Trade – Investment

Agriculture, forestry and fishery exports saw positive signs in the first month of 2018 with total export value reaching USD3.09 billion, a year-on-year rise of 25.9%, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Industrial Production Index (IPI) jumped by 20.9% compared to the same period last year in January 2018, mainly due to enterprises focusing on producing goods to meet consumption demand during the Lunar New Year (Tet).

Among 23 countries and territories with newly-licensed projects in Vietnam in January 2018, Singapore topped the list with USD147.7 million, accounting for 33.4% of the total registered capital.

Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in January grew 0.51 percent from the previous month and 2.65 percent from the same period last year, driven by price hikes in 10 of the 11 groups of commodities.

FPT Software Company signed a contract worth over USD100 million with Innogy SE, a member of European energy company RWE, in Hanoi on January 25th.

The Vietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) successfully auctioned over 206 million shares in an initial public offering in HCM city on January 25th.

The Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) held a ceremony to inaugurate its rubber latex processing plant in Cambodia on January 25th.

The Republic of Korea’s CJ Group opened its fifth animal food factory at Dong Van Industrial Park II in Duy Tien district, the northern province of Ha Nam on January 26th.

(CPV) - The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) Group and Power Generation Corporation 3 (EVNGENCO 3) on January 25th introduced investment opportunities in the corporation.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on January 25th concluded activities at the 48th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, contributing to improving Vietnam’s stature in a global forum and rallying foreign support for the country’s socio-economic development.

Becoming one of the international cargo terminals of the ACS international maritime services from June 2017, the production and business of Cai Lan International Container Terminal has developed rapidly.

The ninth international exhibition on shipbuilding, shipping and offshore technology (Vietship 2018) opened in Hanoi on January 24th with 163 booths by 59 domestic companies and 38 ones from 12 countries/territoires.

Prudential plc (“Prudential”), a UK-based financial services group, has announced the sale of Prudential Vietnam Finance Company Ltd. (PVFC) to Shinhan Card, a subsidiary of the RoK’s Shinhan Financial Group, at a value of USD151 million.

On the sidelines of the 48th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (WEF Davos), Deputy Prime Minister (PM) Vuong Dinh Hue on January 23rd received global leaders of groups such as HSBC, Google, BAE System, Marsh&McLennan, SK, and Carlsberg.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has proposed cutting more than VND2.223 trillion of foreign-funded capital in 2017 of five ministries and central sectors and 14 localities, due to the inability of disbursement.

In 2018, the Management Board of Ho Chi Minh city Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) set the target of luring USD900 million in investment capital, of which priority is given to supporting industries and key industries.

The Ministry of Construction, in association with Ho Chi Minh city People’s Committee, on January 23rd announced adjustments to the plan for the construction of Ho Chi Minh city’s metropolitan region by 2030, with a vision to 2050.

Vietnam has won a contract to ship 141,000 tons of rice to Indonesia as the country organized an open tender to import 500,000 tons of rice last week, according the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Professors (VASEP) has published the White Book on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in Vietnam, with the aim of announcing information about Vietnam’s efforts and solutions on removing IUU fishing.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will complete state capital divestment and selling at Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Corporation 2 - JSC (Vinasugar 2) and Vietnam Seaproducts Corporation - JSC (Seaprodex) in 2018.

The list of top 500 largest Vietnamese enterprises (VNR500) was announced in Hanoi on January 19th, with the number of private companies in the list rising by 2.5 times in 2017 since the rankings were first made 10 years ago.

(CPV) - The Government leader signed Decision 56/QD-TTg to form the National Steering Committee (NSC) for the construction of special administrative - economic zones.

The price of bio-fuel E5 increased by VND429 while those of diesel 0.05S and kerosene increased slightly by VND430 and VND448 per litre, respectively in the latest regular adjustment of petrol and oil prices on January 19th.

The Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) on January 18th announced information for its first initial public offering (IPO).

A week displaying products of Lao enterprises will be held at Le Van Tam Park, district 1, Ho Chi Minh city, from January 24th to 28th.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has asked the Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) to focus on labour and environmental safety as it develops a specialised management model.

Standard Chartered Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh city on January 17th issued a global economic report, forecasting that Vietnam’s GDP will expand 6.8 percent in 2018.

The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) will help Cambodian agriculture sector increase cashew output to one million tonnes in the next decade.

The PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) on January 16th organized a roadshow to announce information for its IPO (initial public offering) in the end of January, as well as selection of strategic shareholders for privatization.

As of December 31st, 2016, Ho Chi Minh city has 172,979 enterprises and cooperatives, up 61.86% (equivalent to 66,089 enterprises) against 2011, reported the Vietnam Government Portal.