President Vo Van Thuong on February 20 signed a decision approving the extension of the disbursement deadline of a project on basic infrastructure for comprehensive development of four central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri, using loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Under the decision, Agreement No.3634-VIE and Agreement No.3635-VIE (COL) related to the project will be amended on the basis of the Government’s request to extend the implementation time to September 30, 2025.

The ADB had committed to providing loans of 52 million USD (Agreement No.3634-VIE) and 97 million USD (Agreement No.3635-VIE (COL) for the project.

The extension of the disbursement deadline allows management agencies to continue to use the ADB's concessional loans, promoting socio-economic development in the target localities.

Conference seeks measures for shrimp sector's sustainable development

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien ordered localities, especially those in Mekong Delta, to focus on developing the supply chain and high-quality larvae so as to improve shrimp values and sustainably broaden the sector.

Speaking at a conference held in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu on February 23, Tien stressed the need to complete the infrastructure system in farming areas, advance green production, and apply digital technology into aquafarming.

Farmers raised 10,094 white-leg shrimps and 20,000 giant tiger prawns in 2023 for domestic consumption and export, accounting for 90.1% of the figures in 2022, according to the Directorate of Fisheries.

This year, Vietnam eyes to cultivate shrimps in an area of 737,000 hectares with an expected yield of more than 1 million tonnes, while export revenue is projected at 4 – 4.3 billion USD.

Vietnam was in the world’s top 12 shrimp exporters in 2023, with shipments to 100 countries, including five largest markets of the US, Japan, China, the EU, and the Republic of Korea, and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that as climate change remains a challenge for the shrimp industry, climate resilient cultivation model is an urgent solution for the industry in the coming time.

Besides, higher investment costs will be a challenge for Vietnam to compete with its rivals such as Ecuador and India. However, VASEP forecasts shrimp export will recover and grow 10-15% this year.

At the conference, leaders from localities and enterprises discussed measures to raise the quality of shrimp larvae, expand environmentally-friendly farms, and build disease-free breeding establishments.

They also proposed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to scale up infrastructure investment to serve the shrimp industry’s development.

Purchasing power of overseas Vietnamese: Big boost for local real estate

The amended Land Law, which will take effect on January 1, 2025, is expected to boost Vietnam's real estate sector by attracting a huge amount of capital from overseas Vietnamese.

According to business insiders and lawmakers, the amended Land Law, which was approved by the National Assembly at its extraordinary session in January, is a great improvement over the previous version promulgated in 2013.

According to Article 4 of the revised Land Law, overseas Vietnamese are those who have resided in other countries with or without Vietnamese nationality. They will have full rights and obligations as residents in purchasing housing in Vietnam.

They can buy, rent, and lease land as part of their real estate rights. Overseas Vietnamese are allowed to use their land as collateral in business contracts.

According to business insiders and experts, the revised Land Law will allow overseas Vietnamese to conduct land transactions in Vietnam directly. Previously, they had to be represented by local relatives or acquaintances to handle the deals on their behalf, which led to legal disputes when it came to reclaiming property rights.

Peter Hong, President of the Overseas Vietnamese Businessmen Association, said overseas Vietnamese who want to return to Vietnam and buy local property face many obstacles.

There are now about 6.5 million overseas Vietnamese and their descendants, of whom more than 20% are interested in buying property and living in Vietnam, he said.

Official data from the Ministry of Construction shows that about four million foreigners and overseas Vietnamese are interested in buying Vietnamese homes in the future. The ministry also believes that a greater inflow of FDI capital into Vietnam will make the country's housing market more attractive to potential international buyers.

Legal advisor Nguyen Van Dinh said the revised Land Law will ease the conditions for Vietnamese and overseas Vietnamese to own local housing, thus increasing demand and boosting the real estate market.

Vo Huynh Tuan Kiet, Director of residential project marketing at consultancy firm CBRE Vietnam, said demand from overseas Vietnamese buyers is rising sharply. Over the past 10 years, CBRE Vietnam has brokered 5,000 deals in the Vietnamese property market, 45% of which involved foreign and overseas Vietnamese buyers.

"With high-end products now accounting for a large proportion of the market supply, we expected the easing of regulations to give a big boost to the sector," he said, noting that this (the revised amended land law) is a good way to attract talent from abroad, as highly skilled talents will come and seek long-term careers in Vietnam. In this case, their demand for quality accommodation will increase and boost the market.

Economist Dinh The Hien said people living abroad without Vietnamese citizenship would not be able to buy local property if the previous version of the law remained in place. "It does not define and clarify what it means to be an overseas Vietnamese. Meanwhile, it is complicated for them to prove that they are Vietnamese or of Vietnamese descent."

Overseas Vietnamese had to ask their relatives or acquaintances to sign contracts on their behalf, making the situation difficult to resolve if the trustees took advantage of their positions and claimed the properties for themselves, he said.

"The revised land law will put domestic and foreign buyers on an equal footing," Hien emphasized.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Anh Que, Chairman of G6 Group, believed that a more transparent and fair market would encourage more overseas Vietnamese to come back and pour money into Vietnam's housing market.

"The property market will get a boost from our overseas residents. Their purchasing power can absorb the supply, which is now excessive," he said.

Viet Nam is biggest trade partner of Canada in ASEAN

Viet Nam's trade value with Canada hit nearly CAD14 billion (or US$10.37 billion) in 2023, making the nation the biggest trade partner of Canada in ASEAN.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Vinh Quang released the above figure at a recent conference held in Ottawa, Canada.

At the event, Pham said, both Viet Nam and Canada share a common vision and interests about the Indo-Pacific.

Both nations committed to developing this region in an open, comprehensive and sustainable manner with respect for laws and regional structures to create a peaceful, and stable environment and promote closer economic linkage, he noted.

The two sides elevated ties to a comprehensive partnership in 2017, he said, adding that both countries are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The conference which took place in preparation for the upcoming visit of Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng to Viet Nam from March 27-29.

Mary Ng is expected to be accompanied by 150 businesses operating in such areas as food processing, biomedical, clean energy, new technology, information technology, creative technology and aviation.

The visit aims to strengthen Viet Nam-Canada comprehensive partnership and increase the presence of Canada in ASEAN.

This is the first trade mission in 2024 organized by the Canadian Government as Canada is implementing the Indo-Pacific Strategy worth CAD2.3 billion (US$1.7 billion).

Launched in November 2022, the ten-year strategy is expected to see Canada fulfilling the goals of promoting peace, resilience and security, expanding trade-investment and supply chain resilience, investing in and connecting people, building a sustainable and green future, and consolidating partnerships.

Quang Nam develops logistics services for offshore fishing, combat IUU fishing

Developing logistics services for offshore fishing is a key solution that the central province of Quang Nam will implement this year to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and promote sustainable fisheries development.

Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Pham Viet Tich said that the marine economy has become a spearhead economic sector of the locality. 

According to Tich, the provincial administration has invested thousands of billions of VND to renovate and upgrade Tam Quang and Tam Giang fishing ports in Nui Thanh district, Hong Trieu fishing port in Duy Xuyen district, Tam Phu fishing wharf port in Tam Ky city, and Thanh Ha port in Hoi An city. In 2024, hundreds of billions of VND will be invested in phase two of the expansion of An Hoa fishing port and logistics service complex.

In addition, the province has been encouraging the development of offshore services such as fuel and food supply or seafood purchasing as measures to develop a modern marine industry.  

Towards the goal of catching 195,000 tonnes of all kinds of seafood in 2024, the province is accelerating a programme on upgrading fishing vessels’ capacity and equipping all offshore vessels with Icom and GPS satellite navigation devices, the official said, noting that modern communication devices not only help fishermen promptly support each other at sea but also allow authorities to monitor fishermen's work, thereby they can make proper adjustments and support offshore fishing vessels. 

In addition, Quang Nam province will also further coordinate with forces such as the border guards, the fisheries control force, the coast guards and coastal localities to regularly organise communications activities to increase fishermen’s understanding of regulations, particularly those related to IUU fishing.

Le Minh Tri, the captain of an offshore fishing vessel in Tam Hai island commune, Nui Thanh district, Quang Nam province said on February 21 before his vessel set off for the first fishing trip in the Lunar New Year 2024 that local fishermen wish to continue receiving Government’s support in fuel and insurance for crew and vessels.

Before the trip, Tri together with captains and owners of all 22 fishing vessels with a capacity of at least 700 CV in the commune met with the president of the commune fishing association to agree on fishing schemes and targets, vowing that no vessel would violate regulations when working at sea.

PM orders SOEs to improve production, business efficiency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to reform governance, improve production and business efficiency, and strongly promote development investment.

In his directive signed on February 22, the government leader attributed Vietnam’s significant achievements in 2023 partly to important contributions by SOEs.

Last year, their total revenue was estimated at over 1,652 quadrillion VND (67.1 billion USD) and their pre-tax profit around 125.8 quadrillion VND, 4% and 8% higher than the respective targets. The firms contributed about 166 quadrillion VND to the state budget, 8% higher than the target, statistics show.

SOEs have increasingly shown their leading role in important and essential sectors of the economy, helping stabilise the macro-economy, control inflation, boost growth, guarantee major economic balances, and promote socio-economic development and national defence, he noted.

However, PM Chinh also pointed out certain shortcomings, saying some SOEs have yet to fully capitalise on the state resources, capital, and assets assigned to them or meet investment disbursement targets; some posted losses; their competitiveness, science - technology application, innovation, and digital transformation remain limited; and corporate governance reform is still slow.

Given this, he demanded SOEs, especially their presidents, general directors/directors, and the persons representing the state capital at those firms to improve their awareness and sense of responsibility towards the management of the state capital and assets entrusted to them.

He told them to promote the self-reliance spirit, proactiveness, creativity, and the readiness to think big, act bold, and bear responsibility for the sake of national interests.

The SOEs were asked to fruitfully and efficiently carry out the plan on enterprise restructuring for the 2021 - 2025 period, their development strategies, annual and five-year production, business, and investment plans, along with related tasks and directions issues by the Government and the PM.

They were also asked to step up nationally key projects in important fields to create momentum for sectors and the entire economy to grow, carry out timely capital disbursement to accelerate investment projects, and consider increasing investment in innovation and emerging sectors.

The enterprises need to prioritise resources for their core business fields, address the scattering and ineffectiveness of investment, improve the innovation capacity, reform and align their corporate governance models with international practices, re-organise apparatuses, enhance competitiveness in the domestic and international markets, and create foundation for building development orientations and strategic visions for the next period, the Government leader demanded.

He also ordered them to overfulfill production and business targets to make the biggest possible contributions to guaranteeing major balances of the economy, stabilising the macro-economy, generating revenue for the state budget, creating jobs and ensuring the life of workers, and implementing social security policies.

In addition, PM Chinh asked SOEs to continue upholding their way-paving and leading role in the economy and ensure that they are the pioneer force in terms of innovation, digital transformation, and economic recovery.

In his directive, the PM also assigned tasks to SOEs operating in certain fields, ministries, sectors, the People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, and the agencies representing the state capital at those businesses.

Vietnam attends tourism fair in India

Da Nang city’s Tourism Department, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, and the Vietnam Travel and Marketing Transports Joint Stock Company  (Vietravel) have opened booths to promote Vietnam tourism at the 31st South Asian Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE 2024) in Greater Noida, India.

This year, the SATTE taking place from February 22-24 brings together more than 1,800 exhibitors, over 800 hosted international and domestic buyers, and agents/operators/professionals from over 120 Indian cities and towns. It has attracted more than 48,000 visitors.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Vietnamese booths at the fair, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai pledged continued support for localities and enterprises to promote Vietnam’s image in general and tourism products in particular as well as activities to promote Vietnam-India socio-economic development cooperation.

India is now the fourth biggest foreign tourism market of Da Nang city. The number of Indian tourists to the city accounts for 60% of total number of Indian tourists to Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines aims to achieve revenue of 40 million USD in the Indian market in 2024. It operates 14 direct flights per week between Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City and the Indian cities of New Delhi and Mumbai.

Hanoi to add 7.1 million sq.m of residential space this year

 The total housing area is expected to exceed 7.1 million square meters by 2024, according to Hanoi's Development Plan for 2024 released by the city's People's Committee.

Based on the targets set in the Housing Development Plan for 2021-2025, Hanoi defines the housing development targets for 2024 as 4.5 million square meters of self-built housing and about 2.685 million square meters of project-based housing. Project-based housing includes about 2.573 million square meters of commercial housing, 0.078 million square meters of social housing and 0.034 million square meters of resettlement housing.

The average floor area per person in the city is expected to reach 28.8 square meters in 2024, based on the average target achieved in 2023 (28.6 square meters per person) and the completion of housing projects in the city in the last months of 2024.

To achieve these goals, one of the city's solutions is to focus on reviewing and studying policy mechanisms to guide and resolve difficulties and obstacles for slow-moving urban projects and encourage and support housing projects.

Investors will be held accountable for failing to deliver projects on time and ensure a synchronized technical and social infrastructure. Hanoi will also take decisive measures to address and even cancel delayed projects, thus creating momentum for the healthy development of the property market.

For social housing development, the city will speed up approval procedures for independent and concentrated social housing projects and pay close attention to selecting qualified investors through tenders.

According to the plan, Hanoi will also review the use of the required 20% and 25% of land in commercial housing and urban projects for social housing, following the guidelines of the Ministry of Construction.

It will also review and identify the need for social housing and housing for workers in the city's industrial zones.

For the development of resettlement housing, by the guidance of the Hanoi Party Committee on purchasing commercial housing for resettlement, the city will pilot a feasible and effective ordering mechanism to meet the future demand for resettlement housing.

The city will also continue to push for the completion of ongoing resettlement housing projects, especially the publicly funded ones.

Vietnam’s fruit exports gain momentum in early 2024

The value of Vietnam’s fruit exports in January reached US$510 million, up 24.9% compared to December 2023 and 112.1% against January 2023, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

“In the context of ongoing economic challenges, this industry is proving to be a typical example of quick adaptation to market changes,” noted the ministry in a report.

Looking back at 2023, many types of fruit experienced surprising growth. A notable example is durian, whose exports in 2023 reached $2.2 billion, a 430.1% increase compared to the previous year.

Dragon fruit ranked second with an export value of $523 million, followed by bananas at $242 million jackfruit at $168 million, and mangoes at $154 million. Mangoes are also seen as having a strong potential for a breakthrough in the coming year. In recent years, only a small amount of mangoes have been exported, with the majority of this specialty fruit still being consumed domestically, indicating significant export potential.

The MARD suggested that with the achievements in 2023, the outlook for fruit exports in 2024 is very optimistic, as many types of Vietnamese fruits dominate large markets worldwide.

“It is projected that the export value of fruits in 2024 will exceed $6.5 billion,” it said.

The main factors driving the fruit industry toward achieving its goals in 2024 include: The demand in the largest fruit export market, China, remains high, and Vietnam is still negotiating with China to export more products directly to this market. Meanwhile, Vietnam continues to boost exports to major markets such as the US, EU, Australia, and South Korea.

On the issue of understanding market supply and demand, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan believes that Vietnam has moved to a market mechanism and therefore needs to change its mindset to keep up with the times.

"In the past, our approach involved meticulous annual planning of rice, chicken, eggs, and other produce, guided by a centralized management mindset. We calculated per capita consumption based on population and adjusted production accordingly. State intervention ensured that these quotas were met through state-owned enterprises and cooperatives. But now we've moved fully to a market-driven model, with global market integration,” Minister Le Minh Hoan highlighted the challenge of predicting global consumption trends, emphasizing the dynamic nature of the market.

"Nowadays, planning for agricultural products cannot be like it was in the past. Instead, based on market information through businesses - those closest to the market, each year we can use partners to provide a certain framework for us to guide people to produce according to market signals," he continued.

Regarding the mindset of building resource regions for production, Hoan believed that it was still necessary to build resource regions to a certain extent to at least ensure domestic consumption.

As for expansion, Hoan expected the country to find pathways, markets, and market signals that it could connect through bilateral or multilateral agreements, and agricultural and trade agreements with other countries to expand the world's consumption space, in addition to the domestic consumption space.

Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover reached over $5.57 billion, marking a 65.6% increase compared to 2022.

The top 10 export markets for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables include China, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Netherlands, Taiwan (China), Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia.

Particularly, China remained the largest importer of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, with a value of $3.64 billion in 2023, representing a nearly 140% increase in value and a 65% increase in market share compared to the same period in 2022.

New 500kV power line behind schedule

The 500kV circuit 3 power transmission line, which links Quang Trach in Quang Binh Province and Pho Noi in Hung Yen Province, is falling behind schedule due to construction delays by multiple contractors. The 514-kilometer power line requires VND23,000 billion, or nearly US$1 billion.

Work began on the project in October 2023 and it is expected to be finished by June this year. However, support tower foundation excavation and piling by several contractors have been slower than planned, affecting the progress of the entire project, according to the National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT), a unit of State utility Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN).

Those contractors have been urged to mobilize sufficient manpower to get their work done on schedule.

The new 500kV line will play a vital role in bolstering power supply nationwide and fortifying northern Vietnam against potential electricity shortages in the future.

Northern Vietnam was hit by severe power outages in May and June last year, which a World Bank report said caused damage of US$1.4 billion.

Further efforts needed to solve human resources shortage for semiconductor industry: Experts

As Vietnam is calling for investment in the semiconductor industry, experts held that the country should work harder to make a breakthrough in human resources development serving the growth of the industry.

Data from the national science and technology portal showed that as of the end of 2023, Vietnam had recorded more than 5,500 chip design engineers. Meanwhile, the country needs 5,000-10,000 engineers each year, but its human resources supply capacity is only less than 20%.

Semiconductor products have been defined by the Government as one of the nine national products in the country’s efforts to actively engage in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

With an investment increase seen in the semiconductor industry recently, Vietnam can become a partner of many big countries in the field.

A report by Technavio predicted that the Vietnamese semiconductor market may expand about 6.5% each year in the 2021-2025 period. However, human resources shortage has been the greatest challenge of the industry.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), currently, Vietnam has 35 tertiary training establishments capable of providing semiconductor training programmes, but the number of experienced ones is few.

MoET Deputy Minister Hoang Minh Son said that human resources shortage is one of the major factors making investors hesitate to pour their money into Vietnam.

He stressed that along with support from the State, training facilities should actively cooperate with businesses and investors in human resources training, developing the labour market and attracting more investment.

Son said that the MoET is building an action plan to speedy increase the quality and quantity of human resources in the field of semiconductor, especially IC design engineers.

The most important task is to promote the capacity of training facilities, especially the quality of lecturers and infrastructure system, he underlined.

He also stressed the need to attract students to the area of semiconductor, and reaching cooperation agreements between tertiary training facilities with businesses and localities in the field.

PM urges upgrading phased expressways

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has urged upgrading expressways that have been put into use and are being invested according to phases in the face of certain shortcomings, including risks of accidents.

He sent an official dispatch on this issue on February 21 to leaders of the Ministries of Public Security, Transport, Planning and Investment, Finance, Science and Technology, Natural Resources and Environment, and Agriculture and Rural Development; the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises; and the People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities.

The dispatch noted that the 13th National Party Congress identified infrastructure development as one of the three strategic breakthroughs that must be made to create new space and momentum for socio-economic development, national defence, and security safeguarding. The congress also set the target of building about 5,000km of expressways by 2030.

Over the past years, central agencies and localities have worked hard to carry out expressway projects. Nearly 1,900km of expressways have been put into use so far, and efforts are being exerted to raise the total length to more than 3,000km by 2025.

Expressway development requires a large sum of capital while existing resources remain modest. Given this, to meet socio-economic development requirements of localities and regions, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and some localities have proposed investing in some roads according to phases. The early inauguration of those facilities has helped boost socio-economic development.

However, there remain certain shortcomings in the operations of such expressways, including latent risks of traffic congestion and accidents as seen in the multiple collisions leaving three people dead on Cam Lo - La Son Expressway on February 18, the dispatch pointed out.

Given this, the PM demanded the Minister of Transport order relevant agencies to immediately devise measures to ensure rational, scientific, and efficient traffic flow and controlling traffic activities in the best possible manner to guarantee safety on the expressways invested according to phases.

He told the MoT to coordinate with related localities to quickly work out upgrade plans so that those roads fully meet expressway standards. In particular, investment in the two-lane ones must be made as soon as possible.

The Government leader also requested equipping expressways with sufficient related facilities like smart transport systems and rest areas.

In addition, the MoT was asked to quickly work with the Ministry of Science and Technology to issue national technical standards for expressways in the first quarter of 2024 to serve as the basis for planning, designing, managing, building, and safely and efficiently operating those roads.

It was also asked to check and take over the expressways invested according to phases so that the facilities could be upgraded soon to fully meet expressway standards.

In the dispatch, the PM also assigned tasks to other relevant ministries, sectors, localities, and agencies.

Quang Ninh's FDI attraction hits 478 million USD in January

The northern province of Quang Ninh attracted eight foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with registered capital totaling 478 million USD in January.

Notably, the Gokin Solar of Hong Kong (China) project's photovoltaic cell technology complex has the highest capital investment, amounting to 274.8 million USD.

As planned, there will be an additional seven investors from the US, China, and Taiwan (China) investing in Quang Ninh in the remaining months of the first quarter. The locality expects to lure 1 billion USD in the first fourth months of 2024, or one-third of the plan set for the year.  

Last year, it reported a breakthrough in attracting investment outside the budget, with a total capital of nearly 5 billion USD. Of this, FDI attraction topped 3.1 billion USD.

Quang Ninh also emerged as one of the leading localities nationwide in attracting foreign-invested projects in the year.

This was the record-breaking year in attracting new-generation FDI capital after more than 20 years since the first FDI project in the province in 2002.

The province is home to nearly 200 foreign-invested businesses from 20 countries with a total capital of nearly 14 billion USD. FDI projects are mainly high-tech and environmentally friendly with modern management and high-added value, which joined in global value chains.

From record results of FDI attraction in 2023, Quang Ninh sets to continue making breakthroughs and emerge as a top destination for FDI attraction nationwide.

According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Cao Tuong Huy, Quang Ninh prioritises attracting foreign investment, focusing on key sectors, multinational conglomerates across various industries, especially areas where the locality holds significant competitive advantages and distinct potentials.

It also concentrates on repositioning its investment capital flow, prioritising the connection of global production and supply chains, and attracting green investment, high technology, and supporting technologies, he said.

Foreign investors have been investing in 16 out of the 21 national economic sectors. The FDI sector has contributed over 76 million USD to the state budget, helping generate jobs for nearly 43,000 workers.

Cassava exports see record growth rate in January

Cassava recorded the strongest export growth rate in January, as Vietnam shipped 76,118 tonnes abroad, earning 19.9 million USD, up 369.6% month-on-month in volume and 340.8% in value, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The figures represented increases of 30.9% in volume and 36.4% in value compared to those of the same month last year.

In the month, the export revenue of cassava and cassava products surpassed 195 million USD, up 38.1% month-on-month.

China maintained its position as Vietnam's largest cassava importer. In January, Vietnam exported 401,945 tonnes of cassava and related products to China, earning 183 million USD, up 48% in volume and 38% in value from the previous month. China's market share also expanded from 91% in 2023 to 94% in the first month of 2024.

The Southeast Asian country also sold these products to the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Japan and Pakistan.

Vietnam currently ranks second in the world in terms of cassava exports, after Thailand.

The export value of cassava and cassava products rose from 958 million USD in 2018 to nearly 1.5 billion USD in 2022. The revenue is expected to increase to 2 billion USD by 2028 and 2.5 billion USD by 2050.

Tien Giang to enhance OCOP products

Tiền Giang Province in the Mekong Delta is striving to add 50 "One Commune One Product" (OCOP) agricultural products.

Developing agricultural products following the OCOP programme has been identified as the top goal of the province.

This year, the province will focus on affirming the brand, connecting distributors, expanding the market for OCOP products to increase value and creating uniqueness for its OCOP products.

In addition, the province continues to promote advertising and trade promotion for the products. The industry and trade, agriculture and rural development sectors, local authorities and oganisations will work together to find solutions to improve product quality.

Tiền Giang will also focus on developing OCOP products from specialty and traditional products to increase the competitiveness of OCOP products in the market.

Vice Chairman of Tiền Giang Provincial People's Committee Phạm Văn Trọng assessed that recently, the OCOP Programme in Tiền Giang has brought practical results with the number of products registered, and OCOP certification is increasing day by day.

Many participants have made investments to improve product quality and packaging design and enhance trade promotion to dominate the market.

Promoting the socio-economic efficiency of the programme, creating jobs for rural workers while promoting traditional trades and products and positively contributing to rural economic development is the goal, Trong said.

The OCOP programme is considered a solution to enhance the value of specialty products in localities, creating jobs and increasing incomes for the National Targeted Programme on New-Style Rural Areas Development in the period 2021- 2025.

Launched in 2018, the programme helps develop the rural economy and boost the production of agricultural specialties. It has been actively implemented across the country. 

HCMC to support nearly 2,000 start-up projects in 2024-2028

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has just issued plan No.433/KH-UBND to implement the policies to support innovative and start-up projects in the period of 2024 – 2028.

Accordingly, Ho Chi Minh City sets a target to support over 1,000 innovative and start-up projects in the period of pre-incubation by 2028, over 700 projects in the incubation period and more than 200 ones in the period of acceleration access to venture advisors.

In order to implement the set target, Ho Chi Minh City shall organize training sessions for science–technology organizations, innovation and creativity centers, intermediate organizations supporting activities of start-ups, innovation, creativity, educational institutions and so on...

Particularly, Ho Chi Minh City will support solutions, products, services of innovation and creative star-up being applied and evaluated the feasibility in the reality following the implementation of science and technology missions.

Besides, the municipal Department of Science and Technology was assigned to preside the plan.

VinFast reports Q4 and total 2023 revenue growth

Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast on February 22 announced its Q4 revenue of 437 million USD, up 26% from the previous quarter and 133% year-on-year. This growth was driven by both higher sales volumes and an improved product mix.

The company reported 1.2 billion USD in revenue for fiscal year 2023, representing an increase of 91% from 2022. Gross loss was 174.9 million USD in Q4/2023, and 551.6 million USD in FY 2023.

VinFast’s gross profit margin showed significant improvement compared to the previous fiscal year. Gross margin was negative (46%) in FY 2023, compared to negative (82%) in FY 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross margin reached negative (40.1%), compared to negative (82.6%) in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Le Thi Thu Thuy, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, said 2023 was a whirlwind of first for VinFast, culminating in a strong public debut. They launched exciting new products, expanded their distribution network, and solidified their presence in existing markets while opening doors to promising new ones. These moves laid a strong foundation for 2024 to be a year of global expansion and cost optimisation.

VinFast delivered a total of 34,855 electric vehicles in FY 2023, marking a 374% increase compared to the previous year. This included 13,513 electric vehicles in the Q4, up 35% from the third quarter of 2023.

Despite a slight decrease in Q4/2023 compared to the third quarter, e-scooter deliveries also saw significant growth of 48% year-on-year for a total of 72,468 units in 2023.

Vietnam Airlines to host International Airline Symposium

The International Airline Symposium (IAS) will take place in Hanoi from February 27 - 29, with Vietnam Airlines as the host airline.

Under the theme of “Navigating Aviation in a Never Normal World”, the event will bring together about 60 delegates who are representatives from airlines and international organisations worldwide.

The symposium is expected to feature four discussion sessions on a range of topics, including challenges of the global aviation industry. Common issues which are scheduled to be mulled over at the event comprise current trends affecting airlines, ways to improve operation efficiency, service quality and AI application in solving problems of the industry.

The IAS is an annual conference held since 1988 on an international scale, attracting top leaders and experts from various fields around the world to meet and exchange on notable issues of the global aviation industry.

As the host of the event, Vietnam Airlines has the opportunity to gather opinions from leading experts and join in-depth discussions on latest trends and technologies in the field of aviation, to build development strategies in the context of a volatile world.

The event is also expected to contribute to popularising the images of Vietnam and its people to international passengers.

USABC President optimistic about US-Vietnam cooperation potential

The potential of cooperation between Vietnamese and US businesses this year has been increasingly enhanced, especially since the two countries upgraded bilateral relations to a Comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable last September, said President of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) Ted Osius.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident correspondents in Washington on February 22, he said that opportunities for US businesses in the Southeast Asian country are considerable although headwinds in the global economy have been posing multiple challenges.

Osius, who is also former US Ambassador to Vietnam, said the two countries have made a number of commitments to promoting economic ties since their relations were lifted to the Comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development during US President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam in September 2023.
         
He perceived that US businesses are interested in and will invest in three areas in Vietnam, namely technology, energy, and health care.

In terms of technology, the US pledged to assist Vietnam in developing the semiconductor industry, which requires reliable energy sources, ready water sources, and skilled manpower.

Given this, he said, the US Government is helping Vietnam to develop the workforce. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is investing 100 million USD in workforce development and recently announced an additional commitment to improving human resource capacity via the Arizona State University. US businesses are also highly interested in the unceasing development of the Vietnamese workforce.

The two sides also hold substantial cooperation opportunities in the field of health care, which has seen surprising partnerships in the fights against SARS, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19, the USABC leader said, adding that US companies want to produce pharmaceutical and medical equipment in Vietnam and make healthcare investments.

Osius voiced his belief in such big potential and that some of the potential will be realised in the near future.

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