☕ Afternoon briefing on December 1

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

- Despite many difficulties, Vietnam has managed to keep the overall situation under good control with stable macro-economy and ensured major balances, including a trade surplus of over 10 billion USD, stated Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh while chairing a regular government meeting on December 1.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

PM Chinh noted that in November, the world situation continued to develop in a rapid and complicated way with increasing risk factors with world-wide effects. Inside the country, many measures were implemented to ensure the healthy development of specific markets such as securities and real estate, corporate bonds and banking, while there was a local shortage of petroleum, drugs and medical supplies. Read full story

- National Assembly Chairwoman Vuong Dinh Hue had meetings with Australian Minister of Education Jason Clare, and leaders of the opposition in the House of Representatives and the Senate Peter Dutton and Simon Birmingham on December 1, as part of the activities in his ongoing official visit to the nation.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue meets with Australian Minister of Education Jason Clare. (Photo: VNA)  

Meeting the Australian minister, Hue underlined the importance of the education and training cooperation in the Vietnam – Australia relations, expressing his hope that the Australian side will share experience in university autonomy and governance, business-university connection, entrepreneurship and innovation. Read full story

- Vietnam called on the international community to support Palestine in gaining independence, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), stated at a UN General Assembly session on November 30.

Giang voiced his concern over violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the volatility of the overall situation, noting that the casualties in 2022 reached a record in decades.Read full story

- Implementing the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS) and other international instruments to address emerging maritime issues has been the focus of a workshop in Hanoi on November 30 and December 1.

The hybrid ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) workshop, co-organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the EU, Australia and New Zealand, brought together about 200 representatives from 27 ARF member countries, regional and international organisations, diplomatic offices, research institutes, ministries and agencies.Read full story

- The disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam went up 15.1% between January and November to some 19.68 billion USD, the highest 11-month figure over the past five years, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

The processing and manufacturing sector made the lion share of 15.52 billion USD, accounting for 78.8% of the total number. The real estate industry recorded 1.44 billion USD, and electricity, gas, hot water, steam and air conditioner production and distribution, 1.43 billion USD. Read full story

- Investors from Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), and Singapore are  looking for more potential merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities in Vietnam, pinning high hopes on the long-term growth prospects of the market. 

According to Masataka “Sam” Yoshida, head of the Cross-border M&A Division of RECOF Corporation of Japan, Japanese companies are striving to sign strategic agreements with Vietnamese partners.Read full story

- Aquatic product exports reeled in 10.14 billion USD as of November this year, up 27% annually, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Of the sum, Tra fish and shrimps contributed 2.2 billion USD and 4.1 USD, up nearly 62% and 14.6% year-on-year, respectively. Tra fish’s sharp increase was thanks to the strongest annual surge in the product’s average price, at 50%. Exporters have also seized an opportunity to increase their market share created by the Russia-Ukraine conflict which limits the supply of white fish./.Read full story