Day: June 30, 2021

The June consumer price index of Ho Chi Minh City recorded a month-on-month rise of 0.22 percent, according to the city’s Statistics Office.

Among the groups of products and services in the CPI basket, a 0.38 percent increase was seen in restaurant and catering services.

The food and foodstuff group registered a rise of 0.37 percent, with food up 0.46 percent due to the high demand for people to buy and reserve food amid the pandemic.

A hike of 0.76 percent was registered in the transport category, mostly due to the upward adjustment of petrol and fuel prices.

Meanwhile, the culture, entertainment and tourism category showed a decrease of 0.01 percent, the group of drugs and medical services remained unchanged.

Thereby, the average CPI in the first 6 months of 2021 in the city rose by 2.12 percent compared to the average of the same period in 2020.

According to the City Statistics Department, the gold price index in June increased by 1.77 percent and the USD price index went down by 0.16 percent compared to the previous month./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,178 VND per USD on June 30, up 1 VND from the previous day.

With the current trading band of +/- 3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial bank during the day is 23,873 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,482 VND/USD.

The rates listed at major commercial banks saw marginal fluctuations.

At 8:20 am, the rates at Vietcombank stood at 22,890 VND/USD (buying) and 23,120 VND/USD (selling), unchanged from June 29.

BIDV also kept both rates stable, listing the buying rate at 22,920 VND/USD and the selling rate at 23,120 VND/USD.

Meanwhile, Vietinbank adjusted both rates down by 5 VND, listing at 22,900 VND/USD (buying) and 23,120 VND/USD./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi earned 7.16 billion USD from exports in the first half of 2021, up 4.5 percent year on year, the municipal Statistics Office estimated.

Some commodities with good export growth include mobile phones and parts (177 million USD, doubling the figure in the same period of 2020), footwear (176 million USD, up 47.7 percent), timber and wood products (313 million USD, up 22.3 percent), and machinery and spare parts (885 million USD, up 16.8 percent).

Overseas shipments in the second quarter stood at 3.78 billion USD, rising 11.7 percent from Q1 and 2 percent from a year earlier.

During the first six months, the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) grew 5.91 percent from a year earlier, the office noted, adding that the agro-forestry-fishery sector rose 3.09 percent, industry and construction 7.74 percent, and services 5.74 percent.

The GRDP rose 5.17 percent in Q1 and 6.61 percent in Q2.

Office Director Dau Ngoc Hung said the six-month economic growth is faster than the 2.92-percent pace recorded in H1 of 2020 but still slower than that in the same period of previous years.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted production and business activities, with tourism, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment services hit hardest, he noted.

However, the industrial sector has continued recovering. The index of industrial production went up 9.7 percent year on year in Q2 and 8.7 percent during January – June, data show.

Meanwhile, Hanoi attracted 694.3 million USD of foreign direct investment in H1, including 96.1 million USD poured into 171 new projects, 477.7 million USD added to 78 existing projects, and 120.5 million USD spent on contributing capital or buying shares of local enterprises.

The June consumer price index (CPI) inched up 0.2 percent from the previous month, 1.41 percent from last December, and 1.98 percent year on year. The six-month index increased 1.14 percent from the same period of 2020, the Statistics Office reported./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Online B2C transactions to Europe will be subject to value added tax (VAT) from July 1, the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and European Union (EU) has said.

According to the European Council, any online sellers or e-commerce platforms must apply for business registration in an EU member state if they want to sell products to the EU.

Their deals will be subject to VAT applicable in countries where buyers reside.

With the new rule, if the seller registers for Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) of each member state, consumers will know the final prices, inclusive of VAT. If unregistered, online buyers must pay VAT when goods are imported to the EU.

The office suggested that online sellers should seek a partner in the EU to handle VAT filing and payment procedures in line with regulations./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency