Business News

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha urged precise definitions of mixed-use office cum hotel (Officetel) and condominium cum hotel (Condotel) in the draft decree outlining certain provisions of the Law on Real Estate Business. In a recent live-streamed session chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, stakeholders convened to deliberate on the aforementioned draft decree.

Total funding into Vietnam tech startups dropped 52.7 per cent to $46.5 million in the first half of 2024, compared with $98.5 million in the first half of 2023, according to a report by Tracxn, a leading global SaaS-based market intelligence platform.

The manufacturing and processing sector led the growth with an 8.7% increase, contributing 2.14 percentage points to the overall economic expansion. The electricity production and distribution sector experienced a significant 13% rise, adding 0.5 percentage point, while the water supply and waste management sector grew by 7%, contributing 0.04 percentage point. However, the mining sector contracted by 7%, driving down the overall growth by 0.24 percentage point.

In the first half of the year, foreign direct investment (FDI) reported an increase of 13.1 per cent, while FDI disbursement also surged by 8.2 per cent on year. According to the latest report of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the total registered FDI in the first half of the year was $15.2 billion, up 13.1 per cent.

Key products seeing an increase in turnover in the first half of the year include computers, electronic products and spare parts worth $1.25 billion (up 13.6 per cent on-year), transport vehicles and related products worth $1.06 billion, and agricultural products worth $836 million, among others.

The S&P Global Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose sharply to 54.7 points in June from 50.3 points in May. Not only did this show a third consecutive monthly improvement in the sector, but it also indicated that business conditions strengthened markedly. In fact, the improvement in operating conditions was the joint-strongest since November 2018, equal to those seen in April 2021 and May 2022.

The Vietnamese Government has recently disseminated a decree that extends the deadline for the payment of special consumption tax on domestically manufactured and assembled automobiles. This measure is expected to bolster the recovery efforts of domestic automobile enterprises.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has finalised a draft circular on safety and security in providing online services in the banking industry. Under the draft circular, the online banking system must comply with the Government’s current regulations on ensuring the information system security at Grade 3 or higher.