In February, Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc paid a state visit to Singapore, with both nations vowing to continue cementing economic ties. How has this cooperation been implemented so far? Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam Singapore and Vietnam’s strong economic, trade, and investment ties are underpinned by decades of consistent and meaningful engagement between our governments and peoples. During President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s state visit to Singapore earlier this year, he and President Halimah Yacob reaffirmed these ties and committed to further collaboration. Our leaders also oversaw the signing of an MoU on economic and trade cooperation between our two countries. We are starting from a very strong base. Singapore has been the leading source of foreign direct investment into Vietnam for the past two years. Singapore is now Vietnam’s second largest foreign investor, with total registered capital of nearly $70 billion. This demonstrates the … [Read more...] about Singapore and Vietnam commit to further strong collaborations
Vietnam singapore industrial park
Hanoi promotes industrial infrastructure development for sustainable growth
The capital city is committed to accompanying the business community in promoting industrial products using advanced and environmentally friendly technologies with high-added value. Hanoi is pushing for the development of industrial infrastructure and key industrial products, seen as the driving force for the capital city’s sustainable economic growth. Thang Long Industrial Park in Dong Anh District, Hanoi. File photo During the first six months of 2022, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade started the construction of six industrial parks and is working on accelerating 38 other projects in the city. For the 2021-2025 period, Hanoi aims for supporting industries to make up 30% of the total value of industrial production, an increase of 5% from the current level; raise the value of key industrial products to 40-45% of total industrial production, and expects 10% of businesses in Hanoi to stay among Vietnam’s top 500 companies. To realize this goal, … [Read more...] about Hanoi promotes industrial infrastructure development for sustainable growth
Vietnam’s star rises in global supply chains
Great opportunities Vietnam has climbed up the value chain over the years, becoming a key electronics manufacturing hub, attracting stable foreign direct investment with its sound macro fundamentals, preferential tax incentives and an abundance of relatively cheap and productive labor. Electronics, a major driving force of Vietnam’s export growth Vietnamese enterprises are increasingly integrating into the global production chain, as confirmed by international organizations, including the World Bank and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) in their reports. For decades an apparel and footwear exporter with a low value added, Vietnam has gradually become an important production center in the technology industry, according to HSBC. Ngo Dang Khoa, HSBC Vietnam’s Country Head of Markets and Securities, said Vietnam has become a production center of electronics and cell phone components, helping it lure an increasing number of foreign … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s star rises in global supply chains
Emulating the ambitions of Singapore’s high-tech vision
Emulating the ambitions of Singapore’s high-tech vision, Photo: Le Toan Last week, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged Singaporean groups to increase their investment in Vietnam, notably in the fields of technology, strategic infrastructure development, logistics, and cutting-edge startups. According to PM Chinh, the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership is growing strongly and quickly in all areas, particularly the economy, trade, and investment. The two-way trade increased by over 23 per cent to reach $8.3 billion in 2021, and it reached $4.75 billion in the first half of 2022. He stressed that Vietnam wishes to strengthen its bilateral strategic alliance and learn from Singapore’s experience in establishing an independent, self-sufficient economy in parallel with intense and wide international integration. The PM suggested that the two countries should launch projects and events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations and the 10th … [Read more...] about Emulating the ambitions of Singapore’s high-tech vision
HCMC, Singapore enhance cooperation on human resources development
Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee (right) hands over a souvenir to Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry. (Photo: VNA) Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee Phan Van Mai hosted a reception for Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry on August 11. He affirmed that the cooperation between HCMC and Singapore not only brings benefits to the city but also is an important factor contributing to the common development of Vietnam-Singapore relations. At the event (Photo: VNA) Along with potential fields such as smart city building, urban management and green economy, the city expects to strengthen collaboration and share experience in startup development, helping the city become an innovative start-up center of the country and the region, the official said. He hoped that Singapore will share experience to improve the dialogue mechanism between the … [Read more...] about HCMC, Singapore enhance cooperation on human resources development
First-half industry and trade highlights
Ngo Khai Hoan, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Industry Agency Ngo Khai Hoan, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Industry Agency: Industrial production recovers strongly With the government’s decision to switch from “Zero COVID-19” to safe and flexible adaptation to the pandemic, industrial production has seen strong recovery and has been restored to pre-pandemic levels, especially the manufacturing and processing sector. The added value of the industrial sector increased by 8.48 percent in the first half of 2022 compared to a year ago. The index of industrial production (IIP) grew by 8.7 percent in the first half of the year, with the manufacturing and processing sector going up by 9.7 percent. Almost all localities saw IIP increases, with high rates recorded in the provinces of Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Quang Nam and Binh Phuoc. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tran Duy Dong, Director of the Domestic Market Department … [Read more...] about First-half industry and trade highlights
High-quality human resources key to sustainable tourism industry
Illustrative image (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - As tourism continues to revive, the hotel and tourism industry is suffering from challenges in recruiting qualified human resources post pandemic, industry players warned. Speaking at a seminar on August 9 in HCM City, Dr Nguyen Anh Tuan, director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research, said there was a lack of high-quality staff in the industry. Vu The Binh, chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association , said that human resources were a weak point for the industry even before the pandemic. “Efficient, hard-working, and resourceful human resources are the backbone of any successful business. It is even more so in the case of the hotel industry.” Successful hotel operations are sustained by customer-oriented and hard-working employees who have adequate competencies, he added. A large number of hotels and resorts stopped operation during the two-year pandemic, and coming back could prove challenging, he … [Read more...] about High-quality human resources key to sustainable tourism industry
Tiger’s existence under verification at Phong Nha-Ke Bang park
The park's management said Wednesday the cameras have been in position where a local reported seeing a tiger inside the park in the central Quang Binh Province. When seeing the tiger, the person had freaked out, climbed a tree, and made some sounds to distract the animal, causing it to run away into the forest. The incident was later reported to the park's management board, the government news portal reported Thursday. A camera trap is a digital camera connected to an infrared sensor that can "see" warm objects that are moving, like animals. When an animal moves past the sensor it causes the camera to fire, recording an image or video to the memory card for later retrieval. The trap can be left in the field to continuously monitor an area of habitat for weeks or even months, recording the rarest events that occur in nature, according to the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF). According to Save Vietnam's Wildlife, a non-profit organization that works on solutions to conserve … [Read more...] about Tiger’s existence under verification at Phong Nha-Ke Bang park
Vietnam – new stop for semiconductor producers
Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Samsung Electronics ’ plan to manufacture semiconductor products in Vietnam has sparked the hope that the Southeast Asian nation will be a new stop for the semiconductor industry . During his recent trip to Vietnam, CEO Roh Tae-Moon unveiled that Samsung will make an additional investment of 3.3 billion USD in the country this year, enabling the Korean technology giant to start producing semiconductor components in Vietnam by July 2023. In fact, part of the investment commitment has been materialised, with 841 million USD for Samsung Complex HCMC-SEHC in Ho Chi Minh City and 1.18 billion USD for Samsung Electro-Mechanics in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. Since 2019, the tech giant has announced that it will raise investment in the semiconductor industry to a whopping 151 billion USD. When Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited Vietnam in 2020, host leaders expressed their wish that Samsung will invest in the … [Read more...] about Vietnam – new stop for semiconductor producers
Vietnam mulls ways to boost inbound travel
Foreign tourists visit the Independence Palace in HCM City on August 8. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Strict visa policies and a shortage of human resources and infrastructure in the tourism sector have stymied recovery of the travel industry, and the target of five million international arrivals this year could be out of reach, industry players have warned. Domestic travel has seen a strong rebound whereas international tourism, with a target of five million arrivals this year, remains in a slump, said Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association. Domestic visitor numbers topped 71.1 million in just the first seven months of this year against a full-year target of 60 million, he said. In the same period there were only 733,000 international visitors, or 8% of pre-pandemic numbers, he told a two-day programme titled ‘Lien Ket Suc Manh Du Lich Vietnam Nam 2022’ (Power of Vietnam Tourism Linkages) that ended in Ho Chi Minh City on August 9. Though … [Read more...] about Vietnam mulls ways to boost inbound travel