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HCMC puts daily State budget collections at VND2.9 trillion

The Saigon Times

HCMC Vice Chairman Vo Van Hoan. HCMC collected some VND2.9 trillion per day for the State budget between January and February – PHOTO: THE HCMC MEDIA CENTER

HCMC – HCMC collected some VND2.9 trillion per day for the State budget between January and February, nearly double the number given by the Government.

Speaking at the Government’s online meeting with provinces and cities on socioeconomic performance this morning, March 2, HCMC Vice Chairman Vo Van Hoan said that the central Government set a target for HCMC to collect some VND365 trillion for the State budget this year, equivalent to some VND1.5 trillion per day.

In the first two months of the year, the city’s budget collections amounted to an average of some VND2.9 trillion per day.

Up to now, the city has collected VND74.5 trillion, meeting 20.5% of the target and rising by 10.5% year-on-year, Hoan said, adding that HCMC might fulfill the target set by the Government.

HCMC’s budget collections in 2019 reached some VND410 trillion, while the city’s budget revenues reached a mere VND371 trillion in 2020, meeting 91.5% of the estimates due to the impact of Covid-19.

In recent years, the city’s collections have accounted for 25%-27% of the country’s total, the local media reported.

In the first two months of 2021, the city saw more positive achievements in socio-economic development than during the same period last year, according to the representative of the HCMC government.

In the two-month period, the city’s total retail sales of goods and services inched up 4.7%, while its export revenue amounted to US$8 billion, up 25% year-on-year, backed by the exports of fertilizer, plastic materials and auto components.

The city also attained industrial manufacturing index growth of 6% and saw over 3,800 firms return to the market, up 3% year-on-year, and 700 companies complete dissolution procedures, down 14.5%.

However, Hoan said that its tourism sector had been heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Between January and February, the sales of travel services plunged by 70%, while the value of lodging services dropped by 14% year-on-year.

Vietnam sees no fresh Covid-19 infections, six new recoveries

The Saigon Times

Local residents are waiting for their turns to undergo Covid-19 testing in Hai Duong Province. No new Covid-19 cases were reported in Vietnam this evening, March 2 – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – No new Covid-19 cases were reported in Vietnam this evening, March 2, while six more coronavirus patients have fully recovered and were released from hospital on the day, said the Ministry of Health.

Up to now, the country’s tally stayed at 2,472, including 1,898 recoveries and 35 fatalities.

Of the total number of infections, 1,561 cases were locally infected, with 868 being recorded since January 27 in 13 provinces and cities across the country. Among them, ten localities have reported no new Covid-19 community cases for 17 days, such as HCMC, Hoa Binh, Dien Bien, Quang Ninh.

The capital city of Hanoi also had gone 14 days without reporting any fresh locally-transmitted cases.

Further,  nearly 58,800 people linked to coronavirus patients or returning to Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions are undergoing quarantine, according to data of the ministry’s national steering committee for Covid-19 infection prevention and control.

PM orders injection of Covid-19 vaccines from this week

The Saigon Times

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (standing) speaks at a regular Cabinet meeting on March 2. He has instructed that residents be given the Covid-19 vaccines from this week – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – At a regular Cabinet meeting on March 2, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Ministry of Health to inject those announced earlier by the Government as priority residents with the Covid-19 vaccines from this week.

The budget must be ensured so that all Vietnamese people receive the vaccines, PM Phuc noted, adding that the healthcare sector and other relevant agencies must quickly and seriously fulfill this duty, the local media reported.

Commenting on the fight against the pandemic, especially in Hai Duong, Haiphong, Quang Ninh, Hanoi and HCMC, the Government leader said the pandemic has been controlled in the country, except for Hai Duong’s Kim Thanh District.

He reiterated the Government’s view that injecting vaccines, wearing face masks, spraying disinfectants, maintaining a physical distance, limiting gatherings and making health declarations are the most important solutions to combat Covid-19.

He asked ministries, agencies and localities to continue making strong efforts in the Covid-19 prevention and control drive.

The prime minister also ordered the control of the pandemic at the Kim Thanh hotspot. Moreover, production and business activities should be enhanced to achieve the targets set for the first half of the year and the whole year.

Regarding the country’s socioeconomic performance in the first two months of the year, PM Phuc said the country’s import-export turnover reached US$95.8 billion, up 24.5% year-on-year. The export revenue grew nearly 23.2% to US$48.6 billion, while US$47.1 billion was spent on imports, up 25.9%, resulting in a trade surplus of US$1.3 billion.

Additionally, the number of newly-established enterprises was 18,100, registering a total capital of VND334.8 trillion, edging up 4% and 52%, respectively.

According to a report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the country’s consumer price index grew 1.52% against the previous month, the highest for the month over the past eight years.

Largecap stocks recover, driving main index up

The Saigon Times

An employee of a securities firm monitors stock information on the computer screen. The VN-Index of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange managed to reverse course to end higher today, March 2 – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – The VN-Index of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange managed to reverse course to end slightly higher today, March 2, buoyed by a number of large-cap stocks that bounced back at the end of the session.

Trading in the local market was busy in the morning but started slowing down in the afternoon as investors were concerned that a technical error would continue to clog trade when market turnover had remained high.

Closing the session, with 227 advancers and 190 decliners, the benchmark index added 0.44 point, or 0.04% over the session earlier at 1,186.35. Turnover of the HCMC market dropped over 10% in volume and 5% in value at over 577 million shares and more than VND15 trillion, including around VND1.4 trillion worth of shares traded in block deals.

Many largecaps in the VN30 basket not only maintained growth but also rose sharply at the close, such as steelmaker HPG, lenders TPB and HDB, retailer VRE. Of them, TPB was the most outstanding performer as it surged 6.3% with over 17.1 million shares changing hands. HPG inched up 1.1% and led the southern bourse by liquidity, with a matching volume of 23.67 million shares.

Regarding the performance of stocks by sectors, bank stocks including STB, TPB, TCB, LPB, and HDB were the major cash magnets, followed by brokerages SSI and HCM, fertilizer producers DCM, BFC, and DPM.

Meanwhile, real estate, construction and fuel stocks bucked the market trend and ended in negative territory.

On the northern bourse, the increased profit-taking dampened the HNX-Index, sending it down 4.43 points, or 1.76% against Monday at 247.94, with 98 winners and 174 losers. Nearly 120 million shares worth over VND2 trillion were transacted on the Hanoi market, dipping a slight 2% in both volume and value.

Hanoi woman tests positive for Covid-19 again after recovery

The Saigon Times

A medical worker handles samples for Covid-19 testing. A 48-year-old Covid-19 patient in Hanoi who had recovered has tested positive again – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – A 48-year-old woman in Hanoi who had recovered from Covid-19 has tested positive again, according to Khong Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Hanoi Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The patient, who resides in the capital city’s Dich Vong Hau Ward, Cau Giay District, is the wife of the 1,866th Covid-19 patient.

The woman was identified as the country’s 1,958th Covid-19 patient and was discharged from the hospital on February 27. She was self-quarantined at home until she tested positive for Covid-19 again.

Earlier on February 24, another woman who also lives in Cau Giay District tested positive for Covid-19 again after her treatment from January 30 to February 20.

Up to now, Vietnam has reported many recovered coronavirus patients testing positive again, but none of them caused community transmission after recovery.