Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh signed Decree No 38/2022/ND-CP on June 12 after reaching an agreement with the relevant government agencies and labor representatives.

Vietnam is set to increase regional minimum wages by an average of 6 percent from July 1, 2022, Under the decree, the minimum monthly wage will be raised by six percent, which is equivalent to VND260,000 (US$11.23) in Region I; VND240,000 (US$10.37) in Region II; VND210,000 (US$9.07) in Region III; and VND180,000 (US$7.77) in Region IV.

In addition, the Decree also ensures minimum hourly wage rates for the relevant regions. These are:
Region I – VND 22,500 (US$0.97)
Region II – VND 20,000 (US$0.86)
Region III – VND 17,500 (US$0.75)
Region IV – VND 15,600 (US$0.67)

Wages for employees that are paid daily or on a weekly basis, must not be lower than the minimum wage when converted to monthly or hourly rates.

(Source: chinhphu.vn)

Vietnam is again in the spotlight after Apple’s move to shift production activities to this Southeast Asian country, according to TRT World page of Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. This move showed that Vietnam has emerged as a preferred manufacturing destination for global tech giants.

For the first time, Apple is moving part of its iPad manufacturing out of China, taking them to factories in Vietnam, Nikkei Asia reported on June 1.

The development comes as lockdowns in the Chinese city of Shanghai disrupted supply chains for various tech products, prompting the iPhone maker to find alternatives, it said, adding that an iPad assembler has already built assembly lines in Vietnam.

Apple is already sourcing its Airpod earpieces from the Southeast Asian economy, which has registered sustained economic growth in the past two decades.

But where Vietnam has really made its presence felt in the past decade has been in its ability to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in factories that are assembling and manufacturing tech products from smartphones to TV components.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan – home to some of the biggest technology names – accounted for 376 billion USD in total FDI poured into Vietnamese manufacturing sector between 2015 and 2020, according to one study.

(Source: Vietnamplus/VIR)

VGP – Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai signed Decree 34/2022/ND-CP dated May 28, 2022 on extension of deadlines for payment of value-added tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax, and land rental fees in 2022.

The tax payment extension is seen as an interest rate-free loan provided by the State to support enterprises and individuals to gather more financial resources to overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beneficiaries of the policy include enterprises, organizations, business households and individuals operating in agro-forestry-fishery, construction, entertainment, crude oil extraction, food production, transport vehicles production, waste water treatment, logistics, hospitality and catering services, education, healthcare and real estate.

Credit institutions and branches of foreign banks in Viet Nam providing support for enterprises and customers affected by the pandemic could also be subject to extension of tax payment deadline under the decree.

Decree 34 shall take effect from the date of issuance to December 31, 2022.

Specifically, the Decree stipulates a six-month extension for VAT from March to May 2022 and the first quarter of 2022, five-month extension for VAT in June 2022 and Q2 2022, four-month extension for VAT in July 2022, and 3-month extension for VAT in August 2022.

For corporate income tax (CIT), extension of the tax payment that enterprises have to pay temporarily for the second and third quarters of 2022 is three months.

As for business households and individuals, the extension of VAT and PIT in 2022 is no later than December 31, 2022. 

In addition, the Government also agreed a six-month extension for the payment of fees for leasing land and water surface in 2022, starting from May 31, 2022 to November 30, 2022.

This is the fourth time the Government decided to extend the payment deadline of taxes and land rental fees for businesses and people affected by the pandemic, estimated to be worth up to VND54 trillion (US$2.32 billion).

Earlier, the Government also continued extending the deadline for excise tax payment for domestically-manufactured and assembled cars./.

(Source: VGP)

Vietnam was one of the few Asian countries that did not fall into a sharp economic downturn during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The World Bank (WB) forecasts that in 2022, Vietnam’s GDP will increase by about 5.5%.

FDI business

79 countries and territories invested in Vietnam in the first 5 months of 2022. In which, Singapore led with a total investment of nearly 3 billion USD, accounting for 25.3% of the total investment capital in Vietnam, decreasing by 43.8% over the same period in 2021. Korea ranked second with over 2.06 billion USD, accounting for 17.6% of the total investment capital, increasing by 12.6% over the same period. With the large-scale Lego project which has a total investment of over 1.3 billion USD, Denmark continued to rank third with a total registered investment capital of around 1.32 billion USD, accounting for 11.3% of the total investment capital. The next ones were China, Japan and Hong Kong.

As regards the number of projects, Korea was still the partner with the largest number of investors that were interested as well as making new investment decisions, expanding investment projects, contributing capital and buying shares in the first five months of 2022 (accounting for 19.4% of the total number of new projects, 33.9% of adjustments and 36.7% of contributing capital and buying shares, respectively).

DW (German Media): Vietnam is a new destination for European companies

According to an article published on DW website (Germany) on June 8, Vietnam’s vibrant economic activity in recent years has been a factor attracting the attention of European companies.

Vietnam’s economic performance during and after the pandemic has attracted the attention of some large European companies. German automation engine supplier Brose is deciding on a new production site between Thailand and Vietnam.

Previously, in December 2021, the Danish toy maker Lego announced that it would build a $1-billion factory near Ho Chi Minh City – one of Europe’s largest investment projects in Vietnam so far.

Speaking to DW, Mr. Raphael Mok, head of Asia at Fitch Solutions, said that Vietnam has become a more attractive destination for investors. The country is also massively investing in infrastructure.

A report by Germany Trade & Invest, a research and consulting platform, indicates that these agreements also help European businesses have easier access to public procurement activities in Vietnam.

Catching the wave of real estate investment from Japan to Vietnam

A strong wave of investment from Japan is “landing” in Vietnam’s real estate market as industry leaders are encouraged and promoted to invest in building smart cities in potential cities in 10 ASEAN countries.

Since the end of 2020, the Japanese government has had policies to encourage and promote large real estate companies to invest in and build smart cities in 10 ASEAN countries. These policies have quickly helped Vietnam become the focus of many Japanese investors.

(Source: FIA/TTXVN)