Spend 1 billion yuan in 30 days

The new visa, which is only for passengers flying with Saudia Airlines and Flynas Airlines, came into effect on Monday as the kingdom sought to attract more tourists post pandemic, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Visitors can apply for the visa through the Saudia Airlines and Flynas websites and the transit visa will be issued with the air tickets. The kingdom aims to attract investment worth 220 billion Saudi riyals ($53.3 billion) in the tourism sector by 2023, and 500 billion Saudi riyals by 2030, according to the Ministry of Tourism. In 2022, Saudi Arabia topped the G20 countries in the number of international tourist arrivals, according to the World Tourism Organization. … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia offers free four-day transit visa

People shop for food at a market in Aceh - westernmost province of Indonesia. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian government plans to spend 476 trillion Rp (31.8 billion USD) on social assistance protection as the country is transitioning from the COVID-19 pandemic to the endemic disease phase. Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said that his government will not abruptly revoke the massive spending on social programmes aimed at helping the people and businesses cope with the devastating economic impact of the pandemic over the last three years. Speaking at a recent meeting of the National Committee for COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (PC-PEN), Joko Widodo said that after lifting restrictions at the end of 2022, Indonesia is in an interim phase in which it must maintain caution, especially in deciding on economic measures. In contrast to other nations that have recently experienced high inflation, according to the President, Indonesia has … [Read more...] about Indonesia to spend nearly 32 billion USD on post-pandemic social protection

According to Lao Cai Border Gate Customs Branch, from January 1 to 23 (the second day of the Lunar New Year), Vietnam exported more than 37,000 tonnes of fruit to China, with a turnover of more than $45 million. In 2022, China's zero-COVID policy significantly affected the sales of fruit and vegetable products in Vietnam. Throughout last year, the export of fruit and vegetables to China reached $1.5 billion, down 19.8 per cent on-year. However, at the end of 2022, the Chinese government began loosening its coronavirus restrictions, allowing Vietnam’s exports to increase. In the second half of 2022, Vietnam and China signed deals to export durian, banana, sweet potato, and bird's nests to the Chinese market. This opens up new opportunities for products to penetrate a market with more than 1.4 billion people. After one month of durian being exported to China, in October, exports reached nearly $50 million, an increase of more than 4,000 per cent compared to the same period in 2021. … [Read more...] about Fruit exports to China increase sharply

Illustrative image (Photo: AFP) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Climate change is one of the world’s biggest threats, and reducing emissions is the priority for all countries in the world and the lodestar for investment trends. Warmer temperatures are altering weather phenomena and disrupting the balance of nature, directly affecting human activities. The devastation caused by extreme weather disasters like typhoons, floods, and heat waves is worsening in many nations. And the economic damage caused by climate change is also increasing in line with global temperatures. Major storms destroy crops, costing billions of dollars, while rebuilding after each storm and flood requires a huge amount of money. The more extreme the climate, the more it damages economies. It is a positive sign that many countries have joined the fight for net zero emissions by 2050. Many people worry that it is unrealistic given the standard pace we have already set. However, an expert in the industry believes … [Read more...] about Financing’s role in reaching net-zero emissions

Seafood processed for export. Import-export was Viet Nam’s bright spot in 2022, hitting a record of around $730.2 billion, of which $371.5 billion came from exports. — Photo vasep.com.vn The 15 free trade agreements (FTAs) to which Viet Nam is a member are expected to give a boost to Viet Nam’s export activities this year, towards the growth target of 6 per cent. Phuc Sinh JSC, based in HCM City, has exported 50 containers of coffee, pepper, cashew nut and other products to Europe, the US and the Middle East in early 2023. The company shipped about US$50 million worth of goods to Europe in 2020 and $63 million in 2021, which grew some 30 per cent last year. It is among the hundreds of domestic firms that are effectively utilising the FTAs, contributing to raising Viet Nam’s agro-export revenue to over $53 billion in 2022. Chairman and General Director of Phuc Sinh JSC Phan Minh Thong noted that with tax incentives, the deals will help Vietnamese goods compete with those … [Read more...] about FTAs provide a push for Viet Nam’s exports in 2023

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Vietnam’s textile, garment and footwear sectors aim to achieve a total export value of 77-80 billion USD in 2025 and 106-108 billion USD in 2030, according to the strategy for the development of Vietnam’s textile and footwear industry. Under the development strategy approved by the Government, for the long term, the garment, textile, leather and footwear sectors are still key export industries of the economy. The sectors will continue to promote investment in the production of materials and auxiliary materials, as well as supporting industries. They will encourage the production of fabrics from domestically produced yarn to reduce imports, and form a complete supply and value chain in the region. For the leather and footwear industry, Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of Lefaso, said domestic enterprises need to actively adapt to the requirements of the market and brands on sustainable development standards for products. They … [Read more...] about Garment, footwear exports aim to reach 80 bln USD by 2025

A trader looks at the market's movements at an exchange. Shares plummeted on Wednesday due to stronger selling pressure. — VNA/VNS Photo The market reversed and fell sharply in Wednesday's trade, with many stocks hitting the floor prices. On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the market benchmark VN-Index lost 35.21 points, or 3.17 per cent, to 1,075.97 points. After recovering in the previous session, the index couldn't keep the momentum to end the morning trade with a decline of 4.75 points. The market's breadth inclined to a negative zone with 271 stocks on the southern market going down, of which 45 registered the biggest intra-day loss of 7 per cent, while 79 stocks advanced. Liquidity increased strongly over the previous session. Accordingly, the trading value on HoSE jumped to nearly VND35.4 trillion (US$751.5 million), equivalent to a trading volume of over one billion shares. The index was weighed by rising selling force, with many large-cap stocks locked in … [Read more...] about Market falls sharply on strong selling force

Worker inspects mineral ore processing at a copper mine operated by Freeport Indonesia in Mimika, Papua (Photo source: ANTARA) Jakarta – Indonesian president Joko Widodo said his government will soon consider halting the export of unprocessed copper ores to encourage domestic processing of raw materials in the country’s industrialisation push, following a similar policy on nickel and bauxite Speaking at Mandiri Investment Forum 2023, the president announced a ban on all bauxite exports starting in June 2023 under the downstream industry policy, following a similar move on nickel ore exports. After nickel ore exports were banned several years ago to force the opening of processing plants in Indonesia, the value of nickel export recorded a 30-fold increase from 1 billion USD to 30-33 billion USD in 2022. The policy was sued by the European Union (EU) to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Indonesia was announced to lose the lawsuit. By VNA … [Read more...] about Indonesia plans to ban copper exports in 2023

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The State Treasury has announced that it plans to raise 400 trillion VND (over 17 billion USD) worth of Government bonds via auctions on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) this year. State Treasury will offer 108 trillion VND worth of G-bonds with different maturities, including 5-year and 7-year bonds valued at 8 trillion VND, 10-year and 15-year bonds each valued at 45 trillion VND, and 5 trillion VND worth of 20-year and 30-year bonds each. auctions of 5-year bonds worth 500 billion VND, and 10-year and 15-year bonds worth 5 trillion VND each. VNA … [Read more...] about State Treasury to auction 400 trillion VND worth of government bonds in 2023

Illustrative image (Photo: baodautu.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is paying attention to mobilising resources to invest in developing green agriculture with an aim to raising the market share of its agricultural exports to the European Union. Last year, Vietnam’s export revenue of agro-fishery-forestry products set a record high of 53.22 billion USD, up 9.3% year-on-year. However, Europe accounted for only 11.3% of its market share. This is a modest number, although the agricultural sector has optimised many advantages of the EU- Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). One of the main reasons is said to be the union’s high requirements on farm imports, while Vietnam’s agricultural production has yet to meet green growth requirements. According to the World Bank’s report, agriculture is the second highest emitter, accounting for 19% of the nation’s total gas emissions in 2020. About 48% of the sector’s emissions and more than 75% of methane emissions are from rice … [Read more...] about Vietnam develops green agriculture to increase exports to EU