Day: January 24, 2022

The Embassy of Vietnam in Italy on January 23 hosted a virtual get-together on the threshold of Tet (Lunar New Year) festival, with the participation of about 150 overseas Vietnamese, representatives of associations and friends in Italy and Cyprus.

At the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nguyen Thi Bich Hue extended the best New Year wishes to the Vietnamese community in Italy and Cyprus and expressed her gratitude for their support to the homeland in times of need.

She noted with satisfaction that Vietnamese culture has been popularised in Italy despite complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

September 8 has been chosen to honour the mother tongue among OVs and many people attend Vietnamese language classes in Italy.

With efforts by the Vietnamese Embassy in all fields, particularly citizen protection work, hundreds of Vietnamese in Italy and Cyprus were safely repatriated home amid the ongoing pandemic.

Musical performances were staged at the event, featuring ‘cheo’ – a form of Vietnamese traditional stage art and ‘quan ho’ love duet singing, together with Vietnamese poems ‘Truyen Kieu’ (the Tale of Kieu) recited by young Italians.

Overseas Vietnamese join events in celebration of upcoming Tet hinh anh 2

Members of the charity prepare the wrapping for chung cake (Photo: VNA)

In Sydney, Australia, more than 30 members of Vietnamese families who are part of the New Sunlight for Children (NSL) charity, on January 22 arranged an event to cook traditional dishes of Vietnam, particularly chung (square glutinous rice) cake and fried spring rolls, to welcome the upcoming Lunar Year of the Tiger.

It raised more than 100 million VND (4,410 USD) to support poor children in Vietnam.

Phuong Phan, a founding member of the NSL, said that the event was planned in early December last year, as members have taken precaution amid the spread of COVID-19 in the city.

It also offered a chance for children born and raised in Australia to learn more about the traditional culture of their homeland, she added.

Overseas Vietnamese join events in celebration of upcoming Tet hinh anh 3

Children learn how to prepare chung cake at the event (Photo: VNA)

The NSL actively connects Vietnamese families in Australia and supports needy students in Vietnam for years.

Last year, the charity raised nearly 14,000 AUD (10,030 USD) to present scholarships worth 2 million VND each to 79 disadvantaged students in 12 Vietnamese localities./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam’s rubber export revenue is expected to reach 3.5 billion USD in 2022, and rubber price would rise to 3.8 USD per kg in the second half of the year, experts have said.

Exerts explained that the increase of rubber price is due to the scarcity of natural rubber and soaring oil price, noting that rubber price would bounce back by the end of the first quarter.

Many forecast that Vietnam’s rubber sector will benefit from the global new price increase cycle in 2022-2024, which is caused by the supply crunch.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Agency for Foreign Trade, Vietnam shipped abroad 1.97 million tonnes of rubber worth 3.3 billion USD last year, up 12.9 percent in volume and 39 percent in value year-on-year.

Such markets as China, India, the Republic of Korea, the US, Indonesia, Turkey, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Canada increased the import of Vietnamese rubber in the year.

Notably, Vietnam’s rubber shipments to the European Union (EU) in November stood at 100,000 tonnes valued at 175 million USD, increases of 33.7 percent in volume and 72.6 percent in value year-on-year.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to give momentum to Vietnam’s rubber exports to the EU- one of the biggest importers of Vietnamese agricultural products.

Experts suggested the domestic rubber sector promotes sustainable production in line with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards to better meet requirements of the EU./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnamese automotive market is expected to rebound this year, returning to its growth track after sluggish sales in 2021, according to industry insiders.

This assessment was based on the continuous increase in sales volume of Vietnamese auto manufacturers and assemblers in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Automobile experts have attributed this growth to the Government’s preferential policies, which are the main drivers for the recovery of the local auto industry in 2022.

In October last year, the Ministry of Finance conducted a draft decree to collect suggestions from ministries and agencies to cut the registration fee on domestically manufactured and assembled cars.

The Decree clearly states that the registration fee rate for domestically manufactured and assembled cars will be 50 percent compared to the previous one, applicable from December 1, 2021, to the end of May 31, 2022.

Most representatives of auto brands in Vietnam expect a recovery in sales in 2022 as the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be under control.

Analysts from VNDirect Securities JSC expect that the Government’s reduction on registration fees will help the domestic auto industry to recover in 2022.

Besides, listed auto companies experienced strong growth in the first half of last year thanks to the launch of many new models and promotional policies to attract customers. However, their net profit in the third quarter of 2021 was still hit hard by the pandemic.

The pandemic outbreak in the third quarter last year forced many cities and provinces to apply social distancing measures. The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) estimates that more than 200 auto dealers had to close in August and September 2021.

But the domestic auto market rebounded later on. The VAMA said that in October 2021, some 29,797 cars were sold, an increase of 120 percent compared to September 2021.

The VAMA announced that the total market sales of its member units reached 38,656 vehicles in November 2021. The sales of passenger, commercial and special-purpose vehicles expanded by 40 percent, 8 percent and 39 percent, respectively, compared to the previous month.

VAMA’s member units had total sales of 257,390 vehicles in the first 11 months of 2021, up 3 percent over the same period last year.

With 50 percent reduction in the registration fee, which came into effect in December 2021 have also helped push up sales.

VAMA’s members sold 43,526 units in December alone, the highest last year. December was the fourth month in a row that auto sales rose.

The growth came as the pandemic was under control, social distancing measures in many provinces and cities across the country were lifted and there was a 50 percent reduction of registration fees for cars manufactured and assembled in Vietnam applied from early December 2021.

In addition, VinFast, the Vietnamese automaker, has begun delivering its first battery-electric SUV – the VF-34 – to customers in its home market. The company already offers a full line of conventional automobiles in Asia.

The company has also announced its first fleet customer to buy electric cars. Artemis DNA, a biotech company dealing in genetics, has reserved 100 EVs from VinFast and expects delivery in late 2022 when VinFast will turn into an all-electric car manufacturer.

Experts believe that VinFast’s electric cars will create a new trend for the Vietnamese auto market in 2022-2023 when other EV models are expected to launch in the Vietnamese market in the first half of 2022 such as the Kia EV6, Mercedes Benz EQB, Mercedes Benz EQE and Mercedes Benz EQS.

However, they have shown their concern that the development of the pandemic could have a direct effect on the performance of listed auto companies./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Thanks to a scheme for State-owned enterprise (SOEs) restructuring during 2016-2020, many unprofitable plants have been reinvigorated, according to reports.

Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) revealed that in 2021 four of its plants were taken off the list of 12 large-scale lossmaking plants in the industrial and commercial sector.

These four plants include Dinh Vu polyester plant under Vietnam Petrochemical and Fiber JSC (VNPOLY) and Dung Quat bioethanol plant under Central Petroleum Biofuel JSC.

Dinh Vu polyester came into operation in May 2014 but frequently ran at a loss as its revenues were dwarfed by operation costs. The plant accordingly had to cease operation in September 2015.

In April 2018, three of its production lines was put back into operation thanks to the scheme for SOEs restructuring. In late 2018, the number of active production lines rose to 10.

VNPOLY reported that the company had up to 27 production lines operating in 2021 with a total capacity of 10,700 tons of yarn per year. Its yarn carved out a niche in the international market and received orders from such leading brands as Adidas and Target.

“Earnings before fixed charges were estimated at 16 billion VND (704,691 USD). In 2021, VNPOLY successfully renewed nine out of 11 contracts with Vinatex’s agencies and became an agent of several major fibre manufacturers including Xiangly and Hengyi,” said a VNPOLY representative.

As the plant has begun to pick up steam, VNPOLY now can stand on its own feet and no longer need stakeholder financial support, the representative added.

Dung Quat bioethanol began production in February 2012. As ethanol market prices were normally lower than the plant’s costs, it was unable to break even and it had to close down in April 2015.

In October 2018, the plant was brought back to life and won its first contract with Sài Gòn Sundries Investment and Trading JSC to produce 42,000 cubic metres of ethanol.

DAP-1 Hai Phong under DAP VINACHEM JSC was another plant that did quite well last year.

DAP-1 Hai Phong produced its first fertiliser batch in April 2009. It made the first loss of 461.8 billion VND (20.4 million USD) in 2016 and found itself among the 12 ailing plants of the industrial and commercial sectors.

After restructuring, the plant began to operate profitably and had its name removed from the list. By late Q3 2021, its earnings hit around 158 billion VND (7 million USD), 232 percent higher than the full-year target. Eleven-month output reached 239,362 tonnes, up 31 percent compared to 2020.

It is also worth noting that the Government has urged agencies to clear all the backlogs to have Thai Binh 2 thermal plant connected to the national power grid in 2022.

Thai Binh 2 is an unfinished billion-dollar project that incurs a daily expense of billions of VND to the State Budget to service its debts. The project began construction in March 2011 but was unable to finish after ten years. Its financial burden caused public dismay.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh carried out on-ground inspections of the project last year and requested workers to complete the remaining work. People had to work in a rush to finish the project on time. Thanks to their efforts, everything went according to plan.

“Generator Number 1 will connect to the power grid on May 19, 2022. Coal combustion starts on June 16 and power generation in Number 1 begins on November 30. Generator Number 2 follows suit on December 31,” said the manager in charge of the project.

Currently, the overall project is 87 percent complete, construction 85 percent and design 100 percent. The number of workers employed on the ground stays at 459, the manager added.

Thai Binh 2 power plant is expected to add 1,200 megawatts of power to the national grid./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Nami Solar, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s Nami Energy company, and SK Ecoplant, a member of the Republic of Korea’s conglomerate SK Group, sealed a joint venture deal on January 24 to pump 200 million USD into solar energy development in Vietnam.

The money is earmarked for building a 250 MWp rooftop solar power project in Vietnam.

According to a representative from Nami Energy, both the Vietnamese and RoK Governments highly value programmes in response to climate change, recovery, and green growth. Vietnam has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050, while the RoK has vowed to cut carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030.

The joint venture expected that solar power development will help concretise high-level commitments of the two governments. At the same time, it will assist SK Ecoplant in realising its goal of becoming a major renewable energy investor in the world, and Nami Solar in becoming a leading company in distributed solar power in Vietnam.

Nami Energy Founder and Chairman Luu Hoang Ha said distributed solar power solutions provided by the joint venture between SK Ecoplant and Nami Energy will support businesses in Vietnam, including Korean investors, in meeting their green energy needs and saving energy costs./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visited and extended Lunar New Year (Tet) greetings to the Party organisation, administration, and people of northern Bac Ninh province on January 24.

Reporting on the province’s achievements, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Dao Hong Lan said from a wholly agricultural locality with underdeveloped infrastructure, Bac Ninh has established itself as a modernity-oriented industrialised province that is among the leading localities nationwide in terms of many socio-economic indexes.

It is also one of the best performers in foreign investment attraction, she said, noting that 38 countries and territories have come to invest 21.2 billion USD in Bac Ninh.

In particular, the province has taken strong and flexible moves in response to the COVID-19 pandemic last year so as to swiftly revitalise production and business activities and adapt to the new normal, Lan added.

Congratulating Bac Ninh on its substantial efforts and achievements, General Secretary Trong asked the province to continue upholding its glorious traditions so as to build an increasingly clean and strong Party organisation and political system and become an exemplary Party organisation of the entire nation.

Party leader visits Bac Ninh province ahead of Tet hinh anh 2

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and officials offer incense to the kings of the Ly Dynasty at Do Temple in Bac Ninh province on January 24. (Photo: VNA)

He underlined that economic development must be promoted in tandem with cultural and social development, especially the maintenance of local cultural values as well as the country’s advanced culture deeply imbued with the national identity

At present, all-level Party committees, authorities, and organisations in Bac Ninh need to work to ensure a merry Tet for all residents, including revolution contributors, disadvantaged and low-income households, and workers, he added.

The leader expressed his belief that the province’s Party organisation, administration, and people will stay united to step up reforms while achieving and surpassing the targets set at the 20th provincial Party Congress in order to secure sustainable development.

On this occasion, the Party chief and senior officials offered incense at Do Temple, a special national relic site dedicated to eight kings of the Ly Dynasty (1010 – 1225), and met with artisans of the Quan ho Bac Ninh folk songs – part of the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority (HEZA) on January 24 granted investment licenses to five projects in industrial parks, including three foreign-invested projects worth 140 million USD and two domestic ones valued at over 2 trillion VND (86.9 million USD).

Deputy General Director of Chilisin Electronics Vietnam Co.Ltd Leo Uyn Hoan said while investing in Hai Phong, the company received support from local authorities. Apart from increasing capital, it will also call for other investors to do business in Hai Phong in the near future.

HEZA Director Le Trung Kien said HEZA will always stand side by side with investors during project implementation, tackle their difficulties to soon put projects into operation.

He affirmed that attracting foreign investment is one of the basic measures to develop local economy based on the pillars of hi-tech industry, seaports-logistics, tourism-trade.

Last year, industrial and economic zones drew 81 foreign-invested projects with new and additional capital of 2.96 billion USD, two share purchases worth 2.2 billion USD by foreign investors. The total foreign investment hit 5.2 billion USD, marking a 3.4-fold rise year-on-year, or 206 percent of the target.

This year, Hai Phong strives to lure 2.5-3 billion USD in FDI.

Meanwhile, they attracted 24 domestic projects with new and additional capital of over 135.5 trillion VND, up 75 times from the same period last year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at 23,062 VND/USD on January 24, down 15 VND from the last working day of previous week (January 21).

With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,754 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,370 VND/USD.

The opening-hour rates at commercial banks dropped.

At 8:30 am, Vietcombank listed the buying rate at 22,450 VND/USD and the selling rate at 22,760 VND/USD, both down 20 VND from January 21.

BIDV also reduced both rates by 20 VND, listing the buying rate at 22,480 VND/USD and the selling rate at 22,760 VND/USD.

During the week from January 17-21, the daily reference exchange rate followed an upward trend on the first three days then turned around to drop on the last two days. It ended the week 8 VND lower than the rate on Monday./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency