 |
| Vehicle assembly is one of the areas where Vietnamese businesses plan to invest in the US. |
Those in attendance at the event included Diane Farrell, deputy under secretary for International Trade, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper; representatives of the Department of State, the Department of Energy, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the administrations of a number of states in which Vietnamese enterprises have run investment projects, as well as a number of associations and US enterprises investing in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese delegation to this year’s summit consists of more than 30 delegates from 20 businesses that have or are intending to invest in the US in different fields and industries, such as electric vehicle and battery manufacturing and assembling, technology, software, interior design, construction, logistics, transportation, food, and packaging.
Some businesses such as VinFast Auto have pledged large investments in the US and have duly contributed to bringing the nation to ninth position in the list of 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region with the largest investment commitments in the US for the period from January, 2013, to December, 2022.
As part of his address, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Dung emphasized the developments made in mutual relations on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Partnership, while hoping that Vietnamese businesses will find more partners and investment opportunities in the US, thereby further tightening bilateral ties between the two sides.
Farrell pledged that the US Government will strive to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to make the right choices when investing in the US.
Vietnamese businesses shared their business plans in this market, going on to express their hope that both nations’ government agencies would continue to support their business investment activities in the US.
The same day saw Ambassador Dung and Ambassador Knapper attend a roundtable discussion with US businesses, hosted by The Asia Group.
The US business representative highly appreciated Vietnamese development potential, presented business and investment plans in the nation, and contributed ideas to further boosting Vietnamese development, especially in the fields of energy, aviation, technology, and climate change response.
The 2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit is an important annual conference aimed at attracting direct investment in the US. This year’s event ran from May 1 to May 4 in the state of Maryland, drawing nearly 4,000 attendees along with the presence of economic development organizations (EDOs) from states and territories throughout the US, including more than 1,200 investors from over 70 countries and territories globally.
The US remains the world's largest recipient of direct investment.
Hanoi’s CPI decreases 0.81% in April
The consumer price index (CPI) of Hanoi in April decreased 0.81% compared to that in March and increased 0.49% year on year, reported the municipal Statistics Office.
 |
| Hanoi’s CPI decreases 0.81% in April (Photo: VNA) |
In April, an upturn was seen in the price of eight out of the 11 goods groups led by culture, entertainment and tourism at 6.72% and food and catering services at 4.47%, followed by beverage and cigarette (3.56%); apparel, headwear and footwear (1.88%), and household appliances (1.55%), among others.
Meanwhile, three groups experiencing a price decrease included education (3.62%), transportation (0.74%), and postal and telecommunications services (0.3%).
Also in April, gold prices rose 2.71% compared to a month earlier and 0.05% year-on-year. The average of gold prices in the four-month period gained 0.29% over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, USD price index in April declined 0.89% from March, and up 2.75% compared to the same period last year. The average of USD price index in the four-month period hiked 3.47% year-on-year.
Tourism has been considered as the city’s economic spearhead, significantly contributing to purchasing power and CPI. The sector is striving to boost domestic tourism promotion programmes, especially before big holidays.
Hanoi has also diversified promotional methods on digital platforms with the message "Hanoi- Come to love" and "Hanoi- safe, friendly, quality, and attractive tourism destination" in order to lure more visitors to the city.
In April, the locality welcomed about 425,000 visitors, up 4.9% over March and three times higher than the number a year ago. The four-month figure reached 1.468 million, 3.1 times higher than 2022.
In the reviewed month, the number of international arrivals was estimated at 310,000, an increase of 5.8% over March and 6.9% year-on-year.
Export of rice posts highest growth among key agricultural products
Rice exports in April 2023 were estimated at 1.1 million tonnes with a value of 573.9 million USD, reported Vietnam News Agency according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
 |
| Export of rice posts highest growth among key agricultural products (Photo: VNA) |
The April figures have brought the total volume and value of rice exports in the first four months of the year to 2.95 million tonnes with 1.56 billion USD, up 43.6% in volume and 54.5% in value over the same period in 2022. This is the highest growth rate among key agricultural product groups.
Some other agricultural products also posted higher export value than the same period last year such as vegetables and fruits (up 19.4%), cashew nuts (3.4%) and coffee (2.5%).
Meanwhile, exports of other products experienced a downward trend including rubber (down 20%); tea (5.8%); pepper (10%) and cassava and cassava products (12%).
 |
| Illustrative photo: vneconomy.vn |
The average export price of rice in the first 4 months of 2023 was estimated at 526 USD per tonne, up 7.6% over the same period in 2022. In the first three months of the year, the Philippines was Vietnam's largest rice consuming market with 45.9% market share, buying 893,300 tonnes valued at 450.4 million USD, up 32.9% in volume and 44.8% in value year on year.
In the group of 15 largest rice export markets, Indonesia recorded the strongest increase in value (up 177.4 times), while Ivory Coast showed the largest decrease of 70.9%.
Vietnam's 5% broken rice price was 495-500 USD per tonne, the highest level since April 2021 and up 50 USD per tonne from a month ago.
Traders said that demand for Vietnamese rice is still strong, while domestic supply is insufficient. However, importers including the Philippines are likely to slow down in buying.
Fishery exports dwindle in first four months
Fishery products shipped overseas earned 2.63 billion USD for Vietnam between January and April, down 27.7% year-on-year, reported Vietnam News Agency according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
 |
| Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) |
In April alone, the export revenue was 800 million USD, an annual drop of 28.6%.
In the first three months of the year, Japan, the US and China were the top three markets of Vietnamese fishery products, accounting for 46.1% of the country's total export of those products.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the US is sinking deeper and deeper into the mire of rising food prices and decreasing consumption. This situation caused Vietnam's aquatic exports to the market to maintain a steep decline of 51% in April. Consequently, the US fell to the third place in Vietnam's lineup of top seafood import markets, after Japan and China. In the January-April period, its imports of the goods from Vietnam were estimated at 418 million USD, plunging by 57% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, by the end of April, the value of Vietnamese fishery products shipped to China stood at about 435 million USD, down 37% against last year.
Shipments to both Japan and the Republic of Korea also dropped compared to the same period last year, but at a slower rate than that of the US and China./.