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The Hanoitimes – In the January – November period, Vietnam imported 135,230 cars worth US$2.91 billion, up 100.4% in quantity and 97.7% in value year-on-year.

Hefty imports of cars and crude oil into Vietnam helped customs authorities collect over VND335.6 trillion (US$14.48 billion) in taxes as of December 17, exceeding the target of VND315.5 trillion (US$13.61 billion) set by the Ministry of Finance and up 11.6% year-on-year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).

Overview of the conference. Source: GDVC.

In the January – November period, Vietnam imported 135,230 cars worth US$2.91 billion, up 100.4% in volume and 97.7% in value year-on-year, leading to customs revenue of VND38.2 trillion (US$1.64 billion), up VND19.32 trillion(US$833.77 million) or 102.4% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, nearly 7.07 million tons of crude oil were imported in the 11-month period worth US$3.33 billion, up 58% in volume and 38% in value year-on-year, resulting in customs revenue of VND7.87 trillion (US$339.64 million), up 41% year-on-year.

Customs revenue from other goods also increased VND14.72 trillion (US$635.26 million), up 5.8% year-on-year, stated the GDVC.

According to the GDVC, such positive results were thanks to Vietnam’s actively participation in multilateral and bilateral cooperation with regional and international partners.

The signing and enforcement of a number of free trade agreements, including the Vietnam – South Korea FTA (VKFTA), the ASEAN – South Korea FTA (AKFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans – Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), have created a positive impact on Vietnam’s business environment, supporting local enterprises to expand investment and trade activities, said the GDVC.

Additionally, as of November 30, revenue gained from measures to prevent losses to the state budget was estimated at over VND3.88 trillion (US$167.44 million), including VND992 billion (US$42.81 million) from resolving tax arrears, VND1.8 trillion (US$77.67 million) from post-customs clearance, VND481 billion (US$20.75 million) from price consulting, VND448.3 billion (US$19.35 million) from anti-smuggling, and VND167.1 billion (US$7.21 million) from inspections.

Hoa Phat’s steel production at its facility in Dung Quat, Quang Ngai. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Hoa Phat Group plans to import 1.44 billion USD worth of commodities from Australia in 2021, more than doubling last year’s figure.

The imports will include around 4 million tonnes of iron ore, 3.5 million tonnes of coal of different types and 145,000 cows.

The group’s imports of machines, equipment, and materials for production reportedly hit nearly 2 billion USD last year. Of the total, some 35 percent, or 700 million USD, came from Australia , also over double the figure from 2019 and making the industrial manufacturer the largest Vietnamese client of the country.

More than half of the total import value, or 364 million USD, came from coal, compared to just 115 million USD in 2019.

The group’s purchases of iron ore leapt a whopping 19-times to 123 million USD in the first eleven months of 2020.

Hoa Phat bought more coal and iron ore last year to serve production at its iron and steel integrated complexes in the northern province of Hai Duong and the central province of Quang Ngai’s Dung Quat Economic Zone.

Meanwhile, it annually purchases hundreds of thousands of cows from Australia, with its herd accounting for 50 percent of all Australian-imported cows in Vietnam .

With such soaring import numbers, Hoa Phat was estimated to account for 17 percent of Australia’s total export value to Vietnam in 2020, compared to 7.4 percent in 2018 and 7.6 percent in 2019.

According to Global Trade Atlas, Australia’s exports to Vietnam reached 4.4 billion USD in 2020, 16 percent of which was imported by Hoa Phat.

Last year, the group’s exports exceeded 1 billion USD, including 966 million USD worth of high-quality and construction steel./.

The Hanoitimes – A representative of the trade ministry, however, suggested measures should be in compliance with current regulations and international agreements that Vietnam is a part of.

State-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) has proposed to temporary halt oil imports as global oil prices have crashed recently.

Dung Quat Oil Refinery plant.

However, Nguyen Viet Son, head of the General Department of Energy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said measures should be in compliance with current regulations and international agreements that Vietnam is a part of.

As of present, output of Vietnam’s two oil refinery plants, Nghi Son in Thanh Hoa province and Dung Quat in Quang Ngai province, are capable of meeting 80% of domestic demand. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic is weakening demand, Son expected energy firms to streamline operating costs and adjust production capacity.

Son said the WTI oil prices falling to below zero is actually the transaction price between traders on the stock market, not the price between oil producers and oil refinery plants as the end user, not to mention the tiny volume volume of oil changed hands at prices below zero.

In the coming time, the MoIT would continue to provide supporting measures for the energy industry in forms of taxes and fees reduction, Son stated, while encouraging oil and fuel distributors to prioritize over domestic products instead of imported ones.

According to the PVN, a sharp decline in oil prices would severely affect the group’s revenue targets.

In case the average oil price in 2020 hits US$30 per barrel, PVN’s revenue is set to decline by 19% compared to the year’s target, to VND520 trillion (US$22 billion), resulting in a 38.4% decrease against the year’s plan in contribution to the state budget at VND50.6 trillion (US$2.14 billion).

PVN estimated each US$1 reduction in oil prices would cause the state firm to lose VND4.6 trillion (US$194.73 million) in revenue and subsequently VND1 trillion (US$42.33 million) reduction in state budget contribution.

With export turnover of $2.04 billion, the US surpassed China to become the largest consumer of Vietnamese agricultural products in the first two months of 2021.