Aug. 5 – Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade recently announced that the country will be spending US$48.8 billion to help boost electricity generation capacity to meet the growing domestic demand.

The majority of the funds will be put towards the construction of new plants and power-transmission systems, the ministry said in a statement. Vietnam will also seek FDI and official development aid, as well as commercial loans for the projects. Continue Reading

Jul. 22 – The U.S. Department of Commerce launched a report on its National Export Strategy on June 28, 2011 that included Vietnam among a list of key focus markets.

According to the report for U.S. Congress, the key markets of Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey all have large populations, high growth, favorable business environments, and many potential opportunities. Continue Reading

Jul. 13 – Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has issued Circular No. 91/2011/TT-BTC dated June 20, 2011, amending import tax rates for certain goods in the Preferential Import Tariff.

Beginning August 4, 2011, import tax rates increase for some items in the Preferential Import Tariff according to the list of taxable goods issued together with Circular No. 184/2010/TT-BTC by the Ministry of Finance. Continue Reading

An investor who visits the Megastar Cinema in Vincom City Tower in Hanoi will likely be met by large crowds. A visit to the West Lake, passing through the Ho Tay water park, will generate a similar experience.

By Jonathan Choppin

Jul. 12 – The entertainment industry in Vietnam is showing increasing potential and positive indicators like growing cinema audiences and an increasing number of karaoke venues, western-style bars and nightclubs. Much of this industry’s growth, which tripled in value between 2004 and 2009, can be attributed to the country’s stable economy. On the whole, the entertainment industry will play an important role in Vietnam’s economy through jump starting investment in infrastructure and providing sources of employment. Continue Reading

Jul. 7 – Last April, Vietnam’s Prime Minister executed a tax extension for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for 2010 corporate income taxes with the total amount of around VND7 trillion. The eligible enterprises for this incentive are about 200,000 of the total 360,000 small and medium enterprises currently operating in Vietnam.

In the government’s regular meeting in May, the government has asked the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to consider tax exemption options for SMEs in June. This would assist the SMEs to overcome the hard time to stabilize and boost production. Continue Reading

Political and legal aspects
Jul. 6 – Government targets and support mechanisms in the field of renewable energy are available in legal documents from the Minister of Trade and Industries and the Institute of Energy.

Examples include:

The Master Plan for Renewable Energy
This source describes national goals for the development of renewable energy sources within the next five years, as well as the nation’s 2025 goals in renewable energy. Continue Reading

Jul. 5 – In an afternoon news conference on June 30, 2011, Deputy of Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan said Circular No. 13/2011/TT-BNNPTNT would guide the inspection of food safety resources and vegetable imports effective from July 01, 2011.

The Circular clarified that if the origin of plants and goods are not registered with authorities in Vietnam, they will not be allowed to be imported into the country. Goods imported into Vietnam must come from nations which the competent authorities in Vietnam recognize fully meet the requirements for food safety. Goods should also be packaged in the appropriate way, have secondary labeling in Vietnamese, or are labeled in Vietnamese and have been tested and certified as safe. Continue Reading

By Bich Lien

Jun. 29 – On June 8, 2011, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance issued Circular No.78/2011/TT-BTC regarding personal income tax exemption. Accordingly, allowances provided by the company to employees for medical treatment to cure serious diseases of those employees or their direct family members shall not be subject to personal income tax if the amount paid is from profits after tax, or the welfare fund, or the reward fund of the company. Continue Reading

By Nguyen Huyen My

Jun. 28 – According to figures released by the General Statistics Office (GSO) on June 24, Vietnam’s CPI in June increased 1.09 percent compared to May, 13.29 percent compared to December 2010, and 20.82 percent against June 2010.

After many efforts made by the Vietnamese government to stabilize prices in Vietnam, this is the lowest CPI in the first six months this year and for the last nine months. With such slower rising speed, the average CPI of the first six months of 2011 has increased 16.03 percent in comparison with the same period last year. Continue Reading

Jun. 27 – The Vietnamese logistics market is still at a very early stage of development, so there are still various difficulties in this area. Nonetheless, the logistics industry is a huge contributor to the country’s gross domestic product. To increase development, logistic companies in the country are looking at new strategies and try to catch bigger opportunities in 2011.

The World Bank ranked Vietnam alongside China, India, Thailand, Uganda, the Philippines and South Africa as the fastest growing developing nations in terms of economy. Continue Reading