Vietnam restores position in Russian tourism market

Ho Chi Minh City's total tourism revenue rose 26.7% year-on-year to 56.66 trillion VND ( 2.21 billion USD), achieving 21.8% of the 2025 plan.

Released on March 25, the directive underscored the pivotal role of the private sector, particularly SMEs, which constitute 98% of all active businesses in the country.

Since entering the Philippine market in 2024, VinFast has introduced smart, eco-friendly EVs while reinforcing its long-term commitment by expanding its post-sales service network.

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at 24,851 VND/USD on March 26, up 4 VND from the previous day.

The proposal suggests extending the 2% VAT reduction from July 1, 2025, until the end of 2026 for goods and services currently taxed at 10%, lowering them to 8%.

At the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang affirmed that the MoU not only represents a milestone in the cooperation between the two sides but also demonstrates the ministry’s commitment to protecting consumer interests in an increasingly interconnected global marketplace.

Despite robust development in their trade ties, Vietnam's Ha Giang province and Wenshan in China’s Yunnan province have not capitalised on their immense potential, making trade revenue lagging behind expectations.

In his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hue City Nguyen Van Phuong said these two key projects are expected to drive significant progress in the city's manufacturing industry, contributing to the goal of achieving double-digit economic growth in line with the Government's target.

A leader of Vinh Phuc pledged to step up reforming administrative procedures, accelerate land clearance, and enhance digital services to guanrantee a favourable and transparent investment and business climate for enterprises to operate and grow.

By January 2025, the RoK had emerged as HCM City's third-largest foreign investor, boasting 2,286 projects with a total of 5.5 billion USD in registered capital.

With the country’s National Assembly expected to issue a resolution this year on the establishment of international financial centres, Binh said the Vietnamese Government hopes to obtain the ECB’s advice in shaping policies for financial regulation, investment attraction, risk management, and anti-money laundering efforts.

The daily reference exchange rate continued the upward trend seen on previous days to stand at 24,847 VND/USD on March 25.

Ambassador Ly Duc Trung has expressed his hope that Israeli businesses will not only see Vietnam as a market for selling technological products and services to but also recognise its potential for cooperation for mutual development.

Nguyen Thanh Nghi, then Minister of Construction, said over the past four decades, more than 120 large-scale projects of national significance have been completed. Many of them feature innovative structural designs, new construction techniques, and cutting-edge technologies, some introduced in Vietnam for the first time or holding regional importance.

Cross-border collaboration will be key to unlocking the next growth opportunities as Vietnam is an emerging player in the industry, with a market size exceeding 18 billion USD in 2024 and projected to rise to over 31 billion USD by 2029, said a representative from the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association.

Vietnam now has 17 inland container depots (IDCs) across 12 provinces and centrally-governed cities. IDCs form a crucial part of the country’s transportation infrastructure network. They serve as key logistics hubs, supporting the operations of seaports, airports, inland waterway ports, railway stations, and border checkpoints, while also functioning as customs clearance sites for imports and exports.

Due mostly to financial difficulties, some expressways still face limitations in terms of lane capacity and speed restrictions.

The economic sector contributes approximately 51% of Vietnam’s GDP, over 30% of state budget revenue, more than 30% of total import-export turnover, nearly 60% of total social investment capital, and 82% of the workforce.

The "Empower Youth for Future Success in Ha Nam Province" program is designed to equip these young people with a comprehensive set of skills, including social, financial, employability, and entrepreneurship skills.

With Ho Chi Minh City ranking 98th out of 121 global financial centres and classified as a "local specialist" in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) released on March 20, Vietnam has a plethora of strategic options to develop its financial hub.