

Capital poured into HCM City’s export processing, industrial zones up 21% in Q1
Export processing zones (EPZs) and industrial parks (IPs) in Ho Chi Minh City attracted over 90.1 million USD worth of capital in the first quarter of 2023, increasing by 21.36% year-on-year and fulfilling 16.39% of the yearly plan.

Q1 trade of agro-forestry-fisheries products exceeds 20 billion USD
The import-export revenue of agro-forestry-fisheries products in the first quarter of this year was estimated at 20.63 billion USD, down 11.2% year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Reference exchange rate down 3 VND on March 31
The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,600 VND/USD on March 31, down 3 VND from the previous day.

Vietnam expected to export 7 million tonnes of rice this year: Ministry
Vietnam is expected to ship about 6.5-7 million tonnes of rice abroad this year thanks to the return of markets like Indonesia, Bangladesh, and China, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Vietnam needs 13.3 billion USD to develop seaports
Vietnam would need 312.6 trillion VND (13.3 billion USD) to develop the seaports system by 2030, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Foreign SMEs pour capital into Vietnam
Foreign small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are paying much attention to Vietnam, given the fact that the number of under-1-million USD projects accounted for nearly 70% of the total number of foreign-invested projects registered in Vietnam in the first three months of this year.

Goods retail sales, service revenue rise almost 14% in Q1
Total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue increased 13.9% year on year to over 1.5 quadrillion VND (63.9 million USD) in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the 5% growth in the same period of 2022, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported.

Reference exchange rate stays stable
The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,645 VND/USD on March 30, unchanged from the previous day.

Hai Phong ranks among top localities in FDI attraction
The northern port city of Hai Phong continued ranking among the top localities in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first quarter of 2023.

Action plan approved to implement foreign investment cooperation strategy
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has freshly signed a decision to approve an action plan for implementing the 2021-2030 national foreign investment cooperation strategy.

Vietnam runs trade surplus of 4.07 bln USD in Q1
Vietnam ran a trade surplus of 4.07 billion USD in the first quarter this year, with 79.17 billion USD in export revenue and 75.1 billion USD in imports, down 11.9% and 14.7% annually, respectively, reported the General Statistics Office on March 29.

CPI increases 4.18% in Q1
The consumer price index (CPI) in the first quarter of 2023 increased 4.18% year on year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Vietnam posts 3.32% GDP growth in Q1
Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown about 3.32% year on year in the first quarter of 2023, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Quang Ninh works on air cargo transport route with Can Tho
The northern coastal province of Quang Ninh is working on a cargo transport route connecting its Van Don airport with Can Tho airport in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, said Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Ky.

Vietnam's foreign investment plunges 39% in Q1
Vietnam attracted nearly 5.45 billion USD worth of foreign investment in the first quarter of the year, down 39% year-on-year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.