Benchmark exchange rate

Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA) Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – The United Overseas Bank (UOB) has maintained its economic growth forecast for Vietnam at 5.2% for 2023 and 6% for 2024 while forecasting that Vietnam will continue to cut regulatory interest rates in the remaining months of this year to balance economic growth and inflation pressure. GDP growth in the third quarter is likely to underwhelm. UOB said that it sees prospects for another 100 basic points rate cut to 3.50%, the timing has been shifted out to the last quarter of this year instead of the third quarter to balance between growth and inflation risks./. VNA … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s regulatory interest rates to further down in fourth quarter: UOB

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (L) and his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Zhelyazkov (Photo: VNA) Sofia (VNA) – National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Zhelyazkov met the press on September 25 (local time) to announce the outcomes of their successful talks in Sofia. Chairman Hue said the two leaders extensively discussed orientations and measures to consolidate friendship and improve the efficiency of their cooperation via the Party, Government, National Assembly, people-to-people exchange channels. They agreed to step up collaboration in economy, trade, investment, culture, sci-tech, education and training, labour and people-to-people exchanges, business-to-business and locality-to-locality cooperation. Hue hailed and thanked the Bulgarian legislature for its recent approval of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) with an absolute majority of votes, just ahead of his visit. Along with promoting the … [Read more...] about Top Vietnamese, Bulgarian legislators inform outcomes of talks to media

The Ad Hoc Group, representing investors owning over 75% of the bonds, said it would take a new approach should Novaland fail to negotiate the debt restructuring in good faith. Novaland issued the bonds in Singapore in 2021 for five years with a coupon rate of 5.25% and listed it on the stock exchange there. Novaland said it had discussed with the bondholders its liquidity difficulties which prevented it from paying the interest in time and a restructuring plan based on its current situation. It has also drafted plans to restore operations together with foreign and domestic consultancies such as Deloitte, Sidney Austin LLP, and YKVN. Novaland said it is aware of its limited resources but would aim to safeguard the bondholders’ interests. "Novaland requests more time to recover during this period," it said in a statement. "The company hopes to receive support from creditors and bondholders to soon stabilize its operations and fulfill its financial obligations to … [Read more...] about Novaland negotiating interest payment default on $300M bonds, investors antsy

The annual October book festival has become a must-visit destination for book lovers in the capital. The 8th Hanoi Book Festival will return to the pedestrian area of Hoan Kiem Lake in downtown Hanoi from October 6 to 8, helping to spread reading culture to many local and international readers, according to the city's Department of Information and Communication. The event, which has become a popular cultural rendezvous for bookworms, is one of the activities to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the capital's Liberation Day (October 10, 1954-2023) and the 71st anniversary of the traditional day of Vietnam's book publishing, printing and distribution sector (October 10, 1952-2023). A scene at the seventh edition of the Hanoi Book Festival last year. Photo courtesy of the organizer The book festival has been held in the capital city annually and has become a must-visit destination for book lovers every year in October. With the theme "Lighting the Fire of … [Read more...] about Hanoi Book Festival 2023: Spreading reading culture

“After seeing generally mixed performances by a trio of newly public companies this month, VNG was advised to hold off until market demand improves,” an inside source disclosed to Bloomberg . While VNG remained reticent on the matter, the strategic pause mirrors a broader caution in the tech IPO space. Notably, both Arm Holdings Plc, the SoftBank Corporation affiliate, and delivery service Instacart experienced their stocks trading beneath their IPO valuations. VNG, which debuted as Vinagame in 2004, has transitioned from its initial gaming focus to become a diversified digital powerhouse in Vietnam, offering an array of services from video streaming and news portals to mobile payments. The company has contemplated a US listing since 2017. Before this revision in plans, the gaming and communications conglomerate had intimated an intention to offload approximately 22 million shares in its proposed IPO, though pricing details remained under wraps. In 2021, VNG was contemplating … [Read more...] about VNG delays US IPO amid subdued market appetite

Print has been the mainstay, but times change and so must the press. Photo: Le Toan Since taking a role as an economic counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy to Vietnam a few years ago, Ance Maylany Napitupulu has considered the local media a reliable source of information for her work. “I’m quite impressed by what Vietnam Investment Review has been doing in conveying information via in-depth stories on both online and print newspapers, and especially in organising events,” Napitupulu said. Napitupulu attended VIR ’s conference themed “Stronger Investment Partnerships for a Thriving Vietnam” in May, where she had an opportunity to establish relations with experts. This was the second time that Napitupulu had participated in such large-scale events led by VIR , which she said is becoming a professional event organiser besides its well-established expertise in the Vietnamese press. “I hope to have another opportunity to attend VIR events as they will provide me with new … [Read more...] about Evolving demands and trends dictate VIR‘s future

According to the latest report of UOB, after starting off the year at a sluggish pace, with real GDP growth in Q1 decelerating to 3.28 per cent on-year, from 5.92 per cent in the previous quarter, growth momentum in Vietnam remained lethargic, largely due to weak external demand coupled with an underperforming manufacturing sector. As a result, economic growth in Q2 expanded just 4.14 per cent on-year, for a cumulative growth rate of 3.72 per cent on-year in H1, well below the official growth target of 6.5 per cent. In terms of sectoral performance, manufacturing (including construction), which accounts for about 34 per cent share of the economy, managed to gain about 1.1 per cent on-year in Q2 with a positive contribution in H1. Meanwhile, the services sector (43 per cent share) managed to cushion some of the weaknesses from the external sector, rising 6.1 per cent on-year in Q2 following the 6.6 per cent on-year run in Q1. The services sector contributed 2.7 percentage points, … [Read more...] about Soft momentum likely for Q3: UOB

General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Vu Viet Trang and President of Cuban news agency Prensa Latina (PL) Luis Enrique Gonzalez Acosta at their talks in Hanoi on September 25 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Vu Viet Trang held talks with President of Cuban news agency Prensa Latina (PL) Luis Enrique Gonzalez Acosta in Hanoi on September 25. Welcoming the PL leader and his entourage, Trang briefed the guests on the VNA’s role as a key multimedia news agency in Vietnam as well as its bold steps to accelerate digital transformation. She expressed her delight at the practical and effective cooperation between the two news agencies over the past years, which has accompanied the development history of the Vietnam – Cuba special friendship. She said she wishes that the two sides will maintain their collaboration, while affirming the VNA will work closely with the PL to preserve and develop cooperative ties, which have been … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Cuba news agencies forge cooperation

Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meet in Brasilia on September 25. (Photo: VNA) Brasilia (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Brazil ian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held talks in Brasilia on September 25 (Brazil time) as part of the Vietnamese leader’s official visit to the South American country. Welcoming PM Chinh and the high-ranking delegation of Vietnam, the Brazilian President expressed his belief that the visit will help develop the two countries’ traditional friendship and sound cooperation to a new height, thus actively contributing to peace, stability, and development in the two regions and the world. PM Chinh voiced his delight at the growing Vietnam - Brazil relations and stressed that Vietnam attaches importance to the ties with Brazil, one of its leading partners in Latin America. The two leaders noted with satisfaction that bilateral relations have been flourishing and becoming … [Read more...] about Vietnamese PM, Brazilian President discuss measures for augmenting ties

Illustrative image (Source: AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – In the context that about 70 countries and territories have applied carbon pricing instruments, experts held that Vietnam should also apply such tools, especially by developing the domestic carbon market, in order to support the realisation of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target. Following the Paris Climate Accords , Vietnam must fulfill its mandatory obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 according to the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The country also needs to make efforts to reduce GHG emissions towards the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Statistics show that carbon pricing tools control about 23% of total global emissions in 2023. In Vietnam, the voluntary exchange of carbon credits with the world has been carried out by businesses since the mid-2000s in projects and programmes under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) - a United Nations-run carbon offset … [Read more...] about Vietnam makes efforts to develop domestic carbon market