Weekly News Bulletin - No. 01, October 2022

Vietnam ranked 63rd out of 113 economies in digital environment and support system for entrepreneurs, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The ADB index measures the quality of the environment for digital entrepreneurs by looking at the level of digitalization in eight areas: culture, institutions, market conditions, infrastructure, human capital, knowledge, finance, and networking.

Singapore has the world’s best digital environment and support system for entrepreneurs, according to the Global Index of Digital Entrepreneurship Systems, released on Sept. 21 as part of the Asian Development Outlook 2022 Update. The U.S. ranks second, Sweden third, Thailand 59th, Vietnam 63rd, Indonesia 71st, India 75th, and the Philippines, 79th. Up to 17 of 21 developing Asian economies are ranked toward the bottom, underscoring the need for many to nurture digital entrepreneurship, the ADB said, noting that digitalization offers big growth opportunities for businesses in Asia and the Pacific.

The fast-growing e-commerce sector is making big money, but its tax payments are not commensurate with its revenues, exposing the need for a better tax policy to prevent losses, according to insiders. Nguyễn Thị Lan Anh, Director of the Tax Administration Department for Small and Medium Enterprises, Business Households and Individuals, said the Ministry of Finance has launched a digital tax portal for foreign service providers (FSP) and an eTax Mobile app for individuals to facilitate tax collection. Over 90 per cent of internet users in Việt Nam engage in online shopping, turning e-commerce into a money spinner. Tax payments in e-commerce fall under the scope of Decree 85, which has been issued to add regulations to online trade and ensure traditional commerce and e-commerce be equally regulated.

Last week highlight

The General Statistics Office announced on September 29 that in the period, the country’s import-export value hit 558.5 billion USD, up 15.1% year-on-year. Of the total, the export turnover topped 282 billion USD, while imports reached 276 billion USD, up 17.3% and 13% year-on-year, respectively. In the reviewed period, 32 commodities reported their export value of more than 1 billion USD each, with that of six surpassing the 10 billion USD mark. In the period, Vietnam saw a trade surplus of 24.3 billion USD with the European Union, up 48.2% YoY.

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