☕ Afternoon briefing on February 17

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 February 17 urged stakeholders in the real estate market, including the State, businesses, buyers and people, to join efforts for the safe, heathy and sustainable development of the market.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the conference. (Photo: VNA)

Addressing a national online conference in Hanoi that sought ways to remove obstacles to the development of the domestic real estate market, the PM pointed out the imbalance in the market, with a shortage of housing for low-income earners. Read full story

- The US Institute of Peace (USIP) and the Vietnamese Embassy in the US held a webinar on February 16 to look into impacts of the Paris Peace Accords, signed 50 years ago, on the two countries’ relations today.

The event attracted nearly 200 guests who were scholars, historians, and representatives of some organisations and associations. Read full story

- The agricultural sector targets attracting 25 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) by 2030, along with 5 billion USD in loans and 1 billion USD in grants.

Vietnam's agriculture sector targets attracting 25 billion USD by 2030. (Photo: VNA)

By the end of 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development approved projects with a total investment of 840 million USD. Read full story

- Industry insiders have shown their confidence in exporting 4 billion USD worth of fruits and vegetables this year given rosy signs recorded recently.

China, the biggest market of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, reopened its borders in the beginning of 2023, giving Vietnam a number of opportunities to increase shipments there. Particularly, fruit export holds many chances as this market always has high demand for farm produce imports. Read full story

- The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has expected credit growth to hit 14-15% this year, leaving a possibility that it might adjust the orientation to suit the actual business situation and developments.

Many stock companies, however, predicted in their strategic reports that the growth will be about 13%. They explained that the lending interest rate is now at a high level, affecting the borrowing capacity and making production expansion projects less feasible. Read full story

- As 2023 is forecast to be a difficult year driven by increasing inflation and economic recession at the global level, enterprises in Vietnam have actively built scenarios to adapt to market recovery and anticipate new business opportunities.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth 1.69 billion USD as of January 20 this year, down 19.8% annually. Read full story

- The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has issued an action plan on climate change adaptation to 2030, with a vision to 2025, with a goal of reducing the sector's greenhouse gas emission by 25%-30%.

Illustrative photo (Source: congthuong.vn)

Under the plan, the proportion of renewable energy in the total primary energy supply will reach about 15-20% by 2030 and 25-30% in 2045. Meanwhile, greenhouse gas emission from power generation is projected at about 42 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050. Read full story

- Luma Russo from Brazil was crowned Miss Charm 2023 at the final held at Hoa Binh Theatre in Ho Chi Minh City on February 16 night.

Luma Russo from Brazil has become Miss Charm 2023. (Photo: VNA)

Russo is 1.68m tall with measurements of 89-61-92cm. She surpassed 37 other contestants to win the contest, and will spend one year to spread meaningful messages in education and tourism. Read full story

- The Vietnam Football Federation said on February 16 that it had working sessions with Philippe Troussier on the post of the national and U23 men’s football teams’ head coach.

As this position has a very important role and has a great influence on the plan to implement Vietnam’s football development strategies, the selection has been carefully conducted by the VFF with a very strict process./. Read full story