 |
|
Vietnam National University in Hanoi (Photo: nld.com.vn)
|
Six Vietnamese universities have made it into the Times Higher Education (THE) 2023 World University rankings, a list which features 1,799 higher education institutions.
According to the latest rankings released on October 12, the Vietnamese institutions to feature include the Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Ton Duc Thang, Duy Tan University, and Hue University.
In this year’s rankings, of the local universities listed, Vietnam National University in Hanoi maintained its position in the 1001 to 1200 group. In addition, it also scored high points in the Citations and Industry Income criteria, said Radio the Voice of Vietnam.
The rankings are based on five major areas of teaching, including the learning environment, research, including the volume, income, and reputation, citations, such as research influence, international outlook, including staff, students, and research, and industry income, including knowledge transfer.
THE Rankings count the number of publications published in the academic journals indexed by Elsevier’s Scopus database per scholar, with the calculation of the rankings has being independently audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Pepper export value surges by 7.1% over nine-month period
Vietnam raked in US$770.44 million from exporting 174,530 tonnes of pepper during the past nine months of the year, a decline of 18% in volume, but up 7.1% in value on-year, according to details given by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Throughout the reviewed period, pepper exports to the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Germany, and the UK fell while exports to markets such as India, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea (RoK), the Philippines, Russia, and Thailand experienced an upward trajectory, said Radio the Voice of Vietnam.
 |
|
Pepper export value surges by 7.1% over nine-month period (kinhtedothi.vn)
|
The average export price of Vietnamese pepper soared by 30.7% to reach US$4,414 per tonne compared to the same period from last year.
Pepper exports are forecasted to continue facing numerous difficulties as global pepper prices continue to drop due to reduced demand occurring in many countries, especially demand from China and the high value of the US$.
According to the Import and Export Department, the amount of pepper in stock in the nation is estimated to be at a relative high of between 80,000 and 100,000 tonnes,
At present, the price of local peppers largely depends on the Chinese market, particularly with European and US importers signing contracts until the end of this year.
Amid the pepper industry facing a number challenges, Hoang Thi Lien, chairwoman of the Vietnam Pepper Association, said that new generation free trade agreements (FTAs) are anticipated to bring about many benefis to enterprises in the time ahead.
Vietnam among most searched tourist destinations on Google by Australians
Vietnam ranks fourth in the list of most Googled tourist destinations by Australians over the past 20 years, according to Google.
Japan took the lead in the ranking, followed by New Zealand and Thailand, Google said.
 |
|
Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)
|
In July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) also revealed that Vietnam was among the top 10 most popular destinations for Australian travelers in July, with more than 18,500 Australians visiting the Southeast Asian country in the month, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
Before the COVID-19 broke out in 2019, Australia was the ninth biggest source of tourists to Vietnam, with about 383,000.
After both countries reopened their borders, the number of Australian visitors to Vietnam has risen considerably.
Vietnam earned some 394.2 trillion VND (16.05 billion USD) from tourism in the first nine months of this year, equivalent to 78% of the figure recorded in 2019.
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said the country welcomed over 1.8 million foreign tourists in the nine-month period, of which 1.2 million were recorded in the third quarter of this year, 2.5 times the figure in the previous quarter.
Vietnam ranked among top ten nations in Nikkei's COVID-19 Recovery Index
With 75 points, Vietnam is ranked 8th among 121 countries and territories listed in the Japanese-based media group Nikkei's latest and last COVID-19 Recovery Index.
According to the Vietnam News Agency, the index assesses 121 countries and regions on infection management, vaccine rollouts and social mobility. A higher ranking indicates a more advanced recovery, characterized by lower infection and death rates, better inoculation coverage and fewer restrictions on movement.
 |
| Vietnam ranked among top ten nations in Nikkei's COVID-19 Recovery Index (Photo: VNA) |
From the 100th place when the ranking was first published in July 2021, Vietnam has seen significant improvement to be ranked in the top ten for four straight months since May 2022.
A number of other Southeast Asian countries also recorded significant improvement in the ranking, notably Cambodia at the 4th place with 76.5 points, the highest in the region.
According to Nikkei, Vietnam and Cambodia have achieved a dramatic turnaround. They had early success in managing the coronavirus one year into the pandemic, but were then hit hard by the delta variant in the middle of 2021, when they had barely started mass inoculations. This forced the duo to impose draconian measures, including lockdowns.
Nevertheless, they successfully expedited their inoculation drives. Vietnam earned full marks, or a score of 30, for vaccinations in the latest index, while Cambodia scored 29. Both governments have dropped COVID-related restrictions and fully reopened to international tourists.
Their progress has translated into brighter economic outlooks. In its latest economic forecast, the World Bank raised Vietnam's annual growth prediction to 7.2% from 5.3% and Cambodia's to 4.8% from 4.5%.
The October edition of the index is the final installment, as some data sources will soon cease to be updated.
IMF forecasts Vietnamese GDP growth to continue at 7% this year
Vietnamese GDP growth is projected to surge by 7% this year, thereby taking the lead among the group of five emerging markets in Southeast Asia (ASEAN-5), according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s World Economic Outlook Report for October.
Most notably, the IMF has described the country as a bright spot in the global economy and continues to forecast Vietnamese GDP growth to grow 7% this year, higher than its previous projection of 6%.
In line with this, Vietnamese GDP growth is the highest among the ASEAN-5 group that made up of Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, reported the Vietnam News Agency.
 |
|
IMF forecasts Vietnamese GDP growth to continue at 7% this year (Photo: vneconomy.vn)
|
The ASEAN-5 group is therefore forecast to grow 5.3% this year, rising from 3.4% last year, but will slow down to 4.9% in 2023, according to details given by the report.
The IMF’s latest report outlines that Asia's real GDP growth is projected to reach 4% this year, in comparison to recorded 6.5% last year.
This represents the fourth time that the IMF has moved to lower its economic growth forecast for the region amid global instability as several major economies such as Europe, the United States, and China have experienced high inflation coupled with an economic growth slowdown.
According to details put forward by the IMF, the dynamic Asia region has been significantly affected by escalating commodity prices, lower demand from major economies, as well as the consequences of disruptions occurring in the global supply chain.
Emerging Asian economies are forecast to reach 4.4% this year, rising to 4.9% in 2023, representing a drop of 20 percentage points and 10 percentage points respectively compared to the IMF’s projection made in July. In 2023, Vietnamese GDP growth is also projected to slow to 6.2%.
Previously, international organisations also highlighted Vietnamese economic stability. For example, in the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Update in October, Vietnamese GDP growth is projected to stand at 7.2% compared to the projection released in June of 5.8%.
In the latest ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO 2022) report, the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) also outlined an optimistic prediction for the Vietnamese economy by raising the country’s GDP growth to 7% from 6.3% in July./.