High seas indian land

The 2018 Ba Ria – Vung Tau Sea Festival opened in Vung Tau City on Tuesday, expected to be the greatest sea festival ever held in Vietnam.

This is the second time the festival has been organized, with the first one dating back to 2006.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province is located on the coast of southeastern Vietnam, around 100 kilometers (a two-hour drive) from Ho Chi Minh City.

The area is well known to tourists for its beautiful scenery and beaches in Vung Tau, the capital of the province, including Back Beach, Front Beach, and Pineapple Beach.

The opening ceremony was held at Cot Co (Flagpole) Park, on Nguyen An Ninh Street of the Back Beach area, where most activities of the festival will take place.

With this year’s theme “Connecting the Provinces, Cities of Vietnam – Sustainable Development of Commerce – Tourism and Economy,” the festival will display a large number of the localities’ main activities, specialties, and cultures, according to news page Vung Tau Tin Tuc (Vung Tau News).

The opening ceremony succeeded in displaying the rich resources and how the regions are favored by nature so as to attract visitors, promote their tourism, and raise investments.

Twenty-eight coastal localities with 800 stalls participate in the festival to display the regions’ cultures, while conducting entertaining activities.

During the opening ceremony, Nguyen Van Trinh, chairman of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau People’s Committee, mentioned the region’s most recent efforts to improve tourism quality including high-quality product promotion, tourism networks, private investment encouragement, and human workforce development, among others.

After having taken a “break” for 12 years, the 2018 Ba Ria-Vung Tau Sea Festival is held from August 28 to September 3. Photo: VOV

In his opening remarks, Trinh also expressed his desire to connect, partner, and work with private businesses, other regions, and foreign investors.

Moreover, Ba Ria-Vung Tau also introduced its strategic plan and goals for 2030 as a response to the central government’s recent decree aimed at turning tourism into one of Vietnam’s core industries.

The festival plays a vital role in establishing long-lasting, meaningful, and supportive relations among the provinces and cities, as well as promoting Ba Ria-Vung Tau as a touristic destination, both nationally and globally.

Other activities of the festival include kite flying performances, ancient Vespa motorbike parades across Vung Tau, carnivals, beer fests, and musical performances.

One of the most outstanding activities would be the display of sand sculptures on the beach of the DIC Sea Tourist Area on Thuy Van Street, Vung Tau.

Four sculptures will be made by 30 professional sculptors, painters, and university students from the University of Arts in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Trinh Hang, director of the Department of Tourism of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, all of the expenses, around VND20 billion (US$860,000) were fully raised by International Trade Expo Joint Stock Company.

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Ca Mau (VNA) – Endowed with a 254-km coastline and an abundance of aquatic resources, the southernmost province of Ca Mau has viewed sea-based economic development as an inexorable trend to help it create breakthroughs in socio-economic development.

Priority on infrastructure development

Due attention has been given to developing infrastructure in order to develop the blue economy in an effective and sustainable manner that is commensurate with the province’s advantages and potential.

Ca Mau plans to continue calling for investment in infrastructure at the 10,802-ha Nam Can Economic Zone , which is envisaged to become a sea-based economic zone with sound logistics services to meet regional and international distribution demand.

It is also encouraging investment to build Song Doc and Nam Can towns into third-tier urban areas by 2025.

Along with developing fifth-tier urban areas in coastal districts such as Dam Doi, Ngoc Hien, Phu Tan, Tran Van Thoi, and U Minh, the province will invest in engineering and shipbuilding industries at the Song Doc, Khanh Hoi, and Rach Goc estuaries, while carrying out construction of the Tan Thuan, Rach Goc, and Cai Doi Vam industrial clusters.

Socio-economic infrastructure in coastal communes, districts, and islands are being completed, providing the conditions necessary for blue economic development .

The province has given top priority to investment in important economic sectors such as aquaculture, tourism and services, renewable energy, and the maritime economy.

It is also improving local fisheries infrastructure to enhance logistics services, and calling for investment in logistics centres in Hoa Trung, Nam Can, Song Doc, and Hon Khoai.

Comprehensive development of the blue economy promoted

Known as one of Vietnam’s four key fishing grounds and with abundant and diverse aquatic resources, of which many have high economic values, Ca Mau has sharpened its focus on developing fisheries exploitation, which is a spearhead economic sector.

The province targets catching 800,000 tonnes of fish and seafood by 2030.

Along with developing a strong fishing fleet of more than 4,500 vessels, the province will also re-arrange seafood production based on expanding cooperatives and collectives to benefit fishing families and the sustainable protection of the ecosystem.

Ca Mau will fund the upgrading of infrastructure at fishing ports and storm shelters, as well as complete a fishing vessel information system to give timely warnings to fishermen in case of incidents at sea or to facilitate search and rescue efforts.

It will work to create concentrated aquaculture areas that produce high-quality aquatic species, apply state-of-the-art technologies into production, and develop a traceability system for products.

Relevant authorities will expand monitoring systems in concentrated aquaculture areas, to provide environmental and disease warnings to farmers.

The province will also work to create jobs for 25,000 local people living in coastal resettlement areas./.

Reports all show that though Vietnam’s private enterprises have been growing rapidly in the last 30 years and Vietnam has dollar billionaires, the private sector has not yet become a powerful force as expected to serve as the important driving force of the national economy.

According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), large enterprises just account for 2 percent of total operational private enterprises, and medium enterprises 2 percent. The remaining enterprises, accounting for 96 percent, are small and micro sized.

The non-state economic sector makes up 43 percent of GDP, but private enterprises just contribute 10 percent, while the remaining is from individual and household businesses.

Pham Chi Lan, a respected economist, commented that the private sector has been undergoing a difficult development process.

The Ministry of Planing and Investment (MPI) confirmed that the number of small enterprises growing into medium sized ones, and the number of medium enterprises becoming large are very modest in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, VCCI has found a considerable decrease in the number of medium and large private enterprises in the last five years.

Vietnam has a number of large private corporations of international stature over the last 30 years of development. But the number of these enterprises is very modest.

Vietnam has an economy of mostly small and micro enterprises, and of these, micro enterprises account for 67 percent.

Small and medium enterprises are very slow in developing into medium and large enterprises. It takes some enterprises 10-20 years to have medium scale.

The noteworthy feature is that in many cases, after gaining some success, many businesses decide to leave the market or merge with other businesses, mostly foreign invested enterprises.

“This is really a sad situation,” Lan commented.

In principle, a large scale is a great advantage for enterprises to develop business. However, many Vietnam’s private enterprises don’t want to grow. Analysts attribute this to the unfavorable business environment in Vietnam. The discriminatory treatment is one of the problems.

A recent VCCI survey found that 39.5 percent of private enterprises believe that local authorities prioritize foreign investment and state-owned enterprises rather than the private sector.

In general, private enterprises always face difficulties when accessing land and capital, and are at a disadvantage in tax and customs procedures compared with FIEs (foreignn invested enterprises) and SOEs (state owned enterprises).

Large enterprises are also afraid of the risks from changing policies.

VCCI, in its newly released report on improvement of the business environment and national competitiveness, pointed out a worrying problem: the continuous decrease in the capability of predicting changes in policies.

The proportion of enterprises which can usually foresee policy changes decreased from 16 percent in 2014 to 5 percent in 2018. Meanwhile, the number of enterprises that can rarely or never predict new policies has increased from 42 percent to 67 percent.

The decline in the policy prediction capability is consistent in the last five years, which is a big concern about the business environment in Vietnam.

Nguyen Dinh Cung, former head of the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM), believes that the unpredictability of policies is a problem that clips enterprises’ wings. This explains why the right of business freedom has improved, but enterprises’ safety has not.

Resolution No 10 by the Party Central Committee showed the guidelines on developing the private sector into an important driving force of the economy, encouraging the establishment of multi-owned private economic groups capable of joining the regional and global production and value chains.

However, VCCI head of Legal Department Dau Anh Tuan pointed out that a lot of legal documents compiled or issued in 2020 are not friendly to private enterprises.

The State Bank of Vietnam drafted a circular that restricts credit institutions from buying corporate bonds issued to make capital contributions or buy into other enterprises.

The tentative regulation doesn’t allow banks to buy the bonds which holding companies in economic groups issue to mobilize capital and use that money to contribute capital to subsidiaries.

This will make it difficult for credit institutions to control the purpose of capital use and cash flow.

The draft strategy on socio-economic development 2021-2030 says that Vietnam will encourage the establishment and development of large and powerful private groups, competitive in the region and the world. It is expected that Vietnam will have at least 2 million businesses by 2030 and the private sector make up 60-65 percent of GDP.

However, Nguyen Van Nam, head of the Institute for Branding and Competition Strategy, said Vietnam is still confused about how to build a system of enterprises.

CIEM’s deputy head Phan Duc Hieu commented that Vietnam’s economy is seriously lacking medium and large enterprises that can become bridges that connect to global value chains.

Small scale, high unofficial costs, bad management and low technology are the common characteristics of Vietnam’s private enterprises.

Tran Thuy

Rice exports enjoy opportunities for breakthrough in 2021

High hopes are pinned on Vietnam’s rice exports in 2021 when major export markets such as the Philippines and Africa continue to sign contracts to buy rice from Vietnam, while many others have great demand for fragrant rice and sticky rice – which are advantageous staples of Vietnamese enterprises.

The bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements between Vietnam and other countries such as the EU-Vietnam and the UK-Vietnam FTAs with preferential tariffs would create favourable conditions for Vietnamese rice to compete with that from rival countries, the Vietnam Food Association said.

According to the Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in the UK Nguyen Canh Cuong, rice shipments to the country this year will sharply rise against 2020. He added more UK firms will purchase Vietnamese rice under the UK-Vietnam FTA, creating a chance for Vietnamese rice to expand its market share in the UK this year.

In 2019, rice exports from Vietnam to the UK had a leap forward with a turnover growth of 376 percent. That meant the UK has great potential as a rice export market for Vietnam.

In order to tap into the advantages under FTAs, rice export giants such as Intimex JSC, Loc Troi Group, VRICE Co, Trung An High Technology Agriculture JSC are planning to seek new customers in markets where Vietnam had signed FTAs, especially in the UK.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said it would provide rice export firms with information about the market demand situation in a timely manner while implementing trade promotion activities to help Vietnamese rice exporters better access customers.

Detailed information about the regulations and barriers under these FTAs’ commitments will be also offered by the ministry so that businesses can improve their understanding and draw up suitable business plans.

As part of its efforts to facilitate Vietnam’s rice exports, the VAF has built up online sales channel and participated in online trade seminars to develop the rice industry.

It suggested rice exporters focus on high quality products with good export results, ensuring food hygiene and safety to be able to enter fastidious markets such as Europe, America and Canada.

Experts have said that if Vietnam wants to maintain rice export growth in 2021 it needs to focus on building a complete rice value chain and controlling quality in production, processing, and distribution.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam’s rice output totalled 42.8 million tonnes in 2020, down about 0.2 percent because of the shrinkage of some 192,000 hectares in farming areas. However, the productivity rose 50kg per hectare from a year earlier.

The areas of high-grade rice varieties have expanded to 74 percent, compared to 50 percent in 2015, as a result of the country’s efforts in improving the value of the Vietnamese rice.

Thanks to that, the shipments of high-grade rice made up more than 85 percent of the total, resulting in the growth of average rice price from 440 USD per tonne in 2019 to 496 USD per tonne in 2020.

The country exported 6.15 tonnes of rice for 3.07 billion USD last year, down 3.5 percent in volume but up 9.3 percent in value year-on-year.

The Philippines was Vietnam’s leading rice importer, making up 34 percent of the total. Rice exports to this market in 2020 reached 2.22 million tonnes and 1.06 billion USD, up 4 percent in volume and 19.3 percent in value compared to 2019.

Other outlets with significant export growth in 2020 were Indonesia, (nearly triple 2019’s figure) and China, up 93 percent year-on-year.

VFA Vice Chairman Do Ha Nam described 2020 as a successful year for Vietnam’s rice exports, which he attributed to increasing demand in many countries and the improved competitiveness of Vietnamese rice around the world.

Amid the difficulties posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rice exporters quickly made appropriate adjustments and actively sought new markets while fully tapping into the advantages brought about by FTAs.

The EU-Vietnam FTA had created a major opportunity for Vietnamese rice to enter European markets and then make inroads into other choosy markets, Nam said./.

Online trade promotion helps businesses adapt to COVID-19

The spread of COVID-19 around the world created difficulties for businesses in promoting their products and seeking new customers but many were prompted to change trade promotion strategies and adapt.

Bui Thi Thanh An, Vice Director of the Trade Promotion Agency at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said nearly 50 national-level trade promotion programmes were cancelled or postponed last year due to the pandemic.

This had a major effect on export activities and the economy in general, she said.

To address the situation, the agency has sped up the introduction of information technology (IT) and changed how trade promotion activities are held.

Since March when COVID-19 spread globally, the agency has changed all trade promotion activities to online. More than 500 international online trade conferences have now been organised, along with more than 1 million online trade exchanges.

These events helped connect more than 2,000 businesses with foreign partners in different markets, An said.

The agency has also coordinated with foreign customers based in Vietnam, such as AEON and Central Group, to organise special “weeks” featuring Vietnamese products, through which many goods have been selected for sale in foreign-owned supermarket chains around Vietnam and then headed to foreign markets.

It has also made use of social networks and Vietnamese trade offices abroad to support businesses seeking markets, An added. Such efforts contributed to maintaining export growth and speeding up economic recovery, while helping enterprises remain updated on market developments, trends, and demand, she added.

Though online trade promotions have become more common since the pandemic broke out and were initially considered just a temporary solution, experts and enterprises agree that they will now become a key part of the trade promotion ecosystem.

Vietnam’s economy is heavily reliant upon exports, so the country must adapt to sudden disruptions to international trade. Taking advantage of IT platforms to seek trade opportunities is considered the most feasible option at this time.

Zacharie Blondeau, Sourcing Director at Source of Asia, said business-to-business (B2B) is the most effective method of connection, but in certain contexts, such as pandemics and travel restrictions, businesses should actively connect online.

An underlined that even after COVID-19 is fully brought under control, online trade promotions will continue to be organised.

The Trade Promotion Agency is developing digital technology-based platforms to create a new promotion ecosystem comprising of online trade fairs and exhibitions and online databases and origin tracing, creating the conditions necessary for enterprises to access trade promotion programmes at the lowest cost and with the greatest efficiency.

She advised businesses to regularly participate in online and direct trade exchanges, conferences, and workshops, while actively digitalising their operations by improving websites and joining large and reputable e-commerce platforms.

Online shops see robust business amid a global pandemic

While various businesses reported losses and difficulties, online shops have had a solid development in 2020.

According to Vietnam’s e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the growth rate of the local e-commerce sector in 2020 was 18% and valued at USD11.8bn. It accounted for 5.5% of the country’s retail goods and consumer service revenue.

Nguyen Chanh Trung, a shop owner on Lazada, said he started his online business after working for five years in the construction sector. His shop was opened on the first days of the Covid-19 outbreak in Vietnam and gained unexpected profits.

“I learned everything from scratch and tested out new ideas. I also attended training classes offered by Lazada to optimise the business and take care of the customers,” he said. “Online trading minimise staff and rental costs. After a year, staff numbers fell from 20 to 10 and revenue increased by 10%.”

Even though Trung had a website to introduce his products before, his business was mostly offline and badly affected by Covid-19.

Another online seller also saw great profits from selling face masks and handwash.

The number of sellers on Lazada doubled in 2020. LazMall, a trade site based on Lazada saw both customers and orders double on normal days and triple during festivals. Another e-commerce platform Tiki said in March and April 2020, the number of orders on the platform increased by 15% compared to the two busiest months in 2019. Sometimes, there were 4,000 orders placed per minute.

Vietnamese sellers also went to international e-commerce platform to sell their products overseas like Amazon or Alibaba. Over USD1m worth of products were sold via Amazon in 2020, triple the total amount sold in 2019.

Dang Hoang Hai, head of Vietnam’s e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency said Covid-19 actually gave a strong boost to online businesses, forcing many firms and individual sellers to go online. Decision 645 issued by the government about the e-commerce development plan for 2021-2025 also helped speed up the transition.

Estimations from Google, Temasek and Bain and Company showed that Vietnam’s e-commerce market would be worth USD52bn and stand among the three biggest markets in ASEAN in 2025 if the growth rate stays at 29% a year.

Tran Toan Thang from the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast said the e-commerce market would have developed strongly with or without the pandemic. However, Covid-19 has been a strong boost to the local market.

“Some product sales increased by 300% online. Because of the pandemic, shopping online has become a habit now,” he said.

HCM City Real Estate Association optimistic about 2021

HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA) is optimistic that the real estate market in 2021 will see strong recovery and provide a large amount of accommodation for the city in the next 5-10 years.

One of the main development areas is the newly-established Thu Duc City which has the highest number of real estate projects in HCM City. It will attract various kinds of real estate projects. Cu Chi, Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh and Nha Be districts will all be upgraded and urbanised.

Both the number of farmers and farming lands in these districts will be reduced by 3-31%. Can Gio District was planned to become a seaside and eco-friendly town with the mangrove forest which is a part of Can Gio Biosphere Reserve.

According to the HoREA, HCM City has been allowed to convert 26,000ha of agricultural land in several outskirts districts into industrial and commercial lands. The government also issued many support policies to help real estate investors operate and complete procedures more smoothly.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HoREA, confirmed that Resolution 148 which took effect on January 1, 2021, the 2020 Investment Law and the adjusted 2020 Construction Law have helped make the policies and regulations clearer and more suitable.

“In 2021, the government will issue more detailed regulations and directives about the Investment Law and adjusted Construction Law to speed up the renovation of dilapidated apartment buildings and apartments for low-income people. This will help boost the real estate market in 2021 and the following years,” he said.

Quick action required to attract high-quality FDI

The US-China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic have provided Vietnam with an opportunity to attract foreign investment (FDI) as global capital flows tend to shift to safe havens. This is also a time when our country needs to drastically change our thoughts and actions in the selection of FDI partners and projects to move more towards high-quality capital flows as directed in Politburo Resolution No. 50. These factors make FDI attraction become a focal point of the “COVID year” in 2020 and will continue to do so in the years to come.

At a seminar held between Vietnam’s chief representatives abroad for the 2020-2023 term and the Committee for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said that Vietnam is now a bright spot in investment attraction and more than 126 large corporations shifting their investments are now looking to invest in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment Do Nhat Hoang revealed that although investment activities were interrupted due to the impact of the pandemic, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and senior leaders of large corporations around the world still maintained discussions about investment cooperation opportunities through many channels. In particular, a number of online seminars were held at the operation centre of the MPI to connect with destinations across the world so that large corporations can find out more investment information regarding Vietnam. Through this activity, many large corporations started negotiations to bring investment projects into Vietnam with registered capital of billions of US dollars.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) global investment in 2020 declined by 40%, but FDI inflows into Vietnam saw a much lower rate than other countries in the world and the region, especially in disbursed capital. Export and import turnover of FDI enterprises also decreased slightly compared to the same period in 2019.

“Despite the many difficulties that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FDI enterprises have still maintained relatively good production and business activity levels. This is a positive signal, demonstrating the confidence of foreign investors in the investment environment in Vietnam and also proving that Vietnam is still seeking further FDI,” Hoang emphasised.

In 2020, not only manufacturers, but also supply companies shifted investment to Vietnam, as well as providers of logistics and warehouses services and others doing likewise. Big manufacturers are considered “queen bees” coming to Vietnam to build a hive, bringing along “worker bees” – suppliers and supporting manufacturers, and creating a new ecosystem and supply chain in Vietnam.

This trend is happening in the electronics industry, as the story of Samsung has shown and is now also evident in the story of animal feed, e-commerce, consumption, and auto parts industries.

Acting fast to seize opportunities

Dr Nguyen Dinh Cung, a member of the Economic Advisory Group to the Prime Minister, expressed his concerns about FDI attraction in Vietnam. According to the expert, opportunities for Vietnam in terms of the shifting of global investment capital flows is great, but the “eagle” itself will not come if we take no action.

“I have just had the opportunity to work in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, a region with a lot of potential in terms of its land and synchronous infrastructure, thanks to its seaport system and airport linked with Hung Yen ,creating a large industrial park capable of attracting the world’s leading technology enterprises. If there is a policy of regional linkage, these localities can create further intrinsic attractiveness to lure “eagles” to turn Vietnam into an important global production location. If these localities still compete in the attraction of FDI as before, they will only scatter and reduce Vietnam’s attraction in the eyes of foreign investors,” Cung said.

To seize the opportunity, it is advisable to take quick action and change the methods of attracting investment. First of all, the concept of “high quality investment” must be clearly defined to set screening criteria and formulate suitable policies for each industry and region in order to actively attract investors. To do this, it is necessary to have a new approach tailored to specific projects and investors, not applying a general policy to all projects.

Meanwhile, investors pouring capital into Vietnam can enjoy outstanding incentives but must also meet set conditions and be a reputable and socially responsible investor.

Referring to the concept of “preparing the nest to welcome the eagles”, used recently to regarding the attraction of high-quality FDI in Vietnam, Prof. Nguyen Mai, President of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE) said that there were “eagles” but so far only Asian and a few European or American eagles. This is the time for Vietnam to proactively direct the flow of FDI and prepare conditions to attract high-tech and pervasive projects to meet the needs of the country’s new development period.

In the context of a decline in global investment activities due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, although Vietnam has many advantages and has emerged as a bright spot in investment attraction, FDI inflows have not yet strongly recovered. This is the time for Vietnam to improve its investment and business environment to stand ready to welcome big waves of FDI.

Shrimp exports set target of US$ 4.4 billion in 2021

Despite the complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic, shrimp was still a commodity that brought high economic value in 2020, with export turnover of US$3.7 billion, an increase of 11% over the same period in 2019. It is expected that in 2021, shrimp exports can increase by 15% compared to 2020, the export turnover would reach over US$ 4.4 billion.

In order to achieve the goal, businesses should focus on promoting deep processing and increasing added value, while at the same time proactively seizing opportunities from changes in the market due to the impact of Covid-19 translation.

High growth forecast

Looking through the whole year 2020, shrimp exports achieved very encouraging results.

According to Tran Cong Thang – Director of Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD), compared to rival countries in 2020, Vietnam had an advantage due to better control over the Covid-19 epidemic. The main consuming markets such as the US, the European Union (EU), and China gave priority to buying shrimp from Vietnam.

While major shrimp producing countries such as India, Ecuador, and Thailand, etc. all suffer from the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, such as stagnated production and transport of goods, the decrease in shrimp prices is leading to a decrease in shrimp production.

In addition, the proactive market rotation, taking advantage of the opportunities created by the changes in the market caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, diversifying products suitable for each market segment, has helped businesses in the industry to not only maintain but also increase export turnover. Therefore, the shrimp export turnover reached US$3.7 billion, up 11% compared to 2019. Shrimp have been exported to 135 markets through 508 export enterprises.

The major markets that kept positive growth rates were: the US, with an increase of 33%; the EU (6.1%); the Republic of Korea (ROK) (3.3%), and the UK (20.1%).

In addition, to achieve the good growth in export turnover, the domestic supply also plays a significant role.

In the first months of 2020, shrimp production faced difficulties due to Covid-19 epidemic accompanied by saltwater intrusion in key farming areas, leading to a decrease in brackish water shrimp production, especially black tiger shrimp.

By the end of 2020, brackish water shrimp production had recovered, with the disease under control. The export of brackish water shrimp has been restored; the disease on farmed shrimp is also under control, helping brackish shrimp production grow well, ensuring a sustainable supply for export.

According to the General Department of Fisheries, in 2020, the production of black tiger shrimp reached 267,700 tons, an increase of 1%, and white leg shrimp reached 632,300 tons, up 8.5% over the same period.

In Ca Mau Province, the first months of 2020, many seafood importers have suspended, postponed or canceled deliveries, making seafood export difficult. However, the Government, ministries, central branches, and provincial People’s Committee have promptly implemented many support measures to ensure stable production and business conditions.

At the same time, the EVFTA took effect to create more favorable conditions for businesses to export to EU countries (by 2020, seafood export turnover to the EU reached about US$100 million, accounting for 9.7% of the province’s export turnover, up more than 400% over the same period in 2019).

Experts say that, if the farming and processing stage is well ensured, Vietnam’s shrimp export growth milestones will be achieved in 2021. The introduction of Covid-19 vaccine together with the advantages from FTAs being utilised by businesses will be the driving force for shrimp export activities in 2021.

These forecasts are grounded, as from the beginning of 2021, eight cargo containers, with more than 160 tons of shrimp, owned by Minh Phu Seafood Corp. (at Song Hau Industrial Park, Chau Thanh District, Hau Giang Province), have been exported to potential markets of Vietnam, namely the EU, the US and Japan. This shipment is a good signal for the export shrimp industry in 2021.

Taking advantage of opportunities

According to experts in the fisheries sector, in 2021, Vietnam’s the good control of Covid-19 epidemic and joining bilateral trade agreements with other countries will create favourable conditions for exporters.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), world shrimp demand will continue to increase, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the demand for processed seafood eaten at home will increase sharply. VASEP forecasts that shrimp exports can reach an export turnover of US$ 4 to 4.4 billion in 2021.

However, in order to continue good export growth, it is necessary to have specific solutions:

Firstly, it is necessary to organise the production management and management of suitable cultured shrimp breeds, control diseases well and ensure the quality of seed supplied, avoid production risks to stabilise supply, increase high quality products.

Second, it is necessary to ensure the supply of raw materials with sufficient quantity and quality, especially in the farming stage by applying new science and technology.

Third, it is necessary to make good use of market expansion opportunities through increasing supply capacity to compensate for production shortages because other supplying countries are being negatively affected by the Covid-19 epidemic that affecting production and export supply chain; it is necessary to increase competitiveness and market share in big and strategic markets such as the EU, the US, Japan, South Korea, and the UK. It is necessary to improve the quality of export products, take advantage of tariff advantages for pure Vietnamese origin of farmed shrimp products in the new generation of free trade agreements (FTAs).

In order to effectively implement the above solutions, according to IPSARD’s Director Tran Cong Thang, it is necessary to improve the processing capacity of enterprises, focus on technology investment, intensive processing, to meet the needs of importing countries.

The enterprise should develop deeply processed products and value added products to serve a wide range of customers and market segments. Enterprises and farmers need to prepare well the conditions and stocking according to the 2021 seasonal calendar.

It is necessary to attach importance to disease prevention and control, control impurities, chemical and antibiotic residues in shrimp products to ensure disease safety and food safety. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen links between units participating in the production chain in order to improve quality, ensure traceability, and continue to increase the proportion of value-added goods in exporting.

It is necessary to replicate effective models and production chains while maintaining and developing the “output” market. It is also necessary to participate in trade promotion programs to promote seafood products, including processed shrimp, seek new markets and toward sustainable export.

Experience in implementing FTAs

Despite violent pandemic and geopolitical upheavals, 2020 marked an important milestone in Vietnam’s international economic integration.

In addition to the effectiveness of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) since August 1, 2020, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement was signed under the framework of the 37th ASEAN Summit, helping to create a market with 2.2 billion consumers, accounting for about 30% of the world’s population and a total GDP of approximately VND26.2 billion (about 30% of the global GDP). This is a happy ending after eight years of intense negotiations, even without the participation of India.

By the end of November 2020, Vietnam had been negotiating 16 free trade agreements (FTAs) that cover almost all continents including nearly 60 economies, with total GDP accounting for about 90% of world GDP, as well as 14 agreements set to come into force.

The signed FTAs ​​also contribute to creating optimism in the business community, consolidating business confidence as well as promising a bright economic outlook.

“Despite a difficult year for international trade in 2020, our survey shows that Vietnam’s quick and effective response to the global pandemic has proved its efficiency. Leaders of European enterprises feel more positive about their businesses as well as Vietnam’s trade and investment environment,” said Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam Nicolas Audier at the ceremony to announce the Business Climate Index (BCI) in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Caring for orchard in the wait to pick fruit

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his delight at the effectiveness of the EVFTA but also reminded that results gained from FTAs ​​have yet to match the potential and raised many big bottlenecks that must be removed. It is the necessity to improve communication efficiency about international economic integration and FTAs in particular, to remove invisible barriers for businesses, and to change the mindset of doing business in a more proactive manner to meet the requirement of FTAs, among other tasks.

Indeed, if you compare FTAs ​​to an orchard, the gardeners must invest both capital and effort in the orchard every day before they can enjoy the fruit from this garden. And almost no single enterprise can do this alone; the process requires cooperation and linkage.

According to General Director of Garment 10 Corporation Than Duc Viet, Garment 10 produces 18 million shirts and 1.5 million suits each year, so it needs 30 million meters of shirt fabric and 5 million meters of suit fabric. However, the company has to import 60-70% of materials from China to serve its production because raw materials produced in Vietnam are more expensive than imports from China while the speed of development of models and production time is also longer.

It means that the company cannot benefit from EVFTA and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) because it does not meet requirements on origin of products.

“The policy of promoting multilateral relations through Vietnam’s participation in a series of FTAs ​​is absolutely correct, but it will only bring into full play when Vietnam can successfully solve challenges regarding labour conditions, environmental protection and social responsibility,” said Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, Director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy.

Responding to barriers

Although the dispute settlement mechanism will be more complete because both the CPTPP and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) have provisions to improve the transparency of the proceedings, Vo Tri Thanh warns that once tariff barriers are no longer an effective tool for protection, importing countries tend to use non-tariff measures (anti-dumping, anti-countervailing and trade remedies measures) to protect their own domestic manufacturing industry.

As an experienced lawyer in handling international economic disputes, Dinh Anh Tuyet, an arbitrator from the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) said that: “It is important to note that signed FTAs are not only a “sweet fruit”, but also a “bitter fruit” for Vietnamese enterprises because if businesses do not comply with the standards stated in the FTA, the partners will apply new handling measures, and even lawyers like us do not know what the measures are, because they all appear for the first time in the agreements.”

The implication that the lawyer wants to talk about is that Vietnamese enterprises need to have the right attitude and actively respond to the risks of commercial disputes. It is also the choice that proves the correctness that shrimp exporting enterprises have applied from 2004 to present.

The preparation is sometimes very simple things such as maintaining detailed traceability records, accounting records, and production records in order to request timely support from the State and lawyers to protect their interests when there are violations under trade and investment agreements or when there are signs of trade fraud and tax evasion.

The cooperation with associations and importers and the coordination with investigating bodies when under investigation are also obvious recommendations but are sometimes neglected by enterprises. Besides FTAs, institutional reform and efforts from each enterprise are also key forces for long-term development.

A historical milestone in this Spring

The year 2020, with so many difficulties and challenges, has passed. Vietnam has shone once again! The world showed admiration and the people were excited and believed in.

The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a shadow across the globe. Millions of people have died, and the world economy has declined dramatically. Although the pandemic has been quite well controlled, our economy with large openness and deep integration could not avoid difficulties. Natural disasters, storms and floods raged in the Central region; and droughts and salt water intrusion in the Mekong Delta, etc.

In that very special context, under the sound leadership of the Party, the management and administration of the State, the entire political system and the entire people joined in a drastic, synchronous and persistent manner to comprehensively fulfil almost all set targets and tasks. The year 2020 is still considered the most successful year in the whole tenure, having gained remarkable achievements. Vietnam is considered a bright spot for disease prevention and control and socio-economic development. People’s living conditions are constantly being improved; and national defence, security, social order, and safety have been maintained. The work of Party building and rectification as well as the fight against negative activities, corruption and wastefulness has been drastically directed, achieving many positive results. Foreign affairs have been carried out effectively, contributing to consolidating and enhancing the position of Vietnam in the international arena.

The Party Congresses at all levels were a success, creating a premise for the successful 13th National Party Congress.

In difficulties, the tradition of patriotism, solidarity and mutual care of the people has been promoted, and the superiority of the socialist regime has been confirmed.

The New Year has come with intertwined opportunities and challenges. The situation of the world, the region and the East Sea (South China Sea) is still complicated and unpredictable, while our country is still facing numerous difficulties and challenges in socio-economic development and adaption to climate change, as well as ensuring national defence and security.

Along with the achievements obtained in the past year, the gift to celebrate the Spring has a very important meaning to decide the direction and development of the country in the next five years, with a vision to 10 years and 20 years from now is the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress. In his speech at the year-end virtual conference of the Government, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed that the entire political system needs to be proactive, actively grasp and well implement the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and resolutions of the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly and the Government right from the beginning of the year, with specific programmes and working plans that are in line with reality and have high feasibility, with the general spirit of being more proactive, active, and creative in order to achieve higher overall results than in the previous years and the previous tenure.

This spring, the success of the 13th National Party Congress marked another historic milestone on the path of national construction!

Long Thanh Airport expected to promote regional socio-economic development

The Long Thanh International Airport Project is a key project in the country’s transport infrastructure network approved by the National Assembly at the Resolution No. 94/2015/QH13 dated June 25, 2015 on the investment policy of the project and the Decision No. 1777/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister dated November 11, 2020 on approving the first construction phase of the Long Thanh International Airport Project with the total investment of US$4,664 billion.

The first items in the first phase of Long Thanh International Airport Project officially began construction on January 5. It is expected to create a hitch to promote socio-economic development not only in Dong Nai Province but also in the Southeastern region and the whole country after coming into operation.

Since the National Assembly approved the investment policy for the project, there have been more changes in people’s lives so far in the context of urbanization development in Binh Son Commune as well as in Long Thanh District.

Particularly, people whose land was acquired or affected by the project have received acceptable compensation to do their own business, to change jobs from agriculture sector to other careers.

If the agricultural land price around the airport project was only about VND1 billion (US$43,000) per hectare in advance the National Assembly’s approval, the price has increased by 10-15 percent following the approval. The compensation price from the State for people whose land was acquired to build the airport is about VND400 million (US$17,000) per hectare.

Mr. Vo Dinh Viet, a resident living in Long Thanh Town, has received VND21.4 billion (US$926,000) for 4.4 hectares of rubber trees affected by the project. After receiving the compensation, his family used the money to pay loans which they had got before for building a 3-star hotel and restaurant in the town’s center since 2016 and to continue to invest into land.

The project implementation also opens up opportunities to develop the finance and services industry for Dong Nai Province and attract large-scale banks to open their branches and transaction offices in the locality, thereby helping Dong Nai Province as well as the Southeastern region develop high-quality human resources.

Nearly US$1 billion has been disbursed in compensation for 5,000 hectares of land reclaimed for construction of the airport. So far, the project- affected people have been resettled, bought land and built houses. This has created more jobs in the fields of banking industry, land brokerage services and construction materials.

According to the leaders of the People’s Committee of Dong Nai Province, since the Long Thanh International Airport Project has not been started works yet, many domestic and foreign investors want to seek investment opportunities in the promising area.

When the airport comes into operation with a smoothly connected traffic infrastructure system, it is expected to certainly stimulate investment attraction and technology development in the Southeastern region. Currently, local economists are expected the approach and transfer of the latest and most modern technologies as well as machinery and equipment from the world’s leading technology corporations for construction of the project.

Once the airport comes into operation along with a smoothly connected traffic infrastructure system, it is expected to certainly stimulate investment attraction and technology development in the Southeastern region.

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee cum Chairman of the People’s Committee of Dong Nai Province Mr. Cao Tien Dung informed that in the development plan for the upcoming years, Dong Nai Province has defined the construction of Long Thanh Airport Project as a motivation for socio-economic development.

According to the plan, the local authorities and private sectors will focus on certain investments to determinedly build an airport city, which is expected to create a great opportunity to develop the high technology, create a driving force for the province to boost the development of high-tech parks and head to export.

Dong Nai Province will focus on the development plan of socio-economic and traffic infrastructure to fuel industry and services development in districts near the airport.

Besides, the province will also re-plan agricultural development in remote districts, determine areas appropriate for fruit trees or vegetables and domestic animal breeding to invest in road and electricity infrastructure.

On the other hand, Dong Nai Province has just approved an Israeli-style high-tech agricultural development program. Experts from this Middle Eastern country will accompany local farmers to build and widen hi-tech models.

As for Ho Chi Minh City, once the Long Thanh airport comes into operation, it will contribute to reducing the overloading at Tan Son Nhat International Airport as well as traffic jams around the airport.

In order to make this plan soon come true, it is necessary to early build an overhead urban railway system connecting the two airports, strengthen investment into transport network systems, speed up building key projects through the airport such as Ben Luc – Long Thanh Expressway, Ring Road 3 and Cat Lai Bridge to reduce traffic pressure through the inner of Ho Chi Minh City, notably Cat Lai port area, National Highway No.1 through Binh Chanh District, National Highway No.22 running through districts of Hoc Mon and Cu Chi.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews/SGT/VIR

Vietnam’s export turnover during this Lunar New Year saw breakthrough growth, occupying nearly half of the total export-import turnover.

The latest data published by the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that export volume over the seven days (February 10-16) of the Lunar New Year holiday reached $730 million, rising 79 per cent on-year and accounting for about 44 per cent of the $1.67 billion export-import turnover.

The main export articles include mobile devices and components valued at $332 million; computer and electronic products worth $251 million. The two categories accounted for 80 per cent of the total export value.

This Lunar New Year saw exports going to 80 markets, seven more than last year. China continues to be the leading export market with a value of $189 million (26 per cent). Following are the US ($152 million), South Korea ($67 million), and Hong Kong ($57 million).

According to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, there were 960 import-export businesses, up 59 per cent on-year. Nevertheless, importers still outnumbered exporters with an import turnover of $940 million, up 37 per cent on-year.

Thus, from early this year to February 16, the total export-import turnover reached $74.51 billion, up 31 per cent on-year. Of this, exports hit $38.57 billion, up 36 per cent on-year while imports reached $35.94 billion, up 26 per cent, resulting in a trade surplus of $2.63 billion.

Drug market forecast to grow by 15 per cent in 2021

The pharmaceutical industry grew by just 2.8 per cent last year, much lower than its average 11.8 per cent growth in the last five years.

It is expected to recover and grow by 15 per cent this year, mainly due to a rapidly ageing population and increasing incomes, analysts at SSI Securities Corporation said.

Last year there was a short supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients from China and India due to social distancing and lockdowns and higher demand for them globally, causing drug prices to rise.

According to the Ministry of Health, domestic drug production grew at 13.8 per cent per year in 2015 – 19 backed by Government policies and construction of new plants.

Vingroup fails to acquire LG Electronics smartphone business

Vingroup is unlikely to be able to realise its ambition to take over LG Electronics’ smartphone manufacturing business.

“LG had been negotiating with Vingroup to sell its smartphone-manufacturing facilities in Vietnam and Brazil, however, the discussions recently collapsed mostly due to different price expectations,” said an industry insider familiar with the matter.

Last month, the Asian media was in a huge stir over the rumoured take-over deal between Vingroup and LG Electronics, the fourth biggest “chaebol” in South Korea.

Accordingly, Vingroup has emerged as the most potential bidder to acquire LG Electronics’ smartphone production line as an important milestone for the Vietnamese group to penetrate the US.

LG reportedly aims to withdraw from the smartphone business due to difficulties, with intentions announced around a month after CEO Kwon Bong-seok said there would be a significant change in operations. The mobile communications business has witnessed losses of around $4.5 billion since 2015.

If the negotiation process is successful, Vingroup could take advantage of LG Electronics’ reputation, innovation, and sales network.

However, with the two sides unable to agree on a mutually acceptable valuation, LG will move on to find another buyer. Also, the company’s smartphone production lines in Vietnam and Brazil can be realigned to manufacture home appliances, noted an official from LG Electronics.He also added there would be no more negotiations with Vingroup, and LG would seek a new buyer, according to Korea Times. VIR

Danang: Mega IT projects to lift up growth

Danang city aims to become an innovative startup metropolis by 2025 by capitalising on a raft of mega IT projects.

Danang is now home to a pipeline of mega IT projects by leading local players, including privately-held CMC Group’s creative space.

According to Nguyen Trung Chinh,CMC chairman, the first phase of CMC Creative Space in Hoa Xuan ward with the investment value of VND12 trillion ($521.74 million) aims to bring jobs to about 2,000 people, which will increase to 10,000 people more in the second phase.

CMC’s target is to turn Danang into an international gateway and major data centre that is part of the strategy to turn Vietnam into a digital hub in the Asia-Pacific.

Through a survey, Danang has the potential to grow into the fourth regional digital hub, following Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

“I am so happy that Danang People’s Committee has quickly released the decision approving the project’s detailed 1/500 planning,” said Chinh.

In light of the approved detailed planning, CMC Creative Space will consist of an R&D space; an IT and software production space; an internet transit station; a date centre; and housing blocks and associated services for experts and employees with a full suite of high-standard utilities.

Deemed as an important pilot project, efforts were taken to ensure speedy approval, paving the way to kick-off the project’s construction in March 2021.

Meanwhile in Ngu Hanh Son district, FPT Corporation, Vietnam’s leading IT firm, has come up with a string of capital-intensive IT projects.

Besides the 5.9ha FPT Complex which has been put into operation attracting more than 3,400 labourers, the company has pumped tens of millions of US dollars into building data centres and a system of educational facilities (schools for all grades and universities).

Nguyen Tuan Phuong, chairman of FPT Software in the central region, unveiled that in the next two years, FPT Group would inject about VND6.7 trillion ($291.3 million) into FPT Technological Urban Area (FPT City Danang) of which about VND1.5 trillion ($65.2 million) will be dedicated to building residential blocks and VND1 trillion ($43.5 million) will be earmarked for the second and third phases of its existing IT service centre to accommodate 10,000 programmers.

The company would further improve FPT City Danang’s infrastructure system with about VND800 billion ($34.8 million) set for building educational facilities.

A string of other projects are promptly in the legal setup phase, awaiting deployment such as VNPT’s IT space (Danang Bay) of more than 35,000 square metres of space in Lien Chieu district with an estimated investment value in the range of VND700 billion to VND1 trillion ($30.43-43.5 million) or the VND2 trillion ($86.96 million) high-tech and software centre of leading military-run telecom group Viettel in Hai Chau district.

These mega IT projects are anticipated to bring breakthroughs to Danang’s development in the upcoming time.

Along with this, the number of IT firms in Danang has been reportedly growing by 25 per cent annually, accounting for 20 per cent of the city’s total number of businesses.

Recent statistics show that Danang accommodates 2.1 IT firms over 1,000 residents, more than quadruple the country’s average. By the end of 2020, the city had 40,500 IT personnel, 20,000 of whom of them 20,000 have been working in the fields of software and digital content creation with per capita monthly wages averaging VND17.8 million ($770).

Nguyen Tuan Phuong from FPT Software shared that digital transmission is taking the whole world by storm, especially amid recent COVID-19 complexities.

“This movement is favourable for Vietnam’s IT industry generally and Danang in particular. The city needs to work on policies to accelerate the development of the IT sector, placing emphasis on training high-quality IT personnel. Availing itself of this opportunity effectively could bring numerous tailwinds to Danang in its digital transformation journey,” Phuong said.

Apt solutions sought for local solar power

The year 2021 will be characterised by an even bigger challenge for the authorities and developers to standardise the quality level of rooftop installations in terms of compliance to construction law, electrical standards, and fire safety, and to match grid availability and local consumption after the Vietnamese rooftop solar market skyrocketed last year.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last week asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to review issues related to Vietnam’s solar power development as well as avoid massive solar development without a proper plan, which could cause power grid overload.

According to the updated data, as of December 25, 2020, there were 83,000 rooftop solar power projects connected to the power system with a total installed capacity of nearly 4,700 megawatts-peak. The total power generation output to the grid from rooftop solar power has reached more than 1.13 billion kWh, contributing to ensuring power supply for the national power system.

Meanwhile, there is no new decision or guidance for implementation of the policy after Decision No.13/2020/QD-TTg issued last April on encouraging mechanisms for solar power development in Vietnam, which had its deadline set for December 31 last year for solar systems of any scale to attain a certificate of delivery and enjoy the feed-in tariff 2 (FiT2) rate, in which the price of each kilowatt-hour generated from ground-mounted, floating, and rooftop solar initiatives were 7.09, 7.69, and 8.38 US cents, respectively.

As a result, it remains uncertain which pricing mechanism will apply to grid-connected solar power projects reaching commercial operation date in 2021.

EVN announced its power companies had ceased buying rooftop solar power after December 31 to wait for further guidance from the government. It will also handle requirements for connection and signing power purchase and sales contracts from solar power systems started before the deadline.

Deputy general director of locally-invested Son Ha Group Hoang Manh Tan said the fact that there is no policy available will make it difficult for businesses to formulate strategies and implement them. Enterprises need continuous and consistent policies, and the gap issue creates difficulties for EVN, other enterprises, and their partners, Tan said.

Thus, ministries and authorities in the coming time must find the right supporting mechanism that enables an organic development of rooftop solar, and minimises loopholes and speculative projects, such as solar farms disguised as rooftop systems.

The prime minister also asked the MoIT to carry out the work of inspecting solar power development in localities and power companies, ensuring compliance with regulations.

It must promptly correct and handle any mistakes, especially operating policies that benefit outdoor voltage deployment over time as well as take measures to minimise the shutdown of renewable energy sources in operation, and minimise the economic losses of investors and waste of renewable energy sources.

At the same time, the boom in solar development also poses a question for the grid operator about how to optimise renewable electricity feeds into the grid, while considering the best interests of electricity producers.

Solar energy expert Mai Van Trung told VIR that in order to keep the average selling price there are several options, including increasing the curtailment or adding more solar power plants and rooftop solar systems with a very low FiT3 rate to compensate the subsidisation of EVN.

The former option over a wide scale could however hurt financial indicators of many projects because of leverage from bankers.

Meanwhile, the latter option could distract potential investors to put the money down. Moreover, the capacity absorption of the national grid is limited due to the intermittency of solar power, Trung said.

There is a declining trend of engineering, procurement, and construction costs of rooftop solar systems over time that can be utilised if the absorption capacity of the grid is available even with the storage added.

Vietnam has plans for solar power auctions but the qualified projects are small and located in lower solar irradiance. Green and cheap credits from international institutions are ready to enter, but the room left for additional capacity is currently being narrowed.

According to the MoIT, there are currently 16 national standards promulgated by the Ministry of Science and Technology related to solar power in the country. However, there is a lack of specific standards for the two main components of rooftop solar power projects – panels and inverters.

In late 2020, the National Assembly passed the new Law on Environmental Protection, which stipulates extended producer responsibility (EPR) for businesses in Vietnam. This means that businesses and producers now bear the responsibility for the waste of their products, including solar panels.

EPR is intended to reduce the cost of managing end-of-life products by reducing waste volume and increasing recycling, thereby contributing to the prime minister’s new target of reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfills by 80 per cent by 2025.

EPR has the potential to create new economic opportunities and share the financial burden of solid waste management more fairly.

According to the new law, businesses can implement EPR in one of three ways including doing the recycle themselves, conducting recycling through a third-party product recycling organisation, and making a financial contribution to the Vietnam Environmental Fund.

According to the draft EPR decree, businesses that recycle themselves or do so via a third party will have to report through a national EPR data portal managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

If a business that does the recycling itself fails to reach the target over 3-5 years in a row, it will be forced to participate in one of the other two mechanisms.

A business that refuses to choose any mechanism will be fined; and if it exceeds its recycling target, it can sell credits to other businesses through a tradable credit system.

Auto imports reach nearly 12,000 units over past 1.5 months

Vietnam’s import of cars between January 1 and February 15 this year reached 11,791 units, worth US$280 million, soaring 84.7% in volume and 76.2% in value against the 2020 figures, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Of these, the country imported over 3,400 completely built-up units worth over US$66 million from February 1 to 15.

During the past 1.5 months, the number of imported cars with nine seats or less totaled 2,477 units worth US$42.5 million, while 812 trucks valued at US$15.9 million were imported in the period.

Earlier, the country imported more than 8,300 cars worth over US$212 million in January, including over 5,200 cars with nine seats or below and 2,230 trucks. These cars were mostly imported from Thailand, China and Indonesia.

SSI Research forecast that the auto consumption in Vietnam this year could rise some 16% versus last year’s figure. Specifically, SSI Research said that the country’s GDP per capita could improve 8-10% annually in the next decade, while vehicles are more affordable to many more people.

In addition, the volume of locally-made cars is on the rise and scores of companies are focusing on business expansion to lower car prices to attract more customers.

Also, many auto manufacturing and assembly plant projects are scheduled for completion in the next three years, which will add a vibrant atmosphere to the local auto market and offer more benefits to customers.

Further, taxes and surcharges on cars are being steadily reduced under free trade agreements between Vietnam and other countries. This will help cut down on auto prices and stimulate the demand for cars.

Growing concern over overload on Vietnam stock market

The problem if further persists in long-term will make investors become disillusioned on the fairness and transparency of Vietnam’s stock market.

The frequent overload of orders forcing the stock exchange to halt market trading is causing frustration among investors.

Insiders have said that the trading halts, which occurred on the Vietnamese stock exchanges recently, aim to correct an order imbalance as a result of a technical glitch or due to regulatory concerns. When a trading halt is in effect, open orders may be canceled and options still may be exercised.

“Investors want competent authorities to take responsibility for these incidents, not just an apology,” said Nguyen Bich Ngoc, an experienced investor in the stock market, adding the unstable system is putting investors at risks.

Both before and after the Tet holiday, the overload occurred multiple times on both the Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi stock exchanges whenever liquidity in a trading session hit around VND14-17 trillion (US$608-738 million).

“The phrase of “unplug the power cord” has become a hot topic in every securities forum and social networks,” Ngoc added.

From her own experience, Ngoc said at a trading session on February 19, when she and other investors placed an order at 1pm, but until 2:48pm, the system notified their placement was expired while the transaction period had not ended.

“Orders for purchasing stocks after 1:30 pm or 2pm in the past month were often delayed in process and not submitted to the stock exchanges,” she continued.

“Investors were left to watch their stocks going up or down in values and do nothing,” Ngoc fumed, while saying a lack of solutions to resolve the matter substantially from the Ministry of Finance or the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) only makes the matter worse.

“We are now forced to live with a faulty system and bear all the risks when we could not sell or buy stocks in case of system overload,” Ngoc stressed.

Last year, the stock market has witnessed strong growth and beat a series of records in terms of the number of new investors and the amount of capital inflows. In contrast with such strong growth, the issue if further persists in long-term will make investors become disillusioned on the fairness and transparency of Vietnam’s stock market, Ngoc stated.

“Investors will not accept losing money in such way or any apology from the authorities when the situation remains unchanged,” she said.

“The SSC must give a clear deadline to resolve this issue one and for all,” Ngoc concluded.

Previously, the SSC attributed the overload issue on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange to the transaction processing capacity of the stock exchange that limits the number of transactions per day, while a recent surge of orders has exceeded the expectation of the market.

To ensure the smooth operation of the stock market, the SSC requested related agencies to optimize the transaction process by increasing the minimum trading lot from 10 to 100 shares, starting from January 4, 2021.

The SSC also urged securities firms to prevent their internal errors or limit automatic transaction.

For mid-term, the HoSE is tasked with upgrading the transaction backup system to ensure the safety of the system until the new IT system for the stock market with support from the Korea Exchange (KRX), South Korea’s bourse operator, is put into operation.

Data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) revealed the amount of capital poured into Vietnam stock market surged 20% in 2020 to VND383.6 trillion (US$16.64 billion). The average transaction value in the stock market is estimated at VND7.05 trillion (US$304.8 million) per session, up 51.5% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the number of new investors soared by 109% in 2020 against the previous year.

Lam Dong to get first wind plant

GE Renewable Energy has signed a contract with the Ocean Renewable Energy Joint Stock Company to supply 15 wind turbines to its Cau Dat Wind Farm, the first in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

Construction is expected to be finished by the third quarter of 2021.

Gilan Sabatier, regional leader for GE Renewable Energy’s onshore wind business in South Asia and ASEAN, said: “We thank Ocean Renewable Energy Joint Stock Company and their leadership team for selecting GE for this project. The award of the Cau Dat wind farm further validates the great work we have done in Vietnam and reaffirms our contribution to the country’s energy transition.”

Do Van Binh, General Director of Ocean, said, “We are delighted to sign this important deal with GE Renewable Energy for our first wind farm project.”

GE is the only wind original equipment manufacturer in the country./.

Bac Giang betters master plan on IPs development

The northern province of Bac Giang is improving a master plan on the development of industrial parks (IPs) and complexes, as well as land use planning, according it its provincial Party Committee.

The province is also refining a master plan on urban areas for the 2021-2030 period to attract investment.

It built a project on supporting start-ups in the locality, towards strongly developing private economy, and issued a list of projects in need of investment in the fields of agriculture and rural development.

The locality considered building mechanisms to support investment in hotel construction projects and hi-end services.

In particular, Bac Giang will step up administrative reform, improve the provincial competitiveness index, pool resources to build key socio-economic infrastructure while enhancing the quality of human resources and State management on projects.

The province will actively assist investors and businesses in tackling difficulties and accelerating projects, especially those regarding infrastructure construction and business in IPs.

From 2016 to the end of 2020, the province drew 909 projects worth over 5.88 billion USD, marking a 3.5-fold rise from 2011-2015, 616 of them were domestic ones with total registered capital of over 55.7 trillion VND (2.42 billion USD), and 3.84 billion USD were foreign direct investment.

It is now home to 1,786 valid projects, including 1,311 domestic ones worth more than 92.2 trillion VND and 475 foreign-invested ones valued at over 6.2 billion USD. Projects are mostly in industry with 54.3 percent, trade and services 40.5 percent, and agriculture 5.6 percent.

Since 2016, Bac Giang has granted licenses to over 6,000 enterprises and 705 branches and representative offices, with a combined registered capital of more than 64.3 trillion VND. Its gross regional domestic product has expanded by 14 percent annually.

Cumulatively, there have been 10,837 businesses so far in the province, including 466 foreign ones with a registered capital of 3.542 billion USD and more than 10,300 others with over 84.9 trillion VND./.

Binh Duong among world’s outstanding smart communities for three consecutive years

The southern province of Binh Duong has made itself onto the list of 21 localities worldwide having outstanding smart city development strategies (Smart21) this year, which was unveiled on February 25 by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF).

It is the third year in a row that the province has received the recognition. Binh Duong is also the first Vietnamese locality to be named in the Smart21.

Gaining a place among the year’s Smart21 is considered a badge of honour as well as the first step toward greater recognition as an Intelligent Community positioned to prosper in the broadband economy, the ICF noted.

Workers at a factory in Bau Bang Industrial Park of Binh Duong (Photo: VNA)

There are currently 180 members from different countries, territories, cities and regions participating in the ICF./.

HCM City aims to build AI centres at regional level

Ho Chi Minh City plans to build at least two centres for Artificial Intelligence (AI) research and development as well as technology transfer at ASEAN level.

It is part of the city’s programme on AI research and development for the 2020-30, which was recently approved by the municipal People’s Committee, aiming to turn HCM City into a hub of Vietnam and ASEAN in the field.

In addition, the city will look for qualified personnel in the spheres of data science, big data analysis, natural language processing, computer vision, speech recognition, information security and Internet of Things, among others.

The southern economic hub has set a target to raise the number of AI research papers and patents by 20 percent in the period.

Vietnam sets a goal of being listed in Top 4 in ASEAN and Top 50 of the world in terms of AI research, development and application by 2030.

The target was set in a National Strategy on AI Research, Development and Application by 2030 recently approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The strategy aims at stepping up AI research, development and application to make it an important technological industry of Vietnam./.

Investment funds in Vietnam remain optimistic despite poor performance

Despite negative performance due to strong fluctuations in Vietnam’s stock market in January, big investment funds in the market remain optimistic.

Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL), a closed-end investment trust managed by Dragon Capital and the biggest investment fund in Vietnam’s stock market, recorded negative growth during the period.

The fund’s performance was negative 3.61 percent in January. VEIL manages assets worth 1.7 billion USD.

As of the end of January, VEIL’s biggest investments were in the banking sector, accounting for 27.13 percent of its investment value, followed by investments in real estate (26.43 percent) and food and beverage (10.17 percent). However all investing sectors had poor performance with banking and real estate sectors posting the biggest losses.

After gaining points in the first half of January, the stock market witnessed some strong corrections as profit booking dragged down the VN-Index. The profit taking was magnified by panic over margin calls.

The market benchmark VN-Index declined 4.28 percent in the first month of 2021.

Dragon Capital said that recently, the fund restructured its investment process with the number of target stocks cutting down to 28 – 32 from 35 – 40.

Finnish equity fund PYN Elite also witnessed is its net asset value (NAV) drop 5.39 percent in January, mostly due to losses in Vietnam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Corporation (VEA), Vietnam JSC Bank for Industry and Trade (CTG) and PetroVietnam Power Corporation (POW). It marked the worst performance of PYN Elite since 2017.

The fund manages total assets worth 572 million USD.

In a letter to investors in February, Petri Deryng, portfolio manager of PYN Elite, said that Vietnam’s stock market began 2021 on a negative note, but the prospects for the whole year are still very positive.

Vietnam’s economy, which has obtained some achievements, rising profits of listed companies and appealing stocks’ valuation are factors contributing to the bright prospects of the market.

The market saw strong fluctuations after the VN-Index surged quickly from 900 points to 1,200 points in just ten weeks.

During the turbulent month, PYN Elite used all of its resources to buy Vinhomes JSC (VHM) shares, making it the biggest investment of its portfolio. At the moment, VHM shares account for 9.82 percent of its portfolio, worth 1.5 trillion VND.

Another investment fund posting negative performance in January was AFC Vietnam Fund, with growth of negative 1.9 percent.

The fund assessed the plunge of the market after rising over 20 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 and gaining 8 percent in the first seven trading sessions of 2021 was a healthy movement. And reaching the 1,200 point level by the VN-Index was really attractive, luring new strong inflows to the market.

Top five investments of AFC Vietnam Fund were Agriculture Bank Insurance JSC (ABI), accounting for 8.1 percent of its investment value, LienVietPost Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPB), Dinh Vu Port Investment and Development JSC (DVP), VNDirect Securities Corporation (VND) and Phu Tai JSC (PTB).

As of the end of January, the fund invested most in the financial sector (35 percent of its portfolio) and industrial sector (23.5 percent)./.

Bac Giang: 771 mln USD raised for transport infrastructure development in five years

The northern province of Bac Giang has raised a total of over 17.8 trillion VND (771.54 million USD) in investment for local transport infrastructure development since 2016.

The capital has been injected into a number of key projects, notably a section of Hanoi’s Belt Road No.4 crossing Bac Giang, worth 1.23 trillion VND; upgrade of Provincial Road 295 crossing Voi – Ben Tuan and Ngoc Chau – Thang township, 245 billion VND; and a 5-km road connecting Provincial Road 293 and My An Port in Luc Nam, 115 billion VND.

Over the last five years, the province has developed 11 transport projects under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme, with a total investment of more than 7.5 trillion VND. They include two Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects managed by the Ministry of Transport and eight Build-Transfer (BT) by the province. A majority of the funding, 4.2 trillion VND, has been spent on developing Bac Giang – Lang Son Expressway under a BOT contract.

In addition to private funding, Bac Giang has used Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans for transport infrastructure projects. The largest among ODA-funded projects were 272-billion-VND Dong Bac Belt Road and Tran Quang Khai Bridge project in Bac Giang city financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the 135-billion-VND Local Bridge Construction and Road Asset Management (LRAMP)’s local bridge component funded by the World Bank (WB).

The province has also spent over 2.18 trillion VND from its budget and close to 1.75 trillion VND from private funding to concrete more than 4,210 km of roads, mostly rural roads.

Thanks to such efforts, Bac Giang is now home to about 153km of expressways which are more than 8m in width, accounting for over 46.4 percent of the total.

It has also concreted over 97.3 percent of district-level, 98.1 percent of commune-level and 92.3 percent of village roads.

In the coming time, Bac Giang plans to attract private investors in transport services, such as inland ports, parking, bus stations, and rest stops. The province will also jointly develop inter-provincial roads with neighbouring localities and by 2025, cooperate with the Ministry of Transport and BOT investors to expand Xuong Giang and Nhu Nguyen bridges on the Hanoi – Bac Giang Expressway./.

Vinh Long works towards sustainable export growth

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)./.

Vietnam offers numerous investment opportunities for Indian businesses

The increasing importance of Vietnam in global supply chains is great potential helping to enhance the Vietnam-India relations, particularly between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) that are considered the main drivers for economic growth in each country, heard an online conference on February 25.

The bilateral trade-investment promotion conference titled “Boosting trade-investment cooperation opportunities between Vietnamese and Indian SMEs” was jointly organised by the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in India, Uttar Pradesh state government, the Indian Industries Association (IIA) and the Hanoi SME Association.

IIA President Pankaj Gupta said that several major enterprises of India such as Adani Group, Mahindra, SRF and Suzlon have shown interest in investing in Vietnam.

He suggesting Indian enterprises invest in Vietnam in the fields of energy, mineral exploration, agricultural chemicals, sugar production, tea, coffee, information technology, and automobile components.

Vietnam is currently holding a lot of advantages for investors such as favourable investment policies, numerous free trade agreements, rapid economic growth, stable political situation, cheap labour costs, and young labour force, he stated.

However, participants pointed to several challenges for foreign investors in Vietnam, including high corporate tax rates of 32-50 percent for companies operating in oil and gas exploration and exploitation and other valuable natural resources, complicated administrative procedures, and dependence on cash transactions.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau proposed the two countries’ enterprises expand cooperation in supporting industry, automobile and motorbike spare parts, garment and footwear materials and household appliances.

According to the Vietnam Foreign Investment Agency, as of December 2020, India had nearly 300 valid projects in Vietnam with total investment of nearly 900 million USD, ranking 26th among countries and territories pouring capital into the Southeast Asian nation./.HCM City keeps shutdown of certain services in place

Fruit & vegetable exporters should tap into Northern Europe’s niche market: Newspaper

Vietnamese businesses are believed to possess opportunities, especially in niche markets, when exporting fruit and vegetables to Northern Europe, according to the Cong Thuong (Industry & Trade) newspaper.

The Vietnamese trade office in Sweden said that due to unfavourable weather conditions, Northern European countries very much depend on imported fruit and vegetables, with over 90 percent of fruit and 40 percent of vegetables coming from foreign sources.

The importation of tropical fruit has been growing quickly in recent years, opening up opportunities for both existing and new exporters from developing countries, including Vietnam.

Developing countries account for more than 50 percent of the supply of fruit such as papaya, mango, pineapple, dates, tamarind, and passionfruit imported to the market, and 30 percent of avocado, figs, melons, and grapes.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect on August 1, 2020, has also generated considerable advantages for Vietnamese firms, as most tariffs on fresh fruit and vegetables have been slashed to zero percent, the trade office noted.

Despite the optimistic outlook, Cong Thuong wrote, the market is relatively small compared to others in Europe. It’s also not easy for new exporters to compete with multilateral fruit and vegetable providers, logistics firms, and packaging companies with a long presence there.

Vegetables grown in Europe now account for 90 percent of those imported into Northern Europe, while those from developing nations stand at less than 10 percent.

Off-season produce like tomatoes and bell peppers are often provided by countries near Northern Europe. Geographical distance and a lack of direct air routes to the region also pose certain difficulties for Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports.

The newspaper suggested Vietnamese companies consider producing organic and convenience products, pointing out European consumers’ increasing preference for healthy diets with clean and natural food, as well as those that serve their busy lifestyles.

To make use of this trend, they should ensure that product quality meets requirements, the article said.

It also noted that more attention needs to be paid to sustainable and responsible production and business practices, adding that products will be accepted by Northern European consumers if they comply with sustainability standards.

Brand building and product storytelling are also tools necessary for marketing new products, particularly those for niche markets, according to the paper./.

Vietnam lures 5.46 billion USD in foreign investment

As much as 5.46 billion USD worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) was injected into Vietnam as of February 20, equivalent to 84.4 percent of the figure recorded in the same time last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

As many as 126 foreign projects were granted investment licences with total registered capital of 3.31 billion USD, a year-on-year fall of 33.9 percent.

Meanwhile, 115 existing projects adjusted their investment capital with a total additional sum of 1.61 billion USD, or 2.5 times higher than the same time last year.

Capital contributions and shares purchases by foreign investors stood at 543.1 million USD, down 34.4 percent.

Japan topped the list of 46 countries and territories landing investment in Vietnam, with 1.64 billion USD, equivalent to nearly 30 percent of the total. Singapore came second with 1.07 billion USD, and the Republic of Korea third with 1.05 billion USD.

The ministry said the southern province of Can Tho lured the lion’s share of FDI with 1.31 billion USD, accounting for 24.2 percent of the total. Hai Phong city was the runner-up since it attracted nearly 918 million USD, or 16.8 percent. Bac Giang came third with nearly 573 million USD (10.5 percent)./.

An Giang boasts strengths in hi-tech agricultural development: Deputy PM

The Mekong Delta province of An Giang boasts strengths in economic development, especially high tech agriculture, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said while attending a ground-breaking ceremony for a high tech dairy farm project of TH Group in Tri Ton district of the province on February 27.

The dairy cow farming model of TH Group, the largest scale in the region, is expected to become an exemplary model to be multiplied, he said.

The farm is hoped to help fulfil the target of having 500,000 milch cows across the country five years ahead of the deadline set in the master plan on agricultural development to 2020, vision to 2030, he noted.

Spanning 178.4 ha across Tri Ton district’s Vinh Gia and Vinh Phuoc communes, the project is carried out with an investment of nearly 2.66 trillion VND (115.2 million USD), making it the largest closed-loop system dairy project in Mekong Delta.

It includes a fresh milk factory capable of producing 135 tonnes daily.

On the same day, Deputy PM Binh paid a visit to a hi-tech hog farming project of the Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO)’s agricultural arm in Tinh Bien district.

The 50-ha project has been basically completed after nine months of construction. Its first phase will become operational by June while the construction of the second one is set to begin later this year, raising its capacity to 11,200 pigs in total.

On the occasion, a New Year tree-planting festival was held in the province in response to a campaign to grow 1 billion green trees between 2021 and 2025 launched by the Prime Minister./.

Deputy PM asks Thai Binh to facilitate Lien Ha Thai IP development

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has asked the northern province of Thai Binh and investors to create favourable conditions to draw projects to the Lien Ha Thai industrial park (GREEN iP-1).

During a conference announcing the Prime Minister and the provincial People’s Committee’s Decisions on the GREEN iP-1 on February 27, the Deputy PM instructed Thai Binh authorities and the IP investor to complete procedures in line with the law, including those regarding site clearance, compensation for resettlement, and social housing for workers.

He suggested Thai Binh review its economic structure with a view to adjusting it based on its strength as a coastal province and market demand at home and abroad, select priority projects regarding transportation, urban and rural infrastructure while stepping up administrative reform and creating a pro-business environment.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung hands over the PM’s Decision on GREEN iP-1 development (Photo: VNA)

Invested by Green i-Park JSC, the GREEN iP-1 is located in Thuy Lien commune and Diem Dien township of Thai Thuy district. It has a total investment of over 3.88 trillion VND (168.3 million USD).

Once operational, the 50-year project is expected to contribute to the development of the nation as well as Thai Binh and the Red River in particular.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes

According to the Vietnam Institute of Seas and Islands under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), plastic waste accounts for between 50% and 80% of marine waste. Currently, Vietnam is ranked fourth among the five countries which have the biggest volume of plastic waste in their seas, with a volume of between 0.28 and 0.73 million tonnes per year (equivalent to around 6% of the world’s total plastic waste discharged into the sea).

According to the experts, the main sources of pollution related to marine plastic waste in Vietnam include land-based waste sources and marine-based waste sources from activities such shipping, fishing, natural incidents, floating trash at sea and other activities. On the other hand, over recent years, the marine tourism industry has developed strongly, attracting hundreds of millions of domestic and foreign tourists each year. Thus, the volume of plastic waste discharged by tourists to Vietnam’s marine tourism areas is forecasted to be more than 206,000 tonnes by the end of 2020, of which nearly 40% will be discharged into the sea. Many beautiful beaches such as Ha Long Bay, or some islands such as Cat Ba, Phu Quoc, Con Dao, and Cu Lao Cham, are facing the risk of environmental pollution, especially an increasing amount of plastic waste. Worryingly, micro-sized (less than five millimeters) plastic waste formed during the manufacturing process, or fragmentation of plastic materials which exist as suspended matter and in seabed sediments do not decompose easily. They easily accumulate in the biological food chain causing a significant impact on marine ecosystems. Large plastic waste such as nets and floating fishing gear also cause serious harm to marine organisms when they become trapped, reducing fishing productivity and causing impacts on the other ocean ecosystems.

Facing this situation, at the end of 2019, the Prime Minister promulgated the National Action Plan on marine plastic waste management by 2030. The action plan hopes that by 2030, the country will have reduced 75% of plastic waste in the ocean, have collected 100% of lost or discarded fishing tools, and have eradicated the direct discharge of fishing tools into the ocean. With this scheme, Vietnam also hopes all tourist sites, tourist accommodation establishments and other tourism service providers in coastal areas will not use disposable plastic products or non-biodegradable plastic bags. Meanwhile, all coastal nature reserves will become free of plastic waste by 2030.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Minh Ngan said, as a management agency in the field of natural resources and environment, the MoNRE has actively implemented the National Action Plan on marine plastic waste management by 2030 in the whole industry, with the aim of focusing on communication, raising awareness and changing behaviour with plastic products and marine plastic waste. Meanwhile, the ministry has proposed and coordinated with coastal localities to build and pilot a model of sorting waste and plastic waste at source in a number of economic zones, urban areas, industrial zones and coastal processing zones.

Currently, the MoNRE is directing functional agencies to review, research, and develop a waste management mechanism for plastic marine waste, in which the focus is on completing and building a new system of environmental technical regulations on plastic marine waste to national standards. The ministry is developing policies to support and encourage organisations and enterprises to produce and use green, recyclable and environmentally friendly products. Meanwhile, the ministry is maintaining cooperative relationships and closely coordinating with countries and international organisations in the field of controlling and managing marine waste and implementing Vietnam’s initiatives with the international community on its management.. The MoNRE assigned the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, the General Department of Environment to be the lead agency, coordinate with relevant agencies to synthesize, statistise, classify and assess the sources of plastic waste in coastal areas, islands and from sea activities in order to build a unified specialized database of marine plastic waste, comparable with the national database on waste sources; lead the implementation of in-depth scientific research on the impact of plastic marine waste, especially microplastics on natural resources, the environment, marine ecosystems and human health.

Experts in the field of the marine environment have also suggested that the Government, ministries and branches, especially local governments in coastal localities should organise the effective implementation of movements and campaigns for waste collection and cleaning beaches at national and local level at least twice per year. In particular, it should be noted that the arrangement of storage facilities and waste and plastic waste centres is appropriate, safe and convenient, ensuring aesthetics and environmental sanitation. It is necessary to mobilize more active participation of local people in collection; at the same time, encourage and support organisations and individuals to collect, recycle and reuse plastic waste in river basins, coastal ecosystems areas, mangroves, beaches and coastal water areas. It is necessary to strengthen communcation and advocacy to raise awareness, changing people of all class’ behavior with regard to plastic products and the plastic marine waste.