Press digest – October 22

State President welcomes US Trade Representative

State President Truong Tan Sang on October 22 in Ha Noi received visiting US Trade Representative Michael Froman.

State President Truong Tan Sang agreed with Mr. Froman that the TPP negotiations are progressing soundly, and affirmed that Viet Nam will do its best to narrow the development gap between other countries in the region.

He asserted that Viet Nam will also adopt international criteria and standards, including those set out by the International Labour Organisation, of which Viet Nam is a member.

Viet Nam and the US will continue their discussions to reach agreement on existing differences, the President said.

NA Secretary General title introduced

A large number of National Assembly (NA) deputies gave approval of the NA Secretary General title introduced by the NA Standing Committee.

The new title is part of efforts to follow the international practices and serve new tasks of the National Assembly, heard the NA's October 22 plenary session that discussed the draft Law on Organization of the National Assembly (amended).  

Gov’t commits to SOEs equitization plan in 2015

The Government would take drastic measures to speed up equitization of 432 State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and withdrawal of non-core business capital.  

PM Nguyen Tan Dung made the commitment while delivering a report to the National Assembly's ongoing eighth meeting about the socio-economic performance in 2014 and tasks for 2015.

According to PM Dung, the Government has strengthened management and taken a series of solutions to restructure SOEs.

The Government also focused on the equitization process, capital withdrawal from non-core business lines, enhancement of administrative competence, business efficiency, and issuance of policies and mechanisms to extricate difficulties for enterprises.

VN expresses sympathy over former Australian PM’s death

PM Nguyen Tan Dung conveyed a message of sympathy over the death of former Australian PM Gough Whitlam to his Australian counterpart Tony Abbot on October 21.

On the same day, Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh sent a message of condolence to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

WTO willing to help VN with economic integration

Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Roberto Azevedo affirmed the WTO will continue to assist Vietnam in its international integration process for the benefit of member states and the global economy.

Azevedo pledged his full support at a reception for Viet Nam’s Acting Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Cong Nghiep on October 21 as part of his visit to Switzerland.

During the meeting, Nghiep informed his host of Viet Nam’s progress in economic development, stressing that the country’s import-export turnover has grown remarkably since officially becoming a WTO member in 2007.

Viet Nam will continue its active participation in all forums of the WTO framework, he said.

Trade turnover fetches over US$ 230 bln

As of mid-October, trade turnover surpassed US$ 230.23 billion, representing a year-on-year surge of nearly 12.9% (or US$ 26.22 billion), according to the Viet Nam Customs.

In the first half of October, Viet Nam earned over US$ 12.83 billion in trade revenue, down 8.8% or over US$ 1.23 billion against the same period last month. The FDI sector pocketed nearly US$ 7.71 billion in export earnings, posting a month-on-month decline of 11.8% or over US$ 1.03 billion.

The country faced a trade deficit of US$ 438 million in the first 15 days of October but ran a trade surplus of over US$ 1.84 billion since the beginning of the year.

October CPI in biggest cities

October, the consumer price index (CPI) went up 0.04% in Ha Noi and declined 0.03% in Ho Chi Minh City against last month.

The Ha Noi Statistics Office reported that in October, CPI saw a year-on-year growth of 2.72%. Since the beginning of the year, it surged 2.09%, posting a record low within 11 years.

Meanwhile, in HCM City, CPI reduced by 0.03% in October after surging sharply in September due to rising tuition fee. It saw a year-on-year increase of 2.38%.

The declining CPI is unexpected as the increasing trend in October occurred over the last four years.

VN active at APEC finance ministers’ meeting

Viet Nam actively contributed to the Finance Ministers' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) which was held in Beijing, China on October 21-22.

The head of the Vietnamese delegation to the meeting, Deputy Minister of Finance Truong Chi Trung called for greater efforts in economic restructuring and more cooperation in seeking financial resources for infrastructure development.

Consumer confidence slightly softer in October

Viet Nam Consumer Confidence has fallen slightly to 134.7 points (down 0.3% m/m) in October, according to latest report by ANZ-Roy Morgan.

This month’s slight fall was primarily driven by falling confidence amongst respondents about the next 12 months, however an increasing number of respondents said now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items.

HCM City hosts int’l forum on poverty reduction

The fifth international forum on Regional Network on Poverty Eradication (RENPER) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on October 22, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign scholars and researchers.

During the three-day event, participants will share experience, research and solutions for sustainable poverty reduction in countries in the region and the world over./.

(Source: VGP/VNA/VOV/Nhandan online)