Day: January 10, 2023

Posted on

Vietnam helps Pakistan address typhoon aftermaths

On behalf of the Prime Minister, Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet on January 9 presented a token of 100,000 USD as a gift from the Vietnamese Government and people to Pakistan to help address typhoon aftermaths in 2022.

Viet expressed his sympathies with Pakistanis people on the consequences caused by typhoons that hit the country over the past time.

He stressed that the Vietnamese Government and people always stand by the side of Pakistan in the spirit of cooperation, friendship, and mutual support.

For her part, Pakistan Ambassador Samina Mehtab thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for the precious support, affirming Pakistan will swiftly distribute the aid to people in affected areas.

She also affirmed to continue efforts to deepen the sound friendship relations between the two countries.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

ASEAN’s next page to be shaped by new, emerging trends: Secretary-General

The next page in ASEAN’s story will be shaped by new and emerging trends that present both challenges as well as opportunities, said Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn.

Making his remarks at a January 9 ceremony to officially take office as head of the ASEAN Secretariat, the official assessed that as a region very much prone to natural disasters and vulnerable to climate change, the bloc must hasten its drive towards sustainable development and accelerate its collective efforts for transition to a carbon neutral economy.

It is also necessary to prepare to deal with any potential or eventual natural calamities, he added.

“We should likewise strongly pivot towards the development of an ASEAN Digital Economy to leverage the region’s 440 million internet users and facilitate new trade and investment opportunities, create more jobs, as well as enhance innovation and productivity, whilst also addressing the growing cybersecurity threats and other technology-related challenges,” he recommended.

According to the new Secretary-General, the region’s preparedness for a digital and sustainable future, together with the implementation of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF) and the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), will be crucial for the bloc to remain competitive and open in the global landscape and will propel its growth, with sustainability and resilience, in the coming years.

“A future-ready ASEAN undoubtedly should also be crafted and directly involved by all of our stakeholders, particularly the youths. This important demographic will play a critical role in strengthening ASEAN’s resilience to respond to future health emergencies, disasters, impacts from climate change, as well as other emerging trends and challenges,” he went on.

In conclusion, he affirmed that ASEAN has always been at its very best when it works together collectively in the spirit of unity and solidarity, whether that be among member states or with external partners.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Vietnam highly potential market for Korean firms

Vietnam is now considered a highly potential market for businesses from the Republic of Korea (RoK) which have dominated some sectors in the Southeast Asian nation.

The RoK’s largest trade surplus in 2022 was with Vietnam, at 34.25 billion USD. It was the first year in which Vietnam ranked No. 1 in this regard, according to the RoK’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy cited by the Joongang Ilbo newspaper.

The main exports to Vietnam include semiconductors, flat screen monitors, and petroleum products. Besides, food, fashion items, and beauty products also greatly contributed to the RoK’s shipments to the Southeast Asian country, according to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and relevant industries.

Fast food chain Lotteria is running 270 stores in Vietnam, ranking first among similar chains here. Its 2022 revenue topped 100 billion KRW (80.5 million USD), surpassing the figure in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

With 38 stores, Tous les Jours of CJ Foodville is also holding the top position among the bakery chains in Vietnam.

In 2021, soju products of Hite Jinro also dominated the local distilled alcoholic beverage market. The third Jinro BBQ restaurant opened in Hanoi’s Cau Giay district in February 2022.

Lat year, Orion Vina, a subsidiary of Orion in Vietnam, earned over 400 billion KRW in annual revenue for the first time since its establishment. Compared to Vietnam’s confectionary market worth 130 billion KRW, that figure indicates Orion is currently dominating the market.

Korean cosmetic products are also popular in Vietnam. Local media reported that such products from the RoK hold the biggest market share, 30%, compared to similar items from the EU (23%) and Japan (17%), which also have many high-end brands.

Data from KITA show that thanks to Hallyu (Korean Wave), the RoK’s cosmetics exports to Vietnam reached 230 million USD in 2020.

Likewise, Korean fashion is also a magnet in the Vietnamese market.

Hazzys, a brand of fashion company LF, is operating seven stores in Vietnam and recorded its 2022 revenue doubling that in 2021. Fashion and retail firm E-Land also witnessed last year’s sales here rising over 10%.

In May and June 2022, the KITA branch in Ho Chi Minh City interviewed 956 Vietnamese adults about Korean products they planned to buy. The items grabbing their attention included cosmetics (37.9%), food (27.7%), and electronics (15.1%). Asked about potential Koream products in the future, they selected cosmetics (50.7%), electronics (38.9%), food (32.2%), and healthy food (23.3%).

KITA said with a population of 100 million and good economic growth, Vietnam is not only a production hub replacing China but also one of the fastest recovering consumption markets after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Indonesia prioritises consolidating ASEAN Secretariat

Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi on January 9 said consolidating the ASEAN Secretariat will be a priority in the country’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year.

Pointing to challenges of the 10-member grouping both in and outside, the minister said ASEAN still needs to seek solutions to the Myanmar issue given the sluggish implementation of the Five-Point Consensus. Its centrality has been threatened by the increasingly fierce competition, and global economic declines have affected the regional growth.

These factors have prompted Indonesia to select the theme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” for 2023, she explained.

ASEAN should play a leading role in addressing new geopolitical dynamics and continue to be the global growth epicentrum, the official said.

To that end, the ASEAN Secretariat should be stronger, she said, noting that Indonesia hopes for support from the Secretariat to fulfill its Chairmanship.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

PM Chinh’s visit significant to Laos-Vietnam ties: Lao Deputy PM

The upcoming Lao visit by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is of special significance to the Laos-Vietnam partnership, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Saleumsay Kommasith told Vietnam News Agency.

The Lao Deputy PM noted that this will be the first visit to Laos by PM Chinh since he took office, during which the Vietnamese leader will attend the 45th meeting of the Laos-Vietnam Inter-Governmental Committee and a ceremony to summarise the Vietnam-Laos, Laos-Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Year 2022.

The activities have an important meaning to the Laos-Vietnam cooperative relations, and reaffirm the Party, State’s consistent policy towards Laos, he said.

He said that during the visit, PM Chinh will hold talks with his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone and meet with top leaders of Laos. This will provide a great opportunity for the two sides to seek ways to further foster their cooperation as well as solutions to deal with emerging problems and challenges in each country, the region and the world, he said.

Saleumsay said he believes that the visit will contribute to further strengthening the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and peoples, especially amid the unpredictable changes and challenges in the world currently.

Regarding the major contents of the 45th meeting of the Laos-Vietnam Inter-Governmental Committee, the Lao Deputy PM said that it will focus on evaluating the implementation of bilateral cooperation plans over the years.

They will also identify existing problems in bilateral cooperation, as well as risks that the two countries are facing, thus seeking solutions together and further bolstering their economic and trade partnership, making it on a par with the sound bilateral political relations.

Looking back at 2022, Saleumsay said that it was an important year for the two countries, as many activities were jointly organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations (September 5, 1962-2022) and 45 years of the bilateral Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (July 18, 1977-2022).

During the year, the two sides exchanged many visits at all levels, with a total of 115 delegations from the two sides, which manifested the close relations of leaders and people of the two countries, he said.

Besides, many activities were held from the central to local levels with the engagement of both public and private sectors, including the publishing of many important documents on the special relationship between the two countries, and many cultural activities. Those activities showed the warm sentiments of Vietnamese and Lao people towards each other, while educating the youth on the history of the bilateral relations as well as the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos both in the past and present, said the Lao official.

He said that during the visit, the two PMs will review all the activities and draw lessons so as to better organise such events in the future.

PM Chinh and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation will pay an official visit to Laos from January 11-12 at the invitation of Lao PM Sonexay Siphandone.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Vietnam posts all-time high auto imports in 2022

Vietnam posted an all-time high import of automobiles with 173,467 units valued at 3.84 billion USD last year, surpassing the previous record of about 160,000 units in 2021, reported the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The figures represented an increase of 8.5% in volume and 5.1% in value year-on-year.

In December alone, a total of 21,896 units worth 431.55 million USD were imported, marking the second biggest import in the year, behind November with roughly 23,000 units.

Indonesia and Thailand were the biggest auto exporters of Vietnam. Indonesia surpassed Thailand to become the biggest seller of Vietnam in terms of volume but Thailand still ranked first in value.

Specifically, Vietnam bought 72,671 units from Indonesia with a total value of over 1.05 billion USD. Meanwhile, auto imports from Thailand hit 72,032 units worth 1.43 billion USD.

The third biggest seller was China with 17,340 units valued at 714.5 million USD.

With a combined 162,043 units, the above three markets accounted for 93.4% of the country’s total auto imports. The figure was also higher than the total auto imports recorded in 2021.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Finance Ministry creates favourable conditions for FDI companies: Minister

Vietnam’s Finance Ministry will continue to create favourable conditions for foreign direct investment (FDI) companies to operate effectively and sustainably in the country, Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc said on January 10 when meeting Samsung Electronics President and Chief Financial Officer Park Hark-kyu.

At the meeting, Phoc said that Samsung Electronics is the biggest investor of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Vietnam, which has greatly contributed to the country’s export revenue, job creation, and state budget.

The ministry will continue to accompany the company, solve difficulties and create favourable conditions for its projects in Vietnam, the minister affirmed.

Park said that in 2008, Samsung officially invested in Vietnam’s Bac Ninh province, and in 2012, it expanded operations and built a factory in Thai Nguyen province. It also built a household appliance factory in Ho Chi Minh city.

He emphasised that Vietnam is an important partner and the largest production “base” in the world of the Samsung Group. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, its factories in Vietnam still maintained stable operations, providing jobs for more than 110,000 local workers.

In 2022, despite uncertainties in the world situation, thanks to the support of the Government of Vietnam, the group still met its revenue growth target, Park said, noting that Samsung Group hopes the Vietnamese Government will continue to accompany and help it to further develop.

He said he believes that Samsung’s subsidiaries and other global businesses will continue to expand their investments in Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

RoK tourists favour Vietnam for Lunar New Year Festival: tour operators

Vietnam is still a favourite tourist destination for Republic of Korea travellers on the upcoming Seollal or Korean Lunar New Year – a holiday and celebration which marks the first day of the Korean Lunar Calendar.

This year, Seollal falls on January 22.

Data from travel agencies in the Republic of Korea shows that the demand for overseas travel of people in the country during the Seollal is high even though the holiday only lasts four days.

As of the beginning of January 2023, travel agencies sold out 80% of the total air tickets that they prepare for the holiday.

Favourite destinations selected by Korean travellers include Japan, Vietnam, and some other Southeast Asian countries. An official of Korea’s travel agency MODETOUR said that it sold out about 87% of tickets departing during the Lunar New Year festival, of which tickets to Japan’s Osaka sold out the fastest.

Hanjin Travel also confirmed that all tickets for charter flights to Japan’s Kagoshima province departing during the holiday this year were sold out.

Due to the short holiday period, tourist destinations near Korea such as Japan and Southeast Asian countries are very popular.

According to Hana Tour Company, as of January 9, its tours starting from January 20 to 24 were booked with 54% to Southeast Asia, 30% to Japan, and 7% to Europe.

Specifically, in Southeast Asia, 36% of its clients choose Vietnam, 17% choose Thailand, 12% choose the Philippines and 7% choose Taiwan (China).

The RoK tourism industry considers these very positive signs of recovery since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

A survey by major tour operators in the country shows that more than 80% of products that they planned to offer during the lunar new year holiday have been welcomed by customers.

An official from Lotte Tour said that so far all of its plans are still in progress without any changes or problems. Compared to three years ago, this is the recovery starting from zero to 100./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency