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
Post independence period
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
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong holds phone talks with U.S. President
At the talks, the two leaders expressed their delight at the talks on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam - U.S. comprehensive partnership. They highly appreciated the positive and comprehensive development of the two countries’ relations over the past time. They agreed to promote, develop, and deepen the bilateral relations for interests of both nations, and for peace, cooperation and development. Both leaders suggested authorized agencies of both sides exchange specific contents to further strengthen the relations in the coming time. Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong underlined that outcomes achieved in the bilateral relations match wishes of the two peoples and are enhanced on the basis of respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions of each other, mutual understanding, and equal, mutually-beneficial cooperation, and in the spirit of “shelving the past, overcoming differences, promoting similarities and looking toward the … [Read more...] about Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong holds phone talks with U.S. President
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
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
Vietnamese steel industry calling for wider investment from overseas entities
Vietnamese steel industry calling for wider investment from overseas entities, photo Le Toan Posco Yamato Vina Steel JSC, a joint venture between South Korea’s Pohang Iron and Steel Company and Japan’s Yamato Holdings, is contemplating constructing a second facility in Vietnam. Lee Youngwoo, general manager of Posco Yamato Vina, wants to “establish a robust sales network” across Vietnam while enhancing scrap supply security. In 2020, Posco Yamato Vina was the first to manufacture wide H-shaped steel in Vietnam. According to Lee, the business built a representative office in Haiphong last year in order to “create additional prospects for collaboration” with clients. In the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Posco Yamato Vina operates a steel mill with a capacity of one million metric tonnes per year and produces section steel with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year. Following a lack of foreign investment in steel manufacturing in recent years, many observers see Posco … [Read more...] about Vietnamese steel industry calling for wider investment from overseas entities
HCM City sees over 22 per cent rise in FDI inflows in Q1
A view of HCM City (Photo: VNA) HCM City – Ho Chi Minh City has drawn 497.5 million USD of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first three months of this year, up 22.4 per cent year on year, according to the city’s Statistics Office. The office reported that in the first quarter of this year, the city issued new investment licences to 216 projects worth 133.2 million USD, a rise of 30 per cent over the same period last year, mostly in construction sector (53.7 million USD). Singapore remained the leading investor in the city with 47 projects with a total capital of 86.7 million USD, accounting for 65.4 per cent of the total FDI the city attracted in the period. Hong Kong (China) came second with 15 projects worth 9.5 million USD, accounting for 7.1 per cent, and Japan with 19 projects worth 9.0 million USD. At the same time, investors also injected additional 87.1 million USD into 37 underway projects. Of the total, 35.5 million USD, or 40.8 per cent, came from the … [Read more...] about HCM City sees over 22 per cent rise in FDI inflows in Q1
ASEAN+3 intensifies finance collaboration
Illustrative Image (Photo: VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – The ASEAN 3 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting (AFCDM 3) took place in Indonesia from March 29-30 to discuss the regional macroeconomic situation and the progress of implementing financial cooperation initiatives. Representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam attended the event. Under the co-chair of Indonesia and Japan, deputy ministers of finance and deputy governors of ASEAN 3 central banks discussed the regional macro economic situation and the pace of the implementation of the financial cooperation initiatives. Regarding regional macroeconomics, the ASEAN 3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) assessed that economic growth in the ASEAN 3 region in 2022 recorded a recovery after the COVID-19 period, mainly from increased domestic demand. Regional growth is estimated at 3.2%, of which China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) achieved 2.6% and ASEAN member states at 5.6%. In 2023, the … [Read more...] about ASEAN+3 intensifies finance collaboration
Foreign minister hosts China’s Guangxi leader
An overview of the meeting. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son hosted a reception for Liu Ning, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region , in Hanoi on March 30, discussing a wide range of issues to boost ties between the two sides. During the session, the host proposed that the two sides promote existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms and programmes, expand friendship exchange between the people along the shared border, and effectively implement legal documents regarding land border and related agreements. The two sides shared delight at the sound development of the Vietnam-China relations over the years, especially after Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong ’s visit to China last year. They agreed that the success of the visit has given a strong impetus to the growth of the traditional friendship between the two Parties and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. … [Read more...] about Foreign minister hosts China’s Guangxi leader