 |
| Vietnam remains 7th largest seafood supplier for Canada. (Photo: VOV) |
However, as exports continuously witnessed a sharp fall in the first months of 2023, Vietnam's seafood exports to Canada still dropped by 38.5% compared to 2022, according to the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Despite the reduction, the country remained the seventh largest seafood supplier to this potential market.
According to IBISWorld, a newswire on industry market research, report and statistics, the Canadian seafood industry’s revenue has decreased an average of 1% per year over the past five years, and was estimated to reach about US$4.5 billion last year.
Canada's seafood consumption saw downward trend as consumers turned to beef, chicken and other protein items which have lower prices than seafood.
Statistics from the Canadian Border Services Agency showed that Vietnam is currently the 7th largest seafood supplier for Canada. There are remarkable changes in the structure of seafood exports to the Canadian market.
Accordingly, the proportion of frozen shrimp and frozen tuna decreased while the proportion of pangasius and canned tuna increased.
In the coming time, Vietnamese seafood exports to Canada is expected to rebound as the country's consumption demand is forecast to rise in the next five years.
According to Statista's projection, Canada's seafood revenue is set to hit US$4.79 billion by 2024 and will grow 4.90% on average per year.
Vietnam economy to grow by 6% in 2024: HSBC
 |
| Workers of Samsung Electronics Vietnam Co., Ltd., Yen Phong industrial park, Bac Ninh province, check products during their work shift. (Photo: VNA) |
Vietnam’s economy will grow by 6% in 2024, faster than in 2023, Vietnam News Agency quoted prediction of an economists of HSBC Vietnam.
James Cheo, Chief Investment Officer, Southeast Asia and India, Global Private Banking and Wealth, HSBC, said that the strength of the Vietnam economy in 2024 would come from a combination of consumer and investment spending.
The strong inflows of foreign direct investment will likely continue in 2024, buttressing Vietnam’s manufacturing sector. The nascent recovery of the global trade cycle will boost Vietnam’s exports. Furthermore, Vietnam is likely to witness a gradual uptick in international tourism.
“Inflation is fairly stable but there could be an upside risk from higher-than-expected energy or food prices, we think that Vietnam’s monetary authority will stay vigilant and keep policy rates on hold for this year. We forecast the Vietnamese dong to move towards 24,400 VND against the US dollar by the end of 2024,” said Cheo.
HSBC Global Private Banking (HSBC GPB) expects the beginning of Fed rate cuts in June 2024, US soft landing, corporate earnings recovery, and solid Asia growth to improve global risk appetite and investment outlook of equity and bond markets in 2024.
For the next six months, HSBC GPB adopts a mild risk-on investment strategy with underweight on cash, mild overweight on US Treasuries and global investment grade bonds and tactical overweight on hedge funds.
“As we look ahead into 2024, we see two positive drivers supporting global financial markets. Major western central banks have done rate hikes amid continued disinflation and the US economy is heading for a soft landing. These two positive developments should support recovery of global risk appetite in 2024. Positioning for slower but positive global growth and Fed rate cuts starting in June 2024, putting cash to work in quality bonds, US and Asian equities and alternatives should deliver diverse sources of return and income to optimise portfolio performance and mitigate market volatility,” said Fan Cheuk Wan, Chief Investment Officer, Asia, Global Private Banking and Wealth, HSBC.
“We see quality bonds as the most attractive asset class for H1/2024 ahead of the first Fed rate cut. We focus on locking in still attractive yields via our overweight in US and UK government bonds and investment grade bonds across developed and emerging markets. Although global growth should remain below trend growth in 2024, the US growth engine continues to run, thanks to the resilient US consumer and government stimulus supporting investment and innovation in technology and healthcare. Equity valuations now see better fundamental support from earnings recovery that we anticipate in 2024, which provides a potential upside for stocks that can deliver on earnings expectations. We expect the global AI investment boom will extend into 2024, reinforcing our bullish view on the global, US and Asian IT sectors,” noted Fan.
“Going against the global headwinds, Asia’s robust private wealth accumulation, resilient middle-class consumers, digital transformation and green transition offer solid domestic drivers to support healthy economic growth. We forecasted that Asia ex-Japan GDP will grow 4.5% in 2024, close to double the average global growth of 2.4%, led by India’s 6.0%, Indonesia’s 5.2%, and China’s 4.9% growth this year.” added Fan.
Vietjet opens new route connecting HCM City with Chengdu
Vietjet continues to expand its international flight network with a new route connecting Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam with Chengdu of China, contributing to promoting trade and tourism between the two cities and two countries as well, reported Vietnam News Agency.
 |
| Illustrative photo (Photo: Courtesy of Vietjet) |
Flight tickets between HCM City and Chengdu have been opened for sales from January 24. This new route will be inaugurated on February 10, 2024, the 1st day of the Lunar New Year with a frequency of seven return flights per week.
The flights depart from Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 19:10 (local time) and arrive at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport at 00:15 the next day (local time). The return flights depart from Chengdu at 00:50 (local time) and land in HCM City at 03:55 (local time).
To celebrate the New Year 2024 and the new HCM City – Chengdu route, Vietjet offers thousands of 0 VND (excluding taxes and fees) tickets for passengers who booking tickets from January 24 on www.vietjetair.com or the Vietjet Air mobile app with the flight period from February 10, 2024 to March 30, 2024.
 |
| Chengdu is the capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province. (Photo: Courtesy of Vietjet) |
Visiting Chengdu, tourists have opportunities to explore the vibrant Chinese culture with famous attractions such as Jinli Ancient Street, Anshun Bridge, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, or easily come to Jiuzhaigou - a world heritage site recognised by UNESCO. Meanwhile, HCM City is a bustling economic hub of Vietnam with various options traveling in Vietnam and the region via Vietjet's flight network.
With modern, low-emission, and environmentally friendly fleet, professional and dedicated cabin crews, and free Sky Care travel insurance, Vietjet offers passengers joy-filled flights with countless attractive destinations. Flying with Vietjet, passengers can enjoy Vietnamese cuisine including Pho Thin, Banh mi Vietnam and international cuisines, along with the chance to accumulate points to redeem vouchers from Vietjet SkyJoy loyalty programme.
Restarting public bicycle system in Hue city center
The restart of the public bicycle system in the center of Hue city aims to create an experiential, attractive, healthy and environmentally sustainable sports tourism product, spreading the cycling movement in residential communities.
 |
| Public shared bicycle system in Hue city. (Photo: toquoc.vn) |
The Hue City People's Committee has coordinated with Vietsoftpro Joint Stock Company to re-launch the public bicycle system in the center of the city with 200 bicycles at 7 existing stations.
The public shared bicycle system in Hue is developed based on the content of the memorandum of understanding between the Hue People’s Committee, German Development Cooperation Organization (GIZ) and Vietsoftpro Joint Stock Company to aim at sustainable urban traffic development and smart cities.
The project is divided into 3 phases, of which the first phase (from June to December 2022) includes 7 stations located on both sides of Huong River and in the Hue Citadel area.
Through the first phase, 12,000 bicycles were used. Customers include tourists, local residents, and students.
Vietsoftpro Company and related units have completed the software, equipped with a new 4G locking system on the bicycles.
Leaders of the Hue City People’s Committee said that aiming to continue to effectively implement the pilot project of the public shared bicycle system in Hue, the locality has set a goal of operating about 600 bicycles at 20 bus stations by June 2024 and about 1,000 bicycles at 30 stations by September 2024./.