Vietnam Economic News: 3.8 - 10.8.2024
Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 3 - 10.8.2024
---
Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 3 - 10.8.2024 ---
VIETNAM JULY EXPORTS UP FOR GOODS AND RICE, DOWN FOR COFFEE
Reuters News – 9 August 2024
Vietnam's goods exports in July rose 7.7% from a month earlier to $36.24 billion and imports were up 11.2% to $33.88 billion, leading to a trade surplus of $2.36 billion for the month, the Customs Department said in a report on Friday. For the first seven months of 2024, exports rose 16% from a year earlier to $227.5 billion, while imports were up 18.5% at $213 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $14.5 billion for the January-July period. At the same time, rice exports in July rose 46.3% from the previous month to 751,093 metric tons, according to the customs data. Rice export revenue for the month was $451.77 million, up 39.7% from the previous month, Vietnam Customs said in a statement. Meanwhile, coffee exports in the first seven months of this year were 979,353 metric tons, down 12.4% from a year earlier, customs data showed.
VIETNAM'S VIETJET TO TAKE DELIVERY OF UP TO 10 AIRBUS JETS THIS YEAR
Reuters News – 8 August 2024
Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet said on Thursday it will take delivery of up to 10 Airbus jets this year, at a time when local airlines are facing a shortage of aircraft due to engine recalls by manufacturers and high leasing prices. The new jets, which are mostly the A321neo ACF (Airbus Cabin Flex) model, are expected to be delivered from this month, VietJet said in a statement. The company has ordered 206 planes from Airbus and operates a fleet of more than 100 aircraft, it added. Last month, it signed a contract with Airbus to buy 20 A330neo wide-body aircraft in a deal valued at $7.4 billion based on the manufacturer's list price.
VIETNAM BACKS CAMBODIA'S MEKONG CANAL, URGES COOPERATION ON IMPACTS
Reuters News – 8 August 2024
Vietnam supports Cambodia's plan to build a canal from the Mekong River basin to the Cambodian coast and would like to be involved in finding solutions for the canal's possible negative effects, its foreign ministry said on Thursday. Cambodian authorities broke ground on Monday on the $1.7-billion Funan Techo Canal, a project that is meant to divert a large part of Cambodian shipping away from Vietnam, according to the Cambodian government. "We support the project and respect the decision to build the canal," ministry spokesperson Doan Khac Viet told a regular media briefing. "We would like to collaborate with Cambodia in terms of research and impact assessment so that we can have proper solutions to reduce the impact," he added. Cambodia has repeatedly downplayed environmental concerns about the new canal, which conservationists and Vietnamese authorities have said could further damage the fragile Mekong Delta, a large rice-producing region.
FITCH AFFIRMS VIETNAM-BASED MONG DUONG 2'S NOTES AT 'BB+'; OUTLOOK STABLE
Dow Jones Institutional News – 5 August 2024
Fitch Ratings has affirmed the 'BB+' rating on the USD679 million 5.125% senior secured notes due 2029 issued by Mong Duong Finance Holdings B.V., a Netherlands-domiciled SPV. The Outlook is Stable. The issuer acquired all of Vietnam-based AES Mong Duong Power Company Limited's (AES MD) outstanding project financing loans raised for the Mong Duong 2 (MD2) power plant. The notes' rating remains capped by Vietnam's sovereign rating (BB+/Stable) due to the government guarantee of state counterparty obligations, although the achieved debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) is commensurate with a stronger credit profile. The credit profile is supported by a robust take-or-pay power purchase agreement (PPA) until 2040, a fuel cost pass-through mechanism, an experienced operating and maintenance (O&M) team, a strong financial profile and a fully amortising debt structure.
VIETNAM SENTENCES EX-FLC CHAIRMAN TO 21 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FRAUD, STOCK MANIPULATION
Reuters News – 8 August 2024
A court in Vietnam sentenced the former chairman of property developer FLC to 21 years in prison on Monday for fraud and stock manipulation, in the latest case in a sweeping anti-graft campaign targeting high-flying business leaders. Trinh Van Quyet, 48, chairman of property and leisure company FLC Group and its Bamboo Airways subsidiary, and co-defendants who included his two sisters, were accused of manipulating five stocks, including FLC Stone Mining & Investment, FLC Mining Investment & Asset Management and FLC Group and earning an illicit profit of about 723.3 billion dong ($28.85 million). Quyet, who was accused of masterminding the fraud, received the heaviest sentence, state-affiliated news site VnExpress reported, citing the verdict. Nearly 26,000 investors who bought FLC Faros Construction's shares were affected, VnExpress report added. Quyet's sisters, Trinh Thi Minh Hue and Trinh Thi Thuy Nga, were also sentenced to 14 and eight years imprisonment respectively, it said. Three officials at the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange received prison sentences of between five to 6.5 years over the case for abusing their position and power. FLC Group, which owns dozens of resorts and golf courses throughout the country, was not immediately available for comment. The verdict comes months after the country handed the death sentence to real estate tycoon Truong My Lan for her role in a $12.5-billion financial fraud, the country's biggest on record. ($1 = 25,070.0000 dong)