European business trends

As Vietnam steps into the post-pandemic era, experiences and learnings from the pandemic serve as a reminder of the importance of digital transformation and its crucial technology component. Eunjung Han, consultant at Rouse Legal Vietnam and vice chair of the Digital Sector Committee of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam Despite COVID-19’s negative economic and social impact, Vietnam remains an attractive destination to European investors. According to the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) 2021 White Book, Vietnam’s stable macro-economic climate, with inflation in the single digits, continues to increase investor confidence in the country’s trade and investment environment. Only adding to that, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is paving the way for continued foreign direct investment (FDI) from the EU and is viewed as a means for shared recovery and economic rebound. As the first comprehensive FTA between the EU and a developing country in … [Read more...] about EVFTA underpinning growth in Vietnamese tech market

MUSIC & PERFORMANCES HCMC-Carnival of the Animals ______________________________________________________________ EXHIBITION HCMC-Exhibition “Dancing Through Dreamscape” Until Aug 14, 10 am – 08 pm VY Gallery, 20 Nguyen Van Thu, District 1 Hanoi-Exhibition “Movement” Opening: Aug 10, 06 pm Exhibition: Aug 10 – 30, 09 am – 12 pm & 01:30 pm – 05 pm VICAS Art Studio, 32 Hao Nam Street, Dong Da District From the organizer : Movement by Mzung Nguyen is a solo exhibition, a visual essay reflecting the transition of urban life through a mixed discipline of collage-art practices. In terms of materials, this project collects and reuses hundreds of old magazines, which have been published during the past decade. Mzung Nguyen finds motivation in tracking the shifts in time and space, the replacement of old and new values, the cultural disparity between tradition and … [Read more...] about What’s on August 8-14/2022

The EU is Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner and an export market that witnessed the euro fall below $1 for the first time in nearly 20 years on July 29. Euro-dollar parity threatens the nation’s exports, source: freepik.com Pham Van Viet, chairman of Viet Thang Jeans, the top 5 leading fashion companies in Indochina, said that the immediate impact on textile and garment export enterprises is a decrease in value. All customers in Europe pay in euros and Vietnamese businesses that receive money back home must exchange it for USD. Now that the euro has fallen to the level of the US dollar, the export value of each shipment will decrease accordingly. “Profits of businesses are low because input costs such as gasoline, input material prices, and labour costs have all increased, now the plunge in euro prices will drag profits down even more,” he told VIR. Viet added that the depreciation of the euro shows that the European market is currently unstable, and … [Read more...] about Euro-dollar parity threatens the nation’s exports

From five grams of toothpaste to 10 millilitres of cooking oil, many Nigerians struggling with soaring prices now buy their basic necessities in small quantities packed in tiny plastic bags to be consumed on the same day. Consumer brands behind this "sachetisation of the economy" see it as a creative innovation, allowing consumption for all Nigerians, the majority of whom live on less than $2 a day. But critics see the development as an economic and ecological aberration, even as Africa's largest economy struggles with the inflationary fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine. In the streets of Lagos, the vibrant economic capital of Africa's most populous country, small sachets are now part of the decor: they colour its streets, packing the wood and tin shops found on the corner of most streets. Sitting on a stool, Ibrahim Atahire has been running his small grocery store for 30 years in a busy area of Obalende, a popular district of the megalopolis. "At my place, you can buy … [Read more...] about From coffee to toothpaste, Nigerians buy small as hardships bite

Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC exported over one-third of its products to the United States in 2021. However, the company started to face challenges following the US’ blanket ban on all Xinjiang cotton. Last year, President Joe Biden signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Vietnam’s cotton imports reach up to one million tonnes each year, Photo: Shutterstock Tran Nhu Tung, chairman of the company, said that the company has adopted regulations this year related to this act. Accordingly, buyers have to be responsible for export orders to the US which source Chinese cotton materials. Thanh Cong secures many large orders from the US. In 2022, the company sets a target to generate $179 million in revenues and $10.87 million in profit, up 120 per cent and 188 per cent respectively against last year. Tung noted that yarn exports are the main driving force for Thanh Cong. “There is a rapidly growing demand for yarn imports in the global … [Read more...] about Demand for cotton forces adjustments

Kenneth Chan, senior director of Market Development at Renze Textile JSC, under Texhong Group, has unveiled a new process to monitor origin-tracing. A tracing system is slated to be put into operation in August for the subsidiaries of Texhong Group, after Chan informed the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association and the American Cotton Association (CCI) at a meeting earlier in June. This US has made major decisions on cotton origin-tracing that affects Vietnam and beyond, Duc Thanh Renze, one of eight Texhong member companies, is using American cotton for its products to ensure product quality and comply with strict requirements for export to the United States and EU. From March, customers were able to access the Texhong cotton tracing system to trace the details of their orders. Chan noted that Renze is focusing on sustainability and transparency. He also informed the company’s partners about key development trends as well as viable solutions for Vietnamese suppliers to … [Read more...] about US ratchets up origin-tracing on cotton materials

A trader observing the market's movements on his computer. — Photo baodautu.vn After hitting a bottom of around 1,140 points in early July, the stock market had recovered for four straight sessions, with the benchmark VN-Index surpassing the threshold of 1,250 points. Notably, liquidity improved significantly last week and has now exceeded the recent 20-week average. This marked the second week of such an increase, showing that investors' interest is improving. On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index ended the week at 1,252.74 points, down 0.11 per cent. Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) closed higher, up 0.73 per cent to 299.9 points. For the week, the VN-Index rose by 3.85 per cent and the HNX-Index was up 3.91 per cent. Trading value on HOSE increased by 39.2 per cent from the previous week to VND83.1 trillion (US$3.5 billion), equivalent to a gain of 47 per cent in volume to more than 3.5 billion shares. On the northern bourse, … [Read more...] about Investors’ risk appetite continues to improve this week