The European Union (EU) will cut the import tax rate to 0% on Vietnamese rice-based products in the next 3-5 years, creating an opportunity for Vietnam to raise the competitiveness of its rice with other rice exporting countries.

According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and the EU, the European Commission (EC) published the Official Journal, which contains Regulation (EU) 2022/1481 regarding the import duties applicable to certain types of husked rice imported to this market.

The import duty for husked rice under the CN code 1006 20, other than husked basmati rice of the varieties referred to in Article 1 of the Commission Regulation (EC) No 972/2006, shall be 65 euro per ton. The regulation took effect as of September 8, 2022.

Under the European Union–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, the EU gives Vietnam an export quota of 80,000 tons of rice per annum, consisting of 30,000 tons of husked rice, 20,000 tons of wholegrain rice and 30,000 tons of fragrant rice.

Vietnam’s broken rice will enjoy trade liberalization when it enters the EU, bringing the total estimated exports to 100,000 tons to the EU per annum.

In addition to the advantages of the EVFTA, Vietnamese enterprises need to improve the rice quality and change their business approach to expand the market.

Insurance companies urged to go digital soon

Insurers should promote digital transformation rapidly as, compared to other financial industries, the insurance industry is considered to have slow digital transformation with limited economic efficiency.

Despite efforts being made, the digital transformation of insurance companies is lagging, as most life insurance buyers still want to hold paper contracts instead of keeping them online and seeing them on mobile devices.

Pham Thu Phuong, deputy director of the Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervision Authority (ISA), said the biggest challenge for insurance companies is an effective digital transformation strategy, as many companies, even foreign-invested ones, have not performed digitisation synchronously but only in some stages.

According to Phuong, the economic efficiency of digital transformation of the insurance industry remains very limited. ISA’s statistics showed at present, the insurance revenue through digitised channels of the life insurance segment accounts for less than 5% of the total premium revenue of the market. The number of the non-life insurance segment is even lower at less than 1%.

The digital transformation costs are not small while the insurance business relies on the majority and statistics in order to have correct premium calculation, therefore the more rapid, comprehensive and effective the digital transformation is, the more insurance companies gain. Thus, insurance companies need to develop strategies and calculate reasonable investment costs to promote digitisation effectively, Phuong noted.

According to insurance companies, changing the habit of using technology in insurance activities is difficult, but the boom of digital transformation in life as well as the increasing number of young insurance customers are making it easier for users.

Naren Baliga, Business Unit manager at Manulife Vietnam, told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn that at first, when Manulife’s eClaims digitiser was first launched, many customers were not used to submitting documents online, but now, 95% of the insurance claims of Manulife Vietnam have been sent through this tool.

For customers who are still using paper contracts, access to the benefits of electronic contracts as well as other paperless services is only a matter of time, Baliga said.

EDU4.0 to take place in November

The third Education Summit (EDU4.0) will be held for two days on November 25-26 in Hanoi.

For the first time in the framework of EDU 4.0, the "Education Technology Award" will be presented.

EDU4.0 is a specialised event in educational technology founded by BHub Group and organised annually starting from 2020.

This year, EDU4.0 is co-organised by the Vietnam Psycho – Pedagogical Association, the Vietnam Digital Communication Association and BHub Group.

The event aims to connect and promote the application of technology in education, as well as a place to share information, experiences and digital transformation solutions in the field of Education and Training in Vietnam.

It is expected that more than 1,500 visitors will attend the event with 18 seminars and more than 40 exhibition booths from Vietnam, Australia, Finland, the UK, the Republic of Korea and more.

ASEAN creates healthy competition environment for SMEs

Heads of ASEAN member economies have agreed to create a mechanism to promote competition, create an environment conductive for regional SMEs to enter ASEAN amid economic recovery from COVID-19 crisis.

Together with green, digital economy and synchronous development, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was under major discussions at the 54th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting (AEM-54), said Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Undersecretary of State and Spokesman Penn Sovicheat at a press conference on September 18.

Ministers shared the view that the effective performance of competition law will accelerate the process of carrying out digital economic policy, contributing to developing digital market and helping ASEAN SMEs operate in a transparent and healthy competition environment.

The AEM-54 and related meetings with diverse agenda took place on September 11-18 in Siam Reap tourism city of Cambodia, host of ASEAN 2022.

Over 220 stalls to open at Vietnam-China int’l trade fair

The Vietnam – China International Trade Fair 2022 will take place in the northern border province of Lang Son from November 2-9.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade and the provincial Centre for Industrial Encouragement and Trade Promotion, the event is within the framework of the 2022 National Programme on Trade Promotion and the Lang Son Trade Promotion Programme and celebrations for the 191st founding anniversary of the province.

According to the organising board, the event is expected to attract over 100 exhibitors at home and abroad with over 220 stalls.

In particular, 20 stalls will showcase the province’s key products, including One Commune, One Product and outstanding rural and industrial products.

Canada gives conclusion on antidumping duty to oil country tubular product from Vietnam

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has issued a final conclusion of the anti-dumping investigation on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) imported from India, Taiwan (China), Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

According to the final conclusion, Canada applies an anti-dumping duty of 37.4% on the product from Vietnam and this rate is applied from September 6, 2022. The deadline for parties to file their claim regarding that decision is September 19.

The CBSA has imposed an anti-dumping duty on OCTG imports from Vietnam and certain countries since March 2015, with a rate of 37.4% applied to Vietnamese exporters.

Binh Duong seeks to promote cooperation with Cuba

A delegation from the southern province of Binh Duong, led by Nguyen Hoang Thao, permanent deputy secretary of the provincial Party Committee, paid a working visit to Cuba from September 12 to 17.

The delegation visited the province of Artemisa where it met local authorities and learned about the potential of this locality. On this occasion, the official proposed that Binh Duong and Artemisa establish friendly relations.

The delegates also visited the Mariel Special Development Zone and met some Cuban companies.

They had a meeting with Ángel Arzuaga, deputy head of the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, during which the two sides talked about the possibilities of expanding cooperation and mutual assistance.

Within the framework of the visit, the Vietnamese delegation also offered flowers to President Ho Chi Minh at the park named after him in Havana; had working sessions with the Cuban Chamber of Commerce and leaders of Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital and La Pradera International Health Care Center as well as sought investment opportunities with Labiofam Biotechnology Group - Cuba's leading scientific and economic unit.

On this occasion, Binh Duong province handed over cash donations worth 45,000 USD to the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Artemisa province, some schools, hospitals and units in Cuba.

Evaluation of land prices - key to a transparent market

A thematic session on accelerating institutional reform – perfecting land policy for socio-economic recovery and development, as part of the 2022 Vietnam Socio-Economic Forum, opened in Hanoi on September 18.

Speaking at the event, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Thanh Phong said developing a transparent and convenient real estate market will bring opportunities to draw capital at home and abroad, thus propelling socio-economic development.

Prof. Hoang Van Cuong, Vice Rector of the National Economics University, said land price mechanism for real estate development must be in accordance with the land market value. The selection of realty developers must also follow market mechanism.

The State must directly engage in land reclamation and compensation for site clearance in its all approved projects, he said.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Prof. Dang Hung Vo highlighted a need to add definition of market price under international standard into the revised Law on Land.

He suggested further improve the reform of land use tax, real estate or asset taxes as well as allow controlled mortgages at foreign financial organisations.

Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc said solutions to evaluate land prices should be reviewed to add into amendments to the Law on Land.

In the upcoming fourth meeting, the amended Law on Land will be submitted to the legislature for consideration.

At another thematic session on policies in support of businesses and workers for sustainable development, a representative from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said policies will be revised to step up the disbursement of 2% interest rate support package for enterprises.

Chairwoman of Deloitte Vietnam Ha Thu Thanh said as most of the Vietnamese companies are small and medium-sized, they find it hard to access capital via commercial banks. Their collateral assets have limited value so that the loans they could obtain are not sufficient to expand operations.

To fix it, the SBV will set up an inter-sectoral working group to take field trips to localities and answer their questions, hold more conferences linking businesses and banks, and work closely with ministries and agencies to tackle difficulties.

First approved batch of Vietnamese durians en route to China

The first batch of six containers of Vietnamese durian from the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak that have passed stringent safety guidelines began its journey to China on September 17.

Five producers sent 100 tonnes of the fruit in total for the first shipment.

The shipment comes following the signing of the protocol between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) over two months ago.

More durians from 23 China-approved growing areas are also on the way to a code-granted facility in Dak Lak to be sorted and packaged for delivery to China. Transportation requirements include using cartons with air holes for ventilation and quality control.

VEPR forecasts Vietnamese inflation at 3.5% to 3.8% this year

Vietnam’s inflation rate is projected to be at between 3.5% and 3.8% this year as there remains plenty of room for adjustments to be made to policies in order to accelerate the country’s economic recovery moving forward, according to economic advisers.

This assessment was made by experts at a September 16 workshop running with the theme of “Inflation in 2022: Impacts and Polity Recommendations”, which was co-hosted by the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Vietnam.

This assessment was made by experts at a September 16 workshop running with the theme of “Inflation in 2022: Impacts and Polity Recommendations”, which was co-hosted by the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Vietnam.

Despite inflation not being a major problem, consumers have so far felt the pinch from inflationary pressure, a factor which will continue to linger over the remaining months of the year.

Political tension caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict will continue to pose the most significant risk to Vietnamese inflation and commodity prices, while the current trend of global monetary tightening may help to alleviate inflationary pressures from the outside.

Furthermore, China's prolonged zero-COVID policy is anticipated to exacerbate global inflation. However, inflationary pressure is forecast to ease ahead during the final months of the year due to the decline in global food and oil prices and improvements in the global supply chain.

Experts have assessed that with both internal and external impacts, the domestic inflation rate this year is projected to be at between 3.5% and 3.8%.

EVN faces financial difficulties due to rising input costs
     
EVN's electricity production across the whole system reached 23.9 billion kWh last month and 81.92 billion kWh in the first eight months of the year, a year-on-year growth of 5 per cent.

Electricity produced by Viet Nam Electricity (EVN) and power generation corporations, including subsidiary companies, reached 84.57 billion kWh in the first eight months of the year, accounting for 46.49 per cent of the electricity production of the whole system.

With the sudden increase in the price of input fuels for electricity production such as coal, oil, and gas since the beginning of the year, EVN's electricity production costs have soared, leading to many financial difficulties.

The average power consumption of the whole system is expected at 754.8 million kWh per day this month, up 18.6 per cent over the same period. The largest load capacity is estimated at 41,400 MW.

The goal of electricity system operation set by EVN is to continue to ensure safe and continuous electricity production and supply this month to serve the country's socio-economic development and people's daily lives.

KOTRA to connect VN, RoK business via trade event

The Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA Hanoi) plans to organise a business-to-business (B2B) trade event on September 21 between enterprises from the Republic of Korea’s Incheon city and Vietnamese importers.

The event will draw the participation of 25 Korean manufacturers/suppliers with typical products including cosmetics, instant food; smart home appliances and medical equipment, among others.

These high-quality products have been widely sold in the RoK and exported to many countries around the world, according to KOTRA Hanoi.

Da Nang focuses on products suitable to Indian, Middle Eastern tourists’ taste

The central city of Da Nang is seeking to develop tourism products that are tailored to suit the taste of vacationers from India and the Middle East, which are defined as important markets for the city's tourism in the future.

Experts said India's positive open-door policy and the great travel demand of its people can help Vietnam make up for the number of visitors from the traditional Northeast Asian markets, which have not yet reopened fully after the pandemic.

Da Nang has organised programmes to introduce its attractive destinations in India, and welcoming delegations from the country to survey tourism products and services in the city.

The Middle Eastern region, especially nine nations in the project on "Developing relations between Vietnam and countries in the Middle East - Africa for the 2016 – 2025 period", is also one of the strategic markets in tourism cooperation and development of Vietnam in general and Da Nang in particular.

The city will continue developing products especially designed for these markets, especially high-class ones, including wedding and resort tourism products that suit the needs and taste of Indian and Middle Eastern tourists.

According to Tran Duc Hung, Vietnamese Ambassador to Qatar, tourists from the Middle East and India prefer to go to private beach resorts and combine traveling with looking for commercial and investment opportunities, and therefore prefer not to travel in tour groups.

Vietjet Air has also announced that the airline will operate three new routes to Da Nang from India’s Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad on November 28, November 29 and December 1, respectively.

Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Ha Van Sieu said that India and the Middle East are considered potential markets that need to be prioritised in the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy by 2030.

Statistics from Google Trends showed that the number of searches about Vietnam from the Indian market has been increasing. This reflects the demand from India, which has a population of more than 1.3 billion and will become the most populous country in the world by 2023 with more than 1.4 billion people.

By the year-end, there will be 21 direct air routes, with over 60 flights per week, connecting Vietnam with India.

There are also direct flights linking Vietnam’s major cities such as Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City with the capitals of Middle East countries.

Vietnam ranks second globally for wood pellet exports

Vietnam has emerged as the world’s second largest exporter of wood pellets, one of the most crucial export items of the domestic wood industry, according to details given by the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association.

The country earned US$354 million from exporting approximately 2.4 million tonnes of wood pellets in the first half of the year, and it aims to raise the export value for the whole year to roughly US$700 million.

Wood pellets are anticipated to enter the group of agro-forestry products which boast an export turnover of over US$1 billion in the coming years.

The sharp rise in the export volume and price can be attributed to the sudden increase in demand from the EU market as a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Experts said there remains ample room ahead to boost exports of wood pallets in the coming time, particularly as the majority of Vietnamese wood pallets are exported to Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Thap Cham-Dalat Railway proposed to be revived

The revival of the nearly-84-kilometer railway from Phan Rang to Dalat has been under consideration with an estimated cost of VND27.7 trillion, according to the Ministry of Transport.

A pre-feasibility study of the project will be carried out by Bach Dang Hotel Complex Trading – Service JSC and submitted to the Ministry of Transport by the end of this year, the Ninh Thuan authority told the media on September 15.

With a total length of nearly 84 kilometers, the revival of the Thap Cham-Dalat Railway will require an estimated investment of VND27.7 trillion using the public-private partnership format.

The project will comprise 17 stations, 64 bridges, five tunnels and a 16-kilometer rack rail section. The site clearance area in Ninh Thuan Province has been estimated at around 130 hectares, mainly agricultural land.

The investor has been assigned to complete investment preparation by 2024. It is expected that the project will be put back into service in 2030.

The Thap Cham-DaLat Railway was built by the French in 1908 and completed in 1932. It has fallen into disuse since 1968 due to its degradation and unsafety.

The railway is the second in the world to use a rack rail to traverse steep terrain, after the Jungfraujoch that runs across the Alps.

A part of the railway, the Trai Mat-Dalat section, with a length of 7 kilometers, has already been revived and used as a tourist attraction in Dalat City.

TDC to transfer Uni Galaxy to Malaysian firm

Binh Duong Trade and Development JSC, which trades its TDC shares on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, has approved a plan to transfer its Uni Galaxy townhouse project to Malaysia’s Gamuda Land at some VND1.3 trillion.

Of the total, the value of land use rights accounts for VND1.25 trillion, while the value of technical infrastructure the balance, nearly VND35 billion.

The payment will be conducted in two phases, the local media reported.

Uni Galaxy covers over 56,000 square meters of land in Hoa Phu Ward in Binh Duong Province’s Thu Dau Mot City.

In Vietnam, Gamuda Land has developed the Celadon City project covering 82 hectares in HCMC’s Tan Phu and the Gumada City project in Hanoi City.

Japan overtakes U.S. as largest buyer of Vietnam’s seafood

Japan overtook the United States as the largest importer of Vietnam’s seafood in August.

Data from the Vietnamese customs showed that seafood exports in August alone brought in US$173 million, up 14% over July and 128% over the same period last year.

In the first eight months of the year, seafood exports to the Japanese market generated US$1.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 28%.

Meanwhile, the U.S. came second with a value of US$159 million worth of seafood imports from Vietnam in August, a slight fall over last month. However, seafood exports to the U.S. market fetched US$1.6 billion in the first eight months, up 26% over the same period last year.

VND3.2t bridge to be built in Mekong Delta

A new bridge over the Co Chien River will be built to connect Ben Tre and Vinh Long provinces in the Mekong Delta, at an estimated cost of over VND3.2 trillion.

The authorities of the two provinces recently finalized a plan to develop the Dinh Khao Bridge project after taking into account feedback from consultants, the local media reported.

With a total length of over 11 kilometers, the bridge will start from the National Highway 53 section passing through Vinh Long’s Long Ho District and end at the National Highway 57 section in Ben Tre.

The four-lane bridge will also be some 6.6 kilometers downstream of the Dinh Khao ferry terminal.

Some 50% of the project’s investment will be backed by the State budget, while the remainder will come from the private sector and reciprocal capital of the two provinces. Work on the project is expected to begin this year and be completed in 2026.

Hanoi facilitates investment from Republic of Korea

Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee Tran Sy Thanh has pledged to create all possible conditions for foreign firms, including those from the Republic of Korea, to invest in the city.

Thanh made the promise at a reception for Kim Jung-in, CEO of Sein I&D Vietnam, in Hanoi on Tuesday.

He voiced support for Sein I&D Vietnam’s plans to invest in hi-tech supporting industry in Vietnam and expand its investment in Hanoi.

The official listened to the company’s suggestions and assigned relevant agencies to consider and handle them in line with the law.

Kim made several proposals to the municipal administration regarding investment in the semi-conductor industry, including mechanisms to attract investment in vocational training.

The same day, the Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee also met with An Kuk-jin, General Director of Daewoo Engineering & Construction Vietnam (Daewoo E&C) and Chairman of THT Development.

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