Terrace fields in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang

Tourism associations in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang city and the provinces of Khanh Hoa, Ha Giang and Phu Yen gathered at a cooperation programme held in HCM City on July 18 to promote local tourism.

Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association Nguyen Thi Khanh said the tourism sector and businesses have a common goal of stimulating domestic tourism in the face of complicated COVID-19 developments.

The programme will help connect travel firms to develop tourism between localities in the Northern, Central and Southern regions, she added.

The participating associations will support businesses to popularise destinations and new tourism products, according to Khanh.

The tourism sector is making concerted efforts to recover after a stagnant stage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on promoting domestic travel while preparing to welcome foreign arrivals.

The Vietnam Tourism Association is running a nationwide "Vietnam – a bright destination" programme that lasts from May 15 until the end of the year. It aims at stimulating demand while ensuring safety for visitors, reducing prices but sustaining service quality or keeping prices unchanged but adding more services.
Many popular tour providers, such as Saigontourist, Vietrantour, Vietravel, and Hanoi Redtours have joined the programme by launching numerous packages with discounts of up to 40 percent that targets travelling groups of at least six members and flying with Vietnam Airlines.

2019 is considered a successful year for Vietnam's tourism. The country was ranked seventh among the world’s 20 fastest growing travel destinations, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). In the year, the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam increased by 16.2 percent year-on-year  to 18 million.

In 2020, Vietnam aims to attract 20.5 million international visitors and 90 million domestic ones. However, this target is unlikely to achieve due to the serious impact of COVID-19, which has been largely brought under control at home but is still developing complicatedly in other countries.

VN stock market celebrates 20th birthday

A ceremony was held in HCM City on July 20 in the presence of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to mark the 20th anniversary of Vietnam’s stock market and the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE).

There are more than 1,600 businesses listed on Vietnam’s two exchanges, with market capitalisation surpassing 4 quadrillion VND (172.9 billion USD) - equivalent to 65 percent of GDP.

HoSE has most of the major firms, which account for nearly 80 percent of total market cap.

Vietnam’s stock market has developed strongly in both quantity and quality over the last two decades and become an important capital channel for the economy. More than 2.4 quadrillion VND has been mobilised in the last ten years, accounting for 14 percent of total investment in society.

The market is also said to be a “launching pad” for many enterprises to capitalise on resources to make breakthrough developments and contribute substantially to economic growth and reach regional and international levels.

Addressing the ceremony, PM Phuc said the stock market has made every effort for the last 20 years to overcome numerous difficulties and challenges to develop strongly.

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, which has triggered the worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression in 1929-1933, the country took dramatic moves to control the pandemic early. It is therefore necessary to make use of this unique chance to recover and develop the country’s economy and society, in particular by attracting domestic resources and regional and global capital flows to meet the huge financial demand for development investment both in the short and long terms, the PM said.

He underlined the necessity for breakthrough development in the stock market to better meet the medium and long-term need for capital in the economy and to join hands with the banking system in capital mobilisation.

The PM asked for close coordination between the Ministry of Finance, the State Securities Commission, and relevant ministries and sectors to synchronously develop markets, including the stock, monetary, and insurance markets, thereby optimising combined resources to promote growth, ensure macro-economic stability, and control inflation.

To expand the stock market and better its quality, he requested accelerating the equitisation and listing of State-owned enterprises (SOEs), encouraging private companies to list on the market, enhancing the market’s transparency, and applying international standards and practices.

Urging the early completion of the market’s structure and infrastructure, PM Phuc called on market members, businesses, and domestic and foreign investors to continue standing side-by-side with the Government to contribute more to the sustainable development of the stock market and the economy as a whole.

Sales of household appliances soar during promotion month

Retailers in Ho Chi Minh City have reported rising purchasing power for household appliances during the “National Sales Promotion Month 2020” from July 1 to 31.

In the past weeks, Cho Lon Household Appliance Supermarket in HCM City’s District 5 has welcomed a large number of visitors attracted by 50 percent-discounted items.

The supermarket has also given vouchers worth 3 million VND each to clients buying a certain number of goods. The past week, 40 washing machines sold at a 42 percent discount, said a sales manager at the supermarket.

A manager at the Green Household Appliance shop on Au Co Street in Tan Binh District said that shop owners have offered discounts of 5 percent to 40 percent for their goods.

Thien Hoa Appliance on Nguyen Van Linh Street in District 7 has launched big discounts on the weekends, with discounts on some products up to 80 percent.

Meanwhile, The Gioi Di Dong shops have offered discounts up to 49 percent, especially for watches, TVs and household appliances.

According to HCM City retailers, the purchasing power for home appliances has risen significantly compared to previous months.

Nguyen Tran Thao Nguyen, CEO of Thien Hoa Home Appliances Centre, said the National Sales Promotion Month launched by HCM City and the Ministry of Trade and Industry attracted double the number of buyers at household appliance shops and markets compared to previous months.

Dang Thanh Phong, manager for The Gioi Di Dong, said purchasing power had risen from 20 percent to 30 percent, especially for handphones, which rose over 50 percent./.

Korean ice cream exports to Vietnam surge

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s exports of ice cream to Vietnam jumped 30 percent in 2019 from a year earlier on the back of the growing popularity of Korean culture in Southeast Asia, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) reported on July 19.

Outbound shipments of ice cream to Vietnam reached 7 million USD in 2019, rising sharply from 5.3 million USD in 2018, according to KOTRA, adding that the RoK took up 35.6 percent of Vietnam’s ice cream imports last year.

Experts said the growth was attributable to the cultural wave of “hallyu” in Asian countries, which refers to the boom of RoK-made entertainment goods, including foodstuffs.

“Vietnam is an attractive destination for ice cream producers as the country’s average income has been rising steadily,” KOTRA said in its report.

Vietnam was the third-largest export destination for the RoK in 2019, after China and the US.

Cargo handled at seaports maintains growth in seven months

Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Maritime Administration Hoang Hong Giang has said the total volume of cargo handled at Vietnamese seaports surpassed 397.5 million tonnes in the first seven months of this year, up 6 percent year on year.

Of which, the volume of container goods handled at seaports reached over 11.8 million TEUs, marking a year-on-year rise of 8 percent.

In July alone, the figure was nearly 57.8 million tonnes, up 1 percent, including 1.68 million TEUs of container goods, up 2 percent from the same period last year.

Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, several seaports still posted two-digit growth in the first half of this year, such as Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Nam Dinh, Can Tho, Thanh Hoa, Thai Binh, ranging from 20 – 72 percent.

Others saw a significant growth in container goods such as My Tho up 354 percent; Thanh Hoa 115 percent; An Giang 85 percent and Da Nang, 11 percent./.

Indonesia's gold production to decline sharply in 2020

Indonesia’s gold production reached only 9.98 tonnes as of May 2020, much lower than the figure in the same period last year (109.02 tonnes), according to senior advisor of Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Irwandy Arif.

He said the decline was attributable to the transition of production activities of PT Freeport from open mining to underground one, which, he estimates, could prolong for two years.

When the company returns to normal operation, Indonesia's gold production is likely to reach about 120 tonnes per year, he added.

The number of gold mining companies nationwide currently stands at 28. Therefore, even if Freeport cannot return to normal by the end of the year, he predicts the national gold production in 2020 is not too far from the 100 tonne figure.

Freeport is a US gold mining company with a total production of 80 tonnes per year, making it the largest contributor to Indonesia's gold production.

Indonesia backs MSMEs amid COVID-19

The Indonesian government has prepared a credit package worth up to 4.2 trillion rupiah (about 285 million USD) to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to resume production amid the complicated developments of COVID-19, according to Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan.

The official said MSMEs play an important role in the Indonesian economy, adding that they contributed 60 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 14 percent to the nation’s total export turnover in 2019.

However, these firms are facing a lot of obstacles in accessing loans due to administrative procedures imposed by banks.

The minister said he has asked banks to relax procedures to make it easier for MSMEs to access loans, especially in the context of COVID-19.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 1,752 within one day to 84,882, with the death toll adding by 59 to 4,016, a local health official said on July 18.

More than 43,260 patients have recovered so far. High number of infections were recorded in six provinces, namely North Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Jakarta, Central Java, East Java and South Sulawesi./.

Thailand approves rice price guarantee scheme for 2020-2021

The National Rice Policy Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, has approved a rice price guarantee scheme for the 2020-2021 crop, offering guaranteed prices at the same rates as during the previous season.

Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhanadirek said the annual 2020-2021 scheme, which will be carried out between September 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021, is expected to use a budget of 85 billion baht (about 2.6 billion USD).

If 30.3 billion baht worth of loans to be issued by the state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives is included, the scheme will total 115 billion baht, she said.

Charoen Laothammatas, President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said rice export prospects looked murky in the second half amid sluggish global demand caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

The association has set a full-year rice export target of 7.5 million tonnes but is scheduled to adjust the target on July 22.

Thailand shipped 7.58 million tonnes of rice worth 131 billion baht in 2019, down 32 percent in volume and 25 percent in value from 2018.

Tien Giang aims to obtain growth of 7 percent this year

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang is determined to achieve the economic growth target of 7 percent this year despite being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a local official has said.

Speaking at a recent session of the provincial People’s Council, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council Nguyen Van Danh said the province had to take urgent and synchronous measures in various areas like agriculture, fisheries, rural development, industry, urban development, and the collective economy.

He said the provincial People’s Committee should direct the Southern Horticultural Research Institute to guide farmers in areas affected by drought and saltwater intrusion in restoring fruit orchards.

It should encourage them to switch to crops and livestock that are resistant to natural calamities, he said.

More than 8,500ha of rice, thousands of hectares of vegetable and 5,300ha of fruits were damaged by natural disaster this year, he said.

The administration should make preparations after the 2020 flooding season to ensure the 2020-2021 winter-spring crop is good, he said.

Cooperative models that are part of value chains or link farmers with enterprises should be expanded, and the province should give priority to rice, fruit, vegetables, and seafood value chains, he said.

It also should provide assistance to the industrial sector, he added.

It should assess the impact of the pandemic on each sector and help affected companies stabilise their business soon and achieve the targeted rate of growth in the remaining months of the year.

According to the People’s Committee, the province targets revenues from retail sales and services of 39.8 trillion VND (1.7 billion USD) in the second half of the year.

It seeks to attract 17 new projects and set up 16 new cooperatives.

In the first half its gross domestic product was marginally down year-on-year.

It has provided dole of more than 217.6 billion VND to poor people, those near the poverty line and others this year. It will continue to pay the allowance this month.

Truong Van Hien, chairman of the province’s Trade Federation, said trade unions had called on and given gifts to 14,000 workers facing financial difficulties.

Southernmost province seeks ways to achieve export target

The southernmost province of Ca Mau is working hard to support local seafood businesses and achieve the year’s seafood export target of 1.2 billion USD.

The provincial People’s Committee will take measures to improve the investment and business environment, and push ahead with a project to ensure sustainable development of the shrimp industry.

It will offer incentives to encourage the use of advanced techniques in farming and aquaculture and clean processing technologies to improve output and quality.

Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Tien Hai has instructed relevant authorities to keep a close watch on the situation and update local enterprises to help them proactively make business plans.

The province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has been tasked with training farmers in aquaculture and ensuring availability of raw materials for seafood processing companies.

Ca Mau’s centre for investment promotion and business support plans to step up trade stimulation and help firms find new partners for exports and enhance their competitiveness.

The Ca Mau seafood exporters and producers association offers its members prompt market updates and urges them to join hands for export to strengthen their bargaining power.

According to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the newly ratified European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will help Vietnam expand shrimp exports to Europe.

Local export enterprises should strive to tap opportunities brought by the agreement to increase their exports of shrimp and other key products, it said.

It also urged them to focus on the Chinese and Japanese markets where demand has begun to recover, and closely monitor other markets to take timely steps to boost exports.

The province plans to raise shrimp output by 8 percent this year to around 210,000 tonnes, with 200,000 tonnes being farmed and the rest caught at sea.

Ca Mau hopes these measures will help mitigate the losses caused by the pandemic, retain its markets and help farmers stabilise their activities.

Ca Mau has around 300,000ha under aquaculture, the largest area in Vietnam.

Its annual earnings from aquatic product exports are nearly 1.2 billion USD on average.

Evaluation authority should be given to brokerages, experts say

Intermediary financial institutions instead of bond issuers should be empowered to recognise professional investors when they come to purchase corporate bonds in the secondary market, regulatory experts have urged.

The policymakers should think thoroughly about giving bond issuers the right to decide whether the buyer is professional or not, Nguyen Kim Long, legal and internal supervisory director at SSI Securities Corporation, told a seminar this week.

“The bond issuer can only evaluate its buyers on the primary bond market. When transactions are done on the secondary market, they will need a third-party body, such as a brokerage, to assess the buyers,” Long said.

“At this stage (secondary market trading), the bond issuer is no longer capable of assessing the buyers to support them with the deal.”

“Therefore, securities companies and fund managers must be the one to do the job,” he said.

In case the bondholder is no longer professional, he or she may be allowed to keep the bonds and sell them, but he/she is not legible to buy more, Long added.

A bondholder can become unprofessional when his/her licence is revoked, or the value of his/her portfolio is less than 2 billion VND (nearly 86,000 USD), or the bond issuer cuts its charter capital to below 100 billion VND, he said.

Sharing the same opinion, Le Thi Hong Thai of VinaCapital Fund Management said it is unreasonable that only brokerage firms are given the key to consider a bondholder professional or not.

“Many investors with highly-worthy portfolios are contracted to fund management firms,” so she suggested the law include fund managers among the units that can assess investors.

Under the amended Law on Securities, unprofessional investors who are not certificated by financial firms and regulators are illegible to buy corporate bonds on both primary and secondary markets starting January 1. They are recommended to invest in the corporate bond market through financial firms or agents.

The Ministry of Finance has recently warned buying in corporate bonds would be highly risky for unprofessional investors, most of whom do not understand the financial status and the performance of the bond issuers.

But according to securities firms, individual demand of corporate bonds is increasing rapidly as issuers offer higher interest rates compared to banks’ savings.

As lending for some sectors would be tightened soon, local firms are expected to explore the idle money held by the people. But there should be a way to help protect the investors and benefit the issuers as well.

Under the new law, the bond issuer will select the agent for the bondholder and the agent will manage the portfolio for his client.

But if the bondholder wants to have someone represent and manage his corporate bonds, he should be able to change the agent, Long of SSI Securities said.

In the case of the issuer declaring bankruptcy, it would be difficult for the agent to settle the collateral and the relationship between the agent and the bondholder must be tied by the Civil Law, he said.

There should be regulations and contracts between bondholders and agents, which are normally brokerage firms, to allow the agents to settle the collateral, Bui Thanh Tuan of Maybank Kim Eng said.

The creditability of bond issuers should also be rated but the term should be six months instead of 12 months as suggested, he said, adding long term credit rating and settlement would cause damage to investors’ investment.

Director of SSC’s Securities Public Offering Management Department Bui Hoang Hai said that at the moment, there is no rule to rate the creditability of corporate bond issuers.

Only those that plan to sell bonds with values exceeding their total assets are assessed before the issuances are carried out, he said.

The feedback collected at the seminar will be reported to and discussed in the group of writers and changes could be made quickly to serve the amended Law on Securities, Hai said.

The seminar was co-chaired by the State Securities Commission (SSC), the Vietnam Association of Securities Businesses (VASB), and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to discuss a draft decree instructing the implementation of the amended Law on Securities, which was approved by the National Assembly deputies in November 2019 and will come into effect on January 1, 2021.

Forum seeks ways to promote tourism in Khanh Hoa

Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper on July 18 coordinated with the Department of Tourism of south central Khanh Hoa province to organise a forum in Nha Trang to promote tourism in the coastal resort city, which is well known for its beautiful beaches, diving sites and offshore islands.

More than 150 guests from tourism departments in the south central provinces and travel businesses were brought together at the event as part of the “Impressive Vietnam” programme launched by Tuoi Tre Newspaper.

The programme is in response to “Vietnamese people travel to Vietnamese destinations”, a government-back nationwide campaign meant to encourage Vietnamese citizens to travel domestically in order to support local businesses which have been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said after successfully curbing the COVID-19 pandemic at home, Vietnam has entered a new period with the dual targets of reviving the economy and ensuring the public heath.

The tourism sector has adopted a number of incentives to recover the market, primarily domestic tourism, she added.

Vice Chairman of the Khanh Hoa People’s Committee Le Huu Hoang said all tourist sites in the province have been re-opened to visitors.

In June, the province welcomed more than 40,000 visitors, up over 80 percent against the previous month.

With a coastline of more than 380km and numerous bays, lagoons, islands and golden sandy beaches, Khanh Hoa has a lot of potential to develop sea-based tourism. The province is home to three bays, namely Van Phong, Nha Trang and Cam Ranh.
The Star, a leading Malaysian newspaper, has described Nha Trang as the “underrated pearl” of Vietnam. Stretching over 6km of powdery white sand, the crescent-shaped Nha Trang Beach overlooks one of the most beautiful bays in the world – Nha Trang Bay – and is easily accessible by foot from the bustling heart of the city, it said.

Last year, more than 143,000 visitors flocked to the biennial Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Sea Festival.

Thua Thien – Hue’s economic zone looks for post-pandemic investments

The Chan May – Lang Co Economic Zone in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue, which boasts comprehensive infrastructure and an open investment environment, is hoped to attract new investment flows following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The zone is home to 47 projects with a total registered capital exceeding over 79.3 trillion VND (over 3.4 billion USD).

According to vice director of the management board of the province's economic and industrial zones Nguyen Cong Binh, the province will hold a conference to promote investment in the zone in July, focusing on the fields of tourism, urban development, logistics and hi-tech industry.

The locality hopes to lure strategic investors and environmentally friendly investment projects using modern technologies, he said.

Established in 2006, the Chan May - Lang Co Economic Zone has a favourable geographical position, located about 6-7 km from National Highway 1A and the North-South railway. At the same time, it is located between Phu Bai airport and Da Nang airport.

The zone has attracted a great number of investment projects, especially in tourism.

In order to lure more investment to the zone, Thua – Thien Hue will continue to improve infrastructure with a focus on Chan May Port so it can handle 6 million tonnes of goods per year by 2021.

With its strategic position as a significant gateway to the East-West Economic Corridor together with rational development strategies and streamlined mechanisms, the Chan May-Lang Co Economic Zone is hoped to develop into a proactive and modern EZ in the central region.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Phan Ngoc Tho said in the remaining months of 2020, the locality will focus on addressing difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and promote production and business activities.

Attention will be paid to promoting administrative reform and accelerating construction of key projects, striving to kick off six projects worth over 100 billion VND each in the year.

According to the management board, in the first six months of the year, it granted decisions on investment plans and licences to four industrial production projects with a total registered capital of about over 3 trillion VND.

Thua Thien – Hue’s economic and industrial zones are now home to 150 valid projects worth over 103 trillion VND.

Quang Ninh, Ha Giang foster tourism in the South

Quang Ninh and Ha Giang hosted promotional events in Ho Chi Minh City on July 17 to boost the number of tourist visits to the two northern provinces.

In its event, the northeastern coastal province of Quang Ninh introduced local support policies and solutions to stimulate tourism to travel agencies and tour operators from southern cities and provinces.

Vu Anh Thu from the provincial Department of Tourism gave an overview of popular attractions in Quang Ninh, notably the World’s Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay, the Complex of Yen Tu Monuments and Landscapes, and the Quang Ninh Museum.

Now visitors can easily reach Quang Ninh by air, sea and land with the launches of Van Don International Airport, Ha Long international cruise ship terminal and expressways connecting Hanoi and Ha Long city, Thu said, adding that travel time from Hanoi to Ha Long was reduced to about an hour and a half.

The province is emerging as an attractive destination for international Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Event (MICE) tourism, according to local officials. The province has been making many efforts to lure strategic investors, both at home and overseas, to invest in its tourism and hospitality sectors.

Thu revealed that Quang Ninh will offer free admission to tourists to the Complex of Yen Tu Monuments and Landscapes, Quang Ninh Museum and Ha Long Bay on National Day (September 2) and several other public days.

Meanwhile, the Ha Giang event aimed to promote tourism in the southern and Central Highlands localities.

To revive the tourism industry, the northern mountainous province is pressing ahead with preparation for a host of major events this year, promising travellers with various exciting experiences, such as festivals promoting local terraced fields and Tam Giac Mach (buckwheat flower).

Several hotels from Ha Giang took the occasion to sign agreements with travel agencies and tour operators from Ho Chi Minh City to foster tourism cooperation.

PM urges central, Central Highlands provinces to speed up public investment disbursement

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on July 18 urged 12 cities and provinces in the central and Central Highlands key economic region to push ahead with public investment disbursement.

During a meeting in Da Nang with representatives of the localities, the leader said greater efforts are needed to remove difficulties faced by the existing projects, and attract new projects.

He also ordered measures to promote domestic tourism, digital transformation, administrative reform and online public services, along with breakthrough solutions to spur regional connectivity and airport, seaport and logistics infrastructure, including coastal expressways.

No locality in the central, Central Highlands region is allowed to experience negative growth, he requested, suggesting local authorities and people put forth specific action programmes in order to complete socio-economic targets at the highest level.

Apart from promoting the private economic sector and improving the business environment, the localities should utilise the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and new-generation free trade agreements to include major products in major global value chains.

The Government will accompany the localities in overcoming difficulties, he pledged, assigning the Ministry of Planning and Investment to supervise their public investment disbursement.

The ministry reported that the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of the region contracted some 3.22 percent in the first half of this year.

According to the State Treasury of Vietnam, as of June 30, public investment disbursement of the seven central localities reached only 34.2 percent of the target, lower than the national average.

Malaysian expert: RCEP and China’s economic rebound to assist ASEAN

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, if signed, could contribute to the post-pandemic recovery in the region, with China's economic growth in the recent quarter being a "convincing reassurance" for ASEAN, said a Malaysian expert.

China’s Xinhua News Agency quoted Ong Tee Keat, founding chairman of the Centre for New Inclusive Asia Studies, a think tank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as saying that the recently concluded 36th ASEAN Summit further reaffirmed the commitment of ASEAN and its partners to upholding an open, inclusive and rules-based multilateral trading system through the RCEP.

He said this is particularly timely and crucial to ASEAN against the backdrop of a gloomy global economy in the post-COVID-19 era on one hand; and in the wake of rising de-globalisation on the other.

Ong said once it takes effect, the RCEP could also bring benefits to ordinary people in ASEAN, stressing that free trade market access with lower tariffs for the entire bloc is "all set to grow by leaps and bounds."

This would hopefully translate into more job creation, higher GDP growth, and speedier poverty reduction to the ASEAN of 650 million people, he added.

The Malaysian expert noted that the economic ties between ASEAN and China will also be further strengthened, as countries across the region are seeking recovery from the COVID-19 shock.

According to data from China's General Administration of Customs, China’s trade with the bloc stood at 2.09 trillion yuan (299 billion USD) in the first half of 2020, up 5.6 percent year-on-year, making ASEAN China's biggest trade partner in this period.

Indonesia calls for closer cooperation in post-COVID-19 economic recovery

Foreign ministers from Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA) held a video conference on July 17 during which Indonesian FM Retno L.P Marsudi urged for closer cooperation among these countries in post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

The economic recovery should be associated with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Marsudi told the 17th Meeting of MIKTA Ministers of Foreign Affairs which focused its discussion on fostering multilateral cooperation to maintain stable global trade and supply chains, cushion the impact of the COVID-19 on vulnerable people, and speed up studies of vaccine against the coronavirus.

COVID-19 is not only a global health but also a humanitarian crisis that cannot be solved by a country itself, she said, emphasising the importance of international cooperation and multilateralism in seeking solutions to this issue.

Today’s challenges are very different from those confronting the MIKTA when it was founded in 2013, she continued, so to stay relevant, the five countries must be able to quickly adapt and respond to the challenges.

It is now the right time for the group to step up economic partnership and trade among each other to revive their economies, badly hit by the pandemic, she said.

The FM also urged the MIKTA to be an active force to protect multilateralism with concrete results amid the current crisis.

On the occasion of the meeting, the MIKTA foreign ministers adopted a joint statement to welcome the election of Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of Turkey Volkan Bozkır as the 75th President of the General Assembly and the election of Indonesia as a member of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the 2021-2023 term.

Indonesia, Malaysia apply tougher measures to foreign fishermen’s illegal fishing

Amid increasing illegal fishing of foreign fishermen in the waters of Indonesia and Malaysia, the two Southeast Asian countries have recently applied more tough measures in handling violations.

Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Edhy Brabowo has announced that his country will not sink foreign fishing vessels seized for illegal fishing in Indonesian waters.

Instead, after the court's decision comes into effect, the ministry will conduct procedures to hand over infringing fishing vessels to local cooperatives as well as educational institutions,  as these facilities are lacking ships to practice.

In special cases, the sinking of a foreign fishing vessel may take place if the fishing vessel resists when captured by Indonesian marine resources and fisheries supervision agencies, Brabowo said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has increased the maximum penalty for foreign ship owners or captains arrested for encroaching on Malaysian waters to 6 million ringgit (about 1.38 million USD) from 1 million ringgit, and each crew member will be fined 600,000 ringgit.

However, as illegal fishing continues to increase and causes a loss of around 6 billion ringgit (1.4 billion USD) for the Malaysian economy each year, the country has recently increased its arrest of foreign fishing boats caught fishing illegally in its waters instead of just chasing away during Malaysia's application of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

In late June, Director of the Terengganu Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Suffi Mohd Ramli said the making of decisions to detain foreign fishermen who conduct illegal fishing activities in Malaysia’s waters will be conducted through online meetings, instead of at the court as in the past.

MMEA Director General Admiral Mohd Zubil Bin Mat Som said that his country would continue arrest of violating foreign fishing vessels and fishermen, and tougher measures will be applied to them.

ADB: Cambodia to lose 390,000 jobs due to COVID-19

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicts Cambodia will suffer 390,000 job losses this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 8, the ADB approved a 250 million USD loan to further help the Cambodian government respond to the pandemic.

ADB country director in Cambodia Sunniya Durrani-Jamal said on July 15 that the concessional loan will have a 24-year term, including a grace period of eight years.

The loan will have an interest rate of one percent per annum during the grace period, and 1.5 percent thereafter.

Besides the loan, the ADB will provide grants to Cambodia as well as technical assistance for its cash transfer programme.

Following the loan’s approval, Cambodia will be eligible for support under the 5 million USD Policy Advice for Covid-19 Economic Recovery technical assistance programme, Durrani-Jamal said.

The ADB’s financial support, she said, will be targeted at businesses, households and individuals that have been adversely affected by the crisis, with a special emphasis on poor and vulnerable groups.

Ministry of Economy and Finance spokesman Meas Sok Sensan said the loan details will be released during the contract signing, which does not yet have a date.

People’s Centre for Development and Peace President Yong Kim Eng said the loan will help Cambodia’s economic recovery and take poor families out of poverty if it is spent wisely.

The loan must be spent transparently and effectively. It must be clearly audited by other agencies or by all relevant stakeholders, he said.

Deputy PM inspects site clearance of Cao Bo-Mai Son expressway project

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on July 17 inspected site clearance of Cao Bo-Mai Son Expressway – one of the 11 component projects of the North-South Expressway project.

He was reported that up to 95 percent of the targeted area has been handed to the investor, while the remaining work is scheduled to be completed this month.

The Cao Bo-Mai Son Expressway plays an important role in the North-South Expressway as it connects economic and political centres in the Northern Key Economic Zone.

The 15.2km section runs through Y Yen district in the northern province of Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh city, and Yen Khanh, Hoa Lu and Yen Mo districts of Ninh Binh province, also in the north.

Its construction is expected to cost over 1.6 trillion VND (69 million USD) with the funding from Government bonds.
The component project is set to be completed this year.

The North-South Expressway covers 2,109km, extending from the northern mountainous province of Lang Son to the southernmost province of Ca Mau.

Among the 11 sub-projects, three have been set to be funded by the State budget. Once completed, the North-South Expressway will become a backbone connecting the entire country.

A number of sections covering 601km are already under construction.

Vietnam vows to partner with Korean firms to overcome hardship: Minister

Vietnam pledges to work closely with countries, including the Republic of Korea (RoK), to overcome difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said Minister - Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung.

During a dialogue in Hanoi on July 17 between the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council for Administrative Reform and the Korean business community in Vietnam, Dung said since the beginning of this year, the Government has cut down 239 business conditions, raising the total to almost 3,900 out of nearly 6,200.

The Government of Vietnam also slashed 6,776 out of 9,926 administrative procedures, as well as 30 out of 120 specialised administrative procedures.

In particular, the Government also issued Decree No.45/2020/ND-CP on handling administrative procedures on electronic platform, cutting and simplifying at least 20 percent of regulations and 20 percent of costs related to business operations during the 2020-2025 period.

Together with the opening of the National Reporting Centre on August 15, the 1,000th public service related to motorbike and automobile registration is expected to be launched on the national public service portal, he said.

Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Park Nok-wan, for his part, suggested that the council should soon build a mechanism to normalise bilateral exchanges following the pandemic, assist key staff in entering Vietnam for work, shorten quarantine time, and minimise red tape.

He proposed the Government extend the support time for businesses and improve protection role of Vietnamese trade agencies.

Expressing his belief that the wave of Korean investment in Vietnam will heat up soon, Park urged Korean firms to actively devise their strategies to meet demand.

The ambassador proposed holding the dialogue two times a year in the near future as the two countries will celebrate the 30th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2022.

Korean enterprises attending the event also offered suggestions regarding the double taxation avoidance agreement, exports-imports, logistics, administrative reform, fast-track service for immigration, among others.

Representatives from ministries and agencies answered questions and introduced resolutions on tackling difficulties for production and trade, disbursement of public investment capital and ensuring social safety amid COVID-19.

A bilateral cooperation plan post-COVID-19 was also tabled for discussions, with a focus on official development assistance used for rural development, education, smart city building, transportation, policymaking and building of a Vietnam – Korea industrial park.

According to the General Statistics Office, there were over 62,000 newly-established enterprises and 25,200 others resumed operations in the first half of this year.

The RoK is now the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, creating jobs for over 700,000 workers nationwide.

International experts forecast that the Vietnamese economy could grow by 2.7-4.9 percent this year.

Cambodia announces new measures to support SMEs

The Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has issued two main measures to solve the current issues faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The first measure focuses on compliance for SMEs regarding checking the possibility to provide support including business consultants, lawyers, legal consultants, business registration, accounting, marketing and technical aspects.

It pushes for the support and provision of financing to SMEs through the SME Bank of Cambodia and the Agriculture Rural Development Bank.

The second measure will support the eco-system of SMEs such as continuing to reform the regulation framework and its implementation, promoting supported business services, supporting funding, promoting the market, driving and bolstering human resources and research and development and promoting the concept of entrepreneurship skills.

WB warns of 2 percent contraction in Indonesia’s economy in 2020

The World Bank (WB) has warned that the Indonesian economy might contract 2 percent this year if mobility restrictions are further implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19, local media reported.

“Under somewhat harsher assumptions on the global economy of a deeper contraction, and if there is a need for mobility restrictions to be reinstated going forward, we do think that the economy could actually contract by 2 percent in 2020,” The Jakarta Post newspaper quoted World Bank Indonesia lead economist Frederico Gil Sander as saying during the virtual launch of World Bank’s Indonesia Economic Prospect report on July 16.

The coronavirus outbreak in Indonesia has not shown any signs of abating as more than 1,000 new cases have been recorded daily since June. Infections stood at 81,600 as of July 16 afternoon with 3,800 deaths, according to official data.

Despite the rising number of cases, the government and regional administrations relaxed social restrictions amid concerns of a slumping economy.

The government projects the country’s economy to grow by 1 percent this year under the baseline scenario or contract by 4 percent under the worst case scenario as the pandemic batters business activity and hits demand. The economy grew 2.97 percent in the first quarter, the lowest in 19 years.

The WB’s report, titled The Long Road to Recovery, published this month, states that Indonesia’s GDP is expected to be unchanged from 2019. Last year, the country’s GDP grew 5 percent.

World Bank Indonesia Country Director Satu Kahkonen explained during the webinar that the zero percent growth forecast was predicated on three things, namely the global GDP to contract by 5.2 percent this year, the economy to be fully open in August and no second wave infections.

The report suggested that a 2 percent contraction would take place if the global economy slipped into a deeper recession, wherein the global GDP shrank by 7.8 percent, impacting investment and exports.

Sanders said that under this scenario where the economy would actually contract, poverty would increase quite significantly, especially if there is no additional social assistance.

The WB estimated that without the government’s social assistance, 5.5 million to 8 million Indonesians could fall into poverty this year as a result of an aggregate decline in household income of 5 percent to 7 percent due to lower earnings and unemployment.

Around 1.63 million people fell into poverty in March, increasing the number of people living below the poverty line to 26.42 million people, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data show.

According to Sanders, aside from ensuring robust health system preparedness to handle the pandemic curve, the government needs to assist firms to stay afloat and push for reforms to increase financial sector resilience.

Most importantly, he said, the government should invest more on human and physical capital as the post-COVID-19 economy was likely to require different skills from workers. The country also needed to flatten its debt curve when it started to recover.

According to the Finance Ministry, Indonesia’s borrowing needs of around 1.53 quadrillion rupiah (104.53 billion USD) this year to fund the budget deficit will increase the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio to 37.64-38.5 percent by year-end from around 30 percent in 2019.

The government has allocated 695.2 trillion rupiah to help strengthen the healthcare system, provide social aid and support economic recovery.

SPG Invest wants to pour investment into industrial park in Can Tho

Australia-based SPG Invest wants to pour investment into an industrial park in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to help its customers set up plants in the locality.

This was stated by Simon Wong, Director of SPG Land Real Estate Development Ltd., Co. under SPG Invest, during a meeting with representatives of the municipal People’s Committee on July 17.

Founded in 1998, SPG Invest (SPG) is an international real estate group dedicated to investing in high-end real estate, premium hospitality, urban infrastructure as well as smart technology for smart cities.

By 2025, SPG aims to build a chain of modern industrial parks in Vietnam’s northeastern region, Ho Chi Minh City and adjacent provinces in the Mekong Delta region, Simon Wong said.

The group will also focus on such areas as monitoring and forecasting, specialised smart devices, data solutions and information network, he said, adding that Can Tho has strength in these spheres.

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee Truong Quang Hoai Nam welcomed SPG’s investment plan, pledging that Can Tho will create all possible conditions for investors to operate in the locality.

AIIB approves 100-million-USD loan to VPBank

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said on July 17 that its board of directors had approved a 100-million-USD loan to the Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) to help sustain business activities disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Co-financed with the International Finance Corporation, the loan is offered to help the bank expand lending to the private sector, including small and medium-sized enterprises, AIIB said in a statement.

This is AIIB's first project financing in Vietnam, China’s Xinhua News Agency reported.

"Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the economy and by injecting liquidity into the market, we can help this critical sector as part of the overall economic recovery in Vietnam," said AIIB Vice President, Investment Operations, D.J. Pandian.

As of July, AIIB has approved a total of 16 projects under its COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility, amounting to over 5.9 billion USD to support 12 members in navigating the challenges of these highly uncertain times, the statement said.

Indonesian House of Representatives approves assistance funds to SOEs

The Indonesian House of Representatives has approved the proposal for government assistance in the form of state capital participation (PMN), disbursement of government debt to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and loan funds worth 151.15 trillion Rp (10.32 billion USD) for a number of SOEs.

Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission VI Aria Bima said the approved amount was lower than the figure of 152 trillion Rp proposed by the government and will be disbursed for 16 SOEs within the framework of the acceleration of the national economic recovery (PEN) programme.

Aria revealed the House of Representatives Commission VI approved the amount of PMN value of 23.65 trillion Rp to SOEs.

In addition, Commission VI also agreed to the proposal to disburse government debt and loan funds to SOEs. The amount of government debt disbursement to SOEs agreed by Commission VI is 115 trillion Rp.

Meanwhile, in terms of loan funds, Commission VI approved the amount of government loan funds to SOEs, worth 11.5 trillion Rp in total.

Annual HCM City Travel Fair boost tourism

One hundred and twenty six travel agents, hotels, airlines, and other tourism and travel-related services from 50 cities and provinces have showcased domestic tour packages, travel products and services at 30-70 per cent discounts at the 16th HCM City Travel Fair over the weekend.

The annual fair enabled travel agents and tour operators to introduce their new products to customers, Trần Hùng Việt, chairman of the HCM City Association of Tourism, said.

A number of tours and travel services were sold right on the first day of the fair, a good sign for the domestic travel market, he said. 

Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, director of the city Department of Tourism, said small and medium-sized travel firms, both inbound and outbound, were struggling to recover due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The event, which offered a wide range of discounted tours and travel services, would stimulate domestic travel demand and help travel and tourism businesses stay afloat even as international tourism remains closed, he said.

Stimulus programmes had resulted in an apparent recovery in domestic travel, he said.

Many tour packages were offered at 50 per cent and more discounts including HCM City – Vũng Tàu at VNĐ199,000 (US$9) per person, Tây Ninh – Bình Dương at VNĐ1.5 million (65$), Củ Chi tours at VNĐ119,000 ($5), and hop-on-hop-off buses at VNĐ149,000 ($7).

Dozens of tours between HCM City and the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta were on offer at discounts of 30 per cent.

Nguyễn Thị Loan, an accountant who lives in HCM City’s District 5, was looking for tours to Nha Trang or Phú Quốc since her children were in their summer break and love beaches.

“With reasonable prices for five-star hotels and airfares, it is a good time to travel domestically to explore,” she said.

Vietravel is offering 8,000 tour packages for this summer with gifts and discounts thrown in at the fair.

The company expects to sign up 250,000 tourists.

Saigontourist is offering hundreds of products with attractive discounts.

The event, held at Lê Văn Tám Park in the city’s District 1, was accompanied by the international Gastronomy Festival.

Gold hits nine-year high at VND51 million per tael

The domestic SJC gold price moved higher to surpass VND51 million per tael for the first time on July 21, marking its highest level since August 2011. 

The latest peak comes after the Saigon Gold, Silver and Gemstone joint stock company quoted its SJC gold price for the opening transaction session at VND50.65 million per tael for selling and VND51.03 million per tael for buying. These latest prices represent rises of VND100,000 for both buying and selling, respectively, from the previous day.

Elsewhere, the DOJI Gold and Gems Group quoted prices at the same level with purchasing prices between VND50.68 million and VND50.88 million per tael, an increase of VND80,000 in comparison to July 20 transactions.

The recent fluctuation in domestic gold prices can be attributable to the impact of the global gold market, with July 21 morning witnessing gold prices drop by US$3.1 to US$1,817.1 per ounce from July 20 transactions.

With the number of novel coronavirus cases continuing to rise globally, financiers are increasingly seeing gold as a safe investment, making it the main factor behind the sharp increase in the price of the precious metal in recent times.

In the forex market, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) moved to list the exchange rate at VND23,070 per US$1 for buying and VND23,280 per US$1 for selling on July 21, marking drops of between VND10 and VND20 per US$1 from the previous day.