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Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia's trade surplus hit a record high in April, surpassing its peak in last October amid soaring global commodity prices that boosted exports. The National Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on May 17 that Indonesia had registered a surplus for the 24th consecutive month in April, which had more than tripled to 7.56 billion USD year on year and increased 66 percent month on month. Economists forecast that Indonesia will benefit from rising in global commodity prices due to the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict as revenues from the exports of crude palm oil (CPO), coal, and metal ores are higher than the increase in imports. According to BPS, Indonesia ’s exports reached 27.32 billion USD in April, up 47.76 percent year on year. The mining industry had the strongest export growth, almost doubling year on year to 6.41 billion USD.  Meanwhile imports rose 21 percent to 19 billion USD. China remained Indonesia's top export destination, … [Read more...] about Indonesia enjoys largest trade surplus in history in April

At the conference (Photo: SGGP) The Center for linking production, processing, and consumption of agricultural products in Can Tho City was established with the expectation that by 2050, it will become the central transport node in large metropolitan areas with smart technology. The center will be the focal point of the chain of smart production, processing, and consumption centers in the region. In this link chain, about 50 percent - 70 percent of the production processes are done automatically and intelligently. Speaking at the conference, Chairman of the Can City People's Committee Tran Viet Truong said this is an important conference to get opinions from ministries, sectors, and localities in the region, step by step perfecting the project in the most feasible direction before submitting it to the Government. The Center aims to contribute to the construction of Can Tho City into the central city of the Mekong Delta region, contributing to the development of the region’s … [Read more...] about Center hoped to help link, consume agricultural products in Mekong Delta

Cuong was sentenced by the Hanoi’s People Court after being charged with "negligence that results in serious consequences". He is also forbidden from holding positions in the field of medicine for three years after finishing his sentence. Nguyen Minh Hung, former chairman of the management board of pharmaceutical firm Vietnam Pharma JSC, received 18 years in jail for "manufacturing and trading of counterfeit medicines for treatment or prevention of diseases". Hung had been sentenced to 17 years under the same charge at another trial over the case in 2019. His cumulative years to spend in prison will be 30 years, the maximum number of jail time for combined timed sentences in accordance with Vietnamese law. 12 others convicts related to the cases were also sentenced to between 2-20 years in jail. The sentences were the latest development in a counterfeit drug case involving Vietnam Pharma and the fake drug branded Health 2000 Canada. Cuong stands accused of violations that allowed … [Read more...] about Former deputy health minister jailed in fake cancer drug scandal

The bank is collecting feedback on its draft circular to replace the current version with stricter conditions for receiving short-term foreign loans to ensure a national debt limit. The draft will allow Vietnamese businesses to access short-term foreign loans for paying debt, but not for potentially risky purposes like trading stock and real estate. This is because once the stock and real estate market grows way above its intrinsic value, there would be a high chance of creating an asset bubble, causing economic instability. The central bank plans to ban the use of short-term foreign loans to buy projects or stakes in them, since mergers and acquisitions involve long-term investment and commitment. It also plans to ban companies using short-term foreign loans to acquire projects or stakes in projects, as mergers and acquisitions are long-term activities. Short-term loans could result in liquidity risks if used for medium- and long-term purposes, it explained. Companies may … [Read more...] about Central bank limits foreign loans for trading stock, real estate

Gold is yet again becoming a safe haven asset, and some customers want more ways to get involved, Le Toan The World Gold Council (WGC) believes that the appetite for gold is often hampered by the interest rate, as when interest rates rise, gold loses its appeal. However, inflation is also a tailwind to gold demand as a common safe-haven asset. The USD tends to weaken when the Fed raises interest rates, which enhances gold’s demand. “Furthermore, what happens in China’s consumer market has had a big impact as it’s the world’s largest consumer market for gold. We expect China to start to emerge from the worst of the pandemic and that will support consumer demand,” the WGC noted last week. “It is difficult to predict how the geopolitical situation will play out. It depends on where inflation goes, but inflation is certainly the biggest driver at the moment, which will probably support institutional investment demand in the next quarter.” Meanwhile, the demand for gold in Vietnam … [Read more...] about Gold appeal sparkles amid rise of inflation

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) last week again warned that the ocean is faced with increasing threats and multiple risks posed by climate change, natural disasters, environmental pollution, over-exploitation of natural resources, and unsustainable economic activities. “Global warming and marine litter are threatening marine resources, including widespread bleaching of coral reefs. Globally, an estimated 8-20 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean every year. In Vietnam, around 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste leaks from the country into the ocean every day. It is estimated that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050,” said Caitlin Wiesen, resident representative in Vietnam of the UNDP. The global ocean economy contributes an estimated $3 trillion per year, or about 5 per cent of the world’s GDP and comprises industries ranging from oil and gas, shipping and ports to renewable energy, fisheries, marine ecosystems and tourism. The value of the … [Read more...] about Blue economy model gathering pace

Flexibility is required in handling raw material issues for power plants and easing coal supply pressures, Photo: Shutterstock Thai Binh Thermal Power Plant under Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has been in a coal shortage since the beginning of 2022. Ta Trung Kien, director of the plant, said that the volume of coal delivered “has been reduced significantly” compared to the signed contract. Vinacomin Group and Dong Bac Corporation – two of the coal suppliers for the Thai Binh Thermal Power Plant – delivered only just over 74 per cent of the monthly plan. “The two units of our plant need about 6,400 tonnes of coal per day. Due to a lack of coal, the plant was forced to use backup coal to maintain the operation. By the end of the first quarter, these reserves were at just about 14,000 tonnes, much lower than the required norm of 80,000 tonnes,” Kien said. Many other plants are facing similar problems, including Nghi Son 1, Vung Ang 1, Vinh Tan 2, and Duyen Hai 1, which currently … [Read more...] about Nation lacking coal supply for sufficient power generation

EVN workers examine electricity facilities (Photo: VNA) The Vietnamese government’s permission for private companies to invest in and build power plants and transmission systems became a big step forward, bringing competition in the energy sector to a manageable level. The first 500kV super-high voltage power transmission line invested by Trungnam Construction and Investment JSC has been operating stably for more than a year. Trungnam’s project includes a 500kV substation and transmission lines combined with a 450MW solar power plant, promoting its advantages when participating in the power grid of Ninh Thuan province and the south-central coastal region. Pham Nhu Anh, member of the Executive Board of Military Bank, which arranged capital for Trungnam to invest in transmission infrastructure, pointed out that capital is still a bottleneck in Vietnam’s electrical infrastructure development. According to Anh, the fact that Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) still holds a monopoly on … [Read more...] about Transmission boost to remove major power bottlenecks

The deal value in Vietnam by Japanese investors last year was more than triple the figure of 2020. Why has there been a sharp increase in Japanese mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals? Masataka “Sam” Yoshida, head of the Cross-border Division of RECOF Corporation and CEO of RECOF Vietnam Co., Ltd This rise was due to an exceptional deal done by SMBC Consumer Finance, in the amount of nearly $1.38 billion, which acquired FE Credit from VP Bank. In fact, there have been several relatively big deals by Japanese investors ranging from $50-100 million every two years during the last 10 years – however, this one was by far the largest. Apart from this one, we recognise that most of the Japanese-related deals were around $5-30 million in size, which did not show any big difference from before 2020. What is M&A activity like so far in 2022 for Japanese groups here? Despite the aforementioned mega deal by SMBC, most Japanese investors had to wait until travel … [Read more...] about Japanese M&A in Vietnam on a steady track to bigger deals

With the new move, Vietnam has a total of 19 basa fish plants that are allowed to export to US The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) noted that the factories must comply with the provisions of Decision No.1802/QD-BNN-QLCL dated 2020 and instructions in Official Letter No.803/QLCL-CL1 dated 2020 to ensure that the entire basa fish production, processing, and export chain fully meets the regulations of both Vietnam and the US. Decision 1802 of the MARD presents a food safety control programme for Siluriformes fish and fish products exported to US market, helping Vietnam’s Siluriformes inspection system meet the requirements of the US. In the first four months of this year, Vietnam’s basa export value surpassed $950 million, up 94 per cent on-year, in which, the two leading markets of China and the US, mirrored a sharp growth. In the first four months of this year, Vietnam’s … [Read more...] about Six more Vietnamese basa fish producers gain entry to US market