnam Export Promotion Forum 2022 to get underway in HCM City

The Vietnam Export Promotion Forum 2022 is set to take place in Ho Chi Minh City on November 28 in an effort to seek solutions on sustainable growth, provide fresh impetus to the transition towards a green economy, and improve the capacity of firms to boost green exports.

The annual event is primarily aimed at effectively implementing the Import-Export Strategy moving towards 2030 and the National Strategy on Green Growth for 2021 - 2030 with a vision to 2050, which has been approved by the Prime Minister.

It also serves as a policy dialogue channel for facilitating export promotion and identifying opportunities and prospects for Vietnamese exports so as to improve the overall competitiveness of local export items.

The event is anticipated to attract the participation of numerous relevant ministries, localities, Vietnamese trade offices abroad, diplomatic organisations, international economic research agencies, and enterprises from 27 EU countries and Vietnam.

The Vietnam Export Promotion Forum 2022 will be jointly organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham). It is part of the Green Economy Forum & Exhibition (GEFE) 2022 slated for November 28 to 30 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Annual Vietnam logistics forum spotlights sustainability

The Vietnam Logistics Forum (VLF), the largest annual event in the field hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade since 2013, will take place in the northern port city of Hai Phong on November 25 and 26, aiming to encourage firms to save energy, reduce emissions, and use clean power sources.

As scheduled, on November 25, participating delegates and businesses will have a field trip to a port and logistics centre in Hai Phong, which houses a long coastline and a deep-sea port capable of habouring ships with tonnages of up to 12,000 TEU (132,000 tonnes).

On the next day, they will attend the forum’s plenary sitting theme ‘Green Logistics’ and two panel discussions on cost optimisation via logistics centers and circular economy, and on the sector’s active adaptation.

Vietnam ranks 11th out of the 50 countries in the 2022 Emerging Market Logistics Index released by logistics and freight provider Agility.

The country’s freight and logistics market is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 5.5% in 2022 – 2027. Its economy has posted a strong recovery this year, growing at 8.93% in the first nine months.

Vietnamese businesses attend International Fair of Santiago

Vietnam and other ASEAN member states such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines recently showcased their typical products at the International Fair of Santiago (FISA), Chile.

FISA, Chile's largest and most unique multisectoral exhibition, held its first edition in 1962, and had its last version in 1998.

This year, the fair returned to the city of Santiago after 24 years, from November 16 and 20. It attracted the participation of thousands of domestic businesses and those from 20 countries worldwide.

The Vietnamese embassy and the trade office in Chile brought to the fair the country’s products of strength such as footwear, garment, coffee and handicrafts.

This is a chance for Chilean firms to learn about the Vietnamese market and seek partners.

VICEM to export 6 million tonnes of cement, clinker to Philippines

The Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) will ship a total of 6 million tonnes of cement and clinker to the Philippines from 2023-2025, as its demand for construction materials of various kinds is huge.

A deal of this effect has been signed between VICEM and the Philippines’ Fenix (CEZA) Int’l Corporation and Golden Falcon Trading Corporation in the witness of Vietnamese Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi, as part of the ongoing visit by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue from November 23-25.

Currently, VICEM has 10 cement factories with 16 production lines capable of producing 21 million tonnes of clinker and over 25 million tonnes of cement per year. It sells around 30 million tonnes annually, or about 33% of domestic market share and about 23% of export market share.

HCMC proposes shortening fuel price adjustment interval

The HCMC People’s Committee has proposed that fuel prices be adjusted every five days, instead of every 10 days, to respond more quickly to global oil price movements.

The HCMC government said that 9-20% of 549 fuel retailers in the city had reported daily supply shortfalls since October 1. Due to losses, fuel retail businesses have refrained from placing new orders, leading to a serious fuel shortage in the city.

Given the situation, HCMC proposed that fuel prices be regulated in tandem with market movements, and shorten the interval between two fuel price adjustments to three or five days, instead of the current 10 days.

The city proposed that the prime minister task the Finance Ministry with reviewing and reassessing fuel retail and trading costs.

At the same time, ministries are recommended to raise the proportion of fuel output from imports to calculate the base prices of fuel.

Long An approves 654-hectare IP project

The Mekong Delta province of Long An has presented an investment certificate to Long An Development Invest JSC, a member of SAIGONTEL Group, to develop the 654-hectare Tan Tap industrial park project.

The industrial park, which will be located in Tan Tap Commune in Can Giuoc District, will require over VND10 trillion. The project will operate for 50 years.

The industrial park will feature an innovation center which will span an area of 100 hectares and act as a venue to bring together scientists, talents and highly-skilled workers. The LA Innovation Techno Park is expected to attract a series of technology brands, major manufacturers and multi-national enterprises.

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