lowyinstitute.org – MICHAEL NGUYEN – Published 16 Dec 2019 14:00
As chair of ASEAN and with a seat on the UN Security Council, Hanoi has a chance to turn regional attention its way.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s raising of the ASEAN gavel last month signalled not only Vietnam’s commencement as chair of the regional grouping, but also the start of a critically definitive period for its foreign policy in the South China Sea.
(Dec 16, 2019 05:06PM ET)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday it had issued a final order imposing duties of up to 456% on certain steel products from South Korea or Taiwan that are shipped to Vietnam for minor processing and then exported to the United States.
The agency said in a statement that it had found corrosion-resistant steel products and cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using substrate of South Korean or Taiwanese origin had circumvented U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung urged ministries, agencies and 28 coastal localities to make more drastic efforts to terminate violations of Vietnamese fishing boats in international waters within the next six months.
Dung stressed the point while chairing a meeting of the National Steering Committee on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on Tuesday.
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AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Huizhou city has turned a “ghost town” after Samsung closed its last smartphone factory in China.
Huizhou city on the north of China’s flourishing Pearl River Delta has turned into a ghost town after Samsung closed its three-decade old factory and shifted operations to Vietnam and India in October, in the first visible fallout of the ongoing trade war between China and the US. India Times reports.
By Anh Minh December 10, 2019 | 01:59 pm GMT+7 VnExpress
Vietnamese textile manufacturers are seeing orders decline with buyers moving to others, cheaper developing countries.
Normally, by the end of a year they would have enough orders for the whole of the following year, Nguyen Van Thoi, chairman of TNG Investment and Trading JSC, which makes garments, said.
But this year many businesses have said they do not have enough orders for 2020, with some reporting a 20 percent drop in orders from last year. Besides, many have not signed long-term contracts for products, only monthly or quarterly, he said.
By Minh Nga December 10, 2019 | 07:48 am GMT+7 VNExpress
Vietnam is one of six countries most affected by climate change between 1999 and 2018, according to survey results released this week.
The Global Climate Risk Index, published by the German environmental think tank Germanwatch, ranked Vietnam sixth among countries hit hardest by extreme weather events in that period, with its Climate Risk Index (CRI) at 29.83.
The Hanoitimes – Vietnam’s trade turnover reached US$473.73 billion in the January – November period, of which its exports amounted to US241.42 billion, up 7.8% year-on-year, and imports totaled US$232.31 billion, up 7.4%.
Vietnam reported an estimated trade surplus of US$100 million in November, resulting in a trade surplus of US$9.1 billion in the first eleven months of this year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has said in a monthly report.
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| Data: GSO. Chart: Ngoc Thuy. |
Project Syndicate | 26 November 2019
How World Bank arbitrators mugged Pakistan
Thanks to the World Bank’s flawed and corrupt investment arbitration process, the rich are making a fortune at the expense of poor countries. The latest shakedown is a $5.9 billion award against Pakistan’s government in favor of two global mining companies for an illegal project that was never approved or carried out.
NEW YORK – Wall Street hedge funds and lawyers have turned an arcane procedure of international treaties into a money machine, at the cost of the world’s poorest people. The latest shakedown is a $5.9 billion award against Pakistan’s government in favor of two global mining companies – Antofagasta PLC of Chile and Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada – for a project that was never approved by Pakistan and never carried out.
Forbes Nov 29, 2019, 03:00am – Ralph Jennings
Vietnam’s civil aviation authority estimates air passenger traffic will reach 131 million by 2020 following average growth of 16% last year and this year. By 2030, the authority expects 280 million civilian air trips per year.
November, 22/2019 – 07:53 VNS
CÀ MAU — Cà Mau Province authorities has asked the Government for more than VNĐ622 billion (US$27 million) to finance 12 projects for relocating people from areas eroded by the sea and rivers.
At a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình on Tuesday, they also sought VNĐ648 billion in emergency assistance to strengthen and upgrade the 23.5km sea dyke section between the Đốc River and Cái Đôi Vàm Town.
Update: November, 28/2019 – 08:36
How do you see the private sector developing?
In Việt Nam, there are three main types of enterprises: private enterprises, State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and enterprises with foreign direct investment (FDI). Private enterprises, especially the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have fewer opportunities to receive incentives in tax, land and other factors.
NOV 26, 2019 / 15:49 Ngoc Thuy
The Hanoitimes – The total investment capital of the project is estimated at VND100 trillion (US$4.3 billion).
The Chinese government has provided non-refundable aid for Vietnam worth over VND32 billion (US$1.37 million) to conduct a survey and a master plan for the Lao Cai – Hai Phong – Hanoi railway project connecting with China, according to the Ministry of Transport (MoT).
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The financial support was a result of high level talks between the two countries in 2015, stated the MoT in a statement.
Hai Yen
The Hanoitimes – The neighboring country remained Vietnam’s leading supplier of steel over the last three years, with the quantity and value growing at two-digit growth rates annually.
Despite tighter trade protection measures against trade fraud activities, Vietnam imported 12.24 million tons of steel worth over US$8.1 billion in the first ten months of 2019, up 7% year-on-year in quantity and down 3.1% in value, in which China continues to be Vietnam’s largest steel exporter representing around 37% of Vietnam’s total steel imports, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).
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Update: November, 23/2019 – 08:22 VNS
Đọt Chuối Non 