Category: Science & Technology

Hanoi: Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of 26 billion USD in 2023, nearly tripling the figure last year and the highest on record, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang said at a teleconference held in Hanoi on December 20.

According to a report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, despite formidable challenges in trade activities posed by poor economic growth and weak demand in large export markets such as the US, the EU, Japan and ASEAN, Vietnam capitalised on the recovery of its major and traditional markets to promote export.

The country shipped 354.5 billion USD worth of products in the year, down 4.6% year-on-year, which, Thang said, marked an easing from the 12% in the first half.

She added that 33 items recorded export turnover of 1 billion USD in 11 months, of which seven posted a value of more than 10 billion USD, accounting for 66% of the total revenue.

Farm produce was among key exports, she said, adding processed industrial products accounted for 85% of the export turnover.

General Director of the ministry’s Agency for Foreign Trade Tran Duy Dong said export showed signs of recovery in the end of 2023, and relished the prospect of better export situation in 2024 on the back of current free trade agreements (FTAs), and conclusion of negotiations and implementation of the trade deals with new markets such as Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

He stressed that the sound political relations with such trade partners as China, the EU and the US will create a premise for Vietnam to expand its economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Given those advantages, the ministry will strive to increase the export revenue growth by 6%, and trade surplus to some 15 billion USD in 2024, he said, underscoring the ministry will work to diversify export markets and supply chains, support enterprises to capitalise on the existing FTAs, especially the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP), the EU-Vietnam FTA and the UK-Vietnam FTA, to bolster shipments.

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ditionally, it will coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to negotiate with China for official export of more agricultural products from Vietnam, and speed up customs clearance at Vietnam-China border gates, Dong added./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: A wide range of decorations with stable prices are now available in the Hanoi market as Christmas is nearing, but purchasing power remains weak.

Sellers on such streets as Hang Ma, Hang Luoc, and Luong Van Can, home to many toy and decorations stores, said that this year, consumers are tightening their belts due to economic difficulties, leading to slow consumption though Christmas is just around the corner.

Most visitors here are young people coming for sightseeing and taking check-in photos, they noted.

Nguyen Van Bay, owner of a souvenir shop on Hang Luoc in Hoan Kiem district, said the street has become more vibrant on these days, but the majority of visitors are youngsters going out for pleasure.

There are few buyers, which have nosedived by 30 – 50% compared to previous years.

Economic difficulties have discouraged people from spending, especially on Christmas decorations, he added.

Sharing the same view, Hoang Thi Van Anh, a shop owner on Hang Ma in Hoan Kiem district, noted prices of deco
rations this year are equivalent to last year’s, but purchasing power has yet to meet expectations because of economic slowdown.

Therefore, she continued, her store has offered some new and unique products to attract buyers.

Aside from decorations, the market of fresh pine trees also has diverse products to offer. Most of the trees are imported from Denmark, the Netherlands, and China.

In addition to the traditional market, Christmas decorations and gifts with prices about 20% lower are also being sold on e-marketplaces such as Lazada, Sendo, and Shopee or social media platforms like Facebook or Zalo./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The development of thermal power, including natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), requires specific policies and mechanisms to attract investment as this industry plays a crucial role in ensuring the supply of electricity for the economy and promoting the energy transition, according to insiders.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh from the Vietnam Academy of Finance underlined the importance of having a specific roadmap for developing clean energy models in the future in the context that Vietnam’s energy demand continues to increase each year, and the energy supply is becoming increasingly scarce.

According to Thinh, gas power sources can quickly connect to the national power grid. Additionally, they produce less CO2 emission.

The development of the LNG industry will help ensure energy security, protect the environment, and maintain sustainable development, he added.

National Power Development Plan VIII for the 2021 – 2030 period with a vision towards 2045 (PDP VIII) has outlined the construc
tion of 13 new LNG power plants with a total capacity of 22,400 MW by 2030, and two more with a capacity of 3,000 MW by 2035.

So far, as many as 13 LNG power projects have been given in-principal approval for investment. Among them, five projects are in the process of implementation.

Notable, Nhon Trach 3 and 4 gas power plants in the southern province of Dong Nai are national key projects under PDP VIII. They have been invested by the PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), a subsidiary of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) with a total investment of 1.4 billion USD. With a combined capacity of 1,500 MW, they are the first LNG power projects in Vietnam.

Thinh stressed the necessity to address several issues related to infrastructure and policy mechanisms to attract investment sources for developing LNG power projects, saying that attention should be paid to conducting comprehensive planning of LNG import terminal projects to save resources and to promote economic development and the domestic
LNG market’s development.

Vietnam needs to promptly perfect the legal framework as a basis for deploying the construction and using infrastructure related to LNG, and ensure transparent and effective management, towards improving confidence of investors in this industry, he noted.

Regulations related to procedures and investment processes in the laws on investment, bidding, construction, environmental protection and planning must be reviewed and amended, he went on./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: With the recent permission from Chinese authorities, watermelon has become the next farm produce of Vietnam to be exported to China via the official channel.

The General Administration of Customs China (GACC) on December 15 announced the requirements for phytosanitary measures for watermelon imported from Vietnam.

Accordingly, the fresh fruit meeting those standards will be exported to this market through designated border gates as agreed upon by the GACC and the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The fresh watermelon permitted to enter the Chinese market must come from the cultivation and processing establishments registering with the MARD. Meanwhile, the GACC will verify the list of businesses provided by Vietnamese authorities and regularly update the list on its website.

Chinese statistics show that considerable room remains for agricultural cooperation between the two countries, whose trade in farm produce has been growing continuously. During the first 11 months
of 2023, China imported 44.62 billion CNY (nearly 6.3 billion USD) worth of Vietnam’s agricultural products, up 20.3% year on year./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ha Nam: The People’s Committee of Ha Nam province on December 19 handed over an investment registration certificate to a PepsiCo food production project of the PepsiCo Vietnam Foods Company Limited to invest in Dong Van I industrial park in Duy Tien commune.

Covering an area of 80,000 sq.m, the project has a total investment capital of more than 2 trillion VND (82.2 million USD) with a capacity of over 23,000 tonnes of all kinds of snacks a year. The project is expected to complete construction in the third quarter of 2025.

Speaking at the conference, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Truong Quoc Huy said the project will actively contribute to improving the province’s industrial production value in particular and socio-economic development in general. He requested relevant departments and branches to create favourable conditions to help the company carry out administrative procedures as well as remove obstacles in the construction process.

The chairman also asked the company to focus on financ
ial and human resources in order to implement the project on schedule and pay attention to vocational training and job creation for local labourers.

Nguyen Viet Ha, General Director of PepsiCo Vietnam Foods Company Limited, said the company will make efforts to implement the project on schedule.

The company will invest in expanding raw material areas in the locality and other northern provinces. The firm will also apply regenerative agriculture methods and digital technology, he added./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Vietnam, together with China and some other Asian countries, is among the 20 countries with the fastest economic growth over the last 10 years, according to Yahoo Finance.

In its recent article, the market news website sourced data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), considering the growth in real GDP for all countries over the last 10 years to average the real GDP growth rates.

It said that with an average real GDP growth rate of 6.1% during 2012 – 2022, Vietnam ranks among those with high economic growth. The agricultural sector highly supports the economy by contributing to the GDP as well as employment.

Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery exports reached 53.22 billion USD for the first time in 2022, up 9.3% from the previous year. As a result, its agricultural sector posted a trade surplus of 8.5 billion USD, accounting for over 75% of the economy’s total trade surplus.

The article also cited Vietnam’s statistics as showing that the US remains the biggest market of Vietnamese agro-forestry-
fishery products, with an import turnover of 13.3 billion USD, equivalent to 25% of the total exports of those products. It is followed by China with more than 10 billion USD (18.9%), Japan 4.2 billion USD (7.9%), and the Republic of Korea 2.5 billion USD (4.7%).

In terms of continents, Asia made up 44.7% of the exports, the Americas 27.4%, Europe 11.3%, Oceania 1.7%, and Africa 1.7%.

The five countries with the highest economic growth rates in 10 years is Guyana (South America) nearly 15%, Ireland (Europe) over 9%, Ethiopia (Africa) 8.43%, Tajikistan (Central Asia) over 7%, and Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa) over 6.8%, according to the writing./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Vietravel Airlines, a subsidiary of tour operator Viettravel, has held a meeting with representatives of Kagawa and Fukushima prefectures of Japan to share a plan to expand the flight network connecting Vietnam’s tourist cities with the two Japanese localities.

General Director of Vietravel Airlines Nguyen Minh Hai said the meeting is not only an important step in promoting the relationship between Vietravel Airlines and Fukushima and Kagawa prefectures but also a strategic element of the flight network expansion plan which will be carried out next year in the Japanese market by the airline and Vietravel Holiday.

The Japanese representatives said the flight network expansion to these localities will bring many benefits to customers, while also contributing to the development of the aviation and tourism industries in the two countries, adding that Fukushima and Kagawa boast popular tourist destinations along with strong economies.

Founded in late 2019, Vietravel Airlines conducted the first commercia
l flight on January 25, 2021, becoming the first travel airline in Southeast Asia and the fifth commercial carrier in Vietnam.

The airline’s flight network covers many popular tourist destinations in Vietnam such as Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon and Da Lat, and Bangkok (Thailand). It also operated charter flights to Daegu and Muan (the Republic of Korea), and Macau and Sanya (China).

Vietravel Airlines plans to expand its flight network to major tourist cities in Japan next year./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Andrea Coppola, World Bank Lead Economist for Vietnam, has described Vietnam in 2023 as resilient, saying that amid the global economic slowdown, the Southeast Asian nation was still able to sustain a rate of growth that many other countries in the rest of the world can only dream about.

According to Coppola, Vietnam is considered one of the most open economies in the world. Its strong trade relations with the rest of the world are a source of strength and success. Vietnam’s economic performance in 2023 is positive when the very challenging global context is put into consideration.

Economic growth in the US was about 2.5% in 2023, he said, adding that in the European area, economic growth was even weaker at about 0.5%. Despite the global challenges, Vietnam was able to continue growing at relatively fast rates.

The last part of the 2023 showed signs of economic recovery in the country, he said, noting that this recovery is driven by three main factors: a gradual recovery of external demand for Vietn
amese exports, increasing public investment, and resilient private consumption.

Vietnam also raised a lot of attention in 2023 as media outlets with global reach have published articles to underscore the country’s performance and potential, he said, stressing that the visits of world leaders to Vietnam also attracted even more the attention of the international community.

According to the economist, Vietnam is an appealing destination for international investors because of its economic and political stability and its capacity to integrate in the global economy.

He stressed that in such a context, it is critical for the country to continue strengthening the business environment and attract private investors’ attention to fully take advantage of impact of global geopolitical developments on international investment and trade.

After the global slowdown experienced in 2023, global economic growth is expected to decelerate further in 2024, including in key trade partners of Vietnam such as the US, Coppola said
.

The WB hopes that the demand for Vietnamese exports from the rest of the world will recover in 2024, he said, recommending Vietnam to leverage its internal strength and boost the productivity growth of its domestic economy to transform the challenges provided by the global economic slowdown into an opportunity to further strengthen its economic growth model.

Authorities can play an important role to support the economy through fiscal policy, particularly by accelerating the implementation of transformational public investment and infrastructure projects which are going to strengthen economic growth both in the short term and in the longer term, he said.

According to the expert, Vietnamese people are the greatest source of the country’s internal strength, so he suggested Vietnam continue promoting the private sector development and boosting productivity by upskilling the labour force and physical capital development through public investments in transport and energy infrastructure that can further strengt
hen the competitiveness of the private sector.

According to Vietnam’s Macro and Poverty Outlook released by the WB in October, Vietnam’s economic growth is expected to slow to 4.7% this year before recovering to 5.5 % in 2024 and 6.0 % in 2025./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency