Day: November 17, 2022

The southern province of Dong Nai solicited investment in building houses for low-income earners, heard at a conference on November 16.

Speaking at the social housing investment promotion and development conference, Vo Tan Duc, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee, said despite his administration’s focus on social housing for low-income earners, supply has yet to meet demand.

The province has 31 industrial parks with 410,000 workers, who require accommodation, he said.

There would be more IPs, further increasing the need for workers’ housing, he said.

According to the Dong Nai Confederation of Labour, the province has over 1.2 million employees, mainly migrants from other parts of the country. Therefore, the demand for accommodation among them remains huge. Most of the workers rent boarding houses in residential areas near industrial parks.

The province targets building 10,000 houses in 2021-25 at a cost of nearly 10.2 trillion VND (441.8 million USD), with the funds coming from public resources, private enterprises and others.

Nine projects are being developed on an area of more than 52ha with more than 8,000 houses.

At the conference, the province called on local and foreign companies to invest in 37 worker and social housing projects with a total area of over 175ha, mainly in Bien Hoa city and Nhon Trach, Long Thanh, Trang Bom, and Vinh Cuu disctricts to partly meet the need for low-cost housing, especially from workers, he said.

Speaking at the conference, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hong Linh said “Many commercial housing projects have been built, but there are not many people living in there, while workers live in substandard boarding houses. Demand for housing is still huge in the low-income segment. The economic value of this segment is not as high as that of the commercial housing segment, but investors still make a profit besides the great social value they bring.”

More than 700,000 workers live in boarding houses now, he said.

The province invites businesses who have the resources and experience to invest in housing projects with good quality and reasonable prices so that low-income people could afford to pay for them in instalments over 15-20 years, he said.

He called on the People’s Committee to earmark enough lands for social housing for workers with a long-term vision.

To implement the Party Committee’s policy on developing worker and social housing, it is necessary to reach a consensus and join hands with businesses and investors, he said.

He reminded commercial housing developers to earmark a portion of the lands for social housing development in accordance with regulations.

Social housing projects must satisfy technical and social criteria, the houses should not be too cramped and must ensure occupants’ welfare and adequate public space and infrastructure, he added.

Businesses and industry business groups shared their experiences and discussed the advantages and difficulties in the construction of social housing.

They called on the province to eliminate bottlenecks in terms of policy, allocate land for social housing projects, make preparations for bidding to select investors for these projects, and build social housing in cities’ suburbs where land prices are lower.

Top officials in the departments of Construction and Planning and Investment provided information about preferential policies for investors such as exemption of land use fees and rents, loans from the social policy bank, and fully or partially subsidising the costs of technical infrastructure at projects.

The conference was attended by executives from more than 200 enterprises based in and outside the province./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The collaboration with technology platforms and tourism business sectors will bolster efforts to quickly adapt and take advantage of digital transformation effectively.

Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, made the statement at a digital transformation roundtable discussion held in Hanoi on November 16.

Vietnam’s tourism development strategy to 2030, approved by the Prime Minister on January 22, 2020, set an orientation to accelerate the digital transformation process in the tourism industry, toward the formation and development of a smart tourism ecosystem.

“The fact that we jointly build, cooperate and develop technology applications, to support tourists in the digital environment is also concretising the purpose of the above strategy. Therefore, the content of today’s talk has practical significance, in line with current trends,” Sieu said.

He added that the spread of the Fourth Industrial Revolution along with the development of technology has changed tourist behaviour, from searching for information, booking services and experiences at the destination, to sharing feelings and memories of the trip. Most of it took place in the digital environment.

The change in the market with the focus on tourists has forced service providers as well as the Government to have solutions to quickly adapt and take advantage of digital achievements to transform the operating model and method in the new era. Digital transformation as well as enhancing cooperation in the digital environment is the right choice for organisations, businesses, and digital service providers to strive to maintain operations in order to adapt flexibly and develop sustainably.

Huynh Thi Mai Thy, Country Manager Traveloka Vietnam, said in the first half of this year, Vietnam welcomed around 413,000 foreigners and 60.8 million domestic visitors. The total tourism revenue reached 265 trillion VND. In addition, the volume of international searches for Vietnamese tourism has continued to surge, with one of the highest increases in the world, according to Google’s market trend tracker tool.

Vietnam has also stepped up eight places in the 2021 Tourism and Travel Development Index (TTDI), according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Report which was conducted based on enabling environment, travel and tourism policy and enabling conditions, infrastructure, travel and tourism demand drivers, travel and tourism sustainability. The country experienced the greatest score improvement, rising by 4.7% to leap from 60th to 52nd in the overall index.

“However, in order to return to the golden age of the tourism industry, in 2019, there are still some challenges although Vietnam has orientation, strategic plans and a roadmap for tourism development which was provided in the strategy to develop Vietnam’s tourism to 2030 approved by the Prime Minister on January 22, 2020,” she added.

She said digital transformation, tourism model 4.0, smart tourism model are no longer unfamiliar terms to Vietnamese people, as well as the benefits of digital transformation for the industry, businesses and travellers. However, the connection and cooperation between these entities in the digital environment for sustainable development of Vietnam’s tourism should be promoted.

She added that with the strong rebound of tourism in recent months, it is crucial for Vietnam’s tourism to take steps toward digital transformation by embracing touchless and smart tourism in Vietnam.

“Therefore, we keep making innovations that can create other initiatives and breakthrough programmes that will boost the digitalisation in the travel industry.”

As a technology-based company, Traveloka is cementing its commitment to support the Government and partners toward digital transformation and sustainable growth in the tourism sector.

Traveloka encourages the stakeholders to work together and ensure the sustainable growth of local tourism. Digital transformation is more than just a temporary solution for the pandemic disruption, but is also a long-term journey for the whole tourism sector to develop sustainably./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Indonesia has used weather-modifying technology (TMC) to mitigate extreme weather impacts to ensure a smooth and successful G20 summit.

Director of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati said on November 16 that two Cassa 212 and CN 295 aircraft made at least 28 flights to spread 29 tonnes of salt in the sky of the Bali region, where the summit took place.

The planes departed from bases in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara state and in Banyuwangi, East Java state, she said, adding that TMC technology identifies where the greatest amount of salt is needed, namely clouds that can produce rain.

Salt spraying was carried out to accelerate the condensation of water vapor in the areas surrounding the conference venue before the rain occurred. Karnawati said that BMKG supports the G20 summit by providing information on wind direction, location of target clouds, weather predictions and cloud development during the event.

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) coordinated with the Indonesian Air Force and BMKG in the implementation of the plan, according to the head of BMKG./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Cultural authorities and traditional artists of Hau Giang province are working on a long-term project to preserve Aday singing, a unique folk art form of the Khmer ethnic minority.

The project aims to introduce and expose young people to Aday, a kind of duet singing between Khmer men and women often staged at community festivals and family ceremonies in the Southern region.

Aday trio and quartet singing are often performed during the Lunar New Year holiday. Accompanied by musical instruments, the performers deliver songs praising love, nature, and the good.

Under the project, singing contests and performances will be held to introduce the art to the public. Art clubs and training classes on Aday singing will also be opened to attract young people.

Books, documents and music videos by cultural researchers and veteran artists of Aday singing will be also offered.

Local tourist agencies are encouraged to offer new tours aimed at introducing Aday singing shows staged by Khmer artists.

“Our project provides young people with better knowledge of Khmer theatre and art,” said Phan Hoang Minh, a senior official of the province’s Long My district. “We hope Khmer youngsters can learn more about their traditional songs and dances.”

According to Minh, Aday singing was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage in April. It creates more opportunities for Hau Giang to continue preserving and promoting this unique art form.

Long My district has two new stages offering shows on Aday singing by local veteran singers. Local art clubs managed by professional performers have also offered singing training aimed children and young people.

Veteran artist Danh Ky of Sa Phien Art Club in Long My said that “through our training, we hope to encourage youth to discover Aday singing, which is part of the country’s heritage, and some arts that are hundreds of years old.” /.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Foreign experts have appreciated Vietnam’s economic governance policies to help well control the impact of imported inflation, given increasing inflation in many countries around the world.

However, in face of existing risks, rising pressure on domestic inflation and the Vietnamese currency, the dong, the country’s fiscal and monetary policies are recommended to be cautious and flexible.

Era Dabla-Norris, Mission Chief to Vietnam and Division Chief in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Asia and Pacific Department, affirmed that effective policies applied by the Vietnamese Government have contributed to the country’s positive good economic results so far this year.

The first nine months of 2022 saw a rapid recovery of the Vietnamese economy when COVID-19-related restrictions were removed.

The gross domestic product (GDP) in the first three quarters of this year expanded 8.83%, motivated by strong production and export as well as the growth of retail and tourism.

Dabla-Norris said that Vietnam’s inflation has stayed at a lower level than the majority of countries in the region.

Highlighting some policies that have contributed to the economic results so far this year, she touched upon the Vietnamese Government’s switching of the COVID-19 control strategy and the complete reopening of the country’s economy in March thanks to the super-fast vaccination campaign. This was the key for the resumption of economic motivations, she held.

The expert also underlined the country’s low interest rate and responsive monetary policies that have allowed businesses to return to operation, along with tax cuts to support labourers, including income and environmental taxes, to minimise the impacts of the global petrol price hike, and price freezes for some services, including power, healthcare and education, which have contributed to keeping inflation under control.

Sharing the same view, Chief economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) office in Vietnam Nguyen Minh Cuong said the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s raising the ceiling deposit and lending interest rates, and widening the exchange rate band from +/-3% to +/-5% is completely appropriate, contributing to stabilising macro conditions for medium and long-term growth.

Andreas Hauskrecht, Clinical Professor of Business Economics at the Kelly School of Business under the US’s Indiana University, said that Vietnam has done well in curbing inflation, as it is maintained at a low and stable level.

He spoke highly of the central bank’s decisions, and management agencies’ efforts to well address the pandemic’s consequences.

However, the IMF representative pointed to a number of challenges that Vietnam is facing, and gave recommendations, especially on monetary and fiscal policies. She also welcomed the expansion of the trading band for the exchange rate recently, and advised Vietnam to maintain inflation at around 4% in 2023.

She underscored the need to maintain flexible policies and the stability of the financial system, along with the improvement of the business environment and the productivity of domestic firms as well as the capacity of labourers, and continuous economic digitalisation. Vietnam should also focus more on implementing reform policies in climate change to complete its target of net-zero emissions in 2050, she added.

In its latest global economic outlook report, the IMF predicted that the world economy will see a fall of 2.7%, while Vietnam will enjoy a growth of about 5.8%.

Hauskrecht said that, until the time when the US Federal Reserve (Fed) starts to change monetary policy and lower interest rates, Vietnam will have more room to introduce more stimulus measures. He advised the country to keep interest rates stable and have reasonable fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy in the immediate future./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese exporters of wood and wooden furniture expect to bring home 16.5 billion USD this year, fueled by an increase in the overseas shipment of woodchips and wood pellets in the first 10 months of this year.

Unprecedented growth in export of woodchips, wood pellets

According to a timber wholesaler in Dong Hy, the northern province of Thai Nguyen, prices of sawn timber (big wood) are almost the same as those of wood chips which are only 20,000 VND per tonne different. Hence, growers are racing to cut them down and sell to woodchip factories.

Notably, while the export of wooden furniture and laminated wood is frozen, woodchips and wooden pellets have been lining up for overseas shipment over the past 10 months.

Do Van Hai, Director of the Hai Oanh Forestry Production-Export and Import Co.Ltd based in the central province of Thanh Hoa, said without the “heated up” export of woodchips and wood pellets, it would be difficult for his company to survive as the shipment of laminated wood slowed down in late 2021 and came to a halt in April 2022.

“If we stop making woodchips, our business will die because of heavy bank interest rates,” Hai said.

Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Director for Forestry and Materials at Biomas Fuel Vietnam company based in the central province of Nghe An, said to meet requirements of the most demanding markets like Japan, the US and the European Union, wood pellets must meet quality and have clear origin. Apart from the traditional market of Japan, her company plans to expand to Europe as demand for pellets as a winter heating material is growing.

Wood export expected to bring home 16.5 billion USD

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the wood sector earned 13.5 billion USD from export in the first 10 months of this year, up 11.4% annually. Contributions by woodchips and pellets turned them into a “phenomenon” in the wood export landscape. During the period, pellets raked in over 603 million USD, up 81% in value year-on-year while woodchips brought home nearly 1.8 billion USD compared to 1.7 billion USD last year. These two products are expected to earn a turnover of about 2.8-2.9 billion USD this year.

Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) showed that the export of wood and wooden products is estimated at 13.5 billion USD in the first 10 months of this year, up 11.4% year-on-year. Of the figure, 9.3 billion USD were from wooden products, marking a 2.7% increase.

President of the JCI Vietnam Vu Tuan Anh said Chinese merchants are looking for woodchips from Vietnam to serve paper production and provide them as materials for pellet factories in China.

With limited supply at home, China will continue relying on neighbouring countries for wood materials. This will create opportunities for Vietnamese wood exporters, he said.

According to the MoIT’s Export-Import Department, not only the EU market, the demand for woodchips and pellets in Asia is surging, mostly in the Republic of Korea and Japan that are switching from coal-fired to clean electricity, including biomass power.

On the sidelines of the recently-held 2022 Vietnam International Woodworking Industry Fair (Vietnam Wood), Vice Chairman of the Handicraft and Wood industry Association of HCM City Nguyen Chanh Phuong said the total wood export in the fourth quarter may hit around 4.5 billion USD, bringing the total to 16.9 billion USD this year, up 14% annually./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency