Any act that aims at manipulating the stock and corporate bond markets to gain illicit profits will be punished strictly, according to the Ministry of Finance.

A representative of the ministry said on April 6 that the recent wrongdoings in these markets related to FLC Group and Tan Hoang Minh Group are unfortunate cases, but the settlement shows the determination of the management agency in making the markets transparent.

The ministry is willing to coordinate with relevant agencies to strictly handle wongdoings.

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc recently sent an official dispatch requesting the State Securities Commission, the Accounting and Auditing Supervisory Department, and the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance to strengthen inspection and supervision over the implementation of regulations in auditing listed enterprises.

On April 5, the Ministry of Public Security decided to launch criminal proceedings against and detain Do Anh Dung, Chairman of the Tan Hoang Minh Group, on charges of "obtaining property by fraud".

Initial investigations found out that from July 2021 to March 2022, the 61-year-old man and many individuals in the group committed fraud by using three subsidiary companies – Ngoi Sao Viet Real Estate Investment LLC., Soleil Hotel Investment and Hotel Services JSC, and Cung Dien Mua Dong JSC - to distribute unlawful bonds nine times, totalling 10.3 trillion VND (450 million USD).

On March 29, the force also decided to launch criminal proceedings against and detain Trinh Van Quyet, Chairman of the FLC Group Joint Stock Company, pending investigations into suspicion of stock market manipulation.

Quyet is being investigated on the charge of "manipulating the stock market" and "concealing information in securities activities". On January 10, he sold 74.8 million FLC shares without any reports and notifications in advance as stipulated in regulations, triggering public concern. He was fined 1.5 billion VND (65,600 USD), the heaviest penalty in line with regulations, and banned from stock trading activities for five months.

Vietnam, New Zealand foster agriculture economies following COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnam and New Zealand affirmed their commitment to deepening the two countries’ agriculture and trade relationship at the second Vietnam - New Zealand Agricultural Dialogue held virtually on April 6.

The sides underlined that in order to realise the goal of lifting two-way trade turnover to 2 billion USD by 2024, increasing bilateral agricultural cooperation and connections between the two countries is key.

Vietnam’s agro-forestry-aquatic product export and  import turnover to New Zealand hit 549.2 million USD in 2021, posting a year-on-year growth of 11 percent. The country has exported mango, dragon fruit and rambutan, and is working to ship lime, pomelo and passion fruit to New Zealand.

The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries is supporting agriculture cooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) with activities in plant health, veterinary epidemiology and electronic certification.

These activities complement New Zealand’s ongoing development programme, which has a number of agriculture projects including the premium fruit development project in Tien Giang, the rural dam safety project in the central region, and the safe vegetables project in Binh Dinh. 

New Zealand will keep assisting the MARD’s greenhouse gas inventory capability through the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and New Zealand topped 1.56 billion USD last year, an increase of 14 percent, and by last December, Vietnam was New Zealand’s 15th largest trading partner.

Vietnam’s efforts in keeping foreign investors pay off

The disbursement of 4.42 billion USD of FDI in the first quarter of this year, a five-year high, is described as Vietnam’s successes in keeping foreign investors.

Although new FDI in Vietnam dropped sharply, the capital added to existing projects as well as contributions and share purchases in the first three months rose significantly.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment said during the period, Vietnam attracted a total of 8.9 billion USD in FDI, equivalent to 87.9 percent of the amount recorded last year.

The country attracted 322 new projects worth over 3.21 billion USD, up 37.6 percent in volume but down 55.5 percent in value year-on-year, of which the projects each with a registered capital of over 100 million USD accounted for up to 75 percent.

Since the beginning of this year, 228 projects registered to raise their capital by 4.06 billion USD, up 41.6 percent in volume and 93.3 percent in value year-on-year.

Meanwhile, capital contribution reached 1.63 billion USD, an increase of 102.6 percent from the same period last year.

HCM City sees positive signs of economic recovery

Ho Chi Minh City’s economy showed positive signs of recovery in the first quarter of this year with an estimated 1.88 percent growth of gross domestic product (GRDP) compared to the same period last year.

The growth, against a deep decline in the third and fourth quarters of 2021 with -24.97 percent and -11.64 percent, respectively, reflects the potential and vitality of local enterprises, she said at a meeting of the municipal People’s Committee on socio-economic growth in the first quarter of 2022 and key tasks for the second quarter.

In the period, 9,150 new enterprises were established with a total registered capital of nearly 146 trillion VND (6.3 billion USD). More than 98 percent of production facilities in the city have resumed operations, allowing smooth and uninterrupted circulation of goods.

Despite negative effects by the COVID-19 pandemic, the import and export turnover of HCM City continued to maintain a recovery momentum. The city’s total goods export turnover in the first three months of this year was estimated at 11.9 billion USD, up 3.5 percent over the last year’s figure while import turnover reached 17.4 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 18.4 percent.

Total state budget revenue in the first quarter of this year was estimated at more than 121 trillion VND, accounting for 31.3 percent of the estimate and increasing by 9.4 percent over the same period.

 Measures sought to support businesses in expanding foreign trade

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on April 5 held a conference to evaluate trade promotion activities in the first quarter of this year and seek ways to help localities, economic sectors and businesses surmount difficulties and build strategies to expand international trade activities in the new situation.

Addressing the event, MoIT Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai highlighted positive signs in foreign trade so far this year, noting that in the first quarter of this year, Vietnam’s total import-export value hit 176.35 billion USD, up 14.4 percent year on year, with exports rising 12.9 percent and trade surplus reaching 809 million USD.

Ngo Sy Hoai, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFORES) said he hopes Vietnamese Trade Offices abroad will help promote the image of Vietnam as a world leading hub of wood processing and export with resolute determination to develop the wood sector sustainably using green and legal material sources. He asked the Vietnamese Trade Office in the US to give early alert on trade remedies in this market, so that domestic firm can prepare response measures.

Meanwhile, Dinh Quoc Thai, General Secretary of the Vietnam Steel Association suggested that the MoIT provide information of import countries’ trade defence investigations against steel products.

Le Hoang Tai, Vice Director of the MoIT’s Trade Promotion Agency said that this year, the agency will continue to organise many activities to support the export of Vietnamese products to foreign markets. This year, the national programme on trade promotion will spend 80.41 percent of its budget for export promotion.

Vietnam welcomes UK's support in renewable energy development

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) welcomes offers given by developed countries, including the UK, to support Vietnam in building legal frameworks and provide Vietnam with necessary technologies, experience and capital to develop renewable energy in order to realise commitments at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), stated Deputy Minister Dang Hoang An.

An made the statement during a meeting with Graham Stuart, UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and the UK Ambassador to Vietnam in Hanoi on April 5.

At the meeting, the two sides underlined the success of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) after one year of implementation despite COVID-19 impacts.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show trade revenue between Vietnam and the UK reached 6.6 billion USD in 2021, up 17.2 percent year on year, with Vietnam’s exports of nearly 5.8 billion USD. Particularly, the export revenue of steel products surged over 1,404 percent.

The two sides discussed a plan to organise the 12th meeting of the Vietnam - UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO 12) in May in London.

Vietjet offers promotional tickets on several int'l routes

Vietjet is offering 8,888 discounted tickets priced from only zero đong (excluding tax and fees) on several routes.

The promotional airfares are available during three 'golden days' from April 5 to April 7. They are for routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia with a flexible travel period from April 12 to December 31.

Vietjet will provide all passengers with 15kg of free checked baggage when booking tickets from Vietnam to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand on these promotional days, with the flight period until May 25.

Da Nang calls for investment from Samsung Vietnam

The central city of Da Nang will offer the most favourable conditions for Samsung to expand cooperation and investment in the city and central Vietnam.

The city’s Party secretary Nguyen Van Quang made the remarks in a meeting with the General Director of Samsung Vietnam Choi Joo Ho during a visit to Da Nang on April 1. Quang said Samsung Vietnam had invested in the north and south of Vietnam but not yet in central provinces and cities.

He expects Samsung Vietnam to eye investment in high-tech and information technology and software parks in Da Nang, where infrastructure is available for investors.

Choi Joo Ho said Samsung Vietnam had built six plants, including two smartphone factories in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen provinces, and an R&D centre and a home electronic appliance manufacturing factory in Ho Chi Minh City since it set up investment in Vietnam in 2008.

He asked Da Nang to support Samsung Vietnam’s trading activities in the city, including the 5G network project.

ADB maintains forecast for Vietnam’s GDP growth at 6.5 percent this year

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) maintained its forecast for Vietnam’s GDP growth at 6.5 percent in 2022 and projected the economy to further expand by 6.7 percent in 2023, it was heard at a press conference in Hanoi on April 6 morning.

Much was expected of the economy last year, but the resurgence of COVID-19 has pulled down the GDP growth to just 2.6 percent, according to ADB Country Director for Vietnam Andrew Jeffries.

Vietnam’s economy is expected to rebound to 6.5 percent this year and further expand to 6.7 percent in 2023, due to the high vaccination rate, he said, adding that this will allow the government to implement more flexible virus control measures, push for trade expansion, further accelerate regional partnership and boost tourism.

According to the report, a recovering labour market, along with monetary and fiscal stimulus measures of the government’s Economic Recovery and Development Programme, will spur industrial growth by a projected 9.5 percent in 2022. Agriculture output is expected to grow 3.5 percent this year, on revived domestic demand and rising global commodity prices.

The ADB forecast Asia’s developing economies to grow 5.2 percent this year and 5.3 percent in 2023, thanks to a robust recovery in domestic demand and continued expansion in exports. Inflation in the region remains manageable but is forecast to rise to 3.7 percent this year, before moderating to 3.1 percent in 2023.

Wooden furniture firms full of orders through Q3

Many enterprises in the wood industry have received enough orders to keep their workers busy throughout the third quarter and even to the end of this year thanks to their quick resumption of production. 

The industry has seen a slight growth in the first quarter, with export revenue of wood and wooden furniture rising 3 percent year on year to 3.94 billion USD.

The export of wooden furniture to markets covered by the CPTPP has surged, he said, adding that further growth is forecast to continue in the future as many companies are speeding up production to deliver the orders they have received for the second quarter.

Thanks to the CPTPP, Vietnam has enjoyed many advantages in the US, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Korea and Japan, he noted, lauding domestic firms’ efforts to increase added value for their products, form material regions and set up production chains.

If the sector maintains its average export revenue of about 1.5 billion USD per month, its target of 16.5 billion USD for this year is completely reachable, he said.

Amid impacts from the fluctuations in input costs on the wood sector, a project to boost the sustainable and effective growth of the sector in the 2021-2030 period was approved in March, which sets a target of bringing Vietnam’s exports of wood and wooden products to 18.5 billion USD in 2025 and 20.4 billion USD in 2030.

The 2021-2030 project on the wood processing industry’s sustainable development aims to turn the sector into a key economic industry and promote the trademark of Vietnamese wood products domestically and internationally.

Vietnam aims to send 90,000 labourers abroad to work under contract in 2022

This year, the Department of Overseas Labour under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs aims to send 90,000 labourers abroad to work under contract, while expanding the market for Vietnamese labour to Europe and Australia.

Due to COVID-19 impacts, last year, Vietnam completed only 50 percent of its yearly target in labour export with 45,058 workers sent abroad. Thanks to wide-scale vaccination against COVID-19 and the changes in pandemic control strategies towards adapting to the pandemic, many countries have opened their doors for foreign workers, including those from Vietnam.

Specifically, Taiwan resumed the reception of foreign labourers from February, while the Republic of Korea (RoK) announced that it need 59,000 foreign workers in 2022, and Japan has loosened entry regulations to raise the number of arrivals from 3,500 to 5,000 daily from March.

As of March 15, 2022, Vietnam had sent 2,026 labourers abroad to work under labour contracts, including 451 to Japan, 363 to Singapore, 325 to the Republic of Korea, 248 to Taiwan and 99 to Hungary.

US looks into evasion of anti-dumping duties and subsidies on local solar panels

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced the initiation of an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tax evasion investigation into solar panels imported from several markets, including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

The products which are set to be placed under investigation are crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules (CSPV), mainly under HS codes: 8501.71, 8501.72, 8501.80, 8507.20, 8541.42, and 8541.43.

This comes after the United States plaintiff accused Vietnamese enterprises of evading anti-dumping and anti-subsidy taxes that the US is currently applying to solar battery products imported from China.

Specifically, these firms have been accused of importing starting materials, such as silicon wafers, from China, processing, assembling, and making "insignificant changes" to them to produce photovoltaic cells and modules for export to the US.

Tuna exports to Canada double following sharp fall

After enduring a deep decline in late 2021, Vietnamese tuna exports to Canada have enjoyed constant growth in the opening months of the year, with the export value to this market also doubling compared to the time prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to statistics released by Vietnam Customs, the total value of Vietnamese tuna exports to Canada by the end of February had reached US$7.5 million, representing a year-on-year rise of 52%, with this figure being the strongest growth after months of decline.

At present, Vietnam is mainly exporting frozen tuna with code HS0304 to this market, making up 74% of the total export value in the first two months of the year.

Furthermore, the country is currently the second largest tuna supplier to the Canadian market, after Thailand, accounting for 12% of their total tuna import volume in 2021.

In terms of the frozen tuna market segment HS030487, Vietnam is the largest supplier to the highly lucrative market. Indeed, while Thailand's market share decreased, the Vietnamese market share showed an upward trend in 2021.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP