Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Cambodia last year surged 29.7 per cent against the previous year to nearly US$3.8 billion, the General Department of Customs reported. Of the total, Viet Nam’s export turnover to this market was $2.77 billion, rising 26.1 per cent against the previous year. Vietnamese key export goods to Cambodia last year included steel and iron products ($521 million, up 69.7 per cent year-on-year) and oil and petrol ($375 million, up 30 per cent year-on-year). Meanwhile, Viet Nam’s imports from Cambodia reached $1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 40.6 per cent, mainly with timber and wood products ($214 million, up 16.9 per cent), cashews ($168 million, up 46 per cent) and rubber ($138 million, up 64 per cent). The leaders of Viet Nam and Cambodia have agreed to enhance the comprehensive co-operation between the two nations and raise the bilateral trade value to $5 billion. Viet Nam is currently the third largest trade partner and the fifth … [Read more...] about Viet Nam, Cambodia’s bilateral trade surged 30% in 2017
Surge
Indonesia: 2017 investment surges 13.1 percent
Indonesia's 2017 investment surges 13.1 percent (Source: AFP) Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia invested 692.8 trillion IDR (51.7 billion USD) in 2017, up 13.1 percent year on year, said an official from the Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) of Indonesia. According to Azhar Lubis, about 430.5 trillion IDR (32.1 billion USD) of the amount was invested at home, mostly in Jakarta, West Java, East Java, Banten and Mid Java. | The rest went abroad, mostly to Singapore, Japan, China, China’s Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, and the Republic of Korea. | As many as 1,176,353 people were recruited in the year, Azhar added. The Government of Indonesia has launched 16 packages of economic reform since 2014, aiming to lure foreign investment. According to the Bank of Indonesia, as of the end of January 2018, foreign investment inflow to the Indonesian market will reach 46 trillion IDR (3.54 billion USD), an increase of over 200 percent year on year.-VNA … [Read more...] about Indonesia: 2017 investment surges 13.1 percent
Demand for seasonal workers to surge
Demand for seasonal workers to surge HCMC – The demand for part-time workers will rise next month, especially 15 days prior to the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, news site VnEconomy cited the HCMC Center for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labor Market Information (FALMI) as saying. Enterprises are expected to recruit over 5,000 seasonal workers during the Tet holiday, which will start in the next two weeks. According to recruitment websites, demand is running high in such services as catering, marketing, exhibition, food and consumer goods packaging, home repair and moving, industrial hygiene, bonsai care and fast-food sales. Wages for such workers will range from VND50,000 to VND100,000 (US$4.4) an hour. In addition, the need for skilled workers after Tet is high. Enterprises in HCMC, mainly those in textile, leather-footwear and seafood processing sectors, have announced their recruitment plans to seek laborers after Tet, according to FALMI. Nguyen Thi Ngoc, director of a … [Read more...] about Demand for seasonal workers to surge
Real estate to benefit from stock market surge this year
Real estate to benefit from stock market surge this year HCMC – With the upsurge of the stock market since last year, there will be great chance of capital flowing into the real estate market, VnExpress reports, citing economic expert Dinh The Hien. The 2006-2007 period was considered the heyday of the stock market with a noticeable correlation with the real estate market, which is likely to repeat this year, Hien said. According to Hien, securities investors earning big bucks from the stock market have been channeling their money into the real estate market. Successful securities investors tend to lock in profits by buying properties. Hien said that last year was a successful year of the stock market, whereas gold and U.S. dollar investment channels appeared to be less profitable. Interest rates tend to rise and hit 7% a year. Such returns are more effective than investments in gold and U.S. dollar, but cannot generate considerable profits. Meanwhile, the VN-Index of the … [Read more...] about Real estate to benefit from stock market surge this year
CPI Surges Sharply in January
The consumer price index (CPI) saw a month-on-month growth of 0.51 per cent and a year-on-year increase of 2.65 per cent, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported. Deputy Director of the Price Statistics Department Do Thi Ngoc attributed the big surge to higher demands before the Lunar New Year Festival. Ten out of 11 groups of commodities and services saw rising prices. Specifically, medicine and health service experienced the sharpest price hike with 1.83 per cent while education saw the lowest cost increase of 0.03 per cent. Only post and telecom group witnessed a slight surge of 0.09 per cent. According to the Deputy Director, petrol price adjustments on January 4 and 19, higher power costs, higher medical costs, and increasing demands for housing materials chiefly pushed the CPI up. VGP … [Read more...] about CPI Surges Sharply in January
Dollar, gold prices surge
By Thanh Thuong - The Saigon Times DailyHCMC – Local commercial banks quoted the U.S. dollar selling price at the upper limit of VND21,036 on Wednesday, rising a sharp VND30 compared to the day earlier, while gold prices also surged strongly by VND500,000 per tael.This is the second strong rally of the greenback this year after the first one in March, when the central bank announced to tighten the foreign currency position at commercial banks.Both Vietcombank, Eximbank and Techcombank quoted the dollar at over VND20,900 for buying while the selling price rose to the ceiling VND21,036. On the unofficial market, the greenback was sold at VND21,200, rising by VND100 from the previous day.Meanwhile, gold prices also moved up strongly in line with the global trend. At 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) posted up gold prices at VND42.52 million and VND42.72 million per tael for buying and selling respectively, surging by VND540,000 against the previous day and … [Read more...] about Dollar, gold prices surge
Capital raised on HOSE surges
Capital raised on HOSE surgesHong Phuc By Hong Phuc - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – Corporations on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE) reported a double year-on-year increase in capital raised through this bourse in the first quarter of the year. HOSE data showed that listed firms raised over VND4.3 trillion, up from the VND2.3 trillion in the first quarter last year. This indicated an improvement in investor sentiment, allaying last year’s fears that the stock market was not serving as a channel for companies to raise money. In the first quarter, over 2.8 trillion shares were transacted on the market, a staggering rise from the 35 million shares traded in the same period last year. Notably, the volume of newly issued stocks surged 86.8% year-on-year. There was no delisting case reported in the first quarter this year while six firms left the stock market in the same period last year. In the coming time, HOSE will deploy first exchange traded funds (ETFs) and field … [Read more...] about Capital raised on HOSE surges
Securities company SSI sees surging growth
Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI) reported pre-tax profits of VND380.8 billion (US$ 16.7 million) on revenues of VND1.018 trillion ($44.8 million) in the fourth quarter of last year, up 344.7 per cent and 66.8 per cent year-on-year.With this the whole year pre-tax profit rose 20.5 per cent to VND1.27 trillion on revenues of VND2.95 trillion, a 19 per cent rise.The company has assets of VND18.24 trillion, up 34 per cent from a year ago.Revenues from brokerage in the fourth quarter surged 263.7 per cent year-on-year to VND311.4 billion.Revenues from lending and receivables (margin lending and advances on securities sales) contributed an important part of revenues, rising 37.4 per cent to VND150.8 billion, accounting for 32 per cent of securities services revenues.The stock markets ended 2017 with the VNIndex up 48 per cent, the highest increase in 10 years, with average liquidity for each trading section rising to nearly VND5 trillion, a 63 per cent rise.Last year was a successful year for … [Read more...] about Securities company SSI sees surging growth
Asia stocks reach record highs after Wall St surge, dollar edges back
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent, building on the previous day's gains to make a fresh peak. Australian stocks were flat, the Republic of Korea's KOSPI added 0.2 percent and Japan's Nikkei was last up 0.4 percent after reaching its highest level since late 1991. Shanghai rose 0.4 percent and China’s Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.4 percent. US stocks jumped on 17 January and the Dow closed above 26,000 for the first time as investors' expectations for higher earnings lifted stocks across sectors. Optimism over prospects for sustained strong global growth and improved corporate earning shave helped share markets rally at the start of 2018. "Events related to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea pose potential risks, but there are very few factors holding equities back at the moment," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo. "And bullish US stocks, higher Treasury yields and signs of the … [Read more...] about Asia stocks reach record highs after Wall St surge, dollar edges back
Consumer lending in VN surged 65% in 2017
The proportion of consumer credit in total outstanding loan of the entire banking system was estimated at 18 per cent in 2017, up from 12.3 per cent in 2016. Of this, home loans accounted for 52.9 per cent. Lending for home appliances and transport vehicles made up 15.3 per cent and 8.3 per cent, respectively.Nguyễn Văn Thùy, deputy director of NFSC’s general supervisory division, attributed the sharp surge in consumer credit to a high demand for housing, arising from a young population and urbanisation.Besides this, a large portion of the population was gradually moving from cash payments to bank payments and were willing to borrow for their lifestyle needs, Thùy said.The report also said the consumer credit market share of commercial banks increased from 39 per cent in 2016 to 45.7 per cent at the end of 2017, while the rates at joint stock commercial banks and financial companies decreased slightly from 47 per cent in 2016 to 42 per cent by … [Read more...] about Consumer lending in VN surged 65% in 2017