Weekly News Bulletin - No. 01, January 2023

The General Statistics Office (GSO) last week reported that Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) for the entire 2022 increased by 3.15% year-on-year, lower than the expected rate of about 4% year-on-year.

The success in controlling inflation is a major highlight in the country’s socioeconomic development picture in 2022, especially in the context of big fluctuations in the prices of fuel greatly affecting the performance of production and business activities. Accordingly, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also projected that the country’s inflation rate would be 3.8% in 2022 and around 4% in 2023. In anticipation of risks, the National Assembly (NA) has set a CPI growth target of about 4.5% in 2023, with some solutions noted. Global analysts FocusEconomics is also expecting Vietnam’s inflation rate to average 3.7% in 2023, and 3.4% in 2024.

Despite continued concerns over the contents of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the achievements of the deal are remarkable in terms of the enhancement of Vietnam’s international economic integration, Luong Hoang Thai, head of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, said at a conference in Hanoi on Monday.

In total, Vietnam exported USD45.7 billion worth of products to other CPTPP markets in 2021, up 18.1 percent from 2020. The nation earned USD45.1 billion in export revenue from the bloc and imported USD43 billion in goods from CPTPP countries in January-October this year, up 22.1 and 16.26 percent, respectively, year on year.

Last week highlight

Vietnam is viewed as a country with high potential for fast digital economic development and digital transformation trend across all fields. Data from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) showed that the Information and communications technology (ICT) economy's revenue reached an estimated 148 billion USD in 2022, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. The contribution of the digital economy to national GDP in 2022 accounted for about 14.26% of the total, with 7.18% contributed by the ICT digital economy.

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

  1. Hanoi attracts nearly 1.7 billion USD in FDI in 2022
  2. Logistics services grew by 15% in 2022
  3. Fiscal, tax support policies continue in 2023: Deputy Minister
  4. Top five cyberthreats to watch out for in 2023
  5. Inflation controlled, with efforts needed for new goal for 2023
  6. VCCI comments on draft regulating corporate bonds
  7. CPTPP improves Vietnam’s position in int’l integration: official
  8. Finance-banking sector fulfills 2022 goals: minister
  9. Vietnam boosts logistics industry’s competitiveness
  10. Nearly 900 million USD in FDI registered in Bac Giang

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Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy