Day: August 13, 2022

Vietnam and the Southeast Asian region have managed to maintain economic stability and growth despite COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to experts.

In the context of global disruption due to China’s border closure to pursue its “Zero COVID” policy, many semi-conductor producers have switched their operations to Southeast Asia to ease shortages.

Last year, chip producer GlobalFoundries announced an investment of about 4 billion USD in a Singapore-based factory, while Intel said it planned to pour more than 7 billion USD into a chip factory in Penang, Malaysia.

Foxconn Technology Group from Taiwan (China), a supplier of Apple, is building a 270 million USD factory to manufacture and process laptops and tablets near Hanoi, Vietnam.

With global supply chain adjustments, Vietnam boasts the advantages needed to tap into opportunities from the supply chain shift. In 2020, Vietnam received a significant portion of the investment shift wave from China. In 2021, despite being hard hit by COVID-19, FDI inflows into the country still reached 31.15 billion USD, up 9.2% compared to 2020.

Rajiv Biswas, Executive Director and Asia-Pacific Chief Economist from S&P Global, said that Southeast Asia is an important part of the global manufacturing supply chain, especially for the electronics industry. Due to supply chain disruptions and severe delivery delays for key components in the global electronics industry during the pandemic outbreak, electronics companies are increasingly diversifying supply chains to Southeast Asia.

Mick Aw, senior adviser at Moore Stephens, said that Southeast Asian countries are increasingly playing a more important role in the global supply chain as businesses move away from China after the pandemic.

For Vietnam, the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) gave two scenarios for economic growth in 2022. Accordingly, in the brighter scenario, CIEM forecast that Vietnam’s economic growth in 2022 can reach 6.9%, relatively high compared to the base scenario of 6.7%. With this scenario, the growth rate in 2022 is close to the 7% the Government has set for this year.

Regarding solutions for the last six months of 2022, CIEM Director Tran Thi Hong Minh said that CIEM has proposed speeding up reforms even in the context of economic recovery, aiming to reduce pressure on inflation and create new space for businesses to develop.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam set to take shape seven maritime economic clusters by 2030, aiming to turn Vietnam into a strong marine country, and promote sustainable development in relevant regions, sectors and fields.

The information was stated in Decision 892/QD-TTg dated July 26, 2022 by the Prime Minister to approve a project on the development of marine economic clusters associated with building strong sea-based economic centres by 2030.

The project aims to build seven marine economic clusters in the next 10 years in advantageous coastal areas and develop three to four leading maritime economic centres in the Southeast Asian region.

The clusters will prioritise services, products with added value; attract large-scale enterprises and high-tech projects to contribute to green growth; and protect the marine ecological environment as well as the marine economy.

They are also expected to contribute to consolidating and strengthening national defence and security in seas and islands.

Notably, developing sea and island tourism is one of the priorities for effectively tapping the potential and strengths of tourism resources in each region and the entire coast of Vietnam.

In particular, the project spotlights the importance of tourism-based economy development with eco-tourism and leisure centres, complexes and sea and island resorts that meet international standards in the central region, the southwestern coastal area (Kien Giang – Ca Mau) and other areas with suitable conditions.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc has signed a decision promulgating the Ministry of Finance’s digital transformation plan to 2025, with vision to 2030.

The goal is to establish a national modern, sustainable and integrated digital financial platform, contributing to strengthening the growth and resilience of the economy, and ensuring macroeconomic stability and financial security.

The ministry will proactively apply technological achievements from the 4th Industrial Revolution and follow the results of e-Government development towards gradually implementing the digital transformation of the financial sector, providing digital financial services, and actively participating in the development of a digital government, economy and society.

Indicators of e-finance development are hoped to be completed in 2022.

The ministry will strive to set up a modern, public and transparent digital financial platform by 2025 based on big data and open financial data. By 2030, a rich and modern digital financial ecosystem will be formed in all fields, ensuring the effectiveness and safety of information.

The finance sector will play a vital role in creating, connecting, sharing data and digitising platforms, comprehensively meeting the need of public finance transactions and use of digital information by the Government, people, businesses and organisations.

Additionally, civil servants and public employees will be trained on digital skills to facilitate the process.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ho Chi Minh City’s office market witnessed its first positive signs in the first half of this year since being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic for the previous two years, experts said.

A report from CBRE said that for leasing, relocation accounted for more than 50% of total transactions, and the remaining transactions were for expansion, renewal and new letting, at about 27%, 12% and 10%, respectively.

There were no more contractions as there were in 2020 and 2021, the company said.

In the first half, the company said, there was one new Grade B office building, CMC Creative Space in District 7. The total net leasable office supply in HCMC was roughly 1.5 million sq.m.

The average vacancy rate of Grade A decreased by 1.6 percentage point quarter-on-quarter and 2.1 percentage point year-on-year to 10.1%, mainly due to major absorption in District 7. Meanwhile, the average vacancy rate of Grade B remained at 9.7%, almost the same as last year.

Information technology (IT) and service industries accounted for more than 50% of total transacted areas. IT firms with growing business and investment continue to expand their leasing and quickly finalize their decisions within three to six months.

With the recovery of manufacturing after the pandemic, sourcing companies are coming back to Vietnam and actively seeking office space, making up a rising percentage of new leases. All these brands are from the US, including outdoor and sports equipment, CBRE said.

Cushman and Wakefield confirmed that despite many changes in behaviour and habits of office users in the past two years, Vietnam’s office market including HCM City in the first half of 2022 showed recovery and growth.

Forecasts for demand continue to look positive largely due to growth in office-based employment, weaker adoption of flexible working practices, and the enduring vital role of offices. The future workplace will be an ecosystem that offers many options for employees both in terms of workspace types, working time, and amenities around the office, according to the real estate service firm.

The second quarter report from the company saw office rental price remain relatively stable, even at final units in prime location buildings. Grade A and Grade B average rents were 59.9 USD per sq.m per month and 34 USD per sq.m per month, up 1.9% year-on-year and 1.2% year-on-year, respectively.

Trang Bui, general manager of Cushman and Wakefield, commented: “Demand for Grade A and B office rose due to the growing number of newly registered businesses and expansion needs from foreign investors. Most companies expect a quality space equipped with expansive view of the city centre, one that can enhance the brand, attract clients and talents alike. However, the past five years has seen no new supply of Grade A office space, and the number of projects to be launched in the next two years is scarce: The Hallmark [handover expected at end of this year), The Sun Tower [handover expected in 2023]. The supply shortage situation is also in mid-range segment as there are only a few buildings completed and ready to be leased this quarter: CMC Creative Space [District 7], Pearl 5 [District 3].”

The report from CBRE said that HCM City expected to welcome nearly 30,000 sq.m of net leasable area (NLA) in the second half of 2022 from three Grade B buildings and two Grade A building. Along the Sai Gon River, previously delayed buildings due to COVID had resumed construction, and a well-planned and magnificent skyline for this area was shaping up. The total supply of this area would be 250,000 sq.m.

Due to the fact that most of the new supplies of the latter half of 2022 are in non-CBD areas, rent of both grades are forecast to stabilise until 2024, according to the report. The vacancy rate of Grade A after a period of recovery since the second quarter of 2021 is expected to rise to more than 25% in 2024 when a new wave of Grade A is launched./

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Huynh Nguyen Mai Phuong was crowned Miss World Vietnam 2022 after surpassing 36 competitors at the finale held at MerryLand Quy Nhon in the south-central province of Binh Dinh on August 12.

The 22-year-old beauty from the southern province of Dong Nai became the owner of a 3-billion-VND (128,221 USD) crown and received a cash reward of 300 million VND (12,822 USD).

She will represent Vietnam at the 71st Miss World competition.

Meanwhile, Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho and Nguyen Phuong Nhi from the central province of Thanh Hoa were the first and second runners-up, respectively. The first runner-up got 150 million VND and the second, 100 million VND.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Linh and Nguyen Thuy Linh completed the Top 5 finalists.

A number of sub-prizes in the final night were also presented to the contestants, each worth 50 million VND.

Miss World Vietnam 2022 is the second edition of the Miss World Vietnam pageant. In 2019, Luong Thuy Linh, a 19-year-old student from the northern province of Cao Bang, surpassed 38 others to become the first Miss World Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Through the Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development Cooperation (CF) between the Government of Vietnam and all UN resident and non-resident agencies in Vietnam, the UN hopes to show that it is ready and poised to serve the ever changing needs of the Vietnamese Government, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pauline Tamesis told Vietnam News Agency.

The CF for the 2022-2026 period was signed by Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, as assigned by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and Tamesis in Hanoi on August 11.

According to Tamesis, there are four priority development outcomes that the two sides have identified – social services; economic transformation; climate change, resilience and sustainability; governance and access to justice.

The purpose of the cooperation framework is for the UN to be ready to support all of the changing development needs and challenges of Vietnam, she stressed.

The signing of the deal means the government of Vietnam and the UN are committed to strengthening their partnership together, she said, adding that this is just a starting point.

“We have the full period of this year to work together but it’s urgent that we all take action in this partnership together because there’s so many challenges around the world. And we need to be able to show results for the government to feel that the partnership is really delivering the results that it wants to see,” said Tamesis.

Regarding her priorities as new UN Coordinator, she said that one of her priorities is to make sure that the UN is able to support the Vietnamese Government in commitments to SDGs international standards, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment.

She said that the most important thing for her is to be able to engage with the young people, hear their views and aspirations and hear the solutions that they want to see for development in their own country.

“It’s not only the what, is also the how, innovation, for me, knowledge, foresight are key for us to navigate an uncertain world. So if we’re we don’t have that knowledge, we don’t have that aspiration, to innovate, we will probably be overrun by many of these development challenges. So, rights, human rights, gender equality, youth and innovation,” she added.

Mentioning the expected outcomes of the CF in the future, Tamesis said that what she wants to see is a highly empowered community of stakeholders that are not only committed but have already delivered actions to ensure that no vulnerable group, no marginalised communities are left behind in the prosperity that Vietnam is is wanting to achieve.

Commenting on the commitment and efforts of the Vietnamese government in promoting sustainable development and improving the quality of life, the UN representative said that the first measure of governments’ commitment is always in the policies that they enact. If the policies are people-centered and if the policies are really to protect and ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind, this is already the sure sign of commitment.

The second is in how these policies are translated into investments in budget of the government to make these policies real and concrete.

“And then third is the engagement with the government in reaching out to the people in consultations, in partnering with many communities to be able to deliver development and I know this is happening, particularly very strongly at the provincial level. So we’re very happy to know that our work is really progressing, because the government has already taken its leadership,” she said.

Assessing Vietnam’s prospect in realising sustainable development goals (SDGs), contributing to the happiness of the Vietnamese people in particular and those in the world in general, Tamesis held that Vietnam has a very strong track record in achieving the MDGs and it’s also well poised to achieve many of the targets of the SDGs. However, there are many crises that are affecting not only Vietnam, but also the world. So a lot of the resources that would have gone to the Sustainable Development Goals are now a little bit channeled to the more urgent emergencies.

“The trick then is to make sure that these urgent emergencies the urgent crisis, and the response to this crisis, allows us to build the systems required for SDGs to be accelerated. And so this is where why I said the crisis is an opportunity to build better and transform the systems so that we can ensure that no one is left behind in the development of the country,” she stated.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

There remains great potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Germany’s Saxony state, especially in vocational training, recruitment of Vietnamese skilled workers, green and renewable energy development, climate change response and tourism, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh told Saxony Premier Michael Kretschmer.

During a meeting with the German official on August 11, Ambassador Minh highlighted the fruitful development of the friendship between Vietnam and Saxony state in recent years, expressing the gratitude to the government of Saxony state for promoting the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Germany in general and Saxony in particular.

The diplomat suggested the state government considers promoting the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the state’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, thus creating a favourable framework for recruiting more Vietnamese skilled workers for German enterprises.

For his part, Kretschmer said the collaboration between Saxony and Vietnam has been developing positively in recent years, adding that the Vietnamese community here has made important contributions to the cultural diversity of the state.

As President of the association of public universities in Saxony, Kretschmer affirmed his interest and desire to further promote cooperation between the two sides in education, research and vocational training in a systematic and professional fashion.

Meeting with Ambassador Minh, Saxony’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Labour Thomas Kralinski showed his impression at Vietnam’s economic growth, affirming that German businesses in general and those in Saxony in particular are very interested in increasing investment in the country.

He said the German locality has experience in researching and developing renewable and green energy, and it is willing to connect with research institutes and universities of Vietnam to promote cooperation in this sphere.

He also endorsed the proposal to sign an MoU in vocational training and recruitment of workers from Vietnam, saying that relevant authorities of the state will discuss the issue in detail with the Vietnamese embassy.

According to Kralinski, Leipzig city has implemented many projects to attract skilled workers from Vietnam and by the end of this year, about 100 Vietnamese workers will come to the city to work.

Kralinski expressed his desire to have the embassy’s support in finding partners for the Leipzig Trade Fair – one of Germany’s largest fairs, to launch fairs and exhibitions in both countries.

Minh spoke highly of cooperation projects in vocational training and labourer recruitment between Leipzig and Vietnamese localities, believing that the successes brought by these programmes will contribute to benefiting the people of the two countries.

He hoped that the two sides will continue to coordinate and promote the implementation of these projects on a larger scale.

The Vietnamese diplomat took the occasion to invite Kretschmer and leaders of the Ministry of Economic Affairs to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time, affirming that the Vietnamese Embassy is always ready to support Saxony in carrying out investment promotion activities in Vietnam.

During his visit to Saxony, Ambassador Minh also met with representatives of the Vietnamese association, veterans association, and Vietnam Buddhist cultural centre in Dresden.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Venezuela-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group was set up in Venezuela on August 12.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Vice President of Venezuela’s National Assembly Iris Varela Rangel expressed her delight at the growing partnership between the two countries.

She underlined that the establishment of the group is significant to the strengthening of partnership between the two NAs, contributing to promoting the friendship and cooperation between the two countries as well as mutual understanding between their people.

President of the Venezuela-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group Saul Ortega Campos affirmed that the group aims to expand and deepen the two nations’ traditional solidarity, friendship and comprehensive cooperation and foster the collaboration between the two legislatures and parliamentarians of both countries.

He pledged to actively organise activities to strengthen the friendship with Vietnam, especially those to celebrate the 33th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Venezuela and the 15th anniversary of bilateral comprehensive partnership.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Viet Duyen underlined that the group will contribute to promoting the bilateral friendship and lift the Vietnam-Venezuela ties to a new height.

He reaffirmed the Vietnamese Government’s consistent policy of supporting Venezuela in the struggle to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty as well as peace, happiness and prosperity of the people.

Source: Vietnam News Agency