The PM will assign Government members and representatives from ministries and agencies to hold working sessions with localities over business, production, construction investment and trade.

They will figure out problems, and propose specific, feasible solutions to soon reboot growth and successfully achieve socio-economic tasks and targets set for 2023 and the 2021-2026 period.

Chairpersons of People’s Committees of cities and provinces were asked to report such activities in their localities, particularly those in major areas and projects, and raise specific proposals to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) by April 13.

The MPI will coordinate with other ministries and agencies to outline work plans for the Cabinet members, and classify problems based on the reports by the localities and send them to the PM and Cabinet members.

According to the dispatch, the national GDP in the first quarter of this year grew 3.32% year-on-year. However, the value added in industry and construction dropped by 0.4% due to high production costs and declining orders in key industrial sectors such as electronics, garments-textiles, leather and footwear, and wood.

Vietnamese seafood secures firm foothold in Australian market

Vietnamese seafood currently has secured a firm foothold in the Australian market, accounting for 23% of Australia's total aquatic imports last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).      

Its market share in Australia is far higher than the figure of 13% recorded five years ago, demonstrating the impressive growth of Vietnamese aquatic products in Australia.

Last year witnessed Australia become the sixth largest consumer of Vietnamese seafood from its previous ninth position in 2018 thanks to incentives from a number of free trade agreements (FTAs), including the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).  

Most notably, Vietnamese aquatic export items such as shrimp and pangasius have now enjoyed greater benefits as import duties are slashed to 0% thanks to the CPTPP enforcement.

VASEP’s statistics indicate that Australia has continuously increased imports of aquatic products from Vietnam, spending US$365 million in 2022 compared to US$197 million in 2018.

Especially, white-leg shrimp accounted for the largest proportion among Vietnamese seafood exports to this market, with turnover soaring by 171% to reach US$259.5 million. Shrimp revenue also made up 71% of the export value of Vietnamese seafood last year.

Furthermore, among the top three seafood exports to Australia, barramundi products represented 6% of the total export value, bringing in nearly US$21 million in turnover.  

Australia also increased the import of other seafood products from Vietnam in recent years with herring, tuna, clams, and fish sauce edging up 158%, 81%, 68%, and 190%, respectively.

In contrast, pangasius exports to Australia decreased by 18%, from US$47 million in 2018 to US$38 million last year.

According to the VASEP, Vietnamese seafood exports to Australia in the first quarter of the year declined by 32% to US$63 million year on year. Of the figure, shrimp, pangasius and barramundi exports plunged by 34%, 26%, and, 34%, respectively.

This drop can be attributed to the impact of global inflation, causing a reduction in consumption demand in Australia.

Currently, Australia's inflation rate stands at 6.7%, higher than the Reserve Bank of Australia's target of between 2% and 3%.

Experts say Australian inflation is anticipated to fall faster than expected, thereby making Vietnamese seafood products to the market recover gradually ahead in the second half of the year.

Conference promotes Vietnam’s trade, investment cooperation with China’s locality

A conference on promoting trade, investment and economic cooperation between Vietnam and China’s Hainan province took place in the local Haikou city on April 10, attended by the sides’ officials and approximately 120 enterprises.

Co-chairing the event, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien highlighted the specially important position of China and its localities in Vietnam’s policy for economic, commercial, and industrial development as well as ample room for cooperation in such fields between Hainan and Vietnamese localities in the time to come.

In his remarks, the minister proposed the southern Chinese province’s authorities and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce assist the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in completing procedures needed for the establishment of a Vietnam trade promotion office in Haikou in 2023.

His proposals also included the sides’ coordination in signing and implementing a memorandum of understanding on strengthening economic and trade cooperation between the MoIT and the people's government of Hainan; and the promotion of market opening for Vietnamese fruits, firstly, fresh coconut, to meet consumption and processing needs in Hainan and support Vietnamese businesses to officially export fresh coconuts to the Chinese market.

It is also necessary for the sides to organise more trade promotion activities and exchange information on policy changes and arising problems and difficulties, the minister noted.

Dien recommended Vietnamese and Chinese firms actively learn about each other’s markets, and join trade fairs held in the nations.

The conference saw participating firms networking to boost the official export of Vietnamese goods to China. According to statistics of Hainan, the province’s import and export turnover with Vietnam's localities stood at 1.35 billion USD in 2022, up 56% annually. Also last year, Vietnam was the 7th largest trading partner and the 8th largest import market of Hainan province.

Steel market likely to recover during year-end

With the Government’s efforts to accelerate the disbursement of public investment, credit packages for social housing projects, and positive signs for the Vietnamese economy, the steel market is likely to rebound ahead in the third and fourth quarters of the year, according to industry insiders.      

Doan Danh Tuan, vice chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association, said that although 2023 represents a challenging year for the industrial sector, the Vietnamese economy is anticipated to have more potential for development compared to other countries around the world.

Economists pointed out that Vietnamese GDP growth is expected to reach about 6.5%, while global economic growth is forecast to be at only about 1.5%, with that of Southeast Asian countries at about 5%.

Furthermore, the National Assembly has also approved an economic recovery support package worth VND350,000 billion for the 2022 to 2023 period, of which some VND113,840 billion is to be spent on infrastructure development, focusing on key projects such as the North-South expressway, Long Thanh airport, and large logistics ports.

Most notably, the Government approved a credit package of VND120,000 billion in February as it seeks to develop social housing projects.

These factors are projected to push up the steel consumption demand ahead in the third and fourth quarters of the year.

A representative of the Vietnam Steel Association noted that that the country’s steel consumption demand in the long term will continue to grow from 240 kg per capita at present to 290 kg per capita ahead in 2030.

Tran Dinh Long, chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnamese steel giant Hoa Phat Group, emphasised that despite the most challenging period for the steel industry has probably passed, with the sector’s future prospects mainly dependent on the market demand.

March alone saw Hoa Phat Group produce 440,000 tonnes of crude steel, up 6% compared to February. Indeed, the sales volume of billet, construction steel, hot rolled coil (HRC) reached 500,000 tonnes, up 5% compared to February.

Moreover, Hoa Phat has supplied 282,000 tonnes of high-quality construction steel and HRC to domestic and foreign markets, equivalent to that of February.

However, the figure marked a decline of 45% against the same period from last year due to low demand in the domestic and export markets. This fall can be attributed to the fact that the real estate market has not shown any signs of recovery.

Overnight interbank interest rate surges in week

The average overnight interbank interest rate surged on April 6 by 0.20-1.22 percentage points for all terms under one month to reach 4.47 per cent per year after declining significantly at the end of March, according to the latest data by the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV).

The rate is double the figure from the beginning of the week and four times higher than the previous week.

On March 30, the average overnight interbank interest rate dropped sharply to 0.9 per cent per year from more than 6 per cent in February.

However it went up again to 1.12 per cent per year on March 31; 2.12 per cent on April 3; 2.48 per cent on April 4; and 3.41 per cent on April 5.

On the open market operation (OMO) channel, the SBV on April 6 offered a 28-day OMO bid worth VND10 trillion (US$427.6 million) for mortgage loans of valuable paper with an interest rate of 5 per cent per year (down from the previous 5.5 per cent) to support longer-term liquidity for commercial banks.

Earlier, Nguyen Thi Hong, governor of the SBV, said the central bank bought $4 billion in the first quarter to support liquidity for the banking system, which has exceeded VND50 trillion ($2.14 billion).

Deposits in the banking system have also surged after Tet (Lunar New Year).

Due to abundant liquidity and low credit demand, deposit interest rates at commercial banks have dropped rapidly over the past few months.

Banks began reducing deposit interest rates in February. To date, only ABBank has listed an interest rate of more than 9 per cent per year for a 12-month term.

Compared to the peak level recorded in mid-January, the deposit interest rates listed at commercial banks have decreased by 0.5-1.5 percentage points for all terms.

The SBV may further reduce operating interest rates in coming times, experts said.

Over the past month, the SBV has cut policy interest rates twice in a bid to boost economic growth.

In a recent report, the Maybank Investment Bank forecast the SBV will likely cut the policy interest rate by 50 basis points in mid-2023 and another 50 basis points in early 2024.

It attributed the cuts to the fact that domestic inflation remains moderate (below the 4.5 per cent target set by the SBV) and the US Fed’s monetary policy would be eased in the coming time.

A recent UOB Global Economics & Markets Research report has also predicted the central bank will continue cutting policy interest rates for the rest of the year.

Experts said to achieve the growth target of 6.5 per cent for 2023 as set by the Government, the Government needs to reduce interest rates.

A lower interest rate environment will help businesses and people reduce lending costs, thereby promoting investment, production and business activities, they said.

However, experts said the room for the SBV to continue reducing interest rates is not much as Viet Nam previously maintained low interest rates and increased rates by only 2 per cent in the past two years, they said.

They recommended the SBV use a combination of other measures, such as expanding OMO liquidity, buying more US dollars and providing special refinancing, to support liquidity for the banking system.

The loosened monetary moves need to be carried out in parallel with small adjustments to minimise adverse impacts on the foreign exchange rate and inflation, they added. 

Report shows e-commerce trending towards sustainability

Sustainable eCommerce will connect individual shopping behaviors towards long-term shopping trends including search, selection, purchase, payment and exchange.

This is one of the sustainable development trends for Viet Nam e-commerce market which is predicted in a report called “Sustainable development in eCommerce: Driving force for the digital economy” released by Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and e-commerce platform, Lazada.

From in-depth analysis and assessment of areas in e-commerce sustainable development, the report asserts that Viet Nam e-commerce is entering a new stage of development, focused on sustainable development based on market technology development, through selective investment and cost optimisation during a phase of elevated economic uncertainties.

According to the report, the rate of e-commerce users in Viet Nam is continuously increasing, reaching 52 million in 2022, a 13.5 per cent increase year on year, and within them has risen a new generation of consumers – generation Z – with clear manifestations that have led to significant changes in shopping.

Current consumers also shop smarter, looking for more refined experiences and expecting higher value as opposed to hunting discounts; they are also increasingly seeking eco-friendly products.

Data from Lazada shows that 57 per cent of Vietnamese consumers have purchased certain products or services because of their impact on the environment.

The application of technology is indispensable to effectively improve customer experience. Current effective technologies for consumer experience on e-commerce include shoppertainment, customisation, personalisation and virtual reality.

The other trend in the market is that sustainable e-commerce will continue to focus on long-term investments in infrastructure, technology, logistics and human resources.

In the current time, building a sustainable business model based on Environment, Society and Governance (ESG) has become indispensable for businesses, helping them gain clear vision and strategic direction within fast-paced, digitalised industries.

Sustainable e-commerce will also create more value for stakeholders as it builds a community based on synergised values for and from partners, businesses and consumers.

Sustainable e-commerce will also give priority to connecting technologies, such as the usage of Application Programming Interface (API) at all touchpoints with partners to connect and leverage partner services on e-commerce platforms.

Another trend is in the payment sector, where payment in e-commerce will grow in features and options, connecting to a variety of financial partners and transitioning towards ‘buy now, pay later’ to meet consumer demands while making purchases on e-commerce increasingly more flexible and easier.

Sustainable e-commerce will bridge the gap in knowledge and understanding of e-commerce for businesses and consumers nationwide, contributing to increased knowledge according to the national e-commerce development plan for the period 2021-2025, the report said.

As part of the release of the 2023 e-commerce report, Lazada Vietnam will continue to work with VCCI and experts to bring the report to thousands of local businesses, while also participating in a series of talks at universities and exploring speaking opportunities at industry events to promote sustainable development in e-commerce. 

Vietnam racks up trade surplus of US$1.97 billion during second half of March

Vietnamese import and export turnover of goods reached US$30.78 billion during the second half of March, representing a fall of 15% against the same period from last year, with the country posting a trade surplus of US$1.97 billion, according to statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.      

Among the major export products are four items with export turnover reaching US$1 billion each, thereby accounting for 51% of total export turnover of goods in the second half of March.

Computers, electronic products, and components achieved the highest turnover with US$2.66 billion, followed by phones and components with US$2.46 billion, machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts with US$2 billion, and garment and textiles with US$1.38 billion.

Among the main export items, 34 out of 45 export items recorded negative growth, of which coal witnessed the steepest decrease of 99% on-year, trailed by ores and minerals, cassava and cassava products, chemicals, as well as glass and glass products. In contrast, crude oil was the commodity with the highest growth rate of 706% on-year.

Among the agricultural and aquatic product category, aquatic products were the export items with the highest value of US$430 million, followed by rice with US$292 million, coffee at US$252 million, and fruit and vegetables at US$245 million.

Meanwhile, the country spent US$14.4 billion on importing goods between March 16 and March 31, down 16% compared to the same period from last year.

During the first three months of the year, the total import-export turnover hit US$153.78 billion, a decline of 13% on-year, with the nation racking up a trade surplus of US$4.82 billion.  

Travel firms earn VND105 billion in revenue during HCM City Tourism Festival

The 19th Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Festival attracted roughly 190,000 visitors with travel firms grossing VND105 billion in revenue during the course of the four-day event, according to details given by the Department of Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City.      

The figure represented an increase of more than 40,000 visitors and VND39 billion in revenue compared to 2022. 

Benthanh Tourist tour operator unveiled that the unit welcomed at least 5,000 visitors from April 6 to April 9.

The event also recorded the launch of the largest tourism stimulus package ever as travel businesses has successfully connected, designed new tourism programmes, and sought reputable partners in the field of finance and banking, whilst providing customers with tours at preferential prices.

Most notably, nearly 100 inter-regional travel schemes were offered at discounts ranging between 5% and 65% by travel firms such as Saigontourist, Vietravel, Benthanh Tourist, Saco, Dat Viet, TST, Vietluxtour, and World Travel.

Furthermore, five tourist attractions also offered discounts of between 30% and 50% in ticket prices to mark the Hung Kings Commemoration Day, Reunification Day, and International Workers’ Day in both April and May.

UK's accession to CPTPP to bring more incentives for Vietnamese exports

The UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will complement the existing UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and help upgrade the bilateral relations thanks to additional preferential tariffs, Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade of the UK, reportedly said.

Dau tu (Investment) newspaper also quoted the official as say ing the removal of trade barriers will support the common economic security between the two countries, as they join deeply in each other's supply chains and diversify trade activities, thus creating greater opportunities for businesses of both nations.

The UK has completed negotiations to join the CPTPP, which is expected to be signed in 2023 and ratified by member countries in 2024.

With 11 members, it is also one of the largest trade pacts in the world, covering 13.5% of global GDP and a market of about 500 million people. The UK’s participation in the agreement will help the bloc’s GDP increase by nearly 16%.

It is expected to open more trade cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and the UK, as well as bring about investment opportunities to each CPTPP member.

The UKVFTA, which was signed and took effect in early 2021, has created a boost to goods trade between the two nations. Two-way trade reached nearly 6.6 billion USD in 2021. Vietnam's exports to the UK hit nearly 5.8 billion USD in the year, and 6.06 billion USD in 2022, up 16.4% and 5,2% year-on-year, respectively.

Regarding the UK's commitments to cutting tariffs for Vietnam’s goods within the CPTPP, tUK Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew said this will bring more benefits to Vietnamese exporters.

Agriculture and fisheries, including vegetables and fruits, coffee, cashew nuts, seafood, textiles and footwear - Vietnam’s strong exports to the UK - are to benefit the most from the trade deal.

After the UK joins the CPTPP, Vietnamese businesses will have an opportunity to choose which FTA incentives are most beneficial and easiest to apply.

On the other hand, the UK can increase the export of its farm produce, equipment and technologies to Vietnam. Investment flows from the UK to CPTPP member countries, including Vietnam, will be also expanded thanks to this accession.

According to Vietnam Trade Counselor in the UK Nguyen Canh Cuong, new-generation FTAs will create more room for Vietnamese goods to make inroads into the UK.

However, he also advised Vietnamese exporters to pay heed to meeting the quality requirements of importers, and issues related to consumer trends in the European nation.

Connectivity key to developing logistics in southern key economic region: experts

Removing bottlenecks in transport infrastructure, developing inland waterway ports and fostering regional connectivity hold the key to developing the logistics sector and facilitating foreign trade in the southern key economic region, experts have said.

The southern key economic region, consisting of HCM City and Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Tay Ninh, Long An, and Tien Giang provinces, plays an important role in the country’s economic development, accounting for 35 per cent of GDP and more than 40 per cent of government revenues and foreign trade.

But it is in danger of stagnation due to bottlenecks in infrastructure, they said.

Speaking at a seminar on the development of logistics in the region in HCM City on April 6, Dang Vu Thanh, vice president of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, said there is still a lack of infrastructure like roads connecting with seaports, and the port network is fragmented.

Some Government policies have not been promptly amended to dovetail with the current status of the sector, and there are no mechanisms to create effective intra-regional linkages between localities in the region, he said.

These have affected logistics development and made it difficult to reduce trade costs and time, he added.

Do Xuan Minh, director of the logistics services centre at port operator Saigon Newport Corporation, said the compounded annual growth rate of Viet Nam’s logistics sector is expected to be 5.5 per cent in 2022- 27.

But logistics development in Viet Nam, especially its southern region, is facing difficulties in terms of infrastructure at ports and roads connecting warehouses, he said.

The southern region handles 45 per cent of the country’s goods, including more than 60 per cent of container traffic, through port systems in HCM City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, but roads remain the main mode of transport and they are usually congested due to overloads and lack of highways.

He said localities in the region should develop waterway transport to ease the load on roads and reduce logistics costs.

Thanh said in the context of limited resources it is not advisable to invest in many projects, and priority should be given to the construction of key transport works and arterial roads such as the Ben Luc - Long Thanh and HCM City - Moc Bai expressways and highways connecting ports.

It is imperative to dredge the waterways in the Mekong Delta to exploit waterway transport, he said.

The association said more and more logistics firms have invested in infrastructure, modern warehouses and technology to help customers optimise time and costs.

They want the Government to have policies and take specific actions to create better infrastructure connectivity with seaports and airports, especially between industrial parks and raw material areas, to facilitate trade and reduce costs, it said. 

HCM City tax department warns of criminals impersonating officials

The city's Tax Department has warned taxpayers in HCM City to remain vigilant in light of reports of individuals impersonating tax agency officials to commit fraud.

Recent reports on social media have revealed the story of an individual who applied for a new tax code through the HCM City Tax Department's application but was then targeted by a fraudster who claimed to be an employee of the tax department.

This individual was subsequently duped into downloading and installing software, resulting in the loss of all the money in her bank account.

The Tax Department has advised the public that certain individuals are pretending to be State officials and employees to provide links and instructions that encourage users to install fake applications.

This allows the fraudsters to gain control of smartphones and steal personal and banking information for the appropriate property.

It should be noted that the tax applications deployed by the Department of Taxation are only available on Google Play (for devices using the Android operating system) and AppleStore (for those using the IoS operating system).

The Tax Department has recommended that users contact the focal phone numbers of tax departments for support via the phone number listed on the tax department's website when in need of information support.

Taxpayers are also advised not to download or install apps for smart devices through URL links or other unofficial instructions.

Furthermore, the HCM City Tax Department has stated that it has posted user manuals and installation instructions on its YouTube channel, website, and portal. Users can access these instructions before proceeding with any further steps.

Real estate market showing signs of recovery

The real estate market in HCMC and neighboring provinces gradually enjoy new trades after a long nearly freezing period. This positive sign is thanks to a series of policies to address current issues for this market.

Certain promising real estate projects in Ho Chi Minh City have recently welcomed new customers. Deputy General Director Doan Thanh Ngoc of PropertyX Co. informed that his company is selling 2,000 apartments in Avatar project (sited in Thu Duc City). At present, tens of apartments are reserved each day. Its project in Hoc Mon District is also attracting much interest from potential house buyers.

Deputy General Director in charge of marketing and trading of DKRA Corp. Tran Hieu summarized real estate trading activities of certain projects in HCMC for the last 10 days that customers do show their true interest in land lot and house purchasing, with many successful transactions being made like those in The Classia Khang Dien project (in Thu Duc City), De La Sol project of CapitaLand (in District 4), The Maq project of Hongkong Land (in District 1).

However, he added that house buyers are extremely cautious and only trust any projects with clear legal status, prestigious investors, or having completed their raw construction and offering flexible payment methods.

The real estate markets in neighboring provinces of HCMC also see positive signs. General Director Le Tien Vu of Cat Tuong Land Co. shared that his company has successfully sold many houses in Taka Garden Riverside Homes project (sited in Tan An City of Long An Province), Cat Tuong Western Peal urban area (in Vi Thanh City of Hau Giang Province), Cat Tuong Phu Huong urban complex (in Dong Xoai City of Binh Phuoc Province).

In Dong Nai Province, General Director Nguyen Van Hau of Asean Holding stated that his company is offering land lots at the price of under VND1 billion (US$42,650) each. They have attracted much interest from the public, especially those preferring to invest in safe real estate. It seems that increasingly long payment periods mean more attraction to land buyers.

Director of the HCMC Department of Construction Tran Hoang Quan informed that in the first quarter of 2023, many accommodation projects in the city are eligible for launching in the market – with nearly 7,800 apartments (a five-time rise compared to this time last year).

Nevertheless, the goal of building 50 million square meters of housing floor in the 2021-2025 period seems impossible to achieve. In the first two years of this time, only 13.5 million square meters were constructed, which means 12.2. million square meters to be built in each year of the next three years. Yet the figure for this first quarter is only 2.3 million square meters.

In addition, there are now over 150 real estates in the city whose legal issues are waiting for solutions. Therefore, the municipal Construction Department proposed HCMC People’s Committee to categorize those issues and assign corresponding state departments or agencies to address. The Construction Department will be in charge of 8 projects.

From a business perspective, solving law-related problems is a critical matter to unfreeze temporarily halted real estate projects. it is expected that newly introduced policies are able to untangle overlapping issues efficiently.

Legal problems in real estate projects also negatively affect social housing projects. Even though the newly introduced credit package of VND120 trillion ($5.12 billion) comes as good news to both businesses and house buyers of social housing projects, the supply now is so limited due to law-related issues that not many apartments can be launched in the market. The disbursement of that package, therefore, seems like just a dream.

General Director Tran Khanh Quang of Viet An Hoa Real Estate Investment Co. reported that lately, the quantity of land lots and houses in provinces has considerably dropped. Particularly, those of secondary investors saw a price drop of 30-40 percent to cut loss owing to pressure of bank loans. However, some projects in HCMC are still offered for sale at a high price, which is rather discouraging to buyers, who are still waiting for the price to reduce further.

Shareholders vote down Bamboo Airways capital increase plan

Bamboo Airways’ extraordinary general meeting this morning did not approve the private airline’s plan to issue new shares via private placement to increase its charter capital to VND9,570 billion.

The meeting this morning, April 10, saw the participation of 93 shareholders holding over 1.73 billion shares, representing 93% of voting shares.

The meeting was called to seek the shareholders’ approval of the plan to increase the charter capital of Bamboo.

The carrier wanted to issue 772 million shares, with a total face value of VND7,720 billion, to restructure loans and conduct debt-for-equity swaps pursuant to lenders’ agreements with the company.

The face value is estimated at VND10,000 per share with a swap ratio of 1:1, which means every VND10,000 in debt would be swapped for one share to be issued.

Simultaneously, Bamboo Airways also wanted to issue an additional 185 million shares with a total value of VND1,850 billion to be offered to existing shareholders at a par value of VND10,000 per share.

Thus, Bamboo Airways wanted to issue 975 million new shares to increase its charter capital by VND9,570 billion. Once the issue is successful, the carrier’s shares will rise to 2.8 billion, equivalent to a charter capital of over VND28,000 billion.

However, according to the general meeting voting result announced at 11 a.m. today, over 979 million voting shares representing 56.42% of the total did not approve of the carrier’s plan on the capital charter increase, effectively killing Bamboo Airways’ capital hike plan.

OCB seeks to revise up capital to VND20 trillion

Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) has announced plans to issue nearly 685 million shares to existing shareholders in a bid to boost its charter capital to over VND20 trillion this year.

If successful, the bank’s charter capital would rise from VND13.7 trillion to VND20.55  trillion, according to the documents for its 2023 annual general meeting of shareholders.

OCB looks to increase its total assets by 25% to VND242.152 trillion. The pre-tax profit target for 2023 is VND6 trillion, up 37% compared to 2022, while the non-performing loan ratio is controlled below 3%.

Currently, this bank has VND7.04 trillion in retained earnings, of which VND2.94 trillion is from 2022 and VND4.09 trillion from previous years. It has proposed using these retained sums and other sources from shareholders to spur capital and support its business operations.

The increase in charter capital is necessary to enhance financial capacity and improve the capital adequacy ratio (CAR), according to the bank.

VND7,100 billion proposed for upgrading Mekong Delta’s roads

The Ministry of Transport has proposed upgrading and improving three national highways, 53, 62 and 91B, in the Mekong Delta, with an estimated total investment cost of VND7,158 billion.

Of the cost, over VND5,600 billion will be sourced from World Bank loans, cited the Vietnam News Agency.

The project of upgrading National Highway 53 includes upgrading a section passing through Long Ho – Ba Si in Vinh Long and Tra Vinh provinces with a length of 46 kilometers and constructing a 23-kilometer bypass in Vung Liem District, Vinh Long Province. The project will need over VND1,850 billion, of which the reciprocal capital is VND580 billion.

Meanwhile, the project of improving 77 kilometers of National Highway 62 and building an 8-kilometer bypass passing through Tan Thanh Town, Tan Thanh District, Long An Province, will need an estimated VND2,250 billion, including a loan of VND1,545 billion and reciprocal capital of VND705 billion.

For the 142-kilometer National Highway 91B south of the Hau River, the total investment capital will be VND1,500 billion, of which over VND1,300 billion will be sourced from borrowing.

The above projects aim to shorten travel time, meet the transportation demand, ensure traffic safety and complete the regional road systems, helping to respond to climate change in the Mekong Delta.

Upon completion, a section of National Highway 53 passing through Long Ho – Ba Si will act as a horizontal axis connecting Vinh Long and Tra Vinh cities, while National Highway 62 in Long An will connect four vertical axes, including National Highway 1, HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway, National Highway N1, N2 and the provincial roads of 829, 831 and 837.

Upon completion, National Highway 91B, south of the Hau River, will connect National Highway 1 with National Highway 60, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Hau Giang and Bac Lieu provinces.

Work on the projects is scheduled to commence this year and last four years.

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