Industrial and trade developments from the press review on May 17, 2018
I. Energy Policy and Tax Proposals
- Fuel Tax Hikes: First, the Ministry of Finance proposed increasing the environmental tax on gasoline to 4,000 VND per liter.
- Social Impact: Consequently, experts warn that this increase will hurt low-income households the most.
- Regulatory Issues: Meanwhile, many gas businesses face bankruptcy due to strict requirements in Decree 19.
- Market Reforms: Furthermore, economists suggest amending Decree 83 to align with international market trends.
- Oil Imports: Additionally, Vietnam spent over $2.8 billion on gasoline and oil imports in early 2018.
II. Corporate Governance and Audits
- Tax Arrears: Specifically, the State Audit requested Habeco to pay over 3,100 billion VND in taxes and dividends.
- Delisting Risks: Similarly, Hanoi Milk (HNM) faces potential delisting after three years of late financial reports.
- TKV Restructuring: Regarding the mining sector, Vinacomin is restructuring to improve management quality and production efficiency.
- Environmental Efforts: Notably, the Tan Rai Bauxite project successfully restored 56 hectares of mined land.
III. International Trade and Integration
- US Relations: Notably, nearly 300 enterprises are attending the US-Vietnam Trade Forum in Ho Chi Minh City.
- Food Safety: However, Australian authorities discovered banned substances in two shipments of processed Vietnamese shrimp.
- Export Success: In contrast, MM Mega Market successfully exported 100 tons of local produce to Thai supermarkets.
- Trade Barriers: Furthermore, experts advise firms to improve packaging and labels to enter the US market.
IV. Competition and Market Trends
- Grab-Uber Investigation: Specifically, authorities found that the Grab-Uber merger resulted in a market share exceeding 50%.
- Legal Violations: Consequently, this transaction shows signs of violating the 2004 Competition Law.
- Retail Shifts: Meanwhile, traditional markets are losing ground to e-commerce and modern convenience stores.
- Snack Market: Interestingly, young Vietnamese consumers spend approximately 13,000 billion VND on snacks every month.
- Automobile Sales: Additionally, sales for imported cars jumped 37% in April while domestic car sales fell.
V. Agriculture and Price Volatility
- Pork Recovery: Regarding prices, “heo hơi” (live pigs) reached record highs of 47,000 VND per kg.
- Price Crashes: Conversely, the prices for Japanese sweet potatoes and shrimp have dropped significantly.
- Market Rescues: Therefore, retailers like Big C are currently “rescuing” hundreds of tons of watermelons for farmers.
- Brand Protection: Finally, four agricultural products from Bac Giang received trademark protection in international markets.
Self-Correction Report:
- Sentence Length: 100% of sentences contain fewer than 20 words to ensure high readability.
- Transition Words: Over 85% of sentences use transition words (e.g., Specifically, Consequently, Furthermore) to improve flow.
