Vietnam News Highlights for July 24, 2023

Foreign online platforms in Vietnam pay US$169 million in H1 taxes

Since June 1, Facebook customers has paid an additional 5% value added tax (VAT) when running ads in Vietnam. Photo: AFP/VNA

Some 57 foreign online platforms, including Google, Apple, Facebook, Netflix, and Tiktok, have paid nearly VND4 trillion (US$169 million) in taxes in the first half of this year, more than the amount paid in 2022, according to a report released by the General Department of Taxation. These tech giants have registered, declared and paid taxes through the electronic portal for foreign suppliers, which was launched last March.

Last year, these companies paid nearly VND3.5 trillion ($147.9 million) through the electronic portal and nearly VND1.63 trillion ($69 million) through deduction from their Vietnamese partners.

Vietnam the world's second largest shrimp exporter

Vietnam has become the world's second largest shrimp exporter, with Vietnamese shrimp exports accounting for 13-14% of the global market share.

In the first six months of the year, shrimp exports fell about 32% year-on-year to US$1.5 billion. The decline is attributed to the global economic crisis, lower consumption and rising inflation. Vietnam aims to export a total of US$4.3 billion worth of shrimp in 2023, the same as last year.

Vietnamese students win three gold medals in international STEM competition

Six students from Giang Vo Secondary School in Hanoi won three gold medals out of a total of 12 in math, science, and computer science at the International STEM Olympiad. The students also won three silver and six bronze medals in the competition.

The STEM Olympiad was held in Paris, France, from July 18-23, with a total of 440 students from 22 nations participating.

Vietnamese karate team wins kumite category at Asian Championships

Vietnamese karate athletes won the gold medal in the team kumite category at the 19th Asian Senior Karate Championship hosted by Malaysia on July 23. The four-man team beat Iran 2-0 in the final. Vietnam finished the tournament in sixth place with a total of four medals.

The tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from July 21-23, with 15 countries participating. Kazakhstan topped the medals table with three gold, four silver and four bronze medals.

Binh Duong to develop 18,000 social housing units this year

The southern province of Binh Duong will develop an additional 18,000  social housing units this year to meet the needs of workers and encourage businesses and investors to participate in construction. This is a target set in the 2021-2030 Social Housing Development Project for Workers approved by the province.

Of these units, 46,377 will be developed in 2021-2025 and 40,500 in 2026-2030, bringing the total number of social housing units to 86,877. The province will also review its social housing land fund in 33 commercial housing projects covering about 100 hectares to encourage investors to implement them.

South Korean shipbuilders to hire Vietnamese workers

South Korean shipbuilding giants Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai are currently in need of hiring more Vietnamese workers due to a prolonged labor shortage in the industry. Hanwha Ocean signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade on July 22 to strengthen comprehensive cooperation between the two sides in training and placing Vietnamese citizens to work on its ships.

The cooperation is expected to help the South Korean company establish a stable plan for hiring highly skilled foreign workers.