Trade – Investment

Vietnam has become the first Southeast Asian country to sign a free trade agreement with Israel. After signing, the agreement will be quickly approved to soon bring benefits to both economies.

The first batch of two One Commune One Product (OCOP) products - turmeric starch and pink-fleshed Eureka lemon in honey of the northern province of Hoa Binh, was exported to the United Kingdom (UK) on July 25.

According to preliminary data released by the General Department of Customs, in the first half of July, the country exported 249,273 tons of rice, with a turnover of USD135.45 million.

The 27th International Exhibition on Food - Beverage & Technology Equipment on Processing and Packaging of Food and Beverage (Vietfood & Beverage - Propack Vietnam 2023) will officially take place August 10-12 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The retail prices of petrol increased sharply by VND1,220 to VND1,300 per litre as of 3 p.m. on July 21, following the latest changes made by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance.

Ho Chi Minh City held a conference on July 21 to announce an action plan on the implementation of the socio-economic cooperation agreement between Vietnam’s southern economic hub and the Mekong Delta in 2023 and the 2024-2025 period.

A number of export agricultural products are set to continue to maintain their growth momentum ahead in the second half of this year, with fruit and vegetables being the main export items, followed by rice and coffee, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

It is necessary to further step up trade promotion activities and disseminate information to the business community about the benefits of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to take advantage of strengths of both Vietnam and Austria to further boost bilateral trade ties.

Fishermen in the south central coastal province of Ninh Thuan brought ashore 55,802 tonnes of seafood in the first six months of 2023, up 7.4% year on year.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on July 21 chaired a consultation conference on the organisation of the 2023 Vietnam Socio-Economic Forum.

The office of the UAE - Dubai International Chamber of Commerce, its third office in Southeast Asia after Singapore and Indonesia, was opened on July 20 to promote Vietnam's trade with the UAE.

The Vietnamese Goods Week 2023 in Thailand themed "Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta" will take place at the Central World Trade Centre in Bangkok from August 16 to 20.

Exports of rice and vegetables reported sudden increases, of 34.7% and 64.2%, respectively.

In the first half of 2023, coffee exports to many markets decreased, but coffee exports to Algeria and Indonesia increased by 3 digits compared to the same period last year.

VinFast, the subsidiary automaker of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, will organize a groundbreaking ceremony of its electric vehicle (EV) factory in North Carolina, the US, on July 28.

(CPV) - With the increasing demand for rooftop solar installations in the FDI manufacturing sector in Vietnam, led by electronics/semiconductor and textile sectors, Vietnam is considered an attractive market for investors to develop rooftop solar energy.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has rescheduled international flights on July 17 due to storm Talim, the first of its kind forecast to hit Vietnam this year.

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has suggested Australia step up cooperation activities to both remove difficulties and promote bilateral trade between Vietnam and Australia.

The localities that contributed to large export turnover such as Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen and Binh Duong all had export turnover decrease by many billions of USD in the first 6 months of 2023.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung on July 14 met with representatives of the US government agencies, organisations, businesses, investment funds and large corporations to promote cooperation in innovation and technology; research, exchange experiences and attract resources to building an international financial centre; and promote and attract investment to high-tech projects in Vietnam.

A refrigerated container train was inaugurated at Song Than station in Binh Duong on July 14, in a bid to transport fresh fruits and vegetables from the southern province to Dong Dang station in the northern border province of Lang Son for transshipment to China.

Ho Chi Minh City's public spending in the first half of 2023 reached 15.43 trillion VND (652 million USD), accounting for only 23% of the budgeted amount despite the many measures it took to remove hurdles.

Over the past 35 years of attracting foreign investment (FDI), in the real estate sector alone, there has been USD66.4 billion poured into 1,100 projects.

Construction of the first eco-industrial park in the northern province of Bac Ninh has been recently kicked off in Gia Binh district.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), as of the first half of June 2023, Vietnam's pangasius exports to Germany continued to record positive growth while the export to most of the main markets decreased from 3%-61%.

Luc Ngan lychees from the northern province of Bac Giang were officially put up for sale at Central Retail’s Tops Food Hall supermarket at CentralWorld shopping centre in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 12.

The Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd. wishes to invest in Long An, providing environmental solutions, including urban wastewater treatment plants and solutions to operate urban wastewater treatment plants.

On July 10, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said that its international transportation of lychee in May, June and the beginning of July 2023 grew by 200% from the same period last year.

Investment and trade promotion activities between Da Nang and Japan are developing strongly.

In the first five months of 2023, Vietnam became Cambodia's largest trading partner among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with total bilateral trade accounting for nearly 50% of the trade scale between Cambodia and other countries in the region.