VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS JANUARY 5
15:50
Rice output up 1.1 million
tonnes in 2021
Vietnam’s rice output topped 43.86 million tonnes in
2021, up 1.1 million tonnes year-on-year, according to the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development.
Although the rice cultivation area decreased by about
39,700 ha, the productivity increased by nearly 1.9 quintals/ha compared to
2020.
The use of high-quality rice varieties in farming surged
by 77 percent, contributing to raising the proportion of high-quality rice in
export to over 89 percent, helping lift the average export price of rice to
503 USD per tonne in 2021 from 496 USD per tonne in 2020.
Vietnam’s rice export turnover was estimated to reach
3.27 billion USD in 2021.
The agriculture sector aims to produce 48.3 million
tonnes of food grains in 2022, including 43 - 43.9 million tonnes of rice.
Reference exchange rate up
VND3
The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference
exchange rate for the US dollar at 23,137 VND/USD on January 5, up 3 VND from
the previous day.
With the current trading band of +/- 3 percent, the
ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,831 VND/USD
and the floor rate 22,442 VND/USD.
VN-Index hits new record high in
early 2022
Vietnam's benchmark stock market index
(VN-Index) hit a fresh record high on January 4 morning session after rising
19.67 points, reaching 1,517.95 points, much higher than the previous peak of
1.500 points.
Over 526 million shares changed hands, equivalent to
over 16.68 trillion VND (725.5 million USD). There were 319 stocks rising,
138 sliding and 52 ending flat on the market.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the
HNX-Index decreased 0.52 point to 473.42 points. Nearly 60 million shares
worth more than 1.76 trillion VND were traded. There were 128 stocks gaining,
89 falling and 55 staying the same.
The UPCoM-Index edged up 0.54 point to 113.22 points,
with over 63 stocks traded with a total value of more than 1.4 trillion VND.
A total of 173 stocks gained, 134 dropped and 63 others remained unchanged.
Notably, foreign investors net bought 89.63 billion VND
of stocks on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE), 14.55 billion VND on the
HNX and 13.18 billion VND on the UPCoM.
In the VN30 basket, which tracks 30 biggest stocks in
market capitalisation on HoSE, 23 stocks gained prices while seven declined.
Finance Ministry announces State
budget estimates for 2022
State budget collection in 2022 is expected to reach
over 1.41 quadrillion VND (61.7 billion USD), while expenditure is estimated
at about 1.78 quadrillion VND (78.05 billion USD), up 4.5 percent compared to
that in 2021, according to a report on State budget estimates for 2022 that
has been made public by the Ministry of Finance.
The “Budget Report for Citizens-State Budget Estimates
for 2022” provides the public with essential information on macro-economic
indices in 2022. Accordingly, revenues of the central budget is estimated to
account for 52.36 percent of total budget collection, equivalent to 739.13
trillion VND (32.33 billion USD), while 47.64 percent, or 627.57 trillion VND
(27.45 billion USD) will be collected for local budget.
State budget deficit for the year is estimated at 372.9
trillion VND (16.31 billion USD), equivalent to 4 percent of the GDP.
Notably, according to the report, in 2022, two more
localities are expected to contribute to the central budget, raising the
number of such localities to 18.
Other macro-economic indices for 2022 include a gross
domestic product (GDP) growth of 6-6.5 percent, average consumer price index
(CPI) rise of about 4 percent, total export revenue expansion of about 5.4
percent, and total social development investment accounting for about 32-34
percent of the GDP.
PetroVietnam’s revenue hits over
27.1 billion USD in 2021
The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) reported
that it had met its revenue target in 2021 two months ahead
of schedule, generating 620.2 trillion VND (over 27.1 billion USD),
surpassing the yearly plan by 26.4 percent, and up
28 percent year-on-year.
Besides revenues, the group has fulfilled most yearly
targets despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the
complicated development in the East Sea and obstacles in legal framework.
The oil output in 2021 reached 10.97 million
tonnes, 13 percent higher than the plan set for the year, and fertilizer
production 1.91 million tonnes, exceeding the yearly plan by 18 percent, and
up 6 percent compared to 2020.
Meanwhile, oil and petrol output totalled 6.37 million
tonnes, representing a year-on-year rise of 9.5 percent and surpassing the
plan by 0.1 percent.
The group's pre-tax profit in the year surpassed the
plan by 2.6 times, and up 2.2 times year-on-year, reaching 45 trillion VND.
PetroVietnam contributed 112.5 trillion VND to the
State budget, 80 percent higher than the set plan, and up 36 percent compared
to the previous year.
Transport infrastructure development
provides leverage for GDP growth
The Ministry of Transport is coordinating
with relevant ministries and agencies to develop a portfolio
of transport projects and specific mechanisms for the
implementation of the projects which will form part of the Government’s
socio-economic recovery and development programme post-COVID-19, according to
Minister Nguyen Van The.
Transport infrastructure development would
play a part in rapidly reviving other economic sectors, accelerating public
investment disbursement, and providing necessary leverage for the GDP
growth, he emphasized, adding Vietnam aims to have about 5,000km of
expressway by 2030 as set in the Resolution of the 13th National Party
Congress.
The 729km eastern section of the North – South
Expressway is among the country’s six major projects from 2021 – 2025, he
said, describing it as a particularly important project which has been
receiving special attention from the Government, Prime Minister and public.
According to the minister, the project has total
investment of close to 147 trillion VND (6.43 billion USD). It will be
divided into 12 key components separately developed under the Public-Private
Partnership (PPP). It is expected to contribute to spurring Vietnam’s
post-pandemic economic recovery, he said.
Hi-tech agricultural zone to be set
up in Quang Ninh
Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has signed a
decision on establishing a hi-tech agricultural zone in the northern province
of Quang Ninh.
The zone will be located in Hong Thai Tay commune of
Dong Trieu town , covering an area of 106 ha.
The zone will serve as a facility for experimenting
results of agricultural research, creating demonstration models of high-tech
cultivation, preservation and processing of agricultural products; and
production of biological products.
Vietnam has 64,000 digital firms in
total
About 5,600 digital technology firms were established
in 2021, raising the total number of such firms in Vietnam to around 64,000,
according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Many digital enterprises have shifted from doing
contracted work for foreign brands to developing Industry 4.0 products. So
far, 34 “Make-in-Vietnam” platforms have been recognized by the ministry.
Major corporations from both State and private sectors,
such as VNPT, Viettel, CMC and FPT, own great potential and have played a big
part in building e-Government and national digital platforms, and boosting
digital economy at large.
Statistics show that Vietnam’s digital industry
expanded over 9 percent in 2020, three times as high as the GDP growth.
Vietnam aims to remove EC’s warning
against IUU fishing next year
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD) has taken synchronous measures in order to remove the European
Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” warning against illegal, unreported and
unregulated (IUU) fishing in Vietnam next year.
Due to this move, the Directorate of Fisheries has
advised the MARD to direct localities to obtain certificates of seafood
origin, mostly those in southcentral, southeast, and southwest provinces in
service of exports to the European market.
Tran Dinh Luan, director of the Directorate of
Fisheries, revealed that the nation has actively made changes and revisions
to its legal system, all of which were subsequently approved by the EC with
the aim of handling violations on IUU fishing in future. He added that the
MARD and the Directorate of Fisheries have also deployed more than 10 IUU
inspection missions in various localities in recent times to inspect efforts
to address IUU fishing.
In line with this, 92% of fishing vessels have
installed monitoring device equipment in line with the EC’s regulations. Luan
underscored the importance of law enforcement as a way of ensuring security
and safety for fishing boats out at sea.
Cambodian paddy exports to Vietnam
enjoy year-on-year rise of over 75%
Cambodian agricultural products exported to the
Vietnamese market have seen a steady uptick, with 3.1 million tonnes of paddy
being shipped to the nation over the past 11 months of 2021, an increase of
more than 75% from the same period last year.
According to a report given by the Cambodia Trade Office in Vietnam,
along with paddy, other agricultural products exported to the country also
continuously increased by 20% to 400% over the corresponding period from last
year.
In line with this, Cambodia shipped 7.98 million tonnes
of farm produce in 2021 to 68 markets globally, representing an increase of
63.8% on-year. This represents a remarkable result in the context of
agricultural production and export businesses suffering an array of negative
impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic on a global scale.
A preliminary summary indicates that the total value of
Cambodian agricultural exports in 2021 reached approximately US$5 billion.
First Chinese RCEP train departs for
Hanoi
A Chinese freight train departed Nanning International
Railway Station in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China) on the early
morning of January 1 for Hanoi.
This marks the first international freight train leaving China and heading to
member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
after the agreement officially came into force.
The train is in charge of transporting 25 containers of
goods related to normal trade and cross-border e-commerce, such as electronic
components, necessities, and chemical products which have a total weight of
more than 800 tonnes and worth more than US$10 million. According to the
schedule, the train is expected to arrive in Hanoi after a 28-hour journey.
The RCEP consists of 10 ASEAN member states, including
China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New
Zealand, accounting for roughly 30% of the population, equivalent to 2.7
billion people, and a GDP equivalent to US$26.2 trillion globally.
The agreement came into effect on January 1 and is
expected to offer a new lease of life to promote regional economic recovery
following the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst simultaneously being a catalyst that
contributes to boosting global economic growth.
Viet Nam continues to reboot tourism
this year
The Vietnamese tourism sector will embark on a tourism
recovery and development scheme under the 2022-23 socio-economic development
programme this year.
It will also strive to complete the 10-year tourism
system planning with a vision to 2045 and submit it to the Government for
approval, develop smart tourism via digital transformation toward the goal of
serving 65 million visitors, including 5 million foreigners, and earning
VND400 trillion (US$17.39 billion) in revenue.
Data from the General Statistics Office this week
showed that foreign arrivals in the country rose by 14.2 per week
month-on-month in December as Viet Nam has been piloting the reopening of the
country to foreigners since November and international commercial flights
have been restored.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of foreign visitors
to Viet Nam slumped by 95.9 per cent annually to 157,300, most of them were
experts and technical workers working for projects in Viet Nam. Almost all
tour guides became unemployed while the capacity of lodging facilities only
reached about 5-10 per cent this year.
Transport industry focuses on
maritime segment, public investment projects
The transport industry has promoted the maritime
transport segment and sped up the implementation of public investment
projects to offset losses in road, railway and aviation transport segments
due to the pandemic.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the railway and
aviation segments reported negative growth in 2021 due to the impacts of the
pandemic.
The ministry’s Vietnam Railways failed to meet yearly
growth targets in 2021 as its revenue and profit declined by 16.3 per cent
and 47.2 per cent, respectively, against 2020.
The aviation transport segment also faced big losses
this year as its international passenger transport declined by 93 per cent
compared to 2020.
Quang Ninh’s “Green-lane” plan to
recover tourism in 2022
The Department of Tourism of Quang Ninh has completed a
draft plan called “Green-lane tourism” to revive the COVID-19-stricken
tourism in the northern coastal province.
Director of the department Pham Ngoc Thuy said it is
important to provide tourists with information about where is safe to travel
to, regarding the COVID-19 situation.
The “Green-lane tourism” will offer holidaymakers safe
services and make them feel comfortable and relaxed when experiencing tourism
services, Thuy explained, adding that joining the scheme will also be a way
for businesses to promote their services and provide their staff with a
COVID-19 free working environment.
The department has tightened its set of 35 compulsory
and optional requirements for COVID-19 safety. Accordingly, the department
has required tourism services providers to give away face masks to tourists
and check temperature of visitors and input suppliers. Restaurants are encouraged
to install table partitions to limit direct contact among diners.
Hanoi expands promotion programmes
on threshold of lunar New Year
Hanoi is carrying out a series of stimulus and
promotion programmes so as to recover the purchasing power of the domestic
market on the occasion of the upcoming lunar New Year holiday.
Acting Director of the municipal Department of Industry
and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan said that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a
sharp decrease in the buying power due to lower per capita income.
Thanks to several stimulus programmes to boost consumer
spending such as the concentrated promotion month, Hanoi Promotion Month
2021, and Vietnamese Goods Weeks, the capital city’s total retail sales of
goods and services in the fourth quarter of 2021 was higher than that of the
third quarter. However, the total retail sales of goods and services in 2021
was down 4.6 percent compared to that of the previous year.
As the lunar New Year is usually the best time in a
year for retail firms to make breakthrough growth, they are exerting efforts
to take advantage of this occasion.
Dong Nai to build three routes
connecting to Long Thanh International Airport
The southern province of Dong Nai has approved three
routes worth about 19.6 trillion VND (858 million USD) linking localities
with Long Thanh International Airport.
The three projects include a project to
upgrade road DT 769 with a length of nearly 31 kilometres and an estimated
investment of 1.6 trillion VND. Road DT 773 will be extended by 51 kilometres.
The total investment for the project is forecast at 5.5 trillion VND.
The road 770B will stretch over 53 kilometres. It
requires an investment of 12.5 trillion VND, including 7.5 trillion VND as
compensation for the affected households.
Enterprises optimistic about
production and business in 2022
As many as 45.4 percent of businesses in a recent
survey conducted by the General Statistics Office (GSO) forecast
that their production will increase in the first quarter of 2022 as compared
to the fourth quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile, 37.2 percent of the surveyed enterprises
expected stability in their production and 17.4 percent of them predicted a
reduction.
Up to 41.4 percent and 41.8 percent of the respondents
expected an increase and stability in their orders in the first quarter of
2022, respectively, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Just 16.8 percent
of the surveyed businesses forecast a drop in their orders.
New export orders of 37.2 percent of the surveyed
firms were predicted to rise in the first quarter of this year from the last
three months of 2021. The new export orders were predicted to drop in 16.7
percent of the enterprises and remain stable in 46.1 percent of them.
Vietnam’s stock market likely to see
upward trend in 2022
2021 presented a bonanza year for Vietnam’s stock
market as its benchmark VN-Index rose nearly 36%, making it into the top 10
benchmark indexes in the world.
The market grew tremendously, setting new records in
terms of both indexes, trading value, and the number of new participants
despite the lingering outbreak.
By the end of 2021, VN-Index hit close to 1,500 points,
up 35.4% compared to 2020. The market’s capitalization was VND7.729 trillion,
marking a year-on-year rise of 46% and being equivalent to 122.8% of the 2020
GDP and 92% of the 2021 GDP.
According to the expert, the stock market is likely to
attract huge cash flows thanks to a stable interest rate policy adopted by
the State Bank and an economic recovery programme to be implemented by the
Government in 2022-2023.
UK wooden furniture imports from
Vietnam soar by 35.7%
With the UK’s imports of wooden furniture from the
Vietnamese market surging by 35.7% to reach US$303.7 million during the past
10 months of 2021, local firms can enjoy huge opportunities to promote the
export of products to the UK market.
According to statistics compiled by the International
Trade Center (ITC), the UK’s wooden furniture imports in the 2016 to 2020
period reached US$5.17 billion per year, with an average annual growth of
2.7%.
During the reviewed period, the UK's import value
of the product edged up by 39.3% to reach US$4.03 billion compared to the
same period from last year, despite the complicated developments linked to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UK mainly imported living room and dining room
furniture, as well as wooden frame chairs and kitchen furniture.
These appear to be positive signs which have opened up
greater export prospects for Vietnamese firms to the demanding market moving
forward.
Ben Tre holds seminar with overseas
ambassadors to promote trade and investment
Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Quang Minh on January 3 led
a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to attend a seminar on
investment, trade and tourism promotion between Ben Tre Province and
Vietnamese foreign ambassadors.
The event offered an opportunity for Ben Tre and
ambassadors to discuss the foreign policies of recent years as well as
outline appropriate trade and investment promotion solutions for the future.
Ben Tre has huge potential in key products such as
coconuts, fruit trees, seedlings, ornamental flowers, and livestock,
especially with it range of about 200 coconut products and handicrafts.
The province is known as the “Vietnamese coconut land”
with an area of about 75,000ha and a total output of nearly 700,000 tonnes
per year. Ben Tre currently has the highest concentration of organic coconut
material area in the country, covering more than 12,000 ha.
Over 31,000 HCMC-based firms close
in 2021
HCMC saw nearly 31,660 businesses shut down either
temporarily or permanently in 2021 due to the impact of the Covid-19
pandemic, accounting for 26.4% of the country’s total firms that withdrew
from the local market last year.
The number of firms in the city that pulled out of the
market in 2021 inched down 2.6% year-on-year, according to data from the
Agency for Business Registration under the Ministry of Planning and
Investment.
The data indicated that more than 15,620 enterprises in
the city temporarily suspended their business activities in 2021, up 13.2%
year-on-year.
Retail sales exceed US$210 billion
in 2021
Vietnam’s total retail sales of consumer goods and
services hit VND4,789.5 trillion (over US$210 billion) in 2021, falling 3.8%
against 2020.
Data of the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Vietnam
showed that the total retail sales of consumer goods alone reached VND3,950.9
trillion (US$173.28 billion) in 2021, rising 0.2% year-on-year.
The total retail sales of consumer goods and services
in the fourth quarter of 2021 amounted to VND1,312.6 trillion, surging 28.1%
against the previous quarter but dropping 2.8% year-on-year.
This is a better result than expected amid the negative
impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the peak months of the fourth
Covid-19 wave, which began in late April, many businesses suspended
operations, while wet markets were forced to close down and consumers
tightened their belts.
Less than half of industrial
businesses in HCMC optimistic about Q1 2022
Less than half (43.6%) of industrial businesses in HCMC
are optimistic about their business situation in the first quarter of 2022,
according to a report of the HCMC Statistics Department on the city’s
socioeconomic development.
Meanwhile, 28.1% expected their business situation to
remain stable and the remainder felt their condition would worsen.
Some 41.7% of industrial businesses in the city
expected to see an increase in new orders in Q1 2022, while 24.3% of
businesses said they plan to scale down their workforce.
Regarding production cost, 33.3% forecast that it would
increase, while 51.6% expected that it would stay stable and only 15.2%
predicted a decrease in production cost.
HCMC’s economy has recovered after social distancing
measures were relaxed, but the recovery remains weak.
Some 48.4% of the firms said their business situation
improved in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with the third quarter, while
19.3% said their condition was stable and 32.3% saw their situation worsen.
Nearly 40% of industrial businesses are facing financial
hardships. Besides, 23.1% said interest rates were high and 7.6% had limited
access to capital.
HCMC studies US$1.3 bln-over-head
road project implementation
The Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint
Stock Company (CII) has just reported the Municipal People’s Committee the
pre-feasibility study of the North-South overhead road investment and
construction project in the city, at a section from Cong Hoa Street in Tan
Binh District to Nguyen Van Linh Street in Binh Chanh District.
The project has a total length of 14.1 kilometers
through streets of Cong Hoa – Bui Thi Xuan – Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Canal –
alley No.658 of Cach Mang Thang Tam Street – Bac Hai – Thanh Thai – Ly Thai
To – Nguyen Van Cu – Ong Lon Canal and end at Nguyen Van Linh Street with a
total investment of VND29,537 billion (US$1.3 billion), including VND12,089
billion (US$530 million) extended for the construction works and VND13,337
billion (US$584 million) for site clearance. The project is designed with
four lanes.
According to the calculation, there will be five main
intersections including Cong Hoa, Lang Cha Ca, Le Hong Phong, Nguyen Van Cu
and Nguyen Van Linh. Especially, at Lang Cha Ca intersections, there will be
path routes connecting to Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
Enterprises optimistic about
production and business in 2022
As many as 45.4 percent of businesses in a recent
survey conducted by the General Statistics Office (GSO) forecast that their
production will increase in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the
fourth quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile, 37.2 percent of the surveyed enterprises
expected stability in their production and 17.4 percent of them predicted a
reduction.
Up to 41.4 percent and 41.8 percent of the respondents
expected an increase and stability in their orders in the first quarter of
2022, respectively, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Just 16.8 percent
of the surveyed businesses forecast a drop in their orders.
New export orders of 37.2 percent of the surveyed firms
were predicted to rise in the first quarter of this year from the last three
months of 2021. The new export orders were predicted to drop in 16.7 percent
of the enterprises and remain stable in 46.1 percent of them.
Foreign-invested firms were the most optimistic about
production and business with 83.1 percent expecting better performance or
stability in the first quarter of 2022. The rates among State and non-State
enterprises were 82 percent and 81.2 percent, respectively.
HCMC Market Surveillance prepare for
peak of fight against commercial fraud
Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's
Committee Phan Thi Thang requested the HCMC Market Surveillance Department
promote linkages with the interdisciplinary force to eliminate poor-quality
goods from the market, especially during the peak of the 2022 Lunar New Year,
at a seminar to summarize market surveillance work in 2021 and deploy tasks
in 2022, held on December 31.
Accordingly, groups of imported goods with high tax
rates, medical supplies and equipment serving the prevention of the Covid-19
pandemic, and goods traded on e-commerce platforms need to be closely
inspected and reviewed, avoiding the mixing of low-quality goods, affecting
the interests of consumers and loss of tax revenue for the State.
According to a report by the HCMC Market Surveillance
Department, around 1,325 violations were handled in 2021, with a total fine
of more than VND29 billion. The force had uncovered many cases of banned and
smuggled goods being transported by containers and trucks to warehouses
scattered around the city.
Source: VNA/SGGP/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/VGP
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