Vietnam news in brief - December 22

Vietnam achieves trade surplus high of $26 billion: ministry

Vietnam’s trade surplus tripled to a record high of US$26 billion in 2023 over a year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This is also the eighth straight year that Vietnam has seen its exports exceed total imports.

At the year-end conference this week, the ministry reported that Vietnam had imported a total of $328.5 billion while selling $354.5 billion to international buyers, especially those in Africa, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, and Western Asia.

Vietnam beats estimate for international visitors in 2023

International visitors shop for souvenirs at Dong Xuan night market. Photo: Hoai Nam/The Hanoi Times

The total number of international tourists going to Vietnam in 2023 is estimated to be 12.5 million, the Vietnam National Tourism Authority announced on December 21. The figure exceeds the full-year target of eight million set at the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, Vietnam saw a total of 108 million domestic travelers in 2023, beating the target by 5.8%. The total revenue from tourism activities is estimated at VND672 trillion ($27.7 billion), completing 103% of the full-year plan.

Ho Chi Minh City listed one of the best destinations on New Year’s Eve

Tourism booking site Agoda has recently named Ho Chi Minh City among the best 10 places to come and enjoy a great New Year’s Eve. Using artificial intelligence (AI), the service website places Ho Chi Minh City in the third position for its revel in the festive atmosphere with fireworks over the Saigon River and vibrant nightlife in District 1.

Other names in the top 10 include Singapore, Bali, Tokyo, Sydney, New York City, Rio de Janeiro, London, Edinburgh, and Reykjavik.

Ninh Thuan Province prepared for the first cuisine festival

Southeastern Ninh Thuan Province plans to host the first food and cuisine festival to greet the new year 2024. The event, slated from December 26 to December 31, will promote famous local dishes from all over the country and the world and advertise local cultures to improve provincial tourism.

The event features 80 pavilions with more than 100 dishes and an OCOP exhibition showing products in cooking, food processing and making.

Da Nang to boost cultural and tourism cooperation with Russia

The central city of Danang hopes to promote culture and tourism with Russia, further strengthening economic cooperation projects between the two sides. Russia will bring its ballet troupe to Danang to enhance cultural exchange in 2024.

Currently, the city is cooperating with some Russian localities, including 10 FDI investment projects between the Russian government and joint venture investment partners in Danang with a total capital of about $3.7 million, focusing on accommodation and catering services.

50 businesses were honored as consumers’ trust

Fifty trusted brands in Vietnam were honored on December 21 by the Vietnam Economic Magazine – VnEconomy. The companies are praised for their outcomes in applying new technology, boldly digitizing and greening to optimize operations, production, sales management and effective marketing.

Typical products honored at this event belong to different fields such as: MoMo Super Application in the technology field and BIDV JCB Ultimate Credit Card in the banking field.

Malaysia media positively evaluated Vietnam's economic prospect

Citing research results of Oxford Economics, Malaysian media agency Digitalnewsasia.com this week gave some positive views on Vietnam economy outlook 2023. According to the data, Vietnam achieved outstanding export growth in 2023, with GDP growth in the third quarter of 2023 at 5.3% compared to the same period in 2022.

This stems from the strong recovery of the manufacturing sector due to improved electronics exports to China. According to experts, thanks to the government's increase in public investment in the third quarter of 2023, Vietnam still has much potential to boost investment spending in the next quarter.