Asia africa market department

Vietnam is forecast to add two more jack-up rigs, as demand for oil exploration and production continues to rise. Vietnam currently ranked second in Southeast Asia in terms of the number of drilling rigs with eight under disposal, holding 20% of the Southeast Asian oil exploration and production (E&P) market, according to Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC). With 16 drilling rigs, Malaysia accounts for half of the region’s jack-up rig demand, while the rest is divided to Brunei and Thailand. According to VDSC, seven out of 11 Southeast Asian nations are oil explorers and producers, partly due to their geographical location, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Due to the recent downtrend of oil price, E&P activities have slowed down and have only experienced some improvement since 2018. However, the demand for jack-up rig has recovered, thanks to the slight increase in two main indicators: rig day rate and … [Read more...] about Vietnam holds 20% of Southeast Asia’s oil exploration and production market

Foreign investors net bought US$2.8 billion in 2018, 2.3 times the figure in 2017. It was also a new record high for the Vietnamese equity market since 2008 (Photo by vietnambiz.vn) That figure was almost 2.3 times the figure of $1.23 billion in 2017 and set up a new record high of net foreign purchases since 2008, Son said at a meeting on Wednesday, adding foreign capital had started to leave other Southeast Asia markets. The total value of foreign investment in Vietnam as of the end of 2018 was estimated at $32.8 billion. In 2018, the global economy saw strong growth amid worries about uncertain geo-political conditions, the US Fed’s rate hikes and trade tensions between the biggest economies. Those worries were reflected in the volatility of global markets, including in Vietnam, with many ups and downs, the SSC vice chairman said. “Thanks to the strong growth of the domestic economy and management of both Government and the finance ministry, the Vietnamese equity … [Read more...] about 2018 a banner year for local equity market

A class at Viet Duc High School in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Education Commission has released a report on the transformation of human resources for education in Asia. Addressing the report release ceremony in Hanoi on November 13, Ta Ngoc Tri, Deputy Director of the Primary Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, said that Vietnam has completed the popularization of primary education and will continue maintaining and promoting the result. He held that the efficiency of the country’s education investment policies was shown in the PISA rankings in 2012 and 2015. The Education Law 2019 has specified that expenditures for education accounts for at least 20 percent of the State budget, he noted, adding that Vietnam has paid special attention to the development of teachers and ensuring teachers’ qualifications. Tri said that in order to promote the educational achievements, Vietnam has conducted comprehensive reform of education … [Read more...] about Report on education human resources transformation in Asia released

The organic food market is believed to have great potential, but companies are finding it difficult to lure more customers. There are about 100 organic food producers, including large corporations, in the country. Investors have poured money into organic production as they believe that organic food will be the choice of customers in the future. According to Pham Thi Hoa from the International University, a member school of the HCMC National University, there is little evidence that organic food provides more nutritious products than normal food, but consumers still prefer organic produce because they do not want to use GM (genetically modified) products and products with pesticide residue. There is little evidence that organic food provides more nutritious products than normal food, but consumers still prefer organic produce because they do not want to use GM (genetically modified) products and products with pesticide residue. Hoa cited a survey by Nielsen as saying that … [Read more...] about Organic food market faces shortage of customers

Thailand has passed a plan to allocate its budget of 21.5 billion baht to help stabilize rice prices for Thai farmers. This subsidy program may affect rice exporters including Vietnam, according to local rice operators. Local farmers harvest rice. Thailand’s price subsidy program for rice may affect rice exporters including Vietnam The Thai Cabinet has agreed to extract 34.8 billion baht from the country’s budget for agricultural subsidy programs for rice and oil palm farmers, reported the Vietnam News Agency in Bangkok, Thailand. In particular, over 890,000 households that had registered their rice farming activities with the Thai Ministry of Agricultural and Cooperatives will be the beneficiaries of the rice subsidy program. The one-year program, which will take effect next month, will offer advantageous prices for rice farmers amid downward price volatility. According to the director of a rice exporting firm in the Mekong Delta, rice exporters may suffer negative … [Read more...] about Thailand’s rice subsidy program may affect Vietnam: rice operators