Day: January 30, 2023

A working delegation of the Vietnam Centre for Overseas Labour (Colab) had a meeting on January 29 with representatives from the Counseling Centre for Foreign Workers of the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ansan city to promote the implementation of support activities for Vietnamese labourers in the RoK.

 

The Vietnamese centre’s Director Dang Huy Hong, who is head of the delegation, thanked the Ansan centre for supporting foreign workers in general and Vietnamese in particular when living and working in the Korean city.

 

He showed his hope that the centre will continue working closely with Vietnamese units to support Vietnamese workers, especially newcomers, to soon adapt to the life in the East Asian nation.

 

Support activities for Vietnamese workers in the RoK implemented hinh anh 2

 

Colab delegation posing for a photo with Vietnamese workers in RoK (Photo: VNA)

 

During the working visit to Ansan, the Colab delegation also met several Vietnamese labourers working in the city.

 

Hong informed them of new policies related to migrant workers.

 

This year, up to 110,000 foreign workers are allowed to enter the RoK./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

President Joko Widodo officially kicked off Indonesia’s 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship at a launching event in Jakarta on January 29.

 

Speaking at the event, the president emphasised that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains essential and relevant for the people, the region and the world despite current global uncertainties and challenges.

 

He also said that ASEAN will continue contributing to the Indo-Pacific region and maintaining regional peace and economic growth.

 

The leader highlighted ASEAN will continue contributing to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and help maintain economic growth because ASEAN matters and is the epicentre of growth.

 

Earlier during the ASEAN chairmanship relay ceremony on November 13, 2022 in Phnom Penh, the president affirmed that ASEAN will become a stable and peaceful region — an anchor for global stability.

 

ASEAN will also uphold international law, humanitarian values, and democratic practices, and will not act as a proxy for any party./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Phu Quoc has been evaluated as the most attractive island in Vietnam and been an extremely prominent name on the international tourist map in recent years.

 

Located in the Gulf of Thailand, Phu Quoc is known as the pearl island on the southwest coast of Vietnam. It is a sunny paradise with green tropical trees.

 

For people who love a deserted sea and want to immerse yourself in clear water and untouched nature, Phu Quoc is a great choice.

 

With a 150km-long coastline, Phu Quoc has many beautiful beaches from the north to the south.

 

They are ideal beaches for swimming, yachting, fishing, squid fishing, scuba diving to see coral, and water sports.

 

Along with rich marine and island resources, Phu Quoc also has a diverse forest ecosystem, mainly in Phu Quoc National Park, which has a total area of over 31,422 hectares.

 

The marine ecosystem of Phu Quoc is also very diverse with coral reefs of different shapes and sizes. It has nearly 100 species of hard corals, nearly 20 species of soft corals and 62 species of seaweed.

 

In addition, tourists can also relax and experience the Phu Quoc United Center complex, which includes five-star rooms and villas, the sports – entertainment – playground at Vinpearl Golf, VinWonders theme park, Vinpearl Safari semi-wildlife care and conservation park, Corona Casino and “the city that never sleeps” Grand World Phu Quoc in close proximity.

 

Visitors can visit many historical sites such as Dinh Cau shrine, Phu Quoc prison, the base of Hero Nguyen Trung Truc, and Truc Lam Ho Quoc Zen Monastery.

 

On this island, there are also some famous trade villages such as Ham Ninh fishing village, fish sauce making village, dog breeding, pearl farming, myrtle wine making, and pepper farming.

 

Coming to Phu Quoc island, visitors can not only go swimming and diving to admire the splendid coral reefs, join unique sports and entertainment activities, but also taste delicious local seafood specialties. To fully experience the taste of Phu Quoc, there are three seafood dishes that visitors definitely cannot miss: flower crab of Ham Ninh Village, Sardinella salad, and echinus./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

Vietnam’s total retail sales of goods and services in January was estimated at 544.8 trillion VND (23.22 billion USD), up 5.2% from the previous month and 20% as compared with the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

 

The office explained that the hike was attributed to the growing consumption demand as Tet (Lunar New Year), the biggest and longest festival in the Southeast Asian nation, fell in the month.

 

Of the total, the retail sales of goods were 435.4 trillion VND, a year-on-year rise of 18.1%, with the biggest increase seen in garments (27%).

 

The revenue from lodging and catering services reached 56 trillion VND, representing a year-on-year rise 37.3%. Notably, tourism raked in 2.2 trillion VND, a surge of up to 113.4% from the corresponding time last year, with the highest increases recorded in such localities as Hai Phong (541.5%), Da Nang (387.1%), Tien Giang (380.2%), Lao Cai (196.3%), Hanoi (113.8%) and Ho Chi Minh City (98.7%).

 

The revenue from other services was valued at 51.2 trillion VND, up 16.8% year-on-year.

 

The GSO said the purchasing power during the holiday rose about 8-10% against other months and was equivalent to the same period last year, with the strongest growth seen in food, foodstuff and essential goods.

 

Hoang Anh Duong, Deputy General Director of the Market Surveillance Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said market management forces have intensified inspections and supervisions, especially on e-commerce platforms and social networks, while coordinating with other competent agencies in controlling the quality of oil and gas products./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) said tax support policies and land-use fee reductions for businesses should be continued throughout 2023 despite shortfalls in state budget collection.

 

However, the ministry’s proposal did not include a value-added tax (VAT) reduction of 2%, which it said has been challenging and complicated to implement.

 

In the MoF’s latest proposal to the government, businesses, household businesses and individuals were to continue to enjoy a 30% cut in land-use fees in 2023, on top of an extension on their tax duties.

 

“The ministry supports the government’s policy to give businesses more time to meet their financial duties and a 30 % reduction in land-use fees as parts of an effort to support businesses,” Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc said.

 

Phoc said key priorities for the government this year include speeding up the disbursement of public investment projects, injecting cash into the economy and helping improve businesses’ performance.

 

“Improved performance will help reduce the unemployment rate, boost budget collection and solves various socio-economic related issues,” he added.

 

A series of measures, including VAT slashed from 10% to 8% and reduction of land-use fees, worth a total of 223 trillion VND last year, have received positive feedback from the business community and boosted economic recovery after the pandemic.

 

In addition, the government, in an attempt to rein in inflation and boost economic recovery, has cut the environmental tax on fuel from 20% to 10%, a large number of administrative fees and rolled out numerous e-government projects.

 

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the minister said the finance ministry has been working around the clock to bring stabilisation back to the stock market with key focuses on solving issues related to corporate bonds and improving transparency and legal frameworks.

 

Economists, however, have voiced concerns about the country’s economic prospects in 2023, saying the country will likely experience a short period of low growth, inflation and increased risks to its financial system./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

From being net sellers in the first nine months of 2022, foreign investors have become the driving force supporting the Vietnamese stock market in the last few months, and the inflows are expected to continue this year.

 

In 2022, this group net disbursed more than 29.2 trillion VND (1.2 billion USD) to the market, while it has net sold nearly 18.8 trillion VND and set a record net selling value of over 62.2 trillion VND in 2021.

 

In November alone, more than 16 trillion VND in net disbursed cash flow from foreign investors was significantly supported by exchange-traded fund (ETF) capital inflows into the market, primarily from the Fubon ETF and the VNDiamond Index-based ETF.

 

A study by BIDV Securities Company (BSC) analysing over 50 billion USD owned by foreign investors on the Vietnamese stock market showed that more than half of foreign ownership is owned by strategic investors. This group usually holds stocks for the long term.

 

The second group consists of investment funds, typically from Europe, that invest the majority of their assets in Vietnamese securities. These investors are attached to the development of the market, and the investment depends on the amount of money raised from investors.

 

There are also a group of index funds, which account for more than 10% of the number of shares held by foreign investors and operate quite flexibly, and a group of investors who buy securities through P-notes (participatory notes).

 

The market’s drop in October and the first half of November prompted a cash inflow into the Vietnamese stock market. Positive cash flow spread across many ETFs.

 

The total net inflow of ETFs reached nearly VNĐ7 trillion in October, the highest value recorded since April 2021. For the first ten months of 2022, ETF capital flow reported a record value of over 18.8 trillion VND, far exceeding the value of 13.5 trillion VND for the whole year of 2021.

 

Besides accelerating capital disbursement in the stock market, some signals showed that cash flow will continue to flow into the stock market in 2023.

 

In early December 2022, VanEck Vietnam ETF (VNM ETF) said that it agreed to change the benchmark index from MVIS Vietnam Index to Market Vector Vietnam Local Index. Accordingly, the MVIS Vietnam Index will be deleted and transferred to the Market Vector Vietnam Local Index.

 

With the change of the base index, VNM ETF is expected to increase the proportion of Vietnam to 100%, equivalent to more than 100 million USD pouring into the domestic stock market. The expected effective date is March 17.

 

Previously, the Fubon FTSE Vietnam ETF from Taiwan (China) was also licenced to raise additional capital for the fourth time, with a scale of up to 5 billion TWD (nearly 4 trillion VND) at the end of November 2022.The fund’s fourth offering started on November 23, 2022.

 

The ETF aims to invest 100% in Vietnamese stocks and selected potential industries. The fund will disburse new investments into Vietnamese stocks from December 2022 to February 2023.

 

Factors attracting foreign investors

 

In a letter to investors last month, PYN Elite said that the market benchmark VN-Index hit the bottom in last November at 900 points and has the opportunity to grow positively in 2023.

 

“The confidence in the market improved. We expect the VN-Index to move in sync with Vietnamese economic growth and the expected increase in corporate profits in 2023. Among ASEAN countries, Vietnam has the strongest prospects for economic and corporate profit growth,” said PYN Elite.

 

In fact, one of the driving forces pulling foreign cash flows back to the market recently was the attractive valuation of the market. The VN-Index ended 2022 at 1,007.09 points, equivalent to a decrease of 32.78% over the beginning of the year and in the Top Five markets with the strongest declines.

 

According to the AFC Vietnam Fund, Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with GDP in 2022 growing by 8.02% and expected to gain 6% in 2023. Therefore, the recent decline in the stock market has brought the market valuation down to an extremely attractive level, with a forward P/E of 2023 at 8.1, compared to 11.5x in the Philippines, 12.5x in Malaysia, and 14.8x in Thailand.

 

“In our view, this creates an excellent buying opportunity for long-term investors. Another interesting thing is that, compared to the S&P 500, emerging markets are trading at a 34-year low. This makes investors consider whether all the bad news has already been reflected in the price and whether there will be any such opportunity in the next ten years,” AFC Vietnam Fund said.

 

Foreign investors also expect Vietnam’s market to be upgraded to an emerging market. According to JPMorgan’s CEO in the Asia-Pacific region, if it is upgraded to emerging market status, the market will receive approximately 5 billion USD from ETFs. Therefore, the fact that the market is in a period of low valuation is a very good opportunity to invest and hold.

 

In addition to an attractive valuation, the Vietnamese market benefits from other macro factors in the global market. Specifically, a weakening dollar helps capital flows move into emerging markets, or the reopening of China at the beginning of 2023 will help cash flows flock into markets in Asia such as Vietnam, India, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan (China)./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

According to the Vietnam Tennis Federation (VTF), Vietnam will play Indonesia in the 2023 Davis Cup World Group II Play-offs on February 4-5 at the Hanaka Paris Ocean Park in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

 

No. 68 Vietnam features national top player Ly Hoang Nam, Le Quoc Khanh, Pham Minh Tuan, Nguyen Van Phuong and Nguyen Dac Tien. Among them, Nam shoulders a heavy task as he is the highest-placed, at No. 247 in single rankings and No. 944 in doubles.

 

Players will compete in five matches. Two singles will be held in the first day while one single and two doubles are on the next day. The winners of the three matches will advance to the main round of Group II in September while the losers will be dropped to the Group III Asia-Oceania competition.

 

Meanwhile, world No. 62 Indonesia will feature its player Christopher Rungkat. The 33-year-old was ranked No. 241 in the singles category in 2013 but has disappeared in the ranking since December 2018.

 

Rungkat is a master in the doubles event. He was placed No. 68 in 2019 and is currently No. 200 in the world.

 

Other players are Rifki Fitriadi, David Agung Susanto, Nathan Anthony Barki and Anthony Susanto under captain Wirjawan Sugiharta.

 

Teams will arrive in Bac Ninh on January 31 and have several days practising on the hard court of Asia’s biggest tennis complex.

 

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men’s tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The number of newly-established enterprises and businesses resuming operations in the real estate market saw a remarkable rise last year, said the Ministry of Construction.

 

As per statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Business Registration Management Agency, there were 8,593 new enterprises and 2,081 businesses resuming operations in 2022, up 13.7% and 56.7% year-on-year.

 

Meanwhile, the number of firms declaring bankruptcy or dissolution also grew by 38.7% against 2021.

 

The Ministry of Construction said 2022 still saw many challenges facing realty firms and forcing them to change their business and management plans. The changes included debt restructuring, scaling down production and investment, streamlining apparatus, and suspending new projects, among others.

 

In the face of complicated economic developments, from the middle of the third quarter to the end of last year, the operations of real estate exchanges also showed signs of difficulties. Less transactions were conducted compared to the beginning of the year, leading to a decrease in the scale of the trading floors, whose number is now more than 1,100.

 

According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, 103 transactions of capital contribution and share purchase were recorded in the sector in the year as of December 20, with their accumulative value reaching some 1.6 billion USD./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency