Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.
- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on December 28 asked the transport sector to pay more attention to infrastructure development, considering this as a key, priority task in 2024.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA) Addressing an online conference held by the Ministry of Transport in Hanoi, which was connected with sites in 62 other provinces and centrally-run cities, the government leader hailed the sector’s efforts in fulfilling its tasks and targets in 2023, contributing to the country's socio-economic development. Read full story
- Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has forecast Vietnam’s growth in the medium term at around 7%, with many favourable signs.
In a report released recently, the agency said Vietnam’s cost competitiveness, educated workforce compared with peers, and entry into numerous regional and global free trade agreements (FTAs) should bode well for continued strong FDI inflows, particularly in the context of ongoing global supply chain diversification. Read full story
- Vietnam’s total trade with European and American markets is estimated to decrease by 9.5% year-on-year to around 208 billion USD in 2023, but the country still enjoys a trade surplus of 125 billion USD.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s European – American Market Department, Vietnam’s trade surplus with European countries is estimated to reach around 33 billion USD and the figure with American nations is 92 billion USD. Read full story
- Ho Chi Minh City’s Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) on December 28 signed a cooperation pact with the US-based engineering simulation software provider Ansys, Inc. to develop human resources for the country’s semiconductor industry.
At the signing ceremony of the cooperation pact between the Saigon Hi-Tech Park and Ansys, Inc. (Photo: VNA) Accordingly, Ansys will provide educational software tools and related training programmes to local universities with sci-tech strengths through the firm’s innovation space. Read full story
- Savings interest rates have set a new record low of only 1.9% per year for a 1-2-month term.
Vietcombank has announced a new interest rate list this week that surprised the market. Accordingly, the bank’s interest rate for short-term deposits from 1-2 months is currently only 1.9% per year, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous week. This is the new bottom of deposit interest rates in the market. The interest rate for long-term deposits of 12 months or more at Vietcombank remains at 4.8% per year. Read full story
- Vietnam remains committed and focused on enhancing the development of hydrogen energy production and hydrogen-source fuels in regions with potential and advantages in renewable energy, close to major consumer markets.
This is to establish a comprehensive hydrogen energy industry ecosystem from production to storage, transportation, distribution, and utilisation of hydrogen, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said at a recent government meeting on Vietnam's hydrogen and off-shore energy development. Read full story
- Suffering from declined overseas shipments, export businesses in some industries now need more assistance from the Government to navigate difficulties and challenges, insiders have said.
Together with public investment and consumption, export is identified as one of the three drivers of Vietnam’s economic growth. Read full story
- The Vietnam Institute of Education Sciences and the National Foreign Languages Project Management Board on December 27 held a conference to publish this year’s report on the teaching and learning of foreign languages in Vietnam.
According to the annual report, the Ministry of Education and Training completed the development and issuance of curriculums for foreign languages in the 2018 general education programme. Read full story
- Vietnam expects to form a nationwide network of digital transformation with the participation of all-level state agencies, organisations, businesses and people, according to a recently-approved project.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has signed a decision to approve the project on consolidating apparatus organisation, and improving state management and law enforcement capacity in digital transformation from central to local levels by 2025, with a vision to 2030. Read full story
- The south-central province of Binh Thuan held the closing ceremony of the Visit Vietnam Year 2023 in Phan Thiet city on December 27 evening.
With the theme of “Binh Thuan – Green Convergence”, the programme includes over 200 events and activities in 41 provinces and cities nationwide, of which more than 30 have been organised in the host locality./. Read full story
