Day: November 11, 2021

The People’s Committee of Binh Duong southern province on November 11 asked industrial parks in the province to support COVID-19 testing and inoculation for those who want to return to work.

The move aims to curb the spread of the pandemic and help workers and local firms resume operations, surmount difficulties and stabilise lives.

Of note, mobile medical teams have been sent to factories and offices to provide examination and vaccinations for workers.

Binh Duong has reported 241,589 COVID-19 cases since the fourth wave of COVID-19 outbreaks hit Vietnam, with a death toll of 2,529.

Some 10,930 patients in the province are receiving treatment, including 4,363 at medical establishments.

The province has administered more than 4.14 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far, with nearly 1.75 million people receiving full two shots.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Legislators continued to question Government members regarding labour, invalids and social affairs, education-training, and planning and investment at a Q&A session on November 11, as part of the ongoing 11th sitting of the 15th National Assembly.

For labour, invalids and social affairs, the deputies raised queries on the flow of people returning home due to impacts of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the fourth Industrial Revolution that makes low-skilled workers unemployed.

Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung presented five basic solutions, including improving the quality of workforce, forecasting capability, and personnel training.

Speaking at the session, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam stressed the need to roll out policies to ensure rights and interests of the returning labourers, covering housing and social welfare establishments.

In his closing remarks at the session for the minister, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said Dung has full understanding about matters under the management of the ministry, and responded to the questions candidly and satisfactorily, while proposing many specific solutions to the current problems.

Party and State leaders have assigned the Vietnam Fatherland Front to coordinate with Ho Chi Minh City and relevant localities to organise online ceremonies in memory of people, officials and soldiers who died of COVID-19.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs should join hands with the Vietnam Fatherland Front, HCM City and other localities in the organisation, he said.

Also at the hearing session, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung cleared up legislators’ concerns over planning and investment issues.

The raised questions focused on policies and solutions to recover and develop the national economy in the new context, along with solutions to support enterprises, cooperatives and household businesses that are facing difficulties, such as extending tax payments, accelerating the disbursement of public investment and official development assistance (ODA), and speeding up the implementation of major national projects.

Minister Dung will continue to appear at the Q&A session on November 12 morning.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A ceremony is expected to be held to commemorate those who have lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front will coordinate with Ho Chi Minh City and relevant localities to organise the ceremony.

The event will take place online, Hue told the ongoing second session of the 15th legislature on November 11 morning.

To date, Vietnam has recorded over 22,700 COVID-19-related deaths nationwide.

The top legislator said that the pandemic has seriously affected production and business activities, livelihoods, employment and the lives of people and businesses, with more than 1.3 million people leaving Ho Chi Minh City and key economic provinces in the South to return home.

The legislative body proposed the Government and its members to analyse, evaluate, and have an overall solution to restore and develop the labour market in the country, create jobs for employees of other localities in the country when they have returned to their hometown.

Hue asked for efforts to carry out social welfare support packages to assist affected employees, and ensure that everyone can gain the most convenient and fastest access to these packages. He also stressed the need to strengthen the protection of children’s rights, especially those orphaned due to the pandemic.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam also emphasised that it is necessary to focus on solving policies and benefits for workers returning to their hometown in the immediate future.

He suggested the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs worth with localities to have separate support packages for employees returning to work, along with the current support policy package for pandemic-affected employees.

The two major problems that must be solved as soon as possible are controlling the pandemic well and reopening schools because most workers have children studying in kindergartens and primary schools.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam remains a safe and attractive destination for foreign investors despite complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a report from the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, foreign investors registered to pump 23.74 billion USD into Vietnam during the first 10 months of 2021, surging 1.1 percent over the same period last year. Of the sum, over 13 billion USD was injected into newly-licensed projects, up 11.6 per cent year-on-year, while the remainder of over 7.09 billion USD came to operating projects, up 24.2 per cent.

The agency attributed the slight increase in foreign direct investment compared to the same period last year to the country’s selective investment policy which focuses on large-scale projects with added value.

The travel restrictions and quarantine policy also influenced the decision-making of foreign investors.

However, according to economic experts, a 1.1 percent year-on-year increase in registered FDI capital in 10 months is still considered a “bright spot” of the economy given that the complicated situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam from the end of April this year.

Talking about Vietnam’s prospects for attracting FDI, Warrick Cleine – Chairman and CEO of KPMG in Vietnam and Cambodia said that Vietnam created both macroeconomic and social stability which would encourage more investment as investors love the safe and predictable business environment.

Vietnam’s other advantage was the economic growth and the government’s engagement with the global community, he said.

Alain Cany, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce said that Vietnam was a promising market for foreign businesses in many fields from car imports to private education.

In addition, the country also has a lot of potential for production and export. Thus, he recommended foreign businesses continue including Vietnam in their investment plans.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Three wind power projects co-funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have been put into commercial operation, the agency announced on November 10.

The three onshore wind power plants – Lien Lap, Phong Huy and Phong Nguyen, which have a combined capacity of 144 MW, meet conditions for enjoying the subsidised electricity price.

JICA signed a loan agreement on May 21, 2021 to provide 25 million USD for developing these projects along with other co-sponsors being the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Export Finance Australia (EFA).

These wind power projects are financed firstly by JICA under the project loan form in Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A ceremony to announce the establishment of a business support centre in the southern province of Binh Duong was held on November 11.

At the event, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Trinh Hoang Tuan Anh said the centre is expected to improve quality and efficiency of consultation, support, training and development of firms, as well as promote investment, upgrade business and investment climate in Binh Duong, thereby raising competitive edge and access to resources for organisations and firms.

The centre will also provide the provincial Department of Planning and Investment with consultations in State management of firms, he added.

Binh Duong currently has about 50,000 businesses with more than 1.2 million workers from almost all localities nationwide.

Over the time, particularly during waves of COVID-19 outbreaks, local authorities have promptly carried out policies aiding firms and curbing the spread of the pandemic.

The establishment of the centre is also hoped to improve Binh Duong’s provincial competitiveness index (PCI).

On the occasion, the centre signed cooperation agreements with various partners, including those at the provincial Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Industry and Trade, in a bid to realise objectives and cooperation fields.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic has been posing both challenge and opportunity for the supporting industry sector in Hanoi, requiring businesses in supply chains to promptly adapt and make flexible changes.

Nguyen Van, vice chairman of the Hanoi Supporting Industries Business Association (HANSIBA), acknowledged that the pandemic has posed many challenges for businesses in Vietnam as well as those across the world.

Van said social distancing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 have caused certain difficulties to import-export activities and production and business of enterprises in general and enterprises operating in supporting industry in particular.

In addition, businesses that survive after the pandemic are facing a shortage of labour resources. The pandemic negatively affected the progress and implementation of projects to build new factories.

In order to adapt and develop in the context of the pandemic, HANSIBA proactively directed more than 200 member enterprises of the association in particular and supporting industry enterprises in Hanoi in general to effectively implement Resolution No. 128/NQ-CP promoting provisional regulations on safe, flexible adaptation to and effective control of COVID-19 issued on October 11, 2021.

The association has also supporting the promotion of digital transformation in its member businesses to not only adapt to the new context but also catch up with the global digitalisation trend.

It has cooperated with partners from Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) to provide technical support and improve production capacity for member businesses.

The association has also paid special attention to connecting with financial sources and finding preferential loans for businesses, helping them further promote investment in production, towards meeting the market demand, which is forecast to recover growth in early 2022.

Source: Vietnam News Agency