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He attributed the obstacles to global fluctuations over armed conflicts, climate change, tightening food safety requirements by importing countries, and high inflation in the US. Data from the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) showed the total brackish water shrimp farming area was 747,000 hectares last year, with total output exceeding 1 million tons, up 8.5% year-on-year. Currently, the country houses 2,294 hectares of shrimp breeding area, which turned out 159.5 billion shrimplets in 2022, an annual increase of 10%. This year, Vietnam aims to expand its shrimp farming area to 750,000 hectares for more than 1 million tonnes in output and 4.3 billion USD in export revenue. Trinh Trung Phi, a technical director at the Vietnamese shrimp company Viet Uc, highlighted the importance of sustainable technological solutions in the growth of the sector. MARD Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that in order to reach the … [Read more...] about Significant efforts needed to realize 4.3-billion-USD shrimp exports

Vietnamese lender VPBank on March 27 signed an agreement to sell its 15% stake to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) through a private placement. At the signing ceremony between VPBank and SMBC (Photo: VNA) With this deal, SMBC, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc (SMFG), has officially become a foreign strategic investor of the Vietnamese bank. The investment from SMBC will help VPBank raise 35.9 trillion VND (approximately 1.5 billion USD) of Tier 1 capital (equal to 30,160 VND per share), increasing its equity to approximately 140 trillion VND from 103.5 trillion VND. Following the investment, VPBank will become Vietnam’s second largest bank in terms of equity, which allows it to serve a wide range of customer needs in various segments, including retail banking, corporate banking and SMEs. The robust capital stance will also back VPBank in serving large-scale enterprises, particularly the FDI and multi-national companies … [Read more...] about VPBank sells 15% stake to Japan’s SMBC for 1.5 bln USD

In his remarks, Chairman of the People’s Committee Phan Van Mai highlighted the increasingly close ties between the two countries, saying over the past 50 years, the bilateral relationship has grown actively across spheres, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The good traditional friendship has also been consolidated and enhanced, the official added. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam presented Italy with more than 300,000 masks, while Italy donated 2.8 million doses of vaccines to the Southeast Asian nation. This vividly demonstrates the intensive and effective strategic partnership and friendship between the two countries, he said. Ho Chi Minh City, for its part, has actively worked to promote cooperation with Italy, Mai noted, adding that the relations between Ho Chi Minh City and Italy have reaped achievements in trade, investment, education and training, culture, and tourism. According to the official, the two-way trade reached 591 million USD last year. For … [Read more...] about 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Italy diplomatic ties celebrated in Ho Chi Minh City

Participation in the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has also enabled Vietnamese farm produce to make inroads into the European market. Belgium is Vietnam’s sixth-largest trade partner in the EU. Bilateral trade surged nearly 54% to 4.3 billion USD in 2021 compared to 2020, and reached 4.5 billion USD in 2022. Notably, since 2018, Vietnam and Belgium have become strategic partners in agricultural cooperation, which was an important milestone in relations. Besides agriculture , Belgium also wants to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in fields such as tourism and healthcare. In addition to economic success, political and diplomatic relations between the two countries have also been thriving thanks to frequent high-level visits. Vietnam and Belgium have also strengthened cooperation and mutual support at multilateral forums and in international organisations. With a stable foundation over the past five decades, the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam … [Read more...] about Vietnamese farm produce finds favour in Belgium

People shop at a supermarket in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam is becoming an attractive retail market for companies all over the world with many regional and global FDI investors recently announcing plans to increase capital and expand distribution networks here. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnamese retail market is worth 142 billion USD and is expected to increase nearly 2.5 times to 350 billion USD by 2025. In January, total retail sales of consumer goods and services decreased by 6% on-month to more than 481.8 trillion VND (20.4 billion USD) due to weaker demand as many commodities were purchased ahead of the Lunar New Year. People spent more on festival activities post Tet, said the General Statistics Office. However, it still rose 13% year-on-year. For the first two months of the year, the country’s total retail sales of consumer goods and services advanced 13% over the same period of 2022 to over 994.1 trillion VND. … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s retail market proves attractive for foreign investors

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Commercial banks that underwrite and sell corporate bonds have to buy them back if investors so demand, the central bank has said. It followed a meeting with voters (members of the public) the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) held in Ho Chi Minh City amid the ongoing bond market troubles. Besides asking for underwriting banks to take responsibility for redeeming bonds, the voters also urged the SBV to tighten inspection of credit institutions to ensure they comply with regulations while investing in bonds. The SBV recently raided 11 banks and fined a number of them for violating regulations related to bond purchases. Under current regulations, banks must have an internal credit rating system and can only buy bonds if their bad debts ratio is below 3%. For bonds sold in the domestic market, when issuers cannot pay in full and on time the bond principal and interest, they must negotiate with bondholders for extending the term … [Read more...] about Banks underwriting bonds should buy back bonds: Central bank

During her speech at the ceremony, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet affirmed that the cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Chile has been increasingly developed in various fields. The relationship has not only been fostered at the government-to-government level and between the two parliaments, but also between localities and people of the two countries. On her part, VUFO President Nguyen Phuong Nga highlighted that the strong and long-standing traditional friendship between the two countries has been a solid foundation for the development of the relationship of solidarity, friendship, and reliable cooperation between Vietnam and Chile over the past half century, especially since the two countries established a comprehensive partnership in 2007. She also mentioned that with a total two-way trade turnover of more than USD 1 billion annually, Chile is currently Vietnam's fourth largest trading partner in Latin America. This significant trade exchange illustrates the … [Read more...] about 52nd anniversary of Vietnam-Chile diplomatic ties marked in Hanoi