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| Illustrative photo (Photo: vneconomy.vn) |
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, by July 20, the total newly registered capital, adjusted and contributed by foreign investors had neared 16.24 billion USD, up 4.5% over the same period in 2022.
Meanwhile, capital implemented by foreign-invested projects reached about 11.58 billion USD, increasing by 0.8% from the same period last year.
Director of the ministry’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) Do Nhat Hoang said that after falling for six months, Vietnam’s FDI attraction increased in July thanks to the Government’s timely and flexible solutions to support businesses.
In July only, total registered capital was over 2.8 billion USD, increasing by 8.9%, 41.9%, and 85.7% compared to that of June 2023, May 2023, and July 2022, respectively.
Hoang said that new investment capital and new projects increased sharply over the first months of this year.
Small- and middle-sized foreign investors continued to get interested and confident in Vietnam’s investment climate, he said.
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| Part of the capital city of Hanoi. (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn) |
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s tourism posted a strong recovery in July, attracting over 1 million foreign visitors, an increase of 6.5% over the previous month.
In the first seven months of this year, Vietnam welcomed more than 6.6 million foreign visitors. The figure was 6.9 times higher than that of the same period last year.
Vu Tuan Anh, chairman of JCI Vietnam, said that the figures show Vietnam’s visible recovery in tourism.
Tourism also helped stimulate the growth of the transport and commerce sectors.
In the first seven months, the transport sector served over 2.6 billion passengers, marking a year-on-year increase of 15.8%. Meanwhile, over 1.3 billion tonnes of goods were transported during the period, a year-on-year rise of 15.3%.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first seven months, total retail sales of consumer goods and services increased by 10.4% over the same period last year.
Economic expert Ngo Tri Long said that domestic consumption, public investment, and exports will continue to be key drivers for Vietnam’s economic growth in the coming months.
Vietnam an emerging tourist destination in Southeast Asia: Cambodian media
Cambodia’s e-newspaper ThmeyThmey on August 14 ran an article calling Vietnam a new tourist hot spot in Southeast Asia, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| Vietnam expects to serve 8 million holidaymakers this year. (Photo: VNA) |
The article, by Thun Senghong, cited statistics by Google Destination Insights showing Vietnam was the seventh most searched destination from March to June this year, and the only country in the region to make the top 20.
The country’s tourism strengths lie with diverse landscapes, which have helped it welcome more than 5.5 million international visitors in the first half of this year, higher than the total number of foreign tourists recorded the whole last year.
Vietnam expects to serve 8 million holidaymakers this year, yet the figure is projected to exceed 10 million, the article said.
It cited Director of Rustic Hospitality Group Bobby Nguyen as saying that most of the tourists hail from the Republic of Korea (RoK), China, and India.
Germany’s DW News said Vietnam’s tourism strengths come from its relaxed visa policy as from August 15, the country will extend the validity of tourist e-visas to 90 from 30 days, with multiple entries, and triple the duration of visa-free stays for visitors from certain countries to 45 days, according to the article.
The article also quoted some foreign experts as saying the visa policy is expected to give a boost to the domestic tourism industry.
Despite the rosy signs, the number of foreign arrivals has yet to meet the 2019 pre-pandemic figure of nearly 19 million, it noted.
Experts suggested Vietnam enhance coordination between ministries and agencies, upgrade its transport infrastructure and pay more attention to personnel training to improve its competitiveness in the sector, according to the article.
China remains largest export market for Vietnamese cassava
Despite the export of cassava and cassava products in July continuing to endure a decline compared to the same period from last year, China remained the largest export market of Vietnamese cassava, reported the Voice of Vietnam according to details given by the General Department of Customs.
The Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade quoted statistics from the General Department of Customs which state that in July the nation exported 145.23 thousand tonnes of cassava and cassava products. The value of these items was worth US$71.88 million, up 2.8% in volume and 9.8% in value compared to a month earlier.
However, compared to July, 2022, it marked a drop of 24.2% in volume and 17.2% in value. This represents the fifth consecutive month of decline compared to last year’s corresponding period.
Accumulated in the first seven months of the year, the export of cassava and cassava products reached 1.64 million tonnes, valued at US$665.57 million, down 14.4% in volume and 20.8% in value compared to same period from last year.
July witnessed China continue to be the largest export market of Vietnamese cassava and cassava products, duly accounting for 93.61% of the country's total cassava exports with 135.96 thousand tonnes, worth US$66.58 million, up 13.3% in volume and 20.2% in value compared to June.
However, compared to July, 2022, it endured a decline of 22.9% in volume and by 16.4% in value.
The opening seven months of the year saw Vietnam exports to the Chinese market reach 1.47 million tonnes of cassava and cassava products, worth US$589.27 million, down 15.9% in volume and 23.2% in value on-year.
In general, although the amount of cassava exports decreased during the seven-month period, the export of cassava and cassava products to this market continued to record decent growth in both volume and value compared to the same period from last year. It is worth noting that Malaysia, Taiwan (China), and Japan make up the major markets which witnessed positive growth.
However, these markets only account for a small proportion of the nation’s total export of cassava and cassava products.
Grain prices in China endured a fall and due to low consumption season, demand for cassava and tapioca starch in China also witnessed a downward trend over recent months.
Moving forward, it is forecast that Chinese demand for cassava and tapioca starch will increase again once the country enters the mooncake production season.
Elsewhere, Cambodia is in the process of accelerating the progress of cassava harvesting at the beginning of the season to sell to the country due to high prices, which may cause a sharp drop in the production of cassava harvested in the middle and late stages of the season.
HCM City aims to attract more foreign tourists
Ho Chi Minh City led the nation in terms of revenue from tourism in the first half of 2023, with 80.8 trillion VND (3.39 billion USD), reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| HCM City People’s Committee recently issues a plan for the development of waterway tourism products in the 2023-2025 period with an aim to attract more tourists (Photo: sggp.org.vn) |
The figure represents a year-on-year rise of 62.7%, and is equivalent to 50.5% of the yearly target.
According to the municipal Department of Tourism, in the January-June period, the country's biggest metropolis served over 1.9 million foreign tourists, up 306% year-on-year, but equal to only 38.8% of the yearly target.
The city is organising a wide range of activities, with an aim to attract more tourists, especially foreigners, to increase the revenue.
Notably, in early August, a river festival was held in the city for the first time, with a series of cultural and entertainment activities related to its waterways for locals and tourists.
The three-day festival aimed at preserving and promoting the city’s culture and history, and make use of its waterways to boost the economy and tourism in order to build the city’s brand as a culturally rich riverside urban area.
Recently, the municipal People’s Committee also issued a plan for the development of waterway tourism products in the 2023-2025 period. By 2025, it aims to develop at least 10 waterway tours and waterway tour programmes linking seaports and river routes.
The number of international cruise ship tourists arriving in the city will be 100,000 in 2023 and 2024, and rise 12-15% in the following years.
In the 2023-24 period, the city’s cruise industry is expected to hit 500 billion VND (21 million USD) per year in revenue, and increase by 12% in the following years./.