Weekly News Bulletin - No. 02, July 2023

Only a handful of Vietnamese enterprises have taken advantage of expanding the Halal industry in general and increasing demand for Halal food in particular to boost exports.

Deputy Director of the Trade and Investment Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City reported that the world's Halal food market currently serves about 2 billion people. The global Halal economy reached USD 7 trillion in 2022 and is expected to grow to around USD 10 trillion by 2028.

Notably, the Southeast Asia - South Asia - South Pacific region is a potential export market for Halal products, with a Muslim population of about 860 million people. This is the largest Halal food consumption area in the world with about USD 470 billion. According to the HCM City Food and Foodstuff Association, the demand for Halal products has increased sharply as 62% of the Muslim population is concentrated in Asia, which brings a good opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises.

The People’s Committee of Dong Nai Province and the provincial industrial zone authority presented investment certificates to two foreign-invested projects, to be executed at a total cost of USD 30 million, on Tuesday.

Among them is the Ziehl-Abegg Vietnam plant project, which is set to cover nearly 14,000 square meters of land in the Nhon Trach 2 – Nhon Phu industrial park. The project carries a price tag of USD 20 million and specializes in producing items backing ventilation systems. The facility will be funded by Ziehl-Abegg SE, a German manufacturer of fans for ventilation and air conditioning applications, and control technology.

Last week highlight

The government plans to seek National Assembly approval for the global minimum tax, a tariff that might affect foreign investors in the country, in October. If approved, the tax, at a rate of 15%, would be effective starting next year. According to the Finance Ministry, 1,015 foreign-invested enterprises in Vietnam will be subject to the rate. Over 70 businesses in Vietnam are likely to be affected if if it is applied in 2024.

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Let’s look at some other key financial and business headlines during the past week

  1. Japan provides USD 422 million ODA loans to Vietnam
  2. FDI inflows into real estate total over 66 billion USD
  3. USD 1.3B LNG terminal project approved in central Vietnam
  4. Vietnam’s potential for Halal industry untapped
  5. Vietnam’s Dong Nai Province green-lights 2 foreign-invested projects worth USD 30mn
  6. Thomson Medical Group to acquire Vietnam largest private hospital for USD 381 million
  7. European firms’ confidence in Vietnam’s business climate falls slightly: survey
  8. Hanoi encourages Indian investment in Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park
  9. Northern Vietnamese province aims for 2 million tourists by 2030
  10. Coping with market volatility

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Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy