Receiving the ambassador after the credentials presentation ceremony, President Marcos welcomed Binh to the Philippines in his role as Ambassador of Vietnam, affirming that the Philippines attaches great importance to the Strategic Partnership with Vietnam. He said he was looking forwards to visiting Vietnam in the near future. The President expected that the Ambassador would well fulfil his responsibilities, making practical contributions to promoting friendly relations and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and the Philippines. By 2024, the city aims to welcome about 26.5 million tourists, including five million foreign arrivals. Of those, around 88,209 travelers visited Phu Quoc City, including 15,029 international tourists.

Hanoi, (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last night by the Vietnam News Agency. The conference, held by the commission, reviewed people-to-people diplomacy in 2023, and put forth tasks for this year. Deputy head of the office Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh said that in the period, total trade turnover via Lao Cai’s border gates reached nearly 5.4 million USD, of which 2.8 million USD came from exports. The 10-tonne macadamia batch has gone through many examinations by authorised agencies, meeting all requirements, including in food safety. Read full text /.

HÀ NỘI — The market capitalisation of Việt Nam’s stock market approximated VNĐ6 quadrillion (US$246.7 billion) in 2023, rising 9.5 per cent from and equivalent to about 62 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, statistics show. Meanwhile, the derivatives stock market remained stable with an average of 236,867 contracts traded per session. The derivatives market recorded nearly VNĐ6 trillion worth of bonds traded per session. In his speech, the official said that in 2023, the stock market was managed and monitored constantly to ensure its safe, smooth, transparent, and disciplined operations. Việt Nam’s stock market also needs to approach international standards and narrow its development gap with the global market.

HÀ NỘI — The National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) will commence 34 electricity transmission projects and complete 63 others this year, its Chairman of the Member Council Nguyen Tuan Tung told a conference on Tuesday. According to the 2024 plan assigned by the Việt Nam Electricity (EVN), EVNNPT will focus on key projects to ensure electricity supply for the country's socioeconomic development throughout the year, including those on enhancing the capacity of the 500 kV north-central power transmission grid and serving renewable power plants as well as the purchase of electricity from Laos. Additionally, a detailed schedule for the operational progress of key projects will be established, along with plans to secure sufficient capital for projects until 2025, particularly for major and pressing ones. The Prime Minister has directed local authorities to focus on tackling obstacles in land clearance compensation for EVNNPT's key electricity grid projects. Tung emphasised that they are also responsible before the PM for any delays in the progress of handing over land for projects in the approved national power development master plan.

HÀ NỘI — King Long NOVA EURO 5 Bus, which comes in two versions, 29 seats and 34 seats, is assembled at its plant in the Hòa Khánh Industrial Zone in Đà Nẵng City. Safety and comfort on every journeyThe interior, always the key strength of King Long Bus design, has been highly rated by many customers. Additionally, the new King Long Bus has a wide aisle and a comparatively longer distance between each row of seats, creating more spaciousness and convenience for superior passenger comfort. Open for bookingsThe all-new King Long NOVA EURO 5 Bus is distributed through TC Motor Vietnam’s 10 dealers across Việt Nam. NOVA EURO 5 is expected to be delivered to customers from March 2024 at an estimated price of VNĐ1.9 billion, including VAT.

Located in North Carolina, New York, Texas, and Kansas, these dealerships will commence the sale of the VF 8 model, followed by the VF 6, VF 7, and VF 9 as soon as these models are introduced to the US market. All customers purchasing or leasing VinFast electric vehicles will benefit from a 10-year or 200,000km warranty for the vehicle, and a 10-year unlimited mileage warranty for the battery. VinFast plans to expand its distribution network for its electric vehicles to 125 sale points across the US. In addition to expanding the dealership network, VinFast is currently operating 13 retail stores and service centers in California./.

HÀ NỘI — Enhancing the quality of the workforce, promoting regional linkages, and developing science, technology, innovation and digital transformation are keys to Việt Nam's focus on improving labour productivity in the coming decades, according to the recently approved National Programme on Labour Productivity Enhancement by 2030. The Southeast Asian economy has set a target by 2030 for an average national labour productivity growth rate of over 6.5 per cent per year, with the labour productivity growth rates of key economic regions and five centrally governed cities expected to surpass the national average during the 2023-2030 period, striving to be among the top three countries in Southeast Asia in terms of labour productivity growth. To enhance Việt Nam's competitiveness, Lâm advised the Government to conduct regular reviews and evaluations of the National Labour Productivity Programme, in line with the global economic transformation. From this, solutions could be proposed to stabilise the macroeconomy, improve labour productivity, and promote rapid and sustainable growth. Each enterprise should formulate and implement a strategy to enhance labour productivity based on knowledge and technology.

Ha Long Bay was a favourite destination for tourists, welcoming 25,400 international tourists out of the 33,500 to the UNESCO-recognised heritage, the department said. Specifically, there will be over 1.55 million doses of BCG vaccine for Tuberculosis, 1 million doses of Hepatitis B vaccine, 4.98 million doses of oral Polio vaccine (OPV), 1.9 million doses of Measles vaccine; 1.7 million doses of Measles-Rubella vaccine; 1.4 million doses of Japanese Encephalitis vaccine; 1.53 million doses of combined Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus vaccine (DPT); 1.47 million doses of Tetanus vaccine and 1.37 million doses of Tetanus-Diphtheria (TD) vaccine. Airlines like Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways, and Vietravel Airlines offered over 5,300 flights, providing a total of 1.06 million seats. International tourists reached over 46,500, up 86.1 per cent. Specifically, more than 1.5 million doses of tuberculosis vaccine (BCG), one million doses of hepatitis B vaccine, nearly 5 million doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV), 1.9 million doses of measles vaccine, 1.7 million doses of measles-rubella vaccine, 1.4 million doses of Japanese encephalitis vaccine, more than 1.5 million doses of combined diphtheria - pertussis - tetanus (DPT) vaccine, nearly 1.5 million doses of tetanus vaccine, nearly 1.4 million doses of tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine and 549,164 doses of Rota vaccine to prevent acute diarrhea will be soon transported to localities across the country to inject children.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the HoSE increased 1.79 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 1,131.72 points. The size of stock market capitalisation reached nearly VNĐ6 trillion, an increase of more than 9 per cent year-on-year, equivalent to about 62 per cent of GDP in 2022. Liquidity rose from the last trading session, up 8.2 per cent to over VNĐ17.1 trillion (US$703.3 million). In the VN30 basket, 14 stocks inched higher, while 15 declined and one was flat. On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index settled lower on Tuesday, down 1.05 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 229.99 points.

The number of visitors to Hanoi on the New Year holiday from December 30, 2023 to January 1, 2024 is 402,000, up 65% year-on-year. According to the municipal Tourism Department, in the period, the capital city served 72,000 foreign tourists, a 2.1-fold increase, and 330,000 domestic holidaymakers, up 59% year-on-year. Representatives of the authorities of the province and the city on January 1 welcomed and presented flowers and lanterns, a symbol of Hoi An, to the first foreign visitors to the ancient city. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City welcomed 1.65 million visitors during the period, of which, about 46,500 are international ones, an increase of 86%. This year, Vietnam aims to welcome 17-18 million foreign visitors, the same number recorded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, and 110 million domestic ones./.

Vietnam targets 2 billion USD in tra fish exports in 2024 . - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)– Vietnam aims to produce 1.7 million tonnes of commercial tra fish and earn 2 billion USD from exporting the products in 2024, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.To that end, the fishery sector needs to be ready with plans to better respond to the increasingly competitive market, and stricter regulations and technical barriers of importing countries, Tien said.Although Vietnam's tra fish exports in 2023 faced difficulties and consumption demand from markets decreased, especially the European and Chinese markets, there will be many positive signs for the tra fish industry in 2024.Le Hang, Communications Director of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said despite a decrease in market share in certain markets, the export of tra fish is showing more positive signs in some markets such as China, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, and the UK.The tra fish export value reached an estimated 1.8 billion USD last year, down 27% compared to the figure of 2022, according to the General Department of Customs.However, there remains a great demand for Vietnamese tra fish in many markets in the coming time, especially for deeply-processed products, Hang said.The US has been among the top markets consuming the most Vietnamese tra fish products.The demand for tra fish products has also recorded a resurgence in the European Union (EU) market which is hoped to be a bright spot for Vietnam’s exports next year when it has a more stable economy than other key ones.As one of the traditional import markets for Vietnamese tra fish, China is expected to witness a high growth in tra fish imports in 2024. In recent years, this market has consistently ranked among the top three largest importers of tra fish products, following the US and Japan.VASEP said that the import demand for Vietnamese tra fish from China and Hong Kong (China) remained stable from June to November last year. China is showing its willingness to expand the import of aquatic products from Vietnam , including tra fish.The product also has an advantage in other markets such as Europe and Algeria. Recently, the Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria coordinated with the Carrefour supermarket system in the country to organise an activity to introduce and promote Vietnamese products, including coffee and tra fish fillets./.

At the sports hall of a school in Wakura Onsen city, Ishikawa, where Vietnamese workers seek shelter after the earthquake. (Photo: VNA)The Public Interest Foundation International Manpower Development Organization ( IM Japan ) has affirmed the safety of all Vietnamese interns under its management who are working in Toyama, Fukui and Ishikawa prefectures that were hit by the massive earthquake on January 1.The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan also stated that as of 5pm January 2 (Japan time) there had been no report on any Vietnamese casualties in the 7.6-magnitude earthquake, adding that all groups of Vietnamese connected by the embassy had confirmed their safety and most of them had returned home after spending a night at shelters.According to Phan Tien Hoang, First Secretary and head of the labour management board of the embassy, on the evening of January 1, the board provided evacuation addresses for Vietnamese nationals living in Niigata, Ishikawa and Toyama. All Vietnamese living near the quake's epicenter were safely relocated to shelters where they were provided with necessary supplies, he said, adding that most of them returned home on the next day's morning. However, due to aftershocks in the afternoon, triggering tsunami alerts, authorities in some places have urged residents to return to evacuation centres.The labour management board said it has been keeping contact with labour unions and employers hiring Vietnamese to confirm the group's safety and provide assistance for them when needed.The embassy, meanwhile, emphasised that it is maintaining close contact with local authorities, relevant agencies, and representatives of Vietnamese communities in severely affected areas, ready to carry out citizen protection work if necessary./.

During the last trading week of 2023, the VN-Index displayed a series of recovery sessions, surpassing its previous peak of 1,130 points. At that point, the VN-Index is expected to test the range of 1,123-1,125 points. Throughout 2024, KBSV identifies four key factors that will shape Việt Nam's stock market trend. This shift is viewed as a positive supporting factor for the global stock market, including the Vietnamese stock market. However, the risk of the US economy slipping into a recession remains notable and could exert significant pressure on the global stock market under severe scenarios.

Võ Trí Thành*Việt Nam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate was estimated to reach 5.05 per cent in 2023, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has announced. In 2023, economic growth momentum has moderated significantly in the first three quarters, reflecting the impact of weakening growth in industrial production, especially manufacturing, and exports. In its report on World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast the country’s GDP growth rate in 2023 at only 4.7 per cent. The country’s 2023 GDP growth rate is also higher than the World Bank’s forecast of growth in developing East Asia and Pacific at 5 per cent in its East Asia and the Pacific Economic Update October 2023. As calculated, if even GDP in 2023 was 6 per cent, the growth rate of GDP in 2024-25 would have to be 8 per cent so that the average growth rate of the five-year period would reach 6.5 per cent.

It becomes vital for Việt Nam to reform investment incentives in the context of a rapidly changing and complicated world, the ministry said. The three most important factors affecting the decision to choose a location for an investment are security, political stability, investment incentives and policy predictability. The MPI raises seven proposals to reform investment incentives. Seventh, it is necessary for Việt Nam to improve the investment environment and simplify administrative procedures. The ministry recently made public a draft decree on an investment support fund as a solution to attract strategic investment when GMT is adopted.