Throughout the reviewed period China represented the country’s second largest export market with an estimated turnover reaching US$35.79 billion, representing a rise of 0.1% against the same period from last year.
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| Durian represents the most popular fruit product exported to Chinese market |
Meanwhile, China remains the nation’s largest import market with an estimated revenue of US$68.13 billion, an annual decline of 17%.
Most notably, the northern neighbour is still the largest consumer of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables, accounting for nearly 65% of total turnover. Durian represents the most popular fruit product exported to this market, with jackfruit being anticipated to see robust growth in the near future.
At present, China is also considering the prospect of allowing Vietnamese fresh coconuts to be officially exported to the market.
From now until the end of the year, Vietnam's agricultural product exports to the Chinese market are forecast to witness slight growth. Some commodity groups such as fruit and vegetables, rice, and cashews are likely to maintain their high growth rate.
Moreover, several commodities which suffered a sharp fall in the first half the year, such as wood, seafood, and cassava, may recover slightly in the remaining months of the year. Last year saw joint import-export turnover hit US$175.56 billion, representing an increase of 5.47% compared to figures recorded in 2021.
Of these, Vietnamese exports to China rose by 3.18% to US$57.7 billion, while imports from this market surged by 6.63% to US$117.8 billion.
Vietnamese billiards players make world history
Vietnamese cueist Bao Phuong Vinh exceled his teammate Tran Quyet Chien in the final of the World Championship 3-Cushion 2023 in Ankara, Turkey, winning the title for the first time in history on September 10, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| Vietnamese cueists Bao Phuong Vinh and Tran Quyet Chien make world history at the World Championship 3-Cushion 2023 in Ankara, Turkey (Photo: VNA) |
The final game saw a clash between two Vietnamese cueists - Tran Quyet Chien and Bao Phuong Vinh - after the duo beat their opponents in the semi-finals on the same day.
This is the first time in history two Vietnamese cueists have qualified for the semi-final and final games at the world championship. This is also the first time a Vietnamese cueist has triumphed at the world tournament.
Quyet Chien (World No.10) beat Turkey’s world defending champion Tayfun Tasdemir (World No.7) in a semi-final game, while Phuong Vinh (World No.21) stunned the Republic of Korea’s Cho Myung-woo in another semi-final game of the same day.
The final game saw both Vietnamese cueists chase the score, but stability helped Phuong Vinh continuously take the lead and finish the game at 50-34, winning the championship title.
Previously, Nguyen Duc Anh Chien finished second at the 2019 world championship.
By reaching the Ankara World Championship 3-Cushion 2023 finals, both Phuong Vinh and Quyet Chien will certainly move up the world rankings.
The Three-Cushion World Cup and World Championship are two tournaments from the World Billiard Union that feature the top players. While the World Cup can take place six or seven times in a year, the World Championship is hosted only once a year.
This year’s tournament took place in Ankara, Turkey from September 6-10.
Vietnam remains stable destination for investors: Swiss fund
From Bellecapital’s perspective, Vietnam is seen as a destination that offers stability for investors, said Xinyue Hou, manager of the portfolio in Asia of the Swiss investment fund, with Vietnam News Agency.
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| Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) |
Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency in Geneva on the sidelines of a seminar on Vietnam - Switzerland cooperation in trade, investment, and technology in the framework of Vietnam Day 2023 in Zurich on September 8, the official stressed that Vietnam holds a geographical advantage while its economy has recorded significant advancements in recent years.
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| Xinyue Hou, manager of the portfolio in Asia of Bellecapital. (Photo: bellecapital.com) |
Vietnamese workers are known for their diligence, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit, she said, noting that they consistently put in effort to accumulate wealth, and many of them choose to borrow more capital to start their own businesses.
She spotlighted Vietnam's remarkable economic growth in recent years and pointed out the Southeast Asian nation's advantages and policies to attract investment.
Xinyue Hou mentioned Vietnam's socio-economic development policies up to 2025, acknowledging its continuous efforts to ensure rapid and sustainable economic growth on the basis of promoting macroeconomic stability and the development of science, technology, and innovation.
She expressed the belief that Vietnam's efforts to spur industrialisation and modernisation will continue to yield positive results in the near future.
Vietnam Report publishes list of most 500 profitable companies in 2023
Vietnam Report and the online newspaper Vietnamnet have announced a list of the 500 most profitable companies (PROFIT500) in Vietnam in 2023, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| A Petrovietnam's drilling platform on Bach Ho oil field. Petrovietnam has secured the top spot on the list of PROFIT500 in 2023. (Photo: VNA) |
Among the companies, the ten on top comprise Petrovietnam, Samsung Electronics Vietnam Thai Nguyen, Viettel, Vietcombank, Techcombank, Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corp, BIDV, Military Bank, Agribank, and VPBank.
The ten most profitable private companies, meanwhile, consist of Techcombank, VPBank, ACB, Vingroup, VIB, Vinamilk, HDBank, Hoa Phat, SHB, and TPBank.
Foreign direct investment companies maintained the lead in terms of return on assets (ROA) with 13.7%, up 2.7% year-by-year. Companies operating in the private sector came next with 11.2% and were followed by those in the public sector (9.2%).
About one-third of companies on PROFIT500 expected economic growth of between 4.5 and 5.0% for the year 2023. Merely 4.5% anticipated that growth would surpass 5.5% whereas 13.6% forecasted it would be less than 4.0%.
More than half of the companies believed that their profits would improve slightly against the first six months of the year, 4.5% forecasted their profits would stay flat, and 40.9% thought otherwise.
Approximately three-fourths of the companies cited weakening demand and global uncertainties as the biggest issues holding them back. Other issues include rising input costs, high inflation in large importing countries, and challenges in the realty and corporate bond markets.
"Falling orders and weak market demand have led to higher unsold inventory, putting a lot of pressure on firms' production plans," said Vietnam Report.
Vietnam Report showed that companies were pinning their hopes on supportive policies from the Government, which are expected to create a low-interest environment conducive to their operation.
Nearly 60% cited cuts in bank lending rates as the driving force behind their profit growth in the second half of the year. Exactly 54.5% relied on cuts in value-added tax whereas 27.3% ticked "the acceleration of public money disbursement".
Vietnam Report also underlined seven key measures to boost profits in the last six months of 2023. Among the measures, expanding into new markets was employed by over 80% of the companies. Enhancing customer services came next with 77.3%, and then seeking new suppliers with about 75%.
It is also worth noting that at the time of the survey, merely 41% of the companies said they had reached over 50% of their profit targets for 2023, lower than the figure of the same time last year (73.9%)./.