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| The opening of the Green Growth Show 2024 in HCM City on September 21. (Photo courtesy of ITPC) |
The 2024 Green Growth Show (GRECO 2024) is taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, providing an opportunity for businesses to promote their green products and services, and an effective forum for local and international companies to connect and explore possibilities for tie-ups.
Covering an area of 10,000 sq.m, GRECO 2024 attracted over 200 local and foreign exhibitors with around 300 booths, displaying nearly 8,000 products and solutions that drive green growth.
According to the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City (ITPC), one of the exhibition’s organisers, this year's event has a bigger scale than the inaugural edition in 2023 and focuses on sectors such as high-tech, supporting industries, and achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The show offers businesses a chance to showcase their latest products and technologies in fields such as high-tech, semiconductor, and artificial intelligence, the ITPC said.
Among the highlights of GRECO 2024 is the "Techmart" area that features green technology, renewable energy, and environmental solutions for industrial transformation.
The exhibition would support enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, to introduce their green products and services and connect with leading domestic and international companies towards building a green production ecosystem, Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, said at the opening ceremony on September 21.
The exhibition which will run until September 25 also seeks to raise public awareness about the circular economy.
He highlighted that the city had approved a green growth strategy towards sustainable development by 2030, to transform the city into a green, smart, and sustainable city.
GRECO 2024, held as part of the fifth Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum, also features demonstrations of green, sustainable technology solutions, newly developed products and art performances.
Vietnamese firms promote cooperation with Malaysian partners in Halal industry
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| At the signing ceremony of the MoU between Beyond World Company (Vietnam) and ACCI (Malaysia) (Photo: VNA) |
Vietnamese enterprises have signed three memoranda of understanding (MoU) with Malaysian importers and distributors on cooperation in the Halal industry at the 20th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS), reported Vietnam News Agency.
The Vietnamese firms specialising in food and beverage, processing, handicrafts, consumer goods, spices, sauces and agricultural product manufacturing were joining a delegation of 22 businesses to the event, which was organised by the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) of Ho Chi Minh City.
Addressing a programme to connect Vietnamese firms with Malaysian importers and distributors, ITPC Vice Director Ho Thi Quyen said that in the first eight months of this year, the trade between the city and Malaysia reached about 3.5 billion USD, a surge of 45% year on year, including HCM City’s exports of 555 million USD, a rise of 33%.
The city’s key export products to the Malaysian market included computers, electronic products and components, machinery, textiles, rice, and seafood.
In the first seven months of this year, 16 Malaysian-invested projects worth over 1.4 million USD were licenced in Vietnam, she said, adding that the two countries are striving for 25 billion USD in two-way trade by 2030.
Vietnamese Counsellor in Malaysia Le Phu Cuong said that the Vietnamese government has identified Halal products as the major export product to Muslim countries.
Cuong said that on October 22, Vietnam will organise the first International Halal Conference to discuss the promotion of international cooperation and mobilisation of internal resources for sustainable Halal industry development in Vietnam.
This conference shows Vietnam’s determination to encourage more businesses to engage in the Halal industry, he said, adding that the participation of Malaysia will help Vietnamese companies better serve global consumers with Halal certified products.
Meanwhile, Director of China & Northeast Asia and ASEAN & Oceania Section at the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) En Mazlan Hurun said that Vietnam's dynamic industries, especially in the food and beverage sector, fit perfectly with Malaysia's growing business landscape, creating many opportunities for collaboration.
He held that the Halal market, which is expected to reach 3.2 trillion USD in 2027, is considered a significant opportunity for both Vietnam and Malaysia. Hurun encouraged businesses to cooperate with Malaysian companies and take advantage of the great opportunities that the MIHAS brings.
The MIHAS is an annual trade exhibition for businesses serving the Muslim and Halal consumer market, such as F&B, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, tourism, and finance. The MIHAS 2024 set the Guinness World Record for the largest number of attendees at a Halal trade exhibition.
HCM City adds nearly 60,000 jobs in third quarter
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| HCM City will need up to 83,300 labourers during October - December. (Photo: VNA) |
Ho Chi Minh City needed to hire some 60,000 jobs in four key industries and nine major service sectors in Q3, up 3.5% against the same time last year, according to Director of the HCM City Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information (Falmi) Nguyen Hoang Hieu, reported Vietnam News Agency.
Falmi’s survey conducted at over 19,400 local firms showed that there were more than 13,100 job vacancies in the four key industries of engineering, electronics – IT, chemical pharmaceuticals – rubber, and food processing that needed to be filled in the period, a year-on-year increase of 12.24%.
Meanwhile, the nine main service sectors of trade, transport and warehouse, tourism, post-telecommunications and ICT, finance – credit – banking – insurance, property, science – technology consultation, education and training, and health care needed nearly 46,700 workers, inching up 1.28% as compared to the same time of 2023.
Hieu said the Government’s acceleration of reform to create a favourable business climate and international integration have created positive impacts on the Vietnamese economy and Ho Chi Minh City in particular.
The city, she said, has penned flexible solutions to developing the socio-economy as well as supporting the labour market, adding the move has opened up opportunities for workers and made the market become more vibrant for the remainder of the year.
Falmi said the southern economic hub will need up to 83,300 labourers and will fill 87.46% of the job openings with skilled employees during October – December.
Ample room remains for Vietnam - Belarus trade cooperation
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| Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Vo Van Hoan speaks at the forum. (Photo: VNA) |
Vietnam and Belarus have complementary economic advantages and great potential to promote their trade ties, according to participants at the Belarus - Vietnam Business Forum held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 23, reported Vietnam News Agency.
The forum was organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC), the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organisations, the Consulate General of Belarus in Ho Chi Minh City, and the Belarusian National Agency for Marketing and Price Study.
Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Vo Van Hoan said that since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, their bilateral relations have witnessed positive developments, with increased trust and regular delegation exchanges at all levels.
In particular, the official visit to Vietnam by Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko in December 2023 opened up a new direction for stronger cooperation between the two sides.
In 2023, the total trade turnover between Vietnam and Belarus reached 65.3 million USD. As of the first quarter of 2024, Belarus had invested 32.25 million USD in three projects in Vietnam.
As Vietnam has implemented the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Belarus is a member, Ho Chi Minh City believes that this will be a driving force to promote bilateral cooperation in the future, Hoan said.
Belarusian Ambassador to Vietnam Uladzimir Baravikou said Vietnam and Belarus are both members of the EAEU, which is a favourable condition for the two countries to lift their cooperation to a new level.
Deputy Director General of the Belarusian National Agency for Marketing and Price Study Evgeny Russak said that Vietnam has strengths in agricultural and food production while Belarus has advantages in agricultural machinery and fertiliser production.
The two countries can also cooperate in supplying and manufacturing automobiles, electric passenger vehicles, and construction machinery, he said, adding that Belarus is also ready to cooperate and share with Vietnam experiences in developing the medical sector.
Vice director of the ITPC Ho Thi Quyen said that Ho Chi Minh City wishes to boost cooperation with Belarus, particularly Minsk city in areas including manufacturing, medical, food production, fashion and logistic services.
At the forum, over 60 Vietnamese and Belarusian enterprises engaged in meetings and exchanged information to seek cooperation opportunities in the coming time.
Vietnam, WB look to reduce emissions in rice cultivation
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| Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) |
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam on September 23 met with a World Bank (WB) delegation to discuss preparations for signing the Emission Reduction Payment Agreement (ERPA) with the Transformative Carbon Asset Facility (TCAF), reported Vietnam News Agency.
This agreement aims to support a sustainable development project targeting 1 million ha of quality, low-emission rice linked to green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030.
Nam highlighted the initial success of pilot models in several localities, which have shown a remarkable 30% reduction in costs for seeds and agricultural inputs. Additionally, rice prices and farmers' incomes have increased, with production being fully contracted by enterprises.
WB senior expert Li Guo announced that the TCAF has approved total funding of 33.3 million USD, with the potential to increase to 40 million USD. This funding will be disbursed based on results and in two phases. The TCAF's commitment to providing this funding will be valid for 12 months, and the WB is expected to approve the funding by signing the ERPA.
In addition, the TCAF will provide 2 million USD in technical assistance, directly managed by the WB, to support capacity-building activities aimed at implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and other relevant initiatives.
Both sides agreed on the methodology for measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) greenhouse gas emissions from rice production. This MRV process will be used to generate transferable carbon emission reduction credits for exchange with the TCAF and support the country's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) commitments.
The Hanoi meeting also discussed plans to hold workshops to raise awareness among relevant ministries and agencies regarding experiences in carbon market access, the signing of the ERPA and the Mitigation Outcome Purchase Agreement (MOPA) or the Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMO), and domestic procedures for approving the ERPA signing./.