Reference exchange rate up 10 VND at week’s beginning

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines inaugurated a new direct air service linking Busan - the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s second-largest city with Nha Trang, the renowned beach destination in Vietnam’s central province of Khanh Hoa on June 1.

Hanoi has established 16 innovation and design centres dedicated to promoting OCOP and craft village products, along with 110 showrooms and sales points, helping consumers easily recognise and purchase authentic OCOP goods.

The Capital Region, including Hanoi and nine neighbouring provinces of Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, Bac Giang, and Thai Nguyen, is identified as a socio-economic development linkage area.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism Pham Van Thuy emphasised the RoK as a top tourism market, noting 1.58 million Korean arrivals in Vietnam in the first four months of 2025.

Vietnamese firms are facing steeper cost increases than the global average due to tariffs and trade uncertainty, according to HSBC’s Global Trade Pulse 2025 survey.

Argentina is currently one of the leading suppliers of agricultural products to Vietnam, particularly corn and animal feed ingredients. In return, Vietnam exports high-value-added goods to Argentina, including mobile phones, electronic components, footwear and textiles.

In 2024, Vietjet recorded its highest-ever business performance, with an expanding international network that boosted revenue.

Secretary General of the ASEAN–Japan Centre (AJC) Kunihiko Hirabayashi reaffirmed that even amid global uncertainties, Vietnam remains a reliable and strategic partner for Japan, continuing to play a prominent role in global trade and value chains.

Hai Duong currently has 8,800 hectares of lychee, including 3,300 hectares in Thanh Ha district, with an estimated total output of 65,000 tonnes. The harvest will run from late May through June.

Running twice weekly, the service combines river and sea routes, cutting transport time from 48 hours to just 15 – a nearly 70% reduction compared to traditional river routes.The service can handle hundreds of TEUs per trip, including a large proportion of refrigerated containers – crucial for meeting the growing demand for cold-chain logistics in the Mekong Delta.

Operating twice a week, the barge service reduces transit times of 48 hours by the river ways to just 15 hours via a combination of river and sea routes, a 70% improvement.

This year’s summit welcomed 60 experts and speakers, along with over 20 well-known investors and venture capital funds from countries, including Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), and Vietnam, representing a combined investment portfolio of approximately 3.5 billion USD.

At the sessions, representatives from the State Audit Office of Vietnam actively shared technical insights, particularly on digital transformation in auditing, and emphasised how public auditing contributes to a transparent and stable financial environment, laying a foundation for achieving Vietnam’s sustainable development goals.

Several key economic and financial policies will come into force from June, directly impacting household businesses, state-owned enterprises, and foreign investors.

Both sides praised the growing financial and investment partnership between the two countries, particularly through VOI, a strategic joint venture between the OIA and the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) of Vietnam, established in 2008.

Dr. To Hoai Nam, Permanent Vice President and Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, noted that counterfeit and imitation goods, as well as intellectual property infringements, have grown increasingly complex and sophisticated. Thousands of cases have been uncovered, with many well-known Vietnamese brands blatantly copied in both traditional markets and on e-commerce platforms.

The Ministry of Construction was asked to promptly review, streamline, and simplify 361 administrative procedures related to production and business activities, along with 447 business conditions under its jurisdiction, while ensuring a 30% reduction in administrative processing time, compliance costs, and business conditions by 2025.

An IFC serves as an ecosystem of interconnected financial and non-financial services linked to global markets. With its existing infrastructure and a well-developed financial sector, HCM City is prioritising investment in information technology, physical infrastructure, and human capital to lay the foundation for the centre’s operations.

At a recent conference to promote investment in Thu Duc city, local authorities revealed plans to auction land use rights for 239 hectares, including 49 lots in the Thu Thiem new urban area and 189 hectares from other projects.

During the meeting, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Truong Canh Tuyen briefed an overview of the city’s development prospects and strategic advantages, particularly in light of the planned merger with the neighbouring provinces of Soc Trang and Hau Giang.