Vietnam tour

The US is satisfied with the progress made by Vietnam in addressing the former’s concern over trade issues. Vietnam did not engage in unfair trade practices, and therefore did not violated the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. US Treasury Department. Source: Svitlana Kravchenko/US Embassy in Ukraine This was stated in the US Treasury Department’s report to Congress, titled “Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the US” on December 3. The report was aimed at reviewing the trade policies of five major US trading partners (Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam India, and Switzerland) in four quarters through June 2021. In this regard, the Treasury Department determined that “none of these economies intervened in currency markets in the four quarters through June 2021 to prevent effective balance of payments adjustment or gain an unfair competitive advantage in trade.” Referring to the Trade Facilitation and Trade …

[Read more...] about Vietnam does not engage in unfair trade practices: US Treasury Department

The average mobilizing interest rates as of the end of July declined by 0.6 percentage points per annum against late 2019, creating conditions for lower lending rates. The management of policy rates is part of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s responsibilities in pursuing its monetary policy’s objectives while ensuring fair benefits for depositors, banks and lenders, according to SBV’s Vice Governor Nguyen Thi Hong. SBV's Vice Governor Nguyen Thi Hong at the meeting. Photo: VGP Ms. Hong shared the view at a monthly government press briefing on September 4, in response to a question related to enterprises, including contractors of build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects, that are facing difficulties in accessing preferential loans. According to Ms. Hong, since the first Covid-19 outbreak in Vietnam, the SBV has been implementing measures to support the economy, including a reduction in policy rates, so that banks could lower their deposit interest rates. On …

[Read more...] about Vietnam c.bank ensures harmony in managing policy rates

On top of weak economic activity and low credit demand, the Covid-19 crisis macroprudential measures announced by the central bank will weigh heavily on banking sector profits for 2020. Fitch Solutions, a subsidiary of Fitch Group, has revised its credit growth forecast for Vietnam to 8% in 2020, from 11% previously, due to a sharp slowdown in economic activity amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Vietnam – Credit Growth (%). This reflected Fitch’s view for a sharper slowdown in credit expansion versus 13.7% in 2019, and also for the measure to fall short of the government’s existing 14% target for 2020. The downbeat credit growth forecast is despite the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s reduction of its policy interest rates on March 17, which took its refinance rate to 5%, from 6% previously, and its discount rate to 3.5%, from 4% previously. The overnight lending rate in the inter-bank market was also cut to 6%, from 7%. Fitch maintained its view that the ample …

[Read more...] about Fitch Solutions revises down Vietnam credit growth forecast to 8% in 2020

The cut is applied to the refinancing interest rate, discount interest rate, and overnight lending rate. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country’s central bank, has announced its decision to further slash policy interest rates by 50 basis points in a move to support economic recovery. The State Bank of Vietnam. The SBV’s decision is in line with other major central banks around the world in face of the unfavorable global economic environment under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. As per the decision, a 0.5 percentage point reduction would be applied to the refinancing interest rate, discount interest rate, overnight lending rate, and interest via open market operations (OMO). Accordingly, the refinancing interest rate is down from 5% per annum to 4.5%, rediscount rate from 3.5% to 3%, overnight interest rate from 6% to 5.5% and interest rate via OMO from 3.5% to 3%. The SBV also lowered the interest rate cap to 4.25% annually from 4.75% for …

[Read more...] about Vietnam c.bank cuts policy rates again to buttress economic recovery

The central bank suggested the move is necessary to ensure efficiency of existing preferential rates policy for customers amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country’ s central bank, has delayed the roadmap for reducing the ratio of short-term capital for medium- and long-term loans at banks for one more year. The move is necessary to ensure efficiency of existing preferential rates policy for customers amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the newly issued circular No.08/2020/TT-NHNN on August 14, scheduled to take effect from October 1, 2020, banks and foreign banks and branches will be allowed to maintain the maximum ratio of short-term capital used for medium and long-term loans at 40% until September 30, 2021. The ratio would later be reduced to 37% from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022; to 34% from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023; and to 30% from October 1, 2023. The SBV suggested the move is necessary to ensure …

[Read more...] about Vietnam c.bank delays enforcement of loan regulation to aid economy

"I'm happy to meet the coaches in group B. We will focus game by game to get the best results," Park told the press Saturday. After six consecutive losses in the final round of World Cup qualifiers, Vietnam are under great pressure going into AFF Cup as defending champions. "Vietnam have lost all six matches so far in World Cup qualifiers. Recent defeats have affected the team mentally. "The atmosphere among players is not good at the moment. In addition, the pressure is on us since we are the defending champions. I cannot predict the final result. We will try our best," Park said. "Due to Covid-19, we are only allowed to go from the hotel to the training ground. For the players, mentality is just as important as physicality. Travel restrictions in Singapore have affected our spirit a bit. But it's a pandemic and we have to adapt," Park added. Before going to Singapore on Dec. 1, the national team had trained in Ba Ria-Vung Tau to prepare for the tournament. Key midfielder Do …

[Read more...] about Vietnam suffer mental fatigue heading into AFF Cup: coach Park

Vietnam and Taiwan, however, exceeded the Treasury's thresholds for possible currency manipulation and enhanced analysis under a 2015 trade law. But the Treasury refrained from formally branding any country as currency manipulators. This is an affirmation of a decision in April when the Treasury removed Vietnam from the list of economies it considers currency manipulators, reversing a decision made by the Trump administration in December. The department stated it would continue to work with Vietnam and Taiwan to address U.S. concerns. The Treasury added it was "satisfied with progress made by Vietnam to date" and would continue engagement started in May with Taiwan. The U.S. in July said it would not impose tariffs on Vietnamese goods after the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) agreed with the Treasury to refrain from currency manipulation and make its exchange rate practices more transparent. …

[Read more...] about Vietnam doesn’t manipulate currency: US Treasury

Spanish photographer Felipe Souto's panoramic photo of Vietnam’s terraced fields has been honored at the EPSON International Pano Awards 2021. The 12th EPSON International Pano Awards is dedicated to the craft and art of panoramic photography and is the world's largest competition devoted to the genre. The contest showcases the best work of panoramic photographers around the world. The organizers received 5,378 entries from 1,245 professional and amateur photographers in 97 countries this year, competing for the top spots in five categories. 'Eternal Triangle' by American photographer Joshua Hermann taken in a swamp in Louisiana won first prize. Meanwhile, the photo capturing the immense terraced fields in Vietnam by Spanish author Felipe Souto was among the best photos in the 'Natural landscape' category of amateur photographers. Through the lens of Spanish photographer Felipe Souto, the picture has featured the unique beauty of the fields stretching along the overlapping …

[Read more...] about Photo of Vietnam’s terraced fields among best entries in int’l competition

An overview of the meeting (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The 15th Meeting of the Experts' Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations (EWG PKO) Cycle 4 for the 2021-2023 period, within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), took place on December 3 via videoconference under the co-chair of Colonel Mac Duc Trong, head of Vietnam EWG PKO and Matsuzawa Tomoko , head of Japan EWG PKO. Addressing the meeting, Matsuzawa said that pre-deployment training and the improvement of capacity for peacekeeping forces are major discussion contents of the meeting, aiming to prevent threats to the safety of the forces while performing their tasks at the site and ensuring the prestige of the UN mission in the host country. Sharing Matsuzawa’s idea, Colonel Trong said that amid COVID-19 situation, the work is even more important and become a challenge for countries that send its forces to UN peacekeeping missions. Colonel Trong asked participants to share their …

[Read more...] about Vietnam co-chairs 15th meeting of Experts’ Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations

According to the e-Conomy SEA 2021 report, since COVID-19 reappeared in the first half of this year, Vietnam has added 8 million digital consumers, of which more than half come from non-metro areas. Notably, 99 percent of these new consumers expressed their intention to continue using online services post-pandemic, showing a very high level of adoption of digital services and products of users in our country. The report noted that the Vietnamese internet economy could reach 220 billion USD in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) by 2030, ranking second in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. It stressed this is welcoming in the context of the shrinking online travel market, and if this growth is maintained, Vietnam's GMV is expected to reach 57 billion USD by 2025./. VNA …

[Read more...] about Vietnam’s digital economy expects 31-percent growth this year