Vietnam News Today (Mar 29): Vietnam, China Eye Stronger Border Trade

Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen receives Director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Kim Song Nam on March 27. (Photo: VNA)

HCM City wishes to strengthen cooperation with DPRK localities: Official

Ho Chi Minh City wishes to strengthen cooperation with localities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said Politburo member, Secretary of the city Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen on March 27 while receiving Director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Kim Song Nam.

Nen emphasized that the city’s Party Committee, administration, and people always value the traditional friendship and cooperative relations between the two Parties, Governments, and peoples of Vietnam and DPRK.

Together with other localities in Vietnam, the city has been implementing the cooperation directions agreed upon by Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Chairman of the WPK, Chairman of the DPRK’s State Affairs Commission Kim Jong-un during the latter's visit to Vietnam in 2019.

Briefing his guest on Ho Chi Minh City’s socio-economic situation, Nen said the city plans to send a delegation on a working visit to the DPRK in June, cited VOV.

For his part, the Korean official expressed his impression of the city’s development achievements.

He also wished the two sides strengthen the implementation of the cooperation directions agreed upon by leaders of the two countries as well as boost cooperative relations between the two Parties and two States.

He thanked the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee for choosing DPRK’s localities to expand cooperation in the coming years, wishing that the localities will develop close relations that help strengthen the relations between the two countries.

Vietnam, China eye stronger border trade

Border provinces of Vietnam and China should continue close coordination and enhance trade promotion between the two sides, stressed the recent talks between the management boards of the economic zone of the northern province of Ha Giang and the Malypo border economic cooperation zone of China’s Yunnan province.

Representative of the Vietnamese side Hoang A Chinh said that over the past time, competent authorities of both sides have joined hands to remove bottlenecks in the customs clearance process and facilitate trade activities and immigration of the people and vehicles of the two countries.

So far this year, total border trade revenue amounted to 38 million USD, he said, adding trade activities through the Thanh Thuy – Tianbao international border gate have been stable, with an average of 1,000 people immigrating through the gate, according to VNA.

At the talks between the management boards of the economic zone of the northern province of Ha Giang and the Malypo border economic cooperation zone of China’s Yunnan province (Photo: VNA)

Chinese side representative He Changyuan said that Chinese agencies have carried out various measures to ensure the best conditions for trade activities via the border gate.

Along with supporting businesses in legal trade procedures, Chinese authorities will work to put the road connecting Wenshan Zhou of Yunnan to Ha Giang province into operation, he added.

According to Chinh, Ha Giang is striving to become a locality with fast, sustainable, and comprehensive development in socio-economy, environment, defense-security, and foreign affairs.

The province is also exerting efforts to build the Thanh Thuy International Border Gate into one of the border economic, cultural, social and tourism development centers, contributing to developing a border line of peace, friendship, cooperation and mutual development, he said.

Retail petrol prices up again to close to VND25,000 per liter

The prices of oil and petrol have climbed VND530 per liter at maximum following the latest joint adjustment by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade as of 3 p.m. on March 28.

Accordingly, the price of E5RON92 went up VND410 to VND23,620 per liter, while that of RON95-III, the commonly used fuel, was raised by VND530 to no more than VND24,810 per liter.

The prices of diesel oil 0.05S and kerosene were capped at VND20,690 and VND20,870 per liter, down VND320 and VND390 per liter, respectively.

Photo: VOV

Meanwhile, mazut oil 180CST 3.5S was sold at no more than VND17,140 per kilogramme, representing an increase of VND50.

During the latest adjustment, the two ministries decided to use the petrol price stabilization fund for mazut oil, at VND300 per kilogram, VOV reported.

Since the beginning of the year, petrol prices have undergone 13 adjustments, with eight up, four down, and one down for petrol and one up for oil.

Singapore tops foreign investors in Vietnam in first quarter

Singapore was the largest foreign investor in Vietnam in the year to March 20 with over 2.55 billion USD, making up 41.3% of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) registered in the country, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

It was followed by Hong Kong (China) with 1.05 billion USD, accounting for 17.1% of the total and increasing 2.3 times compared to the same period last year, cited VNA.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

China led 62 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the number of new investment projects, accounting for 27.8% of the total. Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea took the lead in the number of capital-added projects and contributions for share purchases, making up 23% and 27.8%, respectively.

Vietnam had attracted 6.17 billion USD in FDI as of March 20, a year-on-year rise of 13.4%. Specifically, 644 new projects with total registered capital of 4.77 billion USD were granted investment certificates, up 23.4% in the number of projects, and 57.9% in value year-on-year.

A total of 934.6 million USD was registered to be added to 248 existing projects and 466.2 million USD earmarked for stake purchase and capital contribution.

The disbursed foreign investment rose by 7.1% in the first quarter to reach 4.63 billion USD, a signal that the disbursement will continue the positive trend, the agency said.

Vietnam getting ready for the fourth FDI boom

Vietnam needs to take drastic actions to get ready for the fourth wave of foreign direct investment (FDI) which is in the making and is expected to leverage the country on the global high-tech map.

The annual report of foreign investment in Vietnam 2023, announced on Tuesday by the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), pointed out that Vietnam remains an attractive destination for the FDI influx with more than 49,000 foreign enterprises currently operating in the country.

It cited statistics that the FDI flow to Vietnam rose strongly by 32.1 per cent in 2023 to US$36.61 billion while the global capital only increased slightly by 3 per cent.

FDI has been a major growth driver for the Vietnamese economy and is expected to continue the upward trend in the context of rising demand for diversifying the supply chain of multinational manufacturers, in which Vietnam has increasing appeal with stable macro-economic conditions, and improving investment environment and labor force quality.

The next FDI boom on the horizon will focus on high-tech fields including semiconductors, electronics, artificial intelligence (AI) and renewable energy to transform the economy into a higher-value ladder and promote long-term growth.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Huy Dong said that the competition among countries in FDI attraction is increasingly fierce, especially in semiconductors, because of the industry’s large potential which could reach more than $1 trillion in 2030.

A foreign-invested project in Phu My Specialized Industrial Park, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province. FDI has been a major growth driver for Vietnamese economy and is expected to continue the upward trend in the context of rising demand for diversifying the supply chain of multinational manufacturers. Photo: VNS

He said that countries which are quicker in developing appropriate and well-implemented policies will be able to reap the opportunities of the new investment wave.

Vietnam has been preparing the best conditions to remain attractive to foreign capital and welcome foreign investors in high-tech fields, including infrastructure, support policies and development strategies as well as human resources, he said.

VAFIE’s report said that international organizations and foreign investors are mostly optimistic about the Vietnamese economy, with improved confidence, VNS reported.

However, there are limitations in the investment environment which need to be resolved such as non-transparent and time-consuming administrative procedures, high compliance costs, electricity shortage, lack of high-quality human resource and slow green transition process, the report pointed out.

Improving the legal framework and the efficiency of the regulatory environment is critical for Vietnam to attract FDI, coupled with improving the infrastructure system, especially energy, digital and transport infrastructure, hastening administrative reform and improving human resource quality, according to VAFIE.

According to the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, it is necessary to create a more attractive, transparent and stable business environment. “The business climate can best be helped by actions that increase productivity, remove technical barriers and business conditions, and reduce the unnecessary costs of doing business in Vietnam.”

Phan Huu Thang, president of the Institute for International Investment Studies, said the shift in global supply chains is inevitable, and it provides opportunities for Vietnam to attract high-quality FDI. It’s time for Vietnam to be active in attracting FDI and direct the capital flow into the prioritized sectors, he said.

The formation of specialized industrial parks, high-tech parks and eco industrial parks is important for the future, he said.

The target of achieving an economic growth rate of 6.5 per cent in the 2021-25 period for Vietnam might be challenging, Vo Tri Thanh, director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy said. However, the Vietnamese economy is standing at a turning point in which the FDI flows into high-tech industries will help create breakthroughs.

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