Trade – Investment

Vietnam - Laos trade turnover reached about USD97.4 million in the first two months of 2019, a year -on-year rise of 20.26%, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Center for Industrial and Commercial Information.

Vietnam now ranks fourth globally, first in Southeast Asia and second in Asia in terms of exports of seafood, and its products are now available in over 170 countries and territories worldwide.

Southern localities of Vietnam has been a major destination for investment from the Republic of Korea (RoK) in recent years, and local textile-garment and footwear industries have proved to be a magnet for an influx of capital from this country.

Vietnam now ranks fourth globally, first in Southeast Asia and second in Asia in terms of exports of seafood, and its products are now available in over 170 countries and territories worldwide.

(CPV) - The European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) launched the 11th edition of its annual Whitebook at an event held on March 14th, in Hanoi.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) coordinated with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (CCIRF) to organize a conference between Vietnamese and Russian companies on March 14th.

The regular talks of the first quarter this year were held by the Quang Ngai provincial oil and gas branch in early March, in combination with discussion on domestic and international news, including the DPRK – USA Summit that took place in late February in Hanoi.

(CPV) - The US-ASEAN Business Council and American enterprises should continue paying attention to and expanding business and investment in Vietnam, being a bridge to introduce and attract more new companies to Vietnam to do long-term and stable business.

Vietnam sets a target of earning USD4.1-4.2 billion from shrimp exports this year, higher than USD3.6 billion recorded in 2018, according to the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

FDI capital in Ho Chi Minh city, including new investment and through capital contributions and share purchases, reached more than USD1 billion in the first two months of 2019, according to the Department of Planning and Investment.

In 2019, the Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical (BSR) JSC strives to reach 23 million safe working hours without accidents or losing working days.

To ensure site clearance for the project upgrading and expanding Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant by March 31st, on March 12th, representatives of Binh Tri communal, Binh Son district and Quang Ngai provincial authorities, as well as the project management unit, encouraged the final 61 families to remove their houses and hand over the site for the project.

The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) has recently decided to present a certificate of merit to the Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Joint Stock Company (BSR) for achieving 20 million safe working hours without any work accidents.

Senior officials of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam met in Kratie province of Cambodia on March 9th to prepare for the 12th meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee on the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (JCC CLV DTA) that will open on March 10th.

A Coffee Trade Fair kicked off in Buon Ma Thuot city in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on March 9th, as part of the ongoing 7th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has issued a decision on plans for the implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

In recent years, many foreign fruit exporters have entered Vietnam to take advantage of local people’s rising popularity of imported fruit in the country.

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang is setting goals and solutions to develop sea-based economy through 2030 with a vision to 2045.

Up to 70 percent of Japanese businesses have announced that they want to expand operations in Vietnam, especially in manufacturing, trade and service, and retail sector, according to the Japanese External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

The MCE-MARD Group of the Netherlands has proposed to grow 5,000 ha of clean cashew trees in the southern province of Binh Phuoc to process the nuts for export, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Huynh Anh Minh on March 6th.

Vietnam ranked fourth in the world in its Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) of 122 percentage points (pp) in the final quarter of last year, according to the Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey conducted in collaboration with Nielsen, a global measurement company.

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) has become one of the 30 strongest banks in the Asia-Pacific region in the recent rankings of The Asian Banker magazine.

The export of marine products is expected to rise by 17 percent to USD3.5 billion this year despite likely hurdles, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

There were a total 15,979 newly-registered enterprises nationwide in the first two months of this year with total registered capital of VND247.4 trillion (USD11.82 billion), down 14.6 percent in volume but up 25.4 percent in value compared to the same period last year.

Ho Chi Minh City is willing to create favourable conditions for Japanese investors to do long-term business in the city, especially in smart city building, information technology and food processing.

Cambodia appreciates the involvement of Vietnamese investors in boosting the country’s economic development, its Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhayly stated when attending a conference to review rubber tree planting of several Vietnamese companies held in Phnom Penh from February 28th to March 1st.

The People’s Committee of the central city of Da Nang said it had granted licences to seven foreign direct investment projects worth USD419.4 million, and agreed investment research for 15 other projects worth an estimated USD2.6 billion.

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the US has increased nearly 120 times, reaching over USD60 billion in 2018 from USD450 million in 1994, since the normalisation of bilateral relations 25 years ago.

The central city of Da Nang is pushing ahead with investment attraction this year while working drastically to facilitate major projects that will have a strong influence on the local socio-economic development.

The Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant operated safely and stably at 108% of its designed capacity and produced more than 1.1 million tons of products of all kinds; earning a revenue of more than VND13.65 trillion and contributing VND1.592 trillion to the state budget, according to preliminary results of the first 2 months of 2019.