Trade – Investment

Around 500 tonnes of Vietnamese products, including coffee, instant noodle, sweet potato, cabbage, pineapple, watermelon, and dragon fruit, were exported to Singapore in March, according to the Vietnamese Commercial Affair Office in Singapore.

Honda Vietnam (HVN) has become the fourth automaker in Vietnam to suspend production and assembly of cars and motorbikes over the concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam imported 14,523 cars in the first two months of 2020, representing a year-on-year plunge of 43.7 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Trade between Vietnam and Israel reached 236.58 million USD in the first two months of this year, according to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Israel.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam’s proposal, the Ministry of Transport has agreed to limit domestic flights from Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City to other cities and provinces to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Vietnam ran a trade surplus of 2.8 billion USD in the first quarter of this year, higher than 1.5 billion USD recorded in the same period last year, despite the growing COVID-19 pandemic in the country’s major export markets, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Trade activities across the Vietnam- Cambodia border have been maintained despite the halt of entry and exit of citizens and tourists as a measure to curb the spread of the acute respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

Vietnam has taken full advantage of the CPTPP to gain strong growth in exports to Canada and Mexico, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The total foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam in the first quarter of this year is estimated at USD8.55 billion, accounting for 79% of the same period last year, the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has reported.

Vietnam’s Cambodia-based Military Joint Stock Commercial Bank (MB Cambodia) and Viettel Cambodia Company (Metfone) on March 26th signed a 5-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) on strategic cooperation, in order to promote the development of the businesses, and contribute to Cambodia’s socio-economic development.

Young engineers from Nam Mau Coal Company in Uong Bi city, Quang Ninh province, have successfully produced full-body disinfection chambers after just two days of research to ensure safety of employees amid Covid-19 pandemic.

The Vietnam - Japan trade reached USD6.2 billion in the first two months of 2020, an increase of 8.6 percent compared to the same period of last year.

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020 grew 3.82 percent, the lowest pace during the 2011-2020 period, head of the General Statistics Office Nguyen Bich Lam said at a press conference in Hanoi on March 27th.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has proposed the payment deadlines for 80.2 trillion VND (3.4 billion USD) in taxes be extended to support enterprises, business households and individuals doing business that are directly affected by the COVID-19.

(CPV) - The Blue Circle and its partner AC Energy, the power generation arm of Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corporation, have ordered the first GE 5MW-158 from General Electric (GE) for the second phase of the Mui Ne project in Southern province of Binh Thuan.

Luong Hoang Thai, Head of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), has confirmed that export turnover to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) market is higher than forecast early this year.

Nearly 1,500 tons of Russian pork has landed in Vietnam, with quarantine activities having been completed and customs clearance to be made, the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has reported.

In 2020, Vietnam’s rice export is forecast to maintain fairly high growth amid Covid-19. Businesses expect to realise the target of exporting 6.7 million tons, earning over USD3 billion.

An urgent dispatch has been sent to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) by the Ministry of Transport requesting the suspension of the transport of Vietnamese from foreign countries to the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh city, starting from 00h00 on March 25th.

New-age carrier Vietjet offers the SKY COVID CARE insurance with coverage ranging from 20,000,000 VND (856.9 USD) to a maximum of 200,000,000 VND (8,569 USD) for all passengers flying on its domestic flights from March 23rd to June 30th, 2020.

The US Government has no plan to suspend the import of Vietnamese garments-textiles, said Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc.

The Hanoi People’s Committee has approved the establishment of Dong La Industrial Cluster (IC) and the second phase of Duong Lieu IC on the outskirts district of Hoai Duc.

Lao Airlines, the national flag carrier of Laos, said on March 20th that it will suspend all of the flights to Vietnam amidst the complex developments of COVID-19.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said on March 20th that EU and US authorities have yet to limit the import of garment products from Vietnam.

Projects invested by Japanese investors or funded by Japanese official development assistance (ODA) capital have played a crucial role in economic development of Vietnam and Hanoi in particular, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung.

The Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) has urged the Government to add the property industry to the list of those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and are eligible for a five-month postponement of value-added tax and land-use fee payments.

Statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that the total import-export turnover in the first two months of the year between Vietnam and India reached USD1.65 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2%.

Vietnamese airlines will halt operations on many international air routes on upcoming days amid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) on March 18th presented medical equipment worth 5 billion VND to support Covid-19 prevention and control to units designated by the Ministry of Health.

Vietnam Airlines announced the suspension of flights between Vietnam and Russia, and Taiwan (China), from March 19th, 2020.