On June 02, 2018, the Prime Minister issued Decision No.800/QD-TTg amending and supplementing some contents of the National Strategy on Gender Equality during 2011-2020. This Decision took effect from the date of its promulgation.
Accordingly, Decision No.800/QD-TTg has revised some objectives of the National Strategy on Gender Equality, specifically as follows:
- Setting the target by 2020, the literacy rate of women aged 15-60 is about equal to that of men (98%), of which the percentage of literate in 14 provinces with difficult socio-economic conditions is 94%, the percentage of literate ethnic minority people reaches 90%;;
- Striving to have at least 2 categories of propaganda on gender equality on grassroots information systems in communes, wards and townships by 2020;
- By 2020, at least 50% of the victims of domestic violence will be provided with psychological and legal counseling, support and health care at the violence victim’s facilities and 75% of domestic violence survivors are found at the level not yet examined for penal liability, they shall be consulted at counseling centers for domestic violence prevention and control;
In addition, Decision No.800/QD-TTg also amended and supplemented a number of key measures for the implementation of the Strategy, including: formulation, approval and implementation planning work which is linked to the work of arranging, using, evaluating, training and compensating female cadres, civil servants and officials for positions and titles of leaders and managers at state agencies with specific targets and feasible solutions; to annually review, adjust and supplement the plannings.
It can be seen that, through the Decision No.800/QD-TTg, the Prime Minister has made specific and timely adjustments on gender equality in line with the socio-economic development in new stage, from which to enhance the understanding of the people, enhance the sense of responsibility in building a civilized and progressive society.
On June 26, 2018, the Government issued Decree No.91/2018/ND-CP on granting and management of sovereign guarantees. This Decree took effect since July 1, 2018.
Accordingly, the eligibility for sovereign guarantees and limit on sovereign guarantees are as follows:
- An enterprise is eligible for a sovereign guarantee when it fulfills the following conditions:
– It has legal status, established lawfully in Vietnam and operated for at least 3 consecutive years prior to the date of submission of the dossier of request for approval of the guarantee or guaranty policy;
– It has not incurred loss for the last 3 consecutive years according to the audit report, except for the loss incurred due to adoption of state policies as approved by competent authority;
– It has no overdue debt when the application for a sovereign guarantee is submitted, including overdue debts with re-lending agencies, overdue debts with Debt Repayment Fund, overdue debts with the lenders for sovereign guarantees loans and overdue debts with other credit institutions.
– It has a feasible financial plan finalized by the Ministry of Finance and reported to the Prime Minister for approval;
– It has a minimum percentage of owner’s equity in the project of 20% of the total investment capital of the project approved by the competent agency, enclosed with the plan of allocating specific owner capital according to the progress of the project implementation;
– In case of issuance of bonds, the enterprise must satisfy the conditions for issuance of securities for notarization in accordance with the laws on securities and securities market.
- A bank for social policies is eligible for a sovereign guarantee when it fulfills the following conditions:
– It has established and operated as per the law and raised funds in accordance with its charter promulgated by the competent authority;
– The guarantee amount is within the annual guarantee limit approved by the Government;
– The sovereign-guaranteed loan shall be used to carry out the state credit program as prescribed by the Government.
- Regarding the limit on sovereign guarantees:
– For projects approved by the National Assembly or the Government for investment policies, the guarantee level shall be the original value of the loan or bond issue at maximum 70% of the total investment amount according to the investment decision of the authorized level.
– For projects approved by the Prime Minister for investment decisions, the guarantee level shall be the original value of the loan or bond issue at the maximum of 60% of the total investment amount according to the investment decisions.
– The Government guarantee for bonds issued by the policy bank is 100% maximum of the limit for issuance of government guaranteed bonds approved by the Prime Minister.
With specific and detailed regulations, Decree No.91/2018/ND-CP has been tightened in terms of both eligibility for sovereign guarantees and limit on sovereign guarantees as compared with previous documents, in line with the policies set by the Party and the State in the budget expenditures at the beginning of the year.
On June 20, 2018, the Ministry of Justice issued Circular No.08/2018/TT-BTP guiding the registration, provision of information, contract and exchange of information on registration of security measures in the Center for registration of transactions and assets. This Circular took effect since August 4, 2018.
Accordingly, the Circular No.08/2018/TT-BTP provides some new highlights as follows:
- Types of contracts eligibled for security measures:
– A property lease with a term of one year or more or a contract with a lease term of less than one year, but the contracting parties agree on the extension and the total leasing term (including extended term) for one year or more;
– The financial leasing contract in accordance with the law on financial leasing;
– Contracts for the transfer of the right to reclaim the debt, including the right to reclaim an existing debt or the right to reclaim a future debt;
– Change, correct errors, delete registration of contracts registered in the above contracts.
Cases are excluded: contracts for the purchase of civil aircraft, financial leasing contracts for aircraft, contracts for the purchase of sea-going vessels, financial leasing contracts for sea-going vessels, contracts related to rights of using land and assets attached to land.
- Besides, Circular No.08/2018/TT-BTP also regulates about those contracts must be registered security measures:
– Mortgage of movable property, except aircraft and sea-going vessels, including future mortgages;
– Reserve ownership in the case of sale and purchase of movable property, except for aircraft and sea-going vessels with reservation of ownership;
– Modify, correct errors, delete registration of security measures in the two cases above.
– A written notice on the disposal of the security property for the registered security measures.
As such, the Circular No.08/2018/TT-BTP specifically regulates the types of contracts that are registered for security measures upon request, thus providing the basis for the application and enforcement of the law on secured transactions are consistent and transparent.
Research on the current situation of Vietnam-Korea economic cooperation in several key areas shows that Korea is one of the most important trade and strategic partners of Vietnam. Over the past 22 years, economic relation between the two countries has developed rapidly across many sectors. These achievements were reiterated and reconfirmed in the signing of the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) on 5 May 2015 in Hanoi. This event also marked a new milestone in bilateral economic ties in the coming time. Besides, the Vietnam-Korea economic relation will also be influenced by various factors of global, regional and national nature. The favorable and unfavorable factors can be summarized as follows:
Favorable conditions
The overall trend of regional and international cooperation has also created many favorable conditions for the development of bilateral ties between Vietnam and Korea. The achievements in the cooperation between the two countries in recent years are the combined result of Vietnam’s active foreign policy of “befriending all countries in the world” and Korea’s “look south” policy as well as a peaceful and cooperative environment, of which East Asia economic integration is one salient factor.
Vietnam and Korea are two East Asian countries with long-established traditions characterized by a sense of patriotism and abundance source of labourers who are industrious and avid for knowledge. Both countries were devastated by wars and both have industrialized on the basis of a mostly agrarian economy. Relations between Vietnam and Korea have a long history. Although in the past Korean troops fought in the Vietnam War, both countries nowadays want to “put aside the past and look to the future”. They have a shared determination of furthering the cooperation on the basis of mutal respect for the national independence and sovereignty in the long-term interest of both peoples, striving for stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region and the world.
Vietnam-Korea cooperation is still based on most immediate and complementary needs which are conducive to the economic development of each country. This is reflected in the statement made by late President Roh Moo-huyn on a visit to Vietnam: “Vietnam has abundant resources and labour while Korea has advanced technology and investment capital.” As companions who share strategic interests, the development of such a relation is highly beneficial.
In recent years, thanks to accelerated exchanges in the field of education, the two countries have been able to generate a good batch of labourers who know the language and understand the culture of the partner country. They will be the main forces to accelerate cooperation between the two countries.
Currently, with the open-door policy and increasing integration into the region and the world, Vietnam boasts a rapidly changing investment and business environment. Vietnam has established relations with multiple international organizations and countries around the world. The prospect of signing Free Trade Agreement with other countries and the amendment of the Law on Investment, Law on Enterprises, aided by the advent of the ASEAN Community at the end of this year, will create new opportunities for investors and businesses of both Vietnam and Korea.
The signing of VKFTA in 2015 after nine rounds of continuous negotiation since 2012 is a highlight in bilateral ties. Similar to commitments with WTO and other FTAs in which Vietnam is either already a member or in the process of negotiating, the signing of VKFTA will help further improve the business environment, allocate and use social resources in a more effective manner in order to speed up the process of restructuring the economy along the line of increasing added values and sustainable development. Under this Agreement, Vietnam’s exports will have more market opportunities as Korea opens wide its market according to commitments. Korea pledges to assist Vietnam in improving the capacity to formulate and enforce policies, better the competitiveness of the areas Korea is good at and Vietnam is in need of, in order to export sustainably agriculture, fishery and forestry products; electronics industry, oil refinery industry, supporting industry, etc. In an optimistic scenario, the VKFTA is expected to generate positive social benefits by creating more jobs for Vietnamese labour force, improving their incomes and eradicating poverty in the rural area.
Difficulties and challenges
Besides the foregoing favorable conditions, the economic relation between Vietnam and Korea also faces multiple challenges. Specifically:
Bilateral economic relation cannot be divorced from political relation. The two countries need to reiterate their policy to support each other in relevant international issues in a fast-changing and unpredictable regional and global context. The rise of China and the changes in its strategy and method of development, for example its increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea/East Sea have posed serious challenges to some Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, in terms of sovereignty over the archipelagoes and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in this sea area. Vietnam appreciates Korea’s view, as a strategic partner of Vietnam, to solve all disputes peacefully on the basis of international laws. Besides, Vietnam also needs to share experience with and support Korea’s efforts to bring about peaceful reunification on the Korean Peninsula.
Vietnam and Korea have different political, economic and social regimes and the types of ownership of capital goods. Once FTA has been officially implemented, it requires greater and more concerted efforts from the goverments and the ministries, departments and businesses from the Vietnamese part. If it fails to reform its current administrative system, it will not be able to live up to the commitments regarding the creation of favorable conditions for transactions and delivery of public services. A more transparent and less cumbersome legal environment will encourage greater investment from Korea in Vietnam, which entails high technology, advanced management level, and accessibility to a third market. Moreover, confronted with fierce competition in the trend of liberalizing trade, Vietnamese businesses particularly small and medium ones will lose their markets or go bankrupt unless they innovate quickly and improve their governance. In addition, Vietnam still has many difficulties in training and using the human resources to serve development needs. Compared with their counterparts in many regional countries, Vietnamese enterprises still have relatively limited understanding of the global market and little experience to respond effectively to the current trends of international cooperation.
Conclusion
The rapid development of economic relation between Vietnam and Korea in recent years shows that both countries have built on their competitive advantages. Over the past 20 years, the relation between the two countries have taken long strides and become a model of an international relation in which two countries are determined to put aside issues of the past to look to the future, and thus made remarkable achievements. From very low rungs of the ladder, the relation between Vietnam and Korea has moved up to higher places almost at full speed. With the political will of the two governments and the aspirations of the two peoples, we have all reasons to believe that the friendly relations between two “in-laws” countries will continue to develop robustly and profoundly in the coming time.
Source: cefia.aks.ac.kr
EU yellow card matter dominates seafood businesses
Cao Thi Kim Lan, director of Binh Dinh Seafood Joint Stock Company (Bidifisco) says a sense of deep loss has been felt throughout the company since EC issued a ‘yellow card’ warning against Vietnam. In the six months since the warning was deliviered, Vietnam’s seafood industry has faced a number of difficulties when seeking entry to the EU market.
Every year, the company exports aquatic products worth about US$60 million (tuna makes up 75% of the total output), with 70% exported to the EU market. Vietnamese businesses have suffered heavy losses from the warning. So far, the company has committed to saying no to trading in illegally exploited seafood products, says Ms Lan.
Ms Lan notes that businesses find it difficult to access the fishing logs of fishermen, leading to late confirmations, and causing difficulties in the preparation of documents for export. State agencies stipulate that fishermen submit their fishing logs to the fishing port, she says.
Nguyen Hoai Nam, vice general secretary of VASEP says, the issuance has affected the export situation. The US Department of Agriculture’s supervision program has applied to 13 types of products. In 2019, the program will apply to shrimp and Vietnamese shrimp will face a number of challenges and risks from the program, notes Mr Nam.
Several seafood processing businesses also shared the viewpoint and highlighted the efforts at all levels and associations having the yellow card withdrawn. Vietnam’s seafood industry expects that the yellow card will be rescinded as scheduled or in the short-term.
Efforts to withdraw the EU yellow card
According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Vietnam has recently focused on taking drastic measures in accordance with 9 EU recommendations, under which businesses will gradually develop the fishing industry in a responsible and sustainable manner, following international regulations.
The Government has agreed to set up an inter-disciplinary working group and assign the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to direct localities and related parties in implementing national action plans to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, emphasizes Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong.
In fact, during the implementation of EC recommendations, relevant agencies have gradually perfected the legal framework towards the sustainable management and exploitation of fishing resources by improving the supervision of fishing vessels, organizing patrols and controls at sea to reduce and abolish IUU fishing in territorial waters abroad.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan says, Vietnam has made great strides to secure the rescission of the EU yellow card within six months or in the short-term future, noting that the country will not let the incident affect Vietnam-EU relations in the coming time.
Mr Tuan says a high-level delegation from the EU will arrive in Vietnam to carry out an assessment of the exact situation. Therefore, businesses are urged to respond to the warnings and act on the recommendations set forth by the EC, especially in the implementation of the rule of origin and eliminating illegal fishing.
According to information from Vietnam Television, all of the seafood products from a vessel owned by Mr Vu Dieu Hien in Lap Le commune of Thuy Nguyen district in Hai Phong have been consumed on the domestic market. Mr Hien says if Vietnamese seafood is not permitted for export to the EU, all fishermen will be affected. All fishery products will be sold on the domestic market, leading to a sharp decline in the price of seafood products. Therefore, fishermen are urged to take responsibility in the effort to overcome the limitations when exploiting aquatic products in a manner which will avoid further warnings.
In Thanh Hoa province, three representative offices have been set up at the fishing ports of Hoa Loc, Lach Hoi, and Lach Bang to inspect and control the fishing boats’ activities. The offices will conduct the inspection and management of fishing vessels when leaving and returning to the ports.
In addition, many of the owners of fishing vessels have increased their efforts to keep detailed records and provide fishing logs to the relevant agencies when docking at Tho Quang fishing port.
Source: VOV
At the Conference on publicizing Decree 51/2018/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles in Decree 158/2006/ND-CP stipulating the Commercial Law on commodity trading through Mercantile Exchange held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on 9th May in Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Loc An, Deputy Director of Domestic Market stated that the model of the Mercantile Exchange in Vietnam has been implemented for many years.
However, until now, few Mercantile Exchanges have been established in the country. Commodities traded in Mercantile Exchanges are still not diversified and are mainly agricultural products, typically coffee and products such as steel are still negligible. In addition, commodity trading through the Mercantile Exchange is still weak and has not attracted many investors, leading to the low liquidity.
Regarding legal framework, Mr. An said that previously, Vietnam has no regulations on the commodity trading through the Mercantile Exchange from foreign countries; the capital contribution by foreign investors to establish the Mercantile Exchange in Vietnam; buying shares and capital contribution; and regulations on the list of goods permitted to be traded through the Mercantile Exchange, which is time-consuming for enterprises to apply for each additional license.
In order to develop the model of the Mercantile Exchange, on 9th April, the Government issued Decree No. 51 /2018/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of Articles of the Government’s Decree 158/2006/ND-CP dated 28th December stipulating the law on Commercial Law on Commodity trading through the Mercantile Exchange.
Regarding new contents in Decree 51, the representative of the Legal Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade said that Decree 51 expanded the form of trading orders. Besides written orders, other forms such as telex, fax, data and other forms as prescribed might be accepted, allowing Mercantile Exchanges to connect with each other in the country and abroad. In addition, the Decree 51 also expanded the List of commodities listed in the Mercantile Exchange.
Decree 51 has supplemented a key content related to regulations on foreign investors who are permitted to contribute capital to establish the Mercantile Exchange in Vietnam; buy shares and contribute capital to the Mercantile Exchange in Vietnam with a rate of not more than 49% of the charter capital.
Mr. An assessed that Decree 51 removed the shortcomings in the operation of the Mercantile Exchanges over the past years and created a more favorable legal framework for enterprises and farmers.
Mr. Nguyen Viet Vinh, General Secretary of the Vietnam Coffee – Cocoa Association said that “according to Decree 51, Vietnam connected the exchanges in the country with each other (if any) and towards connecting with the foreign exchanges. This will create favorable conditions, typically enterprise will grasp information on volume of exported goods and price. Thereby, evaluation on the market is more effective”.
“Although mechanisms are provided in Decree 51, the most important thing is effective operation of the Mercantile Exchanges . For example, issues related to infrastructure, information dissemination and capacity must be ensured. Currently, commodities listed on the Mercantile Exchanges are not restricted. Therefore, the Mercantile Exchanges need to apply standards to have a basis to evaluate the goods before being listed by an enterprise”. Mr. Vinh said.
Source: Customs News
Vietnam is now home to more than 80,000 foreign workers, according to Le Quang Trung, deputy head of the Department of Employment under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).
They come from over 100 countries and territories and work as mangers, managing directors, experts and technical workers, Trung said at a meeting on communication work on employment hosted by the ministry in the southern province of Binh Duong on May 10.
Ninety-five percent of eligible foreign workers in Vietnam have been granted work permits, he said, adding that they provide a significant contingent of skilled, experienced and professional workers for Vietnam.
However, he noted that there is a lack of close, timely and comprehensive coordination in managing foreign labourers among local authorised agencies while violations have not been strictly handled.
The sense of law observance of some contractors, businesses and foreigner workers in recruiting, employing labourers and following work permits remains limited, even some foreigners enter Vietnam before applying for work permit, he said.
The increasing number of foreign workers in Vietnam requires the improvement of the legal system to ensure the rights of migrant workers, especially social security. Social insurance authorities in the country have developed a compulsory social insurance scheme for foreign workers in the country, citing the need to follow international practices as the country deepens its integration.
The 2014 Law on Social Insurance requires compulsory enrollment of foreign workers in the social insurance scheme, starting in 2018, to ensure their equality and welfare. However, to date, it has not yet been realised due to a lack of guiding documents.
A MoLISA draft decree also proposed requiring foreign workers to take part in all five social insurance programmes – pension and insurance for sickness, maternity, vocational injuries, disease, and death.
Source: VNA
It’s hard to see any logic behind Vietnam’s choice for special economic zones, all of which are far from the biggest cities.
Vietnam is proposing the establishment of three special economic zones (SEZ),Van Don in Quang Ninh, Bac Van Phong in Khanh Hoa and Phu Quoc in Kien Giang. But I just can’t see any clear goal or vision behind these choices.
When we talk about competitive economies, we think of metropolises racing to attract foreign investment and multinational organizations. Just take a look at Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo or Seoul. The backbone of development lies in urbanization going hand in hand with industrialization. It’s the big cities that make a country competitive.
Not for Vietnam, apparently. The government seems to think that our cities are overpopulated and need to be “toned down,” and that investment should be poured into rural development. Such approach goes against development trends.
In my eyes, Van Don currently stands the best chance as a SEZ. Phu Quoc might work as a SEZ to boost tourism. As for Bac Van Phong, however, I have yet to see any potential coming from this place.
With incoming investments, these three areas might bring something to the table. However, it would be difficult for them to deliver breakthrough results that would boost Vietnam’s economy.
The same principle applies to all countries. There need to be clear goals and vision when it comes to establishing SEZs. Those goals might be to boost growth by attracting foreign investment, developing infrastructure; to support an overarching economic strategy; it could be the place to test new frameworks and policies and a means to ease pressure on population growth and unemployment.
More specifically, a SEZ needs to be placed close to large markets. For example, Shenzhen in China’s Guangdong Province is a good place to establish a SEZ, as the city’s location makes it the gateway between Hong Kong and the huge market of mainland China. Or the Iskandar SEZ in Johor, Malaysia is particularly well-developed thanks its proximity to Singapore and international maritime trade routes.
As for Vietnam, if we want to attract multinational corporations to SEZs, my personal top choices would be the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park in Hanoi and the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in HCMC. These two places entail all necessary factors to attract investors, such as proximity to a large pool of high skilled workers, international markets and developing infrastructure.
For instance, if someone invested in Van Don, they’d need thousands of engineers, and other high skilled workers. Will this area be able to meet that demand fast enough? It’d be very difficult. But it’d be easy if it was located near Hanoi, where there are plenty of talented workers. It’d be best to let Hanoi and HCMC act as the driving forces of Vietnam’s economy.
A good SEZ, in my opinion, should provide investors with maximum freedom to experiment with different frameworks, not just simply offering tax, land and financial incentives. For example, the SEZ in Pudong District, Shanghai is a huge success due to lax regulations. Instead of requiring businesses to register, they can just announce their opening; instead of listing legal business activities, only the illegal ones are specified.
As such, Vietnam’s SEZs should be part of a comprehensive development strategy, something I couldn’t find in the government’s draft law. At the same time, the top leader of each SEZ should be given more autonomy in decision making so that we don’t lose big investor due to prolonged waiting for approval from higher level authorities.
Regarding the cost of building the three SEZs, $44 billion, the state budget will only partially cover it, with the rest coming from other sources. During the initial phase, I believe the state budget will need to pay for infrastructure development but such a huge investment needs to be subject to careful cost-benefit analysis. If we pour millions of dollars in there without calculating return on investment, corruption will be inevitable.
*Dr. Huynh The Du is a lecturer at Fulbright University Vietnam, HCMC.
Source: e.vnexpress.net
Vietnam’s business environment and competitiveness have been improved significantly over the past three years thanks to a range of solutions, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI).
The country’s efforts have been reflected through the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings in 2016, in which Vietnam climbed to the 82nd position from the 91st last year. This is the first time the country has made a big stride in the rankings since 2008.
Vietnam also claimed the 47th position among 127 economies surveyed in the 2017 global innovative index (GII) report, the highest ranking to date, up 12 places from last year’s report, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
The World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 released in September also ranked Vietnam 55th overall, up five places from 2016.
However, the MoPI said that the quality of regulations on business conditions remained low, showing a lack of a management system based on risk assessment.
Besides, the supervision system of regulations on business conditions has proven ineffective, the ministry said, pointing to inadequate acknowledgement of reforms of licences and business conditions.
The ministry, therefore, proposed abolishing about 3,000 unnecessary, irrational, ineffective business conditions and revamping State management over production and business activities on the basis of principles and practices set by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The ministry has called on the Prime Minister to request ministers and Chairpersons of municipal and provincial People’s Committees to closely supervise the implementation of Resolution No. 19 on tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and national competitiveness.
The ministries should promptly review and propose reducing investment and business conditions in the State management area and report to the PM before December 2017, the MoPI said.
At the same time, the MoPI will partner with the Government’s Office and relevant ministries to organise more dialogues with enterprises to clear up their concerns and petitions in a timely manner.
Source: VNA
On May 30/05/2018, the General Department of Customs issued the Plan No.3009/KH-TCHQ on the implementation plan of automatic customs management system at ports, warehouses and yards. This plan took effect from the date of its promulgation.
Accordingly, Plan No.3009/KH-TCHQ sets out the principles and roadmap for implementing the system as follows:
- Priority is given to enterprises, customs units which:
– Having high transaction frequency and volume of import and export goods;
– High availability of information technology systems;
– Deploying synchronously from ports to warehouses and yards to ensure the coherence between the professional operations in the supervision of goods transportation.
- Roadmap for implementation
– Review and evaluate the current situation and determine the implementation of enterprises: Completed in June, 2018;
– Development of implementation plan: Completed in July 2018;
– Other contents such as sending staff to participate in training, organizing seminars, introducing, guiding and supporting departments and enterprises to study information exchange process: To be carried out in parallel during implementation process.
By providing a detailed roadmap with drastic measures, the General Department of Customs has shown the industry’s determination to deploy an automated customs management system at ports, warehouses and yards to speed up the implementation of the state management.