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| Inside a foreign direct investment garment and textile firm (Photo: VNA) |
In a recent talk on CNBC’s Squawk Box, he laid a stress on Vietnam’s advantages, including a competitive labour market, and a wide range of signed free trade agreements (FTAs) that facilitate its exports, describing them as fundamental support for the Southeast Asian country to lure investments.
Mentioning the power imbalance last year which was due to scorching weather, he said the Vietnamese authorities have learnt from the experience and made better preparations while carrying out more pre-emptive approaches with hope to prevent the repeat of the shortages.
The specialist highlighted that Vietnam has been a bright star in the region regarding foreign direct investment (FDI) attractions over the past decade, adding foreign investors funneled more than 11 billion USD into the country from the beginning of the year to May 20, and some 8.25 billion USD was disbursed during the time span, up 2% and 7.8% year-on-year, respectively.
Bac Giang’s lychee reaches out to choosy markets
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| Bac Giang is now home to 29,700 hectares of lychee, yielding more than 100,000 tonnes in 2024. (Photo: VNA) |
The northern province of Bac Giang has exported more than 24,000 tonnes of lychees to many markets with fastidious requirements from the outset of this year, according to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.
According to Vietnam News Agency, shipments to the choosy markets have increased, with the US purchasing 23 tonnes, Japan 30 tonnes, the EU 53 tonnes and Australia 39 tonnes.
Around 43,000 tonnes of the staple have been sold domestically.
The fruits are fetching a tastier price, ranging 25,000-70,000 VND (0.98-2.75 USD) each kilogramme for early-ripened lychee and 55,000-85,000 VND for peak-harvest season one.
Bac Giang province suffers a fall of some 50% in its lychee productivity, however, the fruits are of the best quality ever as farmers have applied advanced technology into cultivation while competent sectors have made meticulous preparation for export, the department said.
An arsenal of trade promotion measures have been rolled out such as supporting enterprises and cooperatives to negotiate and sign agreement for lychee export.
The province is meticulously managing 223 planting area codes covering over 17,000 hectares, with an estimated output of 34,000 tonnes. This includes 130 codes for the Chinese market, spanning over 16,000 hectares and yielding about 30,000 tonnes. The remaining 4,000 tonnes are destined for high-demand markets such as the US, Japan, Australia, the EU and the Republic of Korea, with specific codes allocated for each.
Bac Giang is now home to 29,700 hectares of lychee, yielding more than 100,000 tonnes in 2024. The province plans to sell some 70,000 tonnes of the fruit abroad.
Boosting knowledge for Vietnamese SMEs through collaboration
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| Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) |
An online training project to boost Vietnamese small and medium enterprises has recently been initiated by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), reported Vietnam News Agency.
The project, themed 'Elevating Knowledge for Vietnamese Small and Medium Enterprises', is active on www.smelearning.vn.
It aims to enhance the training and development of entrepreneurs and businesses across the country, in line with the Government's target of creating a thousand courses by 2025 and five times that number by 2035.
Around 1.5 million businesses nationwide already have access to quality, free courses tailored to their development plans. Over 6,000 SME workers, including owners, managers and employees, have benefited from these training programmes.
The project involves partnering organisations and sponsors who contribute through content sharing, digital services and new technology platforms.
It encourages the participation of ministries, local business associations and experts to create an effective learning platform for SMEs. The project will provide a conducive learning environment, foster a learning culture and enhance sustainable development capabilities for Vietnamese SMEs.
To ensure the effective implementation of the project, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong suggests that ministries, local authorities, associations and supportive organisations, widely publicise how to register for the project's programmes and courses.
Localities are encouraged to actively participate and collaborate with associations to promote continuous learning and enhance business management capabilities.
Nguyen Van Than, Chairman of the Vietnam Small and Medium Enterprise Association, hailed the project as a significant step for businesses, enabling them to engage in government administrative reforms, creating a digital environment to address their individual needs.
Some 400,000 visitors to Nha Trang Sea Tourism Festival 2024
The Nha Trang Sea Tourism Festival 2024 officially closed at April 2 Square, Nha Trang City, the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, on June 16, reported Vietnam News Agency.
The four-day event attracted hundreds of thousands of visitor arrivals with numerous activities such as the opening ceremony, street art festival, “Hipfest Summer 2024” dance competition, Cyclo parade combined with Ao dai performance, Light Carnival Parade, Harley Davidson Motor Parade; and unique Nha Trang H-Marathon.
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| The closing ceremony of the Nha Trang Sea Tourism Festival 2024 |
Mr. Dinh Van Thieu, Vice Chairman of the Khanh Hoa People’s Committee, said that according to estimates, the total number of visitors to the festival is estimated at nearly 400,000. Three to five-star hotels in Tran Phu Street and Nha Trang city center operated at more than 70% capacity.
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| Mr. Dinh Van Thieu delivered the closing speech of the closing ceremony of the festival |
“Khanh Hoa hopes that the success of the Nha Trang Sea Tourism Festival 2024 will contribute to the success of tourism stimulation activities. In addition to promoting the destination, it will also create momentum in growth for the Khanh Hoa tourism industry in 2024 and 2025,” Mr. Dinh Van Thieu shared.
At the closing night, a series of songs, dance performances, and an EDM festival combining sound and light were performed to serve visitors and residents./.