Ho Chi Minh City is planning to set up a 26,000ha economic zone to the south, which is expected to house industrial parks, urban areas, and many associated services.

The zone has been included in a draft project on the development of industrial parks and export processing zones for 2025 – 2030 with a vision to 2040. Accordingly, the zone will cover the entire District 7 and Nha Be district along with parts of Binh Chanh and Can Gio. Its core area will be the 300-ha Tan Thuan export processing zone and the 1,354ha Hiep Phuoc Port Urban Area.

Investors, when investing in economic zones, will be entitled to such incentives as tax exemption for four years and a 50% reduction of corporate income tax for the next nine years for income generated from their investment projects in line with regulations.

For the southern metropolis, such zone with large-scale socio-economic development space and integrated production capacity plays an important role in transforming its underdeveloped coastal area into a driving force for economic development.

It will also help speed up the process of restructuring the local economy towards industrialisation and modernisation, and forming a high-quality urban area.

FPT Software inaugurates new office in Denmark

FPT Software, a member of Vietnam’s leading IT solution provider FPT Corporation, recently opened its first representative office in Copenhagen, Denmark, the first of its kind in the Northern European market.

The new office, the seventh in Europe and the 59th globally, is to expand the provision of world-class technology services to large businesses and organisations, as well as addressing the demand for hi-tech human resources.

The facility is located at Kongens Lyngby, a shopping mall in the northern part of Copenhagen, which is home to several major shopping stores in the Danish capital.

Many large businesses and organisations COWI A/S, Bang & Olufsen, and ICE power have chosen to set up offices in the region.

According to Truong Gia Binh, chairman of FPT Corporation, Denmark is one of Vietnam’s largest foreign investors, and FPT, a leading IT solution provider, can contribute to enhancing the relationship between both sides and serve as a bridge to strengthen connectivity among businesses from the two countries.

QR Code authentication system helps prevent counterfeit goods

Genuine product authentication through QR Code has been put into operation at https://truyxuat.gov.vn by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency to support and encourage people and businesses to use digital solutions to prevent counterfeit goods in e-commerce transactions.

Do Dinh Tan from the agency’s informatics and digital technology centre said the application allows consumers to retrieve information about the origin of products  when they purchase goods, offering transparent information and preventing the sale of counterfeit and low-quality goods.

The system will help end the fear of counterfeit and imitation goods using technology, he said, adding that it also creates a foundation for applying more digital technologies in e-commerce transactions.

Through the system, businesses and consumers can easily connect regarding warranty process information and promotions.

This will create trust among customers and protect the reputations of products and businesses, helping them conquer foreign markets which usually have strict authentication requirements via QR Code.

The system is also a useful tool for state management agencies to manage and control the commodities market, Tan said.

Agricultural trade surplus doubles in first eight months

The export value of agro-forestry and fisheries products reached 36.3 billion USD in the first eight months of this year, with the sector posting a surplus of 6.3 billion USD, or nearly double the figure in the same period of last year. Seven groups of commodities recorded export value in excess of 2 billion USD.

Coffee, rubber, rice, vegetables, fruit, cashews, shrimp, and wooden products all recorded export value of over 2 billion USD.

Exporters said the result was due to advantages gained since the beginning of the year.

Asia led in export markets for Vietnamese agricultural products in the first 8 months, with a share of more than 43 percent, followed by the Americas and Europe. Worth noting is that Europe still has a lot of room for development.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development worked with embassies’ representatives, trade counsellors, and agricultural counsellors in the first eight months to promote the sale of products both online and offline in order to effectively exploit markets of potential.

The ministry will complete negotiations to open markets for certain products, such as Japan for longans, the US for passionfruit and coconuts, the Republic of Korea for pomelo, Australia for passionfruit, and New Zealand for citrus fruit, among others.

Vietnam, Russia hold business dialogue at EEF 2022

A business dialogue between Vietnam and Russia took place in the Russian city of Vladivostok on September 6 within the framework of the ongoing 7th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

In his remarks delivered virtually, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi said this is the first business dialogue between the two countries held as part of the EEF, with a large number of enterprises from both sides in attendance, reflecting Russia’s interest in stepping up ties with Vietnam.

It is also a good opportunity for Vietnamese and Russian agencies and enterprises to discuss ways to expand partnerships in the coming time, he said.

The Vietnamese diplomat affirmed that Vietnam and Russia boast a good friendship and Russia remains a priority in Vietnam’s foreign policy. The Vietnamese Embassy stands ready to promote the cooperation between the Far Eastern region and Vietnam and facilitate it to grow further, bringing benefits to people and businesses from both sides, he stated.

Putting forward five recommendations for the expansion of two-way trade, Vietnamese trade representative in Vladivostok Nguyen Hong Thanh said Vietnam is willing to act as a gateway to connect Russia and the world, given that the Southeast Asian country is a signatory to 15 free trade agreements and ranks fifth in Asia in terms of economic openness.

Russian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sergey Levin, for his part, said Russia and Vietnam have great potential in trade since their goods supplement each other, and Russia has major opportunities to exports food and foodstuff to Vietnam.

VinFast to hand over initial VF 8 to local customers on September 10

Vinfast Trading and Service Limited Liability Company has unveiled plans to officially hand over the first batch of VF 8 electric vehicles (EVs) to pioneering customers on September 10 at its factory in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

Similar events are expected to take place simultaneously in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Before handing over the EVs to clients, VinFast has organised tours to visit the VinFast automobile factory in order to help them gain a better insight into the driving experience.

Le Thi Thu Thuy, vice chairwoman of Vingroup and global general director of VinFast, said the first batch of VinFast VF 8 cars will be handed over to the customers on September 10, as opposed to the previous date of November.

Furthermore, VF 9 EV models that have been granted a quality certificate by the Vietnam Register, is expected to be delivered to customers a few months following the handover of VinFast VF8, she added.

Customers who receive the VF 8 will get a special offer of VND480 million while the programme to convert from gasoline cars to EVs will allow customers to save an additional VND30 million.

The firm stated that following the handing over of the first batch of VF 8 EVs to local customers, the next batch will be delivered to customers based in the United States, Canada, and Europe this October and November.

Vietnam enjoys trade surplus of US$3 billion with UAE

Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of approximately US$3 billion with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with total two-way trade turnover between the two countries during the past eight months of the year reaching VND3.3 billion, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in the UAE.

Despite these strong figures, the trade office has advised Vietnamese enterprises to develop an appropriate export strategy to the UAE market in order to boost exports in a sustainable manner.

Experts assessed that the UAE is an open market featuring the involvement of several competitors, adding that food and beverage products and other items require Halal certification before exporting to the Islamic country.

Most notably, experts recommended that enterprises clearly verify their partners before conducting business in this market, with a specific focus on payment methods to avoid trade fraud.

The Vietnam Trade Office in the UAE therefore proposed organising large-scale trade and investment forums, as well as trade fairs in Dubai, in a bid to introduce Vietnamese goods to the UAE, which can serve as the gateway to promote exports to the Middle East and Africa.

Vietnamese and Korean enterprises launch new co-operation opportunities

An online trading week between Vietnamese firms and those from Chungnam province of the Republic of Korea (RoK) is running from September 5 to September 8, thereby opening up fresh co-operation opportunities for enterprises from both nations in the field of industrial production.

The event is being held by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) Hanoi and features  the participation of 10 Korean manufacturers and suppliers, including products such as cosmetics-beauty equipment, fruit-food-nutrition-beverages, and industrial supplies and equipment.

These represent high-quality standard products that are widely used in the RoK and are exported to many countries globally.

According to a representative of KOTRA Hanoi, roughly 50 online meetings have been arranged and confirmed in accordance to the needs of both nations’ businesses over the coming week.

In order for online transactions to be effective, KOTRA Hanoi has actively introduced and advised detailed products for each Vietnamese business through various catalogs and the distribution of promotional videos.

The RoK is currently the largest investor in the nation, the second largest contributor to official development assistance (ODA), tourism, labour partners, and the third largest trading partner behind the United States and China, with last year’s bilateral trade turnover reaching US$78.1 billion.

Moving forward, two countries are expected to increase bilateral trade turnover to US$100 billion by 2023.

Vietnam pushes ahead in investment stakes

Foreign direct investment from Asia remains positive in Vietnam, with billions of US dollars pouring into the country over the past year.

Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group, last week came to Vietnam for a groundbreaking ceremony of Lotte E&C’s construction of the Eco Smart City complex in Ho Chi Minh City. Some $900 million has been invested in the construction of the 60-story building on 68 hectares for residential and commercial use.

The chairman met with top Vietnamese officials, revealing that his group expects to invest into developing a number of projects in Hanoi, including a large-scale commercial centre that can attract about 10 million customer arrivals a year. Currently, Lotte has invested nearly $5 billion in Vietnam so far, and has been looking for ways to grow its retail-to-construction business abroad.

In the long term, the South Korean conglomerate aims to make Vietnam its third-largest market behind South Korea and Japan, penetrating deeper into the Southeast Asian market.

Meanwhile, CEO of Samsung Group Roh Tae-Moon revealed the group’s plan to invest an additional $3.3 billion in Vietnam this year for trial production of a ball grid array. The commercial production is slated to begin in July next year at its manufacturing complex in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

In another case, Taiwan’s Foxconn signed an MoU with Saigon-Bac Giang Industrial Park Corporation, a subsidiary of Kinh Bac Urban Development Corporation, in mid-August to lease over 50ha of land in Quang Chau Industrial Zone (IZ) in the northern province of Bac Giang to develop a new project with an investment of $300 million.

It is a part of the additional $700 million investment plan to realise the target of $10 billion in annual export revenues that the company released in April last year.

Foxconn is currently the most significant foreign company in Quang Chau IZ with a total leased area of almost 70ha. The group has the total registered investment capital of $773 million and earned a revenue of $3 billion and $6 billion respectively in 2019 and 2020.

Statistics published by the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that, as of August 20, Vietnam attracted $232.9 billion in registered foreign direct investment (FDI) from Northeast Asian markets including Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

This represents an increase of $14.39 billion from the consolidated number of $218.51 billion as of August 20, 2021.

South Korea and Japan still keep the leading positions in luring FDI to Vietnam, at $80.24 billion and $65.69 billion, respectively as of August 20.

As two-way trade between Vietnam and South Korea is forecasted to amount to $100 billion this year, instead of 2023 as previously planned, the goal may lure a series of large-scale projects to Vietnam.

EC’s upcoming visit to Vietnam to review IUU fishing fight

Officials from the European Commission (EC) will visit Vietnam again this October to check measures against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in coastal areas, according to an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries (VDF).

The trip aims to review the country's efforts in removing the “yellow card” warning issued by the EU in 2017, said Nguyen Quang Hung, VDF Deputy Director General, adding that the check will be conducted directly at fishing ports.

The EC officials will focus on four matters, namely regulatory framework, management of fishing ships, traceability of seafood products from point-of-catch to point-of-sale, and law enforcement and penalties for violations, if any, Hung noted.

He further said that although Vietnam has made positive steps forward in fighting IUU fishing, challenges remain hampering the progress. There have been insufficient efforts among many fishermen in keeping records of their fishing trips through catch log-books. Plus, there is a lack of funding to renovate fishing ports in poor conditions and provide them with necessary equipment and supervising personnel.

The National Steering Committee on IUU Fishing Prevention will convene a meeting to urgently address the issues, he said.

The EC emphasises that the first thing Vietnam must do to remove the “yellow card” warning is to end Vietnamese fishing vessels encroaching foreign waters, he stated.

Important achievements recorded in domestic economic situation in eight months: MPI

Despite the changes in the world situation, Vietnam has made positive recovery in business and production activities, stabilised macro-economy, controlled inflation, and ensured major economic balances, according to a report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) delivered at the Government regular meeting on September 6.

In August, consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.65 year on year, pushing the average CPI in the first eight months to 2.58%, equivalent to the level recorded in the 2018-2021 period, said the report.

Budget collection in the first eight months of this year fulfilled about 84.8% of the yearly estimate, up 19.4% year on year, while import-export turnover rose about 17.3% over the same period last year in August and 15.5% in the first eight months of this year, with trade surplus reaching 3.96 billion USD in the eight months.

At the same time, the index of industrial production (IIP) increased 15.6% year on year in August and 9.4% in eight months, according to the report. Total revenue from retail of goods and services in August was also up 50.2% year on year.

The report also highlights positive results in many areas such as defence, security and external relations. It said that as of August 28, 505 trillion VND (21.44 billion USD) of public investment capital was disbursed, reaching 93.2% of the target.

Imported frozen pork prices fall sharply

Despite being sold at half the price of domestic pork, the demand for imported frozen pork is still in decline.

Imported frozen pork is now sold at VND60.000-90.000 per kilogram, half the price of domestic pork.

According to the Agency of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, July alone saw 10,000 tons of frozen pork imported with a total value of US$21.6 million, a respective year-on-year drop in quantity and imported prices of 31.2% and 36.8%.

The agency attributed the decline to the falling demand from consumers after a significant repopulation of domestic pig herds, resulting in more stable pork prices in the country.

As of July, the total volume of imported pork had reached over 55,200 tons, worth more than US$117 million, a year-on-year drop of 40% and 50% in quantity and price.

According to Ipos, a France-based market research company, Vietnamese tend to eat less pork, roughly 23.5 kilograms per year.

More data from the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development showed that Vietnamese consume less than 26 kilograms of pork per year, a drop of four to five kilograms per year compared to the pre-pandemic years.

Currently, Russia, Canada, Brazil, Poland and Denmark are Vietnam’s largest suppliers. Among them, Brazil accounts for nearly 37.5% of Vietnam’s pork imports.

Petrolimex Saigon suffers loss in petrol trading

At the working session with Nha Be Petrol Warehouse General, belonging to Area 2 Petrolimex Company (Petrolimex Saigon), Vice Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Phan Thi Thang, on the afternoon of September 5, asked Petrolimex to continue to maintain the supply of gasoline and ensure no shortage of petroleum products in the city.

Petrolimex and large enterprises should share difficulties and profits with retail enterprises so that these retail petrol stations can survive, she added.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Petrolimex Saigon Vo Van Tan suggested that the People's Committee of HCMC and State management agencies strengthen inspection, ensuring that all key traders and distributors are responsible for ensuring the supply of petrol products to fully meet the sales demand of their networks; aiding enterprises to maintain and develop the petroleum retail system in the area.

Departments, agencies, and the Department of Market Surveillance of HCMC should coordinate to strengthen inspection of the compliance with regulations of franchisees, ensuring the selling prices, quality, and quantity of petrol products, he suggested.

According to the current pricing method, there was a time when Petrolimex Saigon only received VND280 per liter but had to pay the franchisor VND350 per liter to encourage and share difficulties. In fact, in the petroleum business, from the beginning of the year to now, Petrolimex Saigon has been losing about VND20 billion. If the situation does not improve, it will suffer a loss of over VND100 billion by the end of this year.

Airports have strong potential for growth

Under a report of a master plan on the development of airports, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has launched an evaluation of the development potential of airfields in the country.

Accordingly, Da Nang International Airport is expected to receive 25 million passengers a year and Chu Lai Airport will greet 10 million arrivals per year by 2030.

Based on transport demand and the situation of the socio-economic development, the Ministry of Transport will consider allocating flights between these airfields to ensure effective exploitation and create a driving force for investment development of Chu Lai Airport.

In the stage with a vision towards 2050, the CAAV has checked and updated information on the capacity planning of airports that have the potential for breakthrough growth, including Van Don and Chu Lai airports which are expected to handle from 12 to 20 million passengers per year and 28 to 30 million arrivals per year, respectively.

The CAAV has coordinated with consulting units to form a plan for Cam Ranh International Airport in the Central coastal province of Khanh Hoa for the period after 2030 with a vision to 2050; and proposed construction planning of military airports used for civilian purposes.

International search volume for Vietnamese tourism continues to rise

The volume of international searches being made for Vietnamese tourism in August continued to record a sharp increase, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

The VNAT pointed out that the trend tracker of Google Destination Insights shows a sharp rise in terms of searches for Vietnamese tourism thanks to its open-door policy to international tourism, as well as its strong recovery efforts.

According to the report compiled by the APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU), the nation is the only country among the 21 APEC economies to have not imposed any travel restrictions, quarantine period, or implemented any requirements relating to COVID-19 vaccination certificates.

According to data compiled by Google, the number of international searches for tourist accommodation establishments in the nation in August witnessed a seven-fold increase compared to the beginning of March. Meanwhile, the number of international aviation searches to the country has tripled.

The top 10 most searched countries for tourism in Vietnam include the United States, Singapore, India, Australia, Japan, Thailand, Germany, France, the UK, and Malaysia, respectively.

The most sought-after destinations by the international community include popular Vietnamese destinations such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Phan Thiet, Hue, and Vung Tau.

In contrast, the number of Vietnamese people searching for foreign travel information has also been increasing after a long period of being suppressed due to the pandemic.

Most notably, the markets which are most popular among Vietnamese tourists includes Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, the US, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan.

Progress made on public debt management: MoF

Progress has been made in reducing Việt Nam's public debt according to the latest report released by the Ministry of Finance.

The country's debt level has gone down from 61.4 per cent to 43.1 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) during the 2017-21 period.

While some of the country's objectives have been met, economists urged the Government to improve fiscal policies, debt and risk management to achieve greater efficiency and stability.  

The report said Việt Nam's public debt has been steadily on the decline as the Government tightened up the control of key debt indicators and stepped up efforts in risk management to make sure it stayed under the debt ceiling set by the National Assembly. 

According to the ministry, by the end of 2021 external debt was calculated at VNĐ1 quadrillion while domestic debt was at VNĐ2 quadrillion. The shift has significantly enhanced the country's ability to control exchange rates and national financial security. 

As the country continued to improve its economic performance, experts have warned that its ability to access financial assistance will gradually deteriorate while its debt portfolio will become more complex and require a clear and consistent management approach in order to minimise risk and maximise efficiency.  

44.6 percent of passenger transport enterprises reduce fares

The Ministry of Transport has recently informed about the adjustment of freight rates in the transportation sector and proposed solutions to curb the increase in train and bus ticket prices on holidays.

According to the Ministry of Transport, 63.98 percent of taxi enterprises have reduced their fares by VND800-VND1,000 per km, equivalent to 4.5-12 percent.

Similarly, about 44.6 percent of passenger transport enterprises on fixed routes have also lowered ticket prices by 5.26-14.7 percent. In addition, tourist transport and contract transport services fluctuate depending on the time of the year.

For railways, up to now, railway joint stock companies have launched two promotion programs in which freight rates have been cut by 5 percent, and passenger transport rates have been reduced by 5-10 percent.

In the field of aviation, airlines have declared various price ranges from low to high, ensuring not to exceed the prescribed maximum price, and publicly listed ticket prices on the airlines’ websites.

The Ministry of Transport also said that in the coming time, it would continue to direct agencies and units to strengthen inspection of the declaration and listing of freight rates and train and bus fares following regulations, especially on holidays.

The competent authorities will continue to monitor and grasp the fluctuations of petrol prices to promptly direct the price declaration of enterprises and transport units in accordance with the reduction of petrol prices to serve well the travel demand.

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