Leading destination for Vietnamese investor is Laos, accounting for 24.7% of the total investment abroad in the first eight months of 2023 (Photo: VOV)

Of the total, nearly 244.37 million USD was poured into 79 new projects, or 70.8% of the figure in the same period in 2022, while 171.96 million USD was added to 18 existing ones, a year-on-year increase of 3.38 times.

Vietnamese investors abroad invested in 13 sectors, especially retail and wholesale (150.28 million USD), information and communications (114.32 million USD), electricity production and distribution, agro-forestry-fisheries; and finance – banking.

In the Jan – August period, Vietnamese investments landed in 23 countries and territories, led by Canada with one new and one capital-added project worth over 150.2 million USD, accounting for 31.6% of the total investment. It was followed by Singapore, Laos, and Cuba.

As of August 20, Vietnam had operated 1,665 valid projects abroad with a combined investment of nearly 22.1 billion USD, including 141 by State-owned enterprises worth 11.67 billion USD, accounting for 52.8% of the country’s total, the agency said.

Vietnamese investment abroad is mostly in mining (31.5%) and agro-forestry-fisheries (15.5%).

Leading destinations for Vietnamese investors are Laos (24.7%), Cambodia (13.3%), and Venezuela (8.3%).

Ministry orders actions in response to World Cleanup Day 2023

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has demanded activities be held in response to the World Cleanup Day 2023 (September 16), reported Vietnam News Agency.

Young people clean up a beach in Quy Nhon city, Binh Dinh province. (Photo: VNA)

The MoNRE sent the written request to ministries, sectors, socio-political organisations, provincial-level People’s Committees, and relevant agencies, organisations and units on August 30.

It asked for the continuation of community movements such as cleaning up the environment, planting trees, and improving the environment in urban and residential areas.

Agencies and localities were urged to step up communications and education to raise public awareness of protecting the environment, sorting waste at source, reducing waste disposal, boosting waste reuse and recycling, and not using single-use plastic products or non-biodegradable plastic bags.

They were also told to encourage the use of environmentally friendly alternatives and bolster the communications about the World Cleanup Day campaign nationwide.

The MoNRE also requested exemplars, good models, initiatives, and effective measures for environmental protection be multiplied, and the collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in the field rewarded.

Information about the World Cleanup Day 2023 campaign can be found on the MoNRE portal at http://www.monre.gov.vn/, and the website of the centre for natural resources and environment communications at https://monremedia.vn/.

The World Cleanup Day, initiated by Australia, was launched globally by the United Nations Environment Programme in 1993. It is held on the third Saturday of September annually.

Vietnam has organised events in response to the Day since 1994. The MoNRE is the body in charge of coordinating response activities. This campaign has been strongly supported by ministries, sectors, and organisations from central to local levels, helping promote the community’s awareness of and actions in environmental protection.

Vietnam strives to achieve standard export coffee material areas

In order to continue increasing the value of coffee exports, the nation is aiming to create standard coffee growing areas amid coffee prices continuously increasing over recent times, reported the Voice of Vietnam.

Photo: VOV

According to statistics released by the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV), at the end of the trading session on August 30 the price of two coffee items continued to show positive signs, with respective increases of 1.47% for Arabica and 1.92% for Robusta.

Over the long term it is anticipated that coffee prices, especially Robusta coffee, the country’s main coffee type, will continue to increase as demand rises within the global market.

Furthermore, the competitive price of Robusta coffee with Arabica coffee is also the reason why this product has been chosen more.

Recent years has seen the amount of coffee exported from the nation increase sharply. In particular, 2022 represented a very successful year for Vietnamese coffee exports, with an export volume of 1.78 million tonnes and a record turnover of US$44.06 billion.

As a means of improving the overall quality and price of exported coffee, as well as raisin the level of Vietnamese coffee products as part of the international market, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities based in the Central Highlands are carrying out a project to build coffee raw material areas that come up to world standards.

Under the terms of the project, there will be about 19,700 hectares of coffee trees deployed in the four provinces of Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Kon Tum, and Dak Nong, with as many as 64 cooperatives and 5,230 households set to benefit from the project.

The solution to the development of coffee raw materials is therefore expected to help Vietnamese coffee beans increase their value both domestically and for exports towards successfully building a high-quality Vietnamese coffee brand.

Vietnam is currently viewed as a destination for many major coffee producers. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has determined that it is necessary to build standard coffee material areas in key areas in a bid to ensure export requirements.

Photo: vneconomy.vn

Over the past years, the coffee industry has greatly benefited from the project "Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in Vietnam" (VnSAT), implemented from 2015 to 2021 and going on to be internationally recognised and honoured as a typical project of Southeast Asia.

As a result, the VnSAT project has offered training of the sustainable coffee replanting process for more than 30,000 households with an area of nearly 30,000 hectares, while 25,000 households have replanted more than 22,000 hectares of coffee.

It is therefore worth noting that sustainable coffee growing areas are increasing in key coffee growing localities. For example, at present Dak Lak is home to nearly 46,000 hectares of coffee using a sustainable coffee production process with Vietnamese and international certification.

The whole province has 54 cooperative groups and cooperatives producing coffee according to international standards, with an area exceeding 6,000 hectares.

Gia Lai province is home to nearly 46,000 hectares of coffee production, according to standards such as VietGAP, 4C, Organic, and Rain Forest.

Construction of Long Thanh and Tan Son Nhat airport terminals begins

Construction work on a passenger terminal at Long Thanh International Airport in southern Dong Nai province and the third terminal (T3) of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City is scheduled to start in the afternoon of August 31, with a total cost of over VND45 trillion, reported the Voice of Vietnam.

Long Thanh airport terminal has a unique design, inspired by the shape of a lotus. (Photo: ACV)

Of the figure, the investment cost in the Long Thanh airport terminal stands at VND35 trillion. The project is being built on a 150-hectare land area and has been designed with two separate entrance and exit routes, including a ground floor and three other floors, a roof peak of nearly 46 metres in height, and 40 aircraft parking positions.

According to details given by Airports Corporation of Vietnam ( ACV), the project has been designed using the most modern technology available in the aviation field with materials with high durability and aesthetics.

The major operator of Long Thanh airport terminal is Vietur Joint Venture, consisting of 10 members, including a number of domestic contractors such as Ricons, Newtecons, Sol E&C, Vinaconex, and CC1, with the leading unit being the Group. Ic Istas Construction Industry and Trade (Ic Istas) of Turkey.

The passenger terminal is expected to be completed and operational by 2026.

Meanwhile, the third terminal of Tan Son Nhat airport is estimated to cost nearly VND11 trillion. It is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2025, handling domestic flights and up to 20 million passengers annually./.