Day: March 26, 2024

Hanoi: Strengthening linkages and cooperation between foreign-invested and domestic enterprises will contribute to promoting the sustainable development of the Vietnamese wood industry, according to insiders.

Statistics from the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFOREST) show that in 2023, the number of FDI enterprises exporting wood and wood products accounted for only 18.8% of the total number of wood exporters in the country, but their export turnover hit 6.24 billion USD, equivalent to 47.4 % of the total of this industry.

Last year, the sector attracted 57 new FDI projects worth around 300 million USD, of which Chinese-invested projects accounted for 49.1% of the total number of projects and 35.5% of the total value.

Cao Thi Cam, an expert from the VIFOREST, said that an increase in activities of FDI enterprises, including export, is partly a result of new-generation free trade agreements that Vietnam is participating in, and partly thanks to the advantage of geographical location and th
e development of the country’s wood industry ecosystem.

To Xuan Phuc, a policy analyst at Forest Trends Organisation, stated that the superiority of FDI enterprises operating in the wood industry needs to be summed up and used as a foundation to create a spill-over effect to domestic firms.

According to Phuc, the connection between FDI and domestic enterprises remains limited at present. Therefore, the government and wood associations need to promote the formation of a suitable institutional and policy environment to encourage the establishment of linkages and the sharing of benefits and responsibilities of the business community./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

HCM City: Ho Chi Minh City is boosting investment to improve inner-city tourism products to further position its branding on domestic and international tourism maps.

As a tourism hub in Vietnam, the city is a destination preferred by domestic holidaymakers, and has been a potential tourism market listed in the world’s tourism rankings for years.

In the middle of this month, Singapore-based DesinAsia magazine announced Ho Chi Minh City as one of the 10 best city in Asia-Pacific together with Bangkok (Thailand), Tokyo (Japan), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong (China), Seoul (Korea), Sydney (Australia), Shanghai and Taiwan (China).

The DesinAsia also named the 10 best hotels in Vietnam, with five of them in Ho Chi Minh City.

Early this month, the city was awarded ‘Asia’s Best MICE Destination’ for the fourth year in a row. It was announced at the 4th annual World MICE Awards gala ceremony held on March 6 in Berlin.

The award is a recognition of the continued efforts of the city’s tourism sector
and demonstrates global confidence in the city’s tourism potential, said Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Tourism.

With its efforts to improve tourism quality services and attract more visitors, Ho Chi Minh is on track to position its tourism brand domestically and internationally.

Popular tourist attractions across the city such as Binh Tay market in District 6, the city’s Post Office and Ben Thanh market in District 1 are usually busy with domestic and foreign visitors.

In 2024, the city targets to attract at least 6 million foreign visitors and 38 million local tourists and get tourism revenue of at least 190 trillion VND (7.6 billion USD).

Once visiting Ho Chi Minh City, tourists are offered various tours with a wide range of prices and schemes.

Tran Thi Bao Thu, Communication and Marketing Director at Vietluxtour said that the tour operator is exploiting many city tours for both domestic and international tourists with dozens of cultural and historical destinations.

She said that this year, her company continues to promote its strength in offering cultural and historical tours combined with local restaurants, particularly Michelin-star ones./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Quang Ngai: The Doosan Enerbility Vietnam (Doosan Vina) specialising in heavy industries announced on March 26 that it has just exported a batch of nine modules weighing nearly 2,000 tonnes to the Golden Triangle Polymers company in Texas, the US.

They are part of a project signed between Doosan Vina and ZDJV, a joint venture between Zachry Industrial Inc. and DL USA Inc., and CPChem on February 7, 2023.

The remaining nine modules are expected to be handed over on April 16.

The module is currently one of the key products of Doosan Vina, which is based at the Dung Quat Economic Zone in the central coastal province of Quang Ngai. The company has been producing 140 modules for foreign customers in the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore, Qatar, and the US./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: With its positive achievements in 2023, the railway sector is working to enhance service quality, improve passenger support policies, and adjust business strategies for better performance in 2024 and following years.

Due to high air fares lingering from 2023 to the first months in 2024, many travelers have switched their choice to trains, resulting in a high rise in railway passengers and strong increase in revenue of the railway sector.

According to the Vietnam Railway (VNR), last year, it earned 8.5 trillion VND (344 million USD), reaching 101.7% of its yearly plan, with 6.1 million tickets sold. The firm’s direct revenue from transportation reached nearly 4 trillion VND.

Notably, VNR’s after-tax profit hit 94.8 billion VND in 2023 compared to a loss of 11.9 billion in 2022. During the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival 2024, the sector sold 720,000 tickets for 436 billion VND.

For the low season from March to May, the sector has rolled out various measures to attract passengers.

Since March 16, the
Saigon Railways has sold tickets on daily trains operating during the National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) through May 15.

Meanwhile, discounts from 5%-90% have been applied to various groups of passengers, including policy beneficiaries, the elderly, children, students, persons with disabilities, trade union members, and group passengers.

The sector has also partnered with the tourism one to provide special offers to passengers, and cooperated with the central province of Thua Thien – Hue and Da Nang city to organise a transport-tourism services from March 19.

Accordingly, Hue-Da Nang trains will stop in Lang Co, one of the best bays in the world, enabling passengers to enjoy the beauty of the bay. Meanwhile, local cultural programmes and dishes will be provided in the trains.

VNR Chairman Dang Sy Manh said that in the time to come, the sector will develop a train schedule suitable to infrastructure and vehicle capacity, while completing service price plans and exploiting and trading
infrastructure and support services.

Meanwhile, it will enhance the service quality and offer more promotions to compete with other forms of transportation, and coordinate with the tourism sector to develop more services, he said.

Manh added that the sector will engage more deeply into the logistics chain and increase the transport of containers./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Sydney: The revised Land Law, which was passed by the Vietnamese National Assembly in January 2024, is expected to lure capital from overseas Vietnamese (OV), said Chairman of the Vietnamese Business Association in Australia (VBAA) Tran Ba Phuc.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency’s resident correspondents in Australia, Phuc hailed the amended law, saying it provides greater assurance for OVs by explicitly guaranteeing their rights. This serves as a motivation to encourage them to return to the home country and invest more boldly.

Phuc, who is also Vice Chairman of the Business Association of Overseas Vietnamese (BAOOV), noted that the law has been revised towards greater transparency and more beneficial to OVs.

It is a step in the right direction, adding that it is relevant to the current situation of the country as well as the Vietnamese community abroad, aiming to stimulate economic breakthroughs and create favourable conditions for domestic enterprises and OVs.

Phuc viewed these changes as a reflection
of the Vietnamese government’s open policy in attracting capital and resources from abroad, as well as fostering connections between OVs and the homeland.

Many OVs want to contribute to the development of the homeland through remittances and reinvestment. Real estate offers a particularly attractive avenue for them to do so.

The revision also underscores the Vietnamese Party and State’s consistent policy of considering OVs an inseparable part of the nation, he stressed.

Phuc suggested that the Vietnamese Government should intensify the dissemination of information about the revised Land Law and show its earnest and active implementation of the law in line with the outlined spirit to instill motivation and confidence among residents as well as the Vietnamese community and foreign businesses abroad who will prepare plans in the coming time and encourage their involvement.

He predicted that the real estate market in Vietnam will recover positively, becoming more vibrant in the coming years, thereby bringing
benefits to the people and domestic businesses as well as OVs who are living and working in countries and territories around the world./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

London: Eight Vietnamese enterprises are showcasing their food and beverage products at the International Food and Drink Expo (IFE) 2024 in London, the UK from March 25 – 27.

Considered the most successful event in the UK for connecting businesses operating in the hospitality; restaurant services; and wholesale, retail, distribution, and import – export of food, the expo serves as a venue for enterprises to explore new business opportunities, directly meet potential customers, assess demand and consumer trends in the food industry in the UK and international markets.

Vietnam’s booths at the expo attracted visitors with a variety of products including fresh fruit, frozen seafood, dried noodles, different kinds of coffee and tea, and products from cononut and ginger.

Hoang Le Hang, First Secretary at the Vietnamese Trade Office in the UK, said that the UK is a highly promising market for Vietnamese exporters, evidenced by the continuous growth in Vietnamese exports to the UK over the past three years, with p
rojections indicating that this growth trend will persist. She stressed that Vietnamese firms should seize opportunities to take part in expos like IFE to affirm their capability to supply stable, high-quality, environmentally friendly products.

Marina Stewart, International Sales Manager at the IFE’s organising board said for companies looking to penetrate the UK market, IFE is an essential destination as it acts as a crucial link between manufacturers and retailers, distributors, including major UK supermarket chains.

IFE is also the only trade fair where participating businesses cover the entire food supply chain, from raw material production and product manufacturing to packaging and food service, creating opportunities for firms to find partners in every sector of the food industry, she noted.

Stewart expressed her hope that in the future, Vietnamese products will have a stronger presence at IFE, given the increasing demand for Vietnamese goods in the UK, especially products sourced from plants, organ
ic products, and healthy items.

Nguyen Thi Hanh Huong, CEO of Ben Tre Betrimex said that IFE is an opportunity for her company to access potential customers, including large retail chains in the UK.

Huynh Van Tan, General Director of Camimex – a seafood export company in the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau said he hopes to receive additional support from the Vietnamese Trade Office in the UK in connecting Canimex in particular and firms in Ca Mau in general with distributors in the UK.

In January, Vietnam’s export turnover to the UK reached nearly 780.5 million USD, up over 57% year-on-year. Most export items experienced stable growth, particularly agricultural products, with coffee increasing by 218.5%, cashew nuts (nearly 61%), pepper (over 60%), fruits and vegetables (over 56%), and seafood (over 26%).

As the largest annual international F and B trade fair in the UK, IFE 2024 attracted nearly 1,000 exhibitors from 102 countries worldwide, along with 27,000 domestic and international business visitors./
.

Source: Vietnam News Agency