Day: March 5, 2024

Hanoi: The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has warned of a risk of Canada’s trade remedy investigations into steel wire products imported from Vietnam.

According to statistics from TRAV, Canada has initiated eight trade remedy investigations into steel products imported from Vietnam, including five anti-dumping, two countervailing, and one safeguard. Therefore, Canada is targeting most of Vietnam’s key steel export products/types, such as rebar, corrosion-resistant steel sheets, rolled steel, pil country tubular goods (OCTG) pipes, among others.

The authority said that with its policy of monitoring and tightening management of imported steel to protect the domestic market, Canada will continue the investigations to apply measures against the remaining steel products/types from Vietnam, including steel wire.

Data from Trademap shows that the export value of steel wire products from Vietnam to Canada has been increasing rapidly in recent years. In 20
20, Vietnam exported about 10 million USD worth of steel wires to the northern American country. The figure doubled to 21 million USD in 2021 and quadrupled to 40 million USD in 2022.

TRAV recommended that relevant associations and businesses review their exports of steel wire to the Canadian market; and prepare response measures in case Canada initiates a trade remedy investigation.

Businesses should also proactively grasp Canada’s regulations and procedures for trade remedy investigations, it noted./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The export of products of the foreign direct investment (FDI) and traditional products of domestic enterprises are expected to rebound this year, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan has said in a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

The official revealed that the number of export products logging over 1 billion USD in turnover each has increased over the years and accounts for a significant proportion of the country’s total export value. There were only 23 commodities with export earnings of over 1 billion USD in 2013, and the figure increased to 29 in 2018 and 35 in 2023.

In 2024, the global and domestic economic situation has boded well for trade activities. The country’s efforts to enhance negotiations and diversify export markets are likely to provide a competitive edge for its overseas shipments in the time to come, said Tan.

According to the deputy minister, Vietnam is increasingly playing a vital role in the global supply chain for electronic products. M
any major corporations such as Samsung, Apple, and Intel have chosen the country to establish large-scale manufacturing centres serving their exports worldwide. Recently, the sale of electronic products abroad has posted robust growth, contributing significantly to the total export turnover. Vietnam is also witnessing an influx of investment shifting from semiconductor businesses.

The production and export development of high-tech products have been included in the country’s import-export strategy towards 2030. Particularly, the government has implemented comprehensive programmes to attract investment, improve the business climate, develop supporting industries, and enhance the quality of human resources serving better value-added of the exports.

The deputy minister said that to capitalise on these opportunities, enterprises need to innovate manufacturing activities, improve product quality, and closely align production with consumer demand. Additionally, they must research and adopt new technologies, while
promoting automation to reduce production costs.

He noted the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as the leading agency in managing and overseeing trade, will continue to monitor market developments to provide suitable advice and recommendations, and will organise regular trade promotion conferences with Vietnam’s trade missions abroad.

Furthermore, the ministry is working to accelerate efforts to conclude negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Also planned are the conduction of diverse promotion events to introduce the advantages and incentives brought about by free trade agreements (FTA).

It will also develop logistics services and push for sustainable border trade by promoting exports through official channels, the deputy minister added./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in February increased by 8.5% over the same period last year to 509.7 trillion VND (20.63 billion USD), according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The figure contributed to a year-on-year rise of 8.1% in total retail sales of goods and revenue from consumer services in the first two months of this year to 1.03 quadrillion VND.

Of the total, retail sales of goods were estimated at 798.3 trillion VND, accounting for 77.4% of the total and up 6.8% over the same period last year (up 4.5% if excluding the price factor).

Of which, retail revenue of food and foodstuffs rose by 10.8%, while that of household appliances and tools was up 18.1%, garment 9.8%, vehicles (except cars) 1.8%, and cultural and educational products 16.5%.

Particularly, revenue from accommodation and catering services rose by 14%, while that from travel services surged by 35.8%.

Thanks to the favourable visa policies, tourism stimulus programmes as well as the effor
ts of the Government and people, the number of foreign visitors to Vietnam in February reached more than 1.5 million, up 1.3% over the previous month and 64.1% over the same period last year. The number for the first two months of this year hit more than 3 million, an increase of 68.7% over the same period last year.

As a result, revenue from tourism services in the first two months of this year reached 9 trillion VND.

Meanwhile, revenue from other services was estimated at 105.9 trillion VND, accounting for 10.2% of the total and increasing 9.7% over the same period last year.

Economists held that the shopping season during the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival was a leverage for retailers to boost domestic demand and increase revenue right from the beginning of the year. The business outcomes in Tet also showed the consumption trend of the year, helping enterprises decide their market development strategies and business plans for the year, they added./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Bac Ninh: Drawing 78 new foreign-invested projects worth nearly 200 million USD in the first two months of this year, the northern province of Bac Ninh is on the right track to realise the goal of 1.1 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2024, according to the provincial Statistics Office.

In the January-February period, China led in the number of newly-registered projects in Bac Ninh with 46 projects, followed by Hong Kong (China) with 14.

Meanwhile, 170.9 million USD was added into 34 underway projects, while 23.9 million USD was poured into share purchase and capital contribution deals.

In the period, Bac Ninh also granted investment licences to nine domestically-funded projects worth over 2 trillion VND (80.97 million USD). The province is now home to 1,560 valid projects with combined investment of 261.06 trillion VND, the office reported.

Experts attributed the results to the province’s efforts to build and complete mechanisms and policies to attract strategic investors on the foundatio
n of the provincial planning scheme in the 2021-2030 period.

At the same time, the province has shown strong performance in ground clearance and infrastructure building in industrial parks and industrial clusters, as well as in improving the investment environment.

Bac Ninh has actively sought potential investors, while working hard to remove difficulties in production and business activities.

Since the beginning of the year, leaders of Bac Ninh and members of the expert groups for removing obstacles in investment have held many meetings with local businesses and investors to explore their difficulties and put forth solutions./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Tokyo: As many as 22 Vietnamese enterprises are showcasing their products at Foodex Japan 2024, one of the largest international food and beverage exhibitions in Asia, which kicked off in Tokyo, Japan on March 5.

They include leading companies operating in the agricultural and food industries such as Masan Group Corp, An Khang Food JSC, Long Son JSC and Dong Giao Food Export JSC (Doveco).

According to Vietnamese Trade Councillor to Japan Ta Duc Minh, this year the increased number of Vietnamese booths at the exhibition means that the number of products introduced this time is more diverse. On this occasion, the Vietnamese trade office in Japan will organise business connection sessions so that importing enterprises can sign contracts with Vietnamese counterparts.

He noted that Vietnamese enterprises have paid attention to details like packaging to suit the taste of Japanese consumers, besides quality and food safety of the products.

Satake Yoichiro, a visitor to the exhibition, said he enjoys Vietnamese r
ice and feels that it was very delicious. He also loves Vietnamese dried fruits, especially dried mangoes, adding that he often receives gifts from Vietnamese friends like cashews nuts and they are all his favourite foods.

First held in 1976, Foodex Japan aims to promote food diversification in Japan and Asia, develop sustainable solutions to food waste, and support technological advancements for increased productivity.

This year’s event, which features 3,913 booths of 2,879 businesses from 68 countries and territories around the world, will run until March 8. It is expected to attract 80,000 visitors, including 15,000 foreign ones./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency