Canadian trade minister

Vietnam racks up US$1.29 billion in trade surplus in two months

February 28, 2021 by en.nhandan.org.vn

The country’s trade turnover during January-February topped some US$95.81 billion, a year-on-year surge of 25.4%. Of the total, exports amounted to US$48.55 billion, a yearly hike of 23.2%, while imports were estimated at US$47.26 billion, or 25.9% higher than the same time last year.

Foreign-invested companies accounted for 76.4%, or US$37.07 billion, of Vietnam’s total export turnover. Meanwhile, the domestic sector shipped abroad US$11.48 billion worth of products.

There were nine commodities joining the billion-USD export club, including telephones and parts (US$9.3 billion, up 22.8% year-on-year); electronics, computers and parts (US$6.9 billion, up 27.3%); equipment, machines and parts (US$5.5 billion, up 72.6%); footwear (US$3.2 billion, up 15.4%); and wood and wooden products (US$2.4 billion, up 51%). They made up 73% of the country’s export turnover.

Vietnam also saw strong surge in shipments of several agricultural products, such as fruits and vegetables (US$610 million, rising 14.6%), rubber (US$516 million, increasing 109.7%), cashew (US$442 million, up 21.5%), and cassava (US$256 million, hiking 78.2%).

The US was Vietnam’s biggest importer as it splashed out US$14.2 billion on Vietnamese products, or 38.2% higher than the amount it spent the same time last year. China came second with US$8.5 billion, followed by the EU with 6.3 billion, ASEAN US$4.2 billion, the Republic of Korea US$3.4 billion, and Japan US$3.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the country spent big (US$47.26 billion) on imports, with foreign-invested sector purchasing US$31.64 billion worth of products from abroad for production, up 31.4%, while that of the domestic sector surged 16% to US$15.62 billion.

In the two-month period, China was the largest exporter of Vietnam, with revenue estimated at US$17.3 billion, up 85.7% year-on-year, followed by the Republic of Korea with US$8.4 billion, ASEAN US$5.6 billion, Japan US$3.1 billion, EU US$2.3 billion, and the US US$2.1 billion.

In a bid to support local firms in promoting production and exports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that it will work to capitalise on opportunities from the signed free trade agreements to seek measures for market development. Additionally, it will keep close watch on the global market to identify key export products, while paying due heed to penning measures for market development.

Vietnam jumps three notches in Global Soft Power Index

February 28, 2021 by dtinews.vn

Vietnam climbed three places to 47th in the Global Soft Power Index 2021 thanks to significant improvements in its national brand and socio-economic achievements over the past year, according to Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index Report.

Viet Nam seems to have managed all aspects of its perception quite well. Especially the integration and alignment of its nation brand and the brands from the country, according to Samir Dixit, Managing Director, Brand Finance Asia Pacific.

The Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the Viet Nam National Brand Program from 2020 to 2030, which aims to increase the value and rankings of the nation brand while targeting over 1,000 products to become strong national brands. The brands from the country are managed through specific efforts and initiatives undertaken by Vietrade, under their nation mark program “Viet Nam Value”, he added.

At a national level, Viet Nam had established diplomatic relations with 187 out of 193 member states of the United Nations and completed the process of negotiating and signing new-generation FTAs – including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement – making the country an important factor in all regional and intra-regional economic links, which is a booster for Viet Nam’s imports and exports.

Vu Ba Phu, Director General, Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade said soft power stems from not only the inheritance and promotion of its own values – including the heroic history, tradition, culture, and peace-loving foreign policy – but also the development and optimization of its new position and advantage.

In the difficult context of 2020, the successful “dual role” performance of Viet Nam, as both ASEAN President and non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, is a testament to the harmonious application of soft power in Viet Nam’s multilateral and bilateral diplomatic relations, said Phu.

Viet Nam is one of the most open economies in the world, with the ratio of trade to GDP increasing from 136% in 2010 to approximately 200% in 2019.

Amid COVID-19 shutdowns, causing outputs to slump in early 2020, Viet Nam was among a very few number of countries to achieve positive GDP growth – of nearly 3%./.

Viettel on the way to becoming a world leading defense industry group

February 28, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

The 12th National Party Congress determined: “Promoting the development of the defense and security industry for both military and civilian purposes; increasing resources, creating modern material and technical foundations for the development of the People’s Army and the People’s Public Security Forces, meeting the requirements of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.”

While inheriting that point of view, the political draft report at the 13th National Party Congress also gives new points: “Building and developing a modern dual-use defense and security industry, both satisfying the requirements of the task of protecting the Fatherland and making an important contribution to national socio-economic development.”

To clarify the new points in the political report at the 13th National Party Congress, reporters of the People’s Army Online Newspaper had an interview with Major General Hoang Son, Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy General Director of Military Industry – Telecoms Group (Viettel).

Researching and developing high level technologies for national defense

Reporter: Mr. Deputy General Director, documents of the 13th National Party Congress mention the need to develop a number of key science and technology branches to solve urgent issues and apply scientific and technological advances to both economic and defense sectors. What do you think about this policy and what will Viettel do to successfully realize it?

Major General Hoang Son: The new contents articulated in the documents of the 13th National Party Congress on the issues are the developments of the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress. These developments have reflected the flexibility and creativity of the Party in response to the new situation.

Regarding its development strategy, Viettel has so far established business, trade and investment ties with more than 120 partners from 35 countries. Thanks to our widespread business network, we can easily access advanced technologies, seek potential suppliers, build a network of experts and partners, and find high quality human resources. These advantages can help us save time and money when we conduct projects on researching, developing and producing high-quality and high-level technological products.

Over the past years, under the leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of Defense, as well as Viettel Group’s leaders’ direction, engineers and workers of the Hi-tech Equipment and Weaponry Research and Production Division have researched and produced a number of high-quality defense products. After being commissioned, all Viettel-made equipment and weaponry systems are highly appreciated by military units. Feedback from the users say that Viettel-made equipment and weaponry systems are reliable and convenient for operation, and in accordance with combat conditions in Vietnam. This result has encouraged Viettel’s staff to research and develop more hi-tech defense products on one hand, and built up the confidence of military officers and soldiers in using equipment and weapons produced by Viettel on the other hand.

Reporter: Can you elaborate on the results of Viettel’s implementation of the Party Resolution on development of the defense industry?

Major General Hoang Son: Firstly, Viettel has made the Party, Government, and the Ministry of National Defense more confident that the Vietnamese are able to gradually research and produce hi-tech military equipment and weapons, contributing to protecting the country from afar. The “Made by Viettel” weapons being equipped in the military are the clearest evidence for that argument.

Secondly, in doing so, Viettel has created a new way in the development of hi-tech industry: instead of relying mainly on the State budget, it is possible to mobilize resources from enterprises. Facts also show that instead of waiting for directions and assignments from higher-level authorities, Viettel actively draws up tasks, mechanisms and policies for itself and proposes the higher-level authorities to approve them; instead of relying on technology transfer from foreign partners, Viettel itself invests in research, development and production of hi-tech products. In fact, it is exactly the way that large industrial groups in countries like the US, Russia, China, Israel, and European countries operate .

Thirdly, over the past years, Viettel has researched, developed and produced hi-tech military equipment and weaponry systems for the military, facilitating the modernization process of several military corps and services and contributing to improving national defense capabilities and combat abilities of the Vietnam People’s Army. The group’s efforts have also helped save the national defense budget.

Fourthly, Viettel has gradually built up modern and synchronous research and production infrastructure and strong resources for the development of hi-tech defense industry and national industry.

Fifthly, the group’s branch of hi-tech industry has gradually become a major part of its production and business plans, while significantly contributing to the State budget and the Ministry of Defense’s budget.

Building firm industrial structure

Reporter: What will Viettel do in the future to develop itself as a large group with technologies for civilian and defense purposes?

Major General Hoang Son: According to its future strategy, Viettel aims to become one of the world’s leading defense industry companies. To meet this end, it will continue to develop and produce new generations of military equipment, and smarter, more accurate and more reliable weapons based on the application of core technologies of Industry 4.0, particularly AI, big data and IoT.

Viettel will also develop technologies that can manufacture products for both civilian and military use. Further, it strives to conquer core technologies and have exclusive patents as well as to build a strong industrial infrastructure with modern lab systems and synchronous, professional and well-organized production facilities to meet dual-use production. It will also support the formation of the domestic support industry system.

Another focus of the group is to continuously develop high-quality human resources with specialized experts, highly-qualified engineers and skilled workers. The group’s investment in training personnel will help it successfully realize its development strategy on one hand, and contribute to the development of a well-trained workforce for the national defense industry and the domestic labor market as a whole.

Reporter: What policy does Viettel have to develop its workforce?

Major General Hoang Son: Viettel always focuses on building the capacity of its cadres and officers. It frequently organizes internal training and retraining courses for its staff and creates favorable conditions for young talented people to take higher responsibilities and get more work experience.

Over the past years, the group has pursued several policies to attract excellent personnel, to give privileges to talented, dedicated staff, and to support workers in need. Additionally, it tries to build a good working environment, and creates more career opportunities for young people.

Reporter: Can you name some major contributions of the group to the modernization of the military as well as to national socio-economic development?

Major General Hoang Son: The group has reached all production and business targets over the past years. It has grown fast in both production and business scales as well as in both revenue and profit, contributing 37 trillion dongs to the State’s budget.

In recent times, the group has contributed importantly to national digital transformation, digital government projects, smart city models, digital economy building and digital society building. Viettel also leads in applying Big Data and advanced technologies of Industry 4.0 as well as innovating modern management models and providing technological solutions and services for other enterprises.

Its overseas investment activities have been another success of Viettel over the past years. It gains annual growth in revenue and profit. Take 2020 as an example, while the revenues of its overseas investment projects grew by 19%, the profit increased 25%. Last year, the group brought home some US$ 333 million from the foreign markets it invests in.

To realize its commitment to the Party and State, since the beginning of 2021, it has tested 5G networks with Viettel-made equipment in a number of places in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Reporter: Thank you.

Translated by Thu Nguyen

Military and public security units receive recruits

February 28, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

Secretary of the Hanoi Municipal Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue attended the handover ceremony in Dong Anh district and presented gifts to units that youths will serve in. This year, 239 youths in Dong Anh district will serve in military and public security forces. 19.2% of them hold university and college degrees while 57% of them graduated from high school. Attentively, 52% of the recruits volunteered to do the military service.

* Directing the ceremony in Thanh Hoa city to hand over more than 3,500 youths from 27 localities in Thanh Hoa province to units under the Ministries of National Defense and Public Security, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Deputy Defense Minister asked units to promptly receive the young recruits, arrange accommodations for them, and start military training programs. Among the recruits, nearly 1,000 youths come from ethnic minority groups.

* Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Le Huy Vinh attended a recruit handover ceremony in Da Nang city and encouraged youths to complete their military service. 18.3% of over 1,000 youths doing military services in this coastal city are university and college degree holders and 1.7% of them are local workers.

* Deputy Defense Minister Vice Admiral Pham Hoai Nam directed the handover ceremony in Hoai Nhon district, Binh Dinh province. This year, more than 2,300 youths from the province joined the military.

* Sr. Lt. Gen. Tran Quang Phuong, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People’s Army, attended a ceremony in Duc Pho town, Quang Ngai province to hand over 2,450 youths to military units and 190 youths to public security units. 0.39% of the recruits are Party members.

* The recruit handover ceremony in Song Cong city, Thai Nguyen province, saw the presence of Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, and Lt. Gen. Nguyen Hong Thai, Commander of Military Region 1. This year, 1,800 youths in Thai Nguyen province are doing military service. The number of university and college graduates has increased by 1.3% against last year.

* Lt. Gen. Nguyen Trong Binh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff attended a ceremony in Hue city to hand over youths from Thua Thien-Hue province to military units.

* This year, 2,700 youths in Bac Giang province will serve in military units. Over 500 youths volunteered to do military service, and nearly 20% of the recruits are ethnic minority people. At the handover ceremony, local authorities presented gifts to the recruits.

* Among youths doing military service in Quang Binh province this year, two are female. Attentively, 65.05% of the recruits meet high school education and higher levels.

* The political awareness, health conditions, and knowledge of the 2,000 plus recruits in Khanh Hoa province this year are higher than those in previous years. Four are Party members.

* All 997 youths in Dak Nong province serving in military and public security units this year are Party members and youth union members.

* 628 of 2,578 youths in Gia Lai province doing military service this year volunteered to serve in military and public security units. 21 were admitted to the Party.

* In Dak Lak province, among 2,842 youths serving in military and public security units this year, two are female, 159 are graduates of universities and colleges, six are State officials and civil servants, and eight are Party members.

Translated by Mai Huong

Millionaire story of a “buffalo boy”

February 28, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

A man from the southwestern region of Vietnam started his business with a female buffalo that was then extended to hundreds of buffaloes, earning him annual revenue of over a billion VND.

Though busy during the last days of the lunar year, Mr. Nguyen Hong Ngu, a resident of Long My district in Hau Giang province, spent time to tell us his “destiny”: becoming wealthy from buffaloes.

Resting on a meadow, he shared his childhood memory about buffaloes. When he grew up, he chose the buffalo to start his business.

“Twenty-seven years ago, Luong Nghia land was so heavily contaminated with alum that there was only one crop per annum. Only about 600 kilograms of grain per labor per crop were harvested. What frustrated me was thzt no buffalo was available for the crops.

Back then, I had just got married. I decided to take the money and gold received from the wedding to purchase a female buffalo for VND5 million. I just thought of using the buffalo for our own crop, not yet getting rich from it,” said Ngu.

The buffalo was not only used for his own farm. It was rented by his neighbors too. At the end of the harvest, Ngu bought nearly one tael of gold. A couple months later, the buffalo got pregnant. Ngu started to develop her breed. “So far, I have had a herd of hundreds of buffaloes. The first buffalo was dead after delivering 16 calves.”

His buffaloes are raised in different southern provinces, namely Hau Giang, An Giang, Dong Thap, etc. for trade convenience. Every day, the buffaloes are out in the grass field and soak in the water for about an hour. Then, they return to the stables for the lawn. “Cutting lawns is a hard job but does not cost much money as food does for pigs, chicken, and ducks,” said Ngu.

Ngu uses 20 acres of land for grass for the buffaloes. When there is no grass on the meadow, he has to buy rice roots from newly harvested fields. During these times, the buffaloes are well fed and chubby.

VND3 billion house from buffalo sale

Ngu bought cheap thin and weak buffaloes to nurture them. He sells them when they are healthy and meaty. Annually, he sells 500 buffaloes for meat, bringing him a profit of over VND500 million (nearly $25,000). He also sells the calves of 40 female buffaloes, earning about VND600 million.

Other strong and healthy male buffaloes are rented out for crops. “At the year end, those male buffaloes return to me. They don’t cost my energy or time but bring income.” Totally, he earns more than a billion per annum.

From his childhood experience, Ngu knows what buffaloes like and how to take care of them. Understanding them well, he can sell them at a better price than other people. “The good and healthy buffalo has small hips and big buttocks. Buffaloes are gentle when meeting humans,” said Ngu.

Nowadays, Ngu owns such a huge number of buffaloes that whenever tens of buffaloes are caught in the West, they probably belong to him. Whenever there is a good meadow, there are Ngu’s buffaloes. They are a great asset. Thanks to the business, he owns 200 acres of land.

The cost of a female buffalo is about VND50 million. A young female buffalo costs VND30-VND40 million. “I sold 110 young female buffaloes for over VND3 billion to build a house. My family has a better life from the buffalo business. Whenever I hear about land opportunity, I sell some buffaloes for land,” said Ngu.

Chuyện làm giàu của tỷ phú trâu ở miền Tây ai nghe cũng mê

Mr. Ngu and his buffaloes.

Thien Chi

Ho Chi Minh City files another proposal for public minibus system after 2020 blunder

February 28, 2021 by tuoitrenews.vn

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has unveiled its plan to incorporate 12- to 17-seater minibuses into its public transport system in a proposal submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

It is expected to help turn more motorbike drivers to public commuting, which would in turn alleviates the pressure on Ho Chi Minh City’s overloaded urban transport.

In the proposal, the People’s Committee stated that bus route coverage in urban Ho Chi Minh City only fared 1km/sqkm, which is much lower than the standard of 2.5 km/sqkm.

The city’s bus fleet consists of 2,322 vehicles on 137 routes, the majority of which are 41-60 seaters designed to operate on streets at least 10 meters wide.

However, among the city’s nearly 5,000 streets, 3,450 are less than seven meters wide, which makes it impossible for the majority of public buses to reach.

This is also considered the underpinning of the sub-par bus coverage in Ho Chi Minh, which put off many potential customers as they have to travel great lengths to use the bus system.

Considering the situation, the introduction of light buses is essential for Ho Chi Minh City’s smart city initiative, according to the proposal.

In its bid to solve the issue, the proposal envisions 20 new minibus routes to connect areas of the city with the forthcoming metro line No. 1, which runs from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc City, as well as 10 routes using light buses to plug passengers into BRT route No. 1 in the 2021-2022 phase.

As per current regulations, bus routes must employ vehicles with 17 seats or more, with areas for both sitting and standing passengers, with one exception that vehicles of 12-17 seats can operate on routes that cross narrow streets or bridges in more than half of their journeys.

Considering this, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee is asking for permission from the prime minister to use light buses of 12 to 17 seats to boost coverage of the public bus system and help bring bus routes within reach of all city dwellers.

More choices

Le Trung Tinh, chairman of the Inter-Province and Tourism Passenger Transport Association, said that Ho Chi Minh City first proposed a light bus system in 2020, with six routes to cover new residential areas inaccessible by the city’s public commuting system.

As per the plan, the routes would have their fare set VND10,000-40,000 (US$0.43-1.73) per trip.

Vehicle cost would be covered by investors, while a partner will manage routes and customers via a dedicated ride-hailing application, where passengers could book tickets and track their bus in real-time.

However, the Ministry of Transport rejected the plan on the basis of Decree 10/2020, which requires that public buses have 17 seats or more.

This decree was also used to justify the rejection of Hanoi’s minibus proposal in 2018.

Vu Anh Tuan, director of the Vietnam-Germany Transportation Research Center, also deemed the introduction of minibuses requisite to Ho Chi Minh City as its road network consists of mostly small lanes that impede the entry of bigger vehicles and thwart the development of the public transportation system.

Meanwhile, minibuses will be able to navigate these streets and bring new customers who seek an intermediary means of transport to reach BRT and metro routes.

According to Tuan, Ho Chi Minh City is currently home to over 10 million citizens, which translates to roughly 30 million trips within the city per day given the average of three travels per person on any day.

In reality, the city’s bus system can only handle one million trips per day, or three percent of the approximated demand, while that number is expected to be 15 percent by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030, according to objectives set by city officials.

In order to reach these goals, the bus fleet in the city must be tripled, even quadrupled, Tuan remarked.

“Operational effectiveness will not be raised if only big buses are added to the fleet and put on routes with low demand,” he said.

“Minibuses, once introduced, will provide customers with more traveling choices.”

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