Press digest – November 18

Vietnamese President meets with Russian Prime Minister in Manila

State President Truong Tan Sang had a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Manila, the Philippines, on November 18 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

The leaders lauded the substantial strides made in the Viet Nam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in 2015, especially the signing of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Russia is a member.

At the meeting, the two sides were unanimous in fostering bilateral cooperation in a more result-oriented fashion, especially in energy, oil and gas, and payment activities so as to facilitate their trade.

PM clarifies relations with China at National Assembly hearing

PM Nguyen Tan Dung clarified questions regarding the relations between Viet Nam and China raised by legislators at the National Assembly’s accountability hearing on November 18.

Viet Nam does its utmost to strengthen the cooperative and fair relations with China in all fields for the sake of both, he said.

Viet Nam consistently struggles to protect the national independence, sovereignty and benefits based on guidelines and resolutions of the Party, the Constitution and laws and the United Nations Charter, international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 and the regional commitments.

Along with the socio-economic development, Viet Nam needs to strengthen the national defense and security, improve diplomatic works, maintain social order and safety, enhance the great unity bloc and the aggregated strength of the whole nation, take advantage of the support of the international community and create a peaceful and favorable environment for nation-building and development.

Vice Chairman of Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs assigned

The PM named Mr. Dinh Que Hai, Deputy Secretary of Cao Bang Province’s Party Committee as Vice Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs in the 2010-2015 period.

The PM also approved the election of Ms. Le Thi Thin as Vice Chairwoman of the Thanh Hoa Province’s People’s Committee from 2011-2016.

Ms. Thin was former head of the province’s Department of Construction.

Electronics sector attractive to foreign backers

Viet Nam's electronic industry has attracted US$10 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) capital from big names like Samsung, Foxconn, LG, Panasonic and Intel, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Attractive areas in Viet Nam's electronics industry are large-scale mobile phone factories. Samsung alone has invested in a US$2.5 billion factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh and a US$2 billion facility in Thai Nguyen.

The group has also invested US$1 billion on a manufacturing factory in HCM City.

RoK shares pubic finance experience with Asian countries

Experts from the Republic of Korea (RoK) shared their country’s experience in public finance management reform during a workshop in Hanoi on November 18.

The event aims to sum up lessons drawn from the RoK’sdevelopment experience, share knowledge in a broader context, and develop policies regarding the effective public finance reform and management.

The KSP is a knowledge-intensive development and economic cooperation programme designed to share the RoK’s development experience with partner countries.

Cargill to expand investment in VN

The animal feed market in Viet Nam has a relatively high potential, which has prompted Cargill group to invest more in the country, according to the US group’s Chairman David McLennan.

Cargill is constructing its 12th animal feed plant in Viet Nam with a total investment capital of US$30 million in the southern province of Binh Duong. The factory, with a capacity of 260,000 tons a year, is expected to go into operation in the first quarter of 2017.

US$2.8 billion in FDI poured in Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta has attracted US$2.8 billion in 125 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects over the recent 10 months of 2015.

Among provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta, Long An took the lead with 102 FDI projects, worth US$156 million. It was followed by Tra Vinh Province, Tien Giang Province (US$42.6 million), An Giang Province (US$34.7 million), Can Tho City (US$15.9 million) and Vinh Long Province (US$12.8 million).

As many as 57 projects had additional capital of US$256 million in 10 months, raising the total newly-registered and additional capital to US$3.05 billion.

By Thuy Dung