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| A stretch of Ho Chi Minh Road in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai (Photo: VNA) |
A project worth over 3.9 trillion VND (159.8 million USD) on building the two sections of Ho Chi Minh Road in the Mekong Delta provinces of Kien Giang and Bac Lieu has been approved by the Ministry of Transport, said the Vietnam News Agency.
The Rach Soi - Ben Nhat section, over 11km long, will start in Chau Thanh district and end in Giong Rieng district of Kien Giang province. Meanwhile, the Go Quao - Vinh Thuan section runs for nearly 41km, from Go Quao district to Vinh Thuan district of Kien Giang.
Of the total length of nearly 52km, about 6.6km will traverse the neighbouring province of Bac Lieu, according to the ministry’s report.
When completed, the four-lane stretches will have a designed speed of 80km per hour.
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| Construction of two sections of Ho Chi Minh road approved (Photo: vneconomy.vn) |
The project investment is more than 3.9 trillion VND sourced from the state budget.
The construction of the two sections of Ho Chi Minh Road, an artery from the north to the south of Vietnam, is expected to help complete the transport network, improve the transportation capacity, and reduce traffic accidents in Kien Giang and Bac Lieu provinces.
Vietnam's exports via e-commerce on the rise
Vietnam has enjoyed an increase in exports via e-commerce in recent years, with many micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are in a prime position to reap significant benefits from the rapid growth of the e-commerce sector, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
According to British technology advisory firm Access Partnership, business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce exports in Vietnam was valued at 3.5 billion USD, accounting for 1% of the total export revenue in 2022.
If the MSMEs accelerate their adoption of e-commerce for exporting products and services, Vietnam’s e-commerce export revenues could rise to 5.5 billion USD by 2027 with an annual growth rate of 7%, it said.
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| Vietnam has enjoyed an increase in exports via e-commerce in recent years. (Photo: vneconomy.vn) |
Vietnamese enterprises have earned big from Amazon Global Selling, which set up a dedicated team in Vietnam in 2019. The business support programme has accessed more than 300 million consumers on Amazon from more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
A report on the programe in 2022 showed that some 10 million made-in-Vietnam products were sold to Amazon customers. Meanwhile, the number of Vietnamese trade partners on Amazon shot up more than 80%.
Amazon Global Selling expects Vietnam’s exports via Amazon platform will hit a record high in 2023.
Deputy Director of the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency Lai Viet Anh said that Vietnamese firms are making good adaptation to the cross-border e-commerce trend, helping their products reach out to more markets.
Many market analysts have pointed out that Vietnam’s e-commerce export revenue will top 10 billion USD in the next four years, she said, adding in a bid to deliver on the target, Vietnamese firms should overcome four main barriers, namely import markets’ regulations, competitive edge, marketing or logistics costs, and market information.
According to Amazon Global Selling, more Vietnamese products have been put up for sale on Amazon, from dried food, beverages, medicines to garments and textiles and handicrafts.
Last year, household appliances, garment and textile, healthcare products, and convenience goods from Vietnamese brands won the favour of international online shoppers, it said.
Experts said e-commerce will open up export opportunities for many other products, which are of Vietnam’s strengths, suggesting exporters carry out various promotional programmes such as special discounts, free shipping for orders with high value, while evolving products to make them better meet the taste of consumers.
Vietnam’s sports delegation brings home 27 medals from ASIAD 19
The last members of the Vietnamese sports delegation arrived at Noi Bai International Airport on October 9, wrapping up their 19th Asian Games (ASIAD) journey with a total of 27 medals, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
They brought home three golds, five silvers and 19 bronzes after days of intense, glory-filled competition, completing the set target of winning from two to five golds.
With the result, Vietnam ranked 21st out of 45 countries and territories in the medal tally.
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| The karate team at Noi Bai International Airport (Photo: VNA) |
According to Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Dang Ha Viet, head of the Vietnamese delegation, Vietnamese athletes engaged in the games with immense national pride, solidarity, strict discipline, obedience to the games’ regulations, as well as respect for the laws, practices and traditional culture of the host nation.
The competition provides an opportunity for the Vietnamese delegation to identify the athletes’ strengths and weaknesses so as to have rational plans for further improvements in the upcoming sport events such as ASIAD and Olympic, he stressed.
He highlighted that the Vietnamese members had worked to promote the images of a friendly and hospitable Vietnam among international friends, helping enhance solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the country and others in the region.
Vietnam sent 337 athletes to compete in 31 out of 40 sports at ASIAD 19, which took place in China's Hangzhou city from September 23 to October 8.
Shooting, sepak takraw and karate teams secured gold medals; and taewondo, chess, sepak takraw, gymnastics and karate brought home silver. Meanwhile, rowing, wushu, taekwondo, swimming, karate, chess, boxing, kurash, jiu-jitsu, shooting, and sepak takraw won bronze.
Over 100 Singaporean firms to explore investment opportunities in Nam Dinh
A Singaporean delegation made up of more than 100 firms is anticipated to arrive in the locality to seek business opportunities in the northern province of Nam Dinh, Radio the Voice of Vietnam quoted the sayings of Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam.
The Singaporean diplomat was speaking at a working session with representatives of Nam Dinh’s authorities during a working trip on October 10.
He hailed the locality’s modern infrastructure facililties as an important factor in attracting foreign investors, saying Nam Dinh boasts key transportation projects connecting to seaports, highways and airports.
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| Secretary of Party Committee of Nam Dinh province Pham Gia Tuc (right) and Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam at the event (Photo: VNA) |
At the reception, representatives of the Singaporean Embassy in Vietnam proposed that Nam Dinh send a delegation to the island nation to train in the fields of health, the environment, and human resource development to gain greater insights into green and digital transformation to devise proper strategies in line with current development trends.
With many Singaporean tourists heading to Vietnam over recent times, Nam Dinh was recommended to pour additional investment into the development of tourism infrastructure to turn the locality into a bright tourism spot for foreign tourists in the future.
For his part, Pham Gia Tuc, secretary of the Nam Dinh Provincial Party Committee, emphasised that many Singaporean businesses have arrived in the locality to explore investment opportunities over recent years.
Most notably, Sunrise Material of Singapore signed an agreement with a Vietnamese company in August to develop a polymer wrap film production project worth US$100 million.
He expressed his hope that the Singaporean Embassy would act as bridge to help the province successfully build the Hai Long Industrial Park to welcome secondary investors in the near future./.