The northern mountainous province of Cao Bang will need a total investment capital of VND160.2 trillion (over US$6.83 billion) from now until 2030, under the provincial development planning scheme for 2021-30.

All Provincial Planning Appraisal Council members approved the scheme dossier last week, baodautu.vn reported.

Under the scheme, the province strives for an average Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth of 9.72 per cent annually by 2030. The provincial GRDP per capita is expected to reach VND101.7 million by 2023. The province's total State budget revenue will likely increase by over 12 per cent each year.

By 2050, Cao Bang aims to become one of the top seven provinces in terms of per capita income in northern midland and mountainous regions, one of the important international exchange hubs, and a driving force for developing the border gate economy, tourism and services in the areas.

To this end, the province will focus on creating an open, attractive and competitive business and investment environment to attract strategic investors and promote the development of its business community. It will also concentrate on building and creating a breakthrough in the socio-economic infrastructure system in a synchronous and modern direction.

Improving the quality of human resources, especially high-quality human resources among ethnic minorities and facilitating the application of science and technology in the production and lives of local people will be included.

According to Provincial Planning Appraisal Council members, the province needs to continue to identify and evaluate its location, development strategy and potential compared to other localities in the region while finding out the causes that hinder its development.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong requested Cao Bang to update new guidelines and new trends in socio-economic development, regional development, and national master plan. At the same time, it should focus on clarifying the province's role in developing the region's border economy.

In 2022, Cao Bang's economy grew 5.04 per cent, with import-export revenue nearing $885 million, up 11 per cent year-on-year. The province, which houses 27 ethnic minority groups, also served 1.1 million tourists, an annual growth of 165 per cent, and a 762 per cent increase in tourism revenue. 

Fitch Ratings rates PV GAS with positive outlook

Fitch Ratings has rated Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV GAS) as a Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'BB' with a positive outlook.

Thus the credit rating of PV GAS is equal to that of the parent company, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) and the national credit rating of Vietnam.

This result will help PV GAS improve its ability to raise capital in the international market, diversify sources of capital mobilisation for investment projects.

Fitch ratings assessed PV GAS’s Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) as ‘pp ’. The rating reflected a strong market position as the sole midstream gas distributor and the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer in the country, as well as diversified earnings from a regulated liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business, where it holds a 70% market share.

Its position as the sole long-term gas supplier for a majority of its customers and long-term contracts with price protection provide a stable earnings source. PV GAS is well-positioned to benefit from Petrovietnam's plans for significant upstream expansion to increase gas production.

In 2022, total revenue of PV GAS reached over VND100 trillion (US$4.22 billion), up 25% compared to 2021; profit after tax hit over VND13.3 trillion, an increase of 51% year on year.

The company's ratio of net return on assets (ROA) exceeded 14% and its ratio of net return on equity (ROE) was over 22%.

Seafood stocks to remain unsteady

Seafood stocks are expected to fall from fluctuations in the current volatile export market and a decline in businesses in 2023.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), seafood exports will fall from positive growth at a high rate of 34 percent to 46 percent to a negative growth of around 9 percent with a deep drop in all categories. In January this year, seafood exports decreased by 31 percent, reaching at about US$600 mln. In this, pangasius decreased by 50 percent, shrimp decreased by 46 percent, and tuna decreased by 32 percent. 

Exports to major markets also dropped sharply, in which exports to the US decreased by 56 percent, to Hong Kong by 55 percent, and to the European markets by 35 percent.

The latest statistics from VASEP show a reverse trend to the favorable factors seen in 2022. Market experts at the Rong Viet Securities Company (VDSC), said that in 2022 the US market saw the highest export value in Vietnam's pangasius industry at around US$2.4 bln, which is up by nearly 63 percent. 

The main reason for this high volume was the high demand in the US market after the Covid-19 pandemic ended and partly because of shortage of whitefish supply caused by the Russia-Ukraine ongoing war conflict. Nonetheless, the seafood industry faced many challenges in the second half of 2022, as persistent inflation and high retail inventories weighed heavily on export companies.

The export price to the US market has halved now while this is the market receiving the highest discounts of all markets. Since the export price to the US is the reference price for other markets, the decline in the selling price to the US is also putting pressure on the overall selling price of the whole industry. 

The proof lies in the bleak export volume in the last months of 2022 and early 2023. The most obvious consequence was evidenced by a leading enterprise in the industry, namely, the Vinh Hoan Joint Stock Company (VHC). The company suffered a severe revenue decline in the fourth quarter of 2022, and this situation is expected to continue in the first half of 2023.

However, the pangasius industry in Vietnam is still very hopeful of the Chinese market as demand is expected to increase in 2023 after China's economy officially reopens. In the last three years, even when other markets were recovering, the demand in the Chinese market had weakened. 

But according to VDSC, although China officially reopened at the beginning of 2023, Vietnam's pangasius exports to the Chinese market have so far not improved significantly.

The reason is that demand has not yet fully recovered, which can be attributed to the impact of falling Chinese incomes and the slow recovery of restaurant services. Hence the delay for orders could be as long as three months or even six months for Chinese people to adjust to the new normal, as well as for food services to fully reopen.

Agility is key for SMEs in 2023
     
Agility will be key attribute for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the world and Viet Nam to thrive in another year of uncertainty, Visa said.

This is one among five trends that the company sees as pivotal for small businesses.

According to Visa's projection, similarly to 2022, high inflation, workforce constraints and supply chain challenges will be a factor for all businesses, including SMEs, in 2023. SMEs will need to be agile to succeed.

According to Visa research, 86 per cent of surveyed small business leaders cite economic uncertainty as one of their most common stressors.

Cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital financial tools can help SMEs navigate ongoing uncertainty.

If this sounds far afield, recent research has shown that 44 per cent of surveyed small business leaders are either integrating AI, preparing to, or closely following the trend.

According to Visa, in 2023, the consumerisation of business finance will benefit small businesses in big ways as they work to meet the pressures and opportunities of an uncertain economic environment.

Visa predicts that small businesses can win the war for talent with heart.

Small businesses have inherent disadvantages when it comes to attracting top talent such as the lack of a company gym, cafeterias offering free meals, or complementary transit or parking. But they can and should compete in other ways. They can provide employees with better work-life balance and a greater sense of personal purpose.

SMEs would do well to ensure every talent touchpoint – website, social media, marketing collateral – drives a personal, professional and optimised experience that reflects their values, Visa said.

The other trend is that closing the digital equity gap will continue to drive SMEs competitiveness.

The World Economic Forum predicts that 70 per cent of new value created in this decade will be based on digitally enabled technologies. With livelihoods and well-being increasingly determined by participation in the digital economy, this rapid transition can provide opportunity for everyone, everywhere.

Visa suggests that SMEs will need to put trust and security at the top of their agenda.

A 360-degree approach to digitisation will also be a key asset for SMEs.

How a small business pays its vendors, suppliers and partners is as important as how it receives payments from customers.

Jeni Mundy said while consumer payments could get most of the attention, digital solutions had made it easier to automate and track payments to outside partners who help keep a small business running.

Social impact businesses need favourable policies to hold ground
     
Social impact businesses (SIBs) are not new in Viet Nam, but unfavourable factors are harming their viability, exposing the need for more favourable policies.

By definition, SIBs are companies that bring about positive changes that address social injustice and challenges. Viet Nam had around 22,000 SIBs in 2018, accounting for 4 per cent of the total number of companies in the country.

Despite their large number, SIBs, especially those owned by disadvantaged groups, find it difficult to pursue their dual objective of making profits and creating public value. Their obstacles include capital shortages, market barriers, and the absence of favourable policies.

Pham Duc Trung, deputy director of the Enterprise Development Agency, Ministry of Planning and Investment, underlined the role of SIBs in the country's transition to sustainable development.

He said SIBs economically and socially contributed to the communities by creating jobs for disadvantaged groups and bringing environmentally-friendly products to the market.

However, SIBs in Viet Nam were stymied by various internal and external issues. Internally, they normally did not have a good management structure and a strong financial position, resulting in difficulties attracting talent.

Externally, they had been hard-hit by the pandemic and were exposed to the global Fourth Industrial Revolution risks. Against such a gloomy backdrop, SIBs needed favourable policies to overcome tough times.

Trung said his department had assessed the situation and proposed several favourable policies to nurture small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), of which SIBs form a part.

Nguyen Tung Anh, deputy head of the Department of SME Support Activities Arrangement, Enterprise Development Agency, held that it was not true to say that no favourable policies had been put in place to support SIBs.

Such policies had been around for quite a while, but they were aimed at a broader scope of enterprise - the SMEs, which comprise SIBs. In other words, the policies were not specifically targeted at SIBs, but they did have some impact on them.

She took the Law on Bidding as an example. Under the law, SMEs with over 25 per cent of their employees being female or disabled would be eligible for preferential bidding terms.

She also asserted that her department would develop some SIB-targeted policies in 2023 to push them into top gear. Specifically, the department would take measures to help SIBs move forward in digital transition, corporate governance, education and training, trade promotion, and business matching.

Some experts called for a regulatory sandbox to foster SIBs in a controlled environment. Different preferential policies could be tested in the sandbox to gauge their impact on SIBs. 

Greater cooperation needed between fuel traders and retailers
     
During an online conference focused on the fuel supply situation in the country, industry insiders and experts pointed to a major cause behind last year's nationwide fuel disruption: a lack of cooperation between fuel traders and retailers.

According to Nguyen Tien Thoa, former head of the price department under the Ministry of Finance, the root of the issue in the domestic fuel market was a failure to adhere to market principles, despite the central Government's issuance of multiple decrees on the matter.

In principle, the central Government only intervenes during market disruption. Among many of the tools it can employ is setting ceiling prices. However, in practice, said ceiling prices have often been considered market prices.

In addition, there has been no effort to adjust prices during major public holidays, which often created large gaps between domestic and international fuel prices as the global market did not stop.

Retailers have long voiced their grievances over the imbalance of power between them and retailers, saying bonuses they received were entirely dependent on the whim of traders.

Meanwhile, traders blamed importers.

Van Tan Phung, chairman of a fuel trading company in the southern province of Dong Nai, said his firm suffered financial losses last year during the fuel disruption.

Economist Vu Dinh Anh said it's high time the Government started building a market-oriented approach to ensure a stable fuel supply.

He said there was too much power on the side of retailers. Petrolimex and PV Oil alone accounted for up to 70 per cent of the entire market's supply, which gave them too much leverage over small retailers. Any market restructuring effort must include the rights and benefits of retailers for it to be long-term sustainable.

Tran Dinh Thien, former head of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, said going for quick fixes for the fuel market was not a sustainable solution.

Economists at the conference called for a ban on inter-trading among fuel traders, saying it often resulted in inflated supply, higher costs and further complicated fuel management. They also called for an exit mechanism, which has not been made available so far, to allow businesses to quit if their financial losses were too high. 

Foreign resources and market know-how give rise to gaming

The market understanding of Vietnamese online game developers combined with the resources of foreign partners are expected to create momentum for the country’s online gaming industry.

On February 28, VNG Corporation announced that it has become a strategic partner of Riot Games in the release of the company’s games in the Vietnamese market

The game Legends of Runeterra will open the combination between VNG and American video game developer Riot Games. This caused a stir in the Vietnamese gaming community because Riot had previously cooperated with Garena, a top Singaporean online game publisher.

The move comes as Vietnamese game enterprises are increasingly choosing to cooperate with foreign enterprises to increase their strength, instead of simply outsourcing to foreign enterprises or finding their own way to develop.

The general manager of Riot Games in Southeast Asia said, “We have decided to choose VNG as a strategic partner of Riot Games to release games in the Vietnamese market and look forward to building a long-term cooperation relationship with VNG to develop the player community here.”

While Riot Games is a developer, publisher, and organiser of video game tournaments owned by Chinese giant Tencent, VNG is considered a symbol of the Vietnamese gaming industry, with 15 years of experience in the tech arena.

Meanwhile Anantarupa Studios, a game development company from Indonesia, signed an MoU with VTC Telecom a fortnight ago to jointly exploit and develop the online game market in Vietnam. Under the agreement, the company will bring Lokapala, its first Indonesian esports game, to the Vietnamese market.

Lokapala is focused on registering a licence in Vietnam by the end of March and wishes to launch a beta version soon after, while expanding its services to three countries in Southeast Asia.

VTC Telecom as co-publisher will focus on Lokapala’s payment gateways, esports schemes, and localisation of the game in the Vietnamese market. Additionally, its goal is to increase intellectual property exports to a total of 100 billion rupiah (about $6.5 million) over the same time period. VTC has 17 years of experience in game publishing and a 20 per cent market share in terms of mobile games in this country.

CEO of Anantapura Ivan Chen said, “The game industry is the world’s largest content industry, contributing transactions worth more than $300 billion, which is three times greater than the film industry globally.”

Last year, VTC also signed a strategic cooperation agreement for 2022-2025 with Microsoft in esports, promoting the application of tech to expand products and build an innovation centre for game startups in Vietnam.

According to data from SafeBettingSites, the world currently has about 3 billion people playing games and by 2030, this is expected to increase to 4.5 billion. Asia is currently the largest and fastest growing game market.

Masan secures $650 million syndicated loan

On March 10, Masan Group Corporation announced the completion of the roadshow for a $650 million syndicated loan, underwritten by BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, and United Overseas Bank.

This transaction, coupled with the over-subscribed $600 million syndicated loan from 2022, will potentially amount up to approximately $1.25 billion of financing raised over the past six months.

This is a vote of confidence in Masan’s strong business fundamentals and a validation of its credit profile. Management will continue to optimise Masan’s balance sheet, reduce interest expenses, and deleverage via strategic corporate actions.

The MLABs have committed $375 million and the 2023 syndicated loan roadshow attracted significant interest from nearly 200 attendees in Singapore and Taiwan, which will enable Masan to upsize the transaction to a total amount of $650 million.

The loan is priced at 3.5 per cent over the US Dollar Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or approximately 8 per cent per annum. With a 5-year tenor, the 2023 syndicated loan will extend Masan’s debt maturity profile and strengthen its liquidity ratios.

In addition, Masan has repaid $130 million in bonds issued in 2020 which matured on March 9. Before the drawdown of the 2023 USD syndicated loan transaction, Masan has around $724 million in cash and cash equivalents (including investments), enabling the company to settle all upcoming debt obligations, and more importantly, invest in future growth.

Bond pressure retained in real estate

If a draft decree amendment on bonds is soon passed, real estate businesses will likely be given a helping hand in the form of time to restructure their cash flows.

An inability to sell products is seriously impacting the revenue of real estate enterprises and puts them at risk of default, according to a report released in January by VNDirect.

Previously, bond issuers had to buy if their real estate bonds or corporate bonds were due. But the revised draft of Decree No.65/2022/ND-CP dated September 2022 is expected to stretch the grace debt period for an additional two years to the beginning of 2024.

As a result, bond issuers would have more time to arrange capital to relieve pressure in the short term. It also allows them to negotiate with the bond owners to pay using products instead of cash to help decrease the debt repayment pressure, according to Ngo Minh Duc, director of LCTV Investment.

However, Vietcombank Securities warned last month that it could still take time for the market to relay feedback on the decree revision, meaning the bond market could remain quiet this year.

According to the Credit Department for Economic Sectors under the State Bank of Vietnam, the outstanding credit for commercial real estate in 2022 was close to $35 billion, with urban areas and housing development projects receiving the most concern. The Hanoi Stock Exchange said that the outstanding individual bonds of real estate companies totalled around $17.7 billion at the end of 2022. Therefore, real estate enterprises are borrowing up to $52.5 billion through credit and bonds.

Many alternative solutions have been mapped out. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has proposed that the government consider allowing enterprises to pay principal and interest on bonds in shares and real estate products.

The MoF has also submitted to the government a draft decree on trading private placement of corporate bonds in the domestic market and offering bonds to international markets.

According to Le Hong Khang, manager of Credit Analytics at FiinRatings, the two main short-term solutions expected to create a boost for the real estate market are increasing supply and supporting real estate businesses to increase their liquidity.

On supply, the government should create a mechanism to approve additional permits for commercial housing projects.

To support real estate businesses to increase liquidity, the government needs to launch a credit policy for homebuyers, reducing interest rates and allowing rescheduling and deferral of debts due to pay corporate bonds and bank loans.

FiinRatings also assessed that although the corporate bond mobilising channel will not be able to recover in size in a vibrant way until the end of the first half of 2023, some issuers with good credit quality, clean legal records, and clear and transparent corporate bond funding projects will still have a chance to successfully issue in the domestic debt market as well as with foreign investors.

Quang Ninh gears up to welcome back Chinese tourists

Authorities, travel companies and tourism service providers in Quang Ninh Province are preparing to welcome back group tours from China, as the northern neighbor has allowed the organization of group tours to Vietnam from March 15.

China’s move to reopen outbound group tours is seen as a positive signal for both Vietnamese and Chinese tourism businesses, said Nguyen Van Son, general director of Thang Loi Travel JSC.

The company and its Chinese partners have jointly shared information about the requirements and policies of the two countries related to visas, pandemic control, entry and exit via land border gates and operation of direct flights to design suitable tours and improve their service quality.

This travel firm and its Chinese partners teamed up to launch new travel products at reasonable prices.

According to Pham Ngoc Thuy, director of the provincial Tourism Department, the province held meetings with the relevant departments and agencies to prepare plans to welcome back tourists.

The northern border province pledged favorable conditions for international visitors undergoing Covid-19 tests to meet China’s anti-Covid requirements.

The provincial People’s Committee planned to launch 24 new travel products this year in five localities, Halong and Mong Cai cities, Van Don, Co To and Hai Ha districts, to woo more tourists.

Visitors to Halong City can stroll along a pedestrian street and enjoy the nightlife in the UNESCO-listed Halong Bay.

Van Don District offers sightseeing tours to Bai Tu Long Bay, while Mong Cai City has formulated plans to serve international tourists through the Mong Cai international border gate.

Vietnam’s tourism authorities will coordinate with their Chinese counterparts and tourism associations of the two nations to seek measures to enhance tourism quality and promote Quang Ninh tourism to international visitors, said the director of the provincial tourism authority.

Quang Ninh looks to welcome some 15 million tourists in 2023, with two million international visitors, and earn VND27 trillion in tourism revenue.

FPT teams up with PTIT to expand workforce network

FPT Corporation has cut a deal with the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) to widen the former’s workforce, training and research ecosystem for the electronic and telecommunications field.

This was part of FPT’s activities in cooperation with universities to seek employees for the growth of Vietnam’s tech giant.

Under the agreement, FPT will provide opportunities to students at PTIT to work as interns at its branches and member companies, apart from awarding scholarships to students to join undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

PTIT will join hands with FPT to hold annual career introduction programs to call on students at the institute to work at FPT.

Furthermore, the two sides will jointly develop products of technology and science and organize scientific seminars.

Business environment reform is the most efficient support for enterprises: GSO

In the face of domestic and international economic difficulties, the most effective support for enterprises is to create an equal, open and transparent business environment, according to Do Thi Ngoc, head of the General Statistics Office (GSO)'s Department of General Statistics.

This was one of the solutions GSO proposed to maintain macro-economic stability and promote economic growth.

It is necessary to closely monitor the global economic situation and the fiscal and monetary policies of countries with a large economic scale.

It needs to monitor labour and job markets closely and then support the enterprises to overcome labour shortages.

State management offices should effectively implement solutions to stimulate trade and service demand and develop tourism programmes.

On the other hand, they should focus on expanding and diversifying export products and markets by effectively exploiting the signed free trade agreements (FTAs) between Vietnam and its partners. On that basis, policies also need to be adjusted to lure further high-quality foreign direct investment.

Disease prevention and control must be strengthened along with plans on preventing drought and saltwater intrusion impacts, as well as natural disasters, rain, floods and landslides to minimise damage to production and people's lives.

Finally, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of State management agencies and tighten administrative discipline in those agencies.

According to the GSO, Vietnam's socio-economic development in February took place in the context that the world economy continued to have many complicated fluctuations.

Global inflation cooled but remained at a high level, while world energy prices are still increasing, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict has many unexpected developments.

Global consumer demand is reducing, causing the number of export orders and turnover to decrease. Many key industries have been affected, especially in localities with large industrial scales, such as Quang Ngai, Vinh Phuc, Binh Duong, and HCM City.

Therefore, the index of industrial production (IIP) in the first two months of this year decreased by 6.3% over the same period last year.

The exports to some key markets recorded a decline, such as the EU (down 4.2%); the Republic of Korea (5.7%); Japan (5.9%); ASEAN (7.9%); and the US (21%).

In that challenging situation, the production and business activities of the enterprises were severely affected by higher input costs but lower orders. Many businesses temporarily suspended operations to find other directions or wait for dissolution procedures.

In the first two months of the year, the number of enterprises suspending business for a definite term was about 39,000 units, an increase of 18.5% over the same period last year. About 9,400 enterprises were waiting for dissolution procedures, an increase of 5.8%.

The difficulties of the world economy also prevented foreign investors from expanding the scale of existing projects in Vietnam. As of the end of February, registered FDI capital reached 535.4 million USD, the lowest from 2019 to 2023 and a reduction of 4.9% year on year.

Core inflation in the first two months of 2023 increased by 5.08%, higher than the general inflation at 4.6%.

However, the IIP of the number of processing and manufacturing industries in February increased compared to the same period last year, such as the production of beverages, coke, refined petroleum and chemicals, she said.

The total retail sales of goods and services increased by 13% yearly, while Vietnam had a trade surplus of 2.82 billion USD in the first two months.

International visitors to Vietnam were estimated at 1.8 million arrivals, nearly 37 times higher than last year, due to many international tourism programmes when the COVID-19 pandemic is under control.

Tra fish exports predicted to recover from third quarter

Thanks to better input material supply and the application of a closed production process, tra fish industry is expected to overcome difficulties and become profitable again in the third quarter of this year, according to analysts.

Data from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) showed that in the first two months of this year, revenue from seafood export topped 1.1 billion USD, down 26% year on year, with tra fish exports dropping 38% to 240 million USD.

According to Vietcombank Securities Limited Company (VCBS), the demand of tra fish plummeted from the fourth quarter of last year after positive signs in the beginning of the year. A fall of 20-30% was seen in the production and export revenue of the product from last November due to high inventories and inflation in importing countries.

The downturn trend continued in the first month of 2023, with respective fall of 51 and 60% over the same period last year.

However, tra fish exports increased slightly at 4% in February to 662 million USD. But the VCBS predicted that tra fish demand will continue to decrease in the majority of the markets until the third quarter when festive events in year-end come and the Chinese market is opening.

While high feed prices and extreme weather conditions are effecting small-scaled farms, large-scaled businesses are eying great opportunities to expand their market share thanks to their self-supply of input materials and the application of a closed production process, according to the VCBS.

The VCBS reported that in 2022, tra fish exports hit a record of 2.44 billion USD despite the high feed price. In the year, strong growth of at least 30% was seen in tra fish export revenue generated from the majority of the markets, especially some Middle East countries at 115-429%.

The firm held that 2023 will still be a good year for businesses that can promote their advantages in material supply.

Exporters held that after a long period of decline in revenue due to low tra fish prices in the first half of this year, domestic exporters will enjoy recovery in the third quarter.

Thua Thien-Hue emerges as attractive investment destination

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue is becoming a destination for large corporations which produce high-economic-value products in various areas, contributing to enhancing its position in both domestic and international arenas.

The provincial Department of Planning and Investment reported that the province now has 117 FDI projects, with a total registered capital of 4.34 billion USD.

Despite difficulties in foreign investment promotion in 2021, the province granted investment registration certificates to eight FDI projects, with a total investment capital of 231.9 million USD.

Some typical projects include AEONMALL Vietnam, with an investment of 169.67 million USD, JA Vietnam garment manufacturing project, 34.5 million USD and SCAVI underwear and sportswear plant, 25 million USD.

Amid difficulties due to the pandemic, FDI enterprises still posted strong development. Many have expanded production scale and taken advantage of local labour resources to create breakthroughs in production and business activities, contributing to ensuring security amid difficulties caused by the pandemic.

The FDI sector posted total revenue of over 1.45 billion USD in 2022, up 21% compared to 2021 and contributed 145 million USD to the local budget, up 26% over 2021 and accounting for 27% of the province’s total budget revenue. Carlsberg Beer Vietnam Co., Ltd., accounted for 68.4% of the total budget revenue of FDI enterprises.

Besides contributions to the budget, FDI enterprises have also created jobs for a large number of local workers, contributing to improving people’s living standards. More than 25,000 employees worked in the FDI sector in 2022, with the largest number of employees working in textile and garment companies.

The FDI sector has also contributed to improving the technology level and is an important channel to help Thua Thien-Hue and Vietnam in general integrate more deeply into the world.

One of the biggest successes in Thua Thien-Hue’s investment promotion is that the province has developed a friendly business environment and reduced informal costs for businesses by improving indicators of the business environment and competitiveness, such as the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI), and Public Administration Reform Index (PAR).

In 2022, it ranked among the top 10 provinces and cities with the highest PCI scores in Vietnam, first in the PAPI Index, fourth in the PAR Index, and second in the digital transformation index (DTI).

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Phan Quoc Son said that the province always focuses on supporting FDI projects, creating favourable conditions for FDI enterprises to expand, connecting them with the local business community, and calling for capital for innovative and start-up projects throughout the province.

Thua Thien-Hue has successfully organised an investment promotion conference for Chan May port container shipping lines. The development of Chan May port, especially attracting container shipping lines to handle goods at Chan May port, is a prerequisite for the industrial development of the province, as well as the central region.

At the conference, the People’s Committee of Thua Thien Hue province gave a nod to seven investment projects and granted investment certificates for other projects.

Online trading seeing promising future

Technology is rapidly changing trading methods from traditional to multi-channel one. Businesspeople all over the nation are actively upgrading their operation to save cost and increase revenues.

After two years launching a showroom to display and sell imported produce and processed food, Tien Thao Trading and Service Co. Ltd (sited in Go Vap District of Ho Chi Minh City) decided to reduce its business site mainly for the exhibition purpose. Its CEO Pham Van Bang shared that at present, 80 percent of the company’s customers order merchandise online via its official website or e-commerce platforms and its formal pages on social networks like Facebook and Zalo. Therefore, downsizing the trading location and expanding online trading are necessary to save cost. Thanks to that decision, the company raised its income by 30 percent compared to this time last year.

Other businesses that have made similar decisions are Viet Thang Jeans Co. Ltd. in District 1 of HCMC and Binh Khanh Trading, Services, Import-Export Co. Ltd in Dong Nai Province. The former has enjoyed a revenue rise of 300 percent compared to 2021. The latter reported a reduction of customers directing visiting its offices but a significant growth at its online shops on e-commerce platforms, with a double income to more than VND1 billion (US$42,400) a year.

Doing business online has become a trend among retailers in traditional markets as well. Tran Kim Hien, a clothes seller in Tan Binh Market in HCMC, shared that after the outbreaks of the Covid-19 pandemic, the quantity of customers to traditional markets reduces remarkably. She and other retailers here have tried other trading ways online.

They take photos or make clips of their merchandise and post on popular social networks in Vietnam to advertise and sell goods there with the payment deposited to their bank accounts. Surprisingly, the revenues are much higher than doing business traditionally, and Hien has decided to sell one of her two booths to have more capital for online trading.

Head Le Thi Dung of the Growth Division under Sapo Technology JSC. (sited in Hanoi) commented that Vietnam is witnessing a growing trend of businesses and retailers moving online and taking better advantages of multi-channel trading. Director Vu Thi Minh Tu of the External Affairs of Lazada Vietnam agreed with this, saying that e-commerce has experienced great changes lately.

According to the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade), up to now, Vietnam is the owner of the third largest e-commerce market in ASEAN, and one of the four to welcome the participation of foreign suppliers in its e-commerce portal. At present, the six overseas suppliers that own 90 percent of the revenues from cross-border e-commerce in Vietnam are Meta (Facebook), Google, Microsoft, TikTok, Netflix, and Apple.

Recently, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy has cooperated with the Industry and Trade Departments of many provinces and cities as well as e-commerce platforms to organize various training sessions and trading connection events for businesses, especially as to local specialty consumption. A series of programs for enterprises wishing to export their products via international e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba and Amazon have also been held.

One key factor to take notice when entering such platforms is the maintenance of product quality, the preparation of valid business permits and food safety certificates.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said that in order for e-commerce to sustainably develop and positively contribute to the national economic growth, at the beginning of this year, his Ministry introduced its action plan, in which a comprehensive plan to develop the national e-commerce in the 2021-2025 period was announced. This plan can ensure a healthy and competitive e-commerce market while encouraging the wide application of e-commerce among businesses and the community. Along with that is strict management of trading activities on social networks.

Vietnam E-commerce Association has announced Google’s prediction that the scale of Vietnam’s e-commerce in 2025 can reach $57 billion. Meanwhile, a survey on 15,000 retailers on Sapo Trading and Management Platform reveals that the switch to multi-channel trading has risen significantly this year, with nearly 58 percent of surveyed people using at least two different trading channels of online and offline.

These multi-channel traders are enjoying a revenue growth of 68 percent, while the figures for owners of only online shops and only offline shops are merely 17 percent and 15 percent respectively. Among online trading channels, e-commerce platforms are the most favorite among businesspeople (accounting for nearly a half), followed by Facebook (occupying 39 percent) and official websites (at 10 percent).

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