Monday "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 2-27-2023

KTFA:  Vietnam

Henig:  Vietnamese banking brands climb in value

February, 27/2023 - 09:18

Vietnamese banks showed great performance in 2022, consolidated by a credit growth rate of nearly 13 per cent and an economic growth rate of 8 per cent, the highest in the last 25 years.

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese banking brands are riding high with a growth of 31.3 per cent in brand value in 2023, according to Brand Finance Banking 500 Report.

Almost all the 12 Vietnamese banks featured in the report have climbed in their global rankings. However, Agribank – the second most valuable brand in Việt Nam – runs counter to the trend by dropping two positions. Its brand value grew by just 1.7 per cent to hit $1.4 billion. 

Meanwhile, VIB enters the top 500 most valuable banking brands for the first time, with a brand value increase of 14 per cent year-on-year, reaching $181 million.

The report said Vietnamese banks showed great performance in 2022, consolidated by a credit growth rate of nearly 13 per cent and an economic growth rate of 8 per cent, the highest in the last 25 years.

It was this strong revenue rebound and economic recovery that has given a big push to Vietnamese banking brand value. 

Alex Haigh, managing director of Brand Finance Asia Pacific, remarked that Vietnamese banks are making headway in digital banking by integrating the power of technology into their core business. 

"Vietnamese banks were finding themselves among the best performers in 2022," said Haigh. 

The director was impressed by Techcombank, the second fastest-growing brand in Việt Nam, which rose by 46.7 per cent in brand value to reach $1.5 billion. In two years, the bank moved up by 107 positions to the 163rd among the top 200 valuable banking brands in 2023. 

Thái Minh Diễm Tú, director of the Marketing Divison, Techcombank, noted that the remarkable feat of reaching $1.5 billion in brand value represents an important milestone for the bank.

It is an indication that Techcombank has achieved success in improving customer experience, moving one step closer toward its ultimate objective of "Transforming the financial sector and improving the quality of life".   

It is worth noting that the bank made it to many global podiums in 2022 for its effort in digital transformation. Notably, it was recognised as 'Best bank in Việt Nam' by Euro Money and its application Techcombank Mobile was awarded 'Most innovative mobile banking app' by Global Business Outlook.

The bank is currently the first bank in Việt Nam to be assigned a Baseline Credit Assessment score of ba2 with a stable outlook by Moody's. It also gets a rating of BB- from S&P with a similar outlook. 

By late 20222, Techcombank made a pre-tax profit of around VNĐ25.6 trillion ($1.1 billion) and secured a customer base of over 10.8 million.

— VNS    LINK

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Henig:  Bình Dương promotes cashless payment trend

February, 27/2023 - 09:04

The People's Committee of Bình Dương Province’s Dầu Tiếng District plans to establish a pilot project that uses cashless payments at traditional markets, grocery stores and other businesses.

BÌNH DƯƠNG — The People's Committee of Bình Dương Province’s Dầu Tiếng District plans to establish a pilot project that uses cashless payments at traditional markets, grocery stores and other businesses.

Dầu Tiếng is located at between HCM City and the provinces of Tây Ninh and Bình Phước and has Dầu Tiếng Lake, a place that attracts many tourists.

The plan of Dầu Tiếng District aims to promote the implementation of digital transformation and digital payment, and promote local businesses and enterprises to use digital platforms to make non-cash payments, which would provide convenience in payment for tourists.

Non-cash payment methods include QR code, internet Banking, Mobile Web Payment and cards.

By the end of 2022, Bình Dương strived to achieve 50 per cent of schools, educational institutions, hospitals and medical facilities using non-cash payment methods.

Up to now, Bình Dương is one of the localities where consumers can use modern payment methods to pay for online transactions as well as at stores, schools, hospitals, administrative services and shopping centers.

Cashless payment and transaction channels are increasingly popular in Bình Dương, with commercial banks, e-wallets and fintech companies promoting the application of technology for online payments.

Many customers now choose cashless payments, the most popular being a payment card, followed by scanning a QR code and transferring money.

Card payment sales at many goods and service suppliers have also increased significantly. Commercial banks and e-wallet companies in Bình Dương said that cashless transactions are even more popular now than during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enterprises are ready for infrastructure with low investment costs that bring convenience to people. The outstanding method that meets the above factors and is likely to explode next year is paying via QR codes.

Customers can open banking applications or e-wallets to choose a source of money to scan the code and make payments.

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  Rice exporters to benefit from tight supplies, lower costs

February, 27/2023 - 08:17

Việt Nam is very likely to benefit from the upward trend in rice prices which is fueled by limited supplies and a shift away from the Indian supply.

HÀ NỘI — Decreasing input costs as Europe eases sanctions against Russia and increased fertiliser supply will benefit rice export businesses, said Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS).

A recent report on the rice sector from VCBS showed that the global rice output is estimated at 519.7 million tonnes at the end of the 2021/2022 crop. China, India, and ASEAN are key consumption markets, while India, Việt Nam, and Thailand are the largest rice exporters.

Rice prices witnessed an uptrend in global markets last year as the Indian government's ban on rice export, floods in Pakistan, and adverse weather in China and the Philippines caused reductions in rice output in these countries.

While depleted inventories in the Philippines will result in higher imports in 2023, rice production will drop due to prolonged droughts in China and India. On the other hand, due to heavy rain in Việt Nam over the past year and gradually neutral weather in the first half of 2023, the country's rice output is forecast to be stable this year, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Therefore, VCBS said that Việt Nam is very likely to benefit from the upward trend in rice prices which is fueled by limited supplies and a shift away from the Indian supply. 

Meanwhile, input costs are also expected to go down in 2023 as Europe eases sanctions and welcomes back Russian fertiliser exporters, increases reservations, and aggressively reduces gas consumption.  

The availability of fertiliser on a global scale is anticipated to rise, boosting rice industry profit margins.

According to VCBS, the business growth prospects of Lộc Trời Group are positive thanks to the promotion of rice exports to the European market, starting with the French market. The merger with Lộc Nhân Food also increased the company's capacity. 

With three production facilities under its control, Lộc Nhân can now dry more than 12,000 tonnes of rice per day and export 6,000 tonnes of rice a day. Its projected revenue for 2022 was close to VND8 trillion ($336.8 million).

This company also has a wide partner network. In particular, it has signed contracts to supply up to 350,000 tonnes of rice to Vinafood 1 in 2023. 

VCBS said that the food segment will be the main growth driver for Lộc Trời this year, making up for the decrease in revenue in the pesticide sector. However, it noted that the company still struggles with the plan for issuing private placement bonds and transferring from the current listing exchange - UPCoM - to the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE).

The securities firm expects that Lộc Trời's net revenue and profit after tax will grow by 28 per cent and 15 per cent year-on-year, respectively, this year to VNĐ14.9 trillion and VNĐ475 billion. The growth for 2024 is projected to advance 1 per cent in revenue but fall by 17 per cent in profit.

Meanwhile, Vietnam National Seeds Group posted a positive growth in business results in 2022, mainly boosted by the rice segment, with a gross profit margin of about 40 per cent. 

VCBS believes that the company's rice and fruit crops will grow well in the next five years. 

In the national key product development project, the government plans to increase the rate of high-tech cultivation from 70 per cent to 75 per cent, the rate of using certified varieties from 78 per cent to 90 per cent, the area of ​​fruit trees from 1,067 million ha to 1.2 million ha, and the yield from 10 tonnes/ha to 12 tonnes/ha.

Vietnam National Seeds also has an ambitious business plan to double its size in the next five years, with an annual growth rate of approximately 20 per cent/year. 

By doing so, the market share of plant varieties across all fields can rise from 21 per cent to 25 per cent of the entire nation. The market shares will rise to nearly 60 per cent of the national market, particularly for grain corn.

It is forecast that the company's net revenue and profit after tax will rise by 11 per cent and 25 per cent on-year, respectively, this year, to more than VNĐ2.09 trillion and VNĐ282 billion. 

— VNS    LINK

Henig:  Real estate market to recover by Q3: experts

February, 27/2023 - 08:59

With the Government’s drastic measures to address problems related to legal bottlenecks, lack of capital access, and challenges in corporate bonds, the real estate market is expected to recover from the third quarter, experts have said.

HCM CITY — With the Government’s drastic measures to address problems related to legal bottlenecks, lack of capital access, and challenges in corporate bonds, the real estate market is expected to recover from the third quarter, experts have said.

Experts have also called for continuing market restructuring by diversifying products, especially affordable housing, and addressing the mismatch between supply and demand.

Speaking at a talk on how to remove challenges in the real estate market last Saturday, Prof Dr Trần Đình Thiên, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group, said the real estate market was facing serious problems such as a lack of capital access, credit tightening, and legal bottlenecks.

The market has faced unprecedented hurdles in the past five years with a huge inventory and a sharp drop in liquidity, he added.

It has seen a significant imbalance between supply and demand with an oversupply in the high-end segment but a shortage of affordable housing products, he said. 

Fortunately, the market would have positive signals based on Việt Nam’s economic prospects in 2023, he added.

He attributed to the promulgation and amendment of the three laws related to the real estate market, including the Law on Land, the Law on Housing, and the Law on Real Estate Business.

“The key is to remove the legal and capital bottlenecks, including real estate corporate bonds,” he noted.

It’s good that the Prime Minister has already issued four directives to remove difficulties for the economy, especially the real estate market, according to Thiên. 

Dr. Cấn Văn Lực, a member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council, said the Government has focused on improving mechanisms and policies (both short- and medium-term) related to the real estate market, aiming at improving the cash flow, which is important to regain the confidence in the market.

Removing roadblocks for the corporate bond market is also important to unlock capital sources, Lực said.

“The decree amending Decree 65 issued in September 2022 on corporate bonds is being urgently revised, which is expected to remove difficulties for the corporate bond market.” 

The Government has also taken measures such as rescheduling, deferring debt, tax, and land rent for real estate businesses, he added.

The Ministry of Construction has recently proposed a credit package worth around VNĐ110 trillion (US$4.6 billion) similar to the VNĐ30 trillion package implemented in the 2013-16 period to finance social housing projects and housing projects for workers, he said.

Dr. Nguyễn Văn Đính, vice chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, said: “The real estate market will become warmer by the third quarter of 2023 as the government has made drastic moves to create conditions to help the market develop sustainably.”

The government has also established a working group to propose solutions with ministries and local authorities, and will review and work with localities, projects, and investors to remove bottlenecks, he added.

Speaking at a recent meeting, economist Võ Trí Thành said there remained high hopes this year for the real estate market, especially in segments of real estate tourism, industrial parks, and retail, following drastic actions of the Government. 

Once the Land Law and Law on Real Estate Business are finalised, they would provide opportunities for investors to come back to the market, he added.

Experts also recommended the Ministry of Finance implement measures to develop the corporate bond market transparently, safely and sustainably. 

The event aimed to discuss ways to address challenges in the real estate market and promote its sustainable development.

— VNS  LINK

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Henig:  Poland seeks to promote exports of food products to VN

February, 27/2023 - 09:05

Việt Nam and Poland both grow a lot of agricultural products, but they are complementary to each other, offering them the opportunity to tie up, a bilateral business matching heard in HCM City on February 24.

HCM CITY — Việt Nam and Poland both grow a lot of agricultural products, but they are complementary to each other, offering them the opportunity to tie up, a bilateral business matching heard in HCM City on February 24.

Nguyễn Hữu Nam, deputy director of the VCCI in HCM City, said: “Poland has high demand for Vietnamese products such as rice, basa fish, shrimp, mango, pineapple, passion fruit, coffee, and cashew, while Poland is capable of supplying Việt Nam with various EU-standard fresh and processed foods and fruits, beef, lamb, pork and others.”

Their trade and investment relations have made solid progress, but are still not commensurate with their traditional friendship and potential, partly due to the lack of information about each other's markets, he said.

Alexander Nowakowski, second secretary of Economic Affairs at the Polish embassy in Việt Nam, speaking at a press briefing held before the meeting, said after COVID many business delegations have come to each other markets to seek co-operation opportunities.

The EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement has also helped boost trade ties between the two countries.

Poland’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lech Kołakowski told the press briefing that his country is one of largest producers of food products such as pork, beef, chicken, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products in Europe, and exports them to more than 200 markets.

“Poland’s foods not only have high quality, but are also are absolutely safe.”

The Government of Poland is paying great attention to expanding export portfolios to Việt Nam, he said, adding that his ministry is now working with its Vietnamese counterpart for finalising procedures to allow Polish exporters of beef, goose and duck access to the Southeast Asian country.

He hoped that beef, duck, goose meat from his country would soon be available in Việt Nam.

At a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Hà Nội on February 23, he asked that Việt Nam should also open up Polish barley and wheat, he said.

He said the agricultural products of the two countries do not compete with each other.

Việt Nam could become an important destination for the distribution of Polish agri-food products to the Asian region, and Poland is ready to do the same for Vietnamese products headed Europe, he said.

Executives from 70 Vietnamese food companies and eight Polish companies met and exchanged information to seek business opportunities at the business matching.

— VNS    LINK

Sunday "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 2-26-2023

KTFA:

Henig:  Vietnam, China’s Hainan province strengthen trade ties

06:10 | 26/02/2023

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and the visiting Secretary of the Party Committee of China’s Hainan province, Shen Xiaoming, reached consensus on measures to strengthen trade ties at a meeting in Hanoi on February 22.

The host official expressed his belief that as the world’s biggest free-trade port, Hainan will play an increasingly important role in trade between Vietnam and China, helping increase Vietnam’s exports and reduce the trade imbalance.

He suggested establishing a trade promotion office of Vietnam in Hainan’s Haikou city; accelerating the opening of the Chinese market to Vietnam’s agricultural products, especially fresh coconut which is in high demand in the province; and cooperating in agricultural processing.

Dien asked Hainan to give assistance and preferential treatment to Vietnamese enterprises to capitalize on e-commerce incentives and take part in major international expos in Hainan.

For his part, Shen voiced his support for Minister Dien’s proposals and affirmed that he will order relevant agencies and localities of Hainan to coordinate with the Vietnamese side to step up the establishment of a trade promotion office in Vietnam.

He also pledged to assign his province’s agencies to work with the Chinese General Administration of Customs to promote the market opening to fresh coconut from Vietnam.

Regarding the upgrade of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Hainan administration, the Secretary showed his support for negotiations to sign the MoU to help facilitate Vietnam’s trade ties with Hainan and China as a whole.

In 2022, trade revenue between Vietnam and Hainan reached 1.35 billion USD, up 56% year on year. That comprised 695.2 million USD in Hainan’s exports and 658 million USD in Vietnam’s exports, respectively rising 171.9% and 7.5%, according to data from the Chinese province.

Source: VNA    LINK

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Henig:  197 enterprises receive High Quality Product - Global Integration Standards certificates

February, 24/2023 - 13:03

Amid international economic integration, it is vital for farm producers and retailers to meet internationally recognised standards to gain access to local and international markets, experts said.

HCM CITY — Amid international economic integration, it is vital for farm producers and retailers to meet internationally recognised standards to gain access to local and international markets, experts said.

The Vietnamese High Quality Product - Global Integration Standards programme initiated by the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Products helps farmers and enterprises gradually adopt good agricultural practices to access demanding markets, said Vũ Kim Hạnh, chairwoman of the association.

Launched in 2016, the programme has so far granted certificates to 197 enterprises, including 135 enterprises in the food sector and the remaining 62 enterprises in non-food sectors, Hạnh said at a conference held on Wednesday to review the implementation of the programme over six years.

A set of criteria for Vietnamese High Quality Product - Global Integration Standards based on Vietnamese and global Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP and GlobalGAP) has been developed by the programme to improve the competitiveness of local firms.

The programme has frequently provided training and updated information to enterprises, with a focus on food safety, consuming trends, capacity building, digital transformation, and standards for exporting products to demanding markets.

Nguyễn Quân, president of the experts council of Vietnamese High Quality Product -Global Integration Standards, said local enterprises must achieve local and international quality management systems and standards to access global supply chains and regional markets.

He encouraged enterprises to participate in the programme to take Vietnamese products into the global markets.

—VNS    LINK

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Henig:  HCM City People's Committee to remove bottlenecks for foreign businesses

February, 26/2023 - 11:18

The People's Committee of HCM City held a meeting to resolve obstacles for foreign enterprises.

HCM CITY — The People's Committee of HCM City held a meeting to resolve obstacles for foreign enterprises.

Đào Minh Chánh, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, reported that by 2025 the city aims to be a modern, smart, service and industrial-oriented city, maintaining its role as the economic locomotive with a per capita GRDP reaching US$8,500. 

To achieve this goal, the city authority proposed five solutions.

The first solution is to develop the economy rapidly and sustainably by transforming its hi-tech parks, industrial parks, and export processing zones into centers for high technology, creativity, digital economy, green economy, and circular economy, and concentrate on high value-added products and stages that can join regional and global value chains.

The second solution is to focus on the synchronous development of economic sectors, promoting the private economic sector, building large enterprises with national and global brands. 

The third solution is to promote its role as a driving force and leader of public investment, combining capital sources from the private sector, foreign investment, sponsors, and international financial institutions.

The fourth solution is to improve the quality of planning, management, and implementation, develop urban sustainability, and promote the construction of modern infrastructure. 

Specifically, the city will complete the construction of national highways, which include completing and putting into operation urban railway line No.1 by 2024, and completing Ring Road No.3 by 2026 and Ring Road No.4 by 2030. In addition, the city will also invest in the HCM City-Mộc Bài Expressway and the HCM City-Chơn Thành Expressway, among other projects.

The fifth solution is to emphasize the development of culture, society, education and training, healthcare, and the improvement of people's quality of life.

James Ollen, Managing Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham) in HCM City, said the southern hub’s authorities need to have policies to develop high technology and industries with high-added values, improve local supply chains, develop digital economy services, and develop lifelong education. 

HCM City should also have a consistent policy on simplifying administrative procedures related to visa issuance for foreigners, he noted.

Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Phan Văn Mãi affirmed that the city is focusing on improving the investment environment, clarifying the administrative responsibilities of agencies and the public duties of each public servant. 

The city will pay heed to speeding up digital transformation in connection with improving the investment environment, thus creating the most favorable conditions for businesses, he said.

Basic activities of the local authorities are expected to be operated on a digital platform by 2025, Mãi said, adding that the city has officially implemented digital economic development and increased the proportion of the digital economy in its economy in 2023.

VNS    LINK

Henig:  UK’s joining CPTPP will benefit agreement members: Vietnamese minister

February, 24/2023 - 17:59

Việt Nam's hosting the next round of talks in Phú Quốc late this month will contribute to accelerating the process

HÀ NỘI — The UK’s participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will bring about wonderful trade and investment opportunities to each CPTPP member, while affirming the deal as a model of economic cooperation in the region in the 21st century, a Vietnamese official has said.

During his phone talks with Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade of the UK, on February 23, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên stressed that Việt Nam would continue its coordination with other CPTPP members to soon conclude the negotiations on the UK’s joining the agreement.

For her part, Badenoch said joining the CPTPP was one of her top priorities as the Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade of the UK, and thanked Việt Nam for its cooperation and support for the process.

Việt Nam's hosting the next round of talks in Phú Quốc late this month would contribute to accelerating the process, especially in the context of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties this year, she noted.

Badenoch expressed her hope that CPTPP members and the UK would handle the pending issues during the meeting to end the negotiations in principle.

After the four rounds of talks held online in 2022, the next meeting is scheduled for February 27 in Phú Quốc, off the Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang.

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  MoF proposes decree amendment to allow bond payment conversions

February, 25/2023 - 09:34

Converting the bond debt into properties will help realty enterprises reduce inventories and the pressure of cash flows.

HÀ NỘI — Due to the stagnant bond market, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has proposed a decree amendment to allow enterprises to convert bond payments into assets, including real estate.

The corporate bond market remained quiet in the first month of this year, with a large number of maturing bonds. Of which, half of the bonds - VNĐ104 trillion (US$4.37 billion) maturing out of around VNĐ205 trillion - were issued by property developers.

According to FiinRatings, only one batch of private placement bonds worth VNĐ110 billion was successfully issued by Phan Vũ Investment Corporation in January. These bonds' term is five years, with a nominal rate of interest of 10.5 per cent a year. And Asia Pile Holdings is the batch's sole bondholder.

Nguyễn Tùng Anh, head of the Credit Analysis and Green Financial Services Department of FiinRating, said that low demands and supplies on the market were attributed to the steep reduction in the size of bond issuance. 

In the midst of the market's stagnation, Novaland recently proposed a solution for its two batches of bonds that are to due by extending the principal payment date for an appropriate period of time or converting the principal with the company's real estate.

According to the property developer the solution is force majeure as the market still has many unpredictable fluctuations which is in line with the document relating to bond issuance. 

It assured that the proposal was legal and in accordance with the decree's directives.

Therefore, it was expected that the decree amendment would help the bond market recover.

"The new decree is required due to the high liquidity pressure enterprises faced at the end of last year when 12 issuers in the real estate and energy industries breached debt obligations such as late payment of interest and/or principal," Tùng Anh said.

Similarly, Dr. Lê Đức Chí of the University of Economics HCM City's School of Finance stated that the conversion of bond debts into properties would be a necessary solution because it would help companies reduce inventories, relieving pressure on cash flows.  

Risks in bond payment by properties

However, bondholders may refuse to agree to convert bond debts into real estate debt, according to Phạm Đức, an attorney of the HCM City Bar Association.

He said that with this kind of payment, bondholders would be at a disadvantage because they would not receive interest, while assets have extremely low liquidity, especially when the property market is merely frozen and the volatility of realty prices is unpredictable in the future. 

"If bondholders insist on cash payments but the enterprises are unable to settle, the enterprises' bank loans will become bad debts. They, then, can't access capital to retain and develop their projects," he said. 

"Bondholders and enterprises still can reach consensus on the payment method for real estate if businesses pay both principal and interest, then offer a reasonable price for the converted property," Đức suggested. 

Analysts said that the payments in real estate meant switching from financial transactions of borrowing and paying in cash to buying and selling assets. Therefore, the transaction must satisfy regulations, including legally completing and meeting the criteria of an agreement to buy and sell.

Bondholders were recommended to learn about and choose reputable enterprises. 

If the enterprise proposed exorbitant prices for the properties, bondholders should resolutely demand payment in cash. If the enterprise was three months behind on bond payments, bondholders could sue and ask the court to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against it.

Experts also suggested that the Government should take effective measures to solve the problems of real estate and bonds at their root, such as transparency or legal problems with projects. Only then could the bondholders accept the bond payment in real estate.

— VNS    LINK

Saturday "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 2-25-2023

KTFA: Vietnam:

Henig:  Swiss daily: Vietnam becomes a new destination for foreign companies

13:15 | 25/02/2023

Swiss daily Tribune de Gèneve has recently published an article hailing Vietnam as a new destination for foreign companies.

The article said two-way trade between Switzerland and Vietnam hit about 3.2 billion USD in 2020. Switzerland is well-positioned to leverage advantages brought about by the Vietnamese economy.

Hundreds of Swiss companies have been among the most important European investors present in Vietnam. In particular, the Swiss industrial equipment sector should fully tap the growing trend of "Made in Vietnam" products.

According to the article, the industrial boom in Vietnam could be clearly felt when entering the Van Trung Industrial Park, which is an hour's drive to the north of Hanoi. Early in the morning, many people were lining up in front of recruitment office of Foxconn - the most famous subcontractor for Apple. In front of a large dormitory for workers, there is also a large poster with a notice that Foxconn is recruiting 10,000 employees with favourable working conditions.

Foxconn is not the only factory hiring a large number of workers. Not far away, LuxShare, a competitor, is announcing that it will recruit 13,000 new employees. An automobile supplier is seeking 700 eligible positions while a solar panel manufacturer is announcing the recruitment of 6,000 positions.

Large industrial zones are being built and taken over by advanced electronics manufacturers, said the article.

The Republic of Korea's electronics conglomerate Samsung inaugurated a brand new research and development centre in Hanoi in December 2022. It also plans to invest around 3.2 billion USD to produce semiconductors in a neighbouring province. The US’s semiconductor equipment company Amkor Technology will soon open a factory near the airport. And Pegatron of Taiwan (China) that produces components for electric carmaker Tesla and assembles iPhones, has recently begun operations near Ha Long Bay.

The article attributed Vietnam's above-said attraction to various factors such as a stable investment environment, 15 free trade agreements, including one signed in 2020 with the European Union (EU), helping Vietnam become a hub of industrial production at affordable costs.

Vietnam is being rated by foreign investors as a top priority for investment. Therefore, the country will continue to witness the emergence of super factories in the future, it concluded.

Source: VNA   LINK

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Henig:  Falling interest rates facilitate production and business sectors

06:05 | 25/02/2023

Many banks have just launched credit packages with preferential lending interest rates that decreased by between 0.5-3% per year for customers in the fields of business and production, including real estate.

Most recently, the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), one of the largest banks in Vietnam, announced that as of January 31, the interest rates for real estate business is likely to be reduced by up to 3% per year from the interest rates that are being applied. The adjusted interest rates will be applied from January 31, 2023 to December 31, 2014.

Agribank said it will also spend more than 100 trillion VND in 2023 on preferential loans for businesses, import - export firms, and those operating in the healthcare and education sectors; and reduce interest rates for enterprises meeting difficulties in production and business.

Previously, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) also launched incentive credit packages to support business and production firms.

The wave of reducing lending interest rates has been also recorded in many other commercial banks such the Viet Capital Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Viet Capital Bank), Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB), Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank), and Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank).

According to Nguyen Huu Trung, Acting General Director of the Vietnam Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VietBank), the capital demand of businesses still remains high, so banks need to have appropriate policies to support their customers.

Banks continued to lower deposit interest rates early this month, thus cutting lending rates in general, and those for the real estate sector in particular.

According to a report of Bao Viet Securities (BVSC), the deposit interest rates have showed signs of dropping since late January 2023, raising the hope of a fall in lending rates.

Source: VNA   LINK

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Henig:  Vietnam to have 16 more railway lines by 2030

08:00 | 25/02/2023

Vietnam’s railway network planning expects to have 16 new national lines with a total length of about 4,802km by 2030.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the planning for 2021-2030 will also upgrade seven existing lines, whose total length amounts to 2,440km.

By 2050, the number of new rail lines will be 25, which together are 6,354km long.

The completely upgraded and expanded network following the planning will connect strategic economic areas and corridors, urban centres, international sea ports, border gates, and airports nationwide, said a leader of the ministry.

Rail transport boasts several advantages. It requires less land areas, leaves little impact on the environment, and carries a large amount of goods and passengers. It is also fast, safe, and low cost.

However, the railway investment budget is enormous, while the State budget resources are limited. Due to the low financial efficiency of railway investment, it is difficult for the sector to attract capital from society.

Source: VNA   LINK

HCM City gains considerable achievements in sci-tech development

06:30 | 25/02/2023

Ho Chi Minh City has recorded significant achievements in scientific and technology between 2012 and 2021, greatly contributing to the local economy, the municipal Party Committee said.

The HCM City Party Committee held a conference on February 16 to review the 10-year implementation of the 11th-tenure Party Central Committee’s Resolution 20-NQ/TW, issued on November 1, 2012 on the development of science and technology toward international integration. The resolution was issued in service of industrialisation and modernisation amid the socialist-oriented market economy.

It reported that over the last 10 years, the southern metropolis has strongly applied science and technology to public administration, especially using information technology in public services. The technological level of industrial production businesses has also been improved gradually.

The general speed of technological and equipment reform in the city was about 18.85% annually during 2016 - 2020, an increase from the 15% before 2016. Meanwhile, total spending on machinery and equipment averaged 20.6 trillion VND (870.3 million USD at the current exchange rate) each year.

This could be seen in the high total factor productivity (TFP), 35.62% on average, with science and technology contributing to 74% of the TFP growth. Between 2011 and 2021, the social labour productivity in HCM City was 2.7 times higher and the productivity growth was 1.7 times higher than the nationwide figures.

However, Vice Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai pointed out that there remain many challenges to the development of science and technology, which has yet to meet socio-economic development and urban management demand or truly become momentum toward development.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Le Xuan Dinh said HCM City is home to thousands of startups that account for about half of the total in Vietnam. Meanwhile, total investment in science, technology and innovation needs to make up at least 2% of the local GRDP, but it is hard for the state budget to cover the rate.

Therefore, HCM City should pay attention to attracting investment from venture funds to startups and innovation, he suggested.

The municipal Party Committee said in the coming time, HCM City will focus on reforming the system of science and technology organisations, and enhance connectivity with businesses in developing and reforming technology. They will also work to train manpower, offer preferential treatment to attract science and technology personnel. The committee plans to expand cooperation with international partners, and attract overseas Vietnamese scientists and technological experts.

Source: VNA   LINK

Wednesday "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 2-22-2023

KTFA:  Vietnam

Henig:  VNĐ7.4 trillion earmarked for rail infrastructure development this year

09:00 | 22/02/2023

Six projects worth over VNĐ7.4 trillion (US$310.46 million) are expected to begin this year serving railway infrastructure upgrade.

Of the five of these, using State capital for the middle-term public investment plan for the 2021-25 period, three with a total valued at more than VNĐ 3.1 trillion involved the Hà Nội-Vinh, Vinh-Nha Trang, and Nha Trang-Sài Gòn sections of the North-South railway. The upgrade of these sections, which are about 1,725km long in total, is scheduled to be completed in 2025.

Meanwhile, two others is to repair the northern rail station with some VNĐ476 billion and to upgrade the Đuống rail bridge with nearly VNĐ1.85 trillion.

The last of the six is for the upgrade of the Khe Nét mountain pass with a value of over VNĐ2 trillion partly sourced from official development assistance by the Republic of Korea via its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

Construction of the first railway in Việt Nam and Indochina with a length of 71km connecting Sài Gòn with Mỹ Tho was started in 1881. By 1936, the railway length increased nearly 37 times, with a total length of 2,600km across the three regions of the country.

Việt Nam’s railway, however, is lagging behind. Investment for it in many decades only accounted for about 3 per cent of the total investment from the Central budget for transport infrastructure projects.

Currently, Việt Nam’s railway network covers a total length of 3,162.9km, of which 2,703.2km are main lines, 459.7km of station’s inner lines and branch lines.

Yet its railway infrastructure is limited as the 1,000mm gauge lines still account for 84 per cent of the total railway length (2,656.2km). Việt Nam’s railway speed is only about 50-60km per hour for freight trains and 80-90km per hour for passenger trains.

Although railway freight has achieved some more positive results, the growth in rail freight transportation has seen a downward trend. The average annual growth rate of freight carried by the railway in the 1991-2000 period increased by 10.3 per cent. It was 2.3 per cent in 2001-2010 and 4.7 per cent in 2011-2019.

The volume of freight carried by railway in 1990 reached 2.3 million tonnes, then after 30 years, by 2020 was 5.1 million tonmes, while by road it was nearly 29 times more than in 1990, inland waterways were 20 times and airways 130 times.

Source: VNS   LINK

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Henig:  Last undersea Internet cable connecting Vietnam with the world breaks down

09:47 | 22/02/2023

The SMW3 cable, the last fully functional Internet cable of Vietnam, has encountered a problem on its S2.7 segment that connects with Singapore, an Internet service provider in the country said on February 21. ​

The SMW3 cable, the last fully functional Internet cable of Vietnam, has encountered a problem on its S2.7 segment that connects with Singapore, an Internet service provider in the country said on February 21.

This means all the five undersea cables connecting Vietnam with the world have been partly or wholly affected.

Earlier, AAG and APG suffered from serious failures and are now completely unable to carry the Internet traffic. Two others, IA and AAE-1, also recorded breakdowns and are only functional partly.

However, Vietnamese service suppliers said the failures on the five cables will not have great impact on the speed of Internet connection between the country and the world.

The SMW3 cable is outdated and going to be decommissioned, so it has not been used for fixed broadband Internet services, they explained, adding that the latest breakdown didn’t occur in the peak time, and they immediately carried out responding measures to reduce impact on the Internet speed.

Service suppliers are implementing the best measures to ensure users’ Internet access, they noted.

Source: VNA   LINK

Henig:  Nationwide production resumes after Tet holiday

13:00 | 21/02/2023

(VEN) - The Lunar New Year has gotten off to a good start with manufacturers resuming production in the expectations of improved performance and achievements.

New orders

After a week-long holiday over Tet, the Lunar New Year holiday marked in January, nearly all employees of the Vina T&T Group Joint Stock Company have returned to work with renewed energy.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, General Director of the Vina T&T Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd, said the company aims to grow by 30-40 percent this year compared to 2022. To that end, its Mekong Delta plants in Ben Tre and Tien Giang provinces resumed near-normal operations on the second day of the Lunar New Year. “The orders in early 2023 are rich for both export and domestic market. Export orders to markets such as China and the US are quite regular, while our fruit products also sell well at home,” Tung said.

At the Dong Nai Rubber Corporation, workers in some farms returned to exploit rubber latex on the fourth day of the holiday. In 2022, the company’s output reached more than 29.2 thousand tonnes, 18 percent higher than the plan.

More than 90 percent of workers at the Dai Dung Group’s factory in Ho Chi Minh City have resumed production in order to fulfill export orders to the US, Europe and Japan for the first and second quarters. Given the positive outlook for these export markets, the company expects to exceed 20 percent growth in 2023. "We focus on the Japanese, the US, and European markets and have already secured contracts from these customers,” a company representative said.

Meanwhile, the Trung An High-Tech Agriculture JSC in Can Tho Province had to operate throughout the Tet holiday because the company committed to deliver more than 30,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea in the first quarter of 2023.

Major targets

In order to get the year off to a productive start, the Garment 10 Corporation (Garment 10) organized several entertainment programs for its officials and employees. Than Duc Viet, General Director of Garment 10, said the corporation will seek new customers and markets, especially the Chinese market given the country’s very large and potential domestic demand.

Many units of the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) also resumed production and business activities on the first working day after the holiday. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Vinacomin’s plant loaded the first 41,000 tonnes of coal onto the Viet Thuan Star ship for transport to domestic markets. By the end of January, Vinacomin had produced 2.6 million tonnes of raw coal and sold 3.8 million tonnes.

The Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Corporation has set a target of producing and selling over 780,000 tonnes of rolled steel, total revenue of VND15.826 trillion and employment and stable income for all its staff.

Nguyen Van Lam, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, said 95 percent of workers at 1,361 enterprises returned to work on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year as planned.

Ha Duyen & Thu Huong   LINK

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Henig:  Turkey natural stone trade mission to Vietnam

15:55 | 21/02/2023

A B2B event to connect trade between Turkish and Vietnamese natural stone enterprises to create opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to approach international quality supplies.

Turkey is a country with abundant, rich and high-quality mineral reserves. This helps Turkey become one of the world's leading producers of building materials. According to 2022 static, Turkey's mineral exports reached $6.5 billion, up 6.5%, providing 80 out of 90 types of minerals in the world, including natural stones.

Natural stone exports account for the majority of Turkey's exports. Thanks to its generous nature, Turkey is known as the country with the richest natural stone resources, especially in marble, granite, limestone, onyx, travertine… Turkey has diverse natural stone designs, spread evenly in all segments from economy to luxury class. As a result, Turkey natural stone is exported to more than 200 countries, including major markets such as China, the United States, India, Middle East, European…

The typical characteristics of Turkish natural stone include: in terms of quality, there are absence of any cracks or defects; various colors, many options; capable of providing large block sizes; consistency in quality; beautiful pattern; naturally resistant to air pollution, abrasion and dirt.

In order to create opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to access international quality supplies, and at the same time create an environment for trade connection between Vietnamese businesses and leading Turkish suppliers, Istanbul Mineral Exporters Association (IMIB) and Minh Vi Exhibition and Advertisement Services Co., Ltd. (VEAS) jointly organized this Trade mission to connect businesses in the natural stone industry. The event will take place on 23rd, February 2023 at Sheraton Saigon Hotel, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

At this trade mission, 13 leading natural stone exporters from Turkey will come to Vietnam to meet with importers, distributors and retailers. In addition, participants will learn about export policies into Vietnam market.

Mai Ca   LINK

Tuesday "Vietnam Articles" Posted by Henig at KTFA 2-21-2023

KTFA: Vietnam: 

Henig:  Circular economy gains momentum back home

February, 21/2023 - 10:04

The circular economy would serve businesses well by enabling the efficient use of resources and facilitating their deeper involvement in the global supply chains.

HÀ NỘI — The circular economy has begun to gain traction in Việt Nam for its potential to optimise resource use, stabilise supply, and offer competitive advantage opportunities for businesses.

Phạm Minh Thiện, general director of Thanh Bình Company Ltd, revealed that his company's production process had been designed so that waste in one stage becomes fodder for another.

He said his company had bought land in the Tân Hồng region to grow a particular strain of rice, which can easily do without fertilisers, pesticides, and crop care. As such, the strain causes a minimal impact on the environment.

At harvest time, its straw is reused as a medium to grow mushrooms whereas its rice husk as a biomass fuel for export. Its rice bran is processed to produce bran oil and animal feed. The residue from this oil-making process is reclaimed to feed poultry.

"The global demand for these by-products is considerable. For instance, bran oil has become much sought after by Japanese traders," said Thiện.

The circular economy embraced by Thanh Bình Company Ltd has proved to be highly beneficial to its stakeholders, not only economically but also environmentally.

As a result of the sustainable farming practices, the soil cultivated by the company, which was contaminated previously by chemical substances, has been gradually improving in quality.

Nestlé Việt Nam Company Ltd is another name that has managed to incorporate the circular economy into its production. 

The company has put coffee grounds to good use by turning them into biomass, which is used to fuel its boilers. The ash left after the combustion will serve as a raw material for the production of bricks.

Coffee sludge is processed into microbial fertilisers to enrich the soil, whereas the steam from the boilers goes to the cooling towers for further reuse. Even the wastewater is not wasted: it will be recycled into A-standard clean water to close the production loop.    

Trần Thị Hồng Minh, head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, asserted that the circular economy would serve businesses well by enabling the efficient use of resources and facilitating their deeper involvement in the global supply chains.

She said the circular economy is no longer an option but an imperative for businesses because global customers have become more eco-conscious and willing to shift toward a more sustainable buying behaviour.

Vũ Kim Hạnh, chairman of the Association of Vietnamese High-quality Products, opined that the Government needs to take active steps to lay the groundwork for a broad-based transition to the circular economy.

The to-do list should comprise a long-term scheme for the transition and the entry into force of a sufficient number of legal documents that regulate the notion.

She also said the feasibility of the circular economy in the country would hinge on technological, institutional, infrastructural, and human resources factors.  

Nguyễn Thế Chinh, director of the Environmental Economic Policy Institute, underlined several obstacles in the way of businesses trying to embrace the transition.

The first obstacle involves advanced technology, which is not always readily accessible to a large number of businesses. Without advanced technology at their disposal, many businesses get stuck in their traditional linear way of production.

The second obstacle centres around the rigidity of domestic consumption habits. For instance, a wide range of consumers back home keep using plastic bags for their convenience and show a reluctance to shift gears, posing a setback for recyclable bags.

— VNS  LINK

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Henig: Cash flow waits to step in as interest rates fall

February, 20/2023 - 09:33

Banks’ reducing deposit interest rates is driving cash flow back to the stock market, but investors are advised to take a prudent approach.

HÀ NỘI - Banks’ reducing deposit interest rates is driving cash flow back to the stock market, but investors are advised to take a prudent approach.

The main factors that are expected to affect the market that investors need to pay attention to include inflationary pressure, exchange rates, the operation of monetary policy of the State Bank, interest rate fluctuations; risks associated with the corporate bond market; the first quarter business results reporting season as well as the 2023 shareholder meeting season.

The global stock market recently traded strongly as inflation in the US dropped rapidly and the Fed and other major central banks were entering the final stage of the interest rate hike cycle, while China is about to fully reopen the economy after a long blockade due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nguyễn Đức Anh, Director of Strategy and Macro, KB Securities Việt Nam, said that the recovery of the VN-Index in the three months before Tết was in line with macro changes. The risk of a deep correction from the current price range is not high, although profit-taking pressure may cause a strong shake-up.

Đinh Quang Hinh, Head of Macroeconomics and Market Strategy Department, VNDIRECT Securities Company, predicts that at the moment, many domestic macro factors are improving.

Exchange rate pressure has decreased significantly, leading to a strong return of foreign indirect investment inflows. Interest rates on government bonds have fallen sharply in the past month, which is an early indicator that the market interest rates for mobilisation and lending may soon be adjusted down.

Interest rates and exchange rates are always the factors that have a great impact on the trend of the stock market, when these factors improve, the pressure on the market is somewhat removed.

The market in the first half of 2023 still faces risks related to the decline in earnings of listed companies in the context of economic growth and slowing exports. In addition, difficulties in the corporate bond market and the real estate market have not been resolved.

According to VNDIRECT, macro factors are gradually improving, so it is less likely that the market will fall to a deeper bottom than the old bottom that was set in November last year around 900 points.

Bùi Văn Huy, Director of HCM City Branch, DSC Securities Company, said that the stock market might fluctuate to establish a medium-term bottom before forming a clear uptrend in the second half of this year. However, the zone of 950-980 points is a strong support zone, and is hard to be penetrated.

The market's deep correction, if any, is an opportunity to buy in, according to Huy.

In the scenario where the general market adjusts significantly at the current price range, new cash flow can confidently join in.

However, Đức Anh said that the recent increase in the market was consistent with the macro changes and it would be difficult for the VN-Index to have a deep correction if there were no new negative impact factors.

The group of information technology, securities and public investment industries would be in attractive valuation areas for investors to consider disbursing.

Since the beginning of 2023, the market has clearly diverged, some stocks surged to historic peaks such as Phú Nhuận Jewelry (PNJ), Vietcombank (VCB), while there were still stocks that moved sideways in low areas such as Novaland (NVL) and Phát Đạt Real Estate (PDR).

Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, founder of Finpeace, said the current cash flow was at a low average level and belonged to professional investors, partly reflected in the continuous net buying of foreign funds. The market showed signs of waiting for more positive information from listed companies, especially before and after the 2023 general meeting of shareholders to clearly see the direction of the business, as well as the next developments from macroeconomic policy.

“At the beginning of this year, investors can still follow last year's focused groups such as banks, insurance, and electricity. However, from the end of the second quarter of this year onwards, investors should focus on high-growth business groups such as technology, retail, retail banking, and securities. In addition, investors can pay more attention to the ability to grow revenue and market share," he said.

After a generally difficult period, the market often shows businesses that suddenly reaches a high position thanks to sudden improvements in technology and product upgrades. The 2023 General Meeting of Shareholders is the best place for investors to define the difference in the growth orientation of listed companies, from which they will have a closer look at the business to make suitable investment decisions.

VNS   LINK

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Henig:  Thai largest retailer to pour over 1.4 billion USD in Vietnam

06:12 | 21/02/2023

Central Retail Corporation (CRC), the largest retailer of Thailand, has announced its biggest investment in Vietnam at 50 billion baht (1.45 billion USD) in the 2023-2027 period to accelerate its market presence in the country.

According to CEO of CRC Yol Phokasub, the firm sees Vietnam as a high-potential market that posted continuous economic growth. With CRC's strong foothold in the country, it has set a five-year roadmap to continue its expansion there, allocating 50 billion baht over a five-year period. The Vietnamese retail market, valued 49.7 billion USD, is expanding 10-125 each year.

The CRC invested more than 10 billion baht to expand its retail business in Vietnam during 2012-2022. It has more than 340 stores with a total gross floor area exceeding 1.2 million square metres across 40 provinces.

Olivier Langlet, CEO of Central Retail Vietnam, said that the company recorded rapid sales revenue growth in the country, rising from 300 million baht (8.7 million USD) in 2014 to 38.6 billion (1.12 billion USD) in 2021.

He said that Vietnam's economy continues to grow despite uncertainties, with GDP growth expected to increase by 6.7% and 7.2% in 2023 and 2024, respectively, compared with 3.5% a year in Thailand over the next two years. This will make Vietnam Southeast Asia's fastest growing market, he said.

Central Retail Vietnam wants to grow its food business nationwide to reinforce its leading position in Vietnam's hypermarket segment by rebranding and renovating 10 GO! branches and expanding Tops market and Mini go! branches by adding 8-10 outlets to better serve the needs of local consumers, he said.

The company vows to strengthen its fresh food category and the non-food category to drive customer traffic via renovation, in addition to preparing for new branch launches in the future, he underlined.

He said the firm plans to renovate 10-12 branches of Nguyen Kim, an electrical appliance chain, and add 3-5 new branches, including stores in its GO! malls.

Source: VNA   LINK

Henig:  Businesses back CPTPP expansion

06:00 | 20/02/2023

(VEN) - Export-driven firms and online sellers in potential member countries see accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as providing new e-commerce export opportunities and diversifying trade away from China. The CPTPP is one of the world's largest free-trade areas by gross domestic product (GDP).

In a 2020 survey of 269 Philippine and Republic of Korean (RoK) firms on their views about potential CPTPP accession, commissioned by a fellow at the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, over 70 percent of exporters reported having heard about the CPTPP; of these, export-driven online sellers that already sell to the CPTPP market are especially enthused by CPTPP accession as a means to help secure new customers (45 percent), grow export sales (41 percent), diversify into new markets (39 percent), and sell more online (29 percent).

Philippine firms, in particular, believe that the agreement could also promote inbound and outbound investment. RoK firms are also enthusiastic about the CPTPP – even though the RoK already has 17 free trade deals that encompass 56 countries.

A substantial set – 43 percent of online seller-exporters and 29 percent of other exporters – also agree that it would be beneficial for their country to enter into a trade agreement that does not include China (as opposed to the 10-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which both the RoK and the Philippines signed recently). While non-exporters in the RoK and the Philippines often do not know about the CPTPP, both non-exporters and exporters in these countries agree that the RCEP will not suffice for satisfying their growth aspirations. These data suggest that companies in prospective member countries are hungry for new agreements with better rules than the RCEP’s non-binding e-commerce provisions.

Advantages of membership

The UK, China and Chinese Taipei have already applied to join the 2018 agreement that brings together the Pacific Rim countries of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. These countries’ combined economies represent 13.4 percent of global GDP, making the CPTPP one of the world's largest free-trade areas by GDP.

The surveyed firms in the Philippines and the RoK – and especially small online sellers that use data intensively – regard the CPTPP’s e-commerce provisions such as free data transfer, ban on server localization, promotion of consumer privacy and protection, and liberalization of services as especially beneficial for their businesses. Some 47 percent of online seller-exporters see the CPTPP’s provisions on free data transfer across borders as “very beneficial” for their businesses; 37 percent see self-regulation among businesses to manage data as “very beneficial”; and 35 percent find the CPTPP’s ban on server localization and the ability to store their data where they wish as “very beneficial,” with another 37 percent seeing this as “somewhat beneficial.” The survey also suggests that firms see the CPTPP’s commitment to protecting consumer privacy and shielding consumers from spam as important to the growth of their e-commerce sales.

The CPTPP is emerging as an attractive trade deal for many countries around the world. The interest in joining is motivated by several reasons, including (1) the rise of China’s share in the import baskets of both CPTPP members and nonmembers; (2) in the UK’s case, by a drive to operationalize its post-Brexit “Global Britain” strategy; and (3) as the indicative survey data suggest, by interest on the part of firms in such member economies as the RoK and the Philippines in CPTPP’s deep liberalization and high-quality e-commerce provisions to open new markets, set clear rules of the game for digital trade, and preempt data localization.

Japan and other members are urging the US to join the deal, which would make the CPTPP a powerful counterweight to China, attract further members, and significantly advance US interests. However, the Biden Administration has so far avoided such a move.

Tuyet Minh   LINK

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Henig:  Bank race in attracting demand deposits cools down

February, 21/2023 - 10:21

The race to lure demand deposits, or current account savings account (CASA), among banks seems to be decelerating as it is more difficult for banks to attract the cheap capital source in the context of high interest rates on term savings.

HÀ NỘI — The race to lure demand deposits, or current account savings account (CASA), among banks seems to be decelerating as it is more difficult for banks to attract the cheap capital source in the context of high interest rates on term savings.

Demand deposits at banks are mainly from customers’ payment accounts. Previously, due to low interest rates on term deposits, a number of customers did not pay much attention to transferring idle money in their payment accounts to term deposit accounts. Banks, therefore, raced to lure customers with many incentive policies to benefit from the low-cost capital source.

However, the trend has changed after interest rates for term deposits sharply surged to hit nearly 10 per cent per year, which has caused more customers to select term savings to get higher interest rates.

According to the Q4 2022 financial report of banks, up to 23 out of 28 banks, even big names, have recorded a decrease in CASA ratio in the last year.

Specifically, Techcombank, which topped in terms of CASA for many years, saw its CASA ratio decline sharply from 50.5 per cent at the end of 2021 to 37 per cent at the end of 2022.

Despite surpassing Techcombank to top the CASA list in 2022, Military Bank also reported a CASA decline from 44.6 per cent at the end of 2021 to 37.6 per cent at the end of 2022.

According to Techcombank, the CASA ratio dropped sharply because customers have tended to reduce cash holdings for investment or spending, but increase opening term savings accounts in the context of the global high interest rate environment, restricted liquidity of the banking system and negative sentiment on the real estate and bond markets.

However, Techcombank noted, the bank took measures to increase its term deposits to ensure capital, with Q4 2022 seeing a growth rate of 32.3 per cent in term deposits against Q3 2022.

Many other banks also recorded a sharp drop in CASA ratio in the past year such as KienlongBank (from 15.5 per cent to 4 per cent), VietABank (11.9 per cent to 4.1 per cent) and TPBank (23.3 per cent to 18 per cent).

However, there were still some banks recording an increase in CASA ratio in 2022 compared to 2021 such as VietinBank (with a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point to 20 per cent), PG Bank (with a 2.5 percentage point increase to 17.9 per cent), and Bắc Á Bank (with a 3.9 percentage point rise to 7.3 per cent).

Economist Đinh Trọng Thịnh told Việt Nam News that the term deposit interest rate has continuously increased, especially in the last quarter of 2022, while other investment channels such as securities, real estate, gold, and cryptocurrencies have been less attractive and continuing the downward trend for a long time.

“This was why cash flows look to long-term savings channels to enjoy high interest rates. As a result, the amount of demand deposits decreased sharply, and the input capital also became more expensive,” he said.

According to Thịnh, improving the CASA ratio, controlling capital costs, and concentrating resources to support firms and people to recover production and business are posing big problems for banks, especially in the context of interest rates being forecast to remain high in the first half of 2023. Because when interest rates are high, individual customers transfer their idle money into term savings instead of keeping them in current accounts. As for firms, high interest rates made it difficult for them to access bank capital, thereby they had to withdraw available cash to serve their operations.

According to experts of Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS), the State Bank of Vietnam’s policy interest rates in 2023 may not increase further. After peaking in the first half of 2023, the rates will be flat and gradually cool down in the second half of this year.

Sharing the same view, Yuanta Vietnam Securities Company (Yuanta) believes as the interest rate on term deposits is still high and the liquidity of the banking system remains limited, the growth of demand deposits will be low in the first half of 2023. However, Yuanta expects the CASA ratio to improve further as deposit rates gradually cool down in the second half of this year.

Besides, Yuanta said in the context of rising interest rates, banks with the advantage of a high CASA ratio such as MB, Techcombank and Vietcombank will suffer less negative impacts on net profit margin than banks with a low CASA rate.

Meanwhile, SSI Securities Company’s experts are more optimistic as, based on data analysis, they forecast the CASA ratio will be affected adversely only in the short term and will recover in the near future.

— VNS        LINK

Monday "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 2-20--2023

KTFA: Vietnam

Henig:  MOF considers allowing businesses to pay bond interest in shares, realty products

February, 20/2023 - 07:34

The Ministry of Finance has proposed that the Government consider allowing enterprises to pay principal and interest of bonds in shares and real estate products.

HÀ NỘI - The Ministry of Finance has proposed that the Government consider allowing enterprises to pay principal and interest on bonds in shares and real estate products.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has just submitted to the Government a draft decree on trading private placement of corporate bonds in the domestic market and offering bonds to international markets.

The decree amends and supplements a number of articles of Decree 65 that amends and supplements Decree 153/2020/NĐ-CP.

Recently, some businesses, especially in the real estate group, have had difficulty paying their debt obligations due in 2023. They had to negotiate with bondholders to pay bond principal and interest with shares, or real estate products.

The Ministry of Finance proposed that the Government consider allowing the cases. If an enterprise cannot pay the bond principal and interest in cash, they can negotiate with investors to pay by other assets on the principle of complying with the provisions of civil law. This payment method must be approved by the bondholders and the enterprise must disclose information and take responsibility for the legal status of the assets used to pay the principal and interest of the bond.

To assist enterprises in mobilising capital for production and business activities and debt restructuring, the Ministry of Finance shall propose to the Government to allow previously issued bonds with an outstanding balance to be changed in expiration term, the maximum time is 2 years.

VNS  LINK

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Henig:  VN firms told to focus on social, environmental performance to enter German market

February, 20/2023 - 07:25

Vietnamese enterprises need to improve their social and environmental performance to secure their position in global supply chains, a seminar heard in HCM City last week.

HCM CITY — Vietnamese enterprises need to improve their social and environmental performance to secure their position in global supply chains, a seminar heard in HCM City last week.

Nguyễn Ngọc Sang, project manager of the German Business Incubator at the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Việt Nam (AHK Vietnam), said in recent years Việt Nam had been a popular investment destination for many countries, especially Germany.

AHK Vietnam was receiving increasing requests from German companies to find suppliers in Việt Nam, he said while speaking at the seminar on enhancing Vietnamese companies’ competitiveness in global supply chains through compliance with the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.

With its geographical location, Việt Nam is considered the gateway to Southeast Asia, a rapidly growing and dynamic region, according to Sang.

It is attractive to investors thanks to its low labour costs, high labour compliance, strong growth for many years, and open mechanism for attracting investment.

It has signed many trade deals, including the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement, which gets much attention from European investors, including German, and enterprises seeking to diversify their supply chains also prefer the country.

According to Nguyễn Tuấn, deputy director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City (ITPC), said trade and investment ties between Việt Nam and the EU, especially Germany, have seen robust growth in recent years.

Germany is Việt Nam's largest trading partner in Europe, accounting for more than 19 per cent of its exports and acting as the gateway for Vietnamese goods to enter other European markets.

While productivity and quality standards remain key factors, international business partners are increasingly looking at social and environmental conditions when choosing suppliers.

To ensure exports to demanding markets, Vietnamese enterprises must comply with stringent regulations like the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG).

Lanh Huyền Như, project coordinator for Sustainable and Climate Resilient Supply Chains at AHK Vietnam, said the act, which came into effect in January this year, sought among other things to prevent child and forced labour and ban substances that are hazardous to people and the environment.

"The law requires German companies to establish appropriate and effective risk management for their supply chains and integrate it into all relevant business processes," she said.

Companies in Việt Nam could be indirectly affected by these regulations if they are part of a supply chain of a German company.

According to experts, while due diligence in supply chains and the resulting obligations are not new, these standards are becoming even more relevant, requiring more initiatives from businesses.

Understanding and putting these requirements into practice would lower risks and strengthen their competitiveness in the global supply chain, they said.

The seminar was held by ITPC and AHK Vietnam.

— VNS   LINK

Henig:  Pellets, chips to remain export growth drivers for wood industry in 2023

February, 20/2023 - 08:24

The wood processing industry has set itself a modest export target of US$17.5 billion for this year, an increase of just 2.5 per cent over 2022, due to unfavourable conditions in the global market, the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association said.

HCM CITY — The wood processing industry has set itself a modest export target of US$17.5 billion for this year, an increase of just 2.5 per cent over 2022, due to unfavourable conditions in the global market, the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association said.

Exports were worth US$16.9 billion last year, up 6.1 per cent from 2021, the lowest growth rate in recent years.

VIFOREST chairman Đỗ Xuân Lập said exports had been strong in the first half of last year, but orders had dropped sharply thereafter, and companies had gotten just a few orders this year.

“In the past exports would usually go up by 15-20 per cent in January, but there was no growth this year.”

The gloomy housing market due to monetary tightening and interest rate hikes globally to fight inflation had affected demand for furniture, he explained.

The industry has two main export product groups: highly processed products like furniture and intermediate goods like plywood, woodchips, lumber, joint board, and wood pellets, according to Lập.

Export of the second group rose strongly last year, with pellet and chip exports rising by 50-60 per cent and 35 per cent, and this product group is expected to again be the major export growth driver this year.

He also forecast furniture exports to gradually increase this year.

“Việt Nam’s furniture products are mainly exported to the US and European markets. Their economies will warm up, inflation is decreasing, and so demand for furniture will rise.”

The wood industry associations across the country were helping firms look for new customers, including by organising the Hồ Chí Minh Export Furniture Fair (HawaExpo 2023) from February 22 to 25, he said.

Nguyễn Quốc Khanh, chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City and chairman of AA Corporation, said firms continued to export furniture to traditional markets such as the US, EU, Japan, and Korea but needed to expand to other markets too, he said.

Many of China’s traditional customers has shifted their orders to Việt Nam, which is a great opportunity, he said.

Khanh said AA Corporation, which provides custom furniture to luxury hotels and resorts world-wide, had got an order from a large hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, the first order from this market.

Dương Minh Tuệ, sales director of Minh Dương Furniture Corporation, said her company had got many customers from the Middle East recently.

Customers there used to prefer classical designs or those reflecting their Islamic beliefs, and so Malaysian products were very popular there though also for their competitive prices, he said.

“The tastes of consumers there have changed. Younger generations accept higher prices and new designs. They come to Việt Nam to find products with nice designs and made from more expensive materials.

“The Middle East economy enjoys steady growth. Demand, especially among young customers, is very high. It is a market that Vietnamese enterprises should pay attention to.”

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  5th denim, jeans exhibition to open in HCM City

February, 20/2023 - 08:33

The fifth edition of the Denimsandjeans.com Việt Nam exhibition with a theme of YOGIM will open in HCM City from March 1 to 2, with the participation of many big denim manufacturers from more than 10 countries.

HCM CITY — The fifth edition of the Denimsandjeans.com Việt Nam exhibition with a theme of YOGIM (Yoga and Denim) will open in HCM City from March 1 to 2, with the participation of many big denim manufacturers from more than 10 countries.

The two-day expo will take place at the Riverside Palace in District 4.

The expo, organised by the Việt Nam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) and Balaji Enterprises of India, will showcase the latest fashion trends and innovations in the global denim industry. 

The event will be quite attractive to retailers, fashion brands and textile companies from around the world, especially from the EU and the US.

It will offer a good opportunity for exhibitors to seek and establish partnerships.

It is expected to attract about 35 exhibitors and 1,200 visitors.

A YOGIM show will be held on the afternoon of March 1.

The highlight of the expo will be a “DENIM BAZAAR” area where Vietnamese fashion brands will display their innovative denim products, including recycled denim.

Six seminars will be held on the sidelines of the event, with discussions of international experts focusing on the future of denim supply, the denim supply chain for sustainable development, breakthroughs in the denim fabric industry with the help of innovative AI-based solutions, and the latest innovations in laundry chemistry.

Việt Nam has become one of the leading destinations for investors interested in the textile and garment industry.

The country exports more than 65 million pieces of denim every year.

— VNS     LINK

Some "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA Sunday 2-19-2023

KTFA: Vietnam

Henig:  Shan Tuyet, tea as nature intended

06:00 | 19/02/2023

The Shan Tuyet tea trees on top of the mountains in Phin Ho region of Ha Giang Province have been silently witnessing the passage of time for centuries and starring as central characters in folk tales.

Shan Tuyet tea is very precious to the Red Dao people in Phin Ho. Trieu Mui Nghinh, a veteran resident of Thong Nguyen Commune in Hoang Su Phi District, has spent her whole life making the tea specialty, which has a slight bitter taste of tea leaves at first, but leaves a sweet after-taste.

Ly Mui Muong, Deputy Director of the Phin Ho Tea Cooperative, said Nghinh’s image was chosen to represent Phin Ho green and red tea, which has been recognized as national five-star One Commune One Product (OCOP) products.

Shan Tuyet tea grows completely naturally, without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Currently, 10 percent of more than 4,000 hectares of Hoang Su Phi's tea area are certified organic. Some 140 hectares of Phin Ho’s Shan Tuyet tea are certified by the European Union (EU), reflecting the producers’ vision and efforts in the tea brand’s development. After being harvested, the leaves are dried and often hung above fire stoves for preservation.

Phin Ho Tea Cooperative is the first large-scale tea processing unit in Hoang Su Phi District. Its products are sold via a system of distribution agents in big cities like Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and exported to a number of markets including China, Russia and some EU countries.

“Over the years, we have been strictly following three principles: Clean raw materials, meticulous processing at each stage and well-packed products with transparent information to create trust among consumers,” said Muong.

The efforts by Muong and her cooperative are gradually improving the lives of local residents, selling its products at advantageous prices in order to obtain the best possible incomes for farmers.

Probably a relic of past cultivation, wild tea trees continue to grow naturally in several of the northernmost provinces of Vietnam. Free from any human intervention other than harvesting, the broad leaves and deep roots give the teas an added depth rarely found in farm-grown equivalents. Although some trees may be as old as 800 years the typical age is believed to be between 80 and 200 years.

Viet Nga & Hoang Lan    LINK

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Henig:  Bình Định, a “hidden gem” for tourists

07:00 | 19/02/2023

With wild landscapes, clear and turquoise water at beaches and abundant cultural sites, the central province of Bình Định has become a rising star on central Việt Nam’s tourism map, said the vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

Speaking at a conference to promote Bình Định tourism organised recently in Ho Chi Minh City, Lâm Hải Giang said the event aims to promote tourism in Bình Định to attract more local and international tourists.

Tourism is one of the five pillars of the province’s socioeconomic growth in the 2021-2025 period, he said.

The province aims to make tourism a spearhead economic sector with a goal of 8 million visitors by 2025, with tourism revenue contributing 20 per cent to the province’s GRDP.

Bình Định and HCM City have in recent years cooperated in tourism development with the former participating in a number of tourism events organised by HCM City, including the HCM City Tourism Festival, HCM City International Travel Expo, and the Southern Food Festival.

The conference was organised by the Bình Định Department of Tourism and HCM City Department of Tourism to strengthen cooperation in investment, especially in tourism development, between the two localities, according to Giang.

Last year, Bình Định received more than 4 million visitors and revenue of more than VNĐ13.1 trillion (nearly US$556 million).

“Maldives of Vietnam”

The Sydney Morning Herald called Quy Nhơn the “Maldives of Vietnam” with long, sandy beaches and crystal-clear water.

The town is considered one of the three tourism hotspots in the central region along with Đà Nẵng and Nha Trang.

It is blessed with a 42-kilometre coastline, diverse topography comprising mountains, forests, salt marshes, plains, lagoons, lakes, rivers, peninsulas and islands.

Travel magazine Lonely Planet also put Quy Nhơn on the list of top must-try experiences and must-visit places in Việt Nam.

Eo Gió (Windy Pass) and Kỳ Co beach are the most famous attractions in Quy Nhơn.

Eo Gió in Nhơn Lý Commune, 20km from the town, is situated between two tall rocky cliffs that drop straight into the clear waters of the sea below, giving it a beautiful crescent shape.

Kỳ Co beach is situated on Nhơn Lý Island, 25km away and a 20-minute boat ride from Quy Nhơn. On one side of Kỳ Co beach is the calm turquoise sea, and the other is magnificent rocky mountains.

The best time to visit Quy Nhơn is from January to August, when the weather is warm most of the time.

The fastest way to get there from Hà Nội and HCM City is by flight (only a one hour flight from Hà Nội and a one hour flight from HCM City).

Source: vietnamnews.vn    LINK

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Henig:  Bank lending rate hikes hurt businesses in HCM City

February, 19/2023 - 10:22

Lending interest rates have surpassed the 10 per cent mark, piling pressure on many businesses in dire need of funding, a conference has heard.

HCM CITY — Lending interest rates have surpassed the 10 per cent mark, piling pressure on many businesses in dire need of funding, a conference has heard.

Most rates were now above 10 per cent, Nguyễn Ngọc Hòa, president of the HCM City Union of Business Associations, told the conference held on February 17 to discuss solutions to promote the city's economic growth.

“High borrowing costs are a big challenge for businesses.”

Many find it very difficult to get loans, with banks claiming they have run out of credit quotas and demanding collateral that businesses often lack, according to Hòa.

The 2 per cent interest rate subsidy the Government is offering for enterprises, co-operatives and business households is not easy to get due to tortuous paperwork and inspections.

To meet the demand for funding and support financially constrained businesses, it is vital to cut interest rates and enlarge credit quotas.

"The Government needs to keep value-added tax rate at 8 per cent for all sectors until the end of this year," he recommended.

Lý Kim Chi, president of the HCM City Food and Foodstuff Association, said businesses in the food processing industry had seen steady growth and operated at peak capacity since the beginning of this year.

Some companies had export orders that could take several months to fulfil.

Amid the current two-digit interest rates, rising costs of raw materials, water and electricity, companies had been struggling to stabilise production and had little hope of making profits.

“Businesses need support in terms of interest rates to overcome challenges and expand their business, she added.

Đỗ Phước Tống, president of the HCM City Mechanical - Electrical Enterprises Association, said there were policies to extend credit to the industry at low interest rates, but it was extremely difficult and took much time to actually get a loan.

Some business owners had to sell their houses to repay loans and avoid defaults, he added.

Increasing signs of economic slowdown

A survey of enterprises by the city Union of Business Associations found that business activities had slowed down since the fourth quarter of last year.

Only a fifth of respondents reported an increase in revenues in the fourth quarter compared to a fourth the previous quarter.

The number of businesses paying average monthly salaries of more than VNĐ10 million (US$420) fell to 65 per cent from 80 per cent in the second quarter of 2022.

Some required their employees to work in shifts or go on furlough due to lack of orders.

In two of the main export markets for Việt Nam’s textiles and garments, the EU and the US, demand declined by 60 per cent and 30-40 per cent, according to the HCM City Association of Garment, Textile, Embroidery and Knitting.

Businesses’ inventories have risen by 20-25 per cent amid limited or no orders since the fourth quarter of last year.

Nguyễn Văn Nên, Secretary of the city Party Committee, said administrative reform, digital transformation and investment promotion would be speeded up to boost the economy.

The city planned to restore its investment stimulus programme to help businesses access funding for production and expansion amid the economic uncertainty.

He called on the business community to strive to overcome challenges and inform the city People’s Committee if there are inappropriate policies that hinder economic growth.

—VNS    LINK

Henig:  Many foreign funds enjoy profits in January

February, 18/2023 - 13:14

After recording a difficult year with heavy losses in 2022, earlier this year a series of investment funds reported strong growth in profits.

HÀ NỘI — After recording a difficult year with heavy losses in 2022, earlier this year a series of investment funds reported strong growth in profits.

In the recently published January performance report, Pyn Elite Fund announced that the fund's investment performance reached 10.33 per cent. This is the highest level this foreign fund has ever achieved in January since pouring capital into Việt Nam 10 years ago.

As of January 31, 2022, the net asset value per certificate of PYN Elite reached more than 436 Euros. Assets under management (AUM) amounted to more than 759 million euros, equivalent to VNĐ19.24 trillion, an increase of 77 million euros, equivalent to an increase of VNĐ1.9 trillion compared to the end of 2022.

The top 10 largest investments in the portfolio, which account for 86.9 per cent, included 5 banking stocks and VNFinLead ETF fund certificates simulating financial groups of banking, securities, and insurance. VNFinLead ETF has had the third consecutive month in the top 10 largest investments of PYN Elite Fund.

Lumen Vietnam Fund also recorded a growth performance of 14.11 per cent in January. The above performance was achieved thanks to the fund's focus on allocating industrial, real estate and financial stocks. January 2023 was the highest-performing January since the fund started operating in Việt Nam in 2013.

Vietnam Enterprise Investment Limited (VEIL), a fund under Dragon Capital, also recorded a positive performance of 10.9 per cent in January.

According to VEIL, the performance improved thanks to a more positive domestic and global macro outlook. Domestically, the easing of monetary policy, allowing liquidity to return to the market, coupled with an impressive 8 per cent economic recovery in 2022, the highest growth rate in ten years.

The top 10 stocks of VEIL currently include Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Vpbank (VPB), Mobile World Group (MWG), Hoà Phát Group (HPG), Vietcombank (VCB), FPT Corporation (FPT), Becamex IDC Corp (IDC), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS), Vinhomes (VHM) and Phú Nhuận Jewelry (PNJ).

Two other foreign funds including Vietnam Holding Limited and Vaneck Vectors Vietnam ETF also recorded positive performance in January 2023. Accordingly, Vietnam Holding Limited grew by 7.72 per cent and Vaneck Vectors Vietnam ETF recorded a yield of 9.09 per cent.

VNS     LINK

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Henig:  VN-Index to struggle at 1,060 points due to weak demand force

07:00 | 19/02/2023

The selling pressure was quite clear in the last trading session of the week as the market’s breadth inclined to the downside.

The market traded in different directions on the last trading of the week, with rising selling pressure weighing on investors' sentiment.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) ended slightly higher on Friday at 1,059.31 points, up 1.02 points, or 0.1 per cent.

However, on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index declined 0.89 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 209.95 points.

The selling pressure was quite clear in the last trading session of the week as the market’s breadth inclined to the downside.

Especially, 175 stocks on the HoSE decreased and 146 ticker symbols inched higher, while on the northern bourse, 88 stocks hit lower and 66 stocks finished up.

Liquidity of the two main exchanges remained at low levels and decreased slightly by 3 per cent compared to the previous session to a total of over VNĐ7.8 trillion (US$327.5 million). Of which, the matching value on HoSE was similar to the February 16 session of nearly VNĐ7 trillion.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 biggest stocks on the southern exchange, dropped 1.54 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 1,053.72 points.

In the VN30 basket, 18 stocks went down, while nine settled higher, and three ended flat.

Leading the market’s bearish trend were manufacturing stocks, with the biggest loser being Masan Group (MSN), down 1.72 per cent.

It was followed by Hoà Phát Group (HPG) and Sabeco (SAB), down 1.41 per cent and 1.37 per cent, respectively.

Others stocks influencing the down risk were PV Gas (GAS), VPBank (VPB), Vinamilk (VNM), MBBank (MBB) and Petrolimex (PLX).

The market’s benchmark VN-Index pared losses and inched higher on gains in some large-cap stocks. Particularly, BIDV (BID) saw the greatest gain in market capitalisation of 1.78 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign investors continued to be net sellers on the market. Of which, they net sold VNĐ12.28 billion on HoSE, while net bought a value of VNĐ9.56 billion on HNX.

Analysts from Saigon-Hanoi Stock Exchange (SHS) said that in a medium-long-term perspective, even if the benchmark VN-Index breaks below 1,050 to return to the medium-term downtrend, there are still two important support levels of 1,000 and 950 points. “Therefore, we still expect the VN-Index to form a medium-long term bottom of 950 points,” said SHS.

In the short term, SHS expected that it is highly likely that the market is moving in the recovery wave and is quite positive, especially after the past three consecutive recovery sessions, while for the medium term, the benchmark will enter the balance and accumulation zone after the recovery period.

Source: VNS    LINK

Saturday "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 2-18-2023

KTFA: Vietnam

Henig:  Viet Nam to issue e-passports in March

07:00 | 18/02/2023

The Ministry of Public Security and the Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad will officially issue passports containing electronic chips for Vietnamese citizens from March 1, 2023.

An e-passport will be embedded with a microchip that stores the holder’s personal information, fingerprint scans, identification photo, and a digital signature.

The electronic chip is attached to the back cover of the passport. Languages used in the passport include Vietnamese and English.

Citizens who are at least 14 years old are eligible to apply for a passport with or without the electronic chip. The passports are valid for 10 years.

E-passport holders will be given priority by the foreign sides when considering and granting entry visas.

Vietnamese citizens who had been granted physical passports are allowed to use them until expiration dates without any requirement to shift to e-passports.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, more than 100 countries have already rolled out e-passports.

Source: VGP   LINK

Henig:  Central bank to prioritise credit for production, business in HCM City

13:08 | 18/02/2023

The State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) Ho Chi Minh City branch will continue to prioritise credit for production and business, especially in priority sectors, to boost economic recovery.

Nguyen Duc Lenh, deputy director of the SBV’s HCM City branch, said the credit flow would be directed to priority sectors while credit quality would also be improved.
Priority fields include agriculture, rural areas, exports, small and medium-sized enterprises, supporting industries, high-tech enterprises, and others.

Credit institutions must also ensure stable liquidity, safe banking operations, and strictly control credit from potentially risky areas, according to Lenh.

Credit growth in the city has focused on production and business to support economic recovery, accounting for 60-70% of the total outstanding loans, said Lenh.

Last December, the SBV lifted the credit growth target by 1.5-2 percentage points for 2022 from its earlier target of 14%, allowing lenders to lend an additional 240 trillion VND (9.7 billion USD).

Interest rates remain high

Economist Le Xuan Nghia, a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, said interest rates are still too high, despite the central bank calling on banks to cut lending rates to support enterprises.

Deposit interest rates at banks have surged to as much as 12% per year, pushing lending interest rates up to 15-16% a year, he said.

If the inflation rate is around 4%, the savings interest rates should be around 6-7% per year, he added.

Experts have predicted the deposit interest rate will remain high at least until June and that deposit rates would peak in the first half of 2023 with an increase of 1-1.5 percentage points.

Recently, the Vietnam Banks Association called on commercial banks to keep deposit interest rates at 9.5% or below to reduce lending interest rates.

Commercial banks started lowering deposit interest rates early this month and cut further last week, raising hope of a drop in lending rates.

SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong has constantly called on banks to cut operating costs and improve administrative procedures so as to reduce lending interest rates.

Expert Can Van Luc said enterprises should look to other capital mobilisation channels instead of relying too much on bank loans.

Source: VNA   LINK

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Henig:  Vietnam sees Russia as prioritised partner: NA official

07:12 | 18/02/2023

National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh held talks with visiting First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of Federal Assembly of Russia (upper house) Andrey Yatskin in Hanoi on February 17, during which the host underlined that Russia is one of the prioritised and most important partners in Vietnam’s external policy.

National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh held talks with visiting First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of Federal Assembly of Russia (upper house) Andrey Yatskin in Hanoi on February 17, during which the host underlined that Russia is one of the prioritised and most important partners in Vietnam’s external policy.

Dinh, who is also Chairman of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group, affirmed that Vietnam always remembers and treasures the support that Russia has given to Vietnam in the past struggle for national liberation and current national development.

He said that Vietnam hopes to continue the substantial and effective cooperation with Russia in all areas for the interest of both sides.

Highlighting the high level of political trust between the two countries, Dinh spoke highly of the mutual support between the two sides at multilateral mechanisms, and thanked Russia for supporting Vietnam to run for a seat at the UN Human Right Council for the 2023-2025 tenure.

The host affirmed that Vietnam supports Russia’s active and constructive role in the region and the world, and is willing to help connect Russia and ASEAN.

He proposed that Russia consider the adjustments and upgrading of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), towards giving more favourable conditions for bilateral partnership. The two sides should continue to work together to remove non-tarrif barriers in bilateral trade, especially in agriculture.

For his part, Yatskin, who is also head of the Russian Federation Council’s group for cooperation with the NA of Vietnam, expressed his delight at the strong trust between the two countries with resumed the exchange of delegations at all level after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the regular meetings and mutual support within the framework of multilateral cooperation mechanisms.

Regarding cooperation in the parliamentary channel, the two sides agreed that this is one of the important pillars in Vietnam-Russia relations. The relations among legislative bodies of the two sides have expanded even amid the pandemic, with telephone talks held between the Vietnamese NA leader and the Speaker of the Federal Council of Russia, and many bilateral meetings on the sidelines of multilateral inter-parliamentary forums, they said.

Both sides have actively implemented their cooperation agreement signed in 2012, they said, noting that parliamentarians of the two sides have maintained consultations and cooperation within inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UPU), the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (WCSP), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), and the Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries' Parliaments (MSEAP).

Dinh said that the 12-member Vietnam - Russia Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group hopes to strengthen relations with its Russian peer, contributing to promoting ties between the two parliaments and the two countries.

The two sides agreed to increase the exchange of delegations between the two legislatures and the sharing of legislative experience as well as mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums.

They pledged to strengthen coordination in supervising the implementation of collaboration deals signed between the two Governments, and work closely with relevant agencies of both sides to organise activities to mark the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and the 100th year of President Ho Chi Minh’s arrival in Russia.

The two countries' legislatures should work together to create favourable conditions for the two Governments, as well as localities and businesses of both sides to boost their partnership, they said. The two friendship parliamentarians’ groups should also improve their connections to promote their role in strengthening ties between the two legislatures.

At the talks, Yatskin lauded Vietnam’s achievements in socio-economic development, especially the country’s success in maintaining economic stability and speeding economic recovery and growth during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: VNA LINK

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Henig:  Joint campaign launched to reduce plastic waste in Việt Nam's tourism sector

10:00 | 18/02/2023

A new campaign aimed at reducing plastic waste in Việt Nam's tourism industry was launched on Thursday, signalling the country's commitment to its sustainable development goals and environmental protection.

The joint effort is led by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Vietnam Tourism Association, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Việt Nam.

The campaign encourages individuals and organisations in charge of cultural, sports, and tourism venues to reduce and eliminate single-use plastic and waste disposal. Tourists, visitors, and local communities are also advised to use environmentally-friendly products and technology.

According to ISPONRE's Deputy Director, Nguyễn Trung Thắng, while there are support policies for waste recycling, there is still a lack of specific guidelines on technology selection, solid waste treatment, national technical standards on recycling, and access to incentives stated in the 2020 environmental protection law.

To perfect the laws and policies on plastic waste management in Việt Nam, Thắng believes that there must be detailed regulations and guidelines on the roadmap to reduce the production and import of single-use plastic, non-biodegradable plastic packaging, plastic waste sorting, as well as on the extended liability of manufacturers on the packaging.

Specific regulations on incentives for recycling and reusing plastic waste, harnessing energy from the waste treatment process, and consuming post-processed products must also be established.

Economic tools such as adjusting the environmental protection tax could also aid in managing plastic waste.

UNDP representative Nguyễn Thị Thu Huyền stated that plastic waste pollution is a major global challenge due to its negative impacts on the environment, particularly on marine life.

Many countries worldwide have introduced initiatives to call for global actions on plastic pollution, taking into account legal compliance.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính approved a project in August 2021 on the country's active participation in forming a global treaty on marine plastic pollution.

Hà Văn Siêu, deputy director of the National Administration of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, believes that the "Reducing Plastic Waste in Vietnamese Tourism Sector" project will help raise awareness among all levels and departments, businesses, locals, and tourists on the matter.

Initiatives and solutions to reduce plastic waste will be piloted at several restaurants, hotels, and tourist attractions in Ninh Bình and Quảng Nam provinces before being scaled to the national level.

The project has been granted funding from the UNDP's Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme for operations in 2023 and 2024.

It will also help build, pilot, and issue criteria to recognise no-plastic tourism businesses, an action plan to reduce plastic waste in tourism, and an application on plastic waste management.

Regulations to reduce plastic waste in tourism were introduced in Decision No. 4216/QĐ-BVHTTDL, which promulgates the code of conduct for environmental protection in culture, sports, and tourism activities.

Source: VNS    LINK

Henig:  Repairs for undersea internet cables to last from March to April

Domestic internet service providers said on February 7 that the Network Operation Center (NOC) Services announced the repairs scheduled for three broken undersea cables that have resulted in slowed connections in Vietnam in the last few weeks.

VNA Wednesday, February 08, 2023 19:27  

Hanoi (VNA) - Domestic internet service providers said on February 7 that the Network Operation Centre (NOC) Services announced the repairs scheduled for three broken undersea cables that have resulted in slowed connections in Vietnam in the last few weeks.

Four out of five submarine internet cables connecting Vietnam and the world are simultaneously seeing issues, an unprecedented occurrence.

According to the plan, the disruption on the S6 line of the Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) cable will undergo fixes between March 22-27, while repairs on the S9 line will be conducted on April 5-9.

The ruptures on the Asia, America Gateway (AAG) will be repaired between March 30 and April 4.

Repairs for the 6,800km Intra Asia cable are slated for mid-March, as registration and licensing of ships for the maintenance of the line are still underway.

There is also a problem with the Asia-Africa-Euro 1 (AAE-1) cable near Hong Kong (China) but the NOC has not announced a repair timeline.

This means that internet connection quality between Vietnam and the world will only improve towards the end of March, even mid-April.

The only undersea cable that is still operating normally is the Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 3 (SMW-3), but this is an old cable with low capacity and does not contribute much to Vietnam's internet traffic to overseas servers.

There have been about 10 incidents on undersea fibre optic cables each year in the last decade. A representative of the Vietnam Internet Association said that incidents on fibre optic lines are not rare but also unpredictable.

Previously, when only one or two cable lines had problems concurrently, Vietnamese internet providers could quickly offload internet traffic between cable lines.

Currently, land-based internet cables cannot be upgraded quickly due to equipment limitations and other factors.

Troubleshooting on undersea fibre optic cables depends heavily on the severity of the problem, the weather at sea, the time it takes to get permission to access the waters of countries to carry out repairs, and many other factors. Therefore, instability and slow connection speeds will persist in the weeks to come.

Representatives of major network operators in Vietnam - including Viettel, VNPT and FPT - are committed to actively working with cable managers and international partners to quickly handle and ensure service provision for customers.

VNA   LINK

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Henig:  Chemical industry applies top technologies

06:00 | 17/02/2023

(VEN) - Enterprises in Vietnam’s chemical industry have applied new technical solutions and production methods, technological innovations and product diversification.

According to the Science and Technology Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), many advanced technologies have been researched and applied into chemical industry production with good results. Specifically, production of superphosphate or fused phosphate fertilizers by Lam Thao Fertilizers and Chemicals JSC (LAFCHEMCO) has reduced coal and electricity consumption, emissions and noise, while also helping the company source raw materials, reduce production costs, and increase prestige by expanding exports to demanding markets.

A project by Pham Quang Tuyen of LAFCHEMCO adopting technological solutions for treating acid H2SiF6 to reduce environmental treatment costs was awarded first VIFOTEC (Vietnam Fund for Supporting Technological Creations) prize in 2017. Another project to improve the quality of fused phosphate fertilizer has met the domestic demand and export requirements to Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and more.

In processing and manufacturing rubber products, Da Nang Rubber Joint Stock Company has effectively applied results of research projects for the production of tires for bicycles, motorcycles and automobiles; while the Sao Vang Rubber JSC researched and manufactured tubeless inflatable aircraft tires – a completely new technology in Vietnam. Similarly, the Southern Rubber JSC has researched the production process of tubes for motorcycles and industrial vehicles using butyl rubber. The product has more dominant technical features compared to the same type of tires made of natural rubber in terms of air tightness, heat resistance, longevity as well as weight.

In the production of basic chemicals, Can Tho Fertilizer and Chemical JSC has successfully applied technology to produce Zeolite 4A products with 99 percent purity for detergent production, aquaculture, cosmetic chemicals, and industrial catalysts. Meanwhile, the Southern Chemicals JSC researched solutions to improve the efficiency of using excess heat from the sulfuric acid production chain to produce steam and hot gas, reducing the consumption of fuel oil (FO) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In addition, the South Basic Chemicals JSC and Viet Tri Chemical JSC have researched and produced PAC (Poly Aluminum Chloride) products of high quality at low prices, which can compete with imported PAC products from China.

In the chemical pharmaceutical industry, too, various research results have been commercialized, launching products of the same quality as imported goods at competitive prices. These include Cebraton softgels produced by Traphaco JSC for blood pressure control; ASAKOYA sedative products by Mediplantex National Pharmaceutical JSC to treat insomnia, and Gac oil products of Vimedimex Medi – Pharma JSC.

By viewing science and technology as a fundamental factor for the growth and efficiency of production and trading activities, the chemical industry has renovated technologies, machinery and equipment, and improved its research capacity.

Quynh Nga   LINK

Friday "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 2-17-2023

KTFA:  Vietnam

Henig:  Đà Lạt plans to open casinos, new night market at tourist destinations

07:00 | 17/02/2023

Đà Lạt has proposed to Lâm Đồng Province that the city open food markets, new night markets, and casinos in the Valley of Love and other tourist destinations as part of its night-time economy development project.

The Đà Lạt People’s Committee plans to open a musical park at a city flower garden, and a food market in the area of Trần Lê and Hoàng Văn Thụ streets. Business hours of cafes, cinemas, and shopping centres will be lengthened to increase sales.

In the period of 2023 to 2030, a 1,600-metre walking street on Trần Quốc Toản Street will be opened. A new, modern night market located in the city’s Light Park will also replace the current one on Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street.

There will be different programmes and activities in each location to stimulate local demand and tourism.

The city also proposed to let Thành Công Lâm Đồng Tourism Joint Stock Company develop a night-time economy complex, including shophouses and casinos at the Valley of Love and other destinations.

The city’s night-time development project aims to reduce heavy traffic in the city centre, exploit the potential local economy, and bring positive changes to its tourism.

Source: vietnamnews.vn    LINK

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Henig:  Vietnamese collector successfully purchases royal seal

07:00 | 17/02/2023

Authorities are carrying out procedures for the repatriation of the seal to Việt Nam in accordance with the laws of both nations.

A Vietnamese collector from the northern province of Bắc Ninh has spent €6.1 million (US$6.5 million) purchasing the Nguyễn Dynasty imperial seal from a French auction house.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the purchaser of the gold seal is Nguyễn Thế Hồng, Chairman of Bắc Ninh Antiquities Association. He has covered all the expenses for negotiating with Millon Auction House with regard to the seal’s authenticity and repatriation, under the timely sponsorship of the Vietnamese Government and relevant ministries, branches and agencies.

The contract to purchase the seal was signed with Millon on January 13 in France. Authorities are carrying out procedures for the repatriation of the seal to Việt Nam in accordance with the laws of both nations. It is expected to return at the end of April.

Hồng is a real estate businessman. He also established the Nam Hồng Royal Museum in Từ Sơn District, Bắc Ninh Province, which displays the artifacts he has collected, from bronze antiques and ceramics to wooden furniture.

One item in his collection, the Đông Sơn Bronze Jar dating back between 2,200 and 2,300 years ago, was recognised as a national treasure in January.

In November last year, Việt Nam announced that the negotiation for the seal’s return had been successful "in the spirit of consensus and understanding between the two sides and the friendly cooperation relationship between Việt Nam and France".

On October 19, Millon announced its auction of 329 antiquities, including two dating back to the Nguyễn Dynasty – a golden seal made in 1823 and a golden bowl made under the reign of King Khải Định (1917 - 1925). The auction of the seal was deferred twice by the Paris-based auction house due to "the strong interest of the Vietnamese State", as they announced on their website.

According to the French auction house, the gold square seal is 10.4 centimetres high and weighs 10.78 kilograms. It was passed down from the second king of Nguyễn Dynasty, Minh Mạng (1791-1841) to its last, King Bảo Đại (1913-1997).

Its handle is in the form of a coiled dragon with a raised head. The dragon's forehead is engraved with the word Vương (Emperor) which symbolises the emperor's supreme power, and each of its legs has five claws. The phrase Hoàng Đế Chi Bảo (Treasure of The Emperor) appears on the imperial seal.

Việt Nam’s Department of Cultural Heritage has confirmed that the seal is authentic.

According to Dr. Phan Thanh Hải, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, a member of the National Heritage Council, the Hoàng Đế Chi Bảo gold seal is extremely valuable in terms of culture and history.

"That a private collector has spent all the money to purchase and bring the artifact back home is really a good sign in the process of socialising heritage conservation and promotion activities," he told Thanh Niên (Youth) Newspaper.

Source: vietnamnews.vn   LINK

Henig:  Horticultural, floricultural technology expo attracts 200 brands

February, 16/2023 - 14:55

HortEx Vietnam 2023, the fifth international exhibition and conference for horticultural and floricultural production and processing technology in Việt Nam, will be held in HCM City’s Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre from March 1 to 3.

HCM CITY — HortEx Vietnam 2023, the fifth international exhibition and conference for horticultural and floricultural production and processing technology in Việt Nam, will be held in HCM City’s Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre from March 1 to 3.

The exhibition has attracted nearly 200 exhibitors from 25 countries and territories, including Belgium, mainland China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, and the host Việt Nam, with those from Egypt and the UK attending the show for the first time.

There will be national pavilions of the Netherlands, Turkey, Taiwan, and Việt Nam. This year, the Netherlands is a “partner country” at the expo, with the participation of 30 Dutch companies under the Netherlands pavilion organised by the Netherlands Embassy in Hà Nội.

In addition to showcasing equipment and technologies for the vegetable, flower and fruit industries, the expo will feature seminars, a fruit and vegetable export forum, Grower Talks, B2B business matchmaking, a flower showcase, a premium fruit showcase and other activities.

To facilitate farmers to have access to new technologies and products from all over the world, the organising committee will provide free shuttle buses for delegations of 40 people or more from provinces to visit the exhibition and attend the seminar.

HortEx Vietnam has become the largest professional meeting place in Southeast Asia for businesses and experts in horticultural and floricultural industry, and helps Vietnamese businesses access advanced technology in the world and expand export markets, said Nguyễn Bá Vinh, director of Minh Vi Exhibition & Advertising Services Company Limited (VEAS), one of the expo’s organisers.

Jointly organised by VEAS, Nova Exhibitions BV Company (Netherlands), and China Great Wall International Exhibition Co., Ltd, the exhibition is expected to attract 8,000 trade visitors.

Đặng Phúc Nguyên, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association, said Việt Nam has the potential to become one of the major fruit exporters for the world. The country has an area of 1.2 million hectares of fruit growing, with total output of about 12 million tonnes a year.

Vegetables and fruit export revenue is over US$3.5 billion per year, he said.

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  US, Việt Nam to counter wildlife trafficking through sea ports

09:27 | 16/02/2023

The growing demand for endangered, exotic, and protected wildlife drives a global illegal market, valued at more than US$20 billion per year.

Ninety per cent of the world trade is seaborne and an estimated 72-90 per cent of illicit wildlife volumes are trafficked through maritime transport, meaning detecting and intercepting wildlife shipments at maritime ports is critical.

The figures were revealed on February 14 at a workshop on ‘Strengthening inspection, detection, investigation and handling illegal wildlife trade through seaports', co-hosted by the Management Board for Forestry Projects under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD); the General Department of Việt Nam Customs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), US Department of State, USAID. The conference draw the participation of customs representatives from major seaport authorities in HCM City, Hải Phòng, Đà Nẵng, Quy Nhơn and TRAFFIC.

The workshop provided participants with information on the maritime cargo inspection and screening procedures to control and detect wildlife trafficking, including the Customs Container Control Programme, technology interventions to improve detection rates, including new x-ray innovations supported by USAID and the US Department of State, and new guidelines on wildlife trafficking adopted by the International Maritime Organisation.

Examples of interdepartmental, international, and cross-sector coordination and cooperation in countering wildlife trafficking, opportunities and the latest trends of this transnational crime were also highlighted.

“Wildlife trafficking is a cross-border, transnational crime. We focus on capacity building and supporting stakeholders of Việt Nam, including customs and port authorities, to effectively and responsibly enforce international treaties,” said director of the Management Board for Forestry Projects (MBFP), Đỗ Quang Tùng.

Thought to be the world’s largest known ivory seizure, in March 2019 Việt Nam Customs seized over nine tonnes of ivory at Đà Nẵng port. The seizure represents over 1,000 elephants and brought the amount of ivory seized in Việt Nam since 2004 to over 70 tonnes.

“Countering wildlife trafficking is a global priority for the US Government. USAID supports interagency collaboration, transboundary cooperation, and reforms to policies and practices to ensure transnational wildlife crime is prevented,” said Annie Wallace, director of Office of Climate Change, Energy and Environment, USAID Việt Nam.

Participants highlighted opportunities to strengthen the detection and interception of wildlife trafficking cases after a tour at Đà Nẵng port.

"Wildlife trafficking is a growing concern globally, threatening not only biodiversity but also ecosystems vital for climate change mitigation, domestic and international economies. Investigating and intercepting the perpetrators of this illegal trade is a challenge, requiring coordination and collaboration between enforcement agencies and the maritime shipping industry. Through USAID’s Saving Threatened Wildlife project, we aim to change the perception that trafficking wildlife to Việt Nam is a low risk, high reward activity," said Michelle Owen, Chief of Party - Saving Threatened Wildlife, WWF.

Supported by USAID and implemented under the Ministry of Agriculture of Rural Development (MARD) by WWF, TRAFFIC and ENV, the Saving Threatened Wildlife project supports efforts to counter wildlife trafficking.

USAID partners with MARD to assist Việt Nam’s customs and seaport authorities to use technology to counter wildlife trafficking.

USAID’s Saving Threatened Wildlife project, implemented by WWF, convened agencies to discuss tools and technology that combat wildlife trafficking through improved detection and interception at maritime ports.

Source: VNS   LINK

Henig:  Market extends rallies on back of bank stocks

February, 17/2023 - 05:18

The index claimed back nearly 20 points after falling for fourth straight session due to strong selling pressure.

HÀ NỘI — Shares settled higher on Thursday, boosted mainly by banking stocks while foreign investors continued to run away from the market.

The market's benchmark VN-Index gained 10.09 points, 0.96 per cent, to end the day at 1,058.29 points. The index claimed back nearly 20 points after falling for the fourth straight session due to strong selling pressure.

The market's breadth was positive as the number of stocks adding points outnumbered those performing negatively. Specifically, 251 ticker symbols advanced, while 61 stocks went down.

However, liquidity declined over the previous session.

The index's rallies were thanks to gains in large-cap stocks, especially in the banking sector. The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on the southern bourse, increased by 11.92 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 1,055.26 points.

Twenty-six stocks of the VN30 basket rose, while only two declined. And two stocks stayed flat.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also inched higher on Thursday. It closed the trading session at 210.84 points, an increase of 2.87 points, or 1.38 per cent.

During the session, more than 70.1 million shares were traded on HNX, worth more than 1.2 trillion (US$473.1 million).

Of the top five stocks dominating the market trend, there were three bank stocks, led by BIDV (BID) with a gain of nearly 2.3 per cent. The other two stocks were Vietinbank (CTG) and VPBank (VPB), up 2.77 and 1.74 per cent, respectively.

Hòa Phát Group (HPG)'s and Vingroup (VIC)'s positive performances also lifted the market's sentiment.

On the other hand, foreign capital continued to exit the market as foreign investors net sold VNĐ109.54 billion on the main southern exchange HoSE. They net bought VNĐ16.72 billion on HNX.

VNS   LINK

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Henig:    Attracting green investment in southeast region

06:00 | 16/02/2023

(VEN) - Sustainable development orientation is on the rise, helping Vietnam remain competitive and advance its green economy. Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau are developing strategies to boost "green" foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region.

Leaders in attracting FDI

Attracting foreign direct investment is a major Party and State policy that contributes to the achievement of socioeconomic development goals. With the existing advantages and appropriate investment attraction plan, provinces in the southeast are leading the country in terms of FDI attraction in the country.

After more than 30 years of attracting FDI, Ho Chi Minh City has become the economic, financial, commercial, science-technology and innovation hub of the area and the country. The city has attracted US$55.8 billion in FDI, accounting for 12.7 percent of the country's total. It has efficiently utilized 18 export processing zones, industrial parks, and high-tech zones, contributing to economic growth, exports, state budget revenue, and country-wide employment.

Binh Duong Province has made significant strides in attracting FDI by concentrating on solutions to improve the investment climate and consistently enhancing competitiveness. As a result, Binh Duong attracted US$3.1 billion in 2022, nearly double its goal. Binh Duong has so far attracted 4,082 FDI projects worth a total of US$39.7 billion from 65 countries and territories, with a rapid investment growth in high technology, environmentally friendly, less labor intensive and high added value sectors.

Dong Nai Province has attracted 1,551 investment projects worth almost US$33 billion from 43 nations and territories. The Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and Japan have become the biggest foreign investors in Dong Nai. According to Nguyen Thi Hoang, Vice Chair of the Dong Nai Province People's Committee, FDI inflows are crucial to the province's socioeconomic growth and contribute to the economic restructuring of the industrial sector.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province drew more than US$1.3 billion in FDI in 2022, bringing the total to over US$30 billion in 446 FDI projects, placing it fourth in the country in FDI attraction.

Green capital attraction

Many communities in the southeast are keen to attract green-oriented foreign direct investment in order to meet the demands of sustainable development. Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Chair, Phan Van Mai, has stated that the city will prioritize industrial development based on high technology and a digital economy, with an emphasis on developing industries that have a high science and technology content. The city's export processing zones and industrial parks are undergoing a gradual transition toward high-tech industrial parks.

Notably, in March 2022, Binh Duong Province began development of the Vietnam- Singapore Industrial Park III (VSIP III) on an area of 1,000 hectares, with total capital of more than VND6.4 trillion to attract green FDI. Following the global trend, this industrial park was developed and funded with a focus on sustainability.

The trend of sustainable development, or green industry, is becoming clearer than ever in Vietnam. Vo Van Minh, Chair of the Binh Duong Province People's Committee, affirmed that the province is focusing on developing green industry and industry with high added value. Similarly, in order to be ready to welcome hoped-for green FDI investment, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces are also changing policies to prioritize high-tech and sustainable projects.

High-quality foreign investment capital to green Vietnam’s economy is crucial given the growing interest of developed nation consumers not only in product design and quality, but also in eco-friendly goods. Therefore, the growth of green industries becomes an essential aspect in Vietnam's investment competition.

Thanh Minh    LINK

Some "Vietnam News" Posted by Henig at KTFA Thuesday 2-16-2023

KTFA: Vietnam:

Hanig:  Minister asks India to open market for farm produce

February, 16/2023 - 07:44

Việt Nam hopes India will speed up the opening of its market for Việt Namese farm produce and fresh fruit, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên proposed during his reception of Indian Ambassador to Việt Nam Sandeep Arya in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam hopes India will speed up the opening of its market for farm produce and fresh fruit, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên proposed during his reception for Indian Ambassador to Việt Nam Sandeep Arya in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

Highlighting that Việt Nam is rich in tropical fruits, but only dragon fruit has reached the Indian market, Minister Diên asked for the Indian diplomat’s support in hastening the import licensing process for Vietnamese fruits, initially longan, pomelo, rambutan and durian, and then for others such as avocado, coconut, watermelon and strawberry.

The Vietnamese official raised concerns about India's policy measures in recent years, including those against peppercorn, cashew nuts and incense sticks of Việt Nam, underlining that the measures may hinder trade activities between the two sides.

He suggested that the Indian ambassador convey these concerns of Việt Nam in particular and ASEAN countries in general to relevant authorities, while seeking suitable solutions on the basis of regulations and commitments in a multilateral framework, ensuring the legitimate interests of all parties.

Diên hailed the role of the ambassador in promoting the partnership between the two countries, especially in trade, industry and energy. He expressed his hope that the diplomat will make greater contributions to the growth of the Việt Nam-India comprehensive strategic partnership in the time to come.

Both sides shared delight at the expanding bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation over the years, with India becoming the largest investor and trade partner of Việt Nam in the South Asian region.

Two-way trade reached only US$15 billion in 2022, up 13.6 per cent year on year but accounting for only 2 per cent of the total trade of Việt Nam and the world, they noted.

They held that with the sound political and diplomatic relations, high cooperation potential and large international scale of both sides, there is still room for both sides to further promote their bilateral trade.

Diên asked for India’s close coordination in preventing the disruption of the supply and production chain in the region and the world.

The two sides should increase trade promotion programmes and activities to connect businesses of the two countries, the Vietnamese minister said.

For his part, Ambassador Sandeep Arya said that Việt Nam is the most important trade partner of India among the ASEAN countries, and the Vietnamese and Indian economies can supplement each other. Việt Nam is also India’s important partner within its Indo-Pacific Vision and Act East Policy, he said.

He spoke highly of the economic cooperation potential between the two countries, especially in renewable energy, oil and gas, information technology, digital economy and pharmaceuticals, which will lead to abundant collaboration opportunities between the two sides at present and in the future.

The diplomat agreed with measures to strengthen the bilateral economic and trade ties proposed by Diên, especially those on preventing the disruption of supply chains, strengthening trade promotion and expanding the trade of farm produce.

Regarding India's trade-restrictive policy measures, Ambassador Sandeep Arya pledged that he will discuss the issue with relevant Indian agencies to seek positive solutions.

As both sides are preparing for high-level visits in 2023, they should promptly deal with existing problems in bilateral economic and trade partnership, he underlined.

He agreed to organise the next meeting of the Việt Nam-India joint sub-committee on trade cooperation in New Delhi in the first half of 2023 before the organisation of the Việt Nam-India Joint Committee’s meeting and visits of leaders of the two countries this year.

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  SBV to prioritise credit for production, business in HCM City

February, 16/2023 - 10:22

The State Bank of Việt Nam’s (SBV) HCM City branch will continue to prioritise credit for production and business, especially in priority sectors, to boost economic recovery.

HCM CITY — The State Bank of Việt Nam’s (SBV) HCM City branch will continue to prioritise credit for production and business, especially in priority sectors, to boost economic recovery.

Nguyễn Đức Lệnh, deputy director of the SBV’s HCM City branch, said the credit flow would be directed to priority sectors while credit quality would also be improved.

Priority fields include agriculture, rural areas, exports, small and medium-sized enterprises, supporting industries, high-tech enterprises, and others.

Credit institutions must also ensure stable liquidity, safe banking operations, and strictly control credit from potentially risky areas, according to Lệnh.

Credit growth in the city has focused on production and business to support economic recovery, accounting for 60-70 per cent of the total outstanding loans, said Lệnh.

Last December, the SBV lifted the credit growth target by 1.5-2 percentage points for 2022 from its earlier target of 14 per cent, allowing lenders to lend an additional VNĐ240 trillion (US$9.7 billion).

Interest rates remain high

Economist Lê Xuân Nghĩa, a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, said interest rates are still too high, despite the central bank calling on banks to cut lending rates to support enterprises.

Deposit interest rates at banks have surged to as much as 12 per cent per year, pushing lending interest rates up to 15-16 per cent a year, he said.

If the inflation rate is around 4 per cent, the savings interest rates should be around 6-7 per cent per year, he added.

Experts have predicted the deposit interest rate will remain high at least until June and that deposit rates would peak in the first half of 2023 with an increase of 1-1.5 percentage points.

Recently, the Việt Nam Banks Association called on commercial banks to keep deposit interest rates at 9.5 per cent or below to reduce lending interest rates.

Commercial banks started lowering deposit interest rates early this month and cut further last week, raising hope of a drop in lending rates.

SBV Governor Nguyễn Thị Hồng has constantly called on banks to cut operating costs and improve administrative procedures so as to reduce lending interest rates.

Expert Cấn Văn Lực said enterprises should look to other capital mobilisation channels instead of relying too much on bank loans.

— VNS    LINK

HenigL   VN-Index to increase by over 20 per cent this year: VinaCapital

February, 16/2023 - 09:43

The rally in Vietnamese stocks still has a long way to go, with the consensus expecting the VN-Index to increase by over 20 per cent this year, Michael Kokalari, chief economist at investment fund VinaCapital, has said in a recent report.

HCM CITY — The rally in Vietnamese stocks still has a long way to go, with the consensus expecting the VN-Index to increase by over 20 per cent this year, Michael Kokalari, chief economist at investment fund VinaCapital, has said in a recent report.

The index surged by 10.3 per cent in January, driven by an easing of concerns about the credit crunch and corporate bond market, which were the main reasons for a 33 per cent fall in 2022, and by a resurgence in foreign buying.

The 10 per cent increase outpaced the 4 per cent average in Asian emerging market peers (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines) though admittedly the low-base effect was in play since the decline in Việt Nam’s stock market last year was much greater.

The biggest contributor to the increase was an average 15 per cent rise in the prices of bank shares, which accounted for nearly half of the index’s gains.

It was due in part to an easing of concerns that corporations (especially property developers) will face challenges rolling over or redeeming US$13 billion worth of maturing bonds this year, which could have created significant issues for banks, which hold nearly $10 billion worth of bonds.

“Notwithstanding all of the above, we also see some evidence that the rebound in bank share prices was also driven by a rotation out of the best performing stocks in 2022 and into the worst performing stocks,” Kokalari said.

Over half the stocks that drove the increase in January were among the 20 that pulled the index down the most last year, and those 20 contributed a third of the market’s increase, he said.

Foreign inflows rebounded in November-January, partly because the market’s valuation had reached its lowest level in nearly ten years, with a P/E ratio of below 10x. Foreign investors bought $1.3 billion of stocks in November-January, including $179 million in January alone.

The stock that foreigners bought the most in January was steel producer Hòa Phát Group (HPG). Foreigners are hopeful that China’s reopening would also lead to a revival of construction in that country and that Việt Nam’s Government would follow through on its ambitious plans to increase infrastructure spending by 50 per cent this year (to $30 billion), Kokalari said.

Finally, a modest decline in the value of the US dollar/DXY Index helped boost Asia emerging stock markets in January, another factor that helped drive the VN-Index higher, he added.

“We remain cautiously optimistic that the Vietnamese market will move higher in 2023, even after the strong start.

“We also believe that while many of the stocks that drove the market higher in January will be decent performers this year, much of this year’s performance will come from stocks that did not have a very strong January, and that select mid- and small-cap stocks will be very attractive the next 12 months.”

He said stock selection will continue to be important this year because 2023 will not be a simple beta rally. Active managers like VinaCapital have an opportunity to outperform the VNI and deliver a better risk-adjusted return, he said.

— VNS   LINK

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Henig:  Bình Dương Province attracts second most FDI in Việt Nam

February, 16/2023 - 09:23

Bình Dương Province as of the end of 2022 has attracted more than 4,082 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with nearly US$40 billion of registered funds, ranking it among the top two provinces in the country in FDI attraction, just after HCM City.

BÌNH DƯƠNG — Bình Dương Province as of the end of 2022 has attracted more than 4,082 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with nearly US$40 billion of registered funds, ranking it among the top two provinces in the country in FDI attraction, just after HCM City.

HCM City and Bình Dương were the leading localities in FDI attraction in 2022 with $3.94 billion and $3.14 billion, respectively.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's (MPI) Foreign Investment Agency, the southeast region will continue to be the major FDI magnet of the country in 2023. This year, the country may lure about $36-38 billion in FDI.

Bình Dương has estimated its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate at 8.01 per cent and GRDP per capital at VNĐ170 million ($7,100), according to the provincial People’s Committee.

Bình Dương's total import and export turnover hit nearly $61.5 billion, of which, exports reached $35.7 billion, up 9 per cent year-on-year, resulting in a trade surplus of $10 billion. Total social investment capital reached over VNĐ154.5 trillion, up 12.9 per cent year-on-year.

Denmark was the biggest investor of Bình Dương with $1.32 billion, followed by the Netherlands with $609 million, and China at $258 million.

Preben Enef, general director of LEGO Vietnam Technology Co. Ltd. (Denmark), which is investing $1.3 billion in a toy factory in Bình Dương, appreciated the support from leaders of the province as well as ministries for the construction of the project.

The locality’s post-pandemic recovery and development efforts have also gained applause from the Republic of Korea Chamber of Commerce (KOCHAM) office in Bình Dương and the European Chamber of Commerce (EUROCHAM) in Việt Nam.

In recent years, Bình Dương has spent large amount of money to improve road infrastructure to enhance transport connectivity with HCM City and nearby provinces, develop concentrated industrial zones and attract workers from provinces and cities around the country.

Early this year, Secretary of the Bình Dương Party's Committee Nguyễn Văn Lợi directed departments and relevant units to speed up the construction and upgrade progress of National Highway 13 from six lanes to eight lanes to improve the connectivity of the province and HCM City.

National Highway 13 not only plays the role of the "backbone" traffic axis of the province's transport system, but is also an arterial route connecting HCM City to Bình Phước and the Central Highlands provinces.

The province also plans to expand and upgrade the Mỹ Phước - Tân Vạn expressway and provincial highways No. 743, 747B and 746, which will improve transport to Đồng Nai Province and HCM City.

The upgrade of Mỹ Phước - Tân Vạn expressway is one of the key projects because it connects urban areas and industrial parks, and opens up a freight corridor along the North - South backbone axis parallel to National Highway 13.

This will create favourable conditions for access to Cái Mép - Thị Vải Port in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province and the Long Thành International Airport in the future, according to the construction department.

The widening of major roads such as National Highway 13 and Mỹ Phước - Tân Vạn between concentrated industrial zones has eased travel to ports.

The province is always looking to develop transport infrastructure to help ship goods to other provinces and abroad.

It plans to further improve transport connectivity by developing waterways and, in the future, create a rail link to transport goods to ports in HCM City and Đồng Nai Province.

— VNS   LINK

Wednesday "Vietnamese News" Posted by Henig at KTFA 2-15-2023

KTFA: Vietnam

Henig:  E-commerce market achieves major breakthrough

06:00 | 15/02/2023

(VEN) - The value of Vietnam's e-commerce market is expected to reach US$40 billion by 2027, representing growth of 28 percent - the highest expansion rate in Southeast Asia, according to the conclusion of Meta and Bain & Company's annual SYNC Southeast Asia study on the digital economy and the future of e-commerce in the region.

Double-digit growth

Vietnam’s e-commerce market is predicted to record 28 percent growth, the highest rate among Southeast Asian nations, and reach US$40 billion by 2027. The average contribution of e-commerce to total retail has continued to increase at 15 percent, accounting for six percent of Vietnam’s total retail value.

Khoi Le, Meta's Vietnam Country Director, said Southeast Asia's e-commerce market has many opportunities in terms of userbase. Vietnam recorded an increase of four million digital consumers in 2022. Eight out of ten individuals of working age are digital consumers. This means there are 60 million active digital consumers in Vietnam.

According to the White Book on Vietnamese E-Business 2022 released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, the size of Vietnam's e-commerce retail sector was expected to increase by 20 percent in 2022, reaching approximately US$16.4 billion. In addition, it is anticipated that between 57 and 60 million Vietnamese engage in online shopping, spending US$260-285 per capita.

This outcome is a result of Vietnam's utilization of the e-commerce development trend and the completion of a progressive regulatory framework governing online buying activities. Since the issuance of Government Decree 52/2013/ND-CP on e-commerce, revenues from retail e-commerce have climbed from US$2.2 billion in 2013 to US$16.4 billion in 2022.

Completing the payment system

According to the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, e-commerce promotes the growth of electronic payments because 90 percent of goods and products purchased on e-commerce floors are paid for online using bank cards. Despite the pandemic, internet and mobile phone transactions in Vietnam increased by 238 percent.

In its forecast for Vietnam's e-commerce business, the professional team of e-commerce portal iPrice emphasized the relevance of e-commerce in the future. In addition, the iPrice expert team identified several major trends. These include tailoring the shopper experience as consumers become increasingly reliant on e-commerce companies to help them find the things they need while also streamlining the supply chain to reduce delivery time and improve product quality.

The second trend is the development of cashless transactions. According to a survey by Facebook and Bain & Company, the rate of cash payments (Cash on Delivery) in Vietnam declined from 60 percent in 2020 to 42 percent in 2021, while e-wallet usage increased by up to 82 percent, compared to an 18 percent rise in bank transfers.

Implementing the 2021-2025 National E-commerce Development Master Plan, Vietnam's industry and trade sector will continue to collaborate with banks to develop e-commerce in the next years, creating favorable conditions for e-commerce platforms.

Specifically, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to improve the legal framework; promulgate policies, regulations, and implement comprehensive solutions to increase the rate of e-payment on mobile platforms and reduce the use of cash; develop infrastructure and solutions to support electronic transactions and integrate payments in e-commerce; and concentrate on the development of payment utilities on mobile platforms.

To create more favorable conditions for e-commerce, the ministry will continue to improve the legal framework and issue policies to increase the rate of electronic payments; provide infrastructure and solutions to support electronic transactions; and develop payment facilities such as e-wallets, QR code, NFC, and POS.

According to the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, as a result of increased coordination between state management agencies, Vietnam's e-commerce market will become increasingly comprehensive and transactionally secure. This development will foster consumer confidence in Vietnam, creating major breakthroughs in e-commerce between 2023 and 2025.

Viet Anh   LINK

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Henig:  Quang Binh: A land of endless mystery

13:00 | 14/02/2023

(VEN) - Tourism in Quang Binh, a coastal province in North-Central Vietnam, has gained international recognition due to the locality's reputation as the "Kingdom of Caves", its unique geological features and the enigmatic tales of its history and myths.

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh boasts thousands of caves within its 1,233 square kilometer boundaries, earning it the moniker "Kingdom of Caves". Over the past 30 years, the British Caving Association has investigated 400 caves and made stunning discoveries, giving rise to the description of the area’s “endless mystery”. 

 “Good Morning America from Son Doong”, an ABC Television program, was broadcast live in 2015 from En Cave in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, attracting 60 million viewers worldwide and spreading its reputation far and wide.

Since then, major media agencies from across the world have visited Quang Binh. The province subsequently teamed up with Legendary Pictures to produce “Kong: Skull Island”, a VND7 trillion investment with global impact. Quang Binh was also ranked eighth among 52 most enticing Asian locations by the New York Times Magazine. "The New York Times Travel Show has provided the province of Quang Binh a free booth in New York," says Nguyen Ngoc Quy, Director of the Quang Binh Department of Tourism. Other activities that have piqued broad interest include the Miss World Peace contest, which brought representatives of 80 countries to this "mysterious" land in September, and Alan Walker's "Alone Pt.2" music video, which has received hundreds of millions of views and is expected to reach nearly one billion views.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Quy, the BBC’s Landmark Natural History Series has filmed in Quang Binh and will reach an estimated 800 million people. A global Google Doodle celebration of Son Doong cave on April 14, 2022 was coordinated by Google Arts & Culture in 17 different countries and territories. “If you Google ‘Phong Nha’ or ‘Son Doong’ and click, you get detailed tourism information about the area. Our heritage is celebrated in 17 nations, " Nguyen Ngoc Quy remarked.

Architect Tran Ngoc Chinh, former Deputy Minister of Construction and President of the Vietnam Urban Development Planning Association, describes Quang Binh Province as a secure, alluring, and one-of-a-kind tourist destination. Quang Binh is a location with multiple opportunities and advantages for tourism development, a territory with historic traditions and valuable geological qualities. Phong Nha-Ke Bang cave, a twice-recognized UNESCO world natural heritage site, and Son Doong Cave have attracted a large number of businesses and tourists from all over the world.

In terms of natural resources for tourism development, Quang Binh is regarded as a leading locality nationwide. According to a recent survey of travelers performed by Booking.com, Quang Binh is one of the Vietnamese localities with the highest tourism competitiveness ranking.

UNESCO recognized Phong Nha Cave a World Natural Heritage site in 2003 and again in 2015, contributing further to Quang Binh's tourism economy.

Xuan Hoai   LINK

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Henig:  More Vietnamese farm products exported to Europe

11:30 | 15/02/2023

The central province of Quang Tri shipped its first batch of 15 tons of organic rice at a price of US$1,800 per ton to the European Union (EU) on February 13.

In the coming time, between 30 and 50 tons of this type of rice will be shipped to the European market every month.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced that the nation exported nearly 7.3 million tons of rice last year, earning US$3.54 billion, up 6.9 percent.

Viet Nam still has many opportunities to increase the export of agricultural products, including fruits and vegetables, to the EU as it is the only country in the Asia Pacific region that has a free trade agreement with the EU.

After the European-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into effect, the tax rate for many kinds of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables was reduced from 10-20 percent to zero.

The country has exported many kinds of fruits to the EU, including dragon fruit, passion fruit, coconut, durian, longan, lychee, mangosteen, and seedless lemon.

Earlier, the first batch of 11 tons of Dien pomelo from the Yen Thuy district was transported to the United Kingdom on February 9 by Longdan, the largest importer of Vietnamese products in this country.

Viet Nam has emerged as a major Southeast Asian supplier of farm produce and aquaculture products to the UK since the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) came into force on May 1, 2021.

As part of the UKVFTA, some 85.6 percent of tariff lines for goods imported by the UK from Viet Nam were eliminated in January 2021, and 99.2 percent will be removed by January 2027, according to the UK Department for International Trade.

The UK imports from Viet Nam amounted to US$6.06 billion last year, rising by 5.2 percent over 2021, reported the General Department of Viet Nam Customs.

Source: VGP    LINK

Henig:  More expressways to be built in the north central & central coastal region by 2025

08:00 | 15/02/2023

The Ministry of Transport has set a target of completing and putting into operation the eastern North-South expressway by 2025, bringing the total length of highways in the north central-central coastal region from 193km to 1,390 km, said Transport Minister Nguyễn Văn Thắng.

The ministry will also complete coastal roads.

According to Thắng, in the period of 2005-20, capital from the central and local budgets, and other sources to invest in transport infrastructure in the region reached about VNĐ246 trillion (US$10.5 billion).

As a result, the region's transport infrastructure system has changed markedly with many important works being built and put into operation.

In terms of roads, the Hồ Chí Minh Highway was put into operation while National Highway 1 was expanded and two projects of upgrading sections of La Sơn-Hoà Liên and Đà Nẵng-Quảng Ngãi on the North-South Expressway with a total length of 193km were carried out.

Regarding railways, 1,462 km of existing railways were upgraded to ensure connection of all localities in the region.

Meanwhile, in terms of maritime, the ministry invested into building nine first class seaports, four second class seaports and one third class seaport. Inland waterways are exploiting 11 routes with a total length of 670km, including the coastal waterway.

Regarding aviation, this is the region with the largest density of airports in the country, with five international airports and four domestic ones.

Along with the achieved results, the region's transport infrastructure system still has some shortcomings and inadequacies which have not met development needs.

The intra- and inter-regional transport infrastructure connecting the horizontal axis in the East-West direction is still limited. Railway connection with seaports has not been effective and some seaports and airports have not been exploited effectively, making it unable to promote its role as a hub for trans-shipment and transit of goods for the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) region and the Associate of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The main reason is the lack of linkages and synchronous planning, and investment plans for infrastructure development among localities in the region still lack in synchronisation do not pay attention to intra- and inter-regional connectivity.

In addition, investment resources have not met requirements, there are not yet strong enough mechanisms and policies to mobilise transport infrastructure investment, and the system of institutions and policies is still inadequate.

Thoroughly grasping the viewpoints and goals of the 13th Party Congress and Resolution No.26-NQ/TW with the goal that by 2030, the north central - central coastal region will reach a synchronous and modern socio-economic infrastructure, the Ministry of Transport will continue to closely coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to focus all resources on developing the region's transport infrastructure, Thắng said.

The ministry determines to complete and put into operation the eastern North-South expressway by 2025, increasing the total length of highways in the region from 193km to 1,390 km as well as complete coastal roads and renovate and upgrade existing national highways in the medium-term public investment portfolio.

By 2030, the sector will complete the horizontal axis expressways with large traffic such as Vinh - Thanh Thủy, Khánh Hoà Buôn Ma Thuột, call for investment in expressways of Cam Lộ - Lao Bảo, Đà Nẵng - Thạch Mỹ - Ngọc Hồi - Bờ Y and Quy Nhơn - Pleiku, and upgrade key national highways connecting East and West, especially those connecting with major seaports.

The current North-South railway will be further upgraded, along with preparations for investment to start the priority sections of the North-South high-speed railway, a railway connecting the region with Tây Nguyên region and international border gates of Vũng Áng - Mụ Gia and Mỹ Thụy - Lao Bảo, and the restoration of the tourism railway line of Tháp Chàm - Đà Lạt.

The ministry will focus on improving the efficiency of coastal waterway transport corridors and waterways connecting to seaports as well as building new airports at Phan Thiết and Quảng Trị and develop national, regional and international-standard logistics systems connecting with seaports, airports, international border gates and key economic corridors.

Source: VNS   LINK

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Henig:  Taking advantage of opportunities, promoting agricultural exports

08:00 | 15/02/2023

China’s reopening of border gates since January 8 to boost the trade of goods, including the trading of agricultural products, is good news for Vietnamese agricultural exporters. However, opportunities also go with challenges if businesses wish to effectively exploit this vast market.

To Ngoc Son, Deputy Director of the Asia-Africa Market Department (the Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that China is the leading important market and the number one trading partner of Vietnam. Import-export turnover between Vietnam and China reached 175.5 billion USD in 2022, accounting for 24% of Vietnam’s total import-export revenue.

Regarding the agricultural sector, China is the largest export market of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits (accounting for 53.7% of the total), cassava and cassava products (91.47%), and rubber (71%). China is also the third largest export market of Vietnamese seafood (after the US and Japan).

The leading important market

The China Customs has so far granted 2,492 product codes to enterprises producing and processing agricultural products in Vietnam, more than 2,000 codes for growing areas and 1,438 codes for packing establishments for agricultural products for export to the Chinese market. China has opened its border on January 8, 2023, after a period of limited trade due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so agricultural export activities between the two countries have become more active.

According to Lao Cai Border Gate Management Board, the total import and export value through Lao Cai Border Gate reached nearly 82 million USD in January 2023. As many as 6,713 vehicles carrying agricultural products were handled through the Kim Thanh II International Border Gate in January 2023, with a total import and export value of nearly 59 million USD.

Exports are mainly fresh agricultural products such as dragon fruit, banana, watermelon, rambutan, and jackfruit. In January 2023, nearly 600 trucks of dragon fruit were brought to Lao Cai for export to China. More than 800 trucks of agricultural products are cleared in Lang Son Province every day.

Deputy Director of Plant Protection Department, Huynh Tan Dat said that the positive export signals from the beginning of this year were partly due to the phytosanitary protocols signed between the two countries regarding agricultural products, including: banana, durian, mangosteen, black jelly, rice bran and rice. The Department is negotiating with the Chinese side to sign a protocol on the official export of some traditional fresh fruits such as watermelon, dragon fruit, mango, jackfruit, longan, lychee, and rambutan. The two countries are also negotiating techniques for the official export of medicinal herbs, pomelos, some citrus fruits, and coconuts.

Focusing on exploiting key products

Deputy General Director of Dong Giao Foodstuff Export Joint Stock Company (DOVECO) Pham Ngoc Thanh said that the company’s export of agricultural products to the Chinese market in 2022 posted a growth rate of 130% compared to 2021 thanks to a focus on key products such as: fresh passion fruit, processed passion fruit, passion fruit juice, and banana products. In addition to fresh fruits, DOVECO is also focusing on deep processing to improve the added value of products.

Pham Ngoc Thanh said that it is very important to promote, advertise and introduce products to Chinese partners, including the active participation in trade fairs in China to promote the export of vegetables and fruits to the market. It is the fastest way for Chinese consumers to access Vietnamese agricultural products. As such, DOVECO wishes the authorities to continue to create conditions for Vietnamese businesses to participate in product and trade promotion programmes in the future.

Dr. Tra My, President of the provisional Vietnam Business Association in China, emphasised that enterprises need to pay attention to product quality and have a branding plan for agricultural products which have great effect on the selling price of products. Enterprises should also focus on exporting via sea thanks to many advantages over focusing on road transport at present.

For the promotion of products, the provisional Vietnam Business Association in China has invested in establishing a Vietnamese booth in China, helping businesses display preliminarily processed and finished products for free. In the coming time, the provisional Vietnamese Business Association in China will coordinate with other agencies to organise the first Vietnam-Shanghai investment and trade forum, scheduled for April 2023, focusing on the export of Vietnamese agricultural products to China.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that China’s reopening of the border from January 8, 2023 is good news for businesses of the two countries, but without improvements to the quality and product design and cost reduction, Vietnamese enterprises will still face many challenges.

Therefore, enterprises need to strictly comply with the technical requirements and combine with local agricultural agencies to build raw material areas, in addition to coordinating with packing facilities and agencies specialising in granting planting area codes to meet requirements from the Chinese market. Businesses should actively contact with agencies such as the border gate management board to obtain information on the progress of customs clearance to avoid congestion and ensure the quality of agricultural products, customs clearance time and transport costs.

Source: NDO    LINK

Henig:   VIMC reported all-time high profits, restructuring considered

February, 15/2023 - 10:22

The Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) reported its profit exceeding US$130 million in 2022, for the second year in a row.

HÀ NỘI - The Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) reported its profit exceeding US$130 million in 2022, for the second year in a row.

While the final figure was still not yet made public while under audit, VIMC, the country's largest State-owned maritime logistics corporation, said 2022 had been a good year for business.

Last year, VIMC's total shipping volume was estimated at 21.8 million tonnes, 13 per cent over the yearly target; cargo throughput via seaports was estimated at 124 million tonnes or 93 per cent of the yearly target; container volume was estimated at 5.8 million TEUs or 97 per cent of the yearly target.

That put the corporation's consolidated revenue at $653.9 million, 20 per cent over its annual objective and a 5 per cent increase over the previous year. VIMC’s earning in sea shipping was estimated at $81.2 million, a 71 per cent increase in the same period in 2021 and 44 per cent above 2022's target.

Once the financial audit is finalised, VIMC will likely be looking at a yearly profit north of $135 million, nearly 25 per cent above its set target, according to a statement released recently by the corporation.

VIMC operates a fleet of 59 ships, including four oil tankers (accounting for 5 per cent of VIMC’s total tonnage), 10 container ships (7 per cent of total tonnage) and 45 dry cargo ships (88 per cent of total tonnage). A majority of its fleet was either built or purchased prior to 2010 with an average service life of 20 years.

Restructuring

The corporation attributed recent success to restructuring efforts with a clear objective focusing on its core businesses and Việt Nam's booming export economy in the last decades.

VIMC identified its core businesses as sea shipping, port operation and maritime services.

In response to an earlier proposal by the corporation to reduce the State's share in VIMC from 99,47 per cent to 65 per cent in the near future, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said such a decision could not be made in a short time.

"VIMC is, directly or indirectly, involved in the management and operation of 14 seaports across the country and therefore, plays an instrumental part in the country's socio-economic development, as well as national security," said deputy minister of industry and trade Nguyễn Xuân Sang.

"The decision to reduce the State's share in the corporation must be thoroughly reviewed and studied," he said.

Commenting on the proposal, the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises recommended that the State's share in the corporation remain the same at least for the 2021-25 period.

"Maintaining the State's shares in VIMC is to ensure the corporation will continue to play a leading role in the establishment and expansion of the country's supply and logistic networks, as well as efficient use of key resources," said a spokesperson from the committee.

The committee recommended the State maintain a minimum 65 per cent majority at the corporation in the future. VNS    LINK