Digital transformation is not only a trend but also essential for businesses to thrive as the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has boomed globally, heard at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 20.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has further slashed its economic growth forecast for the Philippines for 2019 and 2020 to 5.7 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively, as the economy slowed down in the second quarter and external environment worsens.
A number of organisations in Ho Chi Minh City have provided assistance and consultancy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) while banks have offered them loans on easy terms but they do not make use of either consultancy or loans, heard a conference in the city on October 3.
Vietnam has emerged as an attractive destination to investors thanks to its rapid economic growth and high business profits, said Vladimir Potapov, CEO of Russia’s VTB Capital Investments and Senior Vice President of VTB Bank.
Vietnam’s socio-economic situation has shown positive signs with the economy maintaining growth momentum in the first months of 2019, according to Nguyen Duc Kien, vice chairman of the National Assembly (NA)’s Economics Committee.
Some members of the national financial and monetary policy advisory council have pointed out certain problems in the economy, warning that failure to address them would not only make faster growth unachievable but also decelerate economic expansion.
The final round of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – a trade agreement between ten ASEAN member states and their six partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea – will focus on resolving issues and reaching mutual ground on market openness, trade freedom for goods and services as well as investment.
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue held talks in Hanoi on September 23 with Senior Vice President and chief economist of the World Bank Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, who is in Vietnam to attend the Vietnam Reform and Development Forum 2019.
The Thai Ministry of Commerce said on September 20 that the country’s exports dropped 4 percent in August from a year earlier after an unexpected rise in the previous month.
There would be no success if no effort is made to renovate the mindset, actively build economic development methods, and reform mechanisms and policies, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) offers many opportunities to Vietnamese workers and just as many challenges. The country’s labour force must find ways to improve its quality in order to produce products that adhere to stricter standards in European markets, said policymakers and labour experts at a conference in Hanoi on September 17.
With a positive macroeconomic background at the moment, interest rates will basically stay steady until the end of the year due to excessive liquidity and proper credit growth, according to an official from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).
A working delegation from the editorial group of the sub-committee on socio-economic affairs of the 13th Party Congress has had working sessions with several organisations and research institutions in Washington DC to study US policies, and gather experts’ recommendations to make preparations for Vietnam’s socio-economic development strategy in the time ahead.
Economic ties between African and Middle Eastern countries and Southeast Asia in general, Vietnam in particular is still constrained, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at the two-day conference ‘Meet Ambassadors from the Middle East and Africa 2019’ held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from September 9 to 10 in Hanoi.
Vietnam’s fiscal deficit, including principal repayments, would come in at 6.6 percent of GDP this year and next year, up from 5.9 percent in 2018, Fitch Solutions Macro Research forecast.
The market sentiment will remain lateral in September weighed down by global economic and political tensions while trading quiet amid speculations of Q3 corporate earnings.
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