Participants at the workshop. Photo: VNA

Vietnam looks to boost trade with China’s special administrative region

A workshop discussing measures to promote business cooperation between Vietnam and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) of China was held in Hanoi on January 10.

The event was jointly organised by the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC), the GBA Union, and the Hong Kong - Vietnam Chamber of Commerce (HKVCC) .

It focused on introducing Hong Kong's recent development, and Vietnam's investment environment and incentives, aiming to call on Hong Kong enterprises to increase their investment in Vietnam.

In his opening speech, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong highlighted the significance of the workshop as offering a chance for the two sides to share new investment and trade trends and solutions to improve Vietnam's investment environment, and presenting an opportunity to propose measures to better the efficiency of cooperation between the two sides.

The MPI will always create favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Hong Kong, to invest and do business effectively in Vietnam, he said.

The official expressed the hope that the economic relations between Vietnam and Hong Kong will develop to new heights, towards prosperity and sustainable development of their business community.

Jonathan Choi, Chairman of the CGCC, HKVCC, and Union, said cultural and geographical proximity also facilitates cooperation between Vietnam, Hong Kong and the Hong Kong – Guangdong - Macau region in many fields, especially trade, investment and tourism.

There will be ample room for bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of farm produce, financial services, technology and innovation, he stressed.

On the occasion, the FIA inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in trade and investment promotion with the CGCC, GBA Union and HKVCC, cited VNA.

According to the MPI, the trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Hong Kong has greatly contributed to strengthening bilateral economic relations.

Vietnam is Hong Kong's eighth largest trading partner. In 2021, the two-way trade reached 13.5 billion USD. By November 2022, Vietnam raked in 10 billion USD from exporting goods to Hong Kong, while spending 1.78 billion USD on importing from it.

Meanwhile, Hong Hong remains the fifth largest foreign investor in Vietnam with 2,164 projects worth nearly 29.5 billion USD, mainly in processing, manufacturing, real estate, production and distribution of electricity, gas, and water.

Lunar New Year’s Eve fireworks to be set off across Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is set to hold 15-minute fireworks displays at six venues across the city in order to welcome the Year of the Cat on Lunar New Year’s Eve on January 22.

The Municipal Department of Culture and Sports recently announced that at the six sites, a high-range firework show will light up the skies over the entrance of the Saigon River Tunnel in Thu Duc City for local people to enjoy.

Photo: VOV

Elsewhere, low-range fireworks will be put on display at Ben Noc Memorial Temple in Thu Duc City, Dam Sen Theme Park in District 11, Ben Duoc Memorial Temple in Cu Chi district, Can Thanh Town in Can Gio district, and a memorial of martyrs in Binh Chanh district.

The fireworks displays will be available at 0:00 on January 22 to mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year, known locally as Tet, according to VOV.

Local authorities have assigned competent agencies to make thorough preparations for the show to ensure the utmost safety and security at designated venues.

Cold weather to blanket northern Vietnam in Lunar New Year holidays: Forecasting Centre

The northern region is expected to celebrate the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival in cold weather, according to the National Hydrometeorological Forecasting Centre.

The spell is forecast to linger through the country's longest annual festival, this year lasting from January 20-26, while the central and south-central regions will see rains.

Cold weather to blanket northern Vietnam in Lunar New Year holidays. Photo: VNA

Between January 15-18, the northern region will be cloudy and experience light rains. Rains are forecast during the period, and will will continue in the central region, while the Central Highlands and the southern region will see less rains, the centre said.

It said there have been no signs of storms or tropical depressions in the South China Sea so far.

Hanoi calligraphy festival set to run during Tet

The annual spring calligraphy festival will kick off at the Literature Lake, part of the Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature), on January 15 after a two-year hiatus related to the development of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Le Xuan Kieu, director of the Van Mieu–Quoc Tu Giam Cultural and Scientific Centre, said the festival is to promote traditional culture and preserve the unique calligraphic art.

This year will see the festival draw the participation of 50 calligraphers who are members of calligraphic clubs based in the capital.

Photo: VOV

The calligraphers will don Ao Dai (the national long dress) and will sit in bamboo tents following the traditions of the past.

Working on red or yellow Do (poonah) paper, they will write scripts which are intended to bring good health, luck, and prosperity for those in attendance.

The festival will also provide check-in spots for visitors to pose for photographs, reported VOV.

Furthermore, traditional crafts such as pottery, paper making, embroidery, and wood carving will be showcased to help introduce Vietnamese culture to local and foreign visitors.

Folk performances including Quan Ho (love duet singing) and water puppetry will also be available on this occasion.

The festival will last through to January 29, or the eighth day of the first lunar month.

Vietnam remained among world’s top FDI destinations in 2022

Vietnam remained an attractive destination for foreign investment last year with FDI flow pouring into the country uninterrupted despite a global economic slowdown, according to the Ministry of Finance.

In a recent report by the ministry, the total asset value of foreign firms in the country has increased to over VND8,857 trillion (US$377 billion), a 13.1 per cent increase from the previous year. During the same period of time, the FDI sector reported an after-tax profit of nearly VND9,455 trillion, an 8.8 per increase year-to-year.

The sector’s net income in 2021 was reported at over VND8,567 trillion, a 19.3 per cent increase over the previous year with an after-tax profit of over VND8,358 trillion or a 29.6 per cent increase over 2020.

FDI’s contribution to the state’s budget continued to grow in size from VND164 trillion in 2020 to VND180 trillion in 2021.

Major growth drivers in the sector included manufacturing, processing (VND621.5 trillion), finance, banking and insurance (VND133.3 trillion), energy (VND68.3 trillion), wholesales and retails (VND58.1 trillion) and logistics (VND35.8 trillion).

An industrial park located in the northern province of Vinh Phuc. Photo: VNA

Notably, according to the ministry’s report, FDI assets in manufacturing and processing have increased at a pace 4.5 times faster than finance, banking and insurance and 9 times faster than other industries.

Logistics led the pack in growth with an annual rate of 34.9 per cent, followed by financial services at 30.6 per cent and energy at 23.8 per cent.

On the other hand, there were still a number of FDI-dominated industries that reported losses, cited VNS.

By the end of last year, nearly 14,300, or 55 per cent of all FDI firms operating in Vietnam, still reported losses, 11 per cent higher than the same figure in 2020 with a total amount of VND168.3 trillion. Cumulative losses were even higher with more than 16,250 FDI firms reporting losses up to VND706.1 trillion.

“Higher losses and cumulative losses among FDI firms showed a large number of FDI firms have not been able to fully realise their potential and effectively utilise their investment,” said the ministry in a statement, “It has also called for a more selective process to choose FDI investors in the future.”

Another issue pointed out by the ministry was the vast majority of FDI firms chose to locate in or near major cities and provinces in the Red River Delta and the Mekong Delta to take advantage of existing infrastructure and logistics, which has resulted in an uneven pace of industrial development among localities.

Southern economic hub HCM City remained the country’s top destination with VND1,739 trillion in FDI flow, followed by capital city Hanoi with VND916.8 trillion, southern Binh Duong Province with VND687.6 trillion and northern port city Hai Phong with VND533.6 trillion last year.

The Ministry of Finance called for measures to be taken to increase the pace of localisation and the development of high-tech industries as well as to improve linkage among economic centres and domestic production capacity.

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