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| A factory in Dong Nai province's Giang Dien Industrial Zone. (Photo: VNA) |
Of the three-month figure, over 3 billion USD came from 522 newly-licensed projects, up 62% in a number of projects but down 6% in the amount of capital compared to the same period last year.
Some 1.2 billion USD was added to 228 existing ones, representing a yearly hike of 3% in a number of projects and a yearly decline of 70.3% in the capital.
However, foreign investors' capital contribution and share purchases rose 4% year-on-year to 798 million USD, the FIA said.
Along with the contraction in fresh capital, the disbursed capital also slightly plunged 2.2% from a year earlier to 4.3 billion USD, it noted.
The most significant proportion of the period's foreign investment, 4 billion USD or 73%, landed in processing and manufacturing, followed by real estate, with 766 million USD or 14.1%.
In Q1, Singapore topped foreign investors, pouring 1.69 billion USD into Vietnam or equivalent to 31% of the nation's total foreign investment. It was followed by mainland China (552 million USD) and Taiwan (477 million USD).
According to the FIA, newly foreign-invested projects still came towards localities that had many advantages in attracting foreign investment such as good infrastructure, stable human resources, efforts to reform administrative procedures and dynamism in investment promotion. They included Bac Giang, Dong Nai, Bac Ninh, HCM City and Hai Phong.
For example, Dong Nai province lured 500 million USD in foreign investment in the first three months, nearly tripling that in the same period last year, the provincial industrial parks management board has said.
Of the figure, there were 11 new projects with a total registered capital of nearly 50 million USD and 22 others with additional capital of more than 451 million USD, mainly from Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan (China). All of them utilise advanced technology and skilled labour in priority investment sectors. Among the 11 new foreign-invested projects, six were in supporting industry.
Deputy head of the board Pham Van Cuong said over recent months, foreign investment attraction in Dong Nai has thrived with increasing quantity and quality of projects which involve the construction of new factories and manufacturing expansion.
Foreign investors pin high hope on projects underway in the province, especially Long Thanh airport and expressways. He said the province has also stepped up administrative reform and dealt with investor concerns.
According to the approved plan, Dong Nai has 40 industrial parks (IPs) with an area of about 19,000ha. The province is now home to 32 IPs already in operation, with an occupancy rate of over 85%. The remaining IPs are yet to be built due to obstacles regarding investment procedures, rubber and forest land processing, auction and bidding, and zone planning.
Cuong said the province hoped that the Government, ministries and agencies would tackle bottlenecks and create favourable conditions for it to establish new IPs, thus attracting more capital from big corporations and businesses world-wide.
Hanoi greets over 2 million tourists in March
Hanoi welcomed 5.88 million tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2023, in which international tourists numbered 978,700, according to the City Department of Tourism.
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| Photo for illustration. (Source: hanoimoi.com.vn) |
Total revenue from tourism activities is estimated at more than 21 trillion VND, equivalent to 79.9% of the same period of 2019.
Particularly in March 2023, the capital received more than 2 million visitors, up 13% from the previous month and up 38.3% over the same period last year.
International tourist arrivals to Hanoi this month reached more than 397,000, up 40% from the previous month. Total revenue from tourists is estimated at 7.9 trillion VND.
Currently, Hanoi has 3,756 tourist accommodation establishments with 70,218 rooms, of which 602 hotels have been rated from 1-5 stars with 25,432 rooms.
In March 2023, the average occupancy rate of 1-5 star hotels is estimated at 56.4%.
These are positive signals for the recovery and development of the capital’s tourism in 2023.
In March, a tourism program to welcome 2023 - Get on Hanoi also attracted the attention of a large number of people in the capital and international tourists at the Ho Guom walking streets.
This year, Hanoi aims to welcome and serve over 22 million tourists, including over 3 million international tourists, and earn total revenue from tourism activities of over VND 77 trillion.
CPI increases about 4.2% in first quarter
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| Illustrative image (Source: VNA) |
The consumer price index (CPI) in the first quarter of 2023 is estimated to rise 4.2-4.3% year on year, Vietnam News Agency quoted figures of the Price Management Department under the Ministry of Finance.
The department clarified a number of major reasons behind the increase, including the rising price of housing and construction materials (7.2%), which pushed the CPI in the period up by 1.4%.
Meanwhile, a 4.5% increase in the price of food and foodstuff due to high demand during the Lunar New Year festival in early February also contributed 1% to the CPI increase.
At the same time, education service prices rose 11% as some localities ended the tuition fee exemption and reduction scheme that aimed to ease people’s difficulties during COVID-19 pandemic. This also led to 0.6% rise in CPI in the period.
A 3.3% rise in the price of electricity also pushed the CPI up by about 0.1%, the department added.
Hue city launches Hai Ba Trung Pedestrian Street
The Hue City People’s Committee in the central province of Thua Thien Hue has launched Hai Ba Trung Pedestrian Street in Vinh Ninh ward. This is the 3rd pedestrian street in the central city.
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| Delegates cut the ribbon to open Hai Ba Trung Pedestrian Street. (Photo: nhandan.vn) |
Hai Ba Trung Pedestrian Street has a length of 850m. Its construction was started in September 2022, with a total investment of nearly 97 billion VND.
Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the Hue City People’s Committee Vo Le Nhat said that Hai Ba Trung Pedestrian Street is held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening.
The city’s third pedestrian street is expected to create an open space, a new destination and effectively exploit the potential and strengths of Hue's cultural and culinary values to attract tourists. At the same time, it will create conditions for business establishments to access the consumption market, expand their scale, create economic benefits for the population community, and create jobs for workers.
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| This is the 3rd pedestrian street in Hue City. (Photo: nhandan.vn) |
At Hai Ba Trung Pedestrian Street, residents and visitors will have the opportunity to explore, exchange cultural activities, enjoy local cuisine, entertainment and shopping. This activity contributes to promoting tourism, services and trade development in Hue city.
Currently, in Hue city, there are 3 pedestrian streets: Pham Ngu Lao-Chu Van An-Vo Thi Sau (Western Quarter), Hue Imperial Citadel night street and Hai Ba Trung street. The streets initially formed a number of attractive night tourism products to continue to realize the goal of turning Hue City into a dynamic, interesting and unique nightlife destination.
Right after the opening ceremony, a festival to welcome summer in Hue opened with a colorful carnival program. This is the starting activity for a series of festivals and events of the provincial tourism industry in 2023 and responding to Hue Festival 2023./.