Transportation

The program, issued under Government Decree 42 in 2017, was set to be extended until the end of 2023. The program, since its implementation five years ago, has contributed to the restructuring of numerous financial institutions and the collection of bad debt during the 2016-2020 period, according to Nguyen Thi Hong, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). By the end of 2021, the program had helped handle over 380 trillion VND in bad debt, or 47.9 percent of the country's entire bad debt since August 15, 2017. On average, some 5.67 trillion VND in bad debt was processed each month during the period, significantly higher than the 3.25 trillion VND per month prior to the implementation of the program. The program had helped recover 148 trillion VND or 38.94 percent of all bad debt among financial institutions, a marked improvement over the yearly average of 22.8 percent during the 2012-2017 period. A recent SBV report said the bad debt ratio among financial institutions was … [Read more...] about Gov’t asks for extension to bad debt program

Global food prices are expected to keep on rising this year due to the Ukraine conflict and other factors, Photo: Thanh Tung China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on May 11 that the consumer price index (CPI), the main measure of inflation and retail sales, increased by 2.1 per cent on-year in 2021 due to the impact of the recession and skyrocketing energy costs and food prices. Data released by the General Administration of Customs of China on April 13 recorded a decrease in China’s imports for the first time since August 2020. In March, China’s imports fell 0.1 per cent on-year. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Sy Cuong from the Academy of Finance warned last week, “Along with the conflict in Ukraine, China’s economic difficulties could exacerbate inflationary pressures in Vietnam.” China’s slowing growth is clearly felt by many manufacturing and export industries of Vietnam. Pham Van Viet, president of garment firm VitaJean Co., Ltd., said, “Restrictions on raw materials … [Read more...] about Global effects mar control of inflation

Petrol retail prices in the country have been adjusted many times over the past few months, Photo: Le Toan In Vietnam, gasoline prices continue to increase, and after the adjustment on May 11 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Finance, each litre of E5 RON92 petrol increased by 6.5 US cents to $1.26 per litre while RON95 climbed by 6.7 US cents to $1.30 per litre. On May 17, the price of US WTI crude oil remained at a high level of over $114 per barrel while Brent oil maintained its upward momentum at $114.28 per barrel. Before the next adjustment, which was due on May 21, petrol prices in Vietnam were forecast to continue to increase to higher levels. The ministries first adjusted gasoline prices on January 11 due to a decrease in global supply, production output by Kazakhstan and Libya, and oil inventories of the United States. According to Decree No.95/2021/ND-CP, effective from January, there will be three adjustments each month to the … [Read more...] about Vietnam riding the wave of inflationary unpredictability

Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh (front row) at Schaeffler headquarters where the seminar takes place (Photo: VNA) Berlin (VNA) – The German Asia-Pacific Business Association (OAV) has held a seminar on business and investment in Vietnam, attracting the participation of many German firms. Addressing the May 25 event in Bayern state, Ambassador Vu Quang Minh introduced the countries’ cooperation and its growth potential. According to the diplomat, Vietnam and Germany have all necessary collaboration frameworks, including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement which took effect in August 2021. Meanwhile, Vietnam is among the countries with the most favourable FDI laws in the region and the world, and also one of the fastest recovering economies from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vietnamese and German economies are perfectly complementary to each other, Minh said, calling upon German investors in Vietnam to spread their knowledge and experience on the market to the … [Read more...] about Seminar promotes German business, investment in Vietnam

Tam Nong Market in Tram Chim Town, Dong Thap Province used to be a hotbed of wildlife trafficking in southern Vietnam. Nowadays, however, the flood of endangered wildlife flowing into local markets from nearby Tram Chim National Park and Cambodia seems to have slowed, but across the region traffickers still breed and butcher rare animals. Any animal in demand Though the wildlife trade in Dong Thap is not what it once was, some vendors at Tam Nong Market still deal in rare animals. Tam is one of these vendors. Keeping a watchful eye of the turtles for sale at her stall, she agreed to deliver a large shipment of endangered turtles to an undercover reporter, provided that they would be set free at pagodas. Tai, a vendor at the market who primarily deals in both live and frozen copperheads and banded kraits, claims himself as the biggest wildlife seller in Tam Nong. Turtles up for sale at the Thanh Hoa bird market in Long An Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: … [Read more...] about Wildlife trafficking rife in southern Vietnam

Vietnam gained an overall score of 4.1 out of seven points, rising by 4.7 percent to leap from the 60 th place in 2019 to the 52 nd place out of 117 economies in the 2021 index, which was released recently by the World Economic Forum. The index measures the factors and policies that enable sustainable and resilient development of tourism from business, safety and health conditions, to infrastructure and natural resources, among others. The WEF report ascribed Vietnam’s improved ranking to its achievements in Covid-19 pandemic prevention, flexible adaptation as well as continuous efforts to develop safe tourism. Vietnam also performed well in price competitiveness, safety and security, air transport and port infrastructure as well as natural resources, it added. Japan tops the ranking, followed by the US, Spain, France, and Germany./. VNA … [Read more...] about Vietnam climbs 8 places in global tourism development index

A market in Malaysia (Photo: Bernama) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia’s consumer price index (CPI) in April increased 2.3 percent to 125.9 compared with 123.1 in the same month last year, the Department of Statistics Malaysia has said. The increase surpassed the average inflation in Malaysia for the period of between January 2011 and April 2022 (1.9 percent). Chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said food inflation in April was higher at 4.1 percent with 89.1 percent of food items in the food and beverages group recording increases. He pointed out that the increase in food inflation , which contributed the highest to the overall weight of CPI , remained a major contributor to inflation. Inflation for this group increased 4.1 percent in April 2022 compared to the same month of the previous year. On a monthly basis, the CPI increased 0.2 percent compared to March 2022, attributed by food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport, recreation services and culture, … [Read more...] about Malaysia: Food inflation pushes April CPI

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Thailand's retail corporation Central Retail in Vietnam plans to put on shelves about 1,000 tonnes of lychee this year, with first batches of the fruit from Bac Giang province’s Luc Ngan district transported to its supermarkets after a ceremony on May 25. The favourite summer treat is now available across the group’s GO! , Big C , and Tops Market supermarket chains nationwide. Next week, Central Retail together with the Tien Giang authorities will organise the Vietnam fruit festival in a bid to promote lychee – a northern fruit – in the southern area. The group is also working with Thai partners to effectively distribute the fruit in Thailand. Earlier, the Bac Giang People’s Committee and Central Retail signed a cooperation pact on lychee distribution in 2022 on both virtual and physical channels./. VNA … [Read more...] about Thai retail corporation to sell some 1,000 tonnes of lychees