Paris agreement

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has urged localities to adopt drastic measures to fight irregular, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. All Vietnamese fishermen, businesses, and local authorities must consider this an important and urgent task to affirm the prestige of Vietnam’s fisheries sector in the world and among countries it shares territorial waters with, and be resolved to meet the standards set by the European Commission (EC). Since the EC gave a “yellow card” warning to Vietnam’s fisheries and seafood in the European market in October 2017, the entire sector has suffered marked losses. Tran Dinh Luan, head of the ministry’s Directorate of Fisheries, said it is necessary to prevent, deter, and eliminate IUU fishing in order to remove the “yellow card” warning, develop fisheries responsibly, and integrate into the world. This is also the guideline of the Party and State, as reflected through the Law on Fisheries. Since the imposition of the EC warning, Vietnam’s fishery export value to Europe has fallen by between 6 and 10 percent annually. From being the second-largest importer of Vietnam’s seafood, with value representing 17-20 percent of Vietnam’s total export revenue, the EU now ranks fifth, after Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea (RoK), and ASEAN. The Government and the National Steering Committee on IUU Fishing Prevention have issued a range of documents instructing ministries, agencies, and People’s Committees in 28 coastal cities and provinces to drastically take preventive measures. The MARD has conducted regular inspections in localities. The EC has highly valued Vietnam’s political determination to implement its recommendations in this regard. Vietnam has openly and transparently announced the results of inspections of seafood exports to the EU and has completed a legal framework that serves as a foundation to materialise relevant …

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The Hanoitimes - With the Covid-19 impacts still looming on local economy, domestic car prices have gone down but remained nearly double the prices of vehicles sold in Thailand and Indonesia, mainly due to high fees and taxes for locally made cars. Rising domestic production capacity and existing government’s support policies to cut fees and taxes for locally made cars are expected to be major factors dragging down car prices in Vietnam in the coming time. Car production at Hyundai Thanh Cong manufacturing plant. Photo: Hoang Giang A representative from the Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco), one of Vietnam’s leading car manufacturers, expected the country’s participation in free trade agreements (FTAs) with major partners, including the EU, Japan, UK and South Korea, would help further abate costs for importing car parts with import duty at 0%. With the Covid-19 impacts still looming on local economy, domestic car prices have gone down but remain nearly double the prices of vehicles sold in Thailand and Indonesia, mainly due to high fees and taxes for locally made cars. “High product quality and low base cost are essential for Vietnam cars to compete with their foreign peers,” said auto expert Nguyen Minh Dong, adding only a bigger market size could attract more investors to come in to produce cars in the country and enhance localization rate. Director of Hien Toyota noted while car manufacturers can streamline operation to drive down the production cost, taxes and fees are dependent on state policies. “Lowering taxes and fees for cars will no doubt reduce prices and bring more benefits for customers,” she said. Booming market demand A recent report from the SSI Securities Corporation suggested Vietnam’s income per capita is on the rise and set to grow at an average of 8-10% in the next decade. “Compared to regional countries, the current income per capita is fast approaching to a point of bursting demand for cars,” …

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The Hanoitimes - As of December 31, 2020, the total value of G-bonds reached more than VND1,350 trillion (US$58.55 billion), up 17.39% year-on-year. The State Treasury of Vietnam raised nearly VND324 trillion (US$14.04 billion) through Government bonds (G-bonds) auctions at the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) in 2020, 8% above the year’s plan. Vietnam strives to have its government bond included in global recognized bond indices in 2021. Photo: Pham Hung. Last December, the HNX organized 25 government bonds auctions and received VND53 trillion (US$2.3 billion), up 43.6% month-on-month. Successful bidders for G-bonds from 10 to 30-year term, however, would have to settle with interest rates of 0.1 – 0.2 percentage points lower than in previous month. On the secondary market, the total volume of G-bonds sold by the outright method reached over 1.93 billion worth VND213.7 trillion (US$9.26 billion), up 30.38% in value from a month earlier. Trading volume through repurchase agreements (repos) was more than one billion bonds valued at VND109 trillion ($4.72 billion), increasing 43.66% in value from November and accounting for 33.76% of total transaction value in the market. Foreign investors did not participate in repos transaction last month, but bought more than VND3.62 trillion ($157 million) worth of G-bonds via outright and sold of VND2.41 trillion ($104.5 million). This resulted in foreign investors being net buyer of VND1.21 trillion ($52.47 million), the largest amount in 2020. As a result, foreign investors net bought VND3.95 trillion ($171.28 million) of G-bonds in 2020. The average transaction amount in the G-bond market in 2020 rose by 13.73% year-on-year to VND10.27 trillion ($445.42 million), showcasing “improvements in size and liquidity of the market,” noted the HNX. As of December 31, 2020, the total value of G-bonds reached more than VND1,350 trillion ($58.55 billion), up 17.39% year-on-year. Vietnamese G-bond among …

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