The import of Vietnamese fresh pomelo into the Australian market may be allowed if the product meets the Oceanian country's biosecurity conditions, said the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam).

The SPS Vietnam said it recently received a notification from the Secretariat of the SPS/WTO Committee No. G/SPS/N/AUS/588 regarding the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s analysis of import risk for Vietnamese fresh pomelo.

To gain access to the Australian market, the Vietnamese pomelo must comply with biosecurity risk management measures targeting 19 specific organisms, including diaphorina citri, brevipalpus phoenicis, bactrocera carambolae, bactrocera correcta, bactrocera dorsalis, bactrocera zonata, zeugodacus cucurbitae, zeugodacus tau, exallomochlus hispidus, planococcus lilacinus, rastrococcus pentagona, parlatoria cinerea, parlatoria ziziphi, pseudaulacaspis pentagona, panonychus citri, tetranychus kanzawai, scirtothrips dorsalis, thrips tabaci and xanthomonas citri subsp. citri.

Other requirements regarding cultivation zones, packaging facilities and manufacturing sites are also specified in the notification./.

HCM City maintains decent economic growth in four months

Ho Chi Minh City's economic indicators showed decent growth in the first four months, although the disbursement rate of public investment remained low, participants heard at a socio-economic review meeting held by the municipal People's Committee on May 3.

Between January and April, the industrial production index (IIP) of the southern economic hub went up by 5.1% compared to the same period last year. Its total retail sales of goods and revenue from consumer services, and tourism earnings reached some 366.95 trillion VND (14.67 billion USD) and 60.04 trillion VND, up 12% and 17.4% year-on-year.

The city's export and import turnover, meanwhile, was estimated at 15.05 billion USD and 18.06 billion USD, year-on-year increases of 18.1% and 6.57%, respectively. The metropolis collected close to 183.45 trillion VND for the State budget, equivalent to 38% of the estimate and an annual growth of 7.5%.

Le Thi Huynh Mai, Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, assessed that despite several indicators showing decent growth, the disbursement rate of public investment remained low, failing to meet the required progress. According to the report from the municipal Branch of the State Treasury, as of April 26, the city disbursed nearly 5.97 trillion VND, accounting for only 7.5% of the allocated funds.

Although the local business climate showed improvements, the number of businesses which temporarily suspended operations tended to increase, and the average registered capital of enterprises participating in the market continued to decline. In the four months, 15,874 new businesses were established with combined registered capital of nearly 128.95 trillion VND, increasing 7.6% in the number of firms but decreasing by 10.8% in capital compared to the same period last year. Additionally, 17,518 businesses temporarily suspended their operations, up by 17.5% year-on-year, and 1,126 enterprises completed dissolution procedures. The hub also attracted approximately 915.6 million USD in foreign direct investment, down 6.5% year-on-year.

According to Nguyen Khac Hoang, Director of the municipal Statistics Office, the indicators showed that local residents’ purchasing power was maintained, but there was still not enough momentum for a significant breakthrough.

Regarding business activities, market signals indicated numerous challenges, with inflation steadily increasing month by month, he said. These signs mean that the city’s economic growth drivers have not been truly sustainable yet, requiring analysis and improvement measures.

Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Phan Van Mai called for the implementation of an action programme to speed up the disbursement of public investment in May and the following months, toward achieving a disbursement rate of not lower than 30% in the second quarter. The city must disburse 10 trillion VND per month to meet the target for this year, he said./.

Retail sales, services revenue up 8.5% in four months

Retail sales and services revenue in the first four months of this year totaled 2.06 quadrillion VND (81.06 billion VND), up 8.5% year-on-year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said.

In April alone, the value was 522.1 trillion VND, a rise of 9% from the same period last year, with food and foodstuff sales up 10.3%, household utensils 12.9%, garment 12.7%, lodging and catering services 19.1%, and tourism 57.6%.

In the four months, retail sales reached some 1.59 quadrillion VND, up 7.1% year-on-year (up 4.4% if the price factor is excluded).

Sales of food and foodstuffs rose by 11.8%, household appliances 14.9%, garment 10.3%, vehicles (except cars) 0.1%, and cultural and educational products 17.8%. Revenue from accommodation and catering services was estimated at 237.3 trillion VND, up 15.3% year-on-year.

The office said favourable visa policies and tourism stimulus programmes have proven effective, helping lure nearly 1.6 million international visitors in April, up 58.2% year-on-year, and 6.2 million in the four months, up 68.3%.

Tourism revenue in the period was 19.4 trillion VND, representing an increase of 49.3% from the corresponding time last year.

Meanwhile, revenue from other services stood at 211.1 trillion VND, a year-on-year rise of 9.4%.

To ensure the supply of essential goods and boost the domestic market in the remaining months, the GSO suggested the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) further review, amend and perfect legal documents regarding state management of the domestic market.

The MoIT should continue its coordination with other ministries, agencies and localities in monitoring market developments, and providing consultations in price management, it said.

In an effort to promote consumption demand, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc, authorised by the Prime Minister, submitted a proposal to the National Assembly for extending the cut in value-added tax (VAT) from 10% to 8% on specific groups of goods and services from July 1 until the end of the year./.

NIC partners with Samsung Vietnam in developing tech talent

The Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC) and Samsung Vietnam officially kick started a technology talent development programme called ‘Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC)’ for the academic year 2023-2024 in Hanoi on May 3.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc emphasised the programme marks a significant milestone in the collaboration between Samsung and NIC, aiming to concretise the vision of both organisations. The project aims to help Vietnam integrate deeper into the global production value chain, and gradually becoming a destination for innovation in the region and the world.

She applauded the determination and efforts made by the Samsung Group in joining hands with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the NIC and relevant ministries and sectors to develop innovative and high-tech capacity for young Vietnamese people.

The partnership contributes to developing future talents in key sectors of the 4th Industrial Revolution, she stressed.

Samsung Vietnam’s General Director Choi Joo Ho said the SIC is a model for training Vietnamese youth to become talents in the technology sector. He expressed his hope that Samsung's talent development activities will gain new momentum, thus achieving greater success in the future.

Samsung Vietnam in collaboration with NIC will organise training courses on Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data for about 200 students from some member universities of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi and FPT University.

The three-month courses are designed on the foundation of education that combines core future technology skills with soft skills and practical work skills.

Upon completion of the courses, students will receive certificates and have a chance to participate in other activities in the project, such as the Innovation Tech Challenge - a competition aimed at providing a platform for students to apply the knowledge and skills learned to real-world scenarios.

Students take part in free Korean language training courses, and have the opportunity to meet with engineers working at Samsung's Research and Development Centre in Vietnam, thus gaining insights into future career orientations related to the IT industry.

The SIC is part of Samsung Vietnam's efforts to accompany NIC in response to the Vietnamese government's call to mobilise resources to support Vietnam in realising the goal of training 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030./.

HCM City Export 2024 to double size of last year’s event

Ho Chi Minh City Export 2024 – Vietnam’s Outstanding Export Products Fair from May 8 to 11 will feature 450 booths, doubling those in the first edition held last year.

The event will be organised at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC), gathering leading export-oriented enterprises in key industries of Vietnam, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade said on May 3.

It is expected to attract about 20,000 visitors, with over 80% being industry insiders such as importers, traders, supermarket chains, retail chains from such major markets as the US, Europe, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

The fair will continue focusing on key exports, including food, beverage, agricultural and aquatic products, wood and handicraft items, textile - apparel, leather - footwear, handbag, rubber - plastics, and electronics - mechanics, to assist businesses and exporters of HCM City and Vietnam as a whole to seize chances from recovering markets.HCM City Export 2024 looks to help businesses engage in global supply chains and set up close partnerships with foreign distribution systems, the Department of Industry and Trade said.

Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the department, said that joining in the event, added businesses can also update themselves on global demand and trends to build appropriate development strategies and boost connectivity with others across the southeastern and southwestern regions to meet foreign market demands.

A series of other activities will also take place such as business-to-business sessions where companies can meet representatives of international buyers like Central Retail and MM Mega Market, or major e-marketplaces such as Amazon and Alibaba to bring their quality products to consumers around the globe.

A forum on promoting connectivity towards green export will also form part of the fair.In addition, digital technology will be also applied to generate new experiences for both exhibitors and visitors. Via https://hopefairs.com, buyers and sellers can interact with one another around the clock, according to the organising committee./.

VietFood & Beverage – ProPack Vietnam 2024 to be held in August

The 28th International VietFood, Beverage and Professional Packing Machines Expo (VietFood & Beverage – ProPack Vietnam 2024) will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from August 8-10.

Covering an area of 36,000sq.m, this year’s exhibition can house 1,200 booths, up 40% compared to the previous edition, of 900 businesses from 20 nations and territories, according to a representative from Vinexad – the organiser.

A wide range of products will be on display, including food, beverages, nutritional supplements, medicinal food, seafood, as well as machinery and equipment for food production, packaging, and preservation.

The exhibition is expected to welcome more than 25,000 visitors.Notably, renowned Vietnamese chefs, including Luke Nguyen, Tran Vinh, and Lieu Phi Yen will bring eye-catching culinary performances, honouring the taste of Vietnamese dishes.

Last year, the exhibition was attended by more than 17,000 commercial visitors, most of whom are owners of domestic food and beverage production businesses, importers, distributors and retailers and restaurant/hotel owners, along with 8,000 shoppers.

According to iPOS.vn, a company specialising in manufacturing and trading professional and modern software and hardware solutions in the F&B industry, the market value of this industry in Vietnam this year is expected to increase by 10.92% from 2023 to surpass 655 trillion VND (25.7 billion USD)./.

Ho Chi Minh City’s retail sales up 12% in first four months

Ho Chi Minh City’s total retail sales of goods and consumer services revenue reached over 366.94 trillion VND (14.44 billion USD) in the first four months of 2024, up 12% year on year, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade told a press conference on May 3.

The growth was driven by strong sales of various goods, with over 177 trillion VND coming from retail sales alone, marking a 10.5% increase year-on-year. The January-April breakdown showed a 15.5% rise in sales in January, followed by 8.7% in February, 9.7% in March, and a significant 13.8% jump in April.

Demand surged for several product categories, including food and groceries up 8.6%, household appliances and equipment 20.5%, wood and construction materials 29.9%, and apparel 3.4%. The city's consumer market saw a surge in activity with new businesses entering the commercial and service sectors, offering diverse sales channels with promotions and discounts.

Commercial and service firms actively worked to stabilise prices and stimulate consumer spending, leading to a cooling trend in the prices of several commodity groups, particularly food and household items.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Nguyen Phuong said in order to further stimulate consumer demand and maintain growth momentum in the total retail sales, the department will launch various trade promotion programmes throughout this year, which will connect supply and demand between the city and other localities through trade fairs, campaigns and forums./.

Expanding HCM City-Long Thành section must ensure synchronisation with transport infrastructure: Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà on Friday stressed that expanding the HCM City-Long Thành section was an urgent issue.

He said that it needed to ensure synchronisation with transport infrastructure and meet socio-economic development requirements.

The section belongs to the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway project.

Chairing a conference on an investment plan to expand the HCM City-Long Thành section, which was held at the Government Office on Friday, the Deputy PM said that deciding an investment plan was based on progress and economic efficiency, so it is necessary to choose an appropriate scheme to implement the next steps.

The Deputy PM gave comments on the plan to assign the Việt Nam Expressway Development Investment Corporation (VEC) as the investor.

He directed the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC), the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance to summarise VEC's operating model.

They are responsible for proposing solutions to improve financial capacity and meeting conditions for conducting key transportation investment projects.

The VEC needs to urgently develop a pre-feasibility report, capital calling plans, site clearance, and financial plans for the HCM City-Long Thành section in relationship with other expressway projects that the VEC is exploiting.

The HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway Project phase one was put into operation from June 30, 2016 with a total length of 55km, of which the HCM City-Long Thành segment is about 26km, according to the CMSC.

Since being put into operation, vehicles in the section have continuously increased.

Deputy Chairman of the CMSC Nguyễn Ngọc Cảnh said that the VEC had researched and proposed expanding the section from the HCM City-Ring Road 2 intersection to the Biên Hòa-Vũng Tàu Expressway intersection into eight lanes.

It also considered the ability to broaden to 10 lanes.

The expansion of the HCM City-Long Thành section is to meet transportation needs after a number of key traffic projects were opened for public use such as the Long Thành International Airport phase one with a capacity of 26 million passengers per year, the Biên Hòa-Vũng Tàu Expressway and the widened Cái Mép-Thị Vải Seaport.

Discussing at the conference, leaders of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the HCM City People's Committee and Đồng Nai Province said that it was necessary to consider an investment plan to immediately enlarge the HCM City-Long Thành section to 10 lanes, instead of eight lanes as proposed.

EVN to issue price framework to increase electricity imports from Laos

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that Vietnam will increase imports of electricity from Laos to meet the rising electricity consumption demand.

Currently, the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has signed 19 power purchase agreements (PPA) to buy electricity from 26 Laotian power plants with a total capacity of 2,689MW to perform power transmission to Vietnam.

Amid the forecast of doubling electricity usage demand by 2030, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines shall propose the governments and prime ministers of both countries to allow increasing electricity import capacity to Vietnam up to 5,000MW by 2025, being about 2,000MW higher than the signed agreements between the two countries at the current times.

According to the plan for implementing National Power Development Plan VIII recently approved by the Prime Minister, Vietnam also plans to buy about 5,000MW of electricity from Laos by 2025 and rise to 8,000MW by 2030.

As for electricity purchase prices and sales prices, the Ministry of Industry and Trade informed that Laos would like to soon have Vietnam's electricity purchase price framework after 2025 with the ceiling price for importing electricity from Laos at 6,95 cents per kWh, equal to VND1,700 per kWh.

Currently, the price for buying electricity from Laos until 2025 is 6.95 cents per kWh, but the price framework after 2025 has not been issued yet.

EVN is drafting the framework for purchasing electricity from Laos after 2025 to report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. After that, the ministry shall submit the evaluation opinions to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval.

Hanoi maintains its lead in localities with highest number of OCOP products

With more than 2,000 OCOP products, as of April, Hanoi maintains its lead in the localities in the country with the highest number of One Commune One Product (OCOP) products being rated from three stars and above.

According to Central New Rural Coordination Office, under the "One Commune One Product" (OCOP) program, there are more products, specialties, agricultural products, and rural industries that have contributed to developing the potential and strengths of localities.

At the end of April 2024, all 63 provinces and cities nationwide have implemented the evaluation and rating for more than 12,000 OCOP products. The capital city of Hanoi maintains its lead in the localities in the country with the highest number of One Commune One Product (OCOP) products being rated from three stars and above.

Among them, there are 73.9 percent of OCOP products achieved a three-star accreditation, 24.7 percent of OCOP products gained a rating of four stars, 42 five-star products, and the remaining items identified as potential 5-star products.

Hanoi has evaluated and rated over 2,700 OCOP products from 2019 to date and set a target of rating 3,054 products by the end of 2025. Of these, there are 6 five-star products, 12 potential five-star products, 1,473 four-star products, and 1,220 three-star products.

The Red River delta region also takes the leading position in regions nationwide with the largest number of OCOP products, accounting for 30.7 percent of the total number of OCOP products of the country, followed by the Mekong Delta region accounting for 18.3 percent, the Northern mountainous region 16.8 percent, and the Southeast region 5.8 percent.

More social housing needed for industrial park workers

A year has passed since the issuance of Decision 338/QD-TTg by the Prime Minister about building social housing for industrial park laborers, yet the result is not as expected.

In one afternoon, Nguyen Thi Xuan was leisurely taking her granddaughter home 100m away from the kindergarten. Her daughter and son-in-law are both workers in Bao Minh Industrial Park (Nam Dinh Province). They are living in a comfortable 50-square-meter leased apartment with a monthly rent of VND1.2 million (US$47.3), fully equipped with an air conditioner. This is quite a secure place for a harmonious family. Thanks to the affordable rent and school fee as well as short travel distance to their workplace, the couple, who earn a monthly salary of VND15 million ($592), can save at least VND3 million ($118) per month.

However, not many households can enjoy this stable life like Xuan. After 30 years of development, Vietnam now owns 416 industrial parks in 61 out of 63 provinces and municipalities, plus 44 economic zones at bordering localities, not to mention 1,000 industrial clusters with a surface area of more than 31,000ha.

According to the planning of different provinces and municipalities, by 2030, Vietnam will have had 558 industrial parks and 1,500 industrial clusters over an area of 205,800ha and 50,000ha respectively. Despite the trend of automation, it is estimated that the total quantity of laborers in these locations will reach 4.5 million, nearly half of whom are in need of housing.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor reported that the number of workers outside these industrial parks and clusters needing accommodation is even higher. A survey by the trade union reveals that more than 60 percent of laborers living in rented rooms are facing amenities lack and unsafe living environment.

In a meeting to address problems for the development of social housing, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called upon the cooperation of all local authorities and businesses to secure accommodation for workers.

Vice Chairman Chu Duc Tam of the Vietnam Industrial Park Finance Association (VIPFA) shared that the construction project for Sai Dong A Industrial Park on an area of 400ha allocates one-fourth for green space and residential, commercial buildings to serve laborers in this industrial park, which was highly appreciated by the Government.

Nevertheless, not many localities can afford this land use allocation despite their high social housing demands. Others have not even had any social housing projects launched since 2021.

“There should have been an industrial park ecosystem with clear land distribution for factories – offices – residential areas for workers – commercial areas – public parks and playgrounds. Yet due to inadequacies in applicable mechanisms, policies, regulations, and administrative procedures, many plans cannot be carried out”, said Vice Chairman Tam.

He then voiced a necessity of housing for rent and installment buying with different preferential conditions from current programs. Businesses should be allowed to provide houses for rent to their own employees.

In addition, the development of social housing funds is an important solution, paved by the Housing Law 2023. To effectively adopt that law, it is essential to urgently introduce instructional decrees for the Real Estate Business Law 2023, Land Law 2024, and Credit Institutions Law 2024 along with amendments and supplements for tax regulations. Loan interest rates should be down, while loan procedures for the VND120 trillion loan package ($4.73 billion) should be simplified as well.

Four-month black pepper exports bring in US$353 million

Vietnam raked in US$353 million from exporting 83,783 tonnes of black pepper in the initial four months of the year, marking an 11.5% increase in value year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The average pepper export price between January and April of 2024 was US$4,214 per tonne, a notable rise of 36.4%.

April alone saw the country ship abroad 27,000 tonnes of black pepper, earning approximately US$117 million, just up 2.2% in volume, but up to 40.4% in value against the same month last year. 

Notably, Pakistan, Germany, the Republic of Korea, and India recorded triple-digit growth rates among markets witnessing greater imports of black pepper.

Though Vietnam’s black pepper accounts for 40% of global export output and holds a 60% market share worldwide, its prices remain low among the exporting countries.

Statistics show Vietnamese black pepper prices range from US$4,200 to US$4,300 per tonne, lower than similar products from Brazil (US$4,900), Indonesia (US$4,703), or Malaysia (US$4,700). Likewise, white pepper from Vietnam is priced at US$6,000 per tonne, which is still less than that of comparable items from Malaysia and Indonesia.

The impact of the climate phenomenon El Niño has reduced the supply from the two leading pepper producers - Brazil and Vietnam, thus fueling the product price and leading to a new cycle of price hikes for black pepper, said Hoang Thi Lien, chairwoman of the Vietnam Pepper Association.

Domestic pepper prices have consequently surged by 44.7% compared to April last year, rising from VND67,000 per kilo to VND97,000 per kilo.

However, the domestic pepper industry is facing challenges, including product quality improvement, that need to be addressed to satisfy demanding markets such as the US and EU. In addition, the cultivation area is being downsized, leading to an output decline. Without proper business strategies to be introduced, Vietnam will lose out to Brazil, a major export rival in the coming years.

Ample room to increase Vietnamese coffee exports to Singaporean market

With Vietnamese coffee accounting for only 2.2% of the market share in Singapore, there are sanguine prospects ahead for the product to further make inroads into the demanding market moving forward, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore.

Statistics indicate that Vietnam’s coffee exports to Singapore skyrocketed by 157% in the first quarter of the year to reach about US$2.01 million.

Vietnam exported five coffee products coded HS0901, HS 09011120, HS 09011130, HS09012120, and HS 09012111 to the demanding market during the first quarter. However, these types of coffee made up a small proportion of only 3.64%, 7.24%, 14.04%, 0.74%, and 0.02%, respectively, in the market.

Experts believe that despite its small population size, Singapore's coffee import value remains at a relatively high at between SGD140 million and SGD150 million per year.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese coffee exports to Singapore account for about 2.2% of the total market share, that means there is a wealth of export opportunity out there.

Along with domestic consumption demand, Singapore is also a leading transshipment trade hub in the region which will become a gateway for Vietnam as it strives to accelerate the export of coffee products to third countries.

Currently, the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore has actively worked alongside local businesses to provide Singaporean importers with timely information regarding coffee products whilst supporting local firms to participate in trade fairs in order to increase the presence of their goods in this market.  

Social housing buyers and renters are hesitant to borrow from preferential credit package

Social housing buyers and renters are wary of high-interest rates of loans under the VNĐ125 trillion package for developing social housing and worker housing projects, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has warned.

According to the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA)'s report sent to the VCCI, this concern is about high-interest rates of preferential loans under this credit package for social housing buyers and renters.

The preferential interest rate is at a high level of 7.5 per cent per year for a five-year loan. In addition, this interest rate is adjusted every six months and after the preferential period, the bank will apply negotiable interest rates that are surely higher than the preferential rate.

Therefore, the association has proposed that the State Bank of Việt Nam expand two more subjects to receive loans for the VNĐ125 trillion package. They include buyers of commercial housing priced at VNĐ3.5 billion per unit or less and owners who borrow to build new or renovate/upgrade houses for workers to rent.

Lê Hoàng Châu, HoREA's chairman, recommended that the Ministry of Construction continue to restore the VNĐ110 trillion credit package with an interest rate of 4.8-5 per cent per year and the loan term of maximum 25 years that the ministry proposed last year to implement a programme on developing at least one million social housing units in the 2021-30 period.

At the same time, in the draft decree on social housing development and management, it is necessary to increase the norm profit to 15 per cent, instead of 10 per cent as before, for enterprises creating their land funds.

In addition, businesses can also mortgage their social housing projects when borrowing preferential capital, including from the VNĐ125 trillion package. At present, investors have to mortgage other assets to borrow loans from the credit packages, affecting the building progress of the project, Châu said.

The association has also proposed a reduction of 70 per cent in value added tax and corporate income tax to encourage the development of many projects of social housing for lease.

After one year of providing credit from the VNĐ120 trillion credit package for social housing development, the disbursement is still very low at VNĐ955 billion (US$39.8 million), according to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). This disbursement has included VNĐ415 billion for six new projects and VNĐ540 million for new home buyers at two projects.

Since July 2023 up to now, the localities have had 68 eligible projects to take loans from this programme. About 28 provinces and cities have had lists of social housing, worker housing and apartment renovation projects.

The VNĐ120 trillion supportive package was kicked off in April last year which aimed to provide loans with preferential rates at 1.5 -2 per cent lower than the medium and long-term lending rates in the market to developers of social housing projects and home buyers, following the Government’s Resolution No 33/NQ-CP dated March 11 regarding solutions to remove difficulties and promote the safe, healthy and sustainable development of the real estate market.

Four State-owned commercial banks join in the disbursement of the package which will run until 2030. Recently, there has been one more bank to joining this package, increasing the package value to VNĐ125 trillion.

Meanwhile, some other projects still encounter legal problems, site clearance and change of land use purposes. Those factors have made banks not grant loans from this package to project investors.

For home buyers, the regulations on beneficiaries are still complicated, making it difficult for them to get preferential loans.

To attract businesses' investment in social housing projects, Trần Ngọc Anh, deputy general director of Viglacera, said that regulations on subjects and conditions of buying social housing are still limited, causing many enterprises to have difficulty in doing this business.

Therefore, it is necessary to soon come the amended Housing Law into effect and promulgate a decree on social housing to create favourable conditions for social housing buyers and renters in accessing to social housing products.

At the same time, some conditions for social housing buyers are needed to loosen.

In addition, the State needs to soon create a land fund developing social housing to attract businesses to participate in auctions. When the supply of social housing increases, low-income people will have more chances to buy a house, Ngọc Anh said.

Việt Nam targets to build at least one million social housing apartments by 2030.

HCM City: Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution to debut in September

A centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in HCM City is scheduled to be officially launched in September, with a mission to be Việt Nam’s top facility in advising national industrial policies, piloting their implementation in the southern metropolis, and promoting economic transformation in the revolution.

The facility, the second of its kind in Southeast Asia and the 19th worldwide, is expected to be located in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park. It is established as part of cooperation between the Vietnamese Government and the World Economic Forum (WEF) for the 2023-26 period and under a deal signed between the chairman of the municipal People's Committee and WEF leader earlier this year.

Deputy Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee Võ Văn Hoan expressed his hope that the centre will become a platform not only for the city but also for the entire country to shape the development of Fourth Industrial Revolution strategies in line with the overall national development strategy, contributing to the global trajectory of technological advancement.

Manju George, heading the strategic impact and integration platform at WEF, noted that the C4IR in the city will benefit from the synergy of leading Vietnamese technology enterprises and leverage the knowledge and experience of the global C4IR network to provide support, advice, proposals, and recommendations for solutions, policies, and initiatives in line with Việt Nam’s directions and international technology trends.

Kim Byoungho, chairman of the Board of Directors of HDBank – a founding member of the C4IR in HCM City, said that its establishment is a significant step forward, contributing to creating breakthrough momentum towards the goal of developing HCM City into a modern industrial service city, as well as a hub for economy, finance, commerce, science-technology, and culture in the region.

Hải Dương to hold conference promoting Thanh Hà lychee

A conference on promoting the consumption of lychee and agricultural products of Hải Dương Province will be organised on May 9.

The conference will be held both in-person and online by the Department of Industry and Trade of Hải Dương Province in coordination with the Việt Nam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and Thanh Hà District People's Committee with the participation of the Vietnamese trade offices abroad and foreign businesses.

Approximately 50 foreign stakeholders are expected to participate online, along with about 100 delegates, including representatives from various Vietnamese trade offices, food processing companies, agricultural product importers and buyers from China, Japan, Australia, India, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong (China), the US and some Middle East countries.

Two-hundred delegates are expected to attend in person at the headquarters of the People's Committee of Thanh Hà District, Hải Dương Province.

Thanh Hà lychee consumption promotion conference aims to create opportunities for businesses, production and processing facilities, and business households in Hải Dương Province to promote trade, quality and brand, stimulate domestic consumption and export; develop existing markets, find and expand new and potential markets.

In addition, the conference will help units and businesses learn and grasp market needs and regulations on import and export of foreign markets to be proactive in the production and sales of lychees and provincial agricultural products.

At the same time, the conference will also introduce the potential and strengths of lychees and agricultural products of Hải Dương Province, gradually building a value chain for its agricultural products in a sustainable way. 

Automobile industry reported strong sales in Q1

April 2024 marks the second consecutive month the automobile industry reported significant growth since the beginning of the year, according to a report by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO).

Last month, 25,700 vehicles were produced and assembled in Việt Nam, an increase of 4 per cent compared to the previous month (24,800 vehicles), marking a comeback from a sharp decline in sales before Tết.

Production in April exceeded the industry’s previous projection, estimated at 24,500 vehicles and a 5 per cent increase from the same period last year. The report, however, said the first quarter of 2024’s projection remained at 88,300 vehicles, marking a 6.6 per cent decrease year-on-year.

Economists said along with the implementation of numerous support and stimulus policies, the economy has been staying on a path of recovery which provided the industry with a much-needed sales boost. The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) said its members had been reporting improved sales in March and April.

In addition, industry insiders and experts said the Government may continue offering reduced registration fees this year as part of a stimulus programme to encourage consumers to purchase vehicles produced and assembled domestically.

The previous three implementations have produced positive outcomes for the industry with owners enjoying a 5-6 per cent reduction in total costs. From December 2021 to May 2022, new registrations accounted for nearly half of the entire year’s sales. The industry set a sales record in 2022 with half a million vehicles sold throughout the year. 

TAR shares delisted from May 21

The Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) has issued a decision to delist TAR shares of Trung An Hi-Tech Farming JSC from compulsory listing.

As a result, more than 78 million TAR shares will be delisted on May 21. The last trading day will be on May 20.

HNX said that the reason for the delisting is the audit firm's refusal to provide an opinion on TAR's separate and consolidated financial statements for 2023, which falls under the compulsory delisting provision according to Decree 155.

According to the audited consolidated financial statements, the auditing company AASCS has declined to express an opinion on TAR's report. 

AASCS said that it is awaiting verification results from the relevant authority regarding issues raised in the conclusions of the inspection conducted by the State Securities Commission on September 13, 2023. 

These issues include the ownership of 15 million TAR shares in a private placement, the documentation for the private placement registration in 2021 and the accuracy of the disclosed inventory figures in the audited financial statements for 2022, which amount to nearly VNĐ1.3 trillion (US$49.4 million).

The audit firm cannot assess the impact of these issues on the company's 2023 financial statements. The issues remain unresolved and affect the company's consolidated financial statements.

Additionally, the parent company did not conduct an inventory count as of December 31, 2023, and AASCS cannot verify the inventory amounts of over VNĐ965.37 billion on the consolidated financial statement.

While the subsidiary company conducted an inventory count, AASCS cannot verify the inventory amounts of VNĐ112.66 billion as of December 31, 2023.

According to TAR's recently published annual report for 2023, the company has outlined its investment plans for 2024, which will focus on four projects.

They are a project to cultivate and process high-quality rice for export on 15,000 hectares of land and a waste-to-energy plant project in Phú Yên Province, a project to cultivate high-quality, low-emission rice on 50,000 hectares of land in Kiên Giang Province, and another waste-to-energy plant project in Sóc Trăng Province.

Currently, trading of TAR shares are subject to be restricted on HNX since October 30, with trading only allowed on Fridays. 

HCM City real estate market recovers slowly but steadily

The HCM City real estate market has shown signs of recovery this year, with a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in the value of total transactions.

According to a report by the General Statistics Office, they were worth VNĐ80.85 trillion in the year to date.

Experts forecast a further recovery in the market in the second half of 2024 and a complete recovery from 2025 onwards, driven by several factors such as foreign investment, reviving demand and infrastructure development. 

But challenges persist, including high prices and legal issues related to licensing.

Several major property developers have been struggling to meet interest payment deadlines on both domestic and foreign bond issuances.

Experts said real estate firms should focus on affordable housing and consider reducing prices to align with people's incomes.

The Government has established a task force involving various ministries and agencies to address challenges facing the corporate bond market, especially in the real estate industry. 

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