Industrial production index vietnam

Workers operating equipment for oil and gas production. PetroVietnam Gas shares inched higher on Monday, contributing to the gain of the VN-Index. Photo courtesy of PetroVietnam Gas

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s stock market edged higher on Monday as investors flocked into oil and gas, construction and banking stocks.

The market benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished the first trading day of the new month at 1,186.17 points, up 1.51 per cent. The gain ended last week’s downward trend. The index decreased by 0.43 per cent last week.

Trần Xuân Bách, a senior analyst from Bảo Việt Securities Co., wrote in a daily report to customers that the market’s trend is expected to continue sideways with alternating up and down sessions. And the index might test the resistance territory of 1,175 – 1,185 points during first sessions of this week.

At the end of the session, 358 stocks climbed, of which 35 stocks hit the maximum daily gain, while only 85 stocks declined. And 60 stocks stayed steady.

High liquidity in the market was the main force for the gain Monday. Nearly 643.4 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth over VNĐ16 trillion. In the morning session alone, over VNĐ10.2 trillion was poured into the market.

However, the strong cash inflows once again created an overload on HoSE in Monday’s afternoon session.

Big stocks across all sectors posted good performance on Monday with the VN30-Index rising by 1.55 per cent to 1,191.83 points. Of the VN30 basket, 27 stocks climbed, while only three stocks declined.

Top five stocks influencing the market’s trend were in gas and oil, construction and banking sectors including PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), up 2.91 per cent, Vinhomes JSC (VHM), up 1.38 per cent, Vietcombank (VCB), up 1.02 per cent, Techcombank (TCB), up 2.42 per cent and Việt Nam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB), up 6.93 per cent.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index rose 1.26 per cent to 252.37 points. The HXN30-Index increased by 2.69 per cent to 375.25 points.

During the session, more than 126.97 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth over VNĐ2.2 trillion.

Meanwhile, foreign investors were net sellers on both exchanges, with the net value of VNĐ209.29 billion on the HoSE and VNĐ17.12 billion on the HNX.

On the macro-economic front, Việt Nam’s consumer price index (CPI) in February increased by 1.52 per cent over the previous month, the highest gain of the index in February since 2013, according to data from General Statistics Office of Việt Nam (GSO).

The industrial production index in February, meanwhile, is estimated to tumble against the previous month.

Party delegates voted to adopt the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress at the final session of the Congress held on February 1, 2021.

The goals are part of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress held from January 25 to February 1, the entirety of which has just been released by the Office of the Party Central Committee.

The Resolution noted the highlight of the 12th tenure was the successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in significant economic achievements – including stable macroeconomics, controlled inflation and high GDP growth, while people’s living standards were improved. The fight against corruption, loss and waste was intensified, while the socio-political situation remained stable, foreign relations deepened and Vietnam’s profile on the international stage grew.

However, numerous shortcomings – including slow modernisation and industrialisation, shifting in the growth model, limited competitiveness and quality and productivity of the economy, inadequate adaptation to climate change and environment protection demands, drawbacks in Party building and rectification, that science and technology has not been the driving engine of socio-economic growth and the lives of certain groups of people remain difficult – of the 12th tenure have been identified in the Resolution.

The achievements of 35 years of implementation of doi moi (Reform), 30 years of implementing the 1991 Party Platform and in the 10 years of implementing the 2011 Revised Party Platform have proved that the country’s path towards socialism is consistent with Vietnam’s practical situation and the times’ development trends, with the Party’s righteous leadership the leading factor in Vietnam’s revolutionary victories, the Resolution reads.

Amid rapidly shifting and complex developments in the global scene, the Party Platform continues to serve as the ideological flag to gather the collective strength of united peoples for the goal of a “prosperous-people, strong-nation, democratic, equitable, and civilised” Vietnam.

Development vision and orientations

In the coming years, the challenges and opportunities of a complicated world demand the entire Party and Vietnamese people to “unite” and continue to have major changes in mindset and make correct and timely forecasts of the situation to prepare and deal with any circumstance, to “bring the country forward on the path of rapid, sustainable development” and the attainment of many orientations, goals, and tasks.

The Resolution lists major guiding orientations of the years forward, including “persistent and innovative” implementation of Marxist-Leninism and Hồ Chí Minh ideology, persistent pursuit of socialism and independence and upholding national interests based on the principles of the United Nations’ Charter and international law and the spirit of equal and win-win co-operation, with national defence and security in mind.

It also aims to enhance patriotism, the spirit of resilience, national unity and people’s aspirations to develop a prosperous and happy nation, promoting socialist democracy, enhancing the quality of human resources and promoting innovation and science and technology – especially the achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – in service of the country’s sustainable and rapid development.

In addition, Party building and governance are goals, working towards a streamlined and effective Party system with quality cadres and civil servants.

The “general objectives” are identified as improving the Party’s leadership and ruling capacity; building a pure, strong and comprehensive Party and political system; consolidating and raising people’s confidence in the Party, the State and the socialist regime; fomenting aspirations to develop a prosperous and happy country; promoting the will and strength of national solidarity; promoting comprehensive and synchronous đổi mới (reforms), industrialisation, and modernisation; building and firmly defending the Fatherland, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment; and striving to become a developed country with socialist orientations by the middle of the 21st century.

The “particular objectives” are set on Vietnam becoming a developed nation with a modern industrial base and leaving the ranks of lower-middle-income countries by 2025 – the year marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the south and national reunification. By 2030, when the Party celebrates its 100th founding anniversary, Vietnam is hoped to become a developing country with a modern industrial base and upper-middle incomes. By 2045, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Vietnam is hoped to become a developed, industrialised nation with high income.

In 2021-25, the Resolution sets a target for average GDP growth of 6.5-7 per cent, GDP per capita by 2025 reaching $4,700-5,000, the contributions of total factor productivity (TFP) in economic growth reaching 45 per cent, the labour productivity increase hitting 6.5 per cent a year, urbanisation reaching 45 per cent, the ratio of processing and manufacturing industries in the GDP exceeding 25 per cent, and the digital economy accounting for 20 per cent of the country’s GDP.

In this time frame, the Resolution aims for agricultural labour ratio staying at 25 per cent, the ratio of trained labour reaching 70 per cent, urban unemployment kept at below 4 per cent, the rate of multidimensional poverty maintaining a decrease of 1-1.5 per cent year-on-year, aiming for 10 doctors and 30 hospital beds for every 10,000 people, striving towards 95 per cent of the Vietnamese population being covered under the State’s health insurance, life expectancy reaching 74.5 years, and the ratio of communes obtaining new rural standards reaching at least 80 per cent, including 10 per cent meeting the requirements of exemplary new rural standards.

In terms of environment, by 2025, the goals are to have 95-100 per cent of the urban population and 93-95 per cent of rural population having access to clean and hygienic water, 90 per cent of urban waste properly collected and treated, 92 per cent of active industrial-processing zones outfitted with proper wastewater treatment facilities; 100 per cent of all businesses polluting the environment punished; and upholding the national forest coverage at 42 per cent.

The 13th tenure has “six central tasks”, with the first being Party building, building rules-based socialist State, with effective, corruption-free governance. The second task is controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring COVID-19 vaccination coverage, while engaging in economic recovery, pursuing the transformation of growth model and economic restructuring, implementing national digital transformation strategy, raising labour productivity and innovation, and third is upholding independence, improving the effectiveness of foreign affairs and international integration, building modern and elite armed forces, and maintaining peaceful and stable environment for development.

The fourth central task is inspiring patriotism among the people to develop a prosperous and happy nation, promoting the role of cultural values and the strength of Vietnamese people in nation-building and defence, with detailed policies to develop the culture of ethnic minority groups, carrying out social policies and ensuring social security for the people, raising living standards and happiness indexes of the Vietnamese people. Fifth is perfecting the legal system, institutions, and policies to promote socialist democracy. The final central task is to strictly manage, reasonably and effectively use land and natural resources, protecting the environment, and implementing adaptation measures to cope with climate change and natural disasters.

Breakthrough strategies

To achieve the goals, the Party sets three major breakthrough strategies – completing development institutions, developing human resources, and building modern infrastructure.

Regarding institutions, the Party identifies the need to improve development institutions for a socialist-oriented market economy; reforming State governance towards modernity and competitiveness; improving the legal system and institutions to create a favourable, healthy, and fair business and investment environment for all sectors of the economy where innovation can foster; mobilising, managing and using all resources – especially land, finance, public-private partnership – for development purposes; bolstering reasonable decentralisation, while enhancing inspections and keeping powers in check via the legal system.

For human resources, the Party wants a priority on high-quality human resources for leadership and management and key positions, based on “comprehensive and radical transformation of education and training quality in tandem with recruitment and incentive policies”; promoting research, transfer, application and development of science and technology, innovation; promoting the aspirations for national development, people’s sense of unity and national pride in nation-building and defence efforts.

The Resolution also states the demand for “modern and synchronous” social and economic infrastructure, with a focus on national key transport projects, climate adaptation projects, and information and communications projects to serve national digital transformation and the development of a digital economy and society.

VNS

Foreign visitors walk in Điện Biên Phủ Street, Hà Nội. Việt Nam was the only country among 10 member states of the ASEAN to see improvement in Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index Report 2021. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam has climbed three spots to rank 47th out of 105 countries in Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index Report 2021.

Việt Nam was the only country among the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to improve its ranking this year.

Its overall score was 33.8 out of 100 points, 2.5 points higher than last year, putting it ahead of the Philippines (53rd), Cambodia (89th) and Myanmar (90th).

Among other ASEAN countries, Singapore was 20th, Thailand 33rd, Malaysia 39th, and Indonesia 45th.

According to Brand Finance, the improvement was largely due to the fact that Việt Nam has managed the COVID-19 pandemic extremely well.

“Việt Nam was spared a year of lockdowns and besieged hospitals, and has one of the lowest COVID-19 infection and death rates in the world,” the report said. “Not only is the response to the pandemic impressive – given its shared border with China – but Việt Nam also experienced one of the highest economic growth rates globally in 2020 – one of a handful of countries with positive growth in 2020.”

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has approved the Việt Nam National Brand Programme from 2020 to 2030, which aims to increase the value and ranking of the national brand while targeting more than 1,000 products to become strong national brands.

The brands from the country are managed through efforts and initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Department of Trade Promotion (Vietrade), under their ‘Việt Nam Value’ programme.

At a national level, Việt Nam has established diplomatic relations with 187 out of 193 member states of the United Nations and completed the process of negotiating and signing new-generation free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), making the country an important factor in regional and intraregional economic links.

At the same time, Vietrade and the MoIT have supported Vietnamese enterprises to improve their capacity through consulting business development, establishing information systems and updating branding knowledge.

All these initiatives and efforts have helped increase the awareness of the public, international consumers, and customers about the programme and Việt Nam Value products through various domestic and international media channels.

The MoIT also focuses on promoting geographical indications and collective marks of Việt Nam in foreign markets and helping improve the competitiveness of businesses based on quality reputation, environment-friendly production, and professionalism.

The Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index is a research study on the perceptions of 100 nation brands from around the world. It surveys the public as well as specialist audiences, with responses gathered from more than 75,000 people across some 100 countries. — VNS