The Committee on Trade and Investment held a workshop on Strengthening Transparency and Participation in the Process of Negotiation of Trade Agreements in HCM City on Sunday. – VNS Photo Hoang Nam There is a lack of information about policy in trade negotiations in some countries and territories, and experience shows that many would like to have a voice in the process, an APEC workshop heard. The Committee on Trade and Investment held a workshop on strengthening transparency and participation in the process of negotiation of trade agreements in HCM City on Sunday within the framework of the third Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3) and related meetings. Speaking at the workshop, moderator Filipe Lopeandia, head of the TPP Department and OECD Department at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “This worshop directly focuses on a general debate on how different economies are conducting their trade negotiations … [Read more...]

The APEC workshop on August 18 focuses on customs best practices to identify illegal timber and wood products (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – An APEC workshop was held in Ho Chi Minh City on August 18 with a focus on customs best practices to identify illegal timber and wood products. The function was held by the APEC Experts Group on Illegal Logging and Associated Trade as part of the third APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM 3). Statistics of the International Trade Centre (ITC) show that global wood and furniture exports respectively reached 127 billion USD and 233 billion USD in 2016, rising by 7.9 percent and 10.8 percent from 2012. Forests in APEC economies account for 53 percent of the world’s forest area. The region also makes up 60 percent of the global timber and wood products output and 80 percent of the global timber and … [Read more...]

The fast-growing country of Vietnam has recently established a working group on finance and trade that will map out favorable policies to allow financial and banking service providers to facilitate export activities. The group, the first of its kind in the country to date, made its debut at a seminar on trade and export promotion in Hanoi on September 22, at consists of representatives from a number of ministries, sectors, banks, business associations, trade promotion organizations, and production and exporting businesses. In addition, it will suggest initiatives and practical activities to further enhance relations between businesses and banks to help businesses obtain easier access to capital sources and updated financial and trade information. The seminar was part of a project on trade promotion and export development co-sponsored by the Swiss and Swedish governments. This year, Vietnam is forecast to reach $37.44 billion in exports, up 18.5 per cent on-year and spend US$42-43 … [Read more...]

Furthermore, as the second decade of the twenty-first century proceeds, the region faces various challenges, such as high food and fuel prices, continued malaise in most of the developed economies, and a higher incidence of natural disasters that affect trade and investment. At the same time, there are also plenty of opportunities. With its focus on the theme ÒPost-crisis trade and investment opportunitiesÓ, this yearÕs Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report identifies the challenges and opportunities for trade and investment in the region. The report concludes that, with the right policies and strengthened regional cooperation, the region would be able to continue its strong trade- and investment-led growth. According to the report, export and import values in the region have already returned to pre-crisis levels, while investment inflows are recovering, albeit at a slower rate, particularly in Central and South Asia. The recovery from the crisis has, to a large … [Read more...]

The MoT plans to organize a meeting this week to discuss setup of the association. Trade experts said that the association's presence will team up domestic retail enterprises and reinforce their self-confidence in global competition. In mid-May this year Phu Thai and three other leading retailers, the Saigon Trading Group (Satra), the Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro), the Ho Chi Minh City Commercial Cooperative Union (Saigon Co.op), jointly launched the Vietnam Distribution Network Investment and Development Joint Stock Company (VDA), the biggest of its kind in the country, boosting their competitiveness and the ability of distributors to fend off the expected influx of global rivals. In compliance to the WTO commitments, Vietnam opens its retail market in phases, attracting massive interest by foreign investors. The country will completely open its distribution market for foreign partners from January 1, 2009. Earlier, report "Vietnam Retail Industry Analysis" recognized Vietnam as … [Read more...]

HCM CITY (VNS)— Viet Nam lost more than 3,000ha of its forest cover in 2012, a year-end review conference heard last week. Quang Nam Province strengthens inspection of illegal logging QUANG NAM — The People's Committee of the central province of Quang Nam plans to crack down on illegal logging and associated trades in forest resources. People's Committee vice chairman Nguyen Ngoc Quang said the campaign involved a variety of forest protection activities. The first round of inspections will run from January 20 to February 20, targeting illegal logging and mining and those who transport the smuggled goods. The following round from February 21 to March 31 will focus on preventing prospective loggers from transporting machinery and equipment into forested areas. Districts have been instructed to make lists of hotspots for authorities to concentrate on. Checkpoints will also be set up to detect and punish those involved in these activities. In the northern … [Read more...]

Taiwan investors plan to move to Vietnam By Tran Thu - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – A number of Taiwanese enterprises plan to shift their investment to Vietnam, especially the north, said a Taiwanese delegation at the 18th Vietnam-Taiwan trade development conference organized in HCMC on Tuesday. Speaking at the conference, Jerry Yang, general director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in HCMC said Vietnam is the first choice of Taiwanese investors since the compensation costs in the Chinese market have increased. Shi Huang, a member of the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association Trade (CIECA) and chairman of Chinfon Corporation, took a group of 30 representatives of Taiwanese firms to Vietnam in a bid to seek business opportunities in this new environment. Previously, a delegation of businesses from Taiwan joined in a conference on investment promotion held in Hanoi. They surveyed the investment environment in northern provinces. After this visit, some … [Read more...]

CAN THO (VNS) — Authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta have asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to list rice and tra fish as two of the key items in the government's trade-promotion programme. The progamme helps promote products in export markets by providing funds to industry associations, trade-promotion agencies and corporations. Every year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade draws up a list of industries that have been chosen to receive help from the government. Delta authorities made their request at a seminar held on Wednesday by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Can Tho City People's Committee in Can Tho. Seminar participants said that rice and tra catfish, the Delta's key products, had faced price declines during bumper harvests, and that farmers, including shrimp breeders, lacked capital for production. In addition, tra fish farmers have suffered severe financial losses, and shrimp farmers are facing disease outbreaks. Most shrimp and tra … [Read more...]

Viet Nam has set up a working group on finance and trade which will design favourable policies to allow financial and banking service providers to facilitate export activities. The group, comprising representatives from a number of ministries, sectors, banks, business associations, trade promotion organisations, and production and exporting businesses, made its debut at a seminar on trade and export promotion in Hanoi on Sept. 22. It will also suggest initiatives and practical activities to further enhance relations between businesses and banks so as to help businesses obtain easier access to capital sources and updated financial and trade information. The seminar was part of a project on trade promotion and export development co-sponsored by the Swiss and Swedish governments. Source: VNA … [Read more...]

Vietnam wanted to finish negotiations and sign the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade /Voluntary Partnerships Agreement (FLEGT/VPA) with the European Union late next year to facilitate Vietnamese wooden products entering the EU market. Addressing a national consultation workshop on FLEGT/VPA on August 3, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hua Duc Nhi said that Vietnam's timber processing industry had developed remarkably, creating jobs and contributing to the country's poverty reduction. However, he said, the industry faced challenges including low efficiency and productivity, a disadvantaged financial environment and especially meeting new requirements on logging and sustainable timber sources. The FLEGT Action Plan, approved by the EU in 2003, will take effect in March 2013 as one of EU's responses to international concerns about illegal logging and trading. It sets out supply-and-demand measures to combat the problem. The implementation of the FLEGT/VPA … [Read more...]