Britain on Friday said it had struck a deal to join an 11-country trans-Pacific trade pact which includes Japan and Australia as it looks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving the European Union. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain had agreed to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in a move his office said was the biggest trade deal since Brexit. A previous government impact assessment estimated the deal would add just 0.08% to GDP in the long term, but Britain has strategic - not just economic - motives, as it can now influence whether applicants China and Taiwan may join the group. "Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies," Sunak said, adding the deal demonstrated "the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms." Britain has been looking to build trade ties following its departure from the EU in 2020, … [Read more...] about Britain, building post-Brexit ties, to join trans-Pacific trade pact
Jakarta post fuel price
Export price of Vietnamese rice on the rise
An ongoing rise in Vietnam's rice price is the continuation of a trend that began last year when Chinese and Indonesian importers upped their consumption of the Vietnamese staple. Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development indicated that Vietnam exported an estimated 900,000 tonnes of rice worth VND11.3 trillion (US$480 million) in March, taking the total volume and value of rice exports in the first three months of the year to 1.79 million tonnes and VND22.3 trillion ($952 million), respectively. While the total value of Vietnamese rice exports surged 30 percent against the same period last year, the volume fell 19 percent. From January to March, Vietnam’s rice export price averaged VND12.5 million ($531) per tonne, up 9.2 percent year on year. During the first two months of 2023, Vietnam shipped 401,980 tonnes of rice valued at VND4.8 trillion ($204.69 million) to the Philippines, making the archipelago Vietnam’s largest rice buyer, accounting for 43 … [Read more...] about Export price of Vietnamese rice on the rise
Laos Airlines connects post-pandemic flight with Da Nang
Tourists from Laos are welcomed at the Da Nang International Airport after Laos Airlines resumed Vientiane-Da Nang direct flights. — VNS Photo Cong Thanh The central city welcomed 150 tourists from Vientiane, Laos on the first direct flight after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The arrival signifies a promising growth in tourism, investment and trade between Laos, northeast of Thailand and central Viet Nam. The airline began its schedule with two flights per week on Thursday and Sunday before increasing to daily flights in the future. The group of Lao tourists will visit destinations in Da Nang and the UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites in Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary and Thua Thien-Hue Province. It’s the third city that Laos Airlines has resumed its post-pandemic flights to after HCM City and Ha Noi. Laos Airlines said it would help connect and attract more visitors from Korea and China to Viet Nam through the Vientinane-Da Nang air route. Da Nang … [Read more...] about Laos Airlines connects post-pandemic flight with Da Nang
ASEAN looks towards net zero emissions
Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility jointly held the Southeast Asia Development Symposium themed “ Imagining a net-zero ASEAN ” in Indonesia’s Bali on March 30. In his opening remarks, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa pointed out that climate change remains the most urgent issue facing Southeast Asia, and suggested countries in the region cooperate with each other to put forth innovative solutions in order to accelerate the regional transition to carbon neutrality, and ensure strong, sustainable, inclusive economic growth. He also spoke of the bank’s goals of elevating its ambition 100 billion USD in cumulative climate finance by 2030, and rolling out “game-changing” platforms to scale up the climate finance . Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said ASEAN - which relies heavily on fossil fuels for economic and industrial development - should address the need for … [Read more...] about ASEAN looks towards net zero emissions
$11 billion required for Vietnam’s oil and gas infrastructure development
Vietnam plans to expand its crude oil and petroleum product reserves to 75-80 days of net imports by 2030 and 90 days by 2050. The national petroleum and gas supply reserve infrastructure is predicted to cost VND270 trillion (US$11.4 billion) by 2030. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha at the meeting. Source: VGP Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien commented on March 30 during a meeting of the Appraisal Council for the draft National Petroleum and Gas Reserve Infrastructure Plan. The minister stated that the country's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage infrastructure is limited, with only ten 10,000 m3 or larger warehouses. Furthermore, no operational liquefied natural gas (LNG) warehouses are nationwide. "The development of new gas pipelines connecting warehouses to consumers has also encountered challenges due to a lack of designated corridors within industrial parks for gas pipelines," Dien explained. In the case of petroleum, there … [Read more...] about $11 billion required for Vietnam’s oil and gas infrastructure development
New strategic orientations for Petrolimex suggested
The Hai Thach 1 oil rig under the Bien Dong 1 project (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh held a working session with the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) in Hanoi on March 31. Anh, who is also head of the Steering Committee for the building of a project on reviewing the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution on the strategic orientations for the development of the Vietnamese petroleum industry by 2025, with a vision to 2035, asked delegates to discuss Petrolimex’s production and trade situation since the issuance of the Resolution, focusing on shortcomings, difficulties, their causes and suggestions regarding policies, mechanisms, legal regulations, particularly petrol price and market management, investment procedures, business development, national petroleum reserve as well as the construction, management, and operation of warehouse-port system. The meeting between head of the … [Read more...] about New strategic orientations for Petrolimex suggested
Vietnam expected to export 7 million tons of rice this year: Ministry
Vietnam now sees a sharp increase in rice orders from the Philippines and China. Acccording to Pham Thai Binh, General Director of Trung An Hi-tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, the company has signed an order to export 2,000 tonnes of rice to China and is under negotiation for another batch of 20,000 tons. Statistics from the General Administration of Vietnam Customs show that in the first two months of this year, China imported 152,640 tons of rice from Vietnam worth 90 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 86% in volume and 120% in value. Vietnamese rice exported to China enjoyed an average price of 589.7 USD per ton, 18.3% higher than that of the same period last year. Chinese customers mainly imported Vietnam’s high-quality rice like fragrant rice and sticky rice with high prices. Meanwhile, the Philippines is anticipated to import about 2.8 million tons of rice from Vietnam during the 2022-2023 crop because the country’s rice … [Read more...] about Vietnam expected to export 7 million tons of rice this year: Ministry
Border troops provide emergency aid for foreigner
The ill sailor was Liu Aihua (46 years old, a Chinese national) who was chief mechanic of Panama’s container ship MIYUNHE, which was en route from Vietnam’s Cat Lai Port to China. When the ship was near Quy Nhon Port in Binh Dinh province, Liu Aihua had pain, and the ship applied for procedures to anchor at buoy No.0. After being reported on the case, the Binh Dinh provincial Border Guard Command directed the Border Post of Quy Nhon Port Border Gate to send five officers and one canoe to cooperate with relevant agencies to approach and provide emergency aid for the sailor and take him to Mui Tan border checkpoint. Patient Liu Aihua was then taken to Binh Dinh General Hospital. Translated by Chung Anh … [Read more...] about Border troops provide emergency aid for foreigner
Central bank to cut deposit interest rate ceiling from Monday
It said the overnight electronic interbank rate would also be kept at the current level of 6.0%. The bank also said it will from Monday lower its refinance rate by 50 basis points to 5.5%, its latest move to support economic growth that bucks a trend among regional peers. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said in a statement it would keep the discount rate unchanged at 3.5%. Earlier this month, the SBV cut several policy rates to increase liquidity and help spur growth, in what was a surprise move amid global financial turmoil. The announcement came just hours after a senior central bank official said the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to ease its rate hikes meant Vietnam would consider further cutting rates in future to spur growth. Vietnam's economic growth slowed to 3.32% in the first quarter, against a 5.92% expansion in the fourth quarter of 2022. The SBV pledged on Friday to keep monetary policy flexible for the rest of the year to support economic stability amid … [Read more...] about Central bank to cut deposit interest rate ceiling from Monday
Worst over for industry: Hoa Phat Steel chairman
"In 2022 the steel industry was going through a difficult cycle. I predicted this at last year's meeting, and honestly it was worse than expected," he said at the 2023 annual general meeting on Thursday. "However, the most difficult period has passed, and the internal strength of Hoa Phat in particular is good, and now it completely depends on the demand side." Steel is an industry that depends on the real estate market and the government's public spending policy. Long said now "everything is very slow." Hoa Phat's January and February results were negative, but the losses were lower than the management had feared, he said. Things have been better in March, he said without providing figures, but promised to announce them at the end of April. Asked about his past assertion that "Hoa Phat cannot make steel forever," he said that applied for the long term and is a path that all large corporations must tread, but not easy to implement in the short term. "In theory, it is … [Read more...] about Worst over for industry: Hoa Phat Steel chairman