Weekly News Bulletin - No. 02, March 2023
The 2022 annual report of foreign investment in Vietnam was announced at a ceremony in Hanoi on March 10. The report is authored by the Vietnam’s Association of Foreign-Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), with reference to many prestigious international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
In order to effectively implement FDI attraction orientations, the report said that Vietnam needs to improve its policies to attract and use FDI with a focus on green growth, digital transformation and supply chain connectivity of domestic and foreign-invested enterprises. As of February 2023, Vietnam had attracted nearly 440 billion USD from 141 countries and territories.
Ho Chi Minh City has cut short the procedures for issuing work permits for foreigners and digitalised the application process to make it easy for enterprises to get work permits for their foreign staff. According to the Vice Director of the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the department has recently reduced the administrative procedure for issuance of work permits from 10 to 7 working days and the renewal of work permits from three to one working day.
Last week highlight
Vietnam’s retail market has seen positive signs of recovery, especially domestic demand, after COVID-19. According to the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARs), growth momentum for 2023 was based on economic bright spots like Ho Chi Minh City’s retail turnover in 2022 of VND626 trillion (roundly USD26.5 billion), up 21% year on year. The total retail sales of consumer goods and services in Ho Chi Minh City in January 2023 increased by 5.7% compared to the same period last year. The growth of retail sales has contributed greatly to rental capacity in the southern hub.
Let’s look at some other key financial and business headlines during the past week
- Vietnamese mechanical products enter US, Japanese, European supply chains
- Annual report on foreign investment for 2022 released in Vietnam
- Vietnam, US see huge potential for stronger cooperation
- Vietnam, RoK target 100 billion USD in two-way trade in 2023
- Japan becomes largest ODA donor for Vietnam
- High-level seminar explores new possibilities for Vietnam-Japan relations
- China's reopening good news for Vietnamese exporters
- Foxconn to further expand production capacity in Vietnam: media
- HCM City removes hindrances to work permit issuance for foreigners
- Asian markets tumble as bank worries spread from Wall Street
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Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy
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