Weekly News Bulletin - No. 01, August 2023

Tourism enterprises are pinning high hopes on the recovery of Vietnam's tourism thanks to new visa policies which will take effect on August 15.

Tourism enterprises and international travelers are awaiting official guidelines on the new visa policies. In late June, Vietnam approved amendments to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners, including extending the validity of visitor e-visas for foreigners entering Vietnam from one month to three months. Furthermore, foreign visitors hailing from countries and regions eligible for Vietnam’s unilateral visa waiver program would be able to enjoy an extended maximum stay of 45 days, surpassing the current limit of 15 days.

The World Bank forecasts that Vietnam’s economy will grow 4.7% in 2023, and accelerate to 5.5% in 2024 and 6.0% in 2025. The bank made the prediction in its latest economic update entitled “Making Public Investment Work for Growth” released on August 10.  The CPI is expected to increase slightly from an average of 3.1% in 2022 to an average of 3.5% in 2023. The deflationary impact of slowing growth and the policy of reducing value-added tax rates from 10% to 8% deployed in the second half of 2023 is enough to offset the 20.8% increase in civil servants salaries. CPI inflation will be stabilised at 3% in 2024 and 2025 on the basis of the expectation that energy and commodity prices will be stable in 2024.

Last week highlight

About 91% of German companies are planning to expand their investment in Vietnam, according to a survey conducted by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce (AHK) in Vietnam. As of July 20, newly-registered capital, additional investment, capital contribution and share purchase by German investors in Vietnam amounted to nearly USD 197 million, with 21 new projects, mainly in the construction and building material sector.

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Let’s look at some other key financial and business headlines during the past week

  1. Big data to help collect tax from foreign service providers
  2. Vietnam’s economy to see stronger growth in next two years: WB
  3. Restoring the growth of the textile and garment industry
  4. Vietnams eyes sustainable development of coastal cities
  5. Vietnam ranked among the top five countries with the world's top e-commerce growth
  6. Chinese company to invest $400mln in Bac Ninh plant
  7. Vietnam tourism recovery looks promising given new visa policies
  8. SMEs advised to harness cross-border e-commerce opportunities from FTAs

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Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy

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