Weekly News Bulletin - No. 04, July 2023

Vietnam and Israel have signed a free trade agreement to promote bilateral trade to USD 3 billion, remove duties on most products, and facilitate cooperation in other fields including services, investment, technology, and digital transformation.

Under the agreement, import taxes will be reduced in steps, with Israel ultimately removing duties on 85.8 percent of Vietnamese products while Vietnam will do the same for 92.7 percent of Israeli goods.

Vietnam attracted approximately USD 16.24 billion in the first seven months of this year, up 4.5% year-on-year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

In the period, there were 1,293 newly-registered projects with a combined capital of USD 7.94 billion, up 75.5% in the number of projects and 38.6% in capital compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, USD 2.93 billion was added to 736 existing projects. The manufacturing and processing sector led in FDI attraction, with USD 10.93 billion. It was followed by real estate (USD 1.61 billion).

Last week highlight

The Italian Parliament has ratified the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), paving the way for increased Italian investment in Vietnam. The EVIPA ensures the safety of investors' assets and capital by guaranteeing fair treatment, free transfer of capital, and no unjust expropriation or nationalization without adequate compensation. In 2020, the European Parliament and the National Assembly of Vietnam approved the EVIPA, and it now awaits ratification by the parliaments of each EU country. Ten out of the 27 EU countries have ratified the EVIPA.

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

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Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy