Economy

Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati (Source: investor.id) Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia n Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on July 21 that there are four major risks that may hinder the recovery of the global economy from the first half of 2021. The first risk is the emergence of the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2. The minister said the variant, which appeared from March to May 2021 in India, now spreads to more than 130 countries. It raises the possibility of tightening policy restrictions on public activities and hindering normal operations in many countries. The second risk is unequal vaccination between countries and even in a country, leading to differences in pandemic control and economic recovery, she said. The third risk is the rising inflation in the United States, which surpassed 5 percent for the two consecutive months, higher than the 2 percent inflation target. And the fourth risk is supply disruption and rising …

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At a supermarket in HCM City (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - Ho Chi Minh City has set a target of developing an additional 150 cooperatives and two cooperative alliances during the 2021-2025 period while posting annual average growth of 7 percent in the collective economy. The sector will contribute 0.5 percent to the city's gross regional domestic product ( GRDP ) during the period and attract 15,000 more workers to cooperatives. The targets are set out in a collective economy development plan for 2021-2025 approved recently by the municipal People’s Committee. Under the plan, the city will develop new-style cooperative models in the fields of agriculture , trade, and services. To that end, the municipal People’s Committee has stressed the importance of encouraging the development of the collective economy and cooperatives in all fields and industries in both quality and quantity as well as attracting the engagement of all of society, especially young …

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Artemia breeding ponds in Bac Lieu province’s Hoa Binh district. (Photo: VNA) Bac Lieu (VNS/VNA) - The Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu is seeking to develop its collective economy, especially cooperatives that use advanced technologies, from now through 2025. It will focus on agriculture, seafood, salt production, industry including small businesses, construction, transport, trading, and services. It plans to establish 140 new cooperatives, 105 in agriculture, by 2025. It will encourage cooperative groups that operate efficiently to develop into cooperatives. Under the 2012 Cooperative Law , a cooperative group has at least three members and a cooperative, at least seven. To achieve the targets, the province will take measures like boosting advocacy about the law and implementing it, improving the operations of collective economy units and mobilising investments from various sources to enhance their efficiency. It will have preferential policies to get …

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Illustrative image Credit growth targets The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has just approved adjustment of credit growth targets for 2021 for a number of domestic commercial banks. Some banks have adjusted credit growth for the whole year by 14% to 15%, compared to the highest level of 10% to12% granted at the beginning of the year. Specifically, the SBV has agreed to allow MB to adjust the maximum credit balance until the end of 2021 from 10.5% to 15% at the request of the bank. Vietcombank has also increased credit from 10% to 14%, VPBank from 8.5% to 12.1%, Sacombank from 6.5% to 10.5%, Techcombank from 12% to 17%, Eximbank from 6.5% to 10%, VIB from 8.5% to 14.1%, and even TPBank was allowed to raise the credit room to 17.4%. The credit limit of many banks was raised in the context that it was only the first half of the year, but many banks were about to run out of room. According to a six-month business result report, Vietcombank credit has increased by 9.8%, MB by 10.5%, …

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Hoa Viên farm in Hà Nội's Thạch Thất District grows organic produce to supply to the market, meeting demand for safe products of both domestic and foreign consumers. HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội has over the past years created favourable conditions for orgnisations and individuals to develop farm economy and promoted the sector through applying information technology, developing organic farming and promoting digital transformation, helping to increase income and generate jobs. According to the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, there are 1,558 farms of various kinds across the city, including farms for crops, husbandry, aquaculture, fisheries and tourism. Each farm has an estimated investment capital of VNĐ3.4 billion (US$147,000) and average area of 2.173ha. The average number of labourer working at each farm is 3.3. The total revenue of all farms in 2020 was more than VNĐ6.7 trillion ($291 million). On average, each farm had a turnover of VNĐ4.355 billion per …

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Recovery across industries and services have all been affected by this year’s woes. Photo: Le Toan The Asian Development Bank (ADB) last week lowered Vietnam’s 2021 growth forecast to 5.8 from 6.7 per cent previously. According to the ADB, the relatively slow implementation of vaccinations and the application of prolonged physical distancing measures in the country’s largest growth regions have had a major impact on trade flows and constrained economic activities. Vietnam’s economy in the first six months of 2021 was not much stronger than in 2020. General Statistics Office data showed that GDP growth in the first six months of 2021 slowed down, reaching 5.64 per cent, albeit still higher than the 1.81-per-cent growth rate of the first six months of 2020, but lower than in 2018 and 2019. Thus, GDP growth did not meet the government’s target. Furthermore, the potential GDP growth rate declined for the 14th consecutive quarter and was significantly lower than the actual growth …

[Read more...] about Going on the attack for a self-reliant economy

Jakarta (VNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged to support Indonesia’s transition to a low-carbon economy with funding for clean energy generation. Addressing the 2021 International Climate Change Conference on July 22, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said that the bank is working with the Indonesian government to examine the feasibility of an Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) fund for the early retirement of existing coal-fired power plants, while providing financing for geothermal and solar projects. ADB is supporting issuers including Indonesia’s state-owned electricity company, PLN, to start issuing sustainable bonds, he said, adding that the bank will also assist the country in applying carbon tax which is on discussion. At the conference, the ADB leader said that the bank will provide at least 80 billion USD for countries to cope with climate change from 2019 to 2030 cumulatively. Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the …

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Logistics support export growth The world economy made clear progress in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period last year, with the commodity market increasing activity and raw material and fuel prices rising to new heights. International trade is continuing to swarm busy shipping routes around the globe. Growing exports of Asian goods to the US are causing greater seaport congestion. Southern Chinese ports are trying to stabilize operations, but it will take a long time to clear the backlog and process new orders. Increased transactions lead to high demand for transportation, warehousing and other logistics services. Despite the resurgence of Covid-19, the logistics market is booming in many countries. Vietnam’s total import-export turnover reached US$316.73 billion in the first six months of 2021, an increase of 32.2 percent compared to a year ago, including US$157.63 billion in exports (up 28.4 percent) and US$159.1 billion in imports (up 36.1 …

[Read more...] about Vietnam’s logistics firms face surging opportunities but limited capacity

The RoK poured US$2.05 billion into Vietnam in the first half of 2021 RoK investment at US$2.05 billion in first half According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam attracted US$15.27 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first half of 2021. This includes US$2.05 billion from the RoK, accounting for 13.4 percent of FDI pledges to Vietnam. Other leading investors include Japan and Singapore. During the reviewed period, Japanese and Singaporean investors focused on new FDI projects in Vietnam, while RoK pledges were made to existing projects. Specifically, US$750 million was added to the LG Display Vietnam Hai Phong’s project. The additional amount brought the investment capital of the entire project to US$3.25 billion in total, making it the foreign-invested project with the highest value in the port city. LG Electronics is also considering building a new research and development (R&D) center in Vietnam. In addition to LG Electronics, …

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The Covid-19 outbreak in HCM City and neighboring provinces is threatening the livelihoods of people and disrupting production and business chains. HCM City has imposed social distancing Vo Tri Thanh, a respected economist, thinks that the current situation may last a long time and the virus will spread to other provinces. “It’s necessary to anticipate bad scenarios, so that we can know how to deal with the worst if it comes, and mobilize resources in the most timely and effective way, so as to avoid the perplexity as we are facing in HCM City,” he said. Scenarios The worst scenario, according to Thanh, is that the GDP growth rate is just 5 percent this year. Thanh, an optimist, is very cautious this time. Under Scenario 1 drawn up by the Government, the targeted growth rate is 6 percent in 2021, if the pandemic is basically controlled in July, there are no hotbeds in Industrial Zones and key economic centers, and no social distancing. Vietnam needs to obtain a …

[Read more...] about Vietnam needs to anticipate ‘bad scenarios to avoid the worst’: economist