Day: November 30, 2021

The Vietnam – Korea Training Cooperation Centre (VKTCC), based in Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP), officially debuted on November 30.

The centre is a joint effort with the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) of the Republic of Korea, with the involvement of the Ho Chi Minh City Centre of Supporting Industries Development (CSID), and Vietnamese and Korean enterprises.

It is expected to become a prestigious training model in Vietnam and provide quality workforce up to RoK standards for firms in and outside the SHTP, contributing to the municipal breakthrough programme on human resource and cultural development for the 2020-2025 period and the national programme on hi-tech development till 2030.

Head of the SHTP management board Nguyen Anh Thi said the centre will train and provide quality workforce in the fields of precision engineering, automation, digital transformation and smart production, thus helping Vietnamese firms participate deeper in the global value chain amid the fourth industrial revolution.

It will also help with the transfer of RoK’s advanced technologies to improve Vietnamese enterprises’ production capacity, and assist domestic enterprises in raising labour productivity and product quality via training courses and programmes evaluating workers’ vocational skills based on RoK standards.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered proactive moves be made in the face of Omicron, a new coronavirus variant that has been spreading to many countries around the world.

According to the Government Office’s announcement of the PM’s directions, he requested that to proactively prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health (MoH) proactively keep a close watch the pandemic situation caused by Omicron, frequently contact the World Health Organisation (WHO) to get timely and precise updates about this variant, and propose timely and effective anti-pandemic plans matching the reality.

Meanwhile, the MoH, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defence, and related ministries and authorities have to order competent agencies to tighten control over people who have come to or transited the countries recording infections of the Omicron variant so as to prevent the entry and transmission of this new variant.

As of November 29 evening, the total number of COVID-19 cases nationwide was 1,224,110, including 25,055 deaths.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired the first meeting of the National Committee on Digital Transformation via videoconference on November 30.

The PM, who is chairman of the committee, said the debut of the committee is meant to realise the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress regarding digital transformation, in the context of digital transformation becoming a common trend of the world and an objective requirement of national development.

He instructed ministries and agencies to build decrees related to digital transformation, including electronic identification to protect personal data, regulations on the management and operation of the national database on population, among others, to submit to the Government.

Chinh hailed ministries, agencies and localities for their achievements in digital transformation, especially in three pillars of digital Government, digital economy and digital society. At the same time, the PM pointed to outstanding shortcomings in the field, such as a low ranking in terms of e-Government, the incomplete legal environment for e-Government and slow progress of building national and specialised databases.

As Vietnam is one of the fastest countries globally to issue national guidelines and strategies on digital transformation, the country was named the top riser in East Asia and the Pacific in the 2021 rankings compiled by the European Center for Digital Competitiveness during 2018-2020.

Between 2022 and 2025, the committee set the goal of meeting 53 criteria for digital Government, digital economy and digital society.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Despite negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investors, especially those operating in the warehouse sector thanks to its advantage of geographical location and skilled labour force, according CEO of BW Industrial Development JSC Lance Li.

While the pandemic left the world grappling with supply-chain and logistical disruptions, the demand for warehouses has soared due to overwhelmed transport networks and a surplus of raw materials to ward off inventory shortages, Mingtiandi.com of Thailand quoted Li in its article on November 28 as saying.

The pandemic has certainly led to an unfortunate series of events, however, from a business perspective, it’s been an accelerant for warehouse demand, Li said.

With a skilled and relatively inexpensive workforce, rapidly improved infrastructure, and a growing number of trade agreements that Vietnam is a part of, including the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreements (EVFTA), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Vietnam continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investment, he stressed.

The growth of e-commerce will lead to an upswing in warehouse demand in Vietnam, which is still in a relatively nascent stage and accounts for only 5.5 percent of total retail sales, he said.

Modern, multi-storey warehouses are also on track to be rolled out faster in the next few years, particularly around Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where land prices are high and strategic locations are in short supply, he said.

Vietnam has been a key beneficiary of the reallocation of manufacturing and supply chain activities to Southeast Asia, he noted.

The tremendous growth potential in e-commerce and high FDI influx to Vietnam have given foreign investors a lot of confidence, he added.

The demand for warehouses has skyrocketed in the past time due to the overloaded transport network and an excess of raw materials to avoid stock shortages.

According to Li, the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an active year for BW. At the beginning of 2021, the company witnessed a threefold increase in rental enquiries compared with the same period last year.

The company recently closed a deal with J&T, a company engaged in logistics and package delivery, for a 5 hectare warehouse in a strategic location in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meanwhile, Wanek Furniture, a key manufacturing company in the supply chain of one of the largest furniture retailers in the US, Ashley Furniture, leased another 4 hectare site from BW in the southern province of Binh Duong.

Market demand skyrocketed in the past two years, making BW’s factory in VSIP 2A industrial park in the northern city of Hai Phong is already fully occupied following its construction completion in early June 2021.

The health crisis is an opportunity for manufacturers and warehouse operators alike to rethink their inventory strategy, Li said.

The global shipping industry’s lack of containers left warehouses jammed with cargo for quite some time before exporters were able to load it onto ships, Li said, adding that these circumstances increased the demand for warehouses like never before.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, head of the SOM ASEAN Vietnam and his counterpart from the Republic of Korea (RoK) Yeo Seung-bae chaired a Vietnam-RoK consultation on the coordination of the ASEAN-RoK relationship in the 2021-2024 period on November 29.

During the consultation, one of the first activities after Vietnam serves as coordinator of the ASEAN-RoK relations in the 2021-2024 period, the two sides evaluated the relationship between the association and the RoK since 1989 and agreed that the ties have been growing in a deep manner in many fields.

Yeo Seung-bae highlighted priorities of the RoK in relationship with ASEAN in the next period, with the speeding up of President Moon Jae-in initiated “New Southern Policy” that bases on the principles of peace, prosperity and people.

He gave some specific proposals, including strengthening the connectivity between the RoK and ASEAN; optimising, adjusting and upgrading the ASEAN-RoK Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA); implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); increasing exchanges among businesses; supporting macro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); developing industry; and beefing up collaboration in vocational training and employment.

The RoK side showed special attention to the protection of labourers of both sides, while expressing hope to expand cooperation in digital transformation, optimising opportunities from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, climate change response, environmental protection, green and sustainable growth.

The RoK affirmed that it will join ASEAN’s efforts in strengthening sub-regional cooperation, including the Mekong-RoK Partnership mechanism, thus contributing to the grouping’s efforts in sustainable and inclusive development.

Regarding cooperation in COVID-19 prevention and control, the RoK Deputy FM said that the country will effectively implement the initiative on public health and vaccine, and build a vaccine supply network in the region to ensure the vaccine self-sufficiency. He highly valued priorities that Vietnam has given to entrepreneurs and experts from the RoK amid the pandemic, and proposed that the two sides resume regional trade activities to support recovery process.

For his part, Deputy FM Dung said that ASEAN and RoK shared a trustful and practical relationship. He welcomed the RoK’s New Southern Policy, affirming that Vietnam will show strong performance as coordinator of the ASEAN-RoK relations in the next three years.

He lauded the timely and effective support that the RoK has given to Vietnam in the pandemic fight.

Vietnam supports the RoK’s proposals and will help realise them to lift the ASEAN-RoK relationship to a new height, said Dung. He said he hopes the RoK will actively engage in ASEAN initiated and led forums for peace, security and prosperous development in the region.

Both sides agreed to continue to work closely in regional and international issues, while strengthening dialogue, cooperation and trust building, upholding the law and showing responsible behaviour to common security challenges.

They shared a hope that all parties will fully implement resolutions of the UN Security Council, resuming negotiations for a nuclear weapon-free Korean Peninsula for peace and stability in Northeastern Asia and the world.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two Deputy FMs expressed concern about complicated developments at sea, showing hope to build an East Sea of peace and cooperation. They reaffirmed their constant stance of respecting the law, excersising restraint, not using or threatening to use force, and dealing with disputes through peaceful measures in line with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.

Yeo said he hopes ASEAN and China will soon reach an efficient and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) suitable to international law and the UNCLOS.

On the occasion, he will attend the ASEAN high-level forum on sub-regional cooperation for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Source: Vietnam News Agency