Business News

[26-03-2015] On 30 January 2015, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued Circular 14/2015/TT-BTC (Circular 14) guiding the customs analysis and classification of imported and exported goods for examination of food safety, hygiene and quality with some key points as follows:

[24-03-2015] Seaports of Haiphong City had 5,060 backlogged containers of commodities as of August 2014, according to the Haiphong Department of Customs. Reportedly, as many as 2,796 contained used rubber and tyres; 183 containers of machines and equipment carried the name of recipients as Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) and Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC); and 2,081 contained used clothing, scrap plastic, scrap iron, used electronic devices, agricultural by-products and overdue frozen goods. Generally, as it is hard to find owners of those low-valued containers, the handling is quite difficult.

[23-03-2015] Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked the Ministry of Investment and Planning yesterday to aggressively demolish industrial zones which are not operating effectively or facing difficulty in attracting investment. Hai made the request at a meeting between the Steering Committee on Development of Economic Zones and Industrial Zones, and management boards of local economic zones (EZs) and industrial parks (IPs) held in Ha Noi.

[20-03-2015] The Ministry of Planning and Investment has released the information about the development of economic zones (EZ) and industrial parks (IP) in 2014. Accordingly, in 2014, five IPs were set up; seven were expanded and two had investment certificates withdrawn. At the end of 2014, as many as 295 IPs were established on a total area of 84,000 ha, of which 212 are operating.

[18-03-2014] Garment exports in January and February posted an 18 per cent year-on-year increase to US$3.4 billion, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said. The surge has made the achievement of this year’s export target of $28 to 28.4 billion a strong possibility.

[17-03-2015] Vietnamese firms have reported that finding qualified employees to fill critical positions is one of their biggest challenges and it is impeding both growth and the attraction of foreign investment. They have also reported that the nation has a work/skill gap, which is contributing to the problem and making it difficult to find and match the right candidate with the right job.

[17-03-2015] Local travel agencies have voiced outcry over a new immigration rule that requires the period between two visa-exempt entries into Vietnam by foreign passport holders to be at least 30 days. The new rule makes it hard for foreign tourists to take regional tours arranged by local companies. Domestic travel companies had attracted many foreign guests to buy such trips before the rule took effect in January this year.

[16-03-2015] The recent resurgence in the country’s residential real estate segment has partially been attributed to the changes in legislation that are set to take affect from July according to industry insiders. Jonathan Tizzard, national head of valuation & research from Cushman & Wakefield  Vietnam expressed his positivity about the changes.