VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS JANUARY 23

First container ship arrives at SSIT (Photo: VNA)

Seaports nationwide are still working through Lunar New Year (Tet) break to ensure that import-export activities are not disrupted, according to the Vietnam Maritime Administration (VMA).

In the south, a leader of the SP-SSA International Terminal (SSIT) said on the first day of the Lunar New Year, it welcomed container ship MSC FELIXSTOWE, the first-footer there.

The 5,048 TEU ship handles cargo imported and exported from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam’s Vung Tau province, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Later, the SSIT also welcomed container ship MSC CLORINDA that connects cargo from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vung Tau and China to seaports of the west US, the biggest importer of Vietnam in recent years.

Seaports in the north and central region are also expected to serve about 10 vessels during the festival.

VMA Deputy Director Hoang Hong Giang said last year, cargo throughput via Vietnam’s seaports hit about 733.18 million tonnes, up 4% annually. Of the total, 179.07 million tonnes were exports, down 3%, 209.26 million tonnes imports, down 2%, and the remainder domestic goods, up 12%.

The volume of container goods via seaports was estimated at 25.09 million TEUs, marking a 5% increase from the previous year, he added.

Vietnamese durian seeks ways to export through official channel

In recent years, the lives of people in Krong Pak district in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak have changed remarkably thanks to the “king of fruits”, durian.

The lives of people in Krong Pak district in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak have changed remarkably thanks to the “king of fruits”, durian. (Photo: SGGP)

In recent years, the lives of people in Krong Pak district in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak have changed remarkably thanks to the “king of fruits”, durian.

Many families have built houses, bought cars, and lived a prosperous life after Vietnamese durians are officially exported.

Tet atmosphere is now around every corner of Krong Pak which is regarded as the “kingdom of durian” of Dak Lak Province. Many durian processing enterprises have been built along National Road 26 while a lot of supermarkets and shops are seen in Phuoc An Town the district.

Mr. Mai Van An, 60, from Phuoc An town said that the new car worth VND1 billion (US$43,000) is the result of the last durian season. He harvested nearly 20 tons of durian on an area of more than one hectare and earned a profit of VND1 billion.

Director of Sau Rieng Green Agricultural Service Cooperative, Tran Van Thang said that besides domestic consumption, the cooperative exported two containers to China.

The shipment comes following the signing of the protocol between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) a few months ago, opening a promising way for the domestic durian market of the country and Dak Lak.

Krong Pak District is home to 3,800 Sau Rieng trees, including 2,600 harvested areas, said Vice Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of the district Ngo Thi Minh Kinh.

In 2022, with a yield of nearly VND50,000 tons, the sector expects to earn VND2, 500 billion (US$107 billion), she added.

Currently, the locality’s 600 growing areas of durian have received the VietGAP certificate and 730 have been granted a planting area code by the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The district has called on people to promote their growing areas, and gradually move into the collective economic model.

Market watchdog fines violators VND5 billion in January
     
The State Securities Commission (SSC) has fined companies and individuals who violated rules on the stock market a total of nearly VND5 billion (US$212,000) in January.

On Monday, SSC sanctioned Thanh Nam Group, a firm specialising in steel trading and real estate, VND120 million for its failure to disclose sufficient and on-time information as prescribed by law.

Last week, the market watchdog fined Tan Viet Securities JSC VND300 million for its violations in providing consulting services on corporate bond offering documents from January 2021 to September 2022 which caused mistrust in the market.

The brokerage company was also penalised other fines worth a total VND445 billion for law-breaking errors including not registering and depositing bonds offered for sale or making private placement on time as prescribed and failing to disclose information on time.

It also violated regulations on investment restrictions for securities companies. Specifically, from January 1 to August 30 last year, many times the total value of the company’s investment in corporate bonds exceeded 70 per cent of its equity.

The commission fined Techcombank Securities JSC VND405 million for its failure in information disclosure, in preparing information in bond offering documents and in registering and depositing bonds offered for sale. It also penalised the Trade Union of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) VND3 billion for its “underlying” purchase of 10.3 million shares of the bank without reporting to the authority. The union was also suspended from trading for four months.

Other companies had to pay penalties including Vinaceglass Joint Stock Company, Tan Binh Vegetable Oil JSC, Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park JSC and Long An Export Processing JSC with fines of between VND85 billion and VND210 billon.

Meanwhile, the watchdog fined an individual, Le Thai Hung – CEO of Que Phong Hydropower JSC – VND75 million for not buying shares during the registration time and violation on disclosing information of ownership for major shareholders (holding 5 per cent of a public company’s equity). 

Significant upticks in international trade in 2022: MXV
     
International trade saw significant upticks with an average daily exchange of VND5 trillion daily, with some days at over VND10 trillion, and more than 4,000 new accounts created during 2022, according to the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV).

In a recently released report, MXV said trade volume has increased by 36 per cent compared to 2021 with a total of over 22,000 active accounts on the platform. Monthly growth has also been reportedly stable with an upward trend.

“We have overseen deals being made 24/7 from Monday till Saturday with some of the world’s largest trade platforms for the entire year, without any issues,” said MXV’s director-general Dang Viet Hung.

He said the smooth operation was the result of upgrading IT infrastructure with a number of new automatic functions which has been well-received by international and industry experts. Hung added the system has been geared toward greater trade volume in the future.

Since its foundation in 2010, the platform’s focus has been on improving collaboration with international trade platforms to push key Viet Nam’s commodities including agricultural products, energy, metals, and industrial input materials.

“Last year, we introduced new Mini and Micro transactions. Investors could place an order with as little as VND10 million, a significantly lower amount compared to before, which has allowed thousands of new investors, with limited financial capacity, to enter the playground,” he said.

It has paid off, according to Hung, as WTI Micro oil transaction was among the country’s busiest trade activities last year.

The platform has been working around the clock to expand its networks to cover all regions across the country with a growing number of partners and members. A series of new protocols and policies, implemented in 2022, have been enforced to ensure all partners and members received sufficient training to follow the country’s laws and regulations, as well as international trade norms.

MXV said it organised 12 training classes during the last year and granted certificates to over 500 brokers and investors through a collaborative effort with international trade platforms as part of an effort to improve its human resource quality and efficiency.

The growing Viet Nam market has received attention from some of the world’s largest trading platforms such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) as many others regularly paid visits and conducted working sessions with MXV.

CME advised its Vietnamese partner to focus on the delivery of commodities, given the country’s advantage in producing a number of key commodities and input materials and its growing influence in the global supply chain.

Hung urged the government to quickly implement additional policies to speed up the development of trade activities on the platform, stressing the importance of adapting and reacting to the global trade’s new environment.

“It will provide the platform a solid foundation for future development and further support Vietnamese products,” he said.

In 2023, the platform’s top priority, he said, is to introduce additional new services for Vietnamese key commodities including coffee, cashew, and pepper. Access to new markets around the world should provide a marked improvement in farmers’ confidence and productivity.

MXV has been working closely with its logistics partners and port authorities in an attempt to raise commodity delivery by 200-300 per cent this year compared to 2022.

Vietnam – Silver lining in the world economy in 2022

2022 has been a tumultuous year for the world economy. The far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict have negatively affected the world, including Vietnam, which is an open and export-oriented economy. However, thanks to appropriate and timely policies, Vietnam has gradually overcome the difficulties, recorded high growth, and become a bright spot in the world economy.

Vietnam’s economy grew 8.02% in 2022, the highest rate recorded in the 2011-2022 period. The increase is three-times the growth in 2021 and exceeded the target of 6-6.5% set by the Government.

Economic indicators reflect the strong recovery of Vietnam’s economy.

It lured 27.7 billion USD in foreign direct investment. Disbursement of foreign capital stood at nearly 22.4 billion USD, up 13.5% year-on-year and the highest rate in the past 5 years.

The consumer price index rose 3.15% year-on-year, meeting the target set by the National Assembly.

Trade turnover set a new record of over 730 billion USD, with Vietnam enjoying a trade surplus of 11 billion USD, or more than three-times higher than in 2021.

Tourism has also been a bright spot for the economy. After Vietnam re-opened its borders to foreign visitors from March 15, the tourism sector has gradually recovered and posted growth.

Foreign visitors exceeded 3.66 million in 2022, 23-times higher than in 2021.

Domestic visitors surpassed 101 million, a rise of 168% year-on-year.

Notably, the economic structure shifted in a positive direction. The agro-forestry-fisheries sector accounted for less than 12% of GDP, while the industry and construction sector made up 38% and the service sector 41%.

The country’s digital economy contributed significantly to the economy, with revenues estimated at 148 billion USD, an increase of more than 10% year-on-year.

Vietnam leads Southeast Asia in digital economic growth. Its total value of digital economic goods in 2022 is estimated at 23 billion USD, up some 28% year-on-year.

Vietnam’s economic stability has been recognised by international ratings agencies such as Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings.

At the end of 2022, Fitch Ratings ranked Vietnam BB with a positive outlook. Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the country’s long-term national credit rating to Ba2 from Ba3, with a stable outlook.

Media in countries such as the US, Germany, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, and Japan have cited the confidence of experts and businesses in the stability and development of Vietnam’s economy.

These outcomes were attributed to the timely guidelines and decisions from the Party, the State, and the Government in the new normal, re-opening Vietnam’s border to foreign visitors, reforming administrative procedures, improving the investment climate, and stepping up anti-corruption efforts.

Major decisions were made for the first time to create important foundations and to orient the country’s socioeconomic development in the years to come.

They include Politburo resolutions on socioeconomic development and ensuring national defence and security in the six economic regions, and the Government’s Resolution on the National Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period and vision to 2050.

Vietnam encountered many difficulties and challenges in 2022, but most analysts have expressed a belief that it will continue to overcome the difficulties and maintain growth next year thanks to its resilience and adaptability to fluctuations.

Huge potential for Vietnam, Singapore to cooperate in sustainability

Vietnam remains a magnet for Singaporean investors, with sustainable development being a promising area of cooperation, according to Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the threshold of the 2023 New Year, he highlighted that Singapore has been Vietnam’s leading source of foreign investment since 2020, as evidenced by the strong investor confidence in the country’s economic prospects and potential.

Despite the ongoing adverse geopolitical tensions and economic headwinds, Vietnam’s trade revenue is double its GDP, he noted.

The Vietnam – Singapore Industrial Park is a cornerstone of Singapore’s economic engagement with Vietnam. They have attracted 18 billion USD in investments and created over 300,000 jobs in Vietnam, the Ambassador said.

The third VSIP Binh Duong kicked off earlier this year incorporates Industry 4.0 practices and green technologies.
 
Given that Vietnam and Singapore have both committed to significantly reducing carbon emissions over the decades to come, the Ambassador pointed to sustainability as a promising area of cooperation.

He said that digital transformation is another promising area of cooperation. Singapore hopes to work towards fostering bilateral and regional connectivity and interoperability to support the growth of businesses and investments in innovation and technology.

On bilateral ties, he said Vietnam and Singapore have maintained their steadfast friendship and have a strong foundation of mutual trust and a tradition of mutual support.

Since the re-opening of their borders earlier this year, Vietnam and Singapore have resumed high-level exchanges, which reflect their mutual interest in expanding cooperation in new and emerging fields.

Mekong Delta rice farming to become a leading sector in agricultural production

Farmers in the Mekong Delta contribute over 50% of the country’s rice production and 90% of rice exports. However, quality, efficiency, product competitiveness and income of rice farmers in the region remain low.

To increase the rice value chain, adapt to climate change and protect the environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is developing a project on sustainable production of 1 million hectares specialising in high-quality rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta. The project is expected to shift rice farming to become a leading sector in agricultural production with a multi-valued approach.

This is also a programme to implement Resolution No. 13-NQ/TW dated April 2, 2022 of the Politburo on the direction of socio-economic development and assurance of national defence and security in the Mekong Delta to 2030, with a vision to 2045. It will contribute to the implementation of Vietnam’s commitment at COP26, and demonstrate production growth and protect the environment.

Dang Kim Son, former Director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, said with the goal to develop a project of this kind, rice production must be on a large scale to apply harmonious mechanisation and automation.

Vo Tong Xuan, Honorary Rector of Southern Can Tho University, said that Vietnam already has good rice varieties and it is important to pay attention to how to organise production to bring efficiency and ensure sustainable development.

He added that, to make the project work well, it is necessary to have mechanisms and policies in place, as that is how to help find markets and diversify products, thus improving the value of Vietnamese rice.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that not only high-quality rice varieties, the region must ensure sustainable production processes, protect the ecological environment, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Besides, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will work with localities in the Mekong Delta, industry associations, rice production and trading enterprises, and cooperatives to determine specific deployment production areas for rice production. This will encourage businesses, cooperatives and local authorities in the Mekong Delta to participate in the project implementation.

Vietnam’s agro-forestry-aquatic product exports hit record in 2022

Vietnam’s export of agro-forestry-aquatic products hit a record revenue of over 53.22 billion USD last year, up 9.3%, including nearly 11 billion USD from aquatic products. 

Statistics showed that total agricultural production value went up 3.33% while the rate of forest coverage hit 42.02%. Along with this, over 73% of communes were recognised as new-style rural areas under criteria set by the government. 

Eleven groups of goods raked in over 1 billion USD each, including coffee, rubber, rice, fruits and vegetables, cashew nuts, shrimp, tra fish and wooden furniture that earned more than 2 billion USD. Trade surplus of the sector was estimated at 8.5 billion USD, up 30% year-on-year. 

In the first 11 months of last year, Asia remained Vietnam’s biggest market with a market share of 44.7%, followed by America 27.4%, Europe 11.3%, the Pacific 1.7% and Africa 1.7%. The US was still the biggest importer of Vietnamese farm produce with a combined value of 12.3 billion USD, accounting for 25% of the  market share. Coming next was China with roughly 9.3 billion USD and Japan 3.9 billion USD, equivalent to 18.9% and 7.9% of the market shares, respectively. 

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences Dao The Anh expressed his belief that farm produce exports will continue thriving this year. He underlined the need to further diversify export markets, including China and rearrange production to meet market requirements for food safety and post-harvest packaging. 

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan also called on businesses, associations and manufacturers to maintain their reputation in the market.

Authority warns about common forms of online scams
     
The Authority of Information Security under the Ministry of Information and Communications has warned about common forms of online fraud in Viet Nam to help Internet users avoid being scammed.

As Viet Nam was promoting and accelerating digital transformation, many took advantage of the boom in information technology and the convenience it brought.

Viet Nam’s information security warning portal at canhbao.khonggianmang.vn recorded more than 12,900 cases of online fraud in 2022, which could be divided into major types – fraud to steal personal information and financial fraud.

To carry out online scams, fraudsters used different methods to create trust but they could be divided into three main groups. The most popular was brand counterfeiting which accounted for 72 per cent, followed by account hijacking with 11.4 per cent and the remaining 16 per cent including online jobs, love scams and online lending.

The final goal of the fraudsters was to appropriate property by preying on the gullible, those who lack access to information, have no jobs or low income and the hidden greed of each person, the department said.

The department pointed out 16 common forms of online scams.

Among brand counterfeiting frauds, the most common were forging brands of organisations such as banks, State agencies, financial and securities companies to send fraudulent SMS messages to victims and forging official websites or blogs to trick victims and collect their personal information.

Other forms include hijacking social network accounts to send fraudulent messages to friends and relatives in order to hijack accounts, steal information and appropriate and send black credit ads and applications which would turn victims into debtors, without them knowing about it.

Fraudsters also used phone numbers and pretended to be authorities, police, and telecommunications providers to make phone calls to victims to report their violations and require money transfers as fines.

Tran Dinh Cuong, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City branch, said that the development of digital banking has resulted in more fraudulent activity. With the rapid changes in technology, security holes arose, leading to an increase in online scams, with many being more sophisticated and unpredictable.

Cuong said that banks should pay attention to ensuring security, data safety and IT systems equivalent to their operation scale and the development of the digital economy.

To An Xo, Chief of the Office of the Ministry of Public Security, was quoted by Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourers) newspaper as saying that ministries and agencies were reviewing and handling loopholes in the fields where frauds often happen such as investment, capital raising, real estate business, digital economy, digital finance, peer-to-peer lending, e-payment, payment intermediaries, social networks and mobile phone subscriptions to strengthen fraud prevention in cyberspace. 

Socio-economic recovery programme reaps fruit
     
Viet Nam outperformed other countries in the region, with gross domestic product growing 8.02 per cent in 2022, the fastest pace annually since 1997.

According to UNDP Resident Representative Ramla Khalidi, Viet Nam has bright economic prospects.

“Evidence of a strong recovery is welcome news after two years of economic disruption caused by the pandemic. Vietnamese households will enter the Year of the Cat in 2023 in better financial shape than a year ago,” she said.

After two years of struggling with COVID-19, seemingly the biggest game changer of the global economy in the century, Viet Nam has found its way to respond appropriately to the pandemic and even thrive.

In January 2022, the Government issued Resolution 11/NQ-CP (or Resolution 11). This resolution is on the socio-economic recovery and development programme, and implementation of Resolution 43/2022/QH15 (or Resolution 43) of the National Assembly (NA) on fiscal and monetary policies to support the programme worth US$15 billion, about 4.5 per cent of GDP.

It aims to recover production and business activities of companies and promote optimised economic growth by stabilising the economy and ensuring social security for the people of Viet Nam. Resolution 11 includes various policies such as tax reduction and investment plans.

Accordingly, the resolution aims to revitalise and develop production and business activities, promote growth momentum, and strive for a 6.5-7 per cent annual GDP growth rate in 2021-2025.

The NA permitted overspending of the state budget in 2022 and 2023 with an average of 1-1.2 per cent of GDP. Regarding tax, the resolution slashes value-added tax by 2 per cent to 8 per cent for groups of goods and services currently being applied the 10 per cent VAT rate, with the exceptions of telecommunication services, information technology, financial activities, banking, securities, insurance, and real estate business.

The lawmakers agreed to put aside VND176 trillion from the central budget for development investment in modernising grassroots healthcare systems, regional disease control centres, central-level hospitals, and other public investment projects in 2022 and 2023.

The NA gave a nod to provide the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies a maximum of VND5 trillion on preferential loans. Another VND3.1 trillion will be spent on building, renovating, upgrading and modernising vocational training facilities and social support establishments.

Enterprises, collectives, and household businesses will benefit from a 2 per cent support in paying loan interest rate with a maximum of VND40 trillion.

Another VND113.5 trillion was given to develop transport infrastructure, IT, digital conversion, landslide prevention and climate change response.

In addition, the NA also approved VND46 trillion of other financial sources for importing vaccines, drugs, and medical supplies for COVID prevention.

A permanent member of the Finance and Budget Committee of the NA, Tran Van Lam, said all mechanisms and policies in Resolution 43 had come into life and proved effective, promptly supporting those who have difficulties in life, production and business.

“Those are mechanisms to support the recovery of production and business, timely policies to stabilise the macroeconomy, and control inflation, and serves as appropriate stimulus and promotion policies for recovery and growth,” Lam said.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment report shows that the domestic macro-economy of 2022 continued to remain stable, inflation was under control, major balances were ensured, and monetary and fiscal policies were properly managed.

The business investment environment has been improved, contributing to socio-economic recovery and development, and creating the trust and support of the people and the business community.

“Many solutions have been implemented, especially those related to the banking system, corporate bond markets, securities and real estate. The Government and the Prime Minister have issued resolutions with a focus on properly assessing the situation and cause, developing and implementing solutions to manage macroeconomic policies promptly and effectively,” said Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong.

Apart from a high GPD growth, many industries have recovered strongly in both production and business activities, such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

The business environment prospered, with the number of enterprises entering the market increasing to 208,000, up 30 per cent. Realised foreign direct investment capital in Viet Nam in 2022 was estimated at nearly $22.4 billion, up 13.5 per cent, the highest in the past five years.

Notably, import-export turnover saw record growth, reaching $732.5 billion, an increase of 9.5 per cent.

The International Monetary Fund considers Viet Nam as at the top of ASEAN-5 with a high growth rate in 2022, while the Asian Development Bank thinks Viet Nam is growing rapidly in an uncertain global economy.

Currently, Viet Nam is the only country in the Asia-Pacific region and one of four countries in the world to be upgraded by Moody’s in 2022.

“The results of socio-economic growth and development in 2022 had exceeded expectations when we issued Resolution 43,” said Lam from the Finance and Budget Committee of the NA.

According to General Secretary of the NA Bui Van Cuong, convening the first extraordinary meeting of the Standing Committee of the NA was a historic decision of the Vietnamese legislature in the past 76 years. It affirmed the political determination of the NA and its deputies, who always strive to innovate and act decisively in people’s interests.

The resolution allows the application of a specific mechanism whereby the Prime Minister considers and decides on the appointment of contractors 2022-2023, including consulting bidding packages, bidding packages of important national projects, and important infrastructure projects of large scale and urgency in terms of transport and healthcare infrastructure.

As a result, in the past year, Resolution 43 has come to life through the Government’s action plan and measures and solutions that are unprecedented, such as the procurement of medical equipment, the purchase of vaccines, the implementation of universal vaccination, and supporting businesses.

For 2023, the Ministry of Finance said that it had suggested the Government submit to the NA Standing Committee an additional VND6.6 trillion in financial support in terms of housing for employees according to Resolution 43. So far, the ministry has granted more than VND4.3 trillion to 31 localities.

In addition, the policy to support the recovery of enterprises, cooperatives and business households has been implemented with a total tax extension of about VND106 billion, equal to about 78.5 per cent of the expected amount when developing the programme (VND135 trillion).

The total tax exemption and reduction is over VND50 trillion, accounting for 78.4 per cent of the expected amount.

NA deputy Vu Tien Loc, a member of the NA’s Economic Committee (NAEC), however, said that it was necessary to speed up the progress of disbursement under the programme.

According to the NAEC, the rate of disbursement of the policies under the programme was relatively low at 20 per cent or $2.65 billion of the programme’s total capital, as of October.

Moreover, disbursement of the infrastructure development package was also slow – specifically, and it was not until late August that the government submitted to the NA Standing Committee a report on the investment portfolio and capital quotas for projects and tasks within the programme.

In another case, the programme’s 2 per cent lending rate support package has seen a meagre disbursement rate via the commercial bank system. The total value of this package is VND40 trillion for 2022-2023.

Vu Hong Thanh, NAEC chairman, said the implementation of assistance policies under the programme was facing some tough conditions, making it difficult for enterprises to access and benefit from the policies. Meanwhile, administrative procedures remain complicated, with unclear conditions for benefiting from policies, reducing effectiveness.

It is recommended that there must be more specific assessments on the results and implementation of Resolution 43 under each concrete policy.

“This includes the usage of the fund for scientific and technological development for enterprises and the increase in the charter capital of state-owned commercial banks and commercial banks whose 50 per cent stake is owned by the state. It is also necessary to clarify limitations, with solutions proposed,” he said.

“There are opinions that things have changed since Resolution 43 was formulated and enacted, so it is necessary to revise some policies during implementation.”

Vu Quoc Huy from the Viet Nam Economic Institute, who works in a study group on the programme for economic-socio recovery, said his group had offered some adjustments to the programme.

Regarding the support package for the health sector, the group suggested building a separate recovery and development programme for the health sector.

Regarding the package for social welfare and employment, the group said while housing support for workers and employees should be maintained, support in terms of employment overlaps with other existing programmes and thus should be moved to those programmes. Further funding for these programmes can be considered.

The package to provide computers for schools and support for kindergartens is no longer suitable, so it should be stopped or moved to existing funds/programmes.

In terms of decreasing taxes for businesses, the group said this should be expanded, while the support interest rate (2 per cent per year) should be slashed since there were conflicts with current policies and unwanted long-term consequences.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that when designing and proposing policy packages, it was expected that after two years of implementation, it would help the economy recover and grow and prepare conditions for rapid and strong growth in the following years.

However, adverse global fluctuations had been causing great challenges. With a large openness, many growth drivers of the Vietnamese economy had been affected, and many things could be done better. Due to external circumstances, the desired results had not been achieved.

“However, the Ministry of Planning and Investment continues to recommend measures and solutions to effectively and substantively carry out the socio-economic development and recovery programme,” Dung said. 

FPT reports high profit in 2022

FPT Corporation, which trades its FPT shares on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, posted over VND44 trillion in revenue and VND7.65 trillion in pre-tax profit in 2022, up 23.4% and 20.8% year-on-year, respectively.

The tech firm’s domestic and global information technology (IT) services played a key role in its business performance, accounting for 58% of its revenue and 45% of its pre-tax profit.

Revenue from its global IT services amounted to VND18.9 trillion, up 30.2% year-on-year. Notably, the firm reported an increase in revenue from its operations in all markets, especially in the United States (up 50%) and the Asia-Pacific region (up 36.4%).

Its digital transformation revenue reached VND7.3 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 33%.

The firm reported VND6.6 trillion in domestic IT service revenue, up 6.3% year-on-year. Products made by the FPT ecosystem generated VND1.15 trillion in revenue, up 54.3%.

In addition, the strong demand for education in the IT industry contributed to pushing FPT’s education revenue up 53% year-on-year.

At the close today, January 19, FPT advanced 0.6%, extending its winning streak for a fourth straight session.

On the HCMC exchange, the VN-Index gained 9.8 points, or 0.89%, from the session earlier, at 1,108.08, with 294 winners and 119 losers. Over 617.7 million shares worth VND11.7 trillion changed hands, up 14% in value against the previous session.

Many large-cap stocks were main drivers of the index, with lender VCB and insurer BVH jumping by over 3%.

Steelmaker HPG took the lead by liquidity with 44 million shares changing hands, but closed down.

The HNX-Index of the Hanoi exchange maintained its uptrend as it advanced 2.14 points, or 0.98%, from the previous session, at 219.87.

Securities firm SHS improved 4.2% and was the most actively traded stock with a matching volume of 18.4 million shares.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes