Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/

After 14 years of construction, the Nhon – Hanoi Station metro line has completed the entire construction, equipment installation, and trial operation processes. It is expected to go into commercial operation in early July 2024.

The railway has a total length of 12.5km including 12 stations, passing through 6 districts in Hanoi including Bac Tu Liem, Nam Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Hoan Kiem. Putting into operation the Nhon – Hanoi metro line is expected to contribute to effectively solving the public transportation problem, as this is one of the routes passing through the most universities in Hanoi.

Previously, the Cat Linh – Ha Dong metro line in Hanoi was Vietnam’s first urban railway to be put into commercial operation from November 2021 with a length of 13.05km, with 12 stations. On the route, the operating speed is about 35km/h, with a maximum capacity of 960 people/group.

Reference: https://kinhtedothi.vn/duong-sat-nhon-ga-ha-noi-hoan-thanh-100-tien-do-doan-tren-cao.html

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/

In the Draft Law on Special Consumption Tax (SCT) dated June 13, 2024, the Ministry of Finance proposes to increase the special consumption tax on alcohol to 100% by 2030.

• Specifically, for wine above 20 degrees and beer, the SCT is currently at 65%, but from 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, it will increase to 80%; 85%, 90%, 95%, 100%, respectively
• For wine under 20 degrees, currently the SCT is 35%, but from 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, it will increase to 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, respectively

The Ministry of Finance believes that currently, SCT is still at a low level, accounting for only about 30% of the retail price (while in many countries is 40-85% of the retail price), so it is necessary to increase to 40%.

Rising alcohol taxes increase selling prices, contributing to limiting production and consumption, thereby helping to limit the harmful effects of drinking too much alcohol on people’s health. However, increasing taxes will affect production of businesses due to reduced consumption.

The Draft Law on Special Consumption Tax will be presented to the National Assembly in May 2025.

Reference: https://vnexpress.net/ruou-bia-co-the-chiu-thue-tieu-thu-dac-biet-toi-100-4757890.html

Source: https://vnexpress.net/

In the first 4 months of 2024, longan exports from Vietnam increased the highest in the fruit group, reaching 3 million USD, 13.4 times higher than the same period last year. The US, China and Japan are the three main markets increasing purchases. Thanks to this increase, the export price of longan is maintained at a stable level of 12,000-18,000 VND/kg at the garden.

The improving quality of the product is the main reason why this product attracts customers in many countries. In addition, because of climate change, the output and quality of longans from countries such as Thailand, India and China declined. This created favorable conditions for Vietnamese longan exports.

Longan currently ranks in the top 5 fruit trees with the largest area in Vietnam after bananas, mangoes, grapefruits, and citrus. Vietnam’s longan exports reached more than 14 million USD in 2023 and expected to reach 16-20 million USD in 2024.

Reference: https://vnexpress.net/xuat-khau-nhan-tang-vot-4760582.html

Source: https://cafef.vn/

On June 6, 2024, the People’s Committee of Bac Ninh province issued an investment registration certificate for the FCPV Foxconn Bac Ninh project in Nam Son Industrial Park, Bac Ninh.

The project is invested with the goal of manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCB) with a total investment of about 383 million USD and expected capacity is nearly 3 million products/year.

Foxconn (Taiwanese company) entered the Vietnamese market since 2007 and has invested 3.2 billion USD (as of February 2024). As of present, the company has factories in Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, and Quang Ninh, employing more than 60,000 workers focusing on the field of electronic components manufacturing.

It can be seen that semiconductor sector in Vietnam has emerged as the destination for large corporations from Korea, America, Europe, and China such as Samsung, Amkor Technology, HANA Micron, Infineon Technologies AG. Currently, the Vietnamese government has many policies to fully support the development of the semiconductor industry in Vietnam.

Source: https://vir.com.vn/foxconn-to-pour-383-million-into-bac-ninh-factory-112083.html

Source: https://en.vcci.com.vn/

On June 11, 2024, the People’s Committee of Dong Nai province (Southern Vietnam) worked with Sojitz Group (Japan) on a plan to implement a cooperation project to develop a green, smart industrial park model in Dong Nai.

The cooperation project will be implemented from 2024-2026, focusing on (1) promoting renewable energy in industrial parks, (2) improving the efficiency of waste and wastewater treatment. The project will be implemented in existing industrial parks and new industrial parks developed by Sojitz Group.

The green industrial park development model has been successfully applied by Sojitz Group in Kobe City (Japan). Therefore, Sojitz Group introduced this project to Dong Nai through interprovincial cooperation with Kobe City because the two localities have similar conditions in terms of industrial development.

Sojitz currently has about 17 joint venture companies in Vietnam in the fields of manufacturing, energy, chemicals, industrial parks, and agriculture and forestry.

Reference: https://baodautu.vn/tap-doan-sojitz-phat-trien-cac-khu-cong-nghiep-xanh-tai-dong-nai-d217445.html

Source: https://www.vietnam.vn/en/

On June 25,2024, the 39th annual ASEAN-Japan Forum held in Bangkok, Thailand. Both ASEAN and Japan promote the importance of the comprehensive strategic partnership for each side and the whole region.
Along with further strengthening economic cooperation, trade, investment, education and health, the countries agreed to expand cooperation to other potential areas, towards a sustainable future such as digital transformation, green transformation, clean energy, climate change response.

Talking at the forum, on the Vietnamese side, Deputy Minister Do Hung Viet affirmed the hope that the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will contribute to the sustainable development of countries. In addition, the two sides need to strengthen cooperation in the development of high-quality infrastructure. Vietnam also suggest Japan to increase support for ASEAN countries to implement carbon emission reduction commitments, promoting energy conversion, climate change response.

Reference: https://nhandan.vn/dien-dan-asean-nhat-ban-lan-thu-39-post816068.html

Source: https://baodanang.vn/english/

The Vietnam – Japan Festival organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs of Da Nang city will take place from July 4 to July 7 at East Sea Park, Da Nang.

Some main activities include exhibition of Danang – Japan cooperation achievements, exhibition of typical products of Vietnam and Japan; football exchange festival, Japanese baseball experience, traditional Vietnamese – Japanese folk dances exchange, etc.

The festival aims to promote and deepen the cooperative relationship between Da Nang city and Japanese localities and partners, effectively deploying on-site promotion activities in investment, trade, and tourism.

Reference: https://vtv.vn/doi-song/da-nang-to-chuc-le-hoi-viet-nam-nhat-ban-2024-20240625234819046.htm

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/

According to the Department of Overseas Labor Management, as of June 20, 2024, Vietnam has sent more than 78,000 workers to work abroad for a fixed term, an increase of 7% over the same period last year.
In addition to the markets that are currently receiving many Vietnamese workers such as Japan, Taiwan, and Korea, some new markets are also in demand for Vietnamese workers such as Eastern European countries (Romania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia).

The income of workers ranges from 1,200 – 1,600 USD/month in the Japanese and Korean markets; from 800 – 1,200 USD/month in Taiwan and European countries; from 500 – 1,000 USD/month in the Middle East and Africa markets. Vietnamese workers work abroad in many types of industries, such as manufacturing, construction, agriculture, fishery, and services.

Reference: https://vneconomy.vn/nhung-thi-truong-duoc-nhieu-lao-dong-xuat-khau-viet-nam-ua-chuong-vi-co-thu-nhap-cao.htm

Source: https://english.vtv.vn/

On June 21, 2024, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinated with Aeon Group to organize Vietnamese Products Week at Aeon Lake Town Mori, Saitama Province, Japan with the theme “Vietnamese Street Food at Aeon”.

This event is a large-scale activity as a part of project “Promoting Vietnamese enterprises to directly participate in foreign distribution systems until 2030” of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as well as towards the goal of promoting the export turnover of Vietnamese goods into the Aeon system.

The Vietnamese Products Week 2024 was kicked off at more than 300 supermarkets and retail stores of the Aeon network in Saitama prefecture and across Japan with 100 product codes spanning various sectors such as agricultural products, food, textiles, furniture, household appliances, and health care products. In addition, there are also food stalls with Vietnamese foods such as bread, Pho, coffee, tea, fruit pickles.

Reference: https://dangcongsan.vn/kinh-te-va-hoi-nhap/tuan-hang-viet-nam-nam-2024-tai-he-thong-sieu-thi-aeon-tai-nhat-ban-667893.html