Weekly News Bulletin - No. 02, August 2023

The trade revenue between Vietnam and Israel is expected to hit 3-4 billion USD soon, and even higher in the years to come, thanks to their agreements and commitments to trade liberalisation, shared by oficials at the Vietnam-Israel Business Forum co-chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry.

As of July 20, 2023, Israel ran 40 FDI projects worth over 140 million USD in Vietnam, ranking 47th among the 148 countries and territories investing in the country. Through Vietnam, a market of more than 1 million consumers, Israeli goods can access other markets in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia-Pacific, and other major economies in the 16 FTAs in which Vietnam is a signatory, that includes nearly 6 billion consumers.

The European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which took effect in August 2020, has created significant positive impacts on Vietnam's exports to France, according to Vu Anh Son, head of the Trade Office of Vietnam in France.

Despite the global economic downturn and the challenging trends for exports in general, Vietnam's exports to France still sustained stable growth in the first four months of this year at 7.7% year-on-year, hitting over 2.12 billion EUR (over 2.3 billion USD). Leather and footwear, electronics and telecommunications, and textile and garment continued to be the key exports, constituting about 60% of Vietnam's total export value to France. In particular, the export of footwear and phones posted strong increases of 30.5% and 21.9%, respectively.

Last week highlight

The Ministry of Finance is considering imposing a fee on emissions to help mitigate environmental impacts. As the air quality is deteriorating in Vietnam’s big cities and major industrial zones, charging a fee on emissions is therefore necessary and should start with chemical and mining companies. It has recommended a fixed fee of VND3 million ($126) a year on these companies, and a variable fee of VND500-800/ton in case of extra emissions.

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

  1. Vietnam, Israel hope to hit 3 billion USD in trade: forum
  2. Singaporean firm invests $100M in Vietnam province
  3. Biden to sign strategic partnership with Vietnam
  4. Property market expects money inflows following lending rate cuts
  5. EVFTA facilitates Vietnamese goods' entry into French market: official
  6. All e-visa procedures handled online: immigration department
  7. Dong Nai’s industrial parks lure nearly 780 million USD in FDI
  8. E-commerce urged to go green to ease environmental impact

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Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy