Despite being affected by general difficulties, the growth rate of the construction industry achieved about 8-8.5 per cent this year, contributing to bringing the economy's overall growth rate surpassing the 6-6.5 per cent plan set by the Government.

Timely control of the real estate market is one of the recognised successes in the State management of the Ministry of Construction.

The Ministry of Construction has comprehensively assessed the market to point out the shortcomings and propose solutions to ensure the real estate market's safe, healthy and sustainable development.

The Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi has worked immediately with several localities such as Ha Noi, HCM City, Da Nang, Can Tho, Hai Phong and real estate businesses to review, urge and guide to remove difficulties and obstacles in project implementation.

Along with regularly monitoring market developments, the Ministry of Construction proactively informs, forecasts and promptly takes measures to respond to abnormal market fluctuations, and promptly handles "hot" issues.

Typically, it has reported to the Prime Minister and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Economic Committee on the impact of the unusually-high land use right auction winning results on the real estate market; proposed several solutions related to the amendment of policies and laws on auction and strengthen the management, inspection and handling of violations in the auction of land use rights in the localities.

In addition, the ministry coordinated with the State Bank of Viet Nam to assess the situation and evolution of capital flows into the real estate market and propose appropriate solutions.

The real estate market has shown signs of recovery and development, with the total number of transactions of apartments, individual houses and land plots higher than last year.

The product absorption rate in most segments is high, and the rate of office vacancy and commercial space for rent gradually decreased.

The market has re-balanced between investment and business activities, and buying and selling for use. However, the market still faces a supply shortage in all product segments, an inappropriate structure of goods, a severe lack of affordable social and commercial housing, and high transaction prices.

Real estate supply is limited in all segments. Transaction prices in many segments remained at a high level at the end of the second quarter of this year, affecting the liquidity and trading volume of the market, especially the secondary market.

Logistics services grow by 15% in 2022

Members of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) recorded a business growth rate of about 15% this year, contributing to the country’s all-high trade value of 732 billion USD.

As of December 30, VLA admitted additional 128 members, bringing its total membership to 659.

This year, VLA sent over 20 documents to State management agencies, detailing proposals such as waiver and reduction of seaport fees in Ho Chi Minh City and the northern port city of Hai Phong. As a result, the two localities adopted the policy for each case.

Via forums of the National Steering Committee on ASEAN Single Window, National Single Window and Trade Facilitation (Committee 1899), the Government also recognised the need to turn logistics into a national competitive.

The VLA also initiated a scheme to develop a fleet of international container ships to ease dependency on foreign ship operators, given that about 90% of Vietnam’s export-import goods are via waterway and over 90% of them are carried by foreign vessels.

Recently on December 29, the Saigon Newport Corporation and Vietnam Maritime Corporation welcomed Container Tan Cang Foundation container ship to the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho from Hai Phong city, showing their efforts to launch regular ship services between the two cities, contributing to reducing logistics costs and opening up a new development way for export-import in the Mekong Delta.

Also for the first time this year, VLA has embarked on a project to improve logistics capacity at the provincial and municipal level. It also actively held and attended many forums on logistics and relevant fields, particularly the Vietnam Logistics Forum 2022 held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, thus raising public awareness of the crucial role of logistics services in the socio-economic life.

It also won the right to host the World Congress of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Association (FIATA) in 2025 in Hanoi.

Viettel’s subsidiary in Cambodia named as best internet service provider

Metfone, the Cambodian affiliate of Vietnam’s telecoms group Viettel, has been accredited as the best internet service provider in Cambodia in 2022 by the UK-based magazine Global Business Outlook (GBO).

According to Cambodian media, this is the first time Metfone has been honored by GBO based on the company’s high quality fiber-to- the-home (FTTH) Internet service, customer care and good preferential policy for customer benefits.

The award also recognises Metfone’s efforts and achievements in keeping up with market trends and providing comprehensive FTTH Internet services, as well as its ability to innovate.

The accreditation was independently evaluated by leading GBO experts and researchers. Evaluation criteria included infrastructure, network system, quality, sales policy and customer care.

Inaugurated in 2009, Metfone is currently the largest telecommunications and digital technology company in Cambodia.

Foreign media commend Vietnam’s economic growth

A number of foreign news agencies and media groups have hailed Vietnam's booming economy with a GDP growth rate of 8.02% this year.

Singapore’s straitstimes.com commented that Vietnam’s economy grew at the fastest pace in Asia this year. The US’s CNN called it the fastest growth rate since 1997 while the UK’s BBC stressed that it was the highest growth posted from 2011-2022, the main driver of which was the export sector and strong retail sales.

The figure was released amid concerns about the global economic slowdown and its impact on export demand from Vietnam, a major producer of apparel, footwear and electronics for major international brands.

Russia’s Sputnik news agency said thanks to this miraculous economic growth, low inflation, booming imports-exports, political stability and brilliant diplomatic successes, Vietnam had emerged as one of the rare spotlights in the gloomy landscape of recession and crisis covering the world.

It quoted the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ranking as saying that Vietnam has continuously been named in the group of 30 countries and territories with the biggest trade value globally. In particular, while many ASEAN countries have not moved up in the rankings in recent years, Vietnam has leapt with total trade value of over 700 billion USD this year.

Bloomberg said Vietnam’s economy grew faster than expected this year, signaling momentum towards a recovery following the pandemic.

The better-than-expected showing gives Vietnam’s central bank the space to wait-and-watch before deciding to pivot monetary policy away from tightening, it added.

According to Reuters and Hong Kong’s asiafinancial.com, though the economy in 2022 grew at the fastest pace in many years, economists warned it is facing headwinds ahead, with weakening global demand having already impacted shipments.

The full-year data showed that the US remained Vietnam's biggest importer, with an estimated turnover of 109 billion USD. Meanwhile, China is the biggest seller to Vietnam, with estimated sales worth more than 119 billion USD. In 2022, it is estimated that Vietnam had a trade surplus of 11.2 billion USD, higher than the 3.32 billion USD recorded in the previous year.

HCM City’s consumer price index drops slightly in December

Unlike previous months, Ho Chi Minh City recorded a month-on-month decline of 0.07% in its December consumer price index (CPI), the municipal Statistics Office said on December 30.

Two of the 11 groups of main consumer goods and services witnessed price decreases, namely transport (down 3.05% from last month) and garment, footwear and headwear (down 0.1%).

Prices of the nine remaining groups increased from November, including food and catering services (up 0.48%); drinks and tobacco (0.33%); housing, electricity, water, fuel, and construction materials (0.15%); education (0.18%); medicine and medical services (0.01%).

While the local December CPI went up 4.92% from December 2021, this year’s index grew 2.73% from last year.

Also in December, gold prices fall 0.31% and US dollar prices down 2.53% from last month. The respective prices in 2022 increased 16.95% and 1.14% from 2021, according to the office.

2023 state budget revenue estimate up 0.4%: report

State budget revenue in 2023 is projected at 1.62 quadrillion VND (68.5 billion USD), up 0.4% from 2022, according to a report on state budget, which was exclusively made for the public.

Under the report, recently released by the Ministry of Finance, state budget expenditures would be 2.07 quadrillion VND, a rise of 16.3% as compared with this year’s estimate.

Meanwhile, the country’s GDP is expected to grow about 6.5% and GDP per capita income would reach some 4,400 USD. The manufacturing and processing sector is set to make up from 25.4 - 25.8% of the national GDP and the consumer price index (CPI) would increase by around 4.5% in the year. The poverty rate is hoped to reduce 1-1.5%.

The State budget overspending is projected at 455.5 trillion VND, equivalent to 4.42% of the national GDP.

The report also introduces major solutions relating to financial and State budget management in the year, focusing on responding to complicated changes in the domestic and international situation, maintaining macro-economic stability, controlling inflation and ensuring major economic balances.

It mentions consolidating the State budget collection system, and amending, supplementing and perfecting tax management institutions to ensure the accurate and timely collection of taxes and fees.

The responsibility of leaders of relevant agencies will be promoted and unnecessary expenditures will be cut, according to the report.

Work starts on specialties trade centre in An Giang province

The construction of a trade centre showcasing specialties of Vietnam began in Mekong Delta province of An Giang on December 30.

Spanning over 20,000 sq.m in Chau Doc district, the centre has a total investment of more than 66 billion VND (nearly 2.8 million USD).  It includes zones that sell regional specialties of Vietnam, pedestrian streets, food courts of Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, as well as areas that sell agricultural products and event venues.

Lam Quang Thi, Secretary, Chairman of Chau Doc city’s People’s Committee, said the construction of the centre will contribute to boosting the development of Chau Doc tourism industry.

This year, the city has welcomed more than 4.1 million visitors and revenue from the tourism sector is over 3 trillion VND, he noted, adding that currently each tourist spends an average of only 800,000 VND per day.

Forestry exports approximate 17 billion USD in 2022

This year’s forestry exports are estimated at over 16.9 billion USD, up 6.1% from 2021, according to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry.

The value includes about 15.85 billion USD worth of timber and wood products, rising 7%, and 1.1 billion USD worth of non-timber products, falling 1.3%.

Meanwhile, timber and wood product imports increased 4.1% to 2.82 billion USD.

That resulted in a trade surplus of 14.1 billion USD, up 6.5% from last year, statistics show.

Despite market fluctuations due to impacts of the Russia - Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, forestry exports have still been on the rise thanks to the Government’s directions, ministries and sectors’ moves, and businesses’ efforts to surmount difficulties, Deputy General Director Bui Chinh Nghia told the administration’s conference in Hanoi on December 30.

The US, Japan, China, the EU, and the Republic of Korea were the main markets, purchasing 15.48 billion USD worth of forestry products from Vietnam, equivalent to over 90% of the total.

For 2023, the sector targets 17.5 billion USD worth of forestry exports, a growth rate of 5 - 5.5% in forestry production value, and forest coverage maintained at 42%, Nghia noted.

Da Nang ranks third in economic growth in 2022

The central city of Da Nang ranked third in terms of economic growth and 17th in economic scale nationwide in 2022, the municipal Department of Statistics reported at a press conference on December 30. 

Data of the agency show that Da Nang leads the five cities in the central key economic zone both in economic growth and size. 

According to General Director of the Department of Statistics Tran Van Vu, thanks to great efforts from the municipal Party Committee, authorities, businesses and people, Da Nang’s socio-economic development has been flourishing, and many key economic sectors have recovered quickly and produced breakthroughs. 

Solutions to support businesses and social security policies have been implemented effectively, he added. 

The city’s GDRP rose by 14.05% year-on-year, and 6.34% compared to 2019. 

The locality’s economic size totaled 125.2 trillion VND (over 5.29 billion USD), increasing over 17.38 trillion VND compared to 2021.

The service area holds the key position in the city’s economy with an estimated yearly growth of 17.85%, contributing 13.31 percentage points to the increase in the total value added (VA).

Strong growth recorded in revenue from retail, services

Revenue from retail sales of goods and services totalled about 515.8 trillion VND (21.87 billion VND) in December and over 1.54 quadrillion VND (65.3 billion USD) in the fourth quarter of 2022, a year on year rise of 17.1%, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Of the total, retail sales of goods reach 1.18 quadrillion VND (50.05 billion USD), a rise of 11.1% over the same period in previous year. Revenue from accommodation, catering and tourism services is 154.2 trillion VND, and that from other services 180 trillion VND, up 41.2% year on year. 

For the whole year, total revenue from retail sales of goods and services hits 5.67 quadrillion VND (240.5 billion USD), up 19.8% year on year, and 15% compared to 2019, the year before COVID-19 broke out.

The highest rise was seen in retail sales of cultural and education products at 22.9%, followed by garment and textile products at 19.1%, and travel means 13.8%, food and foodstuff 10%, and household appliances 7%.

Localities enjoying strong growth in the revenue include HCM City (26.4%), Da Nang (14.7), Can Tho (14.2%), Dong Nai (13.7%), Quang Ninh (12.1%), Hanoi (12%), and Hai Phong (10.4%).

According to the GSO, the goods market has been stable, the same as the supply and prices of goods.

In order to keep the market stable from now through the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will continue to coordinate closely with relevant ministries, sectors and localities to keep a close eye on market developments and ensure supply sources of necessities and launch market stabilisation programmes, thus preventing the shortage of goods or hike in prices.

Hoang Anh Duong, Vice Director of the Market Management Department under the MoIT said that inspections will be strengthened to combat smuggling, trade frauds and fake commodities and ensure food safety.

Number of newly-registered, reoperating firms up over 30% in 2022

There are 208,300 enterprises entering the Vietnamese market or resuming their operation in 2022, up 30.3% year-on-year, according to head of the General Statistics Office (GSO) Nguyen Thi Huong.

Specifically, this year, 148,500 registered to be set up, with a combined capital of 1.59 quadrillion VND (67.4 billion USD) and 981,300 labourers, up 27.1% in the number of firms, and 14.9% in the number of workers, and down 1.3% in capital year-on-year.

Meanwhile, 59,800 enterprises re-operated, up 38.8% year-on-year.

Also in this year, 73,800 firms suspended their operation, up 34.3% year-on-year; while nearly 50,800 ones stopped operating and waited for dissolution procedures, up 5.5%; and 18,600 completed dissolution procedures, up 11.2%.

A survey on business results of processing and manufacturing firms in the fourth quarter shows that 32.6% of the respondents said they saw better performances compared to the third quarter, while 33.7% saw their production and business stable, and the same proportion said they faced difficulties.

To support businesses, Huong proposed ministries and sectors ensure the supply of materials and energy to meet requirements of production and business recovery and socio-economic development; help solve difficulties facing important industrial projects; and provide maximum support for factories to maintain and restore production.

Vietnam Airlines increases flight frequency for year-end travel rush

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will offer an additional 500 flights or 90,000 seats on several domestic routes to serve travel demand for the upcoming Tet holiday.

Routes with added flights include HCM City to Hanoi, Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi and Chu Lai and Thanh Hoa to Da Lat.

A representative of Vietnam Airlines said that the airline has recorded a rapid growth in bookings in the days near Tet holiday. In particular, passengers are booking flights with earlier departure dates than in previous years. 

The national carrier increased flight frequency in August and early December to meet travel demand for Tet holiday, providing millions of seats on domestic and international networks.

The Tet 2023 will fall on January 22 and officials, civil servants, public employees and workers of State administrative and socio-political organisations will have seven days off from January 20 (Friday) to January 26 (Thursday) for Tet celebrations.

EVFTA alone is not enough for pepper to conquer European market

Although the Viet Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) appears to be a boon for Vietnamese pepper, expanding market reach in Europe requires much more than FTA-induced tariff advantages.

Hoang Thi Lien, chairman of the Vietnam Pepper Association, estimated that Viet Nam exported roughly 211,500 tonnes of pepper in the first 11 months of 2022, raking in US$911 million. Europe remained a major importer of Vietnamese pepper, taking about one-fourth of the pie.

As the country has entered into a free trade agreement with Europe, the pepper has become better positioned in the market. In the short term, EVFTA is expected to give it huge tariff advantages over its major competitors, including Indian and Malaysian pepper.

However, the chairman urged pepper firms not to take the advantages for granted as Europe has begun to raise the bar on imported pepper. Moreover, some countries are slated to strike their own FTAs with Europe in the years to come, further eroding the advantages.

The chairman also forecast that the demand for Vietnamese pepper would soar in Q2/2023 on the back of China's less restrictive stance on COVID-19.

Nguyen Nhat Minh, a representative from Vietnam Insight, said Europe is one of the largest pepper importers in the world, consuming one-third of global pepper exports. In the next five years, the market is expected to grow by around 2 per cent annually.

Viet Nam is one of the four countries in Asia that have signed FTAs with Europe. As the EVFTA has come into effect, Vietnamese pepper enjoys a preferential tariff of 0 per cent, putting it at a huge advantage over pepper from non-FTA countries.

However, tariff cuts are only part of the story. In fact, the FTA-induced advantages normally come with specific technical barriers to trade. Such barriers include strict regulations on Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) applicable to pepper.

Luong Phuoc Vinh, Southeast Asian regional manager of Tentamus Group, asserted that a closer tie between firms and farmers is needed to keep output stable and increase the proportion of processed pepper in total exports.

He urged Vietnamese farmers to shift from a quantity-focused to a quality-focused mindset to help Vietnamese pepper gain ground in the demanding European markets.

He also said it is tough to bring Vietnamese pepper to Europe, but it is tougher to get it to supermarket shelves as supermarkets set the bar on imported pepper higher than the bar set by European authorities.

Pham Minh Thong, general director of Phuc Sinh JSC, believed that the commitment to sustainable development would hold the key to commercial success in Europe. It is the case because European consumers prefer a sustainable way of production and consumption.

The general director urged Vietnamese firms to shift their focus to extensively processed pepper to strengthen their position in global markets. He took freeze-dried pepper as an example, which can be sold at a price six times that of ordinary black pepper. 

Viet Nam’s 2022 FDI remains a bright spot

Foreign investment in Viet Nam remains a bright spot on Viet Nam's economic picture, despite experiencing a year-on-year decrease in value, thanks to its disbursement reaching a five-year high.

Data from the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed as of December 20, there were 2,036 newly-registered foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth US$12.45 billion, up 17.1 per cent year-on-year in the number of projects, but down 18.4 per cent in value.

In addition, 1,107 projects had their capital adjusted, with a total amount of $10.12 billion, up 12.4 per cent and 12.2 per cent year-on-year, respectively.

Capital contributions and share purchases (foreign indirect investment or FII) were worth $5.15 billion, down 25.2 per cent. This figure makes total foreign investment in the country in 2022 topping $27.7 billion.

Meanwhile, FDI disbursement in 2022 is estimated at nearly $22.4 billion, up 13.5 per cent year-on-year, making it the highest amount in the past five years, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported.

Accumulated to December 20, 2022, the whole country has 36,278 valid projects with a total registered capital of approximately $438.7 billion. The accumulated realised capital of foreign investment projects topped $274 billion, equalling 62.5 per cent of the total valid registered investment capital.

Foreign investors poured funds into 19 out of 21 sectors in the national economic classification system, of which the processing and manufacturing industry maintained its lead in terms of attracting FDI with a total investment of over $16.8 billion, accounting for 60.6 per cent of the country’s total capital.

It was followed closely by real estate with a total investment of $4.45 billion, accounting for 16.1 per cent of the total registered investment capital; electricity production and distribution with over $2.26 billion, and scientific and technological activities with nearly $1.29 billion. The rest came to other sectors.

It is also worth noting that wholesale and retail, processing and manufacturing, and scientific and technological activities were the sectors with the largest number of newly-registered projects, accounting for 30 per cent, 25.1 per cent and 16.3 per cent of the total, respectively.

Among 108 nations and territories pouring capital into Viet Nam this year, Singapore ranked first with $6.46 billion. It was followed by the Republic of Korea ($4.88 billion), and Japan ($4.78 billion).

The foreign investors invested in 54 provinces and cities nationwide in 2022. HCM City came first with more than $3.94 billion, Binh Duong ranked second with a total investment capital of over $3.14 billion. Quang Ninh ranked third with a total registered investment capital of $2.37 billion.

Export including crude oil was estimated at $276.5 billion or a year-on-year increase of 12 per cent, accounting for 74.4 per cent of the country’s export turnover. Export excluding crude oil was over $274.1 billion, with a yearly increase of 11.8 per cent, accounting for 73.8 per cent of the country’s export turnover.

Imports from the foreign investment sector attained more than $234.7 billion or 7.4 per cent year-on-year increase, accounting for 65.1 per cent of the country’s import turnover.

In 2022, the FDI sector saw a trade surplus of $41.8 billion, while the domestic sector had a trade surplus of more than $30.8 billion.

In 2022, the country’s total newly-registered and additional investment were about $534 million and it was $367 million in 2021. As many as 109 projects were granted new investment registration certificates, with a total registered capital of $426.6 million and 26 projects registered for capital adjustment of $107.4 million. 

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