Recent reforms in banking sector

As Vietnam steps into the post-pandemic era, experiences and learnings from the pandemic serve as a reminder of the importance of digital transformation and its crucial technology component. Eunjung Han, consultant at Rouse Legal Vietnam and vice chair of the Digital Sector Committee of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam Despite COVID-19’s negative economic and social impact, Vietnam remains an attractive destination to European investors. According to the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) 2021 White Book, Vietnam’s stable macro-economic climate, with inflation in the single digits, continues to increase investor confidence in the country’s trade and investment environment. Only adding to that, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is paving the way for continued foreign direct investment (FDI) from the EU and is viewed as a means for shared recovery and economic rebound. As the first comprehensive FTA between the EU and a developing country in … [Read more...] about EVFTA underpinning growth in Vietnamese tech market

Participants at the program called People Ask - Government Answers The Deputy Director made the state at a program called People Ask - Government Answers with the topic ‘Reform of administrative procedures in the field of administrative law in the field of administrative law" land and construction sector’ organized by the People's Council in Ho Chi Minh City in collaboration with the Television Station and the Department of Information and Communications with the participation of Nguyen Thi Le, Chairwoman of the municipal People's Council. During the program, voters posed many problems for delegates and guests. Specifically, voter Tran Viet Trung in Thu Duc City said that people who go to administrative procedures for land are looking forward to knowing how their dossiers have been handled. In fact, some state agencies make an appointment to return the land records but they didn’t write a detailed date. Meanwhile, voter Nguyen Dinh Tue from the HCMC Union of Business … [Read more...] about HCMC to digitize land records to create shared data for all districts

Scores of businesses have already unveiled their second-quarter business results, with many showing healthy figures. In the first half of this year, Hang Xanh Motors Service JSC (Haxaco) reaped $7.5 million in pre-tax profit, soaring 134 per cent on-year. This year, the company aims to reach $9.2 million in its profit-before-tax target, meaning it has completed 81 per cent after just six months. Haxaco’s board chairman Do Tien Dung unveiled that the company is committed to fulfilling its profit target in only nine months. However, Dung is cautious saying that the auto trade relies heavily on macro factors like fuel price, inflation, and interest rates. Haxaco is confident in reaching its full-year business targets early The auto industry is facing many challenges as customers find it harder to borrow after the central bank declined to loosen credit limits for banks and the scarcity of auto components continues. “Haxaco avoids heavy reliance on bank capital … [Read more...] about Businesses remain optimistic for remainder of the year

The Q&A session of the NA Standing Committee's 14th session will focus on public security, culture, sports and tourism matters (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Issues in the areas of public security and culture, sports and tourism will be the focus of the question-and-answer session of the 15th National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee’s 14th session on August 10, according to a freshly-released plan of the NA Standing Committee. In the field of public security, the questions will focus on State management over cybersecurity, the safety of national cybersecurity system in the current period, and measures to prevent and strictly handle high-tech crimes. The implementation of resolutions of the NA and NA Standing Committee of the National Assembly related to crime prevention and control, especially drug-related crimes, credit shark, and usury will also be included in the agenda of the session, along with the implementation of the issuance of citizen identification cards, the … [Read more...] about NA’s Q&A session to focus on public security, culture-sports-tourism matters

Ho Chi Minh City's Can Gio attractive to tourists (Photo: vntrip.vn) HCM City (VNA) - Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism sector has actively brought its indigenous culture into urban tourism , considering this as one of the strategies to promote the strengths of the city’s destination network. Many districts have continuously launched new tourism products to stimulate the tourism market. The moves have initially impressed local people and helped attract more tourists to the city. Recently, the People's Committee of district 5 launched a programme named "Visiting Cho Lon to Watch the Lion Dance". This programme is implemented on Saturday and Sunday of the 2nd week of each month at The Garden Mall on Hong Bang street. Within the framework of the event, there are also many mobile booths serving food, and introducing local specialties and souvenirs. Similarly, tourism product "Tan Phu - Going is remembering" implemented by the People's Committee of Tan Phu district is attracting … [Read more...] about HCM City highlights local cultures to ignite urban tourism

The Government Office last week issued Dispatch No.4648/VPCP-KTTH to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) requiring it to continue proposing a reduction of taxes and fees related to fuel and consumption, especially those that can cause an increase in input costs for production and business. Rough waters remain in fuel price pressure “This aims to help reduce costs and selling prices of products in service of exports, production, and business, contributing to controlling inflation and supporting the government’s monetary policy in the short and medium term,” the dispatch stated. The MoF has also proposed to the government a plan to halve the preferential import tax for petrol and oil from the existing 20 to 10 per cent, in order to help reduce the prices of these items in the local market. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government has also submitted to the National Assembly a plan on reducing the special consumption tax and VAT for October. According to the General Statistics … [Read more...] about Rough waters remain in fuel price pressure

Viet Nam has the cheapest valuations and second highest EPS growth in Southeast Asia, as this table shows. — Source VinaCapital “Viet Nam’s economy is even stronger than we had expected at the beginning of the year, but that strength is not reflected by higher stock prices due to the [US’s] aggressive rate hikes and the recent regulatory crackdown in Viet Nam,” Michael Kokalari, chief economist at VinaCapital, has said in a report. “That said, we expect over 20 per cent [company earnings] growth in 2022, which should support a recovery in the VN-Index by the end of 2022.” July economic statistics have not only reinforced VinaCapital’s forecast of 7.5 per cent GDP growth in 2022 but also make it look like the economy would grow by a stunning 10 per cent year-on-year in the current quarter, he said. “Our expectation that Viet Nam’s economy will grow by at least 7.5 per cent this year (and by at least 10 per cent in Q3) leads us to believe that the consensus forecast for 16 per … [Read more...] about Stock market to benefit from unexpectedly strong domestic growth: VinaCapital

A trader observing the market's movements on his computer. — Photo baodautu.vn After hitting a bottom of around 1,140 points in early July, the stock market had recovered for four straight sessions, with the benchmark VN-Index surpassing the threshold of 1,250 points. Notably, liquidity improved significantly last week and has now exceeded the recent 20-week average. This marked the second week of such an increase, showing that investors' interest is improving. On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index ended the week at 1,252.74 points, down 0.11 per cent. Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) closed higher, up 0.73 per cent to 299.9 points. For the week, the VN-Index rose by 3.85 per cent and the HNX-Index was up 3.91 per cent. Trading value on HOSE increased by 39.2 per cent from the previous week to VND83.1 trillion (US$3.5 billion), equivalent to a gain of 47 per cent in volume to more than 3.5 billion shares. On the northern bourse, … [Read more...] about Investors’ risk appetite continues to improve this week

The EU is Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner and an export market that witnessed the euro fall below $1 for the first time in nearly 20 years on July 29. Euro-dollar parity threatens the nation’s exports, source: freepik.com Pham Van Viet, chairman of Viet Thang Jeans, the top 5 leading fashion companies in Indochina, said that the immediate impact on textile and garment export enterprises is a decrease in value. All customers in Europe pay in euros and Vietnamese businesses that receive money back home must exchange it for USD. Now that the euro has fallen to the level of the US dollar, the export value of each shipment will decrease accordingly. “Profits of businesses are low because input costs such as gasoline, input material prices, and labour costs have all increased, now the plunge in euro prices will drag profits down even more,” he told VIR. Viet added that the depreciation of the euro shows that the European market is currently unstable, and … [Read more...] about Euro-dollar parity threatens the nation’s exports

From five grams of toothpaste to 10 millilitres of cooking oil, many Nigerians struggling with soaring prices now buy their basic necessities in small quantities packed in tiny plastic bags to be consumed on the same day. Consumer brands behind this "sachetisation of the economy" see it as a creative innovation, allowing consumption for all Nigerians, the majority of whom live on less than $2 a day. But critics see the development as an economic and ecological aberration, even as Africa's largest economy struggles with the inflationary fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine. In the streets of Lagos, the vibrant economic capital of Africa's most populous country, small sachets are now part of the decor: they colour its streets, packing the wood and tin shops found on the corner of most streets. Sitting on a stool, Ibrahim Atahire has been running his small grocery store for 30 years in a busy area of Obalende, a popular district of the megalopolis. "At my place, you can buy … [Read more...] about From coffee to toothpaste, Nigerians buy small as hardships bite