Trade – Investment

The Ha Long - Van Don expressway was put into operation on February 1st, shortening the travel time from the capital city of Hanoi to Van Don to 2.5 hours from four.

The state budget revenue is estimated at VND144.6 trillion (over USD6.2 billion) in January, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said on February 1st.

As many as 10,079 enterprises registered to be set up in the first month of this year with total registered capital of VND151.1 trillion (USD6.5 billion), according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The Belgian-Vietnamese Alliance (BVA) launched itself as a chamber of commerce and industry for Belgium, Luxembourg and Vietnam on January 29th.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam witnessed a significant yearly increase of 52% to USD1.9 billion in the first month of this year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the first month of 2019 increased 0.1% from the previous month, reported General Statistics Office (GSO).

Hanoi’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January 2019, the month before the Lunar New Year (Tet), increased 0.22% from the previous month and 3.92% year on year, reported the city Statistics Office.

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has agreed to allow Japan’s Mizuho bank to purchase shares in the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) to ensure maintenance of owning rate of 15% of the bank’s charter capital.

Russian automotive manufacturer Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ) is seeking a joint venture with local Thanh Dat Group to build an automobile plant in the central city of Da Nang.

Vietnam’s shrimp exports are expected to increase to more than USD4 billion in 2019 thanks to free trade agreements, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh on January 25th stressed the need to complete institutions for the development of the oil and gas sector.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue visited the northern city of Hai Phong and Bac Ninh province on January 25th to explore the foreign investment situation as well as acquire the localities’ related proposals.

Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has pledged to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to continue investing in agricultural development in Laos.

The northern province of Thai Binh will create best conditions for FDI businesses, said Dang Trong Thang, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, during a year-end meeting with FDI businesses on January 22nd.

Registered and additional FDI capital in industrial zones (IZs) and economic zones (EZs) totaled more than USD8.3 billion in 2018.

The CPTPP Parties will name a rotating chair by order of Parties, notifying the Depositary in writing of the completion of their applicable legal procedures, with each Party serving as Chair for a period of one year, starting from 2020, according to a Joint Statement of the Ministers.

The Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) on January 21st opened its third representative office in Vietnam, in the central city of Da Nang, after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city.

The insurance sector recorded more than VND133.65 trillion (USD5.76 billion) in revenue from premiums in 2018, up 23.97 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervisory Authority.

Vietnam considers the US an important partner and is willing to bolster the bilateral ties in all fields, especially in economic cooperation, trade, investment, science-technology, and education and training, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has affirmed.

The Hanoi Department of Tourism is building a smart tourism system as part of the capital’s smart city project.

Bilateral trade between Vietnam and African nations hit USD6.6 billion in 2018, with Vietnam’s exports worth USD3 billion, up 10 percent from the previous year.

Vietnam continues topping the world’s cashew nut exports in 2018, with over 60% of the value of the global cashew nut market (about USD5.7 billion), before India and Brazil.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will take effect in Vietnam as from January 14th, 2019.

The Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) received 180 disputes in 2018, with total dispute value amounting to VND9.4 trillion (USD404.2 million), heard a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on January 11th.

Experts say the target growth rate of 6.6 to 6.8% for 2019 set by the National Assembly is feasible. They also said the GDP target was likely to be surpassed due to opportunities from the US-China trade war.

The Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in the central province of Quang Ngai on January 9th granted licenses to new foreign investors from Belgium, Singapore, Japan and the Republic of Korea, with a total capital of USD321 million.

Vietnam shipped 74,120 tonnes of coffee beans to Algeria in 2018, earning USD132.48 million, up 56 percent in volume and 28 percent in value from 2017, the General Department of Vietnam Customs reported.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) takes effect from January 2019, creating a free trade area making up about one tenth of the world’s economy, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

(CPV) - The conference “Vietnam cross-border investments: Risks and challenges on Legal compliance” is organised by Oxfam in Vietnam, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and PanNature.

Construction started on January 8th for Vietnam’s largest high-tech tra fish farming project in Binh Phu commune, Chau Phu district, in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang.