Trade - Service

As at June 15, 2018, Vietnam`s fruit and vegetable export turnover reached US$1.83 billion, up 19.4% year-on-year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).

Revenue from two-way trade through border gates has been steadily rising in period 2013 - 2018, deepening Vietnam`s trade deficit with China to US$150 billion, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

A newly-released report listed Vietnam as one of the five biggest buyers of South Korea.

Despite vast contribution to Vietnam’s economy, the rate of technology transfer from foreign direct investment (FDI) firms remains low.

The potential of Da Nang’s retail market is enormous as it is slowly gaining a reputation as having a tech-savvy workforce.

Vietnam imported more than 5.7 million tons of steel and iron totaling over US$4 billion between January and May, slightly up 1.1% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Nearly 28,000 containers of imported garbage are backlogged at Vietnam seaports.

Vietnam`s National Assembly approved the revised Law on Physical Training and Sports, which now allows local to wager on a variety of sports events.

By the end of May, revenue from the sales of domestically assembled cars increased by 10% year-on-year, while imported cars saw a sharp decrease of 46%, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers` Association (VAMA).

Color-coated steel from Vietnam dumped into the country stood between 12.01% and 28.49% of the Indonesian market, according to Indonesian watchdogs.

Manulife Vietnam and Dai-ichi Vietnam have been accepting heavy losses in exchange for market shares, indicating a fierce competition in Vietnam`s life insurance market.

Vietnam`s ride-hailing market is attracting newcomers to compete with Grab after the company`s acquisition of Uber`s Southeast Asia operations in April.

In the last two years, Vietnam`s trade deficit with China has been on the decline at an annual average of 16.1%, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

An array of Vietnamese agricultural products have been exported to Thailand through the Thai supermarket system, which has helped Vietnam gradually narrow trade deficit with the neighboring country.

The return of trade protectionism with clearer signs in the first months of 2018 is a major challenge for Vietnam`s exports in the coming time, officials said.

Vietnam`s trade surplus with Group of Seven (G7) nations stood at US$44.95 billion in 2017, representing an increase of some 42% from the average annual surplus of US$19.25 billion in period 2006 - 2015, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).

Local authorities are building a cooperation plan draft with South Korea to better utilize the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) in promoting shipments of Vietnamese key staples to the Northeast Asian market.

In May, Vietnam`s seafood export turnover reached US$700 million, up 2.3% month-on-month, according to the Foreign Trade Agency.

A fall in shipment of phones and computer electronics, which constitute about a third of overall exports from Vietnam, contributed negatively to export growth for the second consecutive month in May, according to HSBC in its latest Vietnam`s report.

Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) inched up 0.55 percent in May, the highest monthly increase since 2012, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).