Weekly News Bulletin - No. 03, April 2023

The fund also forecast that Vietnam’s GDP growth will rebound to 6.9% in 2024, the highest in Southeast Asia, and its public debt will fall to 31.3% of the national GDP in 2028 from the record 47.5% in 2016. The debt-to-GDP ratio in 2028 will be the lowest within two decades. In terms of inflation, the lender said it will reach 5% and 3% in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

The EBI 2023 report, released by the Vietnam E-Commerce Association (VECOM) on April 18, was based on three sub-indexes – information technology human resources and infrastructure, business-to-consumer e-commerce, and business-to-business e-commerce.

With 85.7 points, Hanoi stands second in the Vietnam E-Business Index (EBI) 2023 ranking. HCM City, scoring 89.2 points, continues to top the rankings this year. The central city of Da Nang ranks third with 39.5 points. The EBI 2023 averages 19.24 points, compared to 20.37 points last year. This indicates a big gap between Hanoi and HCM City, the two biggest economic hubs of Vietnam, and the remaining localities, according to the report.

Last week highlight

The government has approved a plan to reduce the value-added tax (VAT) from the current 10% to 8% by the end of 2023. In 2022, the government implemented a VAT reduction of 8% to help businesses recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Finance believes that the continuation of this policy in the current year is necessary to stimulate consumption demand, promote production and business recovery, and contribute to the budget. In addition, the ministry also proposed to lower 35 fees in the second half of the year, equivalent to a reduction of VND 700 billion (USD 29.7 million) in revenue, to support businesses and individuals.

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

1. Vietnam gov’t announces annual 7% GDP growth target by 2030
2. Vietnam’s green economy expected to reach 300 billion USD by 2050
3. Vietnamese firms attend IT, industrial expo in Germany
4. Vietnam’s GDP growth forecast to rank second in ASEAN
5. HCMC ranks 9th globally in millionaire growth rate
6. PM pledges support if global minimum tax applied
7. Ministry proposes allowing foreigners to buy, own houses in Vietnam
8. Taiwan's Apple supplier Quanta plans Vietnam factory
9. Vietnamese companies benefit from Dutch export support program
10. Hanoi ranks second in Vietnam E-Business Index 2023

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Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy