Latest news with #ToLam
Korea Herald
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Vietnam's top leader congratulates Lee on inauguration
HANOI -- Vietnam's Party General Secretary To Lam on Thursday extended his congratulations to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on his inauguration, the South Korean Embassy in Vietnam said. The message was conveyed during a meeting between Lam and South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young-sam in Hanoi. Lam noted that relations between the two countries have reached their highest level, being elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022. The secretary also conveyed expectations for expanded exchanges and cooperation at all levels, including high-level official visits. Choi, on behalf of the Seoul government, thanked Lam for his prompt congratulatory message following Lee's election victory He reaffirmed Seoul's commitment to advancing mutually beneficial cooperation with Vietnam, describing the Southeast Asian nation as a key strategic partner.
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Experts: End monopoly in the gold market
An employee prepares a gold dragon statue inside a jewelry shop during Lunar New Year holidays in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. Photographer Linh Pham/Bloomberg HANOI: It is time to fundamentally change the gold market structure through eliminating monopoly and building a gold trading exchange to effectively manage the market, say experts. Many of them believe that to stabilise the domestic gold market, it is necessary to eliminate the monopoly of gold bars, as directed recently by the general secretary To Lam. Only when more businesses are allowed to participate in the production and import of gold bars legally and transparently, can the market achieve a state of healthy competition, bringing domestic gold prices closer to world prices. On the goal of narrowing the gap between domestic and world gold prices, vice-president of the Vietnam Gold Business Association Nguyen The Hung said this depends entirely on actual supply and demand in the market. In principle, when demand exceeds supply, prices will increase, and gold is no exception. If the local gold supply is supplemented, domestic gold prices will decrease. According to Hung, a major bottleneck are the activities of gold jewellery manufacturing enterprises. Although Decree 24/2012 allows the import of raw gold, gold manufacturing and trading enterprises have not been granted import quotas for more than 10 years. As a result, they have to buy gold on the market unofficially at high prices with unknown origin. It means the ultimate risk will be pushed to consumers because they will have to buy gold at prices much higher than the world price. Another bottleneck of the gold market is the 1% export tax currently applied to jewellery. Vietnamese businesses import raw gold at global prices but are taxed when exporting, making the cost even higher. Therefore, they cannot compete against their foreign rivals. They also have to bear a series of additional costs such as labour, machinery and depreciation. Hùng said if the export tax is removed and the supply of raw gold is ensured, it will create a strong driver for jewellery gold exports, attracting foreign currency revenues into the country. According to deputy Tran Anh Tuan of the National Assembly delegation of Ho Chi Minh City, if the government shifts to market-based management and create conditions for qualified enterprises to participate in the production, trading and distribution of gold as a normal commodity, the gap between domestic and global gold prices will be narrowed. 'It is necessary to open the door to qualified enterprises. If they have a licence, they should be allowed to import according to their actual capacity.' — Vietnam News/ANN
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Vietnam's US$67 billion North-South high-speed railway: privately built with public money?
Two of Vietnam 's largest conglomerates are vying to lead the country's largest infrastructure project to date: a US$67 billion high-speed railway linking the northern capital, Hanoi, with the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City. Advertisement Vingroup and Truong Hai Group Corporation (Thaco) have entered bids to build the more than 1,500km (930-mile) North–South high-speed rail line. But both are seeking substantial state support – either in the form of massive interest-free loans or government-backed financing. The proposals have raised questions about the potential for cost overruns and the risk of Vietnamese taxpayers ultimately footing the bill. Originally proposed in 2010, the high-speed rail project was rejected by the National Assembly at the time due to its prohibitive cost. But after more than a decade of rapid economic growth, the government approved the plan in November as part of an effort to modernise Vietnam's colonial-era railway system and propel the nation 'into a new era of growth', according to a statement from the transport minister. Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam has vowed to boost the country's private sector. Photo: AFP The proposals, submitted last month, followed Communist Party chief To Lam's pledge to boost the country's private sector amid intensifying regional competition for large-scale infrastructure contracts – including from Chinese state-backed giants that dominate high-speed rail development across the Mekong region.
BusinessToday
4 days ago
- Business
- BusinessToday
Vietnam Govt Goes On Cost-Cutting Measures, Asks Public To Be Thrifty
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam has called on the public to promote a culture of thrift in daily life as part of the nation's broader efforts to combat wastefulness, Vietnam News Agency reported. In an article published on Sunday, he proposed the establishment of an annual national thrift day to further encourage and institutionalize this practice across society. As an example of effective cost-cutting, the Party chief highlighted the ongoing restructuring of the government apparatus, which began in late 2024. This includes the merger of provinces, the dissolution of certain district-level administrative units and the consolidation of commune-level units. These reforms are projected to save the State budget more than 20 trillion Vietnamese dong (770 million U.S. dollars) annually during the 2025-2030 period, with savings expected to exceed 30 trillion dong (1.2 billion dollars) per year from 2030 onward, he wrote. Related
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Hanoi bans The Economist's issue featuring Vietnam's leader on its cover, reports say
The latest print edition of the Economist, which features Vietnam's top leader on its cover, has been banned in the country, the latest instance of media censorship in the communist, one-party state. The magazine carried an image of the Communist party General Secretary To Lam with stars on his eyes, alongside the headline 'The man with a plan for Vietnam', with an article carrying the subheading: 'A Communist party hard man has to rescue Asia's great success story'. Vietnam has transformed over recent decades into a manufacturing powerhouse, and was one of Asia's fastest growing economies last year. However, its export-reliant economy, which is heavily dependent on sending goods to the US, faces the threat of a 46% tariff announced early this year by Donald Trump. Noting the need for Vietnam to transform its economic strategy, the Economist article stated: 'If Mr Lam fails, Vietnam will muddle on as a low-value-added production centre that missed its moment', adding that reforms could, on the other hand, 'propel 100m Vietnamese into the developed world, creating another Asian growth engine'. Reports by both Reuters and Bloomberg quoted unnamed distributors who said they could not obtain copies of the magazine or that it had been banned. An unnamed executive at distributor Ngay Moi told Reuters they had been ordered to 'tear off' the cover and article about Lam, adding: 'Later, we were ordered not to sell it at all.' An employee at a second distributor, Global Book Corporation, also told Reuters Vietnam's ministry in charge of public information had banned the edition. Vietnam's ministry of foreign affairs and the Economist did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, Vietnamese authorities ordered telecom providers to block the messaging app Telegram, accusing it of failing to cooperate with efforts to crack down on crime. An internal document reported by Reuters said that many Telegram groups 'with tens of thousands of participants were created by opposition and reactionary subjects spreading anti-government documents'. Vietnam has little tolerance for dissent and maintains a tight control on the media, with press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières ranking it as among the worst in the world for media freedoms - at 173 place out of an index of 180 countries. The group describes Vietnam as 'one of the world's biggest prisons for journalists'. Aleksandra Bielakowska, Advocacy Officer for RSF said the decision to ban distribution of the Economist reflected the continued repression of press freedom in the country. 'It is clear that the Vietnamese authorities consider a free press a challenge to its one-party rule, and will do anything in its power to silence independent voices,' Bielakowska said, citing the case of journalist Pham Doan Trang, who has been detained for nearly five years by the regime. 'While Vietnamese authorities seek rapprochement with democracies to boost its economy, the international community as a whole must seize this opportunity to put human rights and freedom of the press on the frontline of its negotiations,' she added.
