Day: January 13, 2022

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has highlighted the NA’s major outcomes in the first year of the 15th tenure and priorities for 2022 during an interview granted to the press as the country is preparing to welcome the Lunar New Year (Tet).

The top legislator noted that in 2021, despite complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in many localities, Vietnam carefully prepared for and successfully organised the 13th National Party Congress and the election of deputies to the 15th NA and all-level People’s Councils in the 2021-2026 tenure.

Right in the first session of the 15th NA, for the first time, the lawmakers debated and approved five-year plans, enabling the Government, sectors and localities to actively realise resolutions of the 13th National Party Congress and the NA, which manifested the determination in reforming NA operations, he said.

Hue expressed his delight at the country’s socio-economic development achievements, with political security and social order ensured, national defence, security sovereignty and border safeguarded, and foreign affairs deployed synchronously, comprehensively, flexibly, diversely and effectively, thereby contributing to the maintenance of a peaceful, stable and favourable environment for national development and the enhancement of relations with foreign partners, and enhancing the country’s position in the international arena.

He said that the NA has completed a huge workload and coordinated with the Government and agencies in the political system to settle urgent issues to effectively implement the dual target of controlling COVID-19 and boosting socio-economic recovery, and creating a legal framework for the long-term growth of the nation.

According to the Chairman, in the first two plenary sessions, the NA completed its apparatus and adopted the plans for the 2021-2025 period, including the socio-economic development plan; the plan on national finance, capital borrowing and public debt payment; the plan on middle-term public investment; the investment policy for the National Target Programmes on new-style rural area building and sustainable poverty reduction; and the economic restructuring plan.

Regarding the NA’s external affairs, he said that despite impacts of COVID-19, bilateral and multilateral parliamentary diplomatic activities still took place busily in both in-person and online formats with fruitful outcomes, spreading the message that Vietnam is always a responsible member of the international community.

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The opening of the 15th NA’s first session (Photo: VNA)

The legislature actively conducted vaccine and economic diplomacy, while working to strengthen multilateral parliamentary cooperation to encourage countries and vaccine producers to prioritise global solutions such as transferring vaccine production technologies to competent countries, thus increasing COVID-19 vaccine sources, he stated.

The top legislator went on to affirm that the NA will ensure that the building and completion of the legal system will be put under the close direction of the Party, toward to the target for the people and humanitarian and humanity purposes, respecting and protecting human rights as well as the rights of citizens, democracy, equality, discipline and social order.

The NA will also collect more social feedback and increase people’s supervision mechanism over the implementation of State power, he stressed.

Mentioning priorities of the NA in 2022, he said that the legislature convened an extraordinary session right at the beginning of the year to debate urgent matters that directly affect the country’s recovery and development in the new normal, including a draft resolution on fiscal and monetary policies supporting the socio-economic recovery and development plan, and the investment policy for the eastern section of the North-South Expressway in the 2021-2025 period.

The NA and NA Standing Committee will be more active and work more closely with the Government and State agencies to create a synchronous and effective legal foundation for the completion of all plans and targets for 2022, while focusing on removing difficulties facing production and business activities and giving helpful support to people and enterprises, optimising opportunities to promote socio-economic development and maintain long-term growth motivations, ensuring macroeconomic stability and the resilience of the economy, enhancing the efficiency of law enforcement, paying more attention to cultural development and social welfare, and bettering external affairs, he stressed.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

More than 2 million poor households won access to loans worth over 80 trillion VND (3.52 billion USD) from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) last year.

The bank said on January 13 that its loans have helped to generate jobs for more than 608,700 labourers, and assisted 1,357 businesses to restore operations and 37,500 students to continue their study.

As of December 31, 2021, its accumulative credit loans reached 256.32 trillion VND, up 22.7 billion VND from late 2020.

Meanwhile, its outstanding balance stood at 247.97 trillion VND, a rise of 9.6 percent.

General Director Duong Quyet Thang asked the system to seriously observe COVID-19 prevention and control regulations, while implementing the credit plan as assigned by the Prime Minister.

He also ordered close coordination with all-level Party Committees, local authorities, and political-social organisations to synchronously roll out solutions to consolidate and improve credit quality.

Another key task is to step up inspections and raise the quality of the management and settlement of debts, and keep a close watch on natural disasters and developments of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide timely support for poor households and other social policy beneficiaries.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Ministry of Transport in collaboration with the Hanoi People’s Committee and the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam held a ceremony to inaugurate the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line on January 13.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said that the project, one of the eight urban railway projects connecting the city downtown and satellite urban areas, has been the first to be invested with an aim to reduce traffic overload in the western part of the capital city, and contribute to boosting the city’s socio-economic development.

Dong said that the completed project has been accepted in line with regulations. The quality assessment results were approved by the State Council for Acceptance of Construction Projects. It was put into operation on November 6, 2021.

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Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong addresses the ceremony (Photo: VNA)

The inauguration of the project marks a new milestone in the country’s urban railway construction with the success of the first metro line in Hanoi and Vietnam, he stated.

He pledged that the ministry will continue to direct relevant agencies to complete all the remaining works of the project and conduct maintenance activities, while working closely with the People’s Committee of Hanoi during the operation of the project as well as implementation of other urban railway projects in the city.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Van Quyen said that after more than two months of operation, the metro line has been running smoothly and safely.

On average, the line transports 14,917 passengers per day, he added.

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The elevated line is more than 13km long and has 12 stations and 13 trains (Photo: VNA)

For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo showed his pleasure to attend the inauguration of the first metro line in Vietnam. He noted that despite difficulties during the implementation, the metro line has been completed and put into operation thanks to the great attention of leaders of the two countries’ Parties, Governments, ministries and sectors.

With total investment of approximately 886 million USD, funded by Chinese ODA, the elevated line is more than 13km long and has 12 stations and 13 trains. Each train, whose designed speed is 80 km per hour, has four carriages capable of carrying over 900 passengers.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong hailed the Vietnam Association of the Elderly (VAE) for their achievements over the past five years during a meeting in Hanoi on January 13 with delegates to the sixth National Congress of the VAE.

He asked the VAE to uphold its crucial role in the campaign “All people care for, uphold role of the elderly”, towards bringing healthy and happy lives to aged persons in their families and the society.

The leader suggested the sixth National Congress of the VAE discuss in depth how to implement policies for the elderly as mentioned in the Resolution adopted by the 13th National Party Congress.

He noted that the VAE needs to popularise the results of its Congress among the elderly and promptly grasp wishes and aspirations of the elderly, especially those in disadvantaged situation.

The VAE should strongly promote the role of senior citizens in building the Party and administrations, fighting corruption and negative behaviours, ensuring political security and social safety and order, he said, adding that it should also work closely with the Vietnam Fatherland Front and mass organisations to monitor the implementation of the Law on the Elderly, the National Action Programme on the Elderly, and other policies for the elderly, as well as serve as a bridge between the Party and people.

Ministries, agencies and local authorities were urged to raise their sense of responsibility for caring for the elderly and direct the effective implementation of Party and State policies on the elderly in the cause of national construction and defence.

VAE Chairwoman Pham Thi Hai Chuyen said the VAE has so far grouped 9.7 million members with chapters in all townships and communes. The association’s patriotic emulation campaign drew millions of senior citizens and 650,000 members joined in social work at the grassroots level.

As many as 365,000 old persons nationwide were honoured for their business successes. More than 3,000 self-help clubs led by the elderly made considerable contributions to poverty reduction. They also joined in combating social vices, protecting border areas and maintaining national cultural identity, she added.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is taking place around the world with a boom in digital technology, creating great opportunities for but also challenges to the development of each country, enterprise, and person.

Vietnam’s digital economy has been growing at the fastest pace in ASEAN, about 38 percent annually compared to the region’s average of 33 percent since 2015. The country expects the digital economy will make up 20 percent of its GDP and at least 10 percent in each sector.

Vietnam’s digital economy posts fastest growth in region

In a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said local e-commerce has been thriving, playing an important role in economic development as well as in the future of Vietnam’s digital economy. E-commerce development is an inevitable trend in the country, and the COVID-19 pandemic serves as a catalyst for this trend to proceed faster and more strongly.

Despite the pandemic’s adverse impacts in 2020, e-commerce in Vietnam still made great strides to become one of the fastest growing markets in Southeast Asia.

According to the Vietnam E-commerce White Book, e-commerce expanded by 18 percent in 2020 to reach 11.8 billion USD, making the country the only in Southeast Asia to post a double-digit growth rate in this regard. Estimates by some major businesses in the world like Google, Temasek, and Bain and Company indicate that the digital economy of Vietnam is likely to top 52 billion USD and rank third in ASEAN by 2025.

Amid the resurgence of COVID-19 in 2021, e-commerce has proved to be an increasingly useful tool for enterprises to surmount difficulties and grasp chances generated by new demand in the market. Local consumers are strongly shifting from the traditional in-person shopping to online method via electronic platforms.

A survey by the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that Vietnam had 49.3 million online shoppers in 2020, compared to 32.7 million in 2016.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are among the largest cities in terms of digital economic development in the region. In HCM City alone, there are currently 567 e-commerce platforms, over 20,680 websites, and 134 apps. Although the lingering COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the flow of goods, many e-commerce platforms and websites still posted fast growth.

Thanks to the digital economy, business activities have become vibrant, from advertising on social networks (Facebook, Instagram), entertainment (Netflix, Pinterest), transport (Uber, Grab, GoViet) to wholesale and retail (Lazada, Shopee).

Vietnam has emerged as one of the largest regional recipients of investment into the companies operating on IT platforms and the internet such as MoMo, Sendo, and Topica, helping turn it into an attractive destination for domestic and foreign investors.

Transboundary e-commerce – useful distribution channel for enterprises to expand market

E-commerce helps people purchase items from international markets via the internet and become “global consumers”. It also assists individuals and businesses to introduce and deliver their products to international buyers.

The engagement in the online export – import system and stages of transboundary e-commerce will generate opportunities for Vietnamese firms to perfect their products, improve capacity, and make Vietnamese brands popular among consumers around the world.

To help boost the sale of Vietnamese goods via transboundary e-commerce, the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA) has launched the Vietnam National Pavilion on JD.com, an international e-commerce platform. Its partners like Vinanutrifood, Viettel Post, VPBank, and Visa also unveiled practical policies related to marketing, transport, and lending interest rates to support Vietnamese manufacturers to carry out this programme.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has been developing and applying an array of measures such as a certified e-contract authority, guaranteed payment infrastructure for e-commerce, and a platform for managing the e-commerce product flow, which will serve as important bases for the ministry to assist e-commerce platforms and businesses using e-commerce, thus facilitating the healthy, transparent, and sustainable development of the market.

Talking about transboundary e-commerce, iDEA Director Dang Hoang Hai said it is relatively new to enterprises in Vietnam but also the start of a long journey with much needing to be done by both authorities and companies.

He expressed his belief that thanks to joint efforts by the ministry and others, central agencies, localities, and the business community, Vietnamese pavilions on foreign e-commerce platforms will be opened soon and prove effective.

Highlighting the benefits from transboundary e-commerce, Nguyen Thi Diem Hang, Chairwoman of the Board of Director of the Vietnam Organic Nutrition Food JSC (Vinanutrifood), said joining the national pavilion helps popularise the image and brand of Vietnam in the global market. It also supports Vietnamese firms to seek exporting and importing partners and build up foreign consumers’ trust in Vietnamese goods.

Developing healthy e-commerce market in Vietnam

Grasping trends and good practices of digital transformation in trade will help promote innovation in Vietnamese enterprises. On November 22, 2021, the Prime Minister issued a decision approving a plan to step up the IT application and digital transformation in trade promotion during 2021 – 2030.

However, the ministry’s Competition and Consumer Authority pointed out that e-commerce growth has also been accompanied by the surge in wrongdoings related to consumers’ interests. Data show that there are about 500 – 2,000 complaints from consumers every year, mostly about leaks of buyers’ information and scams by sellers.

To create a legal framework for protecting consumers in the e-commerce market, the Government issued a decree that amended and supplemented another on e-commerce released in 2013.

According to the new decree, sellers must publicise information about products as well as business licences and related certificates when doing business on e-commerce platforms. Besides, business activities on social networks like Facebook, Zalo, and Instagram were also placed under management.

The ASEAN Agreement on Electronic Commerce, signed in Hanoi on January 22, 2019 and taking effect on December 2 last year, set up common principles and rules for facilitating e-commerce development in the region and enhancing the rule enforcement capacity.

The deal implementation is expected to help revive the regional economy in the post-pandemic period.

Deputy Minister Tan said in the “new normal” context, e-commerce has increasingly shown its indispensable role in society when enterprises and organisations must swiftly apply digital transformation solutions to their business and management activities like switching to multi-channel retailing and using smart order management and logistics tools.

With huge market potential and the Party and State’s favourable policies, e-commerce is expected to be a contributor to the economic recovery in Vietnam when the country is moving to safely adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic.

E-commerce has been present in almost all production and business sectors, helping boost economic development. However, it is still facing a number of challenges related to consumers’ trust in items sold online, delivery and payment methods, and information security. Given this, the Government and relevant agencies should take appropriate actions to protect consumers and fuel e-commerce in the time ahead.

Source: Vietnam News Agency