Day: August 19, 2022

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a teleconference with Vietnamese trade representative offices abroad on August 19 linked with 62 locations.

The PM affirmed that in the first seven months of this year, Vietnam continued to see positive results in socio-economic development. Import-export turnover topped 433 billion USD, up 15.3% annually, and is expected to reach nearly 800 billion USD this year. Social welfare as well as social safety and order have been guaranteed while external affairs and global integration have been promoted.

He partly attributed that to foreign trade activities that are directly conducted by the industry and trade sector with a network of trade offices abroad.

Amid complicated and uncertain developments in the region and the world, he asked the sector and trade representative offices to study markets, offer policy consultations, and provide support for domestic firms in building and adjusting plans to tap opportunities from new-generation free trade agreements of which Vietnam is a member.

The PM suggested ministries, agencies and trade representative offices examine policies in their host countries, and offer suggestions to help localities, sectors and domestic firms diversify goods, expand exports and diversify supply chains.

They were also asked to offer solutions to difficulties as well as share their aspirations related to policies, living and working conditions./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Fishermen sighted a whale in waters off Dau Dong, Vinh Thuc commune in the northern province of Quang Ninh on August 19.

It is the second sighting by local fishermen in recent years following an encounter in Cua Dai area, according to Nguyen Duy Dong, Chairman of the communal People’s Committee.

Experts said the event shows the seas are clean thanks to the efforts of local residents and authorities.

Vietnamese fishermen worship whales as their guardians at sea./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet called on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to enhance exchange and support to promote international tourism at the 11th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on August 19.

He also suggested ministers and delegation heads of APEC to share new regulations on immigration and tourist management, and encourage airlines and service suppliers to roll out flexible policies for tourists.

Vietnam fully opened its doors to foreign arrivals on March 15, and the Vietnamese Government has adopted an array of policies in support of the tourism sector, he said, noting that the country expects to welcome 5 million foreign visitors this year.

The country also regards digital transformation as important to boost the national economy and promote smart tourism, he continued.

Participants discussed key strategies that can be applied to promote the post-COVID-19 recovery of the travel industry; how APEC economies can work together to contribute to and support the recovery; and the role of tourism in improving welfares and living conditions for people in APEC economies./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A conference was held in Yen The district, the northern province of Bac Giang on August 19 to announce the first shipment of Yen The late-ripening longan to Australia this year.

At the event, the People’s Committee of Yen The district also presented a decision recognising VietGap-standard longan area to Hao Thanh cooperative.

Bac Giang is now home to about 3,400ha of longans with a total output of nearly 20,000 tonnes, mostly in Luc Ngan, Luc Nam, Yen The and Lang Giang district. Of which, late-ripening longan covers over 600ha.

The province has so far granted 47 codes for 514ha with 4,000 tonnes for export to China, and 52.92 ha with some 450 tonnes for export to Australia.

The provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection collected five samples to check pesticide residues and reported that all meet requirements for export. It also called on firms to unite together to export longans from Yen The and Luc Nam districts.

In the near future, the province will direct expanding VietGAP, GlobalGAP and organic longan farms, promoting trade and connecting firms together to boost exports./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) held a get-together on August 19 on the occasion of the National Day of Hungary (August 20).

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the municipal Vietnam – Hungary Friendship Association Le Minh Triet expressed his belief that Vietnam – Hungary traditional ties will keep growing, especially when the two countries lifted their ties to comprehensive partnership level in 2018.

He said the association will continue working closely with the Consulate General of Hungary in Ho Chi Minh City to hold exchange activities, thus contributing to strengthening ties between the two peoples.

Triet also believed that once COVID-19 pandemic is under control, ties between the two countries, as well as between Ho Chi Minh City and Hungarian localities will enter a new period with more practical results.

Vice Consul General of Hungary in Ho Chi Minh City Peter Paczuk expressed his delight at the development of bilateral ties, especially in economy, culture, education and tourism.

He introduced recent activities in the city in the fields of environment, culture, arts and education, and wished that they will continue in the future, particularly Stipendium Hungaricum scholarships for Vietnamese students in Hungary.

According to the HUFO, two-way trade between the two nations topped 1 billion USD in 2020, and 1.1 billion USD this year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man hosted a reception for Secretary General of the National Assembly of Laos Pingkham Lasasimma in the central province of Quang Binh on August 19.

Pingkham Lasasimma is in Vietnam to attend a workshop and exchange programme between the Vietnamese NA Office and the Lao NA Secretariat.

Man, who is also President of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Parliamentarians Group, said the workshop and exchange programme, the 11th of its kind, is of significance as it takes place at a time when Vietnam and Laos are focusing on the exchange of experience in law-making and supervision to boost post-COVID-19 socio-economic recovery.

It also helps to enhance cooperation between the NA offices of the two countries, he added.

He suggested the Vietnamese and Lao NA Secretaries General tighten their cooperation and work to boost the implementation of collaboration activities as agreed by the top legislators.

For her part, Pingkham Lasasimma expressed her hope that the Lao delegation would learn from the Vietnamese side’s experience, especially in information-technology application and giving policy and law consultancy in socio-economic affairs.

She used the occasion to thank Vietnam, particularly the NA and its Office, for their support to the Party, State and people of Laos in various fields, including medical supplies for the COVID-19 combat and the sharing of experience in post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and NA House management./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Indonesian President Joko Widodo may announce a fuel price hike next week to reduce spending on energy subsidies, said Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan on August 19.

The Southeast Asia’s largest economy has tripled its 2022 energy subsidy budget to 502 trillion rupiah (33.82 billion USD) amid rising oil prices and a depreciating rupiah.

President Widodo said earlier this week he was considering hiking prices, after Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said more money would likely be needed if fuel prices were to be kept unchanged until the year’s end.

In a public lecture at a university in the city of Makassar, South Sulawesi, Pandjaitan said his ministry has developed an economic model to ease inflationary impact.

Indonesia’s inflation reached a seven-year high of 4.94% in July due to rising food prices. The President has said that had the government not kept fuel prices and some power tariffs unchanged, inflation may have soared higher./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Indochina Kajima Development Company, a joint venture between Vietnam’s Indochina Capital and Japan’s Kajima Corporation, on August 19 began the construction of Core5 Hai Phong at the Deep C2 Industrial Zone in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

Core5 Hai Phong is expected to provide 96,000 sq.m of warehouses for lease that meet international standards. The handover the warehouses is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023.

Indochina Kajima officially launched Core5 Vietnam, a Vietnam based industrial real estate investment and development platform focused on the nationwide roll-out of world class factory and warehouse properties for lease throughout Vietnam’s key manufacturing and logistics markets, on July 6.

Peter Ryder, Chairman of Wink Hotels and CEO of Indochina Capital, said Kajima and Indochina Capital plan to invest 1 billion USD in Core5 Vietnam in the next five-seven years.

Owned by Kajima Corporation, Core5 Industrial Partners is a US-based industrial real estate property company with expertise in development of Class-A properties featuring the latest innovations throughout the United States.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Core5 has development activities in the US core markets and has expansion plans to additional key logistic hubs throughout the country.

Core5 Vietnam will provide partners with best service and solution packages, helping them tap their potential and achieve their business targets, Ryder stressed.

Keisuke Koshijima, Executive Vice President and Representative Director of Kajima, regarded Hai Phong as an attractive investment destination and an ideal place to start the first project of Core5 Vietnam.

According to Le Trung Kien, head of the Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority (HEZA), foreign direct investment (FDI) in the city has reached about 24 billion USD to date. In the first seven months of this year, the locality attracted over 1 billion USD in FDI.

The HEZA will create the best possible conditions for the implementation of the Core5 Hai Phong project, he pledged./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency