Ready for business

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The number of newly-established enterprises and businesses resuming operations in the real estate market saw a remarkable rise last year, said the Ministry of Construction . As per statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Business Registration Management Agency, there were 8,593 new enterprises and 2,081 businesses resuming operations in 2022, up 13.7% and 56.7% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the number of firms declaring bankruptcy or dissolution also grew by 38.7% against 2021. The Ministry of Construction said 2022 still saw many challenges facing realty firms and forcing them to change their business and management plans. The changes included debt restructuring, scaling down production and investment, streamlining apparatus, and suspending new projects, among others. In the face of complicated economic developments, from the middle of the third quarter to the end of last year, the operations of real … [Read more...] about More realty businesses established, resume operations in 2022

Phan Cong Chanh, CEO of developer Phu Vinh Group, said the real estate market will pose more risks than opportunities for investors in 2023, adding that would-be investors should save their money instead of spending it. According to Chanh, in the long term the market will benefit from rosy economic growth prospects, better legal frameworks and improved stock markets, especially the corporate bond market, But he said this would be gradual recovery that wouldn’t flourish to its full potential until 2-4 years from now. The Central Institute for Economic Management put forth two economic growth scenarios for this year. Accordingly, GDP growth will either stand at 6.47%, inflation at 4.08%, export growth at 7.21% and trade balance at $5.64 billion, or at 6.83%, 3.69%, 8.43% and $8.15 billion, respectively. With the draft amendments to the Land Law submitted to the National Assembly for potential approval in October, and amendments to other related laws such as the Law on Real Estate … [Read more...] about Should you invest in property or save your money this year?

Many Vietnamese enterprises achieved success in 2022 after shifting to exports through e-commerce platforms, especially Amazon. The trend is expected to continue this year. Vietnam was among the top five countries with the highest e-commerce retail sale growth rates in 2022, according to a report by the U.S.’s market research company eMarketer. Impressive growth A year after beginning to sell goods on Amazon to European and American markets, ChicnChill, a Vietnamese handicraft brand, reported a growth rate of up to 700 percent. Tran Tuan Dung, CEO of ChicnChill, said he saw the start-up thrive when a majority of Vietnamese enterprises have scaled down their operations due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his team spent months studying the lifestyle in European and American markets and home decoration trends there, thereby determining the company’s key products and penetrating into these markets. After a year, ChicnChill’s home decoration products are … [Read more...] about Vietnamese firms earn big from Amazon

Deputy Director of the FIA Do Van Su said disbursement of foreign investment this year is expected to hit USD 22-23 billion. Su acknowledged that the opening of China’s economy might affect Vietnam's foreign investment attraction, adding that China remained the leading investment destination in the region, so when they opened up, capital will flow into this market while that to Vietnam and other economies in the region will be limited. On the contrary, the investment capital movement of the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan, and Taiwan (China) will be accelerated. This shift will be accelerated until 2025, and Vietnam will be a preferred investment destination for investors, he added. Currently, the RoK, Japan and Taiwan (China) are Vietnam’s major sources of foreign investment and they have constantly increased their investments in Southeast Asian countries. According to FIA, essential factors for FDI to continue to prosper in 2023 include economic growth results in 2022 and … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s FDI projected to reap up to USD 38 bln in 2023

Diesel prices increased by VND890 to VND22,520 per liter and mazut oil prices surged by VND570 to VND13,930 per kilogram. Oil prices rose about 2% last Thursday on expectations that global demand will strengthen as top oil importer China reopens its economy and on positive U.S. economic data, according to CNBC . Brent futures rose $1.35, or 1.6%, to settle at $87.47 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 86 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $81.01. Some gasoline stations in Hanoi and Hai Phong City ran out of stocks last week, causing inconvenience to people, who have to drive around and fill elsewhere. During the seven-day Tet holidays which began January 20, several stations in Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang Province also shut down. According to market management statistics, about a dozen gas stations in Ho Chi Minh City closed during Tet. But the HCMC Directorate of Market Surveillance claimed that only a few out of the over 550 stations in … [Read more...] about Gasoline prices surge amid higher global rates

Malaysia expects tourist arrivals to quadruple in 2023 (Photo:travelweekly-asia.com) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia’s Kenanga Research (Kenanga) expects tourist arrivals in the country to jump almost four-fold to 9.6 million in 2023 from an estimated 2.5 million a year ago. The research house said the projection is supported by the resumption of both business and leisure air travel globally as the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end, the revocation of all on-arrival quarantine and testing requirements in Malaysia from Augusut 1, 2022, and the gradual reopening of China. In a study released on January 30, it noted the gradual reopening of China is positive for the country as historically, Chinese tourists account for an estimated 12% of the total tourist arrivals in Malaysia. Meanwhile, MIDF Research (MIDF) revised its FY23F passenger traffic recovery downward to 85% from 95% previously due to the slower return of Malaysia AirAsia’s (MAA) aircraft, but expect stronger growth … [Read more...] about Malaysia expects tourist arrivals to quadruple in 2023

The digital transformation has made the cybersecurity market in Vietnam more attractive, leading to the establishment of more cybersecurity companies in the country. Opswat, a provider of critical infrastructure protection cybersecurity solutions, recently opened a critical infrastructure protection lab in Ho Chi Minh City. This is the first center of the U.S. company in Asia, proving its increased focus on growing its presence in Asia, including Vietnam. Many start-ups in the cybersecurity sector have been also founded in Vietnam, including Smart Cyber Security, which offers digital transformation services in cybersecurity. Vietnam National Cyber Security Technology Corporation (NCS) has supported large financial groups and organizations, banks as well as key units in Vietnam in cybersecurity. In September last year, NCS was the first unit to detect zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server. Vietnam has emerged as one of the leading countries in Southeast Asia … [Read more...] about Cybersecurity firms on the rise in Vietnam

Meta (Facebook) contributed 34.5 million EUR. — Photo thanhnien.vn Foreign suppliers have paid taxes worth VND1.8 trillion (US$76.7 million) via the official portal serving their operations in Viet Nam. Of the sum, Meta (Facebook) contributed 34.5 million EUR, Google $28.8 million, and Apple VND174 billion. The General Department of Taxation’s portal https://etaxvn.gdt.gov.vn/nccnn/Reques was exclusively developed for foreign suppliers and put in place on March 21 last year. So far, it has seen 45 suppliers registering and paying taxes. The General Department of Taxation said that this was a very good signal in the co-ordination of tax declaration and collection between Vietnamese tax authorities and foreign suppliers right from the beginning of the new year. This shows the trust, prestige and serious observance of tax laws by foreign suppliers for e-commerce and digital-based business activities in the territory of Viet Nam. The total tax collected through the … [Read more...] about Foreign suppliers have paid taxes worth $76.7 million via official portal

Regiment 31 yearly welcomes nearly 1,000 recruits from Southern provinces. In order to leave good impression on recruits on their first days of recruitment, the unit always cleans the barracks, re-arranges barrack rooms, upgrades areas for entertainment and gathering, and supplements other supplies for troops to live, study, and train. Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Hiep, Deputy Political Commissar of Regiment 31 said that “Before the lunar Year of the Cat 2023, the regiment was determined to organize a safe, economical, high combat readiness Tet holiday while preparing to receive new recruits and open the training session for 2023. Therefore, the regiment’s affiliated agencies and units developed plans and tasked troops in the spirit of both enjoying the Tet (lunar New Year) holiday and fulfilling assignments.” Along with fixed funding from higher levels, battalions under the regiments have deducted money from their production fund and capitalized on available materials to renew each … [Read more...] about Regiment 31 makes preparation to receive new recruits

Fluctuations in the global market in 2022 have forced Vietnam to import petrol to meet the domestic market's demand. Statistics from the General Department of Customs show that the import volume of petroleum in December 2022 was more than 944,000 tonnes, valued at $823 million. It marked a 22.3 per cent month-on-month rise in volume and 10.9 per cent in value. In 2022, the country imported 8.87 million tonnes of petrol worth $8.97 billion, a sharp increase of 27.7 per cent year-on-year in volume and 118.5 per cent year-on-year. In which, imported diesel oil reached 4.74 million tonnes, increased by 1.5 per cent year-on-year and accounted for 54 per cent of imported petrol and oil of the whole country. The imported petrol volume reached 1.7 million tonnes, increased 2.3 times compared to the previous year and accounted for 21 per cent of imported petrol and oil of the whole country. Besides that, imported jet fuel reached 1.46 million tonnes, increased 2.2 times compared to the … [Read more...] about Ministry of Industry and Trade aims to stabilise petrol market