Speaking at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ASEAN BIS) 2021 on October 25, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh emphasized that the Vietnamese Government will support businesses during digital transformation, boosting the process and investment in high technology towards green growth and creating green jobs in all economic sectors.

Banks have assessed that lending to build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) projects is risky and needs to be strictly controlled. The bad debt ratio in this lending is four-fold higher than the overall ratio.

Remittances to Ho Chi Minh City in 2021 are expected to be 10 to 12 per cent higher than in 2020. This is an impressive figure given the pandemic and a major source of support for Vietnam’s balance of payments.

After a long period of being “frozen”, some localities have begun welcoming tourists from both inside and outside of the city or province. But difficulties remain, as most tourists will only travel once safety is ensured and it is more convenient.

Vietnam will see about 4,000 MW of wind power projects not gaining Commercial Operation Date (COD) recognition due to Covid-19, leading to losses of about $6.51 billion in the Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) price and $151 million in annual operating costs. If there are no suitable solutions, Vietnam’s wind power segment will be a disappointment for foreign investors.

Ho Chi Minh City plans to soon build 1 million low-priced apartments to meet demand among workers. But many real estate investors are not interested in such projects. To attract more investors, the government needs to create additional mechanisms and policies, in particular shortening procedures.