Ten-month state budget collection meets over 90 percent of estimate

Total state budget collection in the first ten months of 2021 fulfilled about 90.9 percent of the estimate and was up 5.5 percent year-on-year, showed data released by the Ministry of Finance’s Department of State Budget.

Of the sum, the domestic collection met some 87.9 percent of the estimate and increased by 1.9 percent annually.

Revenue from crude oil and import-export activities went up 12.5 percent and 27.7 percent on-year and exceeded the estimates by 43.6 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.

According to the ministry, between January and October, 53 localities saw domestic collection meeting over 83 percent of the estimate and 41 localities posted higher figures compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, state budget spending during the period was equal to 68.1 percent of the estimate, with a significant amount poured into COVID-19 prevention and control and impact mitigation nationwide. The disbursement of development funding remained slow, reaching only 55.8 percent of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister./.

Some packages of Long Thanh airport project lag behind schedule

Although the Government has allocated enough capital for site clearance and resettlement for the Long Thanh International Airport project in Dong Nai Province, only 77% of land has been cleared, affecting the progress of the entire project.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh on November 1 convened an online meeting with the southern province of Dong Nai and the relevant ministries and agencies over the implementation of the project, the local media reported.

In mid-September, the central Government, concerned about the possibility that the Long Thanh airport project might fall behind schedule, called on Dong Nai Province to step up site clearance.

During the November 1 meeting, Dong Nai Chairman Cao Tien Dung said the province has had difficulty clearing land. Some 1,000 households have already agreed to hand over their land but procedures have not been completed. The province has established a working team to address the issue.

The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the issue. During long months of social distancing,  the province had to inform the affected families of compensation, support and resettlement policies through postal services, leading to more time being needed.

It would be challenging to complete land clearance for the big-ticket airport project this year.

The Ministry of Transport also pointed out difficulties in mobilizing manpower, especially foreign experts, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the project investor, has received more than 1,200 of the 1,800 hectares of land, which needs to be handed over, affecting the progress of the site leveling.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said sufficient capital for site clearance had been provided to Dong Nai, but the capital disbursement had been slow. He asked the province to disburse over VND10 trillion by the end of this year.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy PM Thanh asked the Dong Nai government to take responsibility before the Government for completing land clearance for the first phase of the project before December 31 and hand over 5,200 hectares of land in the first quarter of next year.

He also assigned ACV and the Ministry of Transport to accelerate the design preparation and appraisal and strive to start work on the site leveling package next month.

Meanwhile, the passenger terminal with an estimated investment of VND50 trillion must be kicked off before March next year, and the aircraft parking area and runways by August 2022.

Deputy PM Thanh said the Long Thanh International Airport is a key national project to help with the country’s socioeconomic development, adding that the project’s progress must be ensured so it can be completed in early 2025.

The Long Thanh International Airport project will have an annual capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo. The project needs an estimated VND336.63 trillion, or roughly US$14 billion, including VND114.45 trillion for the first phase.

COP26: ADB announces 665 million USD programme to aid green recovery in ASEAN

Four partners have collectively pledged 665 million USD toward a platform managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that aims to mobilise an additional 7 billion USD for low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia and accelerate the region’s recovery from COVID-19.

The funding, which was announced at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, the UK, includes 110 million GBP (151 million USD) from the UK Government, 132 million EUR (155 million USD) from Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), 50 million EUR from the European Union (EU), and 300 million USD from the Green Climate Fund.

The partnerships will be part of a new Green Recovery Platform to support the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF), which was established by the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund and is managed by ADB.

“ASEAN countries have a unique opportunity to build a green and inclusive future after the COVID-19 pandemic,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa, who attended the launch event with ministers and senior officials from ASEAN and partner countries. “The ASEAN Green Recovery Platform will help accelerate the flow of investments to support climate-resilient, environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia and boost sustainable, equitable development.”

The new funding will add to the 1.4 billion USD in co-financing commitments already pledged to the ACGF since 2019, bringing total pledges to the facility to 2 billion USD. The original financing partners supporting ACGF include ADB, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Investment Bank, the German state-owned development bank KfW, and the Government of the Republic of Korea. Director General for International Partnerships at the European Commission Koen Doens, Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund Yannick Glemarec, and AFD Chief Executive Officer Remy Riouxalso spoke at the launch.

“This year, the UK became ASEAN’s first new Dialogue Partner in 25 years. We’re now working together to build stronger economic and investment relationships and tackle climate change.” said UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss. “The 110 million GBP of UK funding for the UK-ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility Trust Fund will help deliver clean, honest and reliable infrastructure into countries that urgently need it, drawing on UK expertise on green technologies and creating jobs across the UK.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant economic, health, and social impacts in Southeast Asia. The platform will provide financing and technical assistance to reduce investment risks and catalyse public and private financing for green infrastructure projects that create jobs and bolster growth. It will also support the efforts of ASEAN developing member countries to reach their climate goals under the Paris Agreement and help them strengthen green capital markets, such as by expanding the issuance of green and climate bonds.

The ASEAN Green Recovery Platform forms part of ADB’s commitment to raising its ambition for 2019–2030 cumulative climate financing to 100 billion USD, while ensuring that at least 75 percent of projects will address climate change mitigation and adaptation by 2030.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members, including 49 from the region./.

Cooperatives play growing role in market economy: President

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlighted the increasingly important role of the collective economy and cooperatives in the market economy while talking to officials of Ninh Binh province on November 2.

The State leader had a meeting with officials of this northern province to look into the implementation of the Party’s guidelines and policies and the State’s laws on socio-economic development, the collective economy, and cooperatives.

President Phuc said the collective economy must be connected with local advantages, emphasising that developing cooperatives in a socialist-oriented market economy is a task of the entire political system, and all-level Party committees and administrations must view this as a political task.

He held that it is necessary to develop a strategy for developing cooperatives and cooperative groups and build a new-style and modern model of cooperatives that goes beyond the traditional cooperative model.

Cooperatives and cooperative groups should have their strategic visions while applying modern corporate governance models and advanced technology to their production activities, according to the President.

He requested Ninh Binh to tap into its advantages and potential to create profound and fundamental changes to agricultural production methodology and rural areas, suggesting the province capitalise on its advantages in tourism, mechanics, industry, and agricultural services to boost development./.

Vietnam encourages European investments in environmentally-friendly fields

Vietnam is encouraging European enterprises to invest in environmentally-friendly fields in the country, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has said.

Dien made the statement while addressing the conference named “In conversation at COP26 with the Prime Minister of Vietnam: Securing a prosperous and sustainable future through private investment”, held by the ministry and Standard Chartered Bank in Glasgow, Scotland on November 1.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will promote the digital transformation process in all production and trade fields and pursue a sustainable development model, Dien said, adding that Vietnam will strive for cleaner and greener production, use energy more economically and efficiently, develop foundation industries and supporting industries more synchronously.

The Vietnamese official encouraged European businesses and investors to develop cooperation projects in line with Vietnam's practical needs and its industrial development strategy in the coming time.

After the event, Minister Dien had a working session with Jose Vinals, group chairman of Standard Chartered Bank, who stated that the bank is willing to invest more in Vietnam and considers it a leading potential market.

Dien expressed his hope that Standard Chartered will have more cooperation projects to help Vietnam build an effective digital transformation mechanism. He proposed the bank finance projects to develop industries, especially foundation and supporting industries, to help turn Vietnam into an important production base for supply chains of European enterprises as well as global supply chains.

Standard Chartered is one of the first five international banks to be present in Vietnam, officially operating in the country in 2009./.

Agro-forestry-fisheries exports rise 13 percent in 10 months

Vietnam enjoyed a year-on-year rise of 13.1 percent in the export revenue of agro-forestry-fisheries products in the first 10 months of 2021 to nearly 38.75 billion USD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

In October, exports of the products reached 3.4 billion USD, down 15.6 percent over the same time last year but up 4.2 percent compared to the previous month.

In January-October period, exports of major farm produce hit nearly 17.4 billion USD, a rise of 12.7 percent, while that of major forestry products reached about 12.8 billion USD, up 22.3 percent, and fisheries products nearly 6.9 billion USD, down 0.8 percent.

Products seeing rise in export revenue included coffee, rubber, rice, vegetables, peppercorn, cashew, cassava and cassava products, livestock, shrimp, wooden furniture, bamboo and rattan products, and cinnamon.

Meanwhile, despite a rise in average export revenue in 10 months, downturn was seen in exports of tea, at 7.2 percent in volume and 3.4 percent in value.

In the period, Asia remained the largest market of Vietnam's agro-forestry-fisheries products with 42.8 percent of the market share, followed by America with 30 percent, Europe 11.4 percent, Africa 1.9 percent and Oceania 1.5 percent.

The US was the biggest consumer of the products with consumption worth over 10.8 billion USD. It was followed by China with nearly 7.5 billion USD, and Japan with over 2.6 billion USD.

At the same time, imports of agro-forestry-fisheries in 10 months were about 35.55 billion USD, up 39.1 percent year on year.

In order to expand export market, the MARD will continue to increase bilateral cooperation activities with Russia, Switzerland, Cuba, Indonesia and the Republic of Korea, along with multilateral collaboration with trade organisations.

It will also update domestic firms with regulations of foreign markets as well as the supply sources for domestic production./.

Vietnam’s manufacturing sector returns to growth as pandemic situation improves

An improvement in the public health situation and the subsequent easing of restrictions helped the Vietnamese manufacturing sector return to growth in October, according to the latest report of IHS Markit.

Renewed expansions were seen for output, new orders and purchasing activity, while business confidence jumped. On the other hand, employment continued to fall amid widespread reports of workers staying in their hometowns following the latest wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Price pressures remained acute, with input costs rising at one of the sharpest rates on record amid higher freight charges and raw material shortages. In turn, firms increased their selling prices at a much faster pace than in September.

The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted back above the 50.0 no-change mark at 52.1 in October following a reading of 40.2 in September. This signaled a renewed improvement in business conditions across the sector, ending a four-month decline sequence.

A loosening of Covid-19 restrictions led to several firms restarting production in October, while others expanded output in response to higher new orders. As a result, production growth was recorded for the first time in five months.

A solid return to growth of new orders was also registered as manufacturers and their customers alike resumed operations. The improvement in the pandemic situation enabled firms to take advantage of increased demand in international markets, posting the first rise in new export orders since May.

Business confidence improved markedly in October as the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic showed signs of easing. Hopes that the pandemic will remain under control helped optimism reach a 29-month high.

Issues around staffing levels remained despite the wider return to growth. Employment continued to fall markedly in October, with several firms indicating that some of their staff had returned to their hometowns during the latest wave of the pandemic and had yet to come back to their place of work.

Shortages of labor contributed to a rise in backlogs of work, with higher new orders also adding to capacity pressures. However, the rate of accumulation softened from September’s survey record.

Input costs increased at the fastest pace since April 2011 and at one of the sharpest rates in the survey’s history. Higher freight charges were widely reported, adding to the inflationary pressures caused by raw material shortages. In response to increasing input costs, manufacturers raised their selling prices at a marked pace that was the fastest in five months.

Efforts to guard against likely future price rises encouraged firms to expand their input inventories for the third month running in October. This was facilitated by a solid return to growth of purchasing activity, which increased at a near-record pace.

Finally, stocks of finished goods decreased marginally in October. Some firms saw inventories decline as finished products were used to help meet sales, while others noted that renewed production growth helped stabilize stocks.

“The improving pandemic situation and subsequent loosening of restrictions helped Vietnamese manufacturers get back to business in October. Apart from being able to ramp up production, firms were also much more confident in the outlook than they have been in recent months,” said Andrew Harker, economics director at IHS Markit.

Progress of several North-South expy subprojects slows down

Obstacles in site clearance and short supply of building materials let alone a hike in the prices of building materials have slowed down the progress of several North-South Expressway subprojects.

According to the Government’s report on the current condition of some sections of the expressway sent to the National Assembly, work on eight expressway subprojects has started. The value of the completed workload has been VND8.9 trillion, over a quarter of its total value.

As for the progress of the subprojects, the Cao Bo-Mai Son section is some 88% complete and is expected for completion this year. A smart traffic system on this section will be set up next year.

Meanwhile, the Cam Lo-La Son section is 61% complete, 8% slower than expected due to storms in the central region last year, the Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of materials for the XL5, XL6 and XL11 packages. In addition, the XL8 package has faced slow site clearance.

The sites for some packages of the section have yet to be handed over, including sites for 100 meters of road in Quang Tri Province and 50 meters in Thua Thien Hue Province. As a result, the subproject may not be completed until next year.

Moreover, some contractors have failed to mobilize human resources, finance and equipment to execute the incomplete workload. As many as 17 contractors have been issued warnings, seven others have been reprimanded, while another contractor has been asked to replace a site manager.

The Government has asked the Ministry of Transport to review the progress of all North-South Expressway subprojects and work out solutions over the slow progress, such as asking workers to work overtime and supplementing workers and equipment.

Regarding the My Thuan 2 Bridge as a component of the expressway project, the completed workload has reached 62.7%, exceeding the plan by 3.43%. The project was to be completed in December 2023.

Further, the Mai Son-National Highway 45, Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay subprojects are some 26.1%, 14.32% and 14.97% complete. Their progress is being ensured and they are expected to be completed in December next year.

As for the National Highway 45-Nghi Son and Nghi Son-Dien Chau subprojects, contractors have prepared machines and equipment and are producing the designs for the subprojects. They are 0.1% and 0.4% complete, respectively, and scheduled to be completed in December 2023.

According to the Government, the site clearance and electricity and telecom infrastructure dismantlement and relocation have encountered multiple bottlenecks, although the prime minister has repeatedly urged localities, the Vietnam Electricity Group, the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group and Viettel to complete the job. Specifically, the site for about 10.46 kilometers of the expressway has yet to be handed over, accounting for 1.6% of the total length of the expressway.

To ensure the progress of the North-South Expressway project, the Government proposed the National Assembly ask the delegations of National Assembly deputies of localities where the expressway will pass through to help with promptly removing the obstacles to site clearance and coming up with solutions to ensure the supply of building materials and the stability of prices.

Additionally, laborers of subprojects should be vaccinated against Covid-19 on priority.

Vietnam remains attractive to Japanese investors amid COVID-19

Vietnamese ministries and agencies have paid attention to supporting foreign investors, including those from Japan, said Fujimoto Masayoshi, Chairman of the Japan-Vietnam Economic Committee.

Vietnam has helped foreign investors remove difficulties during the implementation of projects, Fujimoto cited by Cong Thuong (Industry&Trade) newspaper as saying.

In the first nine months of this year, Japan poured 3.3 billion USD into Vietnam, accounting for 14.7 percent of the total FDI registered in the Southeast Asian nation.

Notably, apart from 131 projects, Japanese firms adjusted capital for 91 projects and contributed capital and purchased shares of 155 projects in Vietnam.

A number of projects that have investment capital worth billions of US dollars include the 1.31 billion USD O Mon II Thermal Power Plant project in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, and the 611.4 million USD Kraft Vina Paper Factory project in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

Fujimoto recommended that Vietnam continue to improve its business climate, develop infrastructure, and offer more incentives to further facilitate business and production activities of foreign investors.

The Governments of Vietnam and Japan have recently launched the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative, Phase VIII, with a primary focus on improving the investment climate and speeding up infrastructure investment in the form of public-private partnership (PPP). Phase VIII will also help reform State-owned enterprises (SOEs), accelerate the supporting industries, and resolve land-related issues.

In addition, Phase VIII will address a number of macro-economic issues, along with feasible policy recommendations aimed at improving the local investment environment, attracting more Japanese investments in Vietnam./.

HCM City foreign trade makes sharp recovery

Foreign trade by of HCM City-based enterprises showed clear signs of recovery in October, increasing by 25.8 per cent from the previous month to US$11.7 billion, according to the customs department.

Exports rose by 4.7 per cent to $4.4 billion, and imports by 48.9 percent to $7.3 billion.

The main export items were computers, electronic components, high-tech equipment, textiles, footwear, fisheries, and agricultural products.

Dinh Ngoc Thang, director of the department, said the COVID-19 pandemic and many months of restrictions had severely affected businesses. His agency would facilitate quick clearance of goods and crack down on fakes to help businesses, especially during the peak year-end foreign trade period.

The country’s imports in the first nine months were worth $242.65 billion, a 30.5 per cent increase from the same period last year.

The US remained the biggest market, buying $69.8 billion worth of Vietnamese products, a year-on-year rise of 27.6 per cent. China followed at $38.5 billion, up 18.3 per cent. The EU and ASEAN were next in the list. 

VN manufacturing output returns to growth as pandemic situation improves

An improvement in the public health situation and subsequent easing of restrictions helped the Vietnamese manufacturing sector return to growth during October.

IHS Markit’s latest survey released on Monday showed the Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted back above the 50.0 no-change mark at 52.1 in October following a reading of 40.2 in September. This signalled a renewed improvement in business conditions across the sector, thereby ending a four-month sequence of decline.

According to the survey, renewed expansions were seen for output, new orders and purchasing activity, while business confidence jumped higher. On the other hand, employment continued to fall amid widespread reports of workers remaining in their hometowns following the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Price pressures remained acute, with input costs rising at one of the sharpest rates on record amid higher freight charges and raw material shortages. In turn, firms increased their own selling prices at a much faster pace than in September.

A loosening of COVID-19 restrictions led a number of firms to restart production in October, while others expanded output in response to higher new orders. As a result, production growth was recorded for the first time in five months.

A solid return to growth of new orders was also registered as manufacturers and their customers alike resumed operations. The improvement in the pandemic situation enabled firms to take advantage of increased demand in international markets, posting a first rise in new export orders since May.

The survey showed business confidence improved markedly in October as the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic showed signs of easing. Hopes that the pandemic will remain under control helped optimism reach a 29-month high.

Issues around staffing levels remained despite the wider return to growth. Employment continued to fall markedly in October, with a number of firms indicating that some of their staff members had returned to their hometowns during the latest wave of the pandemic and had yet to come back to their place of work.

Shortages of labour contributed to another rise in backlogs of work, with higher new orders also adding to capacity pressures. That said, the rate of accumulation softened from September's survey record.

Input costs increased at the fastest pace since April 2011 and at one of the sharpest rates in the survey's history. Higher freight charges were widely reported, adding to the inflationary pressures caused by raw material shortages. In response to increasing input costs, manufacturers raised their own selling prices at a marked pace that was the fastest in five months.

Efforts to guard against likely future price rises encouraged firms to expand their input inventories for the third month running in October. This was facilitated by a strong return to growth of purchasing activity, which increased at a near-record pace.

Finally, stocks of finished goods decreased marginally in October. Some firms saw inventories decline as finished products were used to help meet sales, while others noted that renewed production growth helped them to stabilise stocks.

Commenting on the latest survey results, Andrew Harker, economics director at IHS Markit, said: “The improving pandemic situation and subsequent loosening of restrictions helped Vietnamese manufacturers get back to business in October. As well as being able to ramp up production, firms were also much more confident in the outlook than they have been in recent months.

"That said, there are still some lingering issues caused by the recent pandemic outbreak which could stifle growth. First, the problems with transportation and supply chains haven't gone away, making the sourcing and distribution of products challenging. Second, a number of firms are still waiting for workers to return from their hometowns where they went during the latest COVID-19 wave, meaning labour shortages were experienced in October. Hopefully these challenges will start to ease as the sector continues to return to normal over the months to come," he said. 

U.S. provides US$860,000 in assistance for renewable energy projects in Vietnam

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced US$860,000 in assistance for three renewable energy projects in Vietnam during the fourth Indo-Pacific Business Forum late last week.

The new funding supports USAID’s ongoing efforts to reduce risks and transaction costs for project developers to encourage increased private sector investment in Vietnam’s renewable energy development, a key driver of economic growth and resilience.

Specifically, the funding will support the TSV and Asia Renewables’ onshore wind farms (350 MW) in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai. This will include producing an optimized wind turbine generator layout design, conducting a finance-grade pre-construction energy yield assessment, preparing pre-construction documentation and developing the necessary tendering package for construction. 

Besides, it will assist the INGINE Pacific’s pilot off-grid ocean wave energy technology on Ly Son Island, Quang Ngai Province, including conducting an environmental and social impact assessment. 

The assistance will help INGINE Pacific minimize the risk of interruptions to project implementation, optimize project management for more efficient and cost-effective operations, and maximize local development benefits such as encouraging the practice of good corporate citizenship.

Vietnam boasts 3,000 kilometers of coastlines and more than 3,000 islands and archipelagos, making wave power a potential prime energy source for the country’s clean energy transformation. 

Bamboo Capital Group’s (BCG) offshore wind farms in Ca Mau (300 MW) and Tra Vinh (200 MW) provinces will receive support to conduct feasibility studies and environmental and social impact assessments that meet international standards to assist BCG Energy as it seeks international financing. 

The funding is being provided through USAID INVEST, a global USAID initiative that helps reduce barriers for investors to mobilize and channel private capital into high-impact areas. 

According to USAID, with a growing private sector and international manufacturing and export base, Vietnam has one of the most dynamic emerging economies in the Southeast Asian region. However, the current investment in energy, infrastructure and health is insufficient to meet the country’s growth and development objectives. 

Through USAID INVEST, USAID seeks to stimulate increased international investment in Vietnam and to strengthen the capacity of the public and private sectors to work together to finance the country’s development priorities, including mitigating the impacts of climate change by supporting Vietnam’s transition to clean energy systems. By engaging in multiple sectors, USAID INVEST activities will improve access to health services, greater financial inclusion, increased energy sustainability and stronger public-private partnerships.

HCMC to become railway hub in Southern region

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) yesterday announced the railway network planning from 2021 through 2030 with a vision to 2050 with the participation of other relevant ministries, agencies and localities. 

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The informed that MoT will promptly implement the detailed construction plans for each route, prepare the investment plan and allocate the sources to start works of some rail routes, notably the North-South high-speed railway project.

According to the approved plan, the railway sector will have nine new routes with a total length of 2,362 kilometers by 2030. Of which, apart from the North-South high-speed railway running from Ngoc Hoi Station to Thu Thiem Station with a total length of 1,545 kilometers, the Southern region will have three more new railway routes with a track gauge broad of 1,435 millimeters, including HCMC- Can Tho City rail route running from An Binh Station to Cai Rang Station with a total length of around 174 kilometers, the HCMC- Loc Ninh railway connecting Di An Station and Hoa Luu border gate with a total length of 128 kilometers and Thu Thiem – Long Thanh rail route from Thu Thiem station to Long Thanh International Airport with a total length of around 38 kilometers.

By 2050, the national railway network is expected to include 25 routes with a total length of 6,354 kilometers. In the period, the railway sector will perform the inter-provincial routes; of which, the rail routes of HCMC – Tay Ninh Province, the routes connecting with the Central Highlands region, including Da Nang – Kontum – Gia Lai – Dak Lak – Dak Nong – Binh Phuoc (Chon Thanh) will be formed in the Southern region, and the railway route of Thap cham – Da Lat serving for tourism demand will be restored.

Director of the Vietnam Railway Authority Vu Quang Khoi shared that Ho Chi Minh City will be the hub of the railway in the Southern region following the newly-announced plan.

After the North-South high-speed railway is completed, the Binh Trieu – Sai Gon (Hoa Hung) rail route will be switched to the urban railway connecting Thu Thiem Station with Tan Son Nhat International Airport. According to the Ministry of Transport, the train stations of Trang Bom, An Binh, Tan Kien will become cargo railway hubs and Thu Thiem, Binh Trieu, Tan Kien stations will be passenger railway hubs.

Ha Noi -Vinh and Nha Trang sections under the North-South high-speed railway are among new railway projects which will be prioritized their investments in the period.

Some routes connecting to seaports in Hai Phong, Cai Mep – Thi Vai, junction railway of Hanoi will be invested in advance 2030.

Minister Nguyen Van The also stressed the importance of new railway routes in the Southern region, especially the HCMC – Can Tho route.

Ben Tre to help farmers sell produce on e-commerce platforms

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre has plans to promote all its key agricultural products on e-commerce platforms such as Postmart.vn, Voso.vn, Sendo, and bentretrade.vn.

Speaking at a recent meeting, Nguyen Minh Canh, vice chairman of the Ben Tre Province People’s Committee, said the province would help farmers sell their goods online, especially connecting them with e-commerce platforms.

It is important to raise farmers’ awareness of the role played by e-commerce platforms as distribution channels amid the pandemic.

Through e-commerce platforms, farmers would receive useful information about farm markets, demand and supply forecasts, weather, and seed and fertiliser supply, Canh said.

The province plans to organise 20 training courses for farming households, agricultural production co-operatives, farmers associations, and enterprises on how to sell on e-commerce platforms.

It will create programmes to connect suppliers and customers and help farmers participate in online fairs instead of direct sales.

The volume of farm produce sold on e-commerce platforms remains modest.

As of August some 8,000 farming households with around 14,500 agricultural products were connected to e-commerce platforms, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The aim is to connect five million farming households across the country to e-commerce platforms by the end of 2021.

According to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, it is building a value chain for key agricultural products, especially competitive ones such as pomelo, coconut, rambutan, longan, ornamental plants, and pigs, cows and shrimps.

Doan Van Danh, its director, said his agency wanted to promote the processing industry, attract investment in high-tech processing clusters in specialised farming areas and develop logistics services to serve key agricultural items.

The province had established a coconut products chain spread over 12,036 hectares, or 16.5 per cent of its total coconut growing area, and a green-skin pomelo products chain on 330 hectares, he said.

It would speed up establishment of value chains for other key agricultural products such as pigs, cows and marine shrimp, he added.

Ben Tre has set a goal of having at least four agricultural value chains worth US$1 billion each by 2030. 

Retail sales plunge after years of solid growth

The heavy impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to Vietnam’s retail sales dropping significantly after many years of double-digit growth.

Data of the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Vietnam showed that the country’s total retail sales of consumer goods and services from January to October reached VND3,720 trillion (US$162.4 billion), down 8.6% compared with the same period last year.

Food and foodstuffs were the only sector whose retail sales rose, with a year-on-year increase of 4.4%.

All other sectors suffered a decline in retail sales. Retail sales of vehicles; tools, equipment, home appliances, educational and cultural products; and clothes edged down 6.7%, 11.1% and 11.7% year-on-year, respectively.

HCMC, which always leads the country in retail sales, saw a year-on-year decline of 26.2% from January to October 2021. Retail sales of other big cities and provinces such as Can Tho, Hanoi and Khanh Hoa fell 4.8%, 4.4% and 18.6% against the same period last year, respectively.

Some localities enjoyed a slight increase in retail sales, including Danang (up 0.9% year-on-year), Dong Nai (up 3.7%), Binh Duong (up 6.4%) and Haiphong (up 8.7%).

Accommodation and catering services were the hardest hit sectors. From January to October, accommodation and catering revenues plunged 38.8% year-on-year in HCMC, 35.9% in Nghe An, 25% in Binh Duong, 22.8% in Dong Nai, 19.5% in Hanoi, 17.3% in Danang, 12.7% in Quang Ninh, 11.1% in Can Tho and 6.4% in Haiphong.

Travel revenues also dropped sharply in January-October, down 67.5% year-on-year in Thua Thien-Hue, 58% in HCMC, 53.4% in Danang, 49.9% in Haiphong, 45.7% in Hanoi, 41.5% in Quang Binh, 34.2% in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and 30.6% in Quang Ninh.

Travel restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19 and lost incomes have negatively affected the retail market.

According to the General Statistics Office, the retail market always posted double-digit growth from 2016 to 2020.

The country’s retail sales were US$118 billion in 2016 (up 10.2% year-on-year), US$129.56 billion in 2017 (up 10.9%), US$142.8 billion in 2018 (up 12.4%), and US$161.7 billion in 2019 (up 12.7%).

In 2020, despite the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, total retail sales of consumer goods and services amounted to US$172 billion, up over US$11 billion from 2019.

As the Covid-19 pandemic has been brought under control, many services have been allowed to reopen since early last month. The country’s total retail sales of consumer goods and services in October rose 18.1% month-on-month.

The General Statistics Office expected the resumption of economic activity and increasing demand in the year-end season would help the retail sector recover strongly.

Honey exports face US anti-dumping duties

With more than 95% of honey export volume to the United States, Vietnamese honey exports are anticipated to face challenges ahead in the event that the US imposes anti-dumping tax in the near future, according to industry insiders.

This information was unveiled by experts during a seminar held on November 2 in order to seek ways for the honey industry to cope with an impending US anti-dumping probe.

According to statistics compiled by US customs, Vietnamese honey export turnover to the US market reached approximately 50,700 tonnes last year, accounting for roughly 25.8% of the country's total honey imports.

Le Thanh Van, chairman of the Vietnam Beekeepers Association, stated that the nation exported nearly 50,000 tonnes of honey to the US, accounting for 95% of the total export volume.

These figures indicate that the US’ anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese honey is anticipated to severely impacted the domestic production market.

Agriculture expert Hoang Trong Thuy emphasised the necessity of effectively co-ordinating efforts alongside relevant agencies in a bid to provide data as requested by the US side, noting that the Vietnam Beekeepers Association must carefully prepare answers to the US side regarding the quality of honey, and whether or not the goods evade import taxes.

Van went on to reveal that the association has also requested that competent authorities work alongside US partners to consider the anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese honey products and move to impose appropriate import duties on the products.

Moreover, Van also underlined the need to diversify markets and expand honey exports and other farm produce into new territories around the world in order to avoid reliance on a single market.

The US investigating agency is therefore expected to issue a preliminary conclusion on the case on November 17.

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) officially begun an anti-dumping investigation into honey imported from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine, and Vietnam in May. According to the DOC’s calculations, the Vietnamese dumping margin was estimated to range from 47.56% to 138.23%.

Thai sugar imports sour prospects for domestic producers

Sugar producers in Vietnam have failed to compete with imported products on the local market as traders are using various tricks to avoid taxes.

According to acting general secretary of the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association (VSSA), Nguyen Van Loc, a large amount of sugar from Thailand has entered Vietnam from neighbouring countries to avoid anti-dumping duties.

"Since Vietnam started imposing anti-dumping duties on sugar imported from Thailand in October 2020, sugar importers have switched to other countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Cambodia," Loc said. "The total amount of imported sugar to Vietnam in 2020 reached 1.38 million tonnes which was four times higher than that of 2019. And the country imported nearly 1.2 million tonnes of sugar in the first eight months of this year."

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, sugar smuggling into Vietnam has become worse in the southern west border of Vietnam. During the first eight months of 2021.

Statistics from VSSA showed that Cambodia imported 393,414 tonnes of sugar from Thailand in the first eight months of this year and exported 100,000 tonnes to Vietnam through official channels.

Meanwhile, the remaining nearly 300,000 tonnes are being placed at the border with Vietnam to wait for being smuggled into the country.

Vietnamese sugar sector losing ground

Thu Thua District in the Mekong Delta Province of Long An was once well-known for its vast sugarcane area with about 11,000 hectares of the plant between 2012-2013. However, local farmers have started to switch to other plants since local sugar companies started decreasing sugarcane prices in 2013.

Then the two local sugar companies, Nivl and Hiep Hoa, faced continuous losses and closed, owing a huge amount of money to local farmers.

Vice director of Long An Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Chi Thien, said that despite lots of efforts, local authorities had failed to help the farmers sell their sugarcane and they finally had to remove the plant from their key plant lists.

"We have to advise farmers to turn to other crops," he said.

Cao Anh Duong, Acting Chairman of the VSSA, said that the local sugar production has reduced in both quantity and quality.

"Many farmers have turned to other plants," Duong reported. "This year the sugarcane area has reduced by 19.83 percent to 187,100 hectares compared to last year's area. Local sugar factories have so far received only 6.7 million tonnes of sugarcane which is one million tonne lower than expected. Sugar production output stood at 901,230 tonnes which was the lowest output in the past 20 years. Nearly half of the sugar factories in Vietnam have closed."

Duong said that after the anti-dumping duties were imposed on imported sugar by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, factories have raised prices of sugarcane to keep the sugarcane farming. However, the huge amount of imported sugar has continued to dominate the local market.

"Locally-produced sugar just cannot compete against imported sugar," the official said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has just launched investigations into the practices of sending made-in Thailand sugar to some other countries before importing to Vietnam to avoid anti-dumping duties demanded by the VSSA.

HCMC expands tourism reopening plan with central provinces

The HCMC tourism sector has reopened more tour services and routes and is scheduled to offer tours to three central provinces — Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen, starting this month.

The city’s tourism industry is on its way to recovery after a long hiatus induced by the fourth wave of coronavirus infections. In September, the city just operated several road tours transporting frontline healthcare workers to the outlying districts of Can Gio and Cu Chi to pay tribute to them for coming to HCMC to help treat Covid patients. As of now, many more travel agencies have started offering tours within the city and those to Tay Ninh Province.

More tour services are also in the offing. Open-top double-decker bus services have resumed, the number of hotels resuming operations is rising, and waterway tours have also got back to normal.

Vo Anh Tai, vice general director of Saigontourist Group, said he and some other businessmen accompanied the HCMC officials on a business trip to Tay Ninh Province on October 12, followed by other working sessions with the authorities of the three central provinces—Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh—last week to negotiate the resumption of interprovincial tourism.

As a result, HCMC and Tay Ninh resumed tour services last week. Besides, tour programs linking HCMC with Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen and Binh Dinh are expected to launch this week. Further negotiations with other provinces and cities on the issue are scheduled to occur in the upcoming time.

However, the reopening pace depends on the Covid situation and the point of view of local leaders, Tai said, adding that localities would feel secure to reopen their doors to tourists only when the vaccination rates become higher and are even among localities.

Tran Doan The Duy, general director of the travel company Vietravel, also remained optimistic about the local tourism market after a short period of reopening. Vietravel so far has informed its customers about the resumption of tour programs. As the firm has just reoffered some travel products, he could not give specific evaluations on the demand, but said that the market had shown positive signs.

“We recently sold some tours to families and groups of friends. The tourism market could recover faster than expected. The demand for travel would soar after the pandemic, and issues that need to be solved are policies, consistency in the reopening plans among localities, and the connectivity with the aviation sector,” Duy said.

Nordic companies committed to building businesses in Vietnam

Despite the significant challenges of the last few months, Nordic companies have remained resilient and committed to building their businesses in Vietnam.

Commenting on the NordCham Business Awards 2021, NordCham Chairman Thue Quist Thomasen said: “Nordic companies are known as sustainable investors, reliable partners, and good corporate citizens. Some of our members have been in Vietnam for decades, making long-term commitments to their staff, companies, and communities. Therefore, despite the difficulties of COVID-19, Nordic companies stepped up and supported Vietnam during these challenging times."

“The NordCham Business Awards gave us a chance to recognise these companies and highlight the positive contribution that our members have made to Vietnam during the fourth wave outbreak. I am proud that we had such tough decisions to make when choosing the winners of each award. This shows the strength of our membership and the character of our Nordic business community.”

The 2021 awards were created to recognise those companies who have done most to innovate, support, and contribute during the fourth wave outbreak.

There were three awards up for grabs, with the following winners announced during the event, in which Home Credit Vietnam was awarded the Best Initiative to Support Vietnam during the Fourth Wave of COVID-19. This accolade recognises the business that has shown great initiative in implementing meaningful and efficient action to support Vietnam during the crisis.

Meanwhile, Orana Vietnam was awarded the Best Management Initiative to Support Workers and their Families prize. This award recognises the business that has shown great commitment to its workers and their families during the fourth wave.

The other, ScanCom Vietnam was awarded Best Green and Innovative Sustainable Business. This accolade recognises the enterprise that has implemented green and sustainable business solutions or reduced its impact on the environment.

Each winner agreed to donate their prize to charitable organisations to support people in-need and sustainable living communities.

The winners (Home Credit Vietnam, Orana Vietnam, ScanCom Vietnam) and the first runners-up of the 2021 Nordic Business Awards (Carlsberg Vietnam, Yara Vietnam, and Scatec Vietnam) will now go through to the EuroCham business resilience awards, competing against other European companies from right across Vietnam. That event will take place on December 3 in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang.

Stig Maasbøl, CEO of ScanCom Group, winner of the Best Green and Sustainable Business award said: “Green and sustainable business will be one of the biggest growth markets of the future as we transition towards cleaner, greener, and more sustainable societies. We are proud to be at the forefront of this trend, and to show how ‘Doing Business the Right Way’ can make a meaningful contribution. More and more consumers are demanding ethical and environmental products, so going green is not just good for business, it is good for the environment too.”

Nghi Son-Dien Chau expy seen ready by 2023

Construction units have been asked to take advantage of favorable weather conditions to speed up the Nghi Son-Dien Chau expressway project, one of the subprojects of the North-South Expressway project, to put it into service in 2023.

The 50-kilometer-long Nghi Son-Dien Chau section will pass through the north-central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An. It was transferred from the public-private-partnership model to the public investment model.

The subproject requires over VND7.2 trillion in investment, with costs for construction and purchasing equipment accounting for some VND4.3 trillion and site clearance and resettlement for around VND1.7 trillion.

Pham Van Minh, deputy head of Project Management Unit 6, which was assigned by the Transport Ministry to represent the subproject’s investor, said that it is some 2.7% complete after three months of construction.

Project Management Unit 6 had allocated over VND800 billion for construction work this year. Of the amount, over VND655 billion has been disbursed in the year to date, reaching 83% of the total.

Minh added that site clearance in Thanh Hoa has reached 97% of the target, while that in Nghe An is some 95% complete.

One more wind farm commissioned in Bac Lieu 

All nine wind turbines of the first phase of the Kosy Bac Lieu wind farm in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu with a capacity of 40.5 megawatts (MW) have begun commercial operation.

Located in Hoa Binh District, the first phase of the wind farm, invested by the Kosy Bac Lieu wind power JSC under the Kosy Group, with a total cost of VND1.6 trillion, got off the ground in October last year, according to the group.

After starting its commercial operations, the wind farm will generate some 116 million kWh of electricity annually, contributing to the national grid, ensuring power security and boosting socio-economic growth in the province and the country.

As of October 29, a total of 106 wind farms nationwide, with a combined capacity of over 5,655 MW, including the Kosy Bac Lieu wind power plant, had registered with the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) to start commercial operations and feed the national grid, according to EVN.

Kosy Group is planning to develop the second phase of the wind farm with a capacity of 50 MW. Besides, the group will invest in more offshore wind farm projects with a capacity of 1,000 MW in the province in coming months.

Building “localization of raw material supply” strategy

Domestic businesses are now facing post-pandemic challenges of the price of raw materials that has increased 2-3 times over the same period last year, late delivery, disruptions in logistics and supply chain leading to high transportation costs.

The “localization of raw material supply” strategy with short-term and long-term solutions is expected to help enterprises actively seek the input.

From the beginning of 2021 to the present, the country’s plastic industry has imported 5.33 million tons of plastic materials worth US$8.86 million, up 9.2 percent in volume and 47.9 percent in value over the same period in 2020.

General Director of Binh Minh Plastics Joint Stock Company Nguyen Hoang Ngan said that around 80 percent of raw plastic materials for manufacturing activities in Vietnam has been imported from China, Thailand, South Korea and Middle Eastern countries.

The import turnover of raw materials and accessories for the textile, garment, leather, and footwear sector was US$19.6 billion, presenting a year-on-year increase of 26.9 percent. China is still the country's main importer of raw materials.

The complicated development of the Covid-19 global epidemic has caused a disruption on production activities of factories around the world and put shipping companies in danger of bankruptcy as well as led to a shortage of raw materials.

The price of raw materials has increased from 20-300 percent compared to the 2019. Besides, expenditure on prevention and control activities and production suspension mid the pandemic are causes of a decrease of businesses’ turnover, he added.

Chairperson of directors of the Saigon 3 Garment Joint-Stock Company Pham Xuan Hong noted that the China’s raw-material producing industry now focuses on the recovery of domestic enterprises.

Additionally, China’s development trend is not to prioritize the development of industries that cause environmental degradation, making it hard for Vietnamese businesses to find sources of raw materials.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Textile & Apparel Association (VITAS) Vu Duc Giang said that Vietnam has many companies manufacturing raw materials that key export industries in the country need.

Yet, domestic enterprises must import raw materials at higher prices due to costs of transport, tariff, and tests for purity, identity, and quality.

The functional units must also offer priority to raw materials investors and launch conditions of the supply ratio to the domestic market to foreign direct investments (FDI) businesses to avoid the surplus of production of domestic raw materials but local enterprises depend on raw materials imported from abroad.

The Government needs to boost the building “localization of raw material supply” strategy, select enterprises producing raw materials with a stable export turnover of US$200 million per year and support them to expand production and supply of raw materials

Viet Nam to take stronger measures to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050

Viet Nam will take stronger measures to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, affirmed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the COP16. 

Viet Nam seeks EU’s assistance for climate change adaptation, sustainable development
Addressing the COP16 on Monday, Pham said climate change has caused serious impacts on food security, water security, sustainable development and even threatened the survival of many countries and communities, thus requiring the international community to act faster and bolder.

He underscored that responding to climate change and restoring the nature must be the top priority of all development policies as well as the highest moral standard of all levels, sectors, businesses and individuals.

Pham underlined the importance of science, financial resources, and natured-based and people-centric actions to foster growth model transformation towards green growth.

He called on all countries to set strong commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the basis of common but differentiated responsibility.

As climate finance, technological transfer and capacity building play a vital role in successful realization of the Paris Agreement, Pham urged developed countries to fully implement their financial commitments and make more funding commitments for post-2025 period./.

Gov’t announces list of national projects calling for foreign investment

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Minh Minh has signed Decision No. 1931/QD-TTg promulgating a list of 157 national-level projects calling for foreign investment in the 2021-2025.
These investment projects belong to the following areas:

(i) Transport infrastructure;

(ii) Infrastructure for industrial parks and economic zones;

(iii) Energy infrastructure, information and communication technology infrastructure;

(iv) Waste and water treatment systems;

(v) Health and education infrastructure;

(vi) Cultural, sports and tourism infrastructure;

(v) Agriculture, forestry and aquaculture;

(vi) Services.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS NOVEMBER 2

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