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| Consumers shop at a Winmart supermarket in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) |
The VAT cut to 8% from 10%, which has been put in place since 2022, is not applicable to such services and products as telecommunications, finance, banking, security, insurance, real estate business, coke and chemical products, and goods and services subject to special consumption tax.
It has been consistently applied in import, export, production and trade.
The decree also stipulates the order and procedures to carry out the tax incentive.
Also on July 1, several fees and charges will be reduced till the end of the year to remove bottlenecks for enterprises and prop up their business activities, under a circular of the Ministry of Finance.
Accordingly, a 50% decrease will be applied for fees for the establishment and operation of banks and non-bank credit institutions, the issuance of the citizen identification cards, and registration of intellectual property protection, appraisal and approval of fire prevention and fighting designs, and use of railway infrastructure, among others.
Reductions from 10-30% are applied to fees for issuing licences and permits for civil aviation operations, entry and exit permits for restricted airport areas, and customs fees for foreign flights landing in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the securities industry sees a 50% reduction in most fees and charges, except for licensing fees of securities professionals and supervision fees for securities activities.
This marks the fourth time the ministry has imposed fee reductions of 10-50%, which is estimated to have a budgetary impact of about 700 billion VND (29.1 million USD).
France’s Thales Group wants to strengthen collaboration with Vietnam
France’s Thales Group, which has 30 years of presence in Vietnam, has shown its interest in expanding its cooperation with the Southeast Asian country in the field of defence radar – its leading technology product, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| Thales Group's radar product (Photo: VNA) |
Thales, a global technology leader operating in defence & security, aeronautics & space, and cybersecurity & digital identity, has provided technical solutions in both civilian and military aspects for Vietnam. It has cooperated with the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) in monitoring and protecting flight zones, according to Nicolas Bernardin, Director of Thales Vietnam. The group has also worked with military-run telecommunications company Viettel Group in SIM card production, and with banks in credit card production, and with the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) in developing telecom satellites, smart cities, digital identity and cybersecurity.
Especially, over the past 10 years, Thales has collaborated with Vietnamese partners in the field of defence to modernise military platforms, Bernardin added.
He expressed his pride when the group has been chosen by Vietnam to provide technology solutions such as sonar, electronic or radar technology navigation systems, affirming that the group is making efforts to develop partnerships with local industries to strengthen their capacity in technology application and transfer.
FDI inflow into Vietnam up 13.1% in six months
Vietnam attracted nearly 15.2 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first six months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%, reported Vietnam News Agency according to statistics from the General Statistics Office.
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| Inside Jasan textile and dyeing firm in Hai Phong city (Photo: VNA) |
Foreign investors registered nearly 9.54 billion USD in 1,538 new projects, up 46.9% in capital and 18.9% in the project number as compared to the same time last year.
Meanwhile, 592 projects had their capital adjusted up, with a total amount of 3.95 billion USD, down 6.3% and up 35% year-on-year, respectively.
Capital contributions and share purchases fell 57.7% year-on-year to 1.7 billion USD.
Some 10.84 billion USD in FDI was disbursed over the six-month span, rising 8.2% against the same time last year.
Foreign investors injected their capital in 18 out of 21 economic sectors in the country, with the processing and manufacturing industry attracting the largest investment of 10.69 billion USD, or 70.4% of the total, followed by realty sector (over 2.47 billion USD), wholesale and retail sale industry (614 million USD), and professional, scientific and technological activities (over 452 million USD).
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| Illustrative photo (Source: VGP) |
Registering nearly 5.58 billion USD in Vietnam, Singapore was the largest investor among 84 countries and territories with investment in the country, accounting for around 36.7% of total FDI in the reviewed period and representing a year-on-year surge of 86%. Japan came second with more than 1.73 billion USD, followed by Hong Kong (China), the Republic of Korea, and China.
The foreign investors funneled their capital into 48 cities and provinces across the nation, with Bac Ninh leading in FDI attraction with 2.58 billion USD. In the second and third places were Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Quang Ninh, with corresponding FDI of some 1.54 billion USD and 1.36 billion USD.
Vietnam ranks first at Southeast Asian rowing championship
Vietnam ranked first at the 2024 Southeast Asian Rowing, U19 and U23 Championships held in the northern city of Hai Phong from June 27-30 with a total of 34 gold, 23 silver and 13 bronze medals, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| Vietnamese rowers get gold medals at the 2024 Southeast Asian Rowing, U19 and U23 Championships. (Photo: VNA) |
Indonesia came second with five golds, four silvers and 10 bronzes, while Thailand placed third with two golds, eight silvers and three bronzes.
After the rowing championship wrapped up on June 30, the teams will continue with canoeing events.
It brought together more than 500 athletes and coaches, with 264 for rowing and nearly 300 for canoeing, from seven Southeast Asian nations, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and host Vietnam./.