Day: January 11, 2022

The Government has issued Resolution 04-NQ-CP on strengthening decentralisation and the delegation of power in State management.

The document highlights the need to complete mechanisms in decentralisation and the delegation of power to clearly define the obligations and authority as well as responsibility of the Government, the Prime Minister, ministries, sectors and localities, which goes along with the synchronisation of the legal system and the strengthening of the power supervision and control.

Detailed legal regulations on decentralisation and the delegation of power in State management among the Government, the PM, ministries, sectors and local administrations will be built for particular sector and area.

Meanwhile, regulations on the functions, tasks, authority and organisations of ministries, sectors and localities will be reviewed, adjusted and supplemented, with the decentralisation and delegation of power being associated with the administrative reform.

In 2022, 100 percent of the public services are expected to be provided online at Level 4.

Meanwhile, regulations related to planning and economic-technical standards, criteria, conditions and quota as well as price and fee control mechanisms for public services in different sectors and areas will also be completed, laying the foundation for the decentralisation in the processing of administrative procedures.

Special mechanisms and policies for the development of centrally-run cities and provinces will be built to turn the localities into driving forces for economic growth of regions.

According to the resolution, power inspection, supervision and control measures will be strengthened over State management agencies from the central to local levels during the process of decentralising and delegating of power./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The 15th National Assembly will convene the last sitting of its first extraordinary session in the afternoon of January 11.

The event will be broadcast live on television and radio.

It will see legislators voting on the draft Resolution on fiscal and monetary policies in support of the socio-economic recovery and development programme; as well as the draft Law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Public-Private Partnership, the Investment Law, the Bidding Law, the Electricity Law, the Enterprise Law, the Law on Special Consumption Tax, and the Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments.

They will also vote on an investment policy of the Eastern North-South Expressway project for 2021-2025; a draft Resolution on piloting a number of specialised mechanisms for the development of Can Tho city; and the Resolution of the first extraordinary session.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue is expected to deliver the closing remark./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai and Chief Trade Commissioner and Assistant Deputy Minister Sara Wilshaw at Global Affairs Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishing a joint economic committee (JEC) between the two countries on January 11.

Addressing the online signing ceremony, Canadian Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng affirmed that Canada recognises the growing importance of creating trade opportunities with Vietnam and the Indo-Pacific region for its supply chain, long-term economic growth, and competitiveness.

Businesses and labourers in both countries will benefit from strong and diverse supply chains with the support of the JEC, she said.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) said in a statement that “To drive a strong, sustainable, and inclusive economic recovery, the Government of Canada is committed to strengthening the country’s international trade ties with fast-growing markets, such as Vietnam’s”.

Vietnam is not only an important global trading partner of Canada but also a dynamic economic player in the Indo-Pacific, it noted.

By establishing the JEC, the Government of Canada is advancing trade diversification in the region basing on the success of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and collaboration through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, as well as advancing free trade negotiations between Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Vietnam is a member.

The MoU will provide a platform to improve dialogue and collaboration on shared and emerging priorities with Vietnam which is Canada’s largest trading partner in ASEAN, the statement said.

It is hoped to help deepen the Canada-Vietnam bilateral relationship, enhance Canada’s presence in the Indo-Pacific and create opportunities for Canadian businesses to scale up and grow internationally, it added.

Despite complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade between Vietnam and Canada hit approximately 5.4 billion USD in the first 11 months of 2021, representing a year-on-year increase of 16.6 percent.

By November 2021, Canada was the 14th biggest foreign investor in Vietnam with 231 projects worth 4.81 billion USD, mainly in the areas of hotel service, insurance, and renewable energy./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has asked ministries and localities to work with the Chinese side to reopen some border gates, the Government’s Office said in a notice.

According to the notice, the Deputy PM urged the Ministry of Health to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to issue specific guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and control at northern border areas, especially Lang Son, Quang Ninh and Lao Cai provinces, which should match China’s standards.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will organise conferences with businesses, commercial centres, supermarkets and markets to seek solutions to sell the stranded goods.

The MARD was also assigned to sketch out a master plan on agricultural production and fishery, with regulations on product origin and food safety, while diversifying the market and transportation forms to ease Vietnam’s reliance on China.

The MoIT will coordinate with the MARD and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hold working sessions with major importers like the EU and the US to stave off the present difficulties.

Deputy PM Thanh also tasked the Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam Television, Radio The Voice of Vietnam and the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) to step up the communication work, thus raising public awareness of solutions to handle the cargo congestion.

The Office said as of January 8, a total of 3,609 container trucks had been stuck at northern border gates, down 2,150 from the end of December.

However, there are potential risks and difficulties amid complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, it noted.

Last September, the Government and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued a directive on the promotion of agricultural production, consumption and export.

Deputy PM Thanh on December 27 also chaired a working session with ministries, agencies and localities to seek ways to deal with bottlenecks to imports and exports via northern border gates.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Three tonnes of frozen avocado from Vietnam’s Central Highlands arrived in Australia on January 11, marking a new stride in building brand and seeking markets for the fruit.

The shipments were sold out to local distributors and will soon hit the shelves in Australia, said Uu Dam Vietnam company, the exporter.

The exportation of the fruit to Australia has been studied and bolstered by the Vietnam Trade Office in the Oceania country since 2020.

However, Australia has yet to open its door to fresh avocado from Vietnam.

The office said Vietnam’s avocado holds huge export potential to the Australian market thanks to its competitive prices and high quality.

In the coming time, the Embassy of Vietnam in Australia will join hands with the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines to roll out a programme aiming at building brand and boosting exports of frozen avocado to Australia./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

In the run-up to Tet (Lunar New Year), the biggest traditional festival of Vietnam, the inflow of remittances sent by overseas Vietnamese to the homeland has been on the rise, fueled further by local banks’ preferential programmes.

To attract money sent home by overseas Vietnamese, Sacombank, ACB and Eximbank have launched programmes targeting customers using their remittance receipt services since the first day of 2022. These programmes are offering valuable gifts and lucky draws to the customers.

Vietnamese abroad sent home some 12.5 billion USD last year, up 10 percent on-year, according to Standing Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Dao Minh Tu.

About 28 percent of the remittances was delivered through international money transfer companies, 70 percent via credit institutions and 2 percent by post, he said.

In Ho Chi Minh City alone, data from the SBV’s branch showed that the city attracted 6.5-6.6 billion USD worth of remittances in 2021.

More remittances are coming to the southern largest economic hub ahead of Tet, mostly for supporting families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and for investing in different channels, including the stock market, said Nguyen Hoang Minh, head of the Vietnam Banks Association’s office in HCM City.

In 2022, the volume of remittances to Vietnam is projected to grow about 2.6 percent./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Around 26,000 apartment units are expected to be launched in Hanoi in 2022, signaling a vibrant outlook for the segment, according to real estate service provider Cushman and Wakefield (CandW) Vietnam.

A survey by CandW Vietnam revealed that the launch of luxurious apartment project The Grand Hanoi at the end of last year, which were sold out in the first offering, has established a new height for the segment’s prices in the capital city.

A number of prestigious developers in the south, such as Masterise Homes, Phu Long and Hung Thinh, have entered Hanoi’s property market recently. The move is expected to set the scene for the launch of more high-quality units and raise the average price of the market.

Statistics show that Hanoi’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) grew by 2.92 percent in 2021, lower than 4.18 percent of the previous year, as a consequence of the severe COVID-19 outbreaks.

However, FDI flows into the city rose by 10.6 percent to 1.5 billion USD. Additionally, several key transport projects of the city have been completed, notably the Cat Linh – Ha Dong urban railway and the intersection of Ring Road No.3 and Hanoi-Hai Phong Expressway.

These factors are likely to help the city’s real estate market gain greater growth momentum in 2022 and the following years, according to CandW Vietnam.

In the final quarter of 2021, the average price of the class-A units stood at 137.3 million VND (or 5,927 USD) per sq.m, doubling that of the previous quarter and the same period last year. The prices of the class-B ones averaged 39.5 million VND (or 1,706 USD) per sq.m, up 4 percent quarter-on-quarter and 14 percent year-on-year. That of the class-C units edged up 11 percent quarter-on-quarter and 16 percent year-on-year to 25.8 million VND (or 1,112 USD) per sq.m.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Seven countries and territories – the US, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan (China) and the Republic of Korea (RoK) – have basically agreed with Vietnam’s proposal on a plan to resume regular international routes, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

Statistics from the authority show that in the first seven days after re-operating regular international flights from January 1, there were a total of 64 flights carrying 7,847 passengers to Vietnam.

Of these, there are 18 commercial flights, 25 “combo” ones and 21 for experts and tourists.

A representative of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said it has reopened regular commercial flights to carry passengers to Vietnam from the US (4 flights/week), Japan (3), the RoK (2), Taiwan (1), Singapore (2), Thailand (2), and Cambodia (4).

Vietnam Airlines plans to resume flights to Australia, which is hoped to serve the increasing demand of Vietnamese expats in Australia who look to return home for the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, and prevent the risk of market domination by international airlines operating through other gateways.

The Ministry of Transport has proposed the Government instruct relevant ministries and sectors to handle procedures relating to COVID-19 prevention and control works on international arrivals, including RT-PRC test, health declaration and vaccine passport.

The CAAV will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the pilot phase of the plan, and promote negotiations with aviation authorities of countries and territories that are deploying the plan in order to soon resume regular international flights with Vietnam, and increase the frequency of flights in suitable conditions.

Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan asked the CAAV to urgently work with the aviation authority of Australia to be ready for restoring regular international flights between the two countries, and consider Vietnamese citizens’ demand for returning home, thus proposing specific destinations and exploitation frequency./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency