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The Hanoitimes – Vietnam will watch how Facebook fulfills its commitment to complying with Vietnamese law.

Facebook must comply with Vietnamese law and should cooperate with the government in creating a secure and healthy environment, a spokeperson has said.

IT companies like Facebook are required to comply with Vietnamese law

As a foreign-invested company operating in Vietnam, Facebook has commited to complying with Vietnamese law and the government of Vietnam will see how its commitments are fulfilled, Deputy Spokesperson of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ngo Toan Thang said at a press conference on April 23.

Vietnam has developed digital infrastructure to facilitate the operations of foreign companies and supports them in terms of telecommunications on the condition that they abide by Vietnam’s law and fulfil all tax obligations and social responsibilities, the official noted.

“IT companies should cooperate with the government in creating safe and healthy environment,” Thang said in answering a question by DPA on whether Facebook is required to limit access to contents that are deemed illegal in Vietnam.

On April 21, Reuters reported that Facebook’s local servers in Vietnam were taken offline early this year, slowing local traffic to a crawl until it agreed to significantly increase the censorship of “anti-state” posts for local users.

Vietnam has more than 65 million Facebook users who use this social network as the main platform for both e-commerce and expressions of political dissent, Reuters added.

The Hanoitimes – Vietnam’s trade turnover is expected to hit $540 billion this year, marking a year-on-year increase of $23 billion.

Vietnam posted a trade surplus of US$754 million in November, further expanding the cumulative surplus in the 11-month period to US$20.06 billion from US$19.5 billion recorded one month earlier, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).

The government-run General Statistics Office last month estimated a trade surplus of US$20.01 billion for the January-November period.

Cargo handling at Hai Phong port. Photo: Cong Hung.

In November, Vietnam recorded an export turnover of US$25 billion, down 7.4% month-on-month, while imports slightly increased by 1.5% to US$24.7 billion.

Revenue of some of Vietnam’s major export staples soared in the second half of November compared to the first half. They included computers, electronic devices and parts with an increase of 21.1%; textile (31.9%); machinery, equipment and parts (14.1%); footwear (24.6%); and wooden products (29.4%); among others.

Vietnam’s external trade during the 11-month period rose 3.6% year-on-year or US$17.16 billion to US$489.88 billion. Of the sum, exports totaled US$254.97 billion, up 5.5% year-on-year, and imports reached US$234.91 billion, up 1.7%.

Trade balance in the January – November period. Data: GDVC. Chart: Hai Yen.

Foreign-invested companies recorded a trade value of US$333.46 billion during the period, up 9.5% year-on-year. This included $182.44 billion in exports, up 8.6% year-on-year, accounting for 71.6% of Vietnam’s export turnover; and US$151.02 billion in imports, up 10.6% and making up 64.3% of total imports. As such, they posted a trade surplus of US$31.42 billion.

Meanwhile, the domestic-invested sector recorded a trade value of US$156.42 billion, down 7% year-on-year.

Trade turnover set to exceed 2019 figure

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) suggested Vietnam’s positive trade performance is thanks to a number of free trade agreements that the country is a part of, including the CPTPP and EVFTA.

“With such growth in export-import activities, there is a high chance that Vietnam’s trade turnover could soon hit US$540 billion for the whole year, US$23 billion higher than the figure in 2019,” stated the MoIT, adding this is an encouraging result amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Director of MoIT’s Agency of Foreign Trade Phan Van Chinh said the agency would continue to support local firms utilizing trade deals.

“Vietnamese companies should take advantage of preferential treatment from FTAs to gain competitiveness against their foreign peers,” he noted.

“The MoIT gives priority to administrative reform in creating utmost convenience for local trader to penetrate new markets in the quickest way possible,” Mr Chinh added.

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.

The Hanoitimes – However, as South Korean passengers have now cancelled air bookings to Vietnam, airlines are reducing flight frequency to South Korea.

Despite the complicated situation of Covid-19 outbreak in South Korea, the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport (MoT) has not considered suspending flights between Vietnam and South Korea, according to Le Anh Tuan, vice minister of transport.

Illustrative photo.

However, as a large number of South Korean passengers have cancelled air bookings to Vietnam, airlines are reducing flight frequency to South Korea, said Tuan in an interview with Vietnam News Agency on February 23.

Without passengers, most airlines have suspended flight routes from Vietnam to Daegu, the epicenter of the outbreak, while only Vietjet Air flies to Daegu at the moment, Tuan added.

According to Tuan, the MoT is closely monitoring the situation of the epidemic in Daegu and has sought the instruction from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.

On February 21, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) released a statement refuting rumor that all flights between Vietnam and South Korea and Vietnam and Japan have been suspended.

The CAAV urged the public to update information from official websites of related government agencies.

As of present, the CAAV has only stopped flights between Vietnam and China as requested by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Amid the surging cases of Covid-19 infections in South Korea, the Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Vietnamese citizens in South Korea to refrain from going to high risk areas and strictly follow guidance of local authorities to prevent the spread of the outbreak.

The Hanoitimes – People have been advised to keep away from the crowd and wear medical masks.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has warned residents to avoid the crowd if unnecessary in the context that the number of new coronavirus (nCoV)-caused infections has risen to eight in the country.

The ministry has advised residents to wear medical masks when they are outside and to keep distance with people at risks of nCoV-caused respiratory sickness.

The ministry has issued a number of document guiding the prevention and control of the nCoV and instructions how to wash hands and wear medical masks correctly.

Meanwhile, residents have been aware of protecting themselves from the epidemic by avoiding crowds and wearing medical masks for schoolchildren in classes.

Notably, the ministry announces two national emergency lines namely 19009095 and 19003228 that provide free calls for information relating to the nCoV and 21 hotlines at 21 hospitals across the country.

In another move, the Vietnam Social Security has announced that they will facilitate the payment for people covered by health insurance in the checkup and treatment of nCoV-caused respiratory sickness.

As of February 3, Vietnam has confirmed eight individuals infected with the coronavirus, including two Chinese men, four Vietnamese citizens coming back from China’s Wuhan City, one American who transited in Wuhan, and one Vietnamese receptionist who had contacted with the infected Chinese nationals.

So far, the epidemic has spread to 27 countries and territories, being confirmed in 17,389 people, including 184 outside China, causing 362 deaths including one outside China (in the Philippines).