Day: December 14, 2022

The southern province of Dong Nai on December 13 organised an investment promotion conference to attract investors from India.

 

So far, the province has attracted investors from 44 countries and territories with 1,550 projects worth a combined registered capital of 33 billion USD. However, there is no project by Indian investors.

 

Trade between enterprises in Dong Nai province and India now reaches about 800 million USD yearly.

 

According to statistics, enterprises in Dong Nai export to India mostly fabrics, machines, equipment, spare parts, footwear, iron/steel products, textiles, rubber, coffee, and pepper. They import plastics, chemicals, animal feed, raw materials, textile fibers, cotton of all kinds, and pesticides from India

 

Nguyen Thi Hoang, Vice Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee, said that Indian businesses have strengths in fields including information technology, biotechnology, education, and health care which the province hopes to call for investment in.

 

She said that the province will support Indian investors to facilitate the investment.

 

Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Madan Mohan Sethi said an Indian business delegation is expected to visit the province soon to learn about the investment environment.

 

He also invited provincial leaders and a Dong Nai business delegation to visit India in 2023 to promote cooperation activities./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The ASEAN-EU Summit will provide a political framework for the longstanding relationship between the two sides, said Pierre Gréga, Director of the Development, Rehabilitation, Integration and Security (DRIS) centre.

 

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the summit commemorating the 45th anniversary of the EU – ASEAN relations in Belgium, Gréga highlighted the cooperative relations between the two organisations, saying that this covers various aspects.

 

It will strengthen orientations of the strategic framework adopted by the two sides in 2020 which defines the relationship between the two regional organisations based on shared values and principles, he noted.

 

The EU-ASEAN cooperation contributes to enhancing global political stability on the basis of mutual respect, thus promoting trade relations, he went on.

 

However, he noted that the EU-ASEAN relations also face the challenge of maintaining an international order based on common rules and multilateralism accepted by all parties.

 

Regarding the prospect of EU-ASEAN cooperation in the future, Gréga said the EU-ASEAN relations will support all member states in their transition schemes towards increasingly sustainable development.

 

The cooperation will promote investment of their member countries in sustainable production and consumption, stimulate the development of circular economy, especially in global actions to protect the environment, Gréga said.

 

The future of the relations is clearly based on strengthening existing cooperation, including the ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (ASEAN-EU CATA) signed at the 28th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Indonesia in October this year, he added.

 

Regarding the role by Vietnam in promoting the ASEAN – EU cooperation, the expert said Vietnam needs to take advantage of its good relations with most of the EU member states to boost the relationship./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Two drivers of Vietnam’s economic growth – exports and domestic demand – are moderating, according to a report released by the World Bank (WB) on December 14.

 

The bank’s December report, Vietnam Macro Monitoring, shows that softer external demand has weighed on Vietnam’s exports. Consumer rebound in the post-COVID period seems to recover slowly and tighter domestic financial conditions and rising inflation could affect domestic demand in the future.

 

Due to weaker external demand, the growth of industrial production in November declined by 5.3% year-on-year, the lowest rate since February 2022. The manufacturing Purchase Manager Index (PMI) also slipped below the 50 benchmark for the first time since October last year.

 

Retail sales decreased to 17.5% in November from 20.7% in the previous month.

 

Merchandise exports contracted by 8.4% year-on-year due to weakening external demand and high base effects associated with the rebound in the four quarters of 2021. While total foreign direct investment (FDI) commitment dropped by 1.9% year-on-year, FDI disbursement maintained a robust growth of 4.4% compared with the same period last year.

 

Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation reached 4.4% year-on-year in November, up 0.1% compared to a month earlier, with food and housing being two major contributors. Core inflation increased from 4.5% in October to 4.8% in November.

 

Credit growth fell from 16.5% in October to 15% in November, as domestic financial conditions tightened after the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) raised key interest rates in September and October. Average overnight interbank interest rate remained high at 5.7% in November.

 

The SBV announced a 1.5-2% increase of the credit growth cap in early December. The Vietnamese currency, the dong, gained slightly in value in November although its appreciation is one of the smallest compared to major currencies and those of its neighbours.

 

As of the end of November, the national budget registered a 12.1 billion USD surplus, equivalent to about 3% of GDP.

 

The WB recommended that Vietnamese monetary authorities consider allowing further flexibility in the exchange rate to absorb changes in the external environment as global financing conditions are expected to remain tight and external demand is weakening.

 

Fiscal and monetary policy coordination will be critical to ensure price stability in the context of accelerating domestic core inflation, it said, adding that a more prudent and prioritised expenditure strategy is needed to ensure investments in human capital and resilient and green infrastructure to help bolster economic potential and resilience./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Vu Viet Trang and President and CEO of Yonhap News Agency Seong Ghi-hong on December 14 signed a new cooperation agreement to replace the old inked in 2017.

 

At their talks in Hanoi on the occasion of Seong’s visit to Vietnam from December 13-16, Trang thanked the official and colleagues of Yonhap for coordinating with the VNA in organising a photo exhibition on 30 years of Vietnam-Republic of Korea cooperation, which opened in the morning of the day, and another in Seoul from March 31 to May 5.

 

These activities are a testament to the fine and effective cooperation between the two news agencies, she said, adding that on the basis of the agreements signed, the VNA has effectively used texts and photos provided by Yonhap, especially when there are major events.

 

She also took this occasion to express her gratitude for the Yonhap leader as President of the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) for supporting and creating favourable conditions for the VNA to participate effectively in the organisation. The VNA General Director expressed her belief that activities within the framework of cooperation will be promoted in the coming time, affirming that her agency will make efforts to support Yonhap’s correspondents in Hanoi.

 

Hailing the VNA’s contributions to the development of the OANA, Seong Ghi-hong said he hopes the VNA and Yonhap will step up the exchange and cooperation in multimedia information, and strengthen coordination in combating fake news.

 

The VNA and Yonhap established their professional cooperative relations in 1994, two years after the two countries set up their diplomatic ties./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Government of Thailand has approved a plan for tertiary education development with an aim to become a developed country by 2037.

 

The World Bank defines a high-income economy as a nation with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of 12,696 USDD or more in 2020. Thailand’s GNI per capita in 2021 was 7,260 USD, according to World Bank data.

 

In this context, the Thai cabinet has passed a number of draft policies and strategies to serve as development frameworks for higher education, science, research, and innovation between 2023 and 2027, which were proposed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.

 

Thai Government Deputy Spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek was quoted by local media as saying that the first policy framework is aimed at developing people’s skills and promoting the country’s competitiveness and sustainable development so the nation can adjust to constant global changes.

 

The policy framework comprises four strategies, she said, adding that one involves economic development by promoting a value-driven and creative economy to boost competitiveness and self-reliance. The second strategy is to promote sustainable development so the country can deal with challenges and adjust to global dynamism, with key action plans including creating a low-carbon society, while the third is on the advancement in science, technology, research, and innovation with key action plans, including the targeted S-curve industries, and the fourth is to develop human resources and educational and research institutes as a basis to propel the economy, she stated.

 

The second draft policy framework is aimed at developing human resources, comprising three strategies, she said.

 

The first strategy involves capacity-building by providing education to support the life-long learning process and upgrading the quality of education and creating high-calibre personnel, while the second involves building a research ecosystem through innovative research and technology transfer through developing infrastructure or conductive factors, and the third is to push for the transformation of higher education with good governance practices, developing higher educational institutes based on their own characteristics, promoting financial security in the higher education system and pushing for digital higher education.

 

There are also three plans for urgent implementation within three years, such as developing high-calibre personnel to respond to BCG development, and promoting local community enterprises, the grassroots economy, SMEs, and startups, she added./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency