Total retail sales of goods and services shrank 8.3 percent month-on-month in July to 14.84 billion USD as a result of restrictions induced to stem the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
 
The General Statistics Office said the figure was 19.8 percent lower than a year earlier since the fourth coronavirus wave is taking heavy toll on trade, transport and tourism.

Total retail sales of goods and services in the first seven months of this year exceeded 121 billion USD, up 0.7 percent year on year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is formulating specific plans to stimulate consumption and sustainably develop the domestic market./.

Vinamilk posts record high net revenue in Q2 2021

The Vietnam Dairy Products JSC – Vinamilk, the largest dairy company in Vietnam, posted a record high in net revenue of 15.71 trillion VND (682.57 million USD) in the second quarter of 2021, a year-on-year rise of 1.4 percent, according to its financial report.

The figure also rose by 19.2 percent compared to the previous quarter.

The company’s after-tax profit exceeded 2.86 trillion VND in the period, a year-on-year decline of 7 percent but up 10 percent against Q1.

It raked in 13.25 trillion VND in net revenue in the domestic market, surging 18.5 percent against the previous quarter.

A report by Kantar WorldPanel showed that Vinamilk maintained its lead as the most-favoured dairy brand in Vietnam in 2020 and ranked first in the sale of fast-moving consumer goods for the fourth consecutive year.

In Q2 2021, the dairy firm launched its Vinamilk Green Farm system in the provinces of Tay Ninh, Quang Ngai and Thanh Hoa.

Its affiliate Moc Chau Milk earned 790 billion VND in net revenue, up 7.6 percent against the same period last year and fulfilling 56 percent of its yearly target.

Vinamilk posted a net revenue of nearly 1.61 trillion VND in exports, a year-on-year increase of 17.2 percent.

The Middle East continues to be its largest export market, along with others of the US and China./.

Banks to tighten credit in risky sectors in remaining months of this year

Banks will continue to tighten lending in risky sectors including securities, real estate, financial, and tourism business, seeing higher credit risks in the remaining months of this year, a survey carried out by the Monetary Forecasting and Statistics Department has said.

The survey included 95 percent of credit institutions and branches of foreign banks operating in Vietnam.

The survey found that credit institutions saw an increase in overall credit demand in the first half of this year and forecast the trend would continue in the second half. Only credit demand from tourism businesses dropped in the first half but it was expected to see a slight recovery in the second half.

Credit risk was seen to increase in the first half of 2021 but at a lower rate than the second half of 2020 in almost all sectors. However, securities, real estate, financial and tourism businesses were considered sectors with higher credit risk in the pandemic.

Banks said that they intended to tighten lending for securities, real estate, financial and tourism business in the remaining months of this year but loosen credit criteria for enterprises, especially those of small and medium-sized enterprises, on positive economic prospects, improved financial capacity of credit institutions, and the Government’s drastic measures to fight the virus.

Retail and wholesale, import and export and lending for living expenses were the major drivers of credit growth in the first half of this year and would continue in the remaining months of this year and next.

State Bank of Vietnam statistics showed that total outstanding loans were estimated to be more than 9.6 quadrillion VND (414 billion USD) as of the end of May and banks pumped a net value of more than 455 trillion VND into the economy through lending channels in the first five months of this year.

Trade and industry were the two sectors with the highest outstanding loans, worth more than 2.22 quadrillion VND and 1.84 quadrillion VND respectively.

Credit for trade saw a growth rate of 5.73 percent while industry had a 6.73 percent growth rate, higher than overall credit growth of 4.95 percent in the first five months of this year./. 

Vietnam in the top 10 emerging markets for global data centres

Vietnam is rated one of the 10 emerging markets in the global data centre market, with impressive growth, international standard service delivery capacity, and a large number of organisations and enterprises, research firm ResearchAndMarkets has said.

The Vietnamese data centre market stood at 858 million USD last year and is forecast to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of over 14.64 percent until 2026.

The growth in the Vietnamese data centre market was driven by government projects and initiatives, the report said.

Data protection is a matter of global concern and is becoming an important issue on the agenda of the Vietnamese Government.

The data localisation requirement under the Cybersecurity Law, plus the need for better processing speeds to assist Vietnamese users are the main drivers, which are anticipated to significantly enhance the demand for data centres in the country.

The Vietnamese Government's inclination toward digitisation has further bolstered the demand for data centres across the country.

Furthermore, the Vietnamese data centre market is driven by the shifting of enterprise data to cloud platforms. This has led to an increase in the adoption of data storage solutions, which in turn is expected to positively influence the growth of the market. Additionally, growing adoption of big data solutions, IoT and cloud-based solutions among others, is expected to propel market growth through 2026./.

Deputy minister stresses significance of processing, manufacturing sector

The processing and manufacturing sector is a prerequisite to improve capacity for industrial firms and those operating in supporting industries in particular, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai has said.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Hai said Vietnam should foster its processing and manufacturing sector to open up market opportunities for businesses operating in supporting industries, helping them become suppliers and join supply chains.

The State should play a more active role in expanding the market for the firms, the official said, explaining that they should learn from foreign countries’ technologies and production experience.

Hai also suggested policies to orient social resources towards production, and the allocation of resources to processing and manufacturing enterprises, thus enabling them to meet regional and international standards, and optimise free trade agreements.

Under Resolution No. 115/NQ-CP, Vietnam aims to be able to churn out supporting industrial products with high competitiveness by 2025, meeting 45 percent of the essential production and consumption demands at home, and making up around 11 percent of the total industrial value.

By 2030, supporting industrial products are expected to satisfy up to 70 percent of the domestic demands, and account for about 14 percent of the accumulative value.

To that end, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue its coordination with other ministries, agencies, localities and concerned organisations to speed up the building of relevant mechanisms and policies to create a comprehensive legal framework for industrial growth.

Hai said the ministry will also step up international cooperation, maximise the support of international organisations and foreign countries to raise personnel quality, transfer technologies, improve competitiveness of domestic firms, create connectivity and exchange opportunities between domestic and foreign enterprises, and further join the global production chain.

Asked about priorities in the time ahead, the official said during the 2030-2045 period, Vietnam will focus on developing new generations of IT and telecom, promoting digital technology, automation, high-end equipment, new materials and bio-technology.

The Politburo’s Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW has also ordered great attention to seven major policy groups to boost priority for processing and manufacturing industries.

The groups cover industrial structure transformation, development of priority industries, investment environment, corporate development, personnel development, science and technology, natural resources exploitation, environmental protection, and climate change adaptation during industrial development.

Stable supporting industries and restructuring of chains for industrial production are crucial to improving the country’s manufacturing sector, according to Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

The organisation has worked out a plan to develop appropriate policies for supporting industries towards minimising reliance on the import of raw materials as well as reducing prolonged, simple and low-value-added processes like packaging and plastic components.

This will enable Vietnam to not only create more value and put the country in a better position in the global supply chain, but also create more opportunities for Vietnam in terms of free trade agreements (FTAs).

According to the VCCI, high dependence on imports for supporting industries will lead to higher risks and increase the costs for enterprises.

Dau Anh Tuan, Director of VCCI’s Legal Department, said Vietnam's COVID-19 response could make it an attractive investment destination as economies seek to make their supply chains less dependent on other countries.

Foreign investors were considering shifting investments to Vietnam due to their trust in the country's safety amid the pandemic. With a number of new generation FTAs, Vietnam would have more opportunities if the Government could offer better policies and clear targets to encourage and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses and attract foreign investment into prioritised manufacturing sectors, they said./.

Vietnam ranks third in logistics performance index in ASEAN

Vietnam ranks 39th among 160 countries and territories, and third in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in logistics performance index (LPI), heard a workshop held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on July 30.

The country is also placed among the top emerging markets with a growth rate ranging from 14-16 percent, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said.

The official highlighted in an increase in the number of logistics firms, and improved logistics services, saying they are the outcomes of efforts made by both businesses and the Government.

Tranh Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the MoIT’s Agency of Foreign Trade, said Vietnam’s total export-import revenue in the 2010-2020 period tripled the value recorded earlier.

The logistics sector plays a significant role in the national economic development, including export-import activities, goods circulation at home and production, the official said.

He stressed the significance of logistics services in such localities as Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Hanoi and Da Nang, saying they serve as momentum for regional and local socio-economic development.

Hai affirmed that the Government, ministries, agencies and businesses have always paid attention to cutting logistics costs to improve competitiveness of the country and enterprises in particular.

Experts at the workshop shared the view on the need for the logistics sector to develop high-quality personnel, step up IT application and modernise its management and operation methods to reduce costs and improve service quality.

Vietnam’s logistics sector is expected to contribute 5-6 percent to the country's GDP, record a growth rate of 15-20 percent and rank 50th in the global LPI by 2025./. 

US concludes anti-dumping investigation into Vietnam’s OCTG

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced the results of the third administrative review for Vietnam’s oil country tubular goods (OCTG) for the period from September 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019, according to Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry of Trade.

OCTGs are essentially tubes that are used in oil and gas production.

In the conclusion, the DOC determined that the tariff for SeAH Steel VINA Corporation (SSV) is zero percent. Other manufacturers and exporters of Vietnam receive a 111.47 percent tariff. This result is similar to previous reviews.

The US data also showed that last year the export turnover of OCTGs to this market reached approximately 17 million USD, mainly from SSV.

If new enterprises want to export OCTGs to the US, they can ask the DOC to review under the new exporter mechanism to enjoy separate tariffs, said Trade Remedies Authority (TRA).

The enterprises are advised to contact the Foreign Trade Remedies Handling Office under Trade Remedies Authority to receive more support on the review process and procedures in line with the new exporter mechanism.

According to TRA, the US initiated an anti-dumping investigation into OCTGs from Vietnam in 2013 and issued the final determination in 2014 with the anti-dumping rate for Vietnamese enterprises ranging from 9.57 percent to 111.47 percent./.

Indian newspaper: Vietnam emerging as post-pandemic economic power in region

Vietnam and India are emerging as economic powers in the region that will make a difference in the post-pandemic times, The Economic Times cited Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Pranay Verma as saying.

The ambassador was speaking at a recent webminar on global trade and investment opportunities for Indian industry in Vietnam organised by India’s PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI).

Vietnam and India have emerged as global trade partners due to their policy initiatives and increase in their trade and investments, he said.

While applauding PHDCCI’s diligent efforts in fostering business and trade relations of India with other countries of the world, Verma discussed challenges faced in Vietnam related to disruption in production, supply chain, logistics, and many more yet at the same time arising of new opportunities in areas of technology, business practices, trade relations, diversifying partners and trade baskets.

Verma emphasised that there is a need for Vietnam and India to take advantage of each other’s economic strength for increasing business relations between the two nations, at the same time leverage each other’s global value chains to utilise each other’s trade network.

There is also a need to look at the domestic market, especially in India that can offer growth opportunities to Vietnam with focus on e-documentation and e-payments which help to increase business growth and foster B2B engagement, connecting MSMEs.

There is a need for structural improvement where the government and business partners need to work in sync and also improve shipping connectivity between the two nations.

He further added that mutual recognition of standards and certifications will have a positive impact on the trade and electrical machinery vertical.

Counselor Do Thanh Hai spoke about the flow of economic and trade opportunities between Vietnam and India despite the pandemic, saying the economic and trade exchange will pick up in the time to come.

There is a restructuring of the global supply chain and both nations have the capabilities to take advantage of the opportunity. With the strategic location of both nations and change in reforms, there will be an increase in trade exchange and will be a driving engine for the global economy in near future, he said./. 

EVFTA fuels Vietnam’s imports from EU

Since the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect, the country’s imports from the EU have been rising sharply, with many commodities posting import value of billions of US dollars.

The EVFTA, which took effect on August 1 last year, has given an impulse to bilateral exportation and importation, with Vietnam currently recording trade surplus with the EU.

In the first half of 2021, the country’s exports to the EU stood at 19.3 billion USD while imports from this bloc grew 17.2 percent from a year earlier to 8.14 billion USD. The import turnover was 14.65 billion USD in 2020, up 4.3 percent year on year.

The largest EU exporters to Vietnam consist of Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and Ireland, which accounted for 85 percent of the country’s total imports from the EU last year.

Computers, electronic products and components; machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts; along with pharmaceutical products are the main groups of items with billions-of-USD imports from the EU. They saw respective import turnover of 4.1 billion USD, 3.1 billion USD, and 1.75 billion USD last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The importation of meat and dairy products is also expected to increase strongly in the time ahead thanks to the EVFTA.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said under the deal, Vietnam eliminated import duties on 48.5 percent of the tariff lines, equivalent to 64.5 percent of the EU’s exports to the country, as soon as the agreement took effect.

After that, 91.8 percent of the tariff lines, equivalent to 97.1 percent of the bloc’s exports, will have their import duties removed in seven years. For the remaining 1.7 percent of the tariff lines, Vietnam will gradually lift duties in more than 10 years or apply the tariff-rate quota regime under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) commitments.

At present, agricultural and aquatic products, consumer goods, processed food, milk, and dairy products from the EU have yet to benefit from zero-percent tariffs in Vietnam. As livestock products hailing from the EU are still subject to the tax rate ranging 10 percent - 40 percent, imports of these commodities have grown but not at a fast pace.

However, import duties on the EU’s frozen pork, other types of pork, and chicken will be slashed to zero percent in seven, nine, and 10 years, respectively, since the EVFTA enforcement. Beef will enjoy this tax rate, from 20 - 30 percent at present, in the next three years.

Vietnam currently ranks 17th among trading partners of and 11th among exporters to the EU./. 

Webinar highlights Canada-ASEAN connections in business, education

Experts from Canada and ASEAN member countries as well as leaders of businesses of both sides gathered at an online conference on July 29 by York University's Centre for Asian Studies to discuss the Canada-ASEAN connectivity, especially in business and education.

Participants highlighted the Canada-ASEAN relations in business and education and sought ways to further deepen their collaboration.

Rhonda L. Lenton, President of York University reaffirmed commitments to expanding partnership with ASEAN as well as hope to explore new cooperation opportunities.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Cao Phong underlined the high cooperation potential between ASEAN and Canada in various fields.

He expressed his hope that connections among leading businesses of both sides will lie not only in trade and supply chains but also in investment, especially in the fields of green energy and climate change-related industries, thus completing the goal of developing green and sustainable economy.

Businesses from ASEAN and Canada should focus on making full use of existing agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he suggested.

The Vietnamese diplomat also proposed that the two sides strengthen collaboration in vocational training and giving training courses on economic laws to enterprises of both sides.

With more than 20,000 students studying in Canada, Vietnam is the fifth largest country in the number of students in the country, he noted. He held that ASEAN and Canada should strengthen activities to promote each other's tourism.

Ambassador Phong thanked Canada for its commitment of 3.5 million CAD to the ASEAN COVID-19 Respond Fund in the next five years. He asked Canada to support struggling ASEAN countries in dealing with the fourth COVID-19 wave.

As a dialogue partner of the ASEAN since 1977, Canada has contributed important resources to narrow development gap in the region. Since 2000, Canada has offered nearly 3.7 billion CAD to support development in ASEAN and its member countries.

Trade between Canada and ASEAN reached 26.6 billion CAD in 2020, a slight drop compared to 27.2 billion USD in 2019 due to COVID-19 impacts.

ASEAN is the fifth largest trade partner of Canada in 2020.

For his part, Richard Le Bars, head of the Canadian Mission to ASEAN, said that Canada is seeking ways to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) with ASEAN.

A bilateral FTA can bring considerable benefits to both sides, not only in trade and investment but also in people-to-people exchange and education.

Leonard F. Hutabarat, Indonesian Consul General to Toronto, said that there is high potential to boost trade between Canada and 10 ASEAN member countries where the middle class is growing and developing infrastructure is offering numerous opportunities for investors.

At the conference, participants also highlighted the valuable chances that may be brought from the close Canada-ASEAN relationship, while providing foundations allowing governments, universities and officials of Canada and ASEAN member countries to share information and foster partnership./. 

ASEAN-China trade surges 85 times in 30 years

Trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has skyrocketed by 85 times since the two sides established their dialogue relations 30 years ago.

Ren Hongbin, Chinese assistant minister of commerce was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying at a press conference on July 29 that China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 12 consecutive years. Last year, ASEAN also became China's largest trading partner.

In the first half of this year, bilateral trade continued robust expansion, registering a 38.2 percent year-on-year growth, he noted.

On the investment front, ASEAN has become one of China's major outbound investment destinations and sources of foreign direct investment, with cooperation booming in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, high-tech, the digital economy, and the green economy.

Mutual investment between China and ASEAN exceeded 310 billion USD as of June 2021, while the business revenue of Chinese enterprises from project contracts in ASEAN countries reached 350 billion USD.

Looking ahead, Ren said China would actively promote economic and trade ties with ASEAN by enhancing cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic and jointly pushing forward the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

The 18th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit will be held from September 10 to 13 in Nanning, the capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

With an exhibition area of 124,000 square meters, the expo this year will set up a special area for RCEP members and invite more countries and enterprises to take part, according to Liu Hongwu, Vice Governor of Guangxi Liu Hongwu./.

Vietnamese, Japanese firms shake hands in affordable housing project in Long An

The Vietnamese real estate developer Nam Long Group has partnered with Japan's Nishi Nippon Railroad Co. Ltd in the EHome Southgate housing project in the Mekong Delta province of Long An.

In its announcement on July 29, Nam Long Group said that this is the first time the Japanese firm has teamed up with the company in developing an affordable housing project with the price of an apartment at about 1 billion VND (43,565 USD).

Tran Xuan Ngoc, General Director of the Nam Long Group, said that although the EHome products do not bring Nam Long as much profit as those belonging to other segments. The firm is delighted to share with Nishi Nippon Railroad a common mission and vision in creating the valuable living environment and products for the community.

Meanwhile, Fukumori, chief representative of Nishi Nippon Railroad, said that Nam Long and Nishi Nippon Railroad have jointly developed six projects from small to large scales.

EHome is a highly appreciated affordable apartment product line of Nam Long. This product line has an average price of about 1 billion VND with three core values: Economy (affordable), Ecology (green living environment), Efficiency (effective design).

Nam Long introduced the product line for the first time in 2007. Since then, EHome has realized the dream of having a house for 5,000 households with income of 10-15 million VND per month.

The EHome Southgate, which covers 4.5 hectares of land in the area, was designed to have seven apartment blocks, equivalent to more than 1,400 apartments. The project is expected to have a synchronous utility infrastructure system and easily connect to the infrastructure of the competed Waterpoint River area.

Online sales of the project will start in the third quarter this year./. 

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes 

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS JULY 30

The US will not take any trade action against Vietnam