Day: February 21, 2024

Hanoi: The following is a brief review of the day's events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency. - President Vo Van Thuong on February 20 signed a decision approving the extension of the disbursement deadline of a project on basic infrastructure for comprehensive development of four central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri, using loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Under the decision, Agreement No.3634-VIE and Agreement No.3635-VIE (COL) related to the project will be amended on the basis of the Government's request to extend the implementation time to September 30, 2025.Read full text - The UK's magazine The Banker has run an article highlighting optimistic opinions of experts on Vietnam's economic outlook in 2024. Vietnam saw gross domestic product growth of 5.1% in 2023, which is forecast to rise 6-6.5% in 2024, making Vietnam one of the strongest growth environments in Southeast Asia, the article noted.Read full text - Developing logistics services for offshore fishi ng is a key solution that the central province of Quang Nam will implement this year to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and promote sustainable fisheries development. Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Pham Viet Tich said that the marine economy has become a spearhead economic sector of the locality. Read full text - E1, an importer and distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) under the Republic of Korea's LS Group. announced on February 21 that it has signed a joint contract with Venus Gas, the largest LPG importer in northern Vietnam, to build an LPG terminal in Bac Tien Phong industrial complex in Vietnam's northern coastal province of Quang Ninh. The facility will have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes of propane and 30,000 tonnes of butane. Construction on the project is expected to kick off in the first half of this year for the warehouse to be put into operate commercially in 2025. E1 plans to supply more than 1 million tonnes of LPG annu ally to the Vietnamese market. Read full text - The Hanoi People's Court has received appeals of 12 defendants in the case relating to Viet A Company over one month after the first-instance trial. Specifically, Phan Quoc Viet, General Director of the Viet A Company, and Nguyen Thanh Long, former Minister of Health, appealed for reducing their penalties. Vu Dinh Hiep, Deputy General Director of the Viet A Company asked the court to reconsider the charge on him.Read full text - The Vietnam Stock Exchange (VNX) reported revenue of over 1.92 trillion VND (78.26 million USD) in 2023, down nearly 44% compared to the previous year. Of the figure, nearly 1.86 trillion VND, or 97% came from investment activities in the two subsidiary companies - the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) and the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), which contributed over 1.39 trillion VND and nearly 462 billion VND, respectively.Read full text - As many as 531 billion VND (21.7 million USD) under the 120 trillion VND credit package for social housing development has been disbursed, according to Director General of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s Department of Credit for Economic Sectors Ha Thu Giang. At a conference on credit growth on February 20, Giang said that in 2024, the SBV will continue to direct credit institutions to drastically implement credit programmes and policies under the direction of the Government and Prime Minister, including the 120 trillion VND package, as well as coordinate with ministries and agencies to remove obstacles during the implementation process Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The following is a brief review of the day's events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency. - President Vo Van Thuong on February 20 signed a decision approving the extension of the disbursement deadline of a project on basic infrastructure for comprehensive development of four central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri, using loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Under the decision, Agreement No.3634-VIE and Agreement No.3635-VIE (COL) related to the project will be amended on the basis of the Government's request to extend the implementation time to September 30, 2025.Read full text - The UK's magazine The Banker has run an article highlighting optimistic opinions of experts on Vietnam's economic outlook in 2024. Vietnam saw gross domestic product growth of 5.1% in 2023, which is forecast to rise 6-6.5% in 2024, making Vietnam one of the strongest growth environments in Southeast Asia, the article noted.Read full text - Developing logistics services for offshore fishi ng is a key solution that the central province of Quang Nam will implement this year to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and promote sustainable fisheries development. Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Pham Viet Tich said that the marine economy has become a spearhead economic sector of the locality. Read full text - E1, an importer and distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) under the Republic of Korea's LS Group. announced on February 21 that it has signed a joint contract with Venus Gas, the largest LPG importer in northern Vietnam, to build an LPG terminal in Bac Tien Phong industrial complex in Vietnam's northern coastal province of Quang Ninh. The facility will have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes of propane and 30,000 tonnes of butane. Construction on the project is expected to kick off in the first half of this year for the warehouse to be put into operate commercially in 2025. E1 plans to supply more than 1 million tonnes of LPG annu ally to the Vietnamese market. Read full text - The Hanoi People's Court has received appeals of 12 defendants in the case relating to Viet A Company over one month after the first-instance trial. Specifically, Phan Quoc Viet, General Director of the Viet A Company, and Nguyen Thanh Long, former Minister of Health, appealed for reducing their penalties. Vu Dinh Hiep, Deputy General Director of the Viet A Company asked the court to reconsider the charge on him.Read full text - The Vietnam Stock Exchange (VNX) reported revenue of over 1.92 trillion VND (78.26 million USD) in 2023, down nearly 44% compared to the previous year. Of the figure, nearly 1.86 trillion VND, or 97% came from investment activities in the two subsidiary companies - the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) and the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), which contributed over 1.39 trillion VND and nearly 462 billion VND, respectively.Read full text - As many as 531 billion VND (21.7 million USD) under the 120 trillion VND credit package for social housing development has been disbursed, according to Director General of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s Department of Credit for Economic Sectors Ha Thu Giang. At a conference on credit growth on February 20, Giang said that in 2024, the SBV will continue to direct credit institutions to drastically implement credit programmes and policies under the direction of the Government and Prime Minister, including the 120 trillion VND package, as well as coordinate with ministries and agencies to remove obstacles during the implementation process Source: Vietnam News Agency

Paris: Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang visited Grenoble city from February 17-20 as part of activities to enhance cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and French localities. At a meeting with Mayor of Grenoble Eric Piolle, Thang appreciated the sentiments and whole-hearted support from the local authorities to the Vietnamese community and students there. The ambassador highlighted Grenoble's cooperation with Vietnam, especially in higher education, scientific-technological research and high-tech, expressing his hope for stronger collaboration in the areas. For his part, Piolle noted his readiness for cooperation in the areas of Vietnam's interests and Grenoble's strengths, and held that apart from the above-said fields, the two sides should take new steps in economic and trade ties, and pay more attention to cultural collaboration. Within the framework of the trip, Thang had working sessions with representatives of investment and trade agencies in the Grenoble Alpes region, and visit ed some research and training facilities in Grenoble. At the meetings, the diplomat affirmed that Vietnam is a developing country with many needs in infrastructure, industry, energy, microelectronics and healthcare, and expressed his hope to develop partnerships with Grenoble in these spheres. Highlighting the prospect for cooperation between enterprises from Vietnam and Grenoble region, Director of Invest Grenoble Alpes Métropole Nicolas Béroud spoke highly of the Southeast Asia's impressive growth in the region. He held that Vietnamese startups could roll out their projects in Grenoble, especially those in the areas of semiconductor, digital technology, healthcare, and new energy. Meanwhile, Pierre Emmanuel Chaux from Grex International under the Grenoble Chamber of Commerce and Industry described Vietnam as a potential market, saying Grenoble boasts strengths in industry, new energies and high technologies - the areas that Vietnam wants to branch out during its development process. He suggested both s ides think of cooperation projects in these fields in the time ahead. During his working trip to Grenoble city, Ambassador Thang and his spouse attended a Tet gathering held by the General Union of the Vietnamese People in Isère region and the Association of Vietnamese Students in Grenoble./ Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee will convene its 30th session on February 22, the NA Office has announced. NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue will attend, deliver his opening remarks at the event, and chair the session with his deputies by turns. The session will focus on giving opinions on the adjustments of the revised Law on Archives, and the bill on amendments and supplements to several articles of the Law on the Guard Force. Besides a report on the people's aspirations in January 2024, the committee will also consider the Supreme People's Procuracy's proposal on assigning an additional number of procurators, and summarise the 15th NA's 5th extraordinary session./. Source: Vietnam News Agency