Vietnam wins 6 golds at Southeast Asia Junior Athletics ChampionshipsYoung Vietnamese athletes had a successful competition day on April 3, the first day of the Southeast Asian Junior Athletics Championships which is taking place at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. On that day, Vietnamese athletes bagged six gold, seven silver and three bronze medals. Six gold medals went to Le Tien Long in the 3000m run event, Duong Thi Hoa in the 100m run event, Ngo Thi Khanh Ny in the 800m run event, Bui Thi Nguyen in the 100 m hurdles, Hoang Thi Giang in the long jump event and Doan Thu Hang in the 3000m run event. Many athletes born in 2001, 2002 and 2003 from 10 Southeast Asian countries are competing at 19 men’s events and 19 women’s events. Vietnam sent 32 athletes to compete in running, high jump, long jump, shot-put and javelin throwing.

Government News 4/4Vietnam attends NAM senior official meetingThe Vietnamese delegation joined other member countries at a meeting of Senior Officials of the Non-Aligned Movement, which kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan on April 3. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives German AmbassadorPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives German Ambassador to Vietnam Christian BergerVietnam treasures ties with Germany and wishes for the further development of bilateral cooperation, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has told German Ambassador to Vietnam Christian Berger. Ambassador Berger, for his part, thanked Vietnamese ministries and sectors for their cooperation to promote the two countries’ relations. Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung said Vietnam attached importance to the ASEAN – US strategic partnership. A free trade agreement between Vietnam and four members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – will be signed soon.

Vietnam’s coffee exports rake in $1 billion in Q1Vietnam exported up to 520,000 tonnes of coffee worth 1 billion USD in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 15.1 percent in volume but a decrease of 1.7 percent in value compared to the same period last year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Germany, the US, Indonesia, Italy and Japan were among the country’s key export markets. Germany accounted for more than 14 percent of exports though its purchases fell by 18 percent year-on-year. In the last quarter of 2017, 400,000 tonnes of coffee had been exported, meaning only another 600,000 tonnes have to be exported to meet the target. The country’s coffee industry has carried out a restructuring programme to improve its competitiveness by improving productivity, quality and value.

HNX to host six share auctions in AprilThe Hanoi Stock Exchange said that it will organise six auctions in April to offload shares of Kim Lien Tourism JSC, Song Hong Energy JSC, Lung Lo 3 Co., Ltd, Vietnam Television Cable Corporation one member Co., Ltd, Van Tuong Investment Structure one member Co., Ltd and Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank. Over 85 million shares were put up for sale in the month, doubling the amount in February. Investors registered to buy around 114.75 million shares, 1.35 times higher than the volume of shares offered. They particularly showed their interests in Hapro shares and Thong Nhat Electromechanical JSC shares when the amount of ordered stocks was much higher than the quantity offered. The IPO of Hapro saw 100 percent of the shares sold out, earning the state over 980 billion VND (43.12 million USD).-VNA

State ownership in Vietnam Airlines to reduce to 51 pct in 2019The Ministry of Transport has asked the representative of State stake in Vietnam Airlines to draft plans to reduce State ownership to 51 percent of the national flag carrier’s charter capital in 2019. Vietnam Airlines aircraftThe ministry said these plans should be based on the corporation’s business and development investment strategies as well as the stock market situation and capital demands. The plans must contain implementation methods and progress, and assessments of interests of the State and the enterprise. Earlier, in late November 2017, the representative of State-owned capital at Vietnam Airlines submitted a State capital divestment plan for 2017-2020 to the transport ministry . Vietnam Airlines has charter capital of nearly 12.28 trillion VND, of which the State holds 1.057 billion shares, equivalent to 86 percent of the charter capital.

Quang Ninh licences Thai-invested $1.6 billion projectAmata VN Public Company Limited, a subsidiary of Thailand-based Amata Corporation PCL, has been licenced to develop the first phase of a 1.6 billion-USD industrial and urban project in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh. Amata has been in Vietnam for more than 23 years, with its first industrial city project, Amata City Bien Hoa, spread over an area of 700ha in the south-eastern province of Dong Nai. Amata City Bien Hoa houses 165 companies from 21 countries and territories, who have invested a total of more than 2.7 billion USD and created 49,000 jobs. A 1,270ha industrial city is under construction in Dong Nai’s Long Thanh district. Long Thanh Industrial City will earmark 33 percent of its space for a hi-tech industrial park with the rest being an urban development.-VNA

Legal threat to landlords who fail fire safetyInvestors of apartment buildings in Hanoi who fail or defer to follow regulations on fire prevention would face legal proceedings, a municipal People’s Committee meeting heard yesterday. Investors of apartment buildings in Hanoi who fail or defer to follow regulations on fire prevention would face legal proceedings, a municipal People’s Committee meeting heard yesterday. — Photo plo.vnDeputy chairman of the city’s People’s Committee Nguyen Van Suu said 14 out of 29 apartment buildings which failed tests and control requirements must solve the problems by the end of the month. And if they don’t, he warned that the People’s Committee would consider legal proceedings to prosecute investors. Some 526 cases, or 64 per cent of the total fires in Hanoi last year were caused by electrical faults, while negligence triggered another 176 cases.

Moody’s: Vietnam’s real GDP growth to reach 6.7 percent in 2018Moody’s Investors Service said that Vietnam’s real GDP growth will remain robust, averaging 6.7 percent in 2018, in its annual credit analysis released on April 3. Moody's predicts Vietnam’s real GDP growth to reach 6.7 percent in 2018According to Moody’s, the country’s (B1 positive) credit profile reflects the economy’s robust growth trends, which are spurred in turn by its increasing competitiveness and a rapid economic transition away from traditional sectors such as agriculture into manufacturing, and further up the value-added scale within these sectors. Moody's credit analysis, titled "Government of Vietnam -- B1 positive", rated Vietnam’s economic strength as "high (-)", institutional strength "low ( )"; fiscal strength "moderate (-)"; and susceptibility to event risk "high (-)". It said Vietnam’s 2018 growth, nearly twice as high as the average for B-rated sovereigns of 3.6 percent, is supported by domestic consumption and by strong investment growth on the back of public sector infrastructure development spending. It points out that while rapid credit growth presents risks to the banking system, it could also represent a degree of financial deepening.

AVG makes partial MobiFone payment after ending agreementAudio Visual Global (AVG) has paid VND2.5 trillion (US$109.5 million) to MobiFone, a State-owned business under management of the Ministry of Information and Communications, after the two sides cancelled the mutual share transfer agreement on March 12. The MobiFone’s acquisition of AVG ended after it was found irresponsible and broke regulations in the acquisition. — Photo VnEconomyThis amount is part of the total VND8.89 trillion MobiFone paid to acquire AVG. The meeting agreed in principle that AVG shareholders and MobiFone had terminated the contract, MobiFone would return the entire AVG stake to the group of shareholders and shareholders would refund the full amount MobiFone had paid, in addition to interest and related expenses. The agreement was reached after the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat asked the Government to quickly release the inspection results of the acquisition by communications giant MobiFone.

Vietnam keen on bolstering all-round partnership with Switzerland: PMPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has affirmed that Vietnam is keen on fostering the friendship with Switzerland and hopes the two countries will continue bolstering cooperation in all fields, especially trade and investment. She said that many Swiss firms are accompanying her in this visit to seek investment and business opportunities, especially in pharmaceuticals, a strong sector of Switzerland. She also had working sessions with the Vietnamese side on environment, climate change, and biodiversity to explore cooperation potential. Along with a direct air route between Vietnam and Switzerland this year, the deal will bring about big chances to promote investment, trade and tourism partnership between the two sides, he stressed. The Government leader proposed that Switzerland should share experience with Vietnam and support the country in building a high-quality education system and combining science-technology research-training.

India helps translate ancient inscriptions in My Son SanctuaryThe Sanskrit inscriptions on steles at the UNESCO world heritage My Son Sanctuary in central Quang Nam province will be translated into Vietnamese and English as part of a joint project between Vietnam and India. UNESCO world heritage My Son Sanctuary in central Quang Nam province. Under the project, which started on April 3, specialists from India will study the steles and help Vietnam translate the epitaphs from Sanskrit, the ancient liturgical language of Hinduism, to Vietnamese and English. The complex has Sanskrit epitaphs engraved on 31 steles made of brick and stone, the main materials used in building My Son Sanctuary, said Nguyen Cong Khiet, deputy head of the sanctuary’s management committee. The first construction of My Son dated back to the 4th century under the reign of Bhadravarman for the worship of God Shiva-Bhadresvara.

Vietnamese food an attractive tourism productThe culinary festival “Essence of Vietnamese food” will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from April 6-8, introducing special dishes from across the nation, as part of activities to develop food tourism. According to Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association (VTA) Vu The Binh, the tourism sector is developing numerous unique products to lure visitors, with food a product featuring Vietnam’s cultural identity. Many Vietnamese dishes have become popular worldwide, showing that Vietnamese food can become a distinguished tourism product, Binh said. The VICA will develop standards and norms for Vietnamese dishes, and criteria for ranking Vietnamese chefs, according to Tinh. The second Global Report on Food Tourism showed that 87 percent of surveyed organisations identify food tourism among their key factors for tourism development, while 82 percent said food tourism is a significant motivation for tourism development and local economic development.

Vietnam to cut corporate tax to 15-17% in bid to boost business climateVietnam is planning to slash corporate income tax rates from the current 20-22% to 15-17% in an effort to make the country one of the most competitive economies in ASEAN, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has revealed. The Government leader announced the plans in a speech at the GMS Business Summit held in Hanoi last week. He reiterated Vietnam’s commitment to an action-oriented government working in the interest of the people and businesses, for which tax reform is one of the crucial undertakings in its efforts to enhance the country’s competitiveness. He also affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to protect intellectual property rights and innovative ideas during the start-up process. Prime Minister Phuc stated that these improvements have boosted the confidence of investors and businesses in the Government’s reform efforts and inspired the Government to continue its reform programme.

Foreigners keen on investing in VietnamA total of 1,285 deals were made by foreign investors to contribute capital to and buy shares of Vietnamese businesses with total capital of 1.89 billion USD in the first quarter of this year, up 121.6 percent against the same period last year. In total, Vietnam attracted 5.8 billion USD in foreign investment during January-March, down 25 percent year-on-year. The retail and wholesale sectors received the second largest chunk of FDI with 531 million USD or 9.2 percent, followed by the real estate sector with 486 million USD or 8.4 percent. Businesses from Hong Kong registered to pour 689 million into Vietnam, making up 11.9 percent of the country’s total FDI, while those from Singapore injected 649 million USD, 11.2 percent of total FDI. To fully capitalise on the FDI capital, the MoPI is drafting a FDI strategy for 2018-2023.

Foreign firms upbeat about business prospects in VietnamBusiness confidence has increased among foreign direct investment (FDI) companies in Vietnam, according to a survey conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). In addition, initial investment certificates were issued to FDI companies within 37 working days in 2017, as compared to 47 working days in the previous year. Procedures for tax code registration and adjustment of investment registration certificates have been simplified as well, according to the survey. However, Malesky said that Vietnam should make more efforts to streamline administrative procedures for foreign investors. Improvement in labour productivity and human resources will be among key factors for Vietnam to escape middle-income trap and capitalize on foreign investments, he added.-VNA