States democratic governors

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Politburo on February 6 held a meeting with former senior leaders of the Party, State and Vietnam Fatherland Front on the occasion of the 93rd anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Lunar New Year. Participating former leaders all expressed their belief in and pride of positive outcomes that the country has achieved in the past time. In the hope of boosting the quality and effectiveness of the Party and State leadership in 2023 and the following years, they made recommendations and proposals mostly regarding the building of the Party and political system, external affairs, socio-economic development and anti-corruption work, among other issues. Taking into account their comments, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong noted that last year’s outstanding achievements, particularly in pandemic prevention and control, economic recovery and development, … [Read more...] about Politburo meets former Party, State leaders

The quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon. "We were shaken like a cradle. There were nine of us at home. Two sons of mine are still in the rubble, I'm waiting for them," said a woman with a broken arm and injuries to her face, speaking in an ambulance near the wreckage of a seven-storey block where she had lived in Diyarbakir in Turkey. "I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake's epicentre, who declined to give his surname. "We were shaken at least three times very strongly." Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said 284 people were killed and 2,323 injured, as authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft for the affected area, while declaring a "level 4 alarm" that calls for international assistance. In Syria, already devastated by more than 11 years of civil war, a government health official said more than 237 people … [Read more...] about Major earthquake strikes Turkey, Syria; hundreds dead, many trapped

Deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Dao Minh Tu has said that bad debts are climbing for both credit organisations and the wider economy. "It is an ongoing challenge to manage bad debts and banking activities will be seriously affected over the next few years," said Tu. He said that the woes would be revealed more clearly as the ratio of on-balance-sheet bad debt continues to grow due to inflation and interest rate rises. At the end of 2022, bad debts were classified based on the groups of borrowers and economic issues like recovery and inflation curbing. Can Van Luc, a member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council, said that on-balance-sheet bad debt could reach 2.3-2.5 per cent and gross bad debt could hit 6 per cent in 2023, rising into 2024. As the regulations on unchanged debt groups in Circular No.14/2021/TT-NHNN expire, economic recovery could suffer. According to the SBV, at the end of 2022, the ratio of … [Read more...] about Bad debts continue to soar at commercial banks

The Government’s active stance to address macro challenges would fuel the stock market development in 2023. The benchmark Vn-Index is forecast to expand by 15% at the end of 2023 to hit 1,160 following a turbulent year for the stock market, according to SSI Securities Corporation (SSI). Investor at a securities company in Hanoi. Photo: Pham Hung The Vn-Index from its peak of 1,530 in early 2022 plummeted to a low of 874 in mid-November, a downturn which experts attributed to major events, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, arrests of business executives for market manipulation, and the Government’s tightening credit into high-risk fields. As of late 2022, however, the market’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was considered quite attractive with an estimated 9.2x, 35% lower than the average rate of 14.16x during the 2009-2022 period. SSI’s latest report also pointed out another positive factor in the expectation of a more stable value of the Vietnamese Dong … [Read more...] about Vn-Index set for steady growth in 2023

Hanoi aims to maintain macroeconomic stability and control inflation while promoting new growth drivers and enhancing its economic resilience. Hanoi has set a target of 7% year-on-year gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth by 2023 as part of its action plan for socio-economic development this year. Production at Sunhouse Group in Ngoc Liep Industrial Park, Quoc Oai District. Photo: Thanh Hai This plan includes 22 objectives, such as a GRDP per capita of VND150 million (US$6,400), export growth of 6%, an inflation rate below 4.5%, and a 30% reduction in poverty. The global situation is expected to remain challenging in 2023, and Hanoi aims to maintain macroeconomic stability and control inflation while promoting new growth drivers and enhancing its economic resilience. The plan also emphasized the development of cultural and education fields, disease control, and improving people’s material and spiritual well-being, as well as promoting digital … [Read more...] about Hanoi eyes 7% GRDP growth in 2023

Vietnam's tourism suppliers have won top awards in the categories of unique homestay, community tourism associated with local economic development, qualified public toilets, and best ASEAN spa services. The ASEAN Tourism Awards 2023 ceremony was held on February 5 in Indonesia as part of the ongoing ASEAN Tourism Forum 2023 under the theme "ASEAN: A Journey to Wonderful Destinations". A foreign traveler enjoys buying fruits in Cai Be Floating Market. Photo: Mekong Smiles As a result, two groups of host families, one in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long and the other in the northwestern province of Lao Cai, received the ASEAN Homestay Award. The first group consists of six establishments: Ut Thuy, Sau Thanh, Nam Thanh, Nam Thanh, Ba Linh, Ngoc Phuong, and Ngoc Sang, in An Binh District, Vinh Long Province, about 140 km from Ho Chi Minh City. The locality is famous for its islets of fruit orchards. The most prominent tourist attractions are the Cai Be … [Read more...] about ASEAN Tourism Awards 2023 honor 14 businesses of Vietnam

The index closed 12.14 points higher after losing 0.44 points on Friday. Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell by 10.97% to VND9.61 trillion ($409.28 million). The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 22 tickers gain. PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex led with a 4% rise. It was followed by BID of state-owned lender BIDV with a 3.8% increase. POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation went up 3.3%, and VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank gained 3.2%. Six blue chips fell. VIB of Vietnam International Commercial Bank lost 2.7%, and MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World was down 1.4%. Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of VND392.20 billion, mainly buying STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank and SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation. The HNX-Index at the Hanoi Stock Exchange, where mid and small caps list, was down 0.38% while the UPCoM-Index at the Unlisted Public … [Read more...] about Last-minute trading boosts VN-Index up

Nguyen Minh Tuan, Founder of TOPI The risk of a world economic recession is reflected in the average GDP growth forecast of only 1.6-2.2 per cent, of which the US accounts for 0.5-1 per cent, the EU -0.5-0.2 per cent, and China 4-4.5 per cent. After plenty of efforts by central banks inflation has cooled down, but is still high. The common global inflation forecast in 2023 is 6.5-6.6 per cent, which is in line with forecasts from the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Optimistic banks assessed that in the second quarter of 2023, inflation would decrease, and those with more pessimistic views forecasted that the decline would take place by the end of 2023. Of course, along with inflation, tight monetary policy will affect world economic growth. Accordingly, there are three scenarios for macroeconomic forecast in 2023. One is a negative scenario: persistent inflation and deep recession, with the following assumptions of … [Read more...] about Optimism abounds for more positive scenarios in macroeconomic forecasts

Nguyen Tri Hieu, Economist This had shown in financial markets: the stock market lost more than 30 per cent of its value; the corporate bond market and real estate market became frozen; the gold market fluctuated strongly; and banks scaled up interest rates to attract depositors. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) then had to expand the credit room many times for banks in 2022 and by the end of the year had raised the credit ceiling to 15.5-16 per cent. In 2023, investors do expect the stock market to rally, and in fact the market did recover slightly before dropping again, showing that Vietnam’s financial market is still unstable. In this context, the bond market is still frozen. The Ministry of Finance is considering amending regulations on the corporate bond market to restore development. Meanwhile, the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate and is likely to widen tensions. The world economy has been plagued with high inflation in many countries. In the US, … [Read more...] about Gauging efficient investment channels for the year

Illustrative image (Source: vneconomy.vn) Singapore (VNA) – The upcoming visit to Singapore by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is expected to open up important orientations for the bilateral ties, especially in digital technology and green transition, an expert has said. PM Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam will pay an official visit to Singapore from February 8 to 10. In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Associate Professor Vu Minh Khuong from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said the visit holds great significance. It takes place in the context of the two countries getting out of the COVID-19 pandemic with the hope for stronger growth, he explained, noting that their cooperation opportunities abound. The world is experiencing complex changes, and this prompts the two countries to conduct more regular and in-depth exchanges to reach common perceptions in order to sail through the challenges and tighten their … [Read more...] about PM Chinh’s Singapore visit to pave way for digital technology, green transition cooperation: expert