KTFA: Vietnam
Henig: Việt Nam among world’s 10 biggest recipients of remittances
January, 29/2023 – 12:44
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s major impacts on the global economy over the last two years and growing inflation in many countries, remittance flows into Việt Nam remained relatively stable compared to previous years, the report noted.
HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam remains one of the 10 countries receiving the most remittances in the world, according to the recent Migration and Development Brief by the World Bank and the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD).
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s major impacts on the global economy over the last two years and growing inflation in many countries, remittance flows into Việt Nam remained relatively stable compared to previous years, the report noted.
Total remittances to Việt Nam increased by nearly 5 per cent in 2022 and may go up 3.6-4.5 per cent in the following years after growing 5 per cent in 2021, according to statistics of WB and KNOMAD.
Last year, the value rose about US$1 billion to approximate $19 billion, making the country one of the three biggest recipients in the Asia-Pacific and among the top 10 globally in terms of remittances.
Some banks perceived that the growing remittance inflows will help them not only gain more profits from services but also boost foreign exchange reserves, serving Việt Nam’s foreign currency attraction policy.
Among remittance sources, the US houses the largest number of Vietnamese immigrants, followed by the UK, Australia, and Canada. Meanwhile, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (China) post the most number of workers from Việt Nam.
— VNS LINK
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Henig: Newly-announced ceiling prices insufficient to cover costs: project developers
January, 28/2023 – 09:14
Wind farms incur a cost of 7.0 cents for each kWh of electricity generated, whereas the ceiling prices for wind energy are set at VNĐ1,587.12 (6.8 cents) per kWh.
HÀ NỘI — Many project developers are expressing concern that the ceiling prices for solar and wind energy set recently by the Ministry of Industry and Trade are not high enough to offset their costs.
The representative of four wind farms in Gia Lai Province Trần Minh Tiến remarked that the construction of the wind farms was completed a year ago but they have been idle due to the absence of official purchasing prices.
“We have spent US$300 million to build our wind farms that have been lying dormant for one year. Meanwhile, interest payments and depreciated costs pile up day by day,” said Tiến.
The introduction of the ceiling prices did not make the representative any happier because it is never easy to negotiate an agreement with Vietnam Electricity (EVN), under which the power corporation purchases electricity from the wind farms at exactly the prices.
Even if the agreement is reached, the wind farms would not be able to make a profit with such low prices. They incur a cost of 7.0 cents for each kWh of electricity generated, whereas the ceiling prices for wind energy are set at VNĐ1,587.12 (6.8 cents) per kWh.
“Price negotiation takes at least three months, and one year is for most cases. We will petition the government to raise the ceiling prices as the current prices are insufficient to cover our costs,” added Tiến.
The presentative of the Bến Tre Renewable Energy Community reveals that about 62 newly-built wind farms have been staying inactive since the expiration of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) mechanism on November 1, 2021.
“No official purchasing prices in place means no revenues for wind farms. Meanwhile, the farms incur various costs day by day, including overheads, depreciated costs, and interest payments,” said the representative.
He is concerned that renewable energy would not be able to take root in Việt Nam should solar and wind farms keep falling into disuse as such.
He also opines that the newly-announced prices would not make any difference to the gloomy situation as they are not high enough to propel the farms into profitability.
“Project developers need those ceiling prices that are high enough to help farms in distress turn profits. The newly-announced prices are not what they have expected,” he added.
The denomination of the prices in VNĐ, rather than in strong currencies as it was in previous legal documents, is another matter of concern for the representative because VNĐ is depreciating against certain strong currencies, exposing the developers to an exchange rate pass-through.
“The denomination of the prices in VNĐ would put developers at a cost disadvantage in the long term since most of their costs are denominated in USD,” he added.
The representative calls for higher ceiling prices for renewable energy to support those developers that have built their farms in Việt Nam and incentivise those that are considering investing in the country.
According to the securities firm VnDirect, the ceiling price applicable to ground-mounted solar projects is 29.5 per cent lower than its corresponding expired FIT; floating solar projects, 17.3 per cent; onshore wind projects, 21.2 per cent; and offshore wind projects, 21.8 per cent.
As such, the prices are estimated to reduce the internal rate of return (IRR) of ground-mounted solar projects to 5.1 per cent; onshore wind projects to 8.0 per cent; and offshore wind projects to 7.9 per cent. Under the old FITs, IRRs of the projects were over 12 per cent.
— VNS LINK
Henig: Binh Lieu mountain region powers up
06:00 | 28/01/2023
(VEN) – The mountainous border district of Binh Lieu in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh is changing rapidly due to investment in infrastructure of roads, electricity and schools, greatly improving the lives of the predominantly ethnic minority population.
Investments in infrastructure
According to former Secretary of Binh Lieu District Party’s Committee Duong Manh Cuong, in the past five years, Binh Lieu has invested in over 200 infrastructure projects for seven border communes with a total budget of over VND350 billion, particularly in rural electricity grids. By 2018, all the communes and households in Binh Lieu had access to the national grid, while in areas of extremely difficult terrain and sparse population, Quang Ninh has invested in solar energy systems to meet the local residents’ electricity demand.
Currently, Binh Lieu District has 132 kilometers of medium voltage lines, over 250 kilometers of low voltage lines and 105 distribution substations.
Hoang Van Duc, Director of Binh Lieu Electricity, said that in addition to capital sources for regular overhaul and repairs, the parent company Quang Ninh Power also allocates investment capital to develop substations. In 2021-2022, Binh Lieu built six new substations, renovated and built 15.63 kilometers of new low voltage transmission lines with total investment of about VND13 billion.
The synchronous investment in power grids and stable power supply have enabled the local ethnic communities invest in agricultural production machinery and purchase household appliances, improving their quality of life.
Dang Thi Chau, 80, of the San Chi ethnic group in Huc Dong Commune, is pleased with this year’s bumper crop of cinnamon and anise, and other earnings which have yielded her family stable annual income of nearly VND120 million. Since the locality was connected to the national power grid, her family has purchased machinery for production and necessary household electrical appliances.
Binh Lieu agriculture has gradually shifted from small scale production to value chain-oriented large-scale production. Some local farm produce has been developed into popular commodities, including Binh Lieu vermicelli, honey and various essential oils.
Pham Dinh Chan, Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Power Company:
All households in Quang Ninh Province are now hooked up to the national grid, ensuring national defense, economic development and dissemination of Party and State policies to each family.
Son Ky LINK
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Henig: Trang A Chu’s unique homestay
06:00 | 29/01/2023
(VEN) – The A Chu Homestay in Son La Province’s Hua Tat Village welcomes as many as 3,000 foreign visitors annually, but it did not start out that way. In fact, it was on the verge of shutting down just a few years ago.
Tough beginnings
The owner of the A Chu Homestay in Van Ho District, Trang A Chu, pioneered his business in 2015 with almost no money or knowhow. His journey could have come to a dead end without the help of Duong Minh Binh, Director of the Community-Based Tourism Vietnam Company, who runs dozens of successful homestay models throughout the country.
Binh even invited a five-star hotel chef to guide A Chu in preparing dishes from locally available ingredients. On opening day in late 2015, A Chu Homestay welcomed representatives of 35 travel companies and subsequently began hosting foreign tourists.
But A Chu, a member of the H’Mong ethnic group, was still struggling at the time to grow corn while having to complete building a stilt house to welcome guests. He was so tired and overwhelmed by the strict tourist requirements that he considered giving up.
“After some arguments with Binh, I learned that the little things that Binh wanted us to adhere to are valuable practical experiences in doing community tourism,” said Trang A Chu.
Originally a small stilt house, A Chu Homestay now offers 10 uniquely designed private rooms. Despite the debt he has accumulated, A Chu believes his business has turned a corner.
Spreading enthusiasm
Like many other tourism businesses, A Chu Homestay suffered greatly from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic but it has made an impressive recovery with increasing number of bookings every day.
In addition to sleeping accommodations and food, A Chu also introduces his guests to H’Mong cultural activities, such as making Dó paper, pounding rice into a type of round-shaped cake known as “banh day”, grinding corn and more. In addition to serving as tourist draws, these activities help preserve traditional arts and increase the incomes of ethnic minorities in the remote Hua Tat Village.
“Community tourism has its own unique characteristics. I want to spread the fire and enthusiasm to everyone and I believe this will make our A Chu Homestay a unique attraction,” A Chu said.
Located along National Highway 6, about 15 km from the Moc Chau Plateau, Hua Tat Village is one of the rare community-based tourism villages that retains the special traditional culture of the H’Mong ethnic group.
Lan Anh & Quynh Nga LINK
