Governments should regulate markets

Land law adjustments aim to protect entities as well as the real estate market, photo Le Toan In a seminar to collect opinions from enterprises and experts regarding amendments to the Law on Land held last week in Ho Chi Minh City, Seck Yee Chung, a representative of the Vietnam Business Forum’s Trade and Investment Working Group, said that Article 35.d of the draft law provided that domestic companies only have the right to mortgages with their land and properties attached to the land at credit institutions licensed to operate in Vietnam. “This means that companies in Vietnam cannot mortgage their factory or land through foreign lenders, which creates great challenges for them to access competitive financing resources outside the country,” Chung said at the seminar, which was organised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE). “Foreign lenders will look for security assets of Vietnamese companies to secure their … [Read more...] about Land law points further scrutinised

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, but indicated it was on the verge of pausing further increases in borrowing costs after the recent collapse of two U.S. banks. Fed Chair Jerome Powell sought to reassure investors about the soundness of the banking system, saying that the management of Silicon Valley Bank "failed badly," but that the bank's collapse did not indicate wider weaknesses in the banking system. "These are not weaknesses that are running broadly through the banking system," he said, adding that the takeover of Credit Suisse seemed to have been a positive outcome. The Federal Open Market Committee policy statement also said the U.S. banking system is "sound and resilient." Even so, Wall Street ended sharply lower after Powell told a news conference that officials were still intent on fighting inflation while also eying the extent to which recent bank failures had cooled demand and slowed lending. The … [Read more...] about U.S. Fed delivers small rate hike amid global banking turmoil

In December, the EU officially approved a directive for companies to pay a minimum tax rate of 15 per cent from 2024. Our neighbouring markets such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong are heading towards the official application of GMT policy from 2024 or 2025. Thomas McClelland - Country tax leader Deloitte Vietnam Countries with foreign investment in Vietnam, like South Korea and Japan, will implement new tax policies or announce a draft tax reform, moving towards the application of the GMT from the fiscal year 2024. The impact of the policy on Vietnam is clear and urgent, and requires the authorities to take timely action before it is too late. Firstly, to protect tax collection, Vietnam could consider the immediate solution of implementing a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax to gain the right to collect the top-up tax rather than the tax going to another country. This mechanism can simply be understood as a domestic mechanism in which the calculation of … [Read more...] about Vietnam must revisit policies to develop implementation of global minimum tax

Nordic countries, including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, shared their experience in green solutions to a circular economy and waste management and policy implications for Vietnam at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday. The seminar was organized by the Embassies in Vietnam of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden and Fulbright University Vietnam to mark the occasion of Nordic Day 2023 (March 23). In his opening remarks at the seminar, Ambassador of Denmark to Vietnam Nicolai Prytz said with a long tradition of working together to find solutions to common challenges, the Nordic countries are proud to share their experience and knowledge with Vietnam. “We believe that sharing experience and best practices with our partners is essential to promoting sustainable development,” Prytz added. Meanwhile, Ambassador of Norway to Vietnam Hilde Solbakken highlighted the role of the private sector in promoting green innovation, saying, "In the Nordic region, we have seen … [Read more...] about Nordic countries share circular economy, waste management solutions with Vienam

A group of solar power ventures that did not make the 2021 feed-in tariff deadline remain idle and developers want fresh solutions Nearly 40 renewable power investors last week asked the prime minister to consider addressing pricing-related inadequacies in renewables development. The joint letter said that the impact of the pandemic and expiry of the country’s previous feed-in tariffs (FiTs) has resulted in 84 renewable power projects, with total capacity of some 4,600MW, falling behind schedule and failing to achieve commercial operation. Among these, 28 wind farms and six solar farms with the combined capacity of more than 2,000MW, which have cost an estimated $3.6 billion are eligible to connect to the national power grid, are still waiting for a suitable pricing mechanism. Six solar power ventures have been waiting for such a mechanism for over two years. The developers last week expressed concerns that they may go bankrupt as the government’s latest pricing band fix are … [Read more...] about Pricing structure not enough to clinch nation’s energy goals

High pedestal to reach for 2023’s growth ambitions Vietnam’s economic growth is projected to ease to 6.3 per cent in 2023 from a robust 8.02 per cent last year, as services growth moderates and higher prices and interest rates weigh on households and investors, according to the World Bank’s latest Taking Stock report released last week. Growth is expected to pick up to 6.5 per cent in 2024 as the economies of Vietnam’s main export markets gain strength, the report said. The outlook for Vietnam reflects heightened uncertainty in the global economy. Downside risks include weaker-than-expected growth in Vietnam’s major export markets, which include the United States, China, and the Eurozone, tightening financial conditions, higher domestic inflation, weaknesses in the balance sheets of corporate, banking and household sectors, and financial sector vulnerabilities. The Vietnamese government has set a target that GDP will increase 5.6 per cent in Q1, 6.7 per cent in Q2, 6.5 per … [Read more...] about High pedestal to reach for 2023’s growth ambitions

Some branches are taking care of the registration fee for car buyers, but sales are still not being boosted, photo Le Toan In a document sent to the prime minister last week, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) along with other associations asked the government to extend the payment of special consumption tax and reduce the registration fee of domestically manufactured and assembled cars by a half this year, in order to stimulate demand. A VAMA representative said that the domestic car sales market is in a gloomy situation, and has been struggling like many other industries since 2020. “In order to stimulate market demand, we need strong enough policies like extending the payment of excise tax in 2023 and taking 50 per cent off the registration fee. These should be applied as soon as possible,” emphasised the representative. To combat the effects of the pandemic, the government chopped the registration fee in half for domestically manufactured and assembled … [Read more...] about Auto makers project bumpy years ahead

For the first time, on March 19, a batch of nearly 20 tonnes of fresh sugarcane from the northern province of Hoa Binh left Vietnam heading to the US market, facilitated by the privately held Tien Ngan Trade Investment Co., Ltd. Despite the modest value, the move heralds strong prospects for sugarcane and other agricultural items from Hoa Binh province. Nguyen Le Diep, the company’s director, revealed that it took six months of negotiations to meet the partner’s strict technical standards. Amidst the huge supply, boosting exports has become a crucial task for cement producers Notably, accompanying the fresh sugarcane batch were 10 cane pressing machines, which hints at how the products will be consumed in the foreign market. With a wealth of experience exporting hundreds of tonnes of fresh sugarcane to the EU, South Korea, and lately the US market, Tien Ngan Co., Ltd. is set to export 300-500 tonnes of fresh sugarcane this year. The fresh export shipment came … [Read more...] about Firms gearing up to boost exports

As part of the draft national Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8), Vietnam plans to generate 7GW offshore wind capacity by 2030, but the lack of an official strategy is hindering progress. At a conference organised by the Central Economic Committee last week, Mark Hutchinson, chairman of the Southeast Asia Task Force, said, “7GW of offshore wind is crucial for Vietnam for its net-zero goal and for the country’s long-term energy security. Our message has been the same for years – a clearly defined route to the market is needed.” He said that offshore wind deployment was in its early stages and the deployment of the country’s 4GW of offshore wind was not driven by a direct auction mechanism but instead arranged at a time when clear policy measures were not in place. Thus, he called for accelerating a large-scale pilot or mechanism that covers a certain volume of the target, to bypass obstacles and fast track wind power. “There are now two main options: an accelerating mechanism such … [Read more...] about No time to waste in building the offshore wind industry

The US was the largest export market to Vietnam in 2022 with Vietnamese exports to the former reaching US$100 billion. Vietnam is willing and ready to foster bilateral relations with the US, Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ deputy spokesperson Dang Thu Hang said at a press conference in Hanoi on March 23. Prime Minister meets US corporate executives on March 22 during a meeting with the US-ASEAN Business Council. Photo: VGP "The Vietnamese Government expects to foster our relations with President Joe Biden's administration," Hang replied to a reporter's question about Vietnam's readiness to upgrade the Comprehensive Partnership to a Strategic Partnership with the United States. "We hope the Vietnam-US relations will be strengthened in-depth, sustainability and efficiency for regional and international peace and cooperation," she said. Hang said that the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership has grown stronger in the face of bilateral, regional, and … [Read more...] about Vietnam ready upgrade US ties on 10th anniversary of comprehensive partnership