Cost effective operations and competitiveness

The president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (KOCHAM) has asked the Ho Chi Minh City government to assist South Korean enterprises in alleviating their cost burden in the current difficult period. KOCHAM President Shon Young Il made the request at a dialogue session between the city government and South Korean enterprises, held on Friday by local authorities in coordination with the Consulate General of South Korea in the southern metropolis. Speaking at the event, chaired by the municipal People’s Committee chairman Phan Van Mai, the KOCHAM leader said Korean businesses are facing a lot of pressure while trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and cope with impacts caused by the ongoing Russian-Ukraine military conflict and the inflation risk. Therefore, he hopes that the Ho Chi Minh City administration can support Korean businesses in reducing their cost burden in this tough period. Specifically, local authorities should assist Korean businesses in solving … [Read more...] about S. Korean firms in Ho Chi Minh City seek help to ease rising cost burden

As more Vietnamese are seeking air travel services this summer, air ticket prices have increased as airlines are grappling with surging fuel costs and staffing challenges. Prices for flight tickets on many domestic routes operated by Vietnam’s five major carriers went up 20-40 percent for the last week of June compared to two months ago, according to an analysis by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Airfares for international flights to and from Vietnam also soared 20-35 percent compared to pre-pandemic rates, according to a representative of Transportation Services Company (Worldtrans), a Vietnamese air charter provider. Dang Anh Tuan - head of communications of Vietnam Airlines, Vu Duc Bien - general director of Vietravel Airlines and other airline representatives all blamed rising fuel prices for the airfare spike. Fuel costs account for 30-40 percent of an airline’s total expenses, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). As fuel prices rise, airlines … [Read more...] about Airfares surge as domestic and int’l travel rebounds, fuel prices skyrocket

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has proposed helping fishermen amid increasing petroleum prices. Many fishing boats in Vietnam are staying ahosre due to high petroleum prices MARD reported that petroleum prices have kept rising since December last year, which left up to 55 percent of fishing boats in Vietnam staying ashore. This has affected the seafood supply for the domestic and export markets. The country has 91,716 fishing vessels that consume an average of about 330 million litres of fuel per month. Diesel 0.05S, the main fuel for fishing vessels, has surged in price by 65 percent compared to late December last year. This means that fuel costs for fishing activities have increased by roughly VND3.77 (USD162.5 million) trillion each month. Fuel costs usually account for 45-60 percent of input costs for fishing vessels, which means an overall increase in operational costs of 35-48 percent. MARD has recommended assistance for … [Read more...] about Support proposed for fishermen struggling with petrol price hike

At the meeting According to general statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in the first five months of 2022, approximately 206,110 tons of cashew kernels of all kinds were exported earning over US$1.19 billion in export turnover, down 7.81 percent in volume and 6.81 percent in value. However, the average export price was about $5,792 a ton, up 1.45 percent from the same period last year. Regarding imports in the first five months, enterprises imported about 968,000 tons of raw cashew nuts from abroad with a value of nearly $1.4 billion, down 35.24 percent in volume and down 37.84 percent in value over the same period in 2021. However, prices of imports from Africa increased by 15 percent-20 percent since the beginning of the season. More importantly, importers are tending to be slow to purchase raw materials due to many reasons but the most common is the price difference between imported raw cashew nuts and export kernel prices. The price of raw cashew … [Read more...] about Cashew exports down due to rising oil prices, epidemics, Russia Ukraine conflict

Khai congratulated the Cambodian Government on the important achievements obtained under PM Hun Sen’s leadership, especially the success in COVID-19 containment and socio-economic reopening and recovery. Men Sam An, who is also Minister of the National Assembly - Senate Relations and Inspection of Cambodia, Vice President of the Cambodian People’s Party, and Chairwoman of the Cambodia - Vietnam Friendship Association, expressed her honor to represent the Cambodian Government to attend and deliver remarks at the ceremony marking the 55th founding anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic ties held in Hanoi earlier the same day. Saying she is impressed with Vietnam’s all-round attainments over the past years, she expressed her belief that under the clear-sighted leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Government and people will continue reaping more successes in national reforms and development and unceasingly promoting Vietnam’s stature in the international … [Read more...] about Deputy PMs agree on measures for strengthening Vietnam-Cambodia links

Illustrative photo (Source: vneconomy.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Enterprises are gradually switching to an electronic documentation system , underpinning the nation’s efforts to develop the digital economy . A survey conducted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in 2021 revealed that at least 33% of the surveyed businesses use e-contracts in their commercial activities. The application not only helps firms and their customers be more efficient, but also contributes to reducing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the gap in commercial transactions. The Bkav DX Platform has hosted e-contracts for more than 3 years. As a result, it helped companies save 70% of printing and delivery costs annually and shortened the process of providing products to customers by 50%. A representative of FPT Information System Company said that in Vietnam, the concept of e-contracts is no longer new. On the FPT.eContract – a signing platform between businesses and individuals – there are more … [Read more...] about Electronic documentation system fundamental to digital economy

She said that Vietnam and Hungary have shared a 72-year partnership and traditional cooperation in all fields including education-training, law and justice, culture, sports, and people-to-people exchanges. The diplomat noted that Hungary considers Vietnam an important partner in Southeast Asia, and the two countries lifted their ties to a comprehensive partnership in September 2018. The parliaments of the two countries have also kept a good relationship with regular meetings and exchanges at all levels, while showing close and effective cooperation and mutual support at multilateral parliamentarian forums, she said. According to Ambassador Thao, the Vietnamese top legislator's visit will be a chance for senior leaders of Vietnam and Hungary to reaffirm their political commitments in continuing to promote the bilateral partnership, contributing to the economic recovery and sustainable development after COVID-19 in each country, while strengthening collaboration in global issues … [Read more...] about N.A. Chairman’s visit to deepen ties with Hungary in post-pandemic period: Ambassador

At the event (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Investors from the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Ho Chi Minh City are facing a number of bottlenecks related to labour regulation and administrative procedures that need to be promptly removed, heard a June 24 dialogue between the municipal leaders and the business community. The collection of seaport infrastructure fees was also pointed to by many participating businesses. From April 1, 2022, all container vehicles entering and leaving the city’s Cat Lai port have to pay an additional fee for using seaport infrastructure. Korean firms proposed the establishment of a monthly gross payment process and a reduction of the fee, given their difficulties from increased logistics costs. Phan Van Mai , Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said the southern economic hub is working to recover after two years affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such recovery sees a significant contribution of the business communities, including … [Read more...] about HCM City works to clear hurdles for RoK investors