Weekly News Bulletin - No. 03, September 2022

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is drafting a proposal to reduce fees by 20 to 50% for four transport types to help the sector recover. Specifically, the MoF proposed reducing tonnage fees for ships and boats involved in domestic maritime activities, maritime security fees and fees for entering and leaving seaports by 20% each. For airlines, it proposed a 20% reduction in the charge for assessment and issuance of certificates, permits and certificates in civil aviation activities.

The cost to issue permits to enter and exit restricted areas at airports and airfields would also be cut by 20%. It also asked for a 50% reduction in the fee for using railway infrastructure and a 50% cut on inland waterway reporting fees and 50% on inland waterway port entry and exit fees. The MoF said the reduction period for the above will last for three months from October until the end of December 2022.

The MOF has also proposed a reduction of the most favoured nation (MFN) tariff on a number of petrol products widely used in industrial production from 20% to 10% in an attempt to bring down the economy's input cost. In addition, the ministry said it will consider lowering the current tax on ethanol from 15% to 10% for some ethanol products. This is followed by an occasion that the US Grains Council has recently filed a demand for Vietnam to bring down tariffs on US ethanol from 15% to 5-10%. Vietnam encourages the use of ethanol in making biofuel and the use of biofuel as they are considered to be more environmentally friendly compared to fossil fuels. In light of rising global prices, the country also aimed at greater imports of ethanol to help ease supply shortfalls, stressed the MOF.

Last week highlight

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a hybrid meeting with foreign-invested enterprises and business associations on September 17, during which he pledged to create favourable conditions for FDI enterprises to invest successfully and sustainably in Vietnam. Accordingly, Vietnam prioritizes attracting projects in the fields of high technology, innovation, research and development; facilitating Vietnamese enterprises’ participation in the value chain; promoting digital, green and circular economies towards sustainable development, PM Chinh affirmed.

Vietnam is committed to creating the best business environment in line with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines), focusing on maintaining socio-political and macroeconomic stability; removing bottlenecks of the economy in terms of legal institution, infrastructure and human resources; developing supply chains and reducing transaction costs; building stable and highly predictable policies among others.

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