Vietnam Economic News: 7.9 – 14.9.2024
Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 7.9 - 14.9.2024
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Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 7.9 - 14.9.2024 ---
VIETNAM'S TYPHOON YAGI DEATH TOLL PASSES 250, SCORES STILL MISSING
Reuters News – 13 September 2024
The death toll in Vietnam from typhoon Yagi and the landslides and flash floods it triggered rose to 254 on Friday, authorities said, as flood waters receded, and search efforts pressed on. The country is still reeling from the strongest storm to hit Asia this year which made landfall on its northeastern coast on Saturday. More than 820 people have been injured and 82 are still missing, according to the state disaster management agency. Authorities were still searching for 41 people who have not been seen since a flash flood swept away all 37 homes in Nu Village in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai early on Tuesday, the provincial government said. Forty-six of its inhabitants have been confirmed killed. At another village in Lao Cai, 115 people previously listed as missing returned safely after taking shelter on a mountain for two days without power and telecoms, the disaster management agency said. They made tents out of bamboo and tarpaulins after seeing that their village was threatened by landslides, the agency added. "We could only bring some rice and food with us, and when we ran out of food, we would forage for wild bamboo shoots to eat," village chief Vang Seo Chu told the agency. Hundreds of thousands of children have lost their homes and are lacking access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said. About 2 million children have been left without access to education, psychosocial support and school feeding programmes as schools have been damaged and hit by power and water shortages, it added. "The actual number of schools and students affected across the worst-affected provinces is expected to be much higher," it said. UNICEF estimates that an initial $15 million is needed to address critical needs of affected children and families. In Hanoi, flood waters on the Red River continued to subside and traffic was allowed back onto some bridges, the government said. Insurance companies in Vietnam had received 7 trillion dong ($285.36 million) of claims as of Thursday for damages done by the typhoons, floods and landslides, the finance ministry said. ($1 = 24,530 dong)
INDONESIA'S PRABOWO IN HANOI SAYS AGREED TO ELEVATE TIES WITH VIETNAM
Reuters News – 13 September 2024
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto said on Friday Vietnam and Indonesia had agreed to elevate their ties to a "comprehensive strategic partnership". Prabowo was speaking in Hanoi during a two-day visit to Vietnam. He is expected to meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday. "For us, Vietnam has always been a great friend," he said during a meeting with Vietnamese President and party chief To Lam. "We value this relationship, and I am committed to enhance and further this cooperation." "Let us now task our teams to continue our efforts to that goal," he said.
VIETNAM WEIGHS RESUMING NUCLEAR POWER DEVELOPMENT PLANS
Reuters News – 13 September 2024
Vietnam is considering resuming plans to develop nuclear power to ensure national energy security and to support economic growth, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters. The country, a regional industrial hub heavily reliant on coal for power generation, is also seeking to boost its cleaner energy production to meet its net zero target by 2050. "The Ministry of Industry and Trade is to conduct research on the nuclear power development experience of other countries and make a proposal to develop nuclear power in Vietnam," according to the document. The document said Vietnam has a target of raising its power generation capacity by 12%-15% a year to "ensure national energy security and support an annual economic growth of 7%." The nuclear power development proposal will be submitted to the Politburo, the country's most powerful decision-making body, for review, according to the document, although no time frame was provided. In 2009, Vietnam approved plans to develop its first two nuclear power plants, but the plans were shelved in 2016 following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and due to budget constraints. The proposed nuclear plants, with a combined capacity of 4 gigawatts (GW), were planned to be built by Russia's Rosatom and Japan Atomic Power Co in the central province of Ninh Thuan. The country has over the recent years been seeking to develop cleaner energy, but its offshore wind and LNG development targets are at risk due to regulatory and pricing hurdles. Officials said Vietnam has for years been considering resuming its nuclear power option and has discussed possible support from Russian, South Korea, Canada and others on small reactors. Nuclear power was not mentioned in the country's long-awaited master power development plan that was approved in May last year. The plan, known as PDP8, would raise the country's total installed power generation capacity to over 150 GW by 2030 from over 80 GW at the end of last year. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is now seeking opinions to update the PDP8, state media reported earlier this month. The government office document said relevant ministries and agencies had also been told to remove hurdles facing offshore wind and gas-fired power development, without elaborating.
CS WIND SIGNS LAND LEASE MOU FOR $200 MLN VIETNAM WIND TURBINE TOWERS PLANT
Reuters News – 10 September 2024
CS Wind, a South Korea-based manufacturer of wind towers and offshore wind substructures, is set to build a wind power equipment factory with an initial investment of US$200 million in Long An Province, southern Vietnam. As per a memorandum of understanding signed between CS Wind and Vietnam’s Dong Tam Group on Tuesday, the Vietnamese company will lease the South Korean firm a 50-hectare plot of land in the province’s Southeast Asia Industrial Park to build the factory. Located in Can Giuoc District, the Southeast Asia Industrial Park is part of the Long An International Port complex developed by Dong Tam Group. The factory will manufacture and assemble offshore and onshore wind turbine towers, monopiles, transition pieces, and other wind power products to serve the global market. It is expected to churn out tens of thousands of products annually, offering oversized and overweight equipment ranging from 500 to 4,000 metric tons per unit.