Author Archives: Vietnam Briefing

New Issue of Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Provinces, Regions and Key Economic Zones

May 17 – The new issue of Vietnam Briefing Magazine, titled Vietnam’s Provinces, Regions and Key Economic Zones, is out now and immediately available as a complimentary PDF download on the Asia Briefing Bookstore.

While not a large country in terms of area, Vietnam’s longitudinal breadth and variations in terrain allow the country to utilize its topographical advantages to simultaneously support a wide range of industries.

Vietnam can generally be geographically divided on three levels: provincially, regionally (according to the eight regions defined by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam) and in terms of the three Key Economic Zones (Northern, Central and Southern) defined by economic development plans launched in 2004. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Featured | Tagged Key Economic Zones, Vietnam Briefing Magazine, Vietnam Provinces, Vietnam Regions | Leave a comment

Report: Vietnam 2nd Most Attractive Market in Southeast Asia

By Julia Gu

May 15 – A recent survey by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) revealed that Vietnam ranked as the second most attractive investment destination in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. Vietnam’s FDI in recent years has largely gone into its manufacturing sector, particularly the manufacturing of textiles and footwear, but the country’s role and its position relative to other Asian countries is evolving.

With steady growth in agriculture, Vietnam is set to surpass India to become Asia’s commodity trading hub by attracting more global investment in the nation’s commodity trade section. Vietnam has replaced India as the largest exporter of cashews, seafood, coffee and pepper, and in the next few years, the country is about to overtake India in rubber production as well. Vietnam’s annual production of pepper has increased to 120,000 tons while India, which previously was the largest pepper producer in the world, is now producing only 48,000 tons per year. The International Finance Corporation, a division of the World Bank, said it would invest about US$40 million to assist Vietnam in its commodity trade financing. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade | Tagged McKinsey, Report, Vietnam Economy, Vietnam Manufacturing | Leave a comment

Credit Institutions in Vietnam Now Offering Foreign Currency Loans

May 14 – In a recent interview, Vice Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management Nguyen Dinh Cung said that the role of the State has to conform to the requirements of the market, the corporate sector, plus other stakeholders. In this way, the State would not be only build institutions and policies, but could also help the market work more efficiently – paving the way for economic restructuring.

The main target is to redistribute resources efficiently throughout the entire economy to achieve an economic structure which allows higher growth, greater competition, and a higher degree of sustainability. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged Vietnam Finance, Vietnam Foreign Currency, Vietnam Foreign Exchange, Vietnam Lending | Leave a comment

Attracting Investment in the Mekong River Delta

By Nguyen Huyen My

May 9 – In recent years, the Mekong River Delta (MRD) has gradually developed in all aspects, but to speed up investment attraction, the implementation of new infrastructure projects needs to be accelerated.

Mr. Nguyen Phong Quang, permanent deputy head of the Southwest Steering Committee, recently said that during the last 10 years, the MRD has seen comprehensive development, creating positive evolutions in many aspects. Infrastructure, especially in transportation and irrigation, has gained important developments from a low starting point, changing the entire appearance of the MRD. Continue reading →

Posted in FDI and Foreign Trade | Tagged FDI, Mekong River Delta, Vietnam Infrastructure | Leave a comment

Important Changes to Vietnam’s Tax Regulations

By Marco Azzaro

May 7 – Vietnam’s government has made some important changes to the country’s tax regulations over the first four months of 2012, and has issued Circular 06, which took effect from March 1, providing a detailed guidance on some key changes to VAT rules.

The government has underlined that VAT is enforceable on interest from loan agreements between non-credit institutions. Moreover, a schedule of cases was made in which input VAT of expenses paid by authorized parties can be claimed by authorizing parties and typical cases which constitute payment via banking channels. Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged Vietnam Regulatory, Vietnam Tax, Vietnam VAT | Leave a comment

Vietnam Establishes Mong Cai Economic Zone on Chinese Border

By Nhung Le

May 2 – On April 10, 2012, the Prime Minister of Vietnam promulgated Decision No. 19/2012/QD-TTg regarding the establishment of a border gate economic zone in Mong Cai, Quang Ninh Province.

The Mong Cai Border Gate Economic Zone includes all of Mong Cai City and the surrounding communes; the Hai Ha Industrial Zone – Seaport; Quang Ha town and some communes of Hai Ha District. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade | Tagged Doing Business in Vietnam, Mong Cai Economic Zone, Vietnam Economic Zones | Leave a comment

Foreigners Eligible for VAT Refund When Leaving Vietnam

Apr. 30 – On April 12, 2012, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance promulgated Circular No.58/2012/TT-BTC to guide the implementation of Decision No. 05/2012/QD-TTg dated January 19, 2012 on implementing a pilot project allowing VAT refunds for foreigners departing Vietnam from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi or Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC.

Foreigners who buy goods in Vietnam and leave from either of those airports will be reimbursed the VAT they have paid. However, the tax refund service fee which commercial banks are entitled to charge is equal to 15 percent of the total amount of VAT on goods eligible for refund that foreigners carry when leaving the airports. As such, the amount of value added tax which foreigners will be refunded is equal to 85 percent of the total amount of VAT paid. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Retail | Tagged Hanoi, HCMC, Value-Added Tax, VAT, Vietnam Tax, Vietnam Tourism | Leave a comment

Vietnam’s Payment System and Bank Modernization Project

By Marco Azzaro

Apr. 27 – Vietnam’s banking reforms, started in the late 1980s, have provided great positive consequences since 2004 to where the banking sector now resembles that of other newly industrialized economies.

The old system, with its main faults like ineffectiveness to settle a transaction and outdated information for risk management, has been replaced and today SBV (the central bank) and several others have adopted a modern interbank payment system reducing the risks and costs. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance, Tax and Accounting | Leave a comment

Vietnam First in Asia for Attracting Foreign Investment

By Tran Que Chi

Apr. 26 – Vietnam is the only economy in Asia whose investment funds to attract investment flows every week so far this year as the VN Index jumped to an 11-month high, according to Emerging Portfolio Fund Research.

Meanwhile, India and China only saw investment in 8 of the past 16 weeks and Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore received inflows of foreign investment in 15, 13, and 7 of the last 16 weeks, respectively. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, FDI and Foreign Trade, Finance, Tax and Accounting | Tagged FDI, Inflation, Investment Funds | Leave a comment

Dezan Shira & Associates and the Roadshow ‘Italy – Vietnam’

Apr. 25 – The Roadshow “Italy – Vietnam” that was held in Italy between March 26th and March 30th in Milan, Bologna, Padova and Pesaro has been important for both parties involved. It helped Italian entrepreneurs increase their knowledge about Vietnam (boasting the 13th largest population in the world and one of the highest GDP growth rates) and it settled the basis for further projects in the area. Continue reading →