Day: September 29, 2021

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son has proposed the Russian Government to support the acceleration of COVID-19 vaccine production technology transfer to Vietnam in a bid to ensure a stable and sustainable supply.

During his meet with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko in Moscow on September 28, Son congratulated Russia on its great development achievements, affirming that Vietnam always attaches importance to its traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia.

The minister also took this occasion to thank the Russian Government for its timely support to Vietnam in pandemic prevention, especially its supply of COVID-19 vaccine, and the recent transfer of biological products to the Southeast Asian country for the production of one million doses of vaccine.

For his part, Chernyshenko said Vietnam is a reliable friend and partner of Russia. He expressed his delight at Vietnam’s achievements, especially in stabilising the macro-economy and pandemic response.

During the meeting, the two officials pledged to seek ways to deepen the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership. They underscored the importance of enhancing the cooperation mechanism of the Intergovernmental Committee on economic, scientific and technical cooperation as well as regular coordination between ministries and agencies to promote key projects, creating favourable conditions for Vietnam-Russia joint ventures as well as enterprises from the two countries to pour capital in each country. The two sides also highlighted the need to fully tap the potential of the Vietnam- Eurasian Economic Union free trade agreement, facilitating the export of products that can be supplemented in each country’s market towards a healthy and balanced trade.

They agreed on the necessity to expand into new fields of cooperation that Vietnam has a strong demand while Russia has advantages such as high-tech science and scientific research.

The Russian Deputy PM agreed to consider increasing scholarships for Vietnamese students at the request of the Vietnamese FM.

Regarding issues related to Vietnamese people in Russia, Chernyshenko said that he would direct relevant Russian agencies to facilitate the extension of residence for Vietnamese citizens whose visas have expired and were unable to return home due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vinpearl, a major hospitality-recreation developer and operator in Vietnam, has successfully issued a 425-million-USD Exchangeable Sustainable Bond (ESB), exchangeable into shares of its parent company Vingroup.

This issuance is the world’s first ESB and registered a total subscribed demand of almost twice the base amount following book-building.

The bonds mature in 2026 and have a coupon of 3.25 percent per annum.

The Joint Book-runners and Joint Lead Managers for the bonds include Credit Suisse, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and BNP Paribas.

Nguyen Viet Quang, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vingroup, said the oversubscription in Vinpearl’s ESB demonstrates investors’ positive reception to the exchangeable sustainable bonds that Vingroup and its member companies have pioneered.

“The transaction also affirms Vingroup and its members’ prestige and sustainable businesses, as well as Vietnamese corporates’ position in the international capital market,” he affirmed.

For his part, Tim Evans, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, said that Vingroup is one of the most successful stories coming out of Vietnam. The conglomerate’s amazing growth has contributed to putting Vietnam firmly on the world economic map, which in turn has helped build the Vietnam brand with international investors.

It is therefore no surprise to see the group pioneer an innovative, world-first ESB, which HSBC was delighted to arrange, he added.

Previously, in April 2021, Vingroup also successfully issued the Vingroup Exchangeable Bond worth 500 million USD which was offered into shares of its real estate arm Vinhomes.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang on September 28 had a working session with French parliamentarians and members of the France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group in the French Parliament at the invitation of chairwoman of the group Stéphanie DO.

At the meeting, the Vietnamese diplomat briefed the participants on Vietnam’s situation and the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

The participants exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.

French parliamentarians from political parties highly evaluated France-Vietnam relations and Vietnam’s role in the European country’s foreign policy in the region.

They expressed their interest in Vietnam’s COVID-19 prevention and control, the Southeast Asian nation’s measures to promote post-pandemic economic recovery and its policy on international economic integration, including measures against counterfeit goods.

The French parliamentarians were also interested in Vietnam’s solutions to respond to climate change, including policy on energy development, the current concerns of young people, characteristics of Vietnamese socialism, and some aspects of the country’s foreign policy, including those in Asia-Pacific.

Thang and the French parliamentarians debated prospects for the Vietnam-France strategic partnership in the fields of politics, economy, culture, education, training, and security – defence, and for coordination between the two countries in international documents as well as at multilateral forums such as the UN and the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).

Regarding international issues, the participants shared their assessments of ASEAN’s role in solving regional issues such as the Myanmar situation and the East Sea issues, as well as cooperation with the European Union to deal with global and regional challenges.

The two sides agreed to enhance the exchange of information, closely coordinate to promptly contribute to solving difficulties and finding new opportunities, and promote cooperation in all aspects in order to further develop the Vietnam-France relations in the coming time.

Thang applauded contributions of the France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group in the French Parliament in general and its chairwoman in particular in developing multifaceted relations between the two countries, as well as the relationship between the two legislatures, saying that these have importantly contributed to promoting the Vietnam-France strategic partnership.

He stressed that Vietnam and France need to further deepen their cooperation in a more substantive manner, thus helping to address challenges posed to each country and each region.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam Trade Office in Morocco, also in charge of Benin, has warned Vietnamese exporters in general and those engaged in beverage export in particular, to seek full information about importers before conducting transactions with partners from Benin to avoid being a victim of fraud.

It cited the case related to Hi-Profile International General Trading Company, which is headquartered in Dubai, as an example. Hassabel E.Musa-Chairman, known as Khalifa, the company’s director, showed signs of disrepute in import transactions, evading payment responsibility under the signed contract.

According to the trade office, a Vietnamese company had sold two containers of Buffalo Jungle energy drink to the company. The shipment arrived at the port for many days, but Khalifa neither received the goods nor paid the money.

As soon as the Vietnamese enterprise changed the original bill of lading, he colluded with Benin partners to make the customs declaration but did not make the payment.

Upon receiving a request for support from the Vietnamese company, the office has contacted the Benin authorities, including the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and coordinated with the Vietnam Trade Office in Dubai, especially the Port Authority and Customs Agency of the Cotonou Port in Benin in handling the incident.

A reputable partner at the Cotonou Port has been introduced to the Vietnamese company to provide assistance on procedures for selling the goods to other customers. However, local regulations that require the opinion of the importer before carrying out procedures to return goods to Vietnam or sell to a third party made it difficult to settle the case.

The office also managed to persuade the Benin company to cooperate but failed.

To reduce risks when exporting goods to Benin and some North and West African areas, Vietnamese enterprises should be cautious in conducting transactions such as delivery at the port (CIF), payment method, delivery contract and signing contracts through intermediaries, it said.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam-Korea Businessmen and Investment Association (VKBIA) and Visang Vietnam Education Company on September 29 signed a cooperation agreement on comprehensive cooperation in education-training and skilled human resources development.

The deal aims to improve workers’ capacity and Korean language skills in a bid to meet demand of foreign direct investment (FDI) firms as well as those in supporting industries and manufacturing.

Under the pact, the sides will build online courses and improve teacher quality by applying a modern education-training model of the RoK.

The cooperation is hoped to generate practical results in human resources development of Vietnam and the RoK in the coming time, said head of Visang Vietnam Education Lee Young-geun.

On the occasion, the VKBIA set up its new affiliate “VKBIA Academy”, which specialises in Korean language training and other relevant fields.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam earned nearly 49.4 million USD from tuna exports in August, a fall of 19 percent year-on-year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The country’s export revenue to major markets also declined in the month, such as the US (down nearly 26 percent), the EU (28 percent) and member nations of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific (CPTPP) (4.3 percent).

Of the EU and CPTPP markets, only Spain and Mexico saw rises in Vietnam’s tuna exports, the department said.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the result had been forecast as many cities and provinces, especially those in the southern region, have met difficulties in production and processing due to the imposition of social distancing measures given the spread of COVID-19.

Domestic firms have yet to recover their operations although there are opportunities to export to the US and the EU in the remaining months of the year.

Between January and August, Vietnam’s tuna exports still grew nearly 13 percent year-on-year to reach nearly 470 million USD thanks to the growth in the first months of the year and sound instructions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The country exported 15,870 tonnes of tuna worth 73.33 million USD to the EU in the first half of 2021, up 39.3 percent and 31.6 percent, respectively, against the same period last year, according to a journal published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The tuna shipments accounted for about 15.1 percent of Vietnam’s total seafood export value to the EU.

In the second quarter of 2021, the country shipped 9,360 tonnes of tuna to this market, raking in 45.05 million USD, up 43.9 percent in volume and 59.3 percent in value from the previous quarter.

The surges were attributed to tariff reductions granted to Vietnam’s tuna products under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect on August 1, 2020.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Markets, hotels, outdoor sports and public transport will resume in the central city from September 30 morning, though other restrictions will remain in place for now.

The municipal People’s Committee said it decided to ease social distancing regulations as the situation was now more under control, after nearly two months of lockdown.

Da Nang residents can return to traditional markets once every three days using a QR code system, although only 50 percent of stalls will operate at a time. This system is also in place at other public destinations, shops and offices. All sellers and service providers must either have received at least one vaccine shot, or have a certificate proving they have had COVID-19 and are now fully recovered.

Training courses and seminars, with the participation of under 20 people at a time, can also resume. Religious services can resume providing less than 30 are present.

Non-contact outdoor sports activities involving less than 20 players, such as tennis, golf, volleyball and table tennis, have also been given the green light to go ahead. Beachgoers will now be able to swim in the sea between 4.30-6.30am, providing they remain a safe distance from others and observe pandemic preventive measures.

For now, indoor gyms, yoga and larger sports events are still banned.

Hotels and resorts can operate at 30 percent room capacity, or 50 percent for full vaccinated tourists.

Vaccinated logistics services and ride-hailing drivers can provide their service as before, but safe distancing and protective measures are strictly required.

Trans-provincial bus services are still banned along with entertainment such as bars, casinos, massage parlours, karaoke, public internet cafes and beauty salons.

Education at all levels will remain closed.

The only areas to remain in the current, stricter regulations are those categorised as ‘red’ or ‘very high risk’ areas. Delivery services in these areas are provided by community teams. ‘Green zones’ are designated to areas with zero new infections being found in the past 14 days.

Every person in the city will be given QR codes to use for travelling to work, hospitals and stores from September 30.

The city’s Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said at least 73 percent of the population in Da Nang have received at least one vaccine dose.

Mass vaccination programmes in Da Nang have been ramping up since late August. The city is aiming for 100 percent of the population to have received one dose by the end of October.

Factories with 70 percent of manpower were resumed early this month, and businesses have asked for a return of full operation soon.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.82 percent year on year between January and September, the slowest hike since 2016, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has announced.

At a press conference on September 29, GSO General Director Nguyen Thi Huong largely attributed the rise to the global fuel price hikes; higher educational service costs resulting from a tuition fee increase for the 2020-2021 school year; and higher domestic rice prices following higher prices of exported rice products, stronger demand in the Lunar New Year holiday, and stockpile demand during social distancing periods.

During the nine-month period, core inflation inched up by only 0.88 percent annually, the lowest since 2011.

In September alone, the CPI reduced by 0.62 percent from August and grew 2.06 percent against the same month in 2020.

Huong said resons behind the monthly drop included social distancing-induced rental price reductions, lower or exempted tuition fees in some areas, lower food prices thanks to stable supply sources, and lower electricity prices as part of Vietnam Electricity’s support programme for customers.

During the month, core inflation was down 0.26 percent from August and up 0.74 percent year on year.

Given complicated developments of the pandemic, units and sectors at all levels, under the Government’s close direction, have actively implemented measures for COVID-19 prevention and control and price stabilization, Huong stressed.

Source: Vietnam News Agency