News in brief

Texan businesses invited to invest in Vietnam - The Dallas Regional Chamber’s International Business Council (IBC) has liaised with Vietnamese MPI to hold a workshop on ‘investment in Vietnam’.

 The workshop, held at the council’s convention centre on September 22, attracted nearly 100 businesses and investors. 
 

Tony Stewart, Chairman of the Asia Task Force, praised the American-Vietnamese relations and confirmed that IBC wants to act as a bridge between investors from both countries.

 

Angelos Angelou, Managing Director of VQ Partners, gave a presentation on Vietnam’s investment climate and the procedures for granting investment licenses in the country. He also urged US investors to do business in the Vietnamese market. Meanwhile, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister of Planning and Investment Truong Van Doan highlighted the potential that US investors offer in general and Texan investors in particular and called on the Texan business community to continue investing in Vietnam. The US now ranks seventh among the 88 foreign investors in Vietnam, with nearly 470 projects estimated at USD8.7 billion in total.

 

Vietnam Airlines offers an airfare discount of 60-70 percent - Vietnam Airlines has offered an airfare discount of 60-70 percent on all flights from October 1, 2009 to January 3, 2010, said Nguyen Thi Minh Yen, director of the Vietnam Airlines (VNA) office in the Southern region on September 16.

 

The promotional programme aims to stimulate domestic tourism and attract overseas visitors to Vietnam during the tourism season from November to March, she said. The tickets must be booked from October 1-20 through its website or ticket booking agencies. This is the largest promotional programme ever held by VNA so far. 

 

Taxing gains from foreign exchange - The Ministry of Finance issued Circular No 177/2009/TT-BTC on September 10, on determination of taxable income in the cases of gains made on foreign exchange rates in account payable collected in foreign currency. Accordingly, any gains or losses due to exchange rate differences during a period are counted as income or deductible expenses during that period to determine taxable income for corporate income tax purposes. Losses may be carried forward into the next period. The circular, which takes effect 45 days from its issuance, will apply to the 2009 tax year.

 

Economic workers eligible for tax relief - The Ministry of Finance issued the Circular No 176/2009/TT-BTC on September 9, guiding the application of personal income tax (PIT) reductions for individuals working in economic zones.

 

Under the circular, Vietnamese and foreign residents or non-residents in Viet Nam eligible for the reduction who have taxable income from wages received for work in economic zones shall be entitled to a 50-per-cent reduction of income tax payable. The circular, which takes effect 45 days from its issuance, will apply to the 2009 tax year.

 

Vietnam’s seafood products popular in the US - American consumers are very keen on Vietnamese tra and basa catfish and shrimps, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

 

The association said that although the US continues to impose trade barriers and high anti-dumping taxes on some of Vietnam’s aquatic products, these products are very popular with US consumers. This year, Vietnam has exported more seafood products to the US market. Since the beginning of the year, Vietnam has earned nearly USD200 million from exporting 20,000 tonnes of shrimps alone.

 

New highway for southern region - Following the Prime Minister’s decision, a ground-breaking ceremony will be held October 3, 2009 to start the construction of the HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay highway. 

 

With a total investment capital of VND9,760 billion, the 55km highway will cut through HCM City’s district 2 and 9 and the southern province of Dong Nai. There will be 18 bridges crossing rivers and a 6-km long overpass that traverses unsuitable ground. The new highway will facilitate trade between HCM City, Ba Ria Vung Tau and Dong Nai three major economic centres in the south.