☕ Afternoon briefing on July 12

Hanoi (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on July 12.

- It is necessary to promote the leading role of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in forming and expanding production, supply and value chains, stated Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during a working session with the Party Committee of the Central Enterprises Bloc (CEB) in Hanoi on July 12. 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh addresses the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

The PM described the SOEs as an important material force of the economy, and hailed the strong performance of the businesses, especially during COVID-19 period. Read full story

- Vietnam and Argentina have agreed to consider the possibility of cooperation in new potential fields such as fundamental industries, hi-tech agriculture, food processing, energy and biotechnology to deepen bilateral economic-trade relations.

The agreement was reached by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and visiting Argentinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Santiago Cafiero during their meeting in Hanoi on July 11. Read full story

- Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha on July 11 had an online meeting with Alok Kumar Sharma, Minister for the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom (UK) and President for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), discussing cooperation in response to climate change.

At the meeting, both sides exchanged views on the implementation of commitments at COP26, the National Strategy on Climate Change by 2050, the update plan for the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), and the content of Vietnam's Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). Read full story

- Many major foreign online service providers such as Facebook, Microsoft, TikTok, and Netflix have directly registered, declared and/or paid taxes online into the Vietnamese budget.

Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA)

The General Department of Taxation reported that the tax revenue from cross-border goods and services through organisations in Vietnam declaring and paying on behalf of contractors reached 5.4 trillion VND (nearly 235 million USD) from 2018 until June 29. Read full story

- Australia’s Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC) has decided not to continue to impose anti-dumping duties on aluminum extrusions originated from Vietnam and Malaysia.

Per the ADC’s final conclusion for its final review of the anti-dumping tax period for Vietnamese and Malaysian aluminum extrusions, the products accounted for a relatively small share of the Australian market during the past five years. The application of anti-dumping measures, meanwhile, did not create significant impacts on Australia's aluminum extrusion industry. Read full story

- After four years of negotiations, on July 11, a protocol on phytosanitary requirements for Vietnamese durian exported to China was signed - an important condition for Vietnamese durian to have a sustainable import market.

Vietnamese durian (Photo: tuoitre.vn)

The protocol, signed by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, will be sent to the General Administration of Customs of China and published on its portal, together with lists of eligible durian growing areas and packing facilities of Vietnam. Read full story

- Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab recently described Vietnam as the safest country in Southeast Asia against the threat of financial attacks targeting banks, payment systems and online stores.

In an interview with Sputnik news agency, Yeo Siang Tiong, Kaspersky Lab’s general manager for Southeast Asia, said that the company's statistics showed the rate of scams related to banks, payment systems and online stores in Vietnam was lower than other countries in the region. The fraud rate was 26.36% in Vietnam while it was 40.87% in Indonesia, 46.77% in Malaysia, 64,03% in the Philippines, 51.6% in Singapore and 56.35% in Thailand./. Read full story