Vietnam News Today (Aug. 6): Vietnam Records US$4.7 Billion Trade Surplus with UK Over 12 Months

Covid-19 treatment. Photo: VNA

Vietnam logs 2,074 Covid-19 cases on August 5

Vietnam recorded 2,074 Covid-19 cases on August 5, which is the fifth consecutive day the daily number of new cases has exceeded 2,000, according to the Ministry of Health.

The national caseload rose to 11,192,043.

With 9,481 patients given the all clear during the day, the number of recoveries rose to 9,957,655. Meanwhile, there are 46 patients in serious conditions needing breathing support, cited VNA.

No death from Covid-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The total fatalities stood at 43,094.

On August 4, an additional 387,222 doses of vaccines were administered, raising the total number of doses of Covid-19 vaccines injected to 247,726,474.

Vietnam records US$4.7 billion trade surplus with UK over 12 months

Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of 3.9 billion pounds (over US$4.7 billion) in the four quarters to the end of March 2022, up nearly 22% over the same period to 2021, reported the UK’s Department for International Trade.

The data released early this week showed total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Vietnam was 5.7 billion pounds, an increase of 15% year-on-year.

During the reviewed period, total UK exports to Vietnam amounted to 905 million pounds (an increase of 0.2%), of which export of goods accounted for 68.3% at 618 million pounds, up 3% year-on-year, while services were 287 million pounds, making up 31.7% and down 5.3% year-on-year.

Major products shipped from the UK to Vietnam included pulp and waste paper (74.4 million pounds), medicinal and pharmaceutical products (71.3 million pounds), beverage (42.2 million pounds), metal ore and scrap (35.2 million pounds) and scientific instruments (31.6 million pounds).

Making clothes at a garment company in Hanoi. Clothing is among the top 5 export products to UK markets. Photo: VNA

On the other side, Vietnam’s shipments to the UK increased 18.3% to 4.8 billion pounds, 97.2% of which were goods, with only 2.8% services, according to NDO.

The top five goods imported to the UK from Vietnam were telecoms & sound equipment (29.7%), clothing (381.8 million pounds), iron & steel (336.8 million pounds), footwear (334.8 million pounds) and furniture (329.9 million pounds).

Experts forecast the bilateral free trade agreement between the UK and Vietnam, which officially took effect on May 1, 2021, with a wide-range tariff elimination, has helped boost trade between the two markets. However, room for expansion is still large as Vietnam was the UK’s 36th largest trading partner, accounting for just 0.4% of total UK trade.

Updated data on trade in goods showed the UK’s exports of goods to Vietnam decreased by 4.3% in the 12 months to May 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, UK imports of goods from Vietnam increased by 15.5% over the same period.

Vietnam attends EAS Foreign Ministers meeting in Cambodia

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son on August 5 joined other diplomats of the East Asia Summit (EAS) at the EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as part of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting taking place in Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

At the meeting, ASEAN Foreign Ministers and their EAS counterparts from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Russia and the US, examined the recent developments in the region and the wilder world, and discussed their cooperation orientations.

An overview of the EAS Foreign Ministers Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo: VOV

The FMs raised concerns about emerging complicated developments in the South China Sea (known as the East Sea in Vietnam), Myanmar, the Korean Peninsula, Ukraine, and the Taiwan Strait. They affirmed that the strategic value of the EAS is to create a favourable environment for frank dialogue, close consultation, and sincere cooperation for a region of peace, stability and sustainable development.

Addressing the meeting, Minister Bui Thanh Son of Vietnam emphasized the importance of dialogue holding, trust building and responsibility sharing, and reaffirmed ASEAN’s consistent stance on issues in the current international situation.

He called on countries to contribute to building the East Sea into a sea of peace and stability, safety and security, openness and freedom, by resolving all disputes by peaceful means based on international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), reported VOV.

Vietnam is committed to working with other ASEAN countries and China to strictly implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the Bien Dong Sea (DOC), and strive to soon achieve an effective and efficient Code of Conduct (COC) in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, he stressed.

Regarding recent tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Minister Son reiterated ASEAN’s and Vietnam’s strong support for the ‘One China’ policy and called on all parties to exercise restraint, avoid complications, and resolve disagreements by peaceful means, in compliance with international law, the UN Charter and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).

He also said ASEAN will maintain its engagement in Myanmar to implement the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus on this country.

Vietnam come second at AFF U18 Women’s Championship 2022

Vietnam finished the AFF U18 Women’s Championship 2022 as the runner-up after losing 0-2 to Australia in the final in Indonesia on August 4.

Australia dominated the first half of the game, playing on offence due to their physical superiority while the Vietnamese players retreated to defend, VNA reported.

Vietnam (in red) play Australia in the final of the AFF U18 Women’s Championship 2022 on August 4. Photo: VNA

Vietnam’s Minh Chuyen had the first good chance to face the Australian goalkeeper one-on-one just four minutes into the game but her effort was easily denied by an opposing defender.

Australia’s Sienna opened the score from a close range in the 37th minute. Australia doubled their advantage seven minutes into the second half after striker Mary Stanic-Floody put a ball into goal keeper Phuong Thao’s net.

Thailand took the third place after beating Myanmar 0-2 in another match.

Vietnamese economy is likely to grow 10% in Q3: VinaCapital

The Vietnamese economy is likely to grow 10% year on year in the third quarter of this year, driven by strong domestic consumption, according to Michael Kokalari, chief economist at VinaCapital, one of the country’s leading investment management and real estate development companies.

Earnings growth are expected to exceed 20% this year, Kokalari said in a report entitled “The divergence between Vietnam’s strong economy & weak stock market,” which outlines expectation for Vietnam’s economy in the last five months of 2022. It is attributed to the country’s solid economic performance, he added.

Vietnam’s real retail sales, excluding the impact of inflation, grew by 7.9% year-on-year in the first six months of 2022. This figure surged to 11.9% in the seven months, which is far above the 7% year-on-year growth that VinaCapital had previously been forecasting for 2022.

Vietnam’s real retail sales, excluding the impact of inflation, grew by 7.9% year-on-year in the first six months of 2022. Photo: VNA

“This is important because we are often asked now whether the ongoing slowdown in the US economy – which is Vietnam’s biggest export market – will weigh on Vietnam’s economic growth,” Kokalari said.

A slowing US economy is likely to temper Vietnam’s export and economic growth, however, the impact of that slowdown will be offset by the country’s strong domestic economy, he said.

The revenues and earnings of companies listed on Vietnam’s stock market are primarily driven by the domestic economy, which is why VinaCapital expects the stock market to benefit from the unexpectedly strong domestic growth, cited NDO.

According to Kokalari, Vietnam’s stock market rose 37% last year, driven by a 36% surge in earnings. The consensus expects 16% earnings growth in 2022 and earnings growth of over 20% this year, as expected by VinaCapital, supported by Vietnam’s strong economic growth. All of this makes it somewhat surprising that the VN-Index is currently down 17% compared to the beginning of 2022.

The US Federal Reversal (Fed)’s interest rate hike has dampened global stock market investors’ sentiment, but VinaCapital expects Vietnam’s strong domestic economy to offset weak stock market sentiment in the US and other markets. The main reason for the recent dour sentiment among Vietnamese retail investors is the Government’s crackdown on illegal practices by certain companies that started at the end of March.

“But we believe the Government’s efforts to improve corporate governance and transparency will ultimately benefit Vietnam’s stock market, and the country as a whole,’ he noted.

The economist said that Vietnam’s stock market should be one of the biggest beneficiaries of a Fed pivot because the country has the most attractive valuation in the region, and the second highest expected earnings growth next to Indonesia, adding that he believes the quality of Vietnam’s corporate earnings is currently much better than that of Indonesia and other regional peers.