Saltwater contamination threatens Mekong Delta agricultural land
HCMC – Saltwater intrusion has begun to make its way into provinces near the Mekong River, affecting the irrigation of crops. Some 60,000 hectares of rice and over 43,000 hectares of fruit in the Mekong Delta’s coastal provinces are at risk of being contaminated by saltwater, said the Directorate
Interbank interest rates surge
HCMC – Interbank interest rates surged last week as the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country’s central bank, shifted from net cash injections to withdrawals from the banking system. February 2 saw the interbank rate for the 9-month term jumping to 13% per annum from the previous 9.61%, but the
Hanoi seeks to remove hurdles to land use right auctions
HCMC – Hanoi City has proposed measures to eliminate hindrances to land auctions this year, as its revenue from land auctions last year met a mere 50% of the target. According to the Portal of the Hanoi People’s Committee, the city planned to collect VND12,450 billion from land use right auctions
Transport Ministry gets extra VND31 trillion for public investment
HCMC – The Government has allocated an extra VND31.4 trillion to the Ministry of Transport to fund key traffic infrastructure projects in the country. The allocation of additional capital, approved by Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai yesterday, February 7, will be set for the ministry’s five
Saigon Times to organize CEO Forum on pharmaceutical industry
HCMC – The Saigon Times Group, in collaboration with the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Companies Association (VNPCA), NS BlueScope Vietnam Company’s Colorbond® and GMPC Vietnam Company, will hold a forum titled “Enhancing the competitiveness of pharmaceutical manufacturing” at the Rex Hotel in HCMC on
Time for customs clearance to be cut by 10% from this year
HCMC – The General Department of Vietnam Customs has set administrative reform targets to simplify customs procedures, including reducing the time for customs clearance and goods release by 10%, reducing the number of batches required for sampling for analysis and assessment by 20%, and applying
NAF to acquire 99.9% stake in Nghe An Food
HCMC – Nafoods Group JSC, which trades its NAF shares on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, has approved a plan to spend VND309 billion buying all assets from Nghe An Food Products JSC (Naprod) to secure a 99.9% stake in the latter. NAF, a major shareholder of Nghe An Food, is holding a 5% stake in […]
Retail sales of goods and services seen growing 8-9%
HCMC – Vietnam’s trade sector is set to achieve 8-9% growth in retail sales of consumer goods and services this year. At the 2023 conference on domestic production and consumption promotion and export market expansion yesterday, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said the supply of
HCMC proposes building parking lots at vacant locations
HCMC – The government of HCMC has sent a draft resolution to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, seeking approval to build parking lots at vacant locations to meet the high parking demand. The multi-storey parking structures can be operated for less than 10 years and installed at the sites of
Vietnam’s rice prices soar to two-year highs
HCMC – Export prices of Vietnamese rice have surged to two-year highs, offering a bright prospect for the country’s rice export sector this year. The export price of 5% broken rice on February 5 was US$473 per ton, up US$15 per ton month-on-month, while the country’s 25% broken rice increased to
Car carrier catches fire, drifts off Vung Tau coast
HCMC – The Panamanian-flagged ship Ah Shin, carrying over 4,500 cars from South Korea to Singapore, caught fire while crossing the waters of Binh Thuan and is now drifting off the coast of Vung Tau City for the fire to be extinguished. All crew members on board are safe. Currently, the fire has
FPT Software gets approval for tech center in Binh Dinh
HCMC – The Binh Dinh government has presented an investment certificate to FPT Software for a VND2-trillion technology expert training, research and development complex in Quy Nhon City. The complex will be constructed in Quy Hoa Valley in Ghenh Rang Ward in the third quarter of this year. The
Over VND100,000 billion in taxes proposed for extension
HCMC – The Ministry of Finance is seeking feedback on a draft Government decree on the rescheduling of payments of value added tax (VAT), corporate income tax (CIT) and land rent amounting to over VND100,000 billion. The draft decree, which was prepared by the ministry, proposes granting a
Over 80% of real estate bonds have low creditworthiness: FiinRatings
HCMC – Over 80% of real estate bonds have been issued by unlisted firms that are financially weak and have low transparency, said the credit rating agency FiinRatings. They may financially leverage further in 2023, causing default risk to grow at alarming rates, FiinRatings said in its latest
SBV pumps more money into banking system post Tet
HCMC – The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has injected more money into the banking system since the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday ended more than 10 days ago. The central bank on February 3 bought over VND2.4 trillion worth of seven-day valuable papers with an annual coupon rate of 6%, while draining
Vietnam sets 2023 export target of US$394 billion
HCMC – Vietnam has set a target of exporting goods worth US$393-394 billion in 2023, up by US$22 billion or 6% against last year, said a trade official. It would be challenging to reach this export target as the country’s export sector has been facing issues such as high yet unsustainable export
