Trade – Investment

The northern province of Yen Bai granted investment licences worth a total of 1,475 billion VND (64.8 million USD) to nine investors at a meeting with enterprises on March 27.

In March, the volume of goods through Vietnamese seaport was estimated at more than 67.3 million tons, up 4% over the same period of 2021; the Vietnam Maritime Administrative (VMA) reported.

Vietnam’s exports of wood and wooden products are expected to rake in 18.5 billion USD in 2025 and 20.4 billion USD in 2030, per a project freshly approved by Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh on March 10.

Ho Chi Minh City has identified promoting all-round digital transformation as one of the important tasks to recover and develop the local economy this year.

The Italy-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce (CCIV) will open a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City in June to support Vietnamese and Italian firms to seek partnership, according to its President Fulvio Albano.

Measures to turn Quy Nhon city in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh into a leading tourism destination in Asia were discussed at a workshop organised by Vietnam Real Estate E-Magazine (Reatimes) and Vietnam Institute of Real Estate Research (VIRES) on March 24.

The southern metropolis Ho Chi Minh City needs to develop policy mechanisms and legal frameworks and improve its business climate, infrastructure and human resources to recover the economy, experts say.

Minister for Trade of the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Yeo Han-koo has suggested Vietnam support the RoK in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The Mekong Delta is set to become a sustainable, dynamic and highly efficient agricultural economic hub of the country, the region and the world by 2030.

Vietnamese rice exports have been increasing significantly in the first months of 2022, signalling a favourable year for the country’s produce.

Shipments of Vietnamese traditional fish sauce, chili sauce and agricultural products that meet strict requirements have penetrated the US market, opening up opportunities for green and clean Vietnamese products.

By the first half of February, export value of pangasius to the EU totaled 20.2 million USD, up 40.2% over the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

In 2022, Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation (EVNHCMC) will start construction of 16 projects and energize 14 power grid projects and substations in the city, contributing to completing the goal of grid modernization.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien had a phone conversation with New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor on March 17 to discuss the US’s initiative in building the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

With export turnover of 2.3 billion USD, the US surpassed China to become the largest consumer of Vietnamese agricultural products in the first two months of 2022.

By the end of February 2022, the total outstanding balance of credit institutions in Ho Chi Minh City was estimated at over 2.93 quadrillion VND, up 1% compared to the end of January and up 3.54% compared to the end of 2021, according to the State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) branch in the city.

The export of fine art ceramics in the first 2 months of 2022 reached 48.45 million USD, up 17.6% year on year, reported the General Department of Customs.

The third Ring Road, passing through Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Long An provinces, is recommended to be invested in the form of public investment.

The Ministry of Transport is assigned 50.328 trillion VND in the public investment plan by the Prime Minister in 2022. This is the largest capital allocation plan ever, accounting for 23.5% of the 2022 capital plan of ministries, branches and central agencies, and accounting for 9.7% of the country’s 2022 capital plan.

Vietnam's national index of industrial production increased 5.4 percent year on year in the first two months of this year. The processing and manufacturing sector, the main driver of the surge, went up 6.1 percent.

Energy is among potential fields for investment cooperation between Vietnamese and US firms, with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announcing that Vietnam gives high priority to sustainable energy development to maintain national energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Pham Tan Cong.

In Jan-February, there were nine export commodities recording turnover of at least 1 billion USD, accounting for 71.6 percent of the total export value.

An Italian lawyer has recommended Vietnamese exporters who lost track of 36 sets of original documents in a suspected scam involving 100 cashew nut containers from Vietnam team up with one another and take swift actions to prevent losses.

Vietnam’s exports of wood and wooden products are expected to rake in 18.5 billion USD in 2025 and 20.4 billion USD in 2030, per a project freshly approved by Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh on March 10.

Overseas shipments of shrimp products are set to earn more than 4 billion USD in 2022, up 2.56 percent on-year, as heard a conference held on March 11.

The Ho Chi Minh City Farmers’ Association has held a meeting to review 5 years of the farmers’ emulation movements in production and business, with the aim to get rich together, along with sustainable poverty reduction during 2017-2021 period.

On March 11, the twelfth and thirteen trains of the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Metro Line 1 have successfully arrived at Khanh Hoi Port many days after leaving Japan’s Kasado Port.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports has just proposed to the city People’s Committee to name 4 bridges Thu Thiem 1, 2, 3, 4 connecting the existing downtown area with Thu Thiem Peninsula in Thu Duc city as Thu Thiem, Bason, Thu Ngu, and Ben Nghe, respectively.

Japan’s import of coffee from Vietnam in 2021 reached approximately 101,000 tonnes, up 0.2% in volume and 7.7% in value from the previous year.

Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh had a meeting in Hanoi on March 10 with a delegation from the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and representatives from 28 leading US businesses.