Category: Business

Bangkok: The south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa introduced its tourism potential to potential partners in Thailand at a conference held in the Thai capital Bangkok on April 26.

At the conference, Vietnamese Ambassador-designate to Thailand Pham Viet Hung said there is great potential of tourism cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand, citing statistics that nearly half a million Thai tourists visited Vietnam and 900,000 Vietnamese travelled to Thailand last year.

He held that the signing of MoUs on tourism linkages at the conference will help promote cooperation between the two countries in the field.

Vice Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Pairat Burapachaisri took note of Khanh Hoa’s advantages, particularly its Nha Trang city, a popular beach destination for foreign holidaymakers.

Saranya Sakontanarak from the Thailand-Vietnam Business Council also said Khanh Hoa is home to many quality tourism destinations, meeting the needs of various segments of tourists. She urged Thai businesses to
explore investment opportunities in the Vietnamese province.

On the occasion, the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa tourism association signed an MoU on cooperation with the Thai Tourism Association./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The cinnamon sector needs to issue a reform strategy to keep Vietnam’s position as the world’s biggest cinnamon exporter, which it has held since 2021.

Last year, Vietnam exported nearly 90,000 tonnes of cinnamon to earn over 260 million USD, up 14.6% in volume, but down 10.7% in value compared to 2022. The average price reached 2,918 USD a tonne, down 22.1% year-on-year.

India was the main importer of Vietnamese cinnamon with more than 38,000 tonnes, accounting for 42.6%. It was followed by the US with more than 10,100 tonnes, and Bangladesh nearly 6,000 tonnes.

In the first two months of this year, Vietnam pocketed 30 million USD from shipping 10,500 tonnes of cinnamon abroad.

Hoang Thi Lien, president of the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA), said that over the past time, farmers have continuously developed new farming techniques to improve the quality and productivity of cinnamon trees. In addition, production linkage models between businesses and farmers have been increasingly implem
ented to gradually expand sustainable raw material areas.

Vietnam has dozens of companies investing in modern cinnamon processing lines for more quality products to meet market requirements.

Among the 16 signed free trade agreements, there are many new generation ones such as the EU-Vietnam FTA, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that have helped Vietnam have an advantage over some other countries in terms of tax. This is a very favourable condition and opportunity for Vietnamese cinnamon products to advance further in the international market.

Currently, Vietnamese cinnamon has been exported to nearly 100 countries around the world, accounting for 95% of the market share of the Indian market, 36.5% of the US and 35% of the European market. However, the export rate of processed cinnamon accounts for only 18.6%, or 18,659 tonnes, of which 70% is exported to the US, and 12% to Europe.

Therefore, the se
ctor will continue to improve post-harvest and processing quality to increase exports to demanding markets in Europe and the US.

It will step up trade promotion activities, build brand identity on a national scale, encourage public private partnership models and seek support resources and policy consultations in a long-term strategy of turning Vietnam into the leading sustainable cinnamon supplier in the world./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: At the General Meeting of Shareholders held in Hanoi on April 25, Vingroup received approval for its ambitious 2024 business plan.

The company aims to achieve a remarkable revenue milestone of 200 trillion VND, marking a significant 23.7% increase compared to 2023.

Additionally, Vingroup targets a profit after tax of 4.5 trillion VND, representing an impressive 119% growth.

In 2023, Vingroup demonstrated strong performance, with net revenue reaching 161.4 trillion VND, a substantial 59% rise from the previous year. The profit after tax amounted to 2.05 trillion VND, maintaining the same level as in 2022. These figures surpassed the targets set at the 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, reaching 85% and 103%, respectively.

Nguyen Viet Quang, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Firector of Vingroup, highlighted the success of VinFast in the technology and industry sector. VinFast’s listing on the US Nasdaq Stock LLC stock exchange served as an inspiration for Vietnamese busin
esses.

In the trade and service sector, Vinhomes made significant progress in 2023. The company successfully handed over nearly 29,000 apartments, villas, and commercial townhouses at Vinhomes Ocean Park 2 and Vinhomes Ocean Park 3. The occupancy rate in the real estate rental segment reached 84.8%, showing improvement compared to the previous year.

Looking ahead to 2024, VinFast plans to expand its distribution channels globally, leveraging local networks and agent expertise. The goal is to establish approximately 400 sales points by the end of the year. Moreover, VinFast aims to enter the US market with new models and export commence cars to Europe, while also initiating distribution in Indonesia.

In the residential real estate sector, Vinhomes will focus on enhancing its online business system to improve the purchasing experience, transparency of policies and product pricing, in preparation for the upcoming growth cycle in the market.

Regarding the listing of its subsidiaries, Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong
revealed that Vingroup is currently undertaking procedures to list Vinpearl Company on the Vietnam stock exchange, with hopes of achieving a successful listing by the end of the year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Long An: Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of the Mekong Delta province of Long An Nguyen Van Ut has expressed determination to develop ties with agencies, organisations and businesses of the Republic of Korea (RoK) following his working trip to the Northeastern Asian country from April 22-26.

The trip yielded a number of significant letters of intent, paving the way for future partnerships between Vietnamese and Korean entities.

The province’s delegation held talks with the Governor of Jeju province, discussing the potential of socio-economic and cultural cooperation between the two localities, held working sessions with the Jeju Free International City Development Centre, Yooshin and Zenith groups.

A highlight of the trip was a conference held in Seoul specifically to promote investment opportunities in Long An. The event attracted over 100 Korean groups, showcasing Long An’s potential and development trajectory.

The delegation highlighted Long An’s attractiveness to Korean companies, citing its a
bundant opportunities and well-developed industrial parks. They specifically focused on attracting investment in high-tech sectors like innovation, renewable energy and logistics.

Strategically positioned, Long An prioritises attracting investment in Industry 4.0, electronics component manufacturing, software, semiconductor industry, artificial intelligence, smart eco-city development, maritime port logistics services, border economy, high-tech agriculture, and renewable energy.

As one of Long An’s major partners, the RoK now ranks 3rd out of 40 countries and territories investing in the province with over 975 million USD and 208 projects. This trend continued in the first quarter of 2024, with Long An securing six new Korean projects valued at over 26.4 million USD./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Vietnam maintained its third position in the number of investment deals and regained the third place in terms of total investment in startups in Southeast Asia.

In 2023, Vietnamese startups received a total investment capital of 529 million USD.

Singapore led in both the number of deals and total investment capital for startups, followed by Indonesia.

That is notable information in the 2024 Technology and Innovation Investment Report released at the Vietnam Innovation Forum 2024.

This forum was organised in Ho Chi Minh City on April 26 by the National Innovation Centre (NIC) and Do Ventures Investment Fund under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

This report also said that in 2023, Vietnamese startups’ total investment capital of 529 million USD dropped by 17% compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s number of deals involving startups slightly decreased by 9% to 122 deals.

This decline shows that the technology investment landscape in Vietnam continues to be a
ffected by changes in the global economy.

However, this reduction rate was slighter than the decrease of 35% to 345 billion USD in total global venture capital investment, showing that the Vietnam market is still an attractive destination in the capital market.

In 2023, nearly 100 funds poured capital into Vietnamese startups, of which the most active investors came from Singapore, followed by Vietnamese investors.

Of which, the healthcare sector received the highest investment, skyrocketing 391% over the previous year. The education sector also received a high amount of capital, up 107% year on year.

Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said that as a pioneer country in the field of innovation, Vietnam commits to upgrading the national innovation ecosystem, attracting investment and talent.

With preferential policy mechanisms and simplified regulations, Vietnam will accompany startups, corporations, organisations and experts to develop science and technology, p
romote innovation, contributing to the country’s economic growth.

Vietnam has moved up two places in the Global Innovation Index (GII) in 2023, ranking 46th out of 132 countries and territories, according to a GII report released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Vietnam is one of seven middle-income countries having made the most progress in innovation over the past decade.

This positive results are owing to the continuous efforts of organisations, individuals and businesses in the work of innovation, Dong said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Another bidding session for 16,800 taels of gold bullion will be held on April 25, the State Bank of Vietnam said in a statement.

The bank said the auctions aim at ensuring stable, transparent, and effective operation of the domestic market.

Bidders need to deposit 10% of their purchase value. Each is allowed to place order for at least 1,400 taels and at most 2,000 taels.

State-owned gold producer and distributor Saigon Jewelry Company and Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) bought 3,400 taels out of the16,800 offered by the central bank during the auction on April 23. The gold was purchased for 81.33 million VND (3,195 USD) per tael at the highest, and 81.32 million VND at the lowest, against the base price of 81.30 million VND.

Economists said bidders were prudent at the auction on April 23, with only two among the 11 participants winning bids, adding psychological factor has affected the domestic demand for gold in recent time.

SJC gold prices rebounded following the auction, at 82.3 millio
n for buyers and 84.3 million for sellers, up 1.3 million and 1 million VND per tael, respectively, at 13:14 on April 24.

Meanwhile, Doji gold prices rose 2 million VND and 1.5 million VND to 82 million VND for buyers and 84 million VND for sellers./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Singapore: Five Vietnamese enterprises operating in the fields of food and hospitality are attending the Food and Hotel Asia (FHA) 2024 which is taking place in Singapore from April 23-26.

This year’s event attracts over 1,500 businesses from more than 50 nations and territories and expects to welcome 60,000 visitors.

Vietnamese booths draw the attention of many visitors with their wide variety of products such as confectionary, beverage, frozen foods, pepper and other spice products, and canned and dried fruit.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling said that FHA-F and B is an equal playground for enterprises to seek collaboration in today’s free trade agreement networks. It also aims at internationalisation, continuous innovation and sustainable development in the field of food and hospitality.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung emphasised that the participation of Vietnamese enterprises has shown their enormous efforts in studying food
and hospitality development trends in the world. He affirmed that the event also helps to promote more Vietnamese product to foreign markets.

Through the event, Vietnamese enterprises anticipate opportunities to meet potential partners, bringing more Vietnamese agricultural brands to international market.

Michael Duck, Executive Vice President of Informa Markets stressed that Vietnam is a supplier of many important food items and the event is an occasion to expand the market further./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency