January 21 2019

Petrol retail prices in the country have been adjusted many times over the past few months, Photo: Le Toan In Vietnam, gasoline prices continue to increase, and after the adjustment on May 11 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Finance, each litre of E5 RON92 petrol increased by 6.5 US cents to $1.26 per litre while RON95 climbed by 6.7 US cents to $1.30 per litre. On May 17, the price of US WTI crude oil remained at a high level of over $114 per barrel while Brent oil maintained its upward momentum at $114.28 per barrel. Before the next adjustment, which was due on May 21, petrol prices in Vietnam were forecast to continue to increase to higher levels. The ministries first adjusted gasoline prices on January 11 due to a decrease in global supply, production output by Kazakhstan and Libya, and oil inventories of the United States. According to Decree No.95/2021/ND-CP, effective from January, there will be three adjustments each month to the … [Read more...] about Vietnam riding the wave of inflationary unpredictability

One-third of the number of large-scale enterprises in Hanoi have invested in high-tech agriculture. Hanoi has been promoting the application of hi-tech models to farming in an effort to build up supply-production chains connecting cities and provinces nationwide. Hanoi has 22 cooperatives applying high technology. Photo: kinhtedothi.vn The capital city has developed 160 hi-tech farming models in the outskirt districts of Me Linh, Gia Lam, Thuong Tin, Dong Anh, Thanh Oai, and Dan Phuong, in which nine enterprises specializing in livestock, aquaculture, preliminary processing - consumption of agricultural products including CP, Dabaco, CJ Vietnam, Minh Long, Hanoi Cattle Breeding JSC, and others are investing in high tech agriculture in the city. Director of the Hanoi Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sub-Department Nguyen Ngoc Son told a conference on May 25 in Hanoi that the situation of livestock and poultry diseases has been complicated and unpredictable … [Read more...] about Hanoi promotes application of hi-tech farming models

The Hanoi government will improve mechanisms and policies to encourage the participation of the private sector in the field of high-tech agriculture. Hanoi needs to remove two barriers of capital and land to attract businesses to invest in high-tech agriculture, according to local media. Applying high-tech in agriculture is inevitable for the capital city’s farming sector, especially in face of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 which has strong impacts on socio-economic life. In order to remove the agricultural development hindrance, the Hanoi government has implemented a number of solutions such as providing businesses, cooperatives, cooperative groups, farms, and households with money from the city's funds for processing and conservation of high-tech agricultural products. Tending hydroponic vegetables at Duc Phat High-tech Agricultural Cooperative (Thanh Tri district). Photo: Ba Hoat In particular, under the Hanoi Agricultural Sector’s restructuring plan … [Read more...] about Hanoi needs to remove barriers to develop high-tech agriculture

Many retailers in phone and electronics segments focus on developing online channels to survive during the coronavirus pandemic period. To survive adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic, many Vietnamese tech retailers have quickly boosted their sales on online platforms as their physical stores nationwide have to close until April 15 to comply with the prime ministerial directive stipulating measures to combat the pandemic. Photo: MWG Significant demand on tech products Mobile World Investment JSC (MWG), the largest tech retailer in Vietnam, saw a surge in demand in online shopping since the beginning of April as more than 10% of its 2,000 phone and electronics stores, mainly in Hanoi, have to close. Dang Thanh Phong, PR manager of MWG, told Hanoitimes that its revenue from online sales accounted for 13% of the total phone and electronics revenue in March, higher than that of the previous months. Due to the closure of its stores, sales in … [Read more...] about Vietnamese tech retailers manage to survive Covid-19 pandemic

Illustrative image. (Photo: SGGP) According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Chairman of Vietnam E-commerce Association (Vecom), in 2021, despite being heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam's e-commerce still maintained a good growth momentum with an increase of about 20 percent and a scale of $16 billion. Keeping the growth momentum, Vietnam is now one of the countries with the largest e-commerce market size in the region, besides Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Vietnam's internet economy in 2021 grew by 31 percent compared to 2020 and reached a scale of $21 billion. Of which, the online retail sector enlarged by 53 percent and touched a scale of $13 billion. There are two waves that have contributed to the steady development of e-commerce in Vietnam in 2020 and 2021 and will be the driving force for the next period. The first wave took place during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and the second one from June to September 2021, during the fourth … [Read more...] about Opportunities for e-commerce in Vietnam to boom

Young director Ho Thanh Thao at the film shoot location of her movie Diem Bao (The sign)  that is one of the five selected pictures at the CJ Short Film Project. The CJ Short Film Project organized by CJ Cultural Foundation and CGV Vietnam has been concluded with the five best movies that will be selected for international film festivals in the coming time. 21 projects have been chosen for the Presentation Round at the Green Screen Film Festival which is organized by the Vietnam Film Development Association (VFDA). Participants told stories reflecting environmental issues in the form of a fictional or documentary film. "My Vietnam" short film competition unveiled its nine winners that were selected from 200 submissions. Each project featured the landscapes, customs, habits, and cultural traditions of Vietnamese people. Training providing required skills to the employee of the movie industry has received special attention from film producers. Besides film production degree … [Read more...] about Movie making competitions, courses help develop young filmmaker’s creativity

Vietnam Airlines Group said it plans to provide 32,400 domestic flights between June and August during the peak summer travel season, up 10 percent against the same period in 2019, the year before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. There would be 160 daily flights connecting Vietnam’s three biggest cities Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. It will also operate over 3,600 international flights during the period, 40 percent of pre-pandemic time. Vietravel Airlines said it will increase the frequency of flights from Hanoi to HCMC and Da Nang by two a day from June. Air tickets for domestic routes between June and August are nearly fully booked. The carrier also plans to launch charter flights from HCMC to Jakarta and Can Tho to Bangkok, but the schedule has not been determined. A representative of Vietravel Airlines, which was launched in December 2020 amid the turbulence created by the pandemic, said the carrier is facing many difficulties like personnel and aircraft … [Read more...] about Carriers add flights to summer holiday roster

Real estate bonds shackled by rules - illustration photo At last week’s conference on corporate bonds held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, experts discussed ways to develop an efficient and sustainable corporate bond market. One of the common recommendations regarded appropriate approaches to credit ratings. According to Can Van Luc, BIDV’s chief economist, there should be clear regulations on credit ratings to help investors easily determine business quality and the risk level of the issued bonds. “It is necessary to identify where a credit rating is mandatory and where a credit rating is encouraged. High-risk businesses should go through compulsory credit rating before bond issuance,” Luc said. “On the other hand, for businesses that have been audited and internationally rated with a long-standing history, a credit rating might not be necessary.” In recent years, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has steadily redirected loan flows towards industry, services … [Read more...] about Real estate bonds shackled by rules

Kevin Coppel, Asia-Pacific managing director (left ) and Christine Li, Asia-Pacific head of research for Knight Frank in Singapore When the US-China trade tensions bubbled over in 2018, corporates found it increasingly difficult to carry out business in China due to sourcing uncertainties and rising costs. This trend only worsened in the face of the pandemic and resulting border closures. Businesses responded by pursuing opportunities to set up bases outside of China while still retaining a stake in one of the world’s strongest economies. The China+1 strategy thus emerged. It is based on diversifying its supply base into other countries in order to minimise the risk of disruptions arising from geopolitical tensions, trade wars and tariffs, as well as rising labour costs. These companies are not abandoning China but rather giving themselves options, enjoying the best of what China and other economies have to offer. In pursuit of the China+1 strategy, the spotlight is naturally … [Read more...] about Will Vietnam become a big geopolitical beneficiary?

Legislation review necessary to increase tempo on public disbursement activities, illustration photo/ baodautu.vn Assoc. Prof. Pham The Anh from the National Economics University said that changing the slow disbursement of public investment would be very challenging because of legal risks and responsibility. “I don’t think the slow disbursement is due to the lack of motivation by those responsible for the implementation,” said Anh. “In the past two years, the bottlenecks in public investment were related to the legal environment,” he added, citing legal problems in land clearance. “The Vietnamese government still has the ability to keep up with the disbursement speed by reviewing the legislation related to public investment decisions.” In 2022, the government expects to disburse $17.69 billion according to Decision No.2048/QD-TTg dated December 6, 2021 on assigning state budget investment for 2022. “The latest directives are aimed at disbursing public investment on schedule … [Read more...] about Legislation review necessary to increase tempo on public disbursement activities