Central bank interest rates

Chairperson of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arsjad Rasjid (second from right), at the press conference. (Source: ANTARA/Ade Irma Junida/uyu) Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), which is chairing the 2023 ASEAN Business Advisory Council ( ASEAN-BAC ), is about to introduce seven legacy breakthroughs on five priority issues during the country’s ASEAN chairmanship this year. Antara news agency of Indonesia reported that the Kadin chairperson, Arsjad Rasjid, unveiled the information at a January 30 press conference on the “ASEAN-BAC Chairmanship Handover Ceremony 2023” (from Cambodia to Indonesia). Three of the seven legacies involve digitisation programmes that focus on fintech and e-trade, namely the ASEAN QR (Quick Response) Code, the ASEAN P2P (peer-to-peer) Lending Platform, and WIKI Entrepreneurship. Rasjid said that Kadin is collaborating with all central banks in ASEAN countries for the QR code … [Read more...] about Indonesia to introduce ASEAN breakthroughs on fin-tech, e-commerce

Nguyen Thi Hang, 31, a citizen of Yen Thanh District of Nghe An Province, is facing the charge of "not helping someone in a life-threatening situation" under the Penal Code, prosecutors said Tuesday. Police said at around 10 p.m. on October 2 last year, Hang stopped her five-seat car on National Highway 1A in Can Loc District of Ha Tinh Province, which neighbors Nghe An, and left the car to do some personal business. There were two others with her in the car. Nguyen Cong Phuong, 32, a resident of nearby Thua Thien-Hue Province, was driving a motorbike right behind the car, but could not stop in time and slammed into the back of Hang’s parked car. The collision caused Phuong injuries so severe that he could not move out of the street by himself. A frightened Hang decided to leave Phuong lying on the street and drove away. A truck then passed by the area and crushed him to death. Police and prosecutors said Phuong had made a mistake by failing to keep a safe distance between … [Read more...] about Driver faces charges after leaving motorcyclist for dead in central Vietnam

At the forum, Vietnam will introduce tourism development, mechanisms and policies, tourism products and services after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the message of Vietnam tourism through the slogan "Vietnam - Timeless Charm" and the campaign "Live fully in Vietnam." TRAVEX is one of the most important activities within ATF 2023, attracting the attention of international partners, businesses and tourists. It will feature exhibitions and symposiums. Vietnam’s booth at the exhibition will highlight the National Tourism Year 2023 in the South-central province of Binh Thuan. The events are expected to offer a good chance for the tourism sector to introduce Vietnam’s attractive destinations, and help travel agencies to seek partners, towards speeding up tourism recovery. ASEAN is one of the most dynamic tourism development regions in Asia and the Pacific. Most of ASEAN member countries consider tourism an important economic sector. According to data from the ASEAN Secretariat, in … [Read more...] about Vietnam to attend ASEAN Tourism Forum 2023 in Indonesia

Despite the high demand for housing, the transaction volume stays low due to the high prices compared to people’s average income. The scarce supply of new projects remains a key factor keeping demand for housing high in Hanoi’s real estate market in 2023. Locals looking at a real estate project in Hanoi. Photo: Pham Hung/The Hanoi Times During the last months of 2022, transactions in the real estate market stayed in stark contrast to the previous boom period. Experts suggested that this was due to several laws regulating the market not being completed, coupled with a sharp decline in liquidity as a result of the government's direction to restrict credit flows in high-risk fields and tighter regulations on corporate bond issuance. The sharp drop in transaction volume and supply, coupled with the high demand for housing, means that prices continue to rise. Data from the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS) showed in the fourth quarter of 2022, Hanoi has … [Read more...] about Demand for housing in Hanoi forecast to rise in 2023

​Vietnam is considered to be one of the few safest countries in the world, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2017 report of the Australian Institute for Economic & Peace. The 2017 report highlights how terrorism remains unevenly spread throughout the world. Central America and the Caribbean continues to be the least affected region. There were only 12 deaths recorded in 2016, which accounts for less than 0.4 per cent of all terrorism deaths. Meanwhile, 94 per cent of all terrorist deaths are located in the Middle-East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Vietnam is one of the safest countries in the world. The 2017 GTI report highlights a turning point in the fight against radical Islamist extremism. The main positive finding shows a global decline in the number of deaths from terrorist attacks to 25,673 people, which is a 22 per cent improvement from the peak in 2014. Terrorism has fallen significantly in the epicenters of … [Read more...] about Vietnam: One of the safest countries in the world

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs noted about 95% of employees in local agencies, factories, and businesses had been back to work as of January 30. Among the over 1,300 companies surveyed by the department, more than 42% of those allowing their workers to return to their hometowns for Tet from January 18 - 19 (the 27th and 28th days of the last lunar month) have resumed operations. Director of the department Le Van Thinh said despite many difficulties leading to lay-offs in late 2022, the situation has improved as many businesses and factories have received new orders. A number of companies have launched various incentives and better treatment policies to keep employees. Resignations after Tet have declined as most workers want to have stable jobs, especially amid numerous difficulties facing the economy and daily lives, he noted. As of the end of 2022, Ho Chi Minh City was home to more than 286,000 enterprises and 460,000 individual … [Read more...] about Majority back to work after Tet in Southern industrial hubs

Tourists enjoy performance at Sun World Ba Na Hills - a tourist attraction in the central city of Da Nang. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A key for Vietnam to attract more foreign tourists at this time is to change its visa policy, said Chris Farewell, a member of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB). Chris told Dau tu ( Vietnam Investment Review) that expanding the list of eligible visa waivers with a maximum stay of up to 30-45 days will be a big drive for foreigners who are planning a trip to Vietnam. TAB also proposed that e-visa should be expanded to all countries and domain name changed so that foreigners can recognise and find more easily when surfing the internet, he said. While Thailand offers visa exemption to citizens from 65 countries and territories with a stay of 30-45 days or even up to 90 days in some cases, Vietnam has not introduced any travelling incentives for visitors after reopening its border in March last year. Resuming tourism activities earlier than … [Read more...] about Visa policy change needed to further attract foreign visitors: tourism authority

Tung was also elected to become a member of Vietcombank's board of directors for the 2018-2023 term at the bank's extraordinary shareholders' meeting held the same day. Tung, 49, holds bachelor's degrees in economics of international trade and English education, as well as a master's degree in economics of Paris Dauphine University. His career at Vietcombank has lasted 26 years, starting in 1997. He became the bank's office head in 2008, and deputy director of its operation center in 2013. He became the deputy general director of the sales division in April 2019, before becoming deputy general director of the board of management in August 2021. … [Read more...] about Vietcombank names new general director

In 2022, Ho Chi Minh City's industrial food production recorded a significant increase of 30.5 per cent on-year. However, the industry is facing many fresh challenges this year due to fluctuations in the global economy affecting export markets and a slowdown in economic growth. Phan Van Co, marketing director of Vrice Group, said, "Since the beginning of the year, the cost of materials for rice production has increased considerably, by 3-5 per cent. While the price of rice has increased in many countries around the world, it has not increased as it has in the Vietnamese market, making it difficult for Vietnamese rice exporters to compete." In 2023, industry and trade in Ho Chi Minh City will strive for an increase in the index of industrial production of 7.5 per cent; growth in the total retail sales of social consumer goods of 12 per cent; and a 10 per cent jump in exports, excluding crude oil, through the city's port. The targets were set while taking such difficulties as the … [Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City food enterprises hope expansion is key

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) hosted a gong-beating ceremony on January 31, marking the first trading session of the Vietnamese stock market in Spring 2023. In her opening speech, Vu Thi Chan Phuong, chairwoman of the State Securities Commission (SSC), emphasised that 2022 marked a challenging year for the Vietnamese economy due to a range of internal and external factors. However, the national economy was able to record a series of impressive results, with GDP growth rate increasing by 8.02% and inflation kept in check, she said. Moving into 2023, she said the global economic and political landscape is anticipated to record plenty of complicated and unpredictable developments, and in such a context the securities sector will continue to fine-tune the legal framework and formulate policies in line with the actual development of the stock market. Phuong underlined the necessity of accelerating restructuring and swiftly putting the stock trading system … [Read more...] about First Spring 2023 trading session of stock market opens