Devices input

Room for Vietnam-Russia trade growth remains large: Deputy PM

November 17, 2019 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – Activities including trade expos are expected to tighten economic ties between the two countries which will celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Russia is of great potential and Vietnamese authorities will create more favorable conditions for the investment and operations of Russian firms, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has said.

Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung. Photo: Linh Pham

Vietnam and Russia trade will greatly depend on vision and determination from the both sides, especially the business communities, Dung said at the Expo-Russia Vietnam 2019 taking place in Hanoi on November 14-16.

Being a member of 13 free trade agreements (FTAs), 12 of which are already effective, Vietnam has been committed to international regulations requiring high standards for goods and trade activities, Dung said, adding that FTAs will encourage foreign companies to enter Vietnam, ASEAN, and Asia as well.

Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov. Photo: VTC News

The enforcement of the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (VN-EAEU FTA) is a strong boost for the Vietnam-Russia trade, he noted.

Accordingly, Vietnam expects its leather and footwear, agro-forestry-fisheries, electronics and consumer goods to further penetrate into Russia and other markets in the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Vu Tien Loc, president of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Photo: Linh Pham

Meanwhile, Vietnam welcomes Russian goods like farm produce, pharmaceuticals, health, industrial equipment, automobile spare parts, devices, mine extraction, materials, high-tech products, energy, and oil.

Sergey Anatolievich Tsyb, first deputy minister of Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, said at the expo that Vietnam ranks among Russia’s top 10 Asian biggest trade partners and the biggest trade partner in ASEAN.

Health and pharmaceuticals are among sectors posting the strongest growth in the bilateral economic ties and Russian companies are finding opportunities to cooperate in these sectors as Vietnam has a strong health industry.

Russian companies are ready to supply the best materials which are highlighted in this expo for Vietnamese partners, he emphasized.

Senior Russian offcials attend the expo. Photo: Linh Pham

Expo-Russia Vietnam 2019 is one of the main activities celebrating Vietnam Year in Russia and Russia Year in Vietnam 2019.

The expo will open up opportunities to exchange goods and find out new collaborative ways that will support companies and facilitate short-term trade between the two countries, Russia’s Ambassador to Hanoi Konstantin Vnukov said at the event.

Sergey Anatolievich Tsyb (1st from left), first deputy minister of Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. Photo: Ha An

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a letter sent to the expo that the event is necessary for information exchange and partnership for enhanced economic ties, of which Vietnam has contributed tremendously to the substantive cooperation.

The expo showcases booths of nearly 200 Russian companies and localities in Vietnam. More than 300 exchange meetings have been held during the three-day event.

Vision

Vietnam-Russia trade value in 2014-2020. Source: General Department of Vietnam Customs. Chart: Linh Pham

The bilateral economic ties have significantly increased since the enforcement of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

As a result of the launch of this mechanism, Vietnam will obtain a privileged access to the large and lucrative common market of five countries namely Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan with the total volume of gross domestic product of around US$2.2 trillion and with almost 183 million consumers.

In exchange, the five Eurasian countries will be able to promote their products in Vietnam with a population of over 95 million people.

Two-way trade rose from US$2.6 billion in 2014, US$3.9 billion in 2015, US$5.2 billion in 2017, US$6.1 billion in 2018 and is estimated to reach US$10 billion by 2020, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Vinh Long works towards sustainable export growth

February 26, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

Vinh Long province plans to promote shipment of high-quality rice. (Photo: VNA)

Vinh Long (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long is striving to boost sustainable export growth during 2021-2025.

The province has set the target to reel in 870 million USD from exports by 2025, with key export markets including ASEAN, Japan, China, China’s Taiwan, Russia, East European countries, Africa, the EU and the US.

According to Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Trung Kien, seeing rice as a key export, Vinh Long plans to ship average 100,000-200,000 tonnes of high-quality rice per year abroad until 2025, and work to increase price of local rice while diversifying rice products to branch out markets.

Holding a huge advantage of tra and basa fish farming, the province eyes to sell some 20,000 tonnnes of frozen tra fish to foreign markets by 2025.

Kien said Vinh Long is making efforts to gain 35-40 million USD from exports of grape fruits, canned fruits, dried fruits, and vegetables by 2025, adding areas were zoned off for cultivation of vegetables and orchards such as grape fruit, orange, tangerine, longan, and mango, among others.

Additionally, the locality targets 530-600 million USD in export revenue of leather footwear and garment-textile, and 60 million USD in export revenue of handicraft products by 2025.

In a bid to realise the set goals, an array of measures were outlined, Kien said, stressing due attention will be paid to developing agricultural processing industry and finished goods to better the products’ value and their competitive edge in the market.

Kien said along with support policies for local production, the province will improve technical services to promote mechanisation of agriculture, particularly post-harvest processing and preservation.

Investment promotion will be given priority so as to attract investment in supporting industries for footwear, garment-textile, electronics and engineering sectors, helping local producers and exporters improve their products’ competitiveness.

On the other, the province encourages local businesses to develop materials zones to ensure stable input for production, apply advanced technology to better products’ quality, while building brands to gain foothold in the market.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade, the province is now housing 40 export firms, including 15 foreign-invested businesses.

During 2015-2020, the locality’s export revenue rose significantly, from 302 million USD in 2015 to 570.5 million USD five years later. The North America accounted for the lion’s share of the province’s export, accounting for 37 percent of the total shipments, followed by Europe (31 percent), and Asia (29 percent)./.

VNA

Vietnam needs more than $128 billion to develop electricity in the next nine years

March 2, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

Vietnam needs about $128.3 billion of investment capital to develop its electricity industry in 2021-2030, according to draft electricity planning released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Vietnam needs more than $128 billion to develop electricity in the next nine years

A wind farm of Trung Nam Group in Ninh Thuan Province in the central region of Vietnam. The country aims to have 44 per cent of its power from renewable energy. — Photo courtesy of Trung Nam Group

On February 9, the MoIT issued a draft national electricity development planning project for 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045 or the power master plan VIII and asked other ministries and agencies to contribute their ideas.

With forecasts that Vietnam’s GDP growth will reach an average of 6.6 per cent per year in 2031-2045 and 5.7 per cent per year in 2031-2045, the MoIT forecast the supply of commercial electricity to reach 491 billion kWh by 2030, and 877 billion kWh by 2045.

The draft expected by 2030, the total installed capacity of electricity sources in the country would reach 137.2 GW including 27 per cent from coal-fired thermal power, 21 per cent from gas thermal power, 18 per cent from hydroelectricity, 29 per cent from wind power, solar and renewable energy and 4 per cent from the imported sources and 1 per cent from other types of energy from storage devices.

The MoIT’s draft said by 2045, the total installed capacity will reach nearly 276.7 GW including 18 per cent from coal-fired thermal power, 24 per cent from gas thermal power, 9 per cent from hydroelectricity, 44 per cent from wind power, solar and renewable energy and 2 per cent from the imported sources and 3 per cent from other types of energy from storage devices.

The power master plan VIII encourages the development of renewable energy and discourages hydroelectricity. Renewables made up 13 per cent of power in 2020 and are aimed to make up 30 per cent by 2030 and 44 per cent by 2045.

Regarding the power grid development programme, the plan proposes to continue building the 500kV power transmission system to transmit electricity from major power source centres in the Central Highlands, south-central, north-central and central regions to the large load centres in HCM City and the Red River Delta. It also asked to strengthen the interconnected transmission grid to support the transmission of power capacity.

In the draft, they also research the application of smart grid and the 4.0 technology in power transmission to calculate and propose in the master plan.

The MoIT calculated total investment capital for electricity development in 2021-2030 of about $128.3 billion including $95.4 billion for electricity and $32.9 billion for the grid.

For the next 15 years, the ministry calculated the need at about $192.3 billion including $140.2 billion for electricity and $52.1 billion for the grid.

Combining the two periods, Vietnam needs $320.6 billion to develop its national power system. VNS

Vietnam’s sea observation satellite gets set for launch

March 3, 2021 by e.vnexpress.net

Developed and built by the Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC), the satellite weighs four kilos and belongs to the CubeSat category, a type of miniaturized satellite for space research that is made up of multiple 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm modules.

NanoDragon will be sent to the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan, and between March 8-22, experts there will put it through several tests including vibration, shock and vacuum heat, VNSC director Pham Anh Tuan said Tuesday.

After the test, it will return to Vietnam and wait for the launch that has been scheduled for September in Japan.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is set to launch 15 satellites, including the NanoDragon, into space this year as part of Japan’s second experimental satellite program.

The NanoDragon satellite that is almost completed. Photo by VNSC.

Used as an optical imaging device to test satellite positioning in space and to track and monitor ships at sea, NanoDragon will be brought into space by Japanese rocket Epsilon at free cost in line with the “Innovative satellite technology demonstration” program.

The program has small satellites used to perform orbital demonstrations of new key components and technologies in a timely and affordable manner. It is part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s efforts to assist the development of the innovative fundamental technologies for satellites as stated in the Basic Plan on Space Policy of Japanese government.

The satellite is the product of Vietnam’s nano-sized micro-satellite project for the 2016-2020 period.

Japan sent the 5- kilogram Vietnamese satellite MicroDragon into space from Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan, in January 2020.

It was used to observe Vietnam’s coast line, evaluate water quality, locate fishery resources and monitor changes to serve aquaculture, detect cloud coverage and aerosols, collect ground-based sensor signals and transmit them to stations on Earth.

Vietnam sent its first indigenous satellite into space in 2013. The one-kilogram PicoDragon remained in orbit for three months. The country had launched four prior satellites, all made by foreign companies.

Rising demand of international market sends new manufacturing orders up

March 3, 2021 by english.thesaigontimes.vn

Rising demand of international market sends new manufacturing orders up

By Le Hoang

An employee is at work. Business activity has improved in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector as the number of new orders jumped in February – PHOTO: LE HOANG

HCMC – Business activities in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector improved, as the number of new orders jumped in February due to the rising demand from the global market, which, in turn, saw firms raising output, staffing levels and purchasing activity.

A report released by IHS Markit on March 1 indicated that Vietnam’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.6 in February from 51.3 in January, indicating an improvement in business conditions. The health of the manufacturing sector has been strong for three straight months.

The number of new orders has risen for the sixth consecutive month as a result of the expansion and improvement in the export business, according to the report.

Due to higher new orders and output requirements, manufacturers have increased their staffing levels and the rate of job creation rose for the second time in three months.

Purchasing activity continued rising in February, while backlogs of inputs reduced as they were used for production. Difficulties in purchasing material such as the lack of containers and supply capacity also contributed to the reduction in backlogs.

The imbalance sent the cost of inputs up in February, forcing manufacturers to revise up the prices of products. However, this was a mild increase in prices.

The report also showed that the business confidence continued to decrease to the lowest level since August last year due to fears over the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Andrew Harker, economics director at IHS Markit, said that if Vietnam successfully brings the coronavirus outbreak of this wave under control, the country’s manufacturing sector will grow.

IHS Markit also forecasts that Vietnam’s industrial production will rise 6.8% this year.

HCM City to focus on AI in aim to become ‘smart city’ by 2030

March 3, 2021 by vietnamnews.vn

HCM City leaders look at AI products displayed at an exhibition held on the “Day for AI and IT Enterprises” event recently in HCM City. VNA/VNS Photo Thu Hoài

HCM CITY — HCM City authorities plan to promote Artificial Intelligence (AI) as part of its effort to become a smart city with e-government, e-enterprises and an electronic society by 2030.

Dương Anh Đức, vice chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the plan, part of the programme on “research and development of AI applications in HCM City for the 2020-2030 period”, will play an important role in smart-city development in the next five years.

Under the programme, a database of all sectors, ranging from housing, transport and environment to healthcare, will share data among all the city’s administrative departments.

This will help social organisations, businesses and residents have better access to public information and services online provided through mobile devices and other means, according to Đức.

The programme also focuses on researching and developing technologies using AI, developing human resources for AI through education and training, and enhancing academic communications with foreign AI professionals.

The city will focus on developing start-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the field of AI.

The city is encouraging businesses to apply AI to enhance competitiveness and is also calling for investment in the field and promotion of AI products made by Vietnamese.

The city aims to increase by 20 per cent per year the number of scientific works, AI patents and AI applications, and invite leading AI experts to work short or long term in the city.

It has also called for investment in telecommunications and IoT (Internet of Things) infrastructure, and e-identification platforms in order to develop a digital government and economy.

The city will set up AI hubs that will include AI training centres, AI research clutters and a centre for AI start-ups, which will be connected with one another through the city’s data centre and infrastructure.

Digital government

The city aims to complete its shared database and open data ecosystem by 2025. When the shared database and open data ecosystem are completed, they will be connected to national databases to serve the city’s e-government.

The city also aims to offer all public services online by 2030.

“Data is currently shared and used mostly by the city’s district authorities, administrative departments, people and businesses. So, utility apps will become a necessary tool to serve people better,” Võ Thị Trung Trinh, deputy director of the city Department of Information and Communications, said.

Dozens of apps in the transport, housing, and health sectors have appeared in recent years. They are easy to use and available on both Android OS and iOS operating systems, she said.

The city has introduced apps that help people notify authorities about incidents like broken water pipes, downed power lines and fallen trees.

The city has also digitised about 60 per cent of civil status books, and the work is expected to be available in June. Based on this database, other departments like education and health will upgrade their databases.

Such databases will allow the Department of Education and Training to forecast the school-age population to meet the needs of new students, while the Department of Health will set up a shared medical record system among hospitals in the city and the country.

In addition, the rate of residents and enterprises having electronic accounts for payments is expected to be more than 85 per cent by 2030.

Regarding the digital economy, the city has focused on 10 key sectors, including healthcare, education, transportation, finance-banking, tourism, agriculture, logistics, environment, energy, and human resources.

By 2030, the digital economy is expected to account for 40 per cent of HCM City’s gross regional domestic product and annual labour productivity will increase at least 9 per cent. — VNS