Monetary policy key points

Vo Tri Thanh *Vo Tri Thanh Viet Nam achieved and exceeded 14 out of 15 targets assigned by the National Assembly for 2022 with many impressive numbers including GDP growth, export turnover and the number of newly-established and re-opened businesses. Only labour productivity was under expectations. Viet Nam’s labour productivity was expected to increase by between 4.7 per cent and 5.2 per cent on average in 2022, higher than the average growth rate of 4.7 per cent in 2021 but behind the target of 5.6 per cent set for the whole of 2022. On January 10 this year, the Government issued Resolution No 06/NQ-CP on the development of a modern, efficient, sustainable and integrated labour market serving quick socio-economic recovery, setting the average labour productivity target for 2023 at more than 6.5 per cent. Labour productivity is an important economic indicator that is closely linked to economic growth, competitiveness and living standards within an economy. According to … [Read more...] about Viet Nam wrestles with labour productivity issue when heading to innovation-based development

"The increasing return of Chinese tourists following China's border reopening on January 8 will notably contribute to the growth of Vietnam's tourism, which can be a key sector for Vietnam in 2023, offsetting the decline in trading and manufacturing," said HSBC experts. HSBC also called on Vietnam to fix existing issues such as flight constraints and visa barriers so that the tourism industry could take off this year. After Vietnam reopened tourism in March 2022, domestic tourism witnessed a strong recovery, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers. However, international tourism, which used to account for 60% of tourism revenue pre-Covid, remained sluggish due to visa issues. Vietnam is now offering a visa exemption for nationals of 24 countries for stays of 15-30 days, except for Chileans, who are allowed 90 days, and a one-month single-entry e-visa for visitors from 80 other countries. Vietnam last year received only 3.6 million foreign tourist s, mainly South Koreans and … [Read more...] about Number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam forecast to reach 4.5 million this year: HSBC

I wanted to address my staff on the first working day after the Tet holidays, but instead of writing a speech by myself, I asked ChatGPT to do it by using three keywords: "optimism," "speed" and "resilience." It finished the speech in 15 seconds. It was terrific though I had to edit it a little bit. The AI tool knew how to express my ideas logically based on the keywords I provided. The speech expressed the foundation, the connection between these keywords, and the central point. Moreover, the structure of the speech was excellent, making a reference to the current economic situation and highlighting the key points and conclusions. The writing was coherent, and the wording is suitable for business executives and consultants. ChatGPT by U.S. startup OpenAI is estimated to have reached 100 million active users in January, just two months after launch, making it the fastest-growing consumer app in history, according to a study released on February 1 by analytics firm UBS. This … [Read more...] about What to do with ChatGPT

The local stock market will not go smoothly in 2023 as risks still persist and hamper its prospects. View-only may be a suitable term to describe the local stock market in the eyes of Vietnamese investors at the moment. An investor watches Vietnamese stocks being traded at Bao Viet Securities JSC. Photo: The Hanoi Times The local stock market tumbled on its latest trading day on February 7, losing 2.15% to close at 1,065.84 points. Vietnam's benchmark VN-Index has swung forth and back in the range of 1,000-1,100 points since early December 2022. Notably, the benchmark posted a seven-day rally from January 11 to January 17, 2023, right before the Tet (Lunar New Year). After the week-long break, the VN-Index reached its two-month high of 1,117 points on January 27. Since then, the index has fallen a total of 4.6%. Market trading liquidity has remained average. Trading volume has stayed in the range of 400 million-700 million shares … [Read more...] about Investors cautious in stock market in Year of the Cat

Deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Dao Minh Tu has said that bad debts are climbing for both credit organisations and the wider economy. "It is an ongoing challenge to manage bad debts and banking activities will be seriously affected over the next few years," said Tu. He said that the woes would be revealed more clearly as the ratio of on-balance-sheet bad debt continues to grow due to inflation and interest rate rises. At the end of 2022, bad debts were classified based on the groups of borrowers and economic issues like recovery and inflation curbing. Can Van Luc, a member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council, said that on-balance-sheet bad debt could reach 2.3-2.5 per cent and gross bad debt could hit 6 per cent in 2023, rising into 2024. As the regulations on unchanged debt groups in Circular No.14/2021/TT-NHNN expire, economic recovery could suffer. According to the SBV, at the end of 2022, the ratio of … [Read more...] about Bad debts continue to soar at commercial banks

The latest move from the Fed marked eight consecutive rate hikes since March 2022, with no signs that it has reached the peak of its hike journey. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh, a financial expert from the Vietnam Association of Financial Advisers, predicted that a rate hike of 25 percentage points was anticipated. Thinh stated that, in general, the pressure on the USD/VND exchange rate from the Fed’s interest rate hike is not significant. Pressure on to support new economic growth, photo Le Toan Dr. Le Dang Doanh, former head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, also believes that the Fed’s interest rate rise is targeted to contain inflation in the US, since inflation has begun to fall from the previous year’s low level. The USD price will adjust as a result. “A change in the price will influence the exchange rate between it and VND, impacting import-export businesses and foreign-invested enterprises,” said Doanh. On the other hand, deposit interest … [Read more...] about Pressure on to support new economic growth

New momentum For over one week now, more than 94% of businesses in the Southern economic hub has resumed their production with over 95% of workers being back to work after Tet holiday. Workers at Go Vap district-based Joint Stock Company 28.1 under the Corporation 28 of the General Department of Logistics, which specializes in garments making, are working with the highest capacity, focusing on orders from the U.S., Australia, and European countries. Working for the company for more than 21 years now, Nguyen Van Hong from Hai Duong province said that good income and policy offered by the company make him feel secure at work. Despite difficulties facing the garment sector due to COVID-19, his company has ensured orders uninterrupted, so workers have resumed work since the beginning of the lunar New Year. In addition, good Tet welfare policy has helped keep workers attached to the company. Senior Colonel Tran Doan Thoan, Director of Joint Stock Company 28.1 informed that the … [Read more...] about Businesses in Ho Chi Minh City speed up production to achieve set targets

Workers making goods for export at a Gia Toc Garment Export factory in Ha Nam Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet The profits of Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises were diverse in the fourth quarter, with many big names posting great losses. After being heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, textile and garment enterprises have gradually recovered and were one of the key export industries that recorded extraordinary growth rates in the first months of 2022. Data from the General Department of Customs showed that the export value of the textiles and garments sector in 2022 reached US$37.57 billion, a gain of 14.7 per cent year-on-year. The US is the biggest import market of Vietnamese textile and garments, worth $17.36 billion last year, up 7.9 per cent. It was followed by the Europe Union and Japanese markets, reaching $4.46 billion and $4.07 billion, up 34.7 and 25.8 per cent, respectively. Although the industry saw positive export prospects in the first and … [Read more...] about Textile industry faces headwinds in 2023 after poor results in Q4