The Global Climate Risk Index, published by the German environmental think tank Germanwatch, ranked Vietnam sixth among countries hit hardest by extreme weather events in that period, with its Climate Risk Index (CRI) at 29.83. Puerto Rico, Myanmar, Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan are adjudged the worst affected nations with the lowest CRI scores. The other four that make the top 10 are Bangladesh, Thailand, Nepal and Dominica, according to the survey results announced at the ongoing 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Madrid, Spain. The index for the 1999–2018 period is based on average values over a 20-year period, and the countries featured in the top 10 can be divided into two groups: those that have a high ranking due to exceptional catastrophes and those that are continuously affected by extreme events. Vietnam suffered 226 extreme events in 1999-2018 with a death toll of 285 and losses of more than $2 billion per year. Germanwatch uses data … [Read more...] about Vietnam among six nations worst hit by climate change in 20 years
Hard hitting drum samples
Escalating trade war to hit Vietnam’s exports
"The trade war is going beyond analysts’ ability to predict and forecast. It poses big challenges to countries which trade with the U.S. and China, including Vietnam," Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Tran Quoc Khanh said at a recent meeting: Vietnam’s exports in the first six months rose 7.2 percent year-on-year, lower than the average growth of 11.6 percent in the last five years, according to customs data. RongViet Securities Corporation (VDSC) said in a newly-released note that export growth for the year could be 8 percent. It was 13.2 percent last year. The risk is even higher as China depreciates its currency to respond to the U.S.’s recent announcement of a tariff hike on $300 billion of its goods. The yuan slid to 7.0039 per dollar on Thursday as a result, the lowest level since April 2008. Economist Nguyen Tri Hieu said a depreciating yuan would pose a challenge to Vietnamese goods trying to enter China as cheaper Chinese goods will pour into … [Read more...] about Escalating trade war to hit Vietnam’s exports
Trade surplus growth hits 7-year high
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the nation’s January-November trade surplus rose 19.7 percent year-on-year, the highest growth recorded since 2012. In this period, the export of 32 items were worth over $1 billion each, and five topped $10 billion each. Phones and phone parts led exports at $48.7 billion, up 5.4 percent year-on-year, followed by electronics at $32.4 billion, up 19.4 percent. Textile exports rose 7.8 percent to $29.9 billion despite reduced orders from major markets. However the trade surplus in November plunged steeply to just $100 million from the $1.86 billion recorded in October, the ministry said. It also said the surplus is set to fall further as imports typically rise towards the end of the year and before Tet, Vietnam’s Lunar New Year festival, which falls in January next year. Another reason for the falling surplus is the fact that Samsung, the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, will import more electronics … [Read more...] about Trade surplus growth hits 7-year high
Vietnam textile industry orders hit by African competition
Normally, by the end of a year they would have enough orders for the whole of the following year, Nguyen Van Thoi, chairman of TNG Investment and Trading JSC, which makes garments, said. But this year many businesses have said they do not have enough orders for 2020, with some reporting a 20 percent drop in orders from last year. Besides, many have not signed long-term contracts for products, only monthly or quarterly, Thoi said. A Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) official, who did not wish to be named, said many orders have shifted to emerging countries in Africa, while competition with textiles superpowers like China, India and Bangladesh is becoming increasingly fierce. "Even China’s orders are being transferred to countries with preferential tariff rates such as Bangladesh and Cambodia." Not only Vietnamese textile and garment producers, but also its fiber industry is facing increasing competition from foreign businesses and rivals in countries such as … [Read more...] about Vietnam textile industry orders hit by African competition
Lack of parking space for trucks in HCM City hits transport companies
Large vehicles on Nguyễn Duy Trinh Street in HCM City’s District 2. — Photo tuoitre.vn HCM CITY — Most transport companies in HCM City lack parking space, and many resort to parking their lorries and container trucks on roads. The parking space available in the city is in fact only 20-28 per cent of what is set out in its master plan for developing transportation. Large trucks are now often parked on roads closed to traffic, posing a danger to other users. Besides, a number of accidents have been caused by giant vehicles driving on restricted roads to reach unauthorised parking lots. Last month many lorries and container trucks were found parked on streets like Nguyễn Duy Trinh (District 2), Nguyễn Xiển and Đỗ Xuân Hợp (District 9) and Huỳnh Tấn Phát (District 7). Some were even found on restricted roads and areas. One of the drivers parking in a restricted road said it is very … [Read more...] about Lack of parking space for trucks in HCM City hits transport companies