Press digest – December 15

FTA negotiations between VN, Customs Union concluded

A signing ceremony of a Joint Statement on the conclusion of the negotiations of the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) between Viet Nam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan was held in Phu Quoc Island.

The agreement includes contents on goods trade, service trade, investment, customs cooperation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT) and legal and institutional issues.

PM: FTA upgrades VN-Customs Union relations to higher level

PM Nguyen Tan Dung on December 15 received Minister for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission Andrey Slepnev in Phu Quoc Island, the southern province of Kien Giang.

He expected that the Agreement will pave the way for Viet Nam and the Customs Union to strengthen cooperation in education-training, science-technology and culture as well as expanding the cooperation scope and markets for the members of the Agreement.

Minister Andrei Slepnhev hoped that the signing of the FTA will raise trade turnover between Viet Nam and Russia to US$10 billion before 2020.

VN-Qatar trade value heads to US$1bln

At the meeting with Qatar’s PM Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Deputy PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc highly valued the active assistance from Qatar’s Government in organizing “Viet Nam Days in Qatar”, expecting the event will consolidate the two nations’ relationship.

Earlier, Deputy PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc held talks with his Qatari counterpart Ahmed Bin Abdullah Bin Zaid Al-Mahmoud.

They asserted to determination to raise the two-way trade value to US$1 billion in the future, launch effectively finance-banking agreements, facilitate investments in projects in fields of infrastructure, energy and agriculture as well as supporting their businesses to seek cooperation and investment.

VN, Cambodia seek to achieve US$5 bln trade

Vietnamese and Cambodian experts and investors discussed ways to achieve a US$5 billion trade by 2015 during a workshop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Participants discussed in-depth opportunities and challenges in investing in Cambodia, including the potential of Viet Nam-Cambodia trade and Viet Nam’s legal protection in the country.

Seafood exports to achieve US$7.7 bln in 2014

Viet Nam’s seafood export value is estimated to achieve more than US$7.7 billion in 2014, accounting for 6-7% of the country’s total export value and up 18% compared to the previous year.

The nation is currently among the world's leaders in aquaculture and ranks fourth in aquatic exports.

VN enjoys trade surplus of US$1.31 billion from Italy

Viet Nam’s export turnover to Italy reached US$2.5 billion over the past 11 months of the year, witnessing a year-on-year increase of 18.2%.

The nation enjoyed a trade surplus of US$1.31 billion in the reviewed period.

The exports of phones and accessories led others with US$913.4 million, up 8.86% and making up 40% of the total export value.

Hai Phong attracts US$5.4 bln in FDI in three years

The northern city of Hai Phong attracted US$5.402 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) between September 2011 and October 2014.

The sum came from 124 licensed projects and 91 operating ones that increased their investments. These projects mainly focused on the processing and manufacturing sectors.

Two more projects granted licenses in Bac Ninh

Two more projects with a total registered capital of US$70 million have been granted investment licenses in northern Bac Ninh province, bringing the locality’s total new ones to 130 so far this year.

Banking tycoon still faces 30-year jail term

High-profile banker Nguyen Duc Kien, former Vice Chairman of the Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) Founding Council still faced a sentence of 30-year imprisonment as declared by the Ha Noi Court of Appeals.

In June 2014, Kien, 50, was sentenced to 30-year imprisonment by the Ha Noi People's Court on four counts of illegal trading, fraud for appropriation of assets, tax evasion, international violations of the State’s economic management regulations causing serious consequences.

By Thuy Dung