VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS DECEMBER 13  17:25                                  Vietnam's cashew nut exports hit over $3.6bil. in 2021  Statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that the country exported 577,400 tonnes of cashew nut for $3.63 billion in 2021, up 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively, against the previous year. Export price of Vietnamese cashew nut averaged $6,500 per tonne in November and December, a 0.2 percent increase from the same period last year, as the product has been in high demand in the US, Europe, China and others during the final quarter of the year with the festive season approaching. The US remained Vietnam’s biggest buyer, accounting for nearly 30 percent of total exports. It was followed by the Europe and China with a market share of 24 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Vietnam-Germany trade to be boosted through EVFTA The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Vietnam will virtually hold a workshop in Hanoi on December 13 to examine the impact of the (EVFTA on trade between Vietnam and Germany. According to statistics, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the EU hit US$41.3 billion, up 13.4% over the same period in 2020. Germany is currently one of Vietnam’s important trade partners in the EU and around the world, with two-way trade growing by 80% over the past decade.  At the workshop, businesses will learn how to effectively take advantage of preferential tariffs from the EVFTA to increase exports to Germany. Workshop organisers will also introduce a business handbook on EVFTA commitments and core information on import-export activities between Vietnam and Germany. HCM City to link up businesses, banks to revive the economy  To speed up recovery post-COVID-19, HCM City authorities are trying to link up businesses and banks to address the former’s financial needs. Businesses said they want banks to restructure loans and provide new loans at low interest rates so that they could resume operations. Business executives and experts said to resume operations companies desperately need funds. As the end of the year approaches, businesses have been stepping up efforts to get back into the market as demand for goods and services surges in the holiday season. Banks said they plan to cut interest rates by one per cent and waive fees, and it has been well received by the business community. The State Bank of Viet Nam's HCM City branch estimates 400,000 businesses will benefit from this.  Vietnam to set criteria for innovative enterprises  The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) have jointly held a conference in Hanoi to discuss a report on the development of a set of criteria for innovative enterprises of Vietnam. The report, drafted by the Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC) with the support of the GIZ, aims to provide general research information on criteria to evaluate innovative enterprises in the world, to help with the building of a set of criteria for those in Vietnam. The criteria will help assess the level of innovation of each firm, and serve as a foundation for the building of programmes to support and honour innovative businesses, thus creating motivations for development, identifying potential enterprises and making proposals on preferential policies for them. In the long term, the criteria set will continue to be completed to produce an annual set of innovative indicators for Vietnamese enterprises and honour outstanding firms of the country./. Vietnamese start-ups seek support to go global More than 200 local and interntaional experts, investors, supporting agencies and leading organisations in the startup ecosystem took part in the seminar, “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: Promising Opportunities Untapped for Vietnamese Startups”, introduced Vietnamese startups to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) held in HCMC on Friday. Around 2,000 start-ups are operating in the city, accounting for half of the country’s start-ups, with 65 per cent of them in the field of information technology. Participating experts agreed that guiding and supporting Vietnamese startups on their global journey is critical to national economic growth, particularly in the development of innovation in Vietnam. They also pointed out challenges and suggested valuable solutions for Vietnamese startups when developing their businesses and expanding into new markets. Work starts on VinES battery manufacturing factory  Construction of VinES battery manufacturing factory costing VND4 trillion (nearly US$173.7 million) began on Sunday in central Ha Tinh Province's Vung Ang Economic Zone with the presence of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Financed by local conglomerate Vingroup, the factory will be developed on 8ha in its initial phase, providing lithium batteries for VinFast’s electric cars and buses. The entire infrastructure of the factory, including a casting shop, a welding shop, and a packaging (battery pack) shop, is designed to produce 100,000 battery packs per year. The second phase of the factory will expand production to include battery cells manufacturing and upgrade capacity to one million battery packs per year. Vietnam remains an attractive destination for foreign investment Despite being heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, over US$26 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital has been poured into the country over the past 11 months, with this figure expected to continue growing by the end of this year. Domestically, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of factories have temporarily suspended or reduced their operational capacity. However, the number of FDI projects worth over US$50 million has seen a sharp increase. The Foreign Investment Agency has granted investment licenses to a total of ​1,577 newly-registered capital projects with a value of more than US$14 billion. Furthermore, the investment capital of as many as 877 projects has been adjusted to surge by more than US$8 billion, an increase of 26.7% over the same period from last year. “Make in Vietnam” technologies draw Japanese customers A face recognition solution named CMC Intelligent Video Analytics and Management System (CIVAMS), researched and developed by CMC Corporation of Vietnam, has drew great attention of Japanese firms at the IT Week Japan 2021. Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, Director of the CMC Japan, a subsidiary of CMC Corporation, said that the introduction of CIVAMS and other technological solutions at the event is a new step taken by the firm to promote “Make in Vietnam” in the potential market of Japan where digitalisation is being sped up. Hang said that along with the CIVAMS, CMC Japan also brought its Security Operation Centre (SOC) and CMC Cloud to the IT Week Japan 2021. She said that CMC Japan plans to cooperate with nursery homes for the elderly, schools, offices, hospitals and trade centres as well as transport firms in Japan to apply the CIVAMS. According to Hang, at the IT Week Japan 2021, 12 Japanese firms showed their interest in CIVAMS. Vietnam-Korea target US$100 billion in bilateral trade by 2023 South Korea represents Vietnam's third largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching VND66 billion, or 12.85% of the country’s total trade turnover with the world. Furthermore, the RoK currently makes up the fourth biggest Vietnamese export market, with export revenue close to US$19.1 billion. South Korea remains the largest foreign investor into the Vietnamese market, with a total of 9,165 projects mainly in the manufacturing sector. Roughly 79% of Korean firms are investing in industrial production, namely Samsung, LG and Hyundai Motors, among others. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue striving to boost close collaboration and maximise the efficiency of bilateral co-operation mechanisms in carrying out tasks and plans of action in order to meet the two-way trade target of US$100 billion by 2023.  Vietnam’s securities investment funds hold huge potential According to the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC), the scale of management assets of fund management firms is targeted to make up about 6-10% of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.   The SSC said that the growth of fund management firms and securities investment funds are commendable with contributions to the sustainable development of Vietnam’s stock market, while the development potential of securities investment funds in the country remains high. Despite difficulties and challenges, fund management has made contributions to the development of Vietnam’s stock market. By late 2020, the total management assets of fund management companies made up 5.5% of the country’s GDP. The percentage was lower than that of other countries in the region. The establishment of securities investment funds was sped up in the period, with the number of the funds figure tripling to 62 in September 2021 from just 23 recorded 10 years earlier. Reference exchange rate up VND32 on Dec. 13 The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,207 VND/USD on December 13, up 32 VND from the last working day of the previous week. With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,903 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,521 VND/USD. Agricultural products seriously stuck at Northern border gates By December 10, around 4,000 trucks carrying agricultural products and goods had been jammed because they could not carry out customs clearance procedures in Lang Son Province while parking lots had been fully occupied. As for Quang Ninh Province, according to the Mong Cai Border Gate Management Board, on December 11, 800 trucks carrying frozen seafood products, such as basa fish and shrimp, and 300 containers of fruits and vegetables were stuck there. As for fresh seafood products, customs clearance remains smooth. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam suggested that localities should update information from border gates in Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Lao Cai provinces to help businesses regulate the flow of goods, avoiding congestion when bringing goods to the border gates. Opening of Nha Trang to Russian holidaymakers proposed The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism is seeking the Ministry of Public Security's approval for a pilot programme to allow foreign visitors to the southern central province of Khanh Hoa. The move came following the proposal of Anex Vietnam Travel and Trading Company to receive international travellers in Khanh Hoa, between December 25, 2021 and March 23, 2023. Anex Vietnam will co-operate with Azur Air and Anex Tour Russia Company to transport around 336 Russian visitors with vaccine passports to Khanh Hoa on December 25. All visitors are requested to test negative for Covid-19 using the Real time-PCR method three to five days before their arrival in Vietnam. During the first seven days, travellers have to stay at designated resorts and hotels that meet pandemic safety requirements, while complying with several travel restrictions. Vietnam wins big at 16th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final Vietnam claimed a total of six awards at the 16th Annual PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final which was recently held online. The awards include prizes for Best Lifestyle Developer, the Best Condo Architectural Design, the Best Landscape Architectural Design, the Best Industrial Development and the Best Hotel Interior Design. The 2021 PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards series culminated in a celebratory virtual finale that was held in order to commend the Asia Pacific’s most exemplary developers, along with the developments and designs across 31 categories, with some 135 companies in contention for this year’s awards. VNN