Manufacturing output

HCMC puts daily State budget collections at VND2.9 trillion

March 2, 2021 by english.thesaigontimes.vn

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.

Pooling all efforts for the carbon market

March 2, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn

What are the principles to build forest environment and CO2 indexes?

pooling all efforts for the carbon market

Prof. Pham Van Dien, deputy director general of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST)

The forest environment index would be a measure of the capacity to decrease CO2 emissions while simultaneously increasing absorption. A key part of this is forest carbon stock, the amount of carbon that has been sequestered from the atmosphere and is stored within the forest ecosystem.

Comparing the forest environment index with actual emissions will help set payments for reducing emissions and establish a market for international emissions trading for sellers, buyers, and intermediaries alike.

Regarding the CO2 index, I believe there are two theoretical avenues that can be taken. The index can either concern the carbon emissions of each facility separately, with the upper limit being the emissions quota allotted for them, or look at the net emissions of the entire market and carbon credit created by the decreases in emissions and increased absorption capacity achieved by managing the ecosystem.

At the same time, the two indicators need to be built with a mind to ensure economic growth while promoting forest protection, benefiting buyers, sellers, and farmers alike.

How will these indices promote carbon trading?

They will be the basic building bricks to developing the domestic carbon market, making it possible to exchange carbon credit within the bounds of domestic regulations and international commitments. Reduction targets are forecast to drive carbon credit supply below demand, making the market more animated.

The forest environment and CO2 indexes will motivate provinces to better manage their forests, while manufactures with net emissions will be encouraged to upgrade technology and switch to renewable energy to stay within their allotted quotas and avoid charges.

What can Vietnam learn from the experience of other countries in managing carbon emission?

Vietnam has been a proactive proponent of emissions reduction, joining the United Nations Environment Programme, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, the UN-REDD+ programme, and the Paris Agreement. Throughout these almost 20 years, we collected a great deal of international experience and adjust to suit the country’s realities.

VNFOREST has been working to internalise these international experiences and submitted regulations on the domestic and international transferring of carbon credit and the accompanying financial management mechanisms to the prime minister. The most urgent tasks at present are implementing policies to meet the demand.

What difficulties does Vietnam face in creating the indexes as well as developing the carbon market?

There is a tough road ahead of Vietnam. The first issue to tackle will be the creation of convincing regulations relating to the exchange of carbon credit and associated compensation issues. These regulations must be clear, realistic, and be rooted in a scientific basis.

Another problem is the allocation of emissions quotas would require realistic figures about the actual emissions of each facility, which at the moment are not shared or are only available in abridged forms that have been heavily interfered with.

At the same time, completeness, timeliness, openness, and transparency in implementation are of the essence. For this, a contingent of qualified, well-trained human resources, facilities, and equipment are required.

What proposals has VNFOREST submitted to advise the creation of these indexes?

After receiving the assignment of the prime minister, we began to compile a set of considerations we believed would be crucial. However, we have to pool our proposals with those of the ministries and other agencies to arrive at a workable document.

In my opinion, before officially rolling out regulations, the government should authorise the selling of carbon credits on a case-by-case basis as it will not only benefit forests but also help Vietnam accumulate experiences even before the legal framework is completed.

What potential do you see in carbon trading as a business, and what is VNFOREST doing to promote this potential?

One example for the potential is the Emission Reductions Payment Agreement signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). Under the agreement, Vietnam will reduce 10.3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from six north-central provinces.

If Vietnam implements this programme successfully, it could reduce emissions by a total of 24.6 million tonnes by 2025. After reducing the 10.3 million tonnes committed under the FCPF, the country can earn an additional $71.3 million by selling the carbon credit gained from the remaining 14.3 million tonnes for $5 per tonne (the average global selling price).

However, this is only part of the potential benefits because the project is implemented only in six north-central provinces – there would be far more to gain if it was extended to the entire country.

In addition, Vietnam has failed to reach the revenue target from forest environment services outlined in its national forestry development strategy for the period of 2006-2020. VNFOREST is still working to realise the full potential of this service segment.

VNFOREST is promptly completing the national forestry development master plan for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2045 to submit it to the government for approval, along with the public investment programme on sustainable forestry development for 2021-2025.

Besides that, the country will develop forest environment services, diversifying income sources, with the expectation to acquire VND3.5 trillion ($152.17 million) a year from the field by 2030.

By Kim Oanh

Vinh Long presses ahead with sustainable production, consumption

March 2, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

Streets in Vinh Long (Source: baovinhlong.com.vn)

Vinh Long (VNA) – The Vinh Long Provincial People’s Committee in the Mekong Delta has issued a plan to implement the national action programme on sustainable production and consumption for 2021-2030.

By 2030, 90 percent of industrial parks in the province are set to apply clean and environmentally-friendly technologies.

All supermarkets and shopping centres are to use eco-packaging instead of single-use plastics, and the use of slowly-degrading packaging at wet markets will be cut by 80 percent.

The province also hopes to have 100 percent of its enterprises joining production and distribution chains for safe farm produce and it also targets the widespread use of QR codes for product origin tracing.

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Local business invests in machinery to increase productivity and product quality (Photo: VNA)

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Liet said local authorities will assist businesses in boosting their production capacity and product quality, and in reducing costs to engage in a network of sustainable production and consumption.

The provincial Department of Science and Technology has been tasked with planning and launching programmes assisting companies and localities in the innovation process.

Priorities have been set for waste recycling, the sustainable use of natural resources and energy, and technological application in resources management, goods manufacturing, and consumer protection./.

VNA

90 years of Vietnam Fatherland Front: National unity promoted

November 19, 2020 by en.vietnamplus.vn

National unity promoted

During its 90-year history, the Vietnam Fatherland Front has always exerted efforts to perform its role as the host of campaigns and activities to mobilise resources in all social strata to contribute to the country’s socio-economic growth and ensure national defence and security.

Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Ngo Sach Thuc says the Front has promoted patriotism, solidarity and creativity among people, which could be seen through effective implementation of its mobilisations on realising the country’s development goals and improving its people’s livelihood.

He says: “The Front has become a bridge to converge people and promote national unity. It could be seen through warm responses of people to mobilisation campaigns targeting the poor, policy beneficiaries, the disadvantaged and fellow residents affected by floods, etc.”

In the mobilisation campaign of ‘All people unite to build new-style rural areas and civilised urban areas’ in 2015, the Fatherland Front at all levels has coordinated with other agencies to call on people to donate land and strength to develop infrastructure, develop the economy, sustainably reduce poverty, protect the environment, adhere to the law, preserve and promote traditional cultural values towards building happy and civilised communities.

Thuc says, “the mobilisation has managed to call on the whole political system and a majority of people to participate and achieved comprehensive results. 60% of communes nationwide have been recognised as new-style rural areas as of 2020”.

Every year, the Fatherland Front cooperates with relevant ministries, agencies and organisations to implement the programme ‘Vietnamese people prioritise Vietnamese goods’.

From 2015 to 2020, the Fatherland Front at all levels have raised a total fund of 19.7 trillion VND (over 850,000 USD) for social welfare programmes and over 4.6 trillion VND (over 200 million USD) particularly ‘For the poor’ fund; built and upgraded over 153,000 houses for poor households; built thousands of welfare projects; assisted millions of households to develop business models, examine their health and facilitate their children to go to school.

90 years of Vietnam Fatherland Front: National unity promoted hinh anh 1

Vietnam Fatherland Front receives donation for the poor (Photo: VNA)

The Fatherland Front’s member organisations have organized several programmes targeting policy beneficiaries, people with meritorious services to the nation, disadvantaged people, Agent Orange victims, people with disabilities and the underprivileged. They have also promptly assisted people affected by natural disasters and critical incidents, as well as effectively organised search and rescue missions.

90 years of Vietnam Fatherland Front: National unity promoted hinh anh 2

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc joins in a programme supporting COVID-19 prevention and fight initiated by Vietnam Fatherland Front (Photo: VNA)

As of September, 2020, the Front raised over 2 trillion VND (over 87 million USD) for the national fund for preventing and fighting COVID-19.

Performing social supervision and criticism

The Vietnam Fatherland Front has organised and co-organised 12 central-level supervision programmes on several fields, including policies towards people with meritorious services to the nation; implementation of the Law on Science and Technology; education and training reforms; agricultural supplies management, manufacturing and trading; handling complaints and denunciations at grass-root level; administration reforms, among others.

Mentioning the Fatherland Front’s achievements in social supervision and criticism, Ngo Sach Thuc says “In the past five years, provincial Fatherland Fronts have organised and participated in 4,093 supervision projects; while those at district level 22,679 projects and communal level 466,012 projects.

The Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front has performed its tasks of giving opinions and social criticism, along with monitoring and approving the Front’s activities. It gives comments on over 30 legal documents every year.”

Protecting legitimate rights and benefits of people

According to Politburo member and standing member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong, the Vietnam Fatherland Front should continually reform, especially in its mode of operation, to consolidate its position in the country’s political system. He says the Front needs to exert efforts to fulfill its role as a medium agency connecting political and social organisations as well as outstanding individuals.

The Fatherland Front must perform its role of protecting people’s legitimate rights and benefits; making use of potentials from the great unity bloc; implementing democracy, improving social consensus; promoting people’s patriotism; etc. to safeguard the nation in the new situation, Vuong stresses.

90 years of Vietnam Fatherland Front: National unity promoted hinh anh 3

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Tran Thanh Man talks to ethnic minority people in Dong Ma hamlet, Trung Yen commune, Son Duong district, Tuyen Quang province at the National Great Unity Day (Photo: VNA)

“A proud 90-year history of the Vietnam Fatherland Front is an endless flow of patriotism and national unity tradition. Under the Party’s leadership, our people have united within the Fatherland Front, created great miracles that increase the nation’s prestige,” President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Tran Thanh Man says./.

VNA