Weekly News Bulletin - No. 03, December 2022
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called on Belgian businesses to invest more in Vietnam as a politically stable country where win-win partnerships can be formed. Vietnam and Belgium’s economies complement each other, Chinh told the Belgium Business Forum in Brussels on Thursday afternoon.
Vietnam is Belgium’s biggest trade partner in ASEAN. The two countries recorded a trade turnover of USD4 billion in the first 10 months of 2022. Vietnam is now focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, responding to climate change, and developing both hard and soft infrastructure, all of which will help ensure mutual profits of Belgian investors and local partners, according to PM Chinh.
Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed an MoU to create a prerequisite for the bank to help with the Vietnamese group’s sustainable development and energy transition.
EVN Chairman Duong Quang Thanh and EIB Vice President Kris Peeters inked the MoU in Luxembourg on December 10 in the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who was visiting the country. The MoU is expected to open up the opportunity for the European bank to directly fund power projects in Vietnam and enhance partnerships in electricity production, transmission, distribution, and retail, as well as in energy transition.
Last week highlight
General Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) and Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) signed a customs administrative cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese Finance Ministry and OLAF in Brussels on December 14.
The signing took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit marking the 45th anniversary of their relationship. Under the agreement, the two sides will share intelligence information and assist in the verification and investigation of those involved in the smuggling of tobacco, counterfeit goods and fraud of origin and customs value, transfer pricing, and other critical issues.
Let’s look at some other key financial and business headlines during the past week
- General Department of Taxation launches e-commerce information portal
- Tax revenue grows 8.5 per cent year-on-year
- Vietnam collects USD146M in taxes from online platforms such as Facebook, Google
- Public investment engine of growth for 2023: Experts
- PM invites Belgians to up Vietnam business investment
- IMF says global debt well above pre-pandemic levels despite steep 2021 drop
- EVN, European Investment Bank sign MoU on energy development
- Interest rate for social housing loans to be raised to 5% in 2023
- Prime Minister chairs fifth Vietnam Economic Forum
- Vietnam economy faces headwinds next year: PM
---
Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy
Contact
