Vietnam Economic News: 17 - 24.8.2024
Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 17 - 24.8.2024
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Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 17 - 24.8.2024 ---
CHINA AND VIETNAM SIGN 14 DEALS FROM RAIL TO CROCODILES AFTER LEADERS MEET
Reuters News – 20 August 2024
China and Vietnam signed 14 documents spanning cross-border railways to crocodile exports on Monday, after Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Vietnam's new leader To Lam in Beijing. Lam's visit to Beijing, his first overseas trip since he was appointed party chief early this month, signals a desire to strengthen ties as trade and investment grow and despite occasional clashes over boundaries in the South China Sea. Lam described the bilateral ties as a "top priority in Vietnam's external policy" and called his trip to China "the affirmation of the Party and the Vietnamese government to value the relation with China". Lam during the meeting asked China for soft loans and technology to develop his country's transport infrastructure and agreed with Xi Jinping to boost defence and security ties, according to a statement on Vietnamese government's website. The two also agreed to enhance railways and highway connectivity between the two communist-ruled neighbours and Xi pledged to import more Vietnamese farm produce, the statement said. China and Vietnam signed documents on planning and feasibility studies for standardised railway routes after preliminary deals were signed in December during Xi's state visit to Hanoi. In December, both countries said they would work on cross-border railway connectivity, naming three projects that included one connecting through mountainous Lao Cai in the Vietnam's northwest to the port city Haiphong and a potential one linking China's Shenzhen to Haiphong. Vietnamese officials had said rail links would be high on the agenda when the top leaders meet. Other documents signed covered cooperation between central banks, media, health and the quarantine and inspection of coconuts, crocodiles and durians.
VIETNAM TO SELECT INVESTOR FOR $2.5 BLN NGHI SON LNG POWER PLANT BY OCTOBER
Reuters News – 21 August 2024
Authorities in Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province plan to select an investor through a bidding process by October to develop a $2.5 billion LNG-fired power plant, a provincial official said on Wednesday. The Nghi Son LNG Power Plant in the province's Nghi Son Economic Zone would have a designed capacity of 1.5 gigawatts and would start commercial operations by 2030. "The bids will be opened on September 30 and the name of the investor will be announced mid or late in October," said Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy director of the zone. The project would also include an LNG terminal and storage, and regasification facilities, Tuan added. State media reported in March that five consortiums have been chosen as potential investors, including Korea Southern Power, Korea Gas Corp, Daewoo Engineering & Construction, Gulf Energy Development, SK E&S, and some Vietnamese companies. Electricity-hungry Vietnam wants to have 13 LNG power plants with combined capacity of 22.4 GW by 2030 but is unlikely to meet that target as power producers and foreign investors balk at the country's strategy for making the super-chilled fuel affordable.
FPT CONSORTIUM COMMENCES WORK ON $173 MLN AI CENTRE IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM
Reuters News – 21 August 2024
Vietnam's top tech firm FPT and its subsidiaries kicked off construction on a $174 million artificial intelligent project in south-central Binh Dinh province, its latest push to tap into AI sector, the company said on Wednesday. The project, developed by a consortium including FPT City Danang, FPT Investment, and FPT Software, covers an area of 93.24 hectares, FPT said in a statement. It comprises an AI centre, an education zone and a supporting urban zone, of which the AI centre will focus on research, software production, digital transformation assistance and cybersecurity solution provision, it added. FPT is the most valuable technology company on Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City bourse, with a market capitalisation of $7.7 billion. It offers a variety of AI, cloud and big data services, and last year its total revenues exceeded $2 billion. In April, FPT announced a plan to build a $200 million AI factory using Nvidia's graphics chips and software.
SUNRATE PARTNERS WITH VIETNAM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SINGAPORE
Dow Jones Newswires - 22 August 2024
Sunrate, an intelligent global payment and treasury management platform, announced that it has entered into a partnership with Vietnam Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (VietCham Singapore) to empower Vietnamese enterprises looking to scale and operate in Singapore. As part of the partnership, members of VietCham Singapore can now tap into the resources and expertise of Sunrate's Singapore and Vietnam business development representatives to help them navigate the complex world of international business expansion. This includes the capabilities to make payments via Sunrate's business account to more than 190 countries and regions, transact in 130+ currencies and enjoy global collection services available in over 30 currencies, and collect funds in over 10 major international currencies as if they were local payments. This is a “strategic move that enables VietCham Singapore to offer more value-added services to our members while enhancing the organization's reputation and influence. This collaboration will contribute to the growth of Vietnamese businesses in Singapore, helping them operate more efficiently and expand into international markets", according to Max Nguyen, Director of Viet Nam of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce Singapore.
EQUINOR HALTS VIETNAM OFFSHORE WIND PLANS, TO CLOSE HANOI OFFICE
Reuters News – 23 August 2024
Norway's state-controlled energy giant Equinor has cancelled plans to invest in Vietnam's offshore wind sector, a company spokesperson told Reuters, in a setback for the country's green power ambitions. Vietnam has attracted international interest in its renewables plans because of its strong winds in shallow waters near coastal, densely populated areas, according to the World Bank Group, but delays in regulatory reforms have recently pushed some would-be investors to reconsider their plans. "We have decided to discontinue our business development in Vietnam and to close our office in Hanoi," Magnus Frantzen Eidsvold, an Equinor spokesperson, said in an interview. According to Eidsvold, Equinor had decided to quit Vietnam after a regular review of its portfolio of renewable assets. It is the first time Equinor has closed an international office focused on offshore wind development. Vietnam has no current offshore wind projects but wants to install wind farms for 6 gigawatt (GW) by 2030, equal to 4% of its planned capacity, as part of plans to reduce coal and reach net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century. Its plans, however, have been repeatedly delayed, as recent political turbulence in the country has paralysed reforms and projects. The industry is also considered sensitive by Vietnamese authorities because projects would be developed in the contested South China Sea, a crucial shipping waterway that Beijing claims almost in its entirety. Vietnam’s industry ministry is pushing to assign to state-owned companies the first pilot project on offshore wind, a move that foreign investors said would slow down the development of the industry because domestic firms do have not enough capabilities.