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Harambe: Iran Intends To Replace Dollar With Local Currencies For Travelers | IranIntl (9/10/23)
The Central Bank of Iran intends to offer regional currencies to citizens traveling to neighboring countries, instead of selling them US dollars.
Iran this year provided Iraqi dinars, instead of US dollars, to hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who visited Iraq at the end of August and early September for Shiite religious ceremonies. Now it intends to use the same tactic for providing foreign currency to travelers visiting regional countries.
The Iraqi dinars became available to the cash-strapped Iranian government when the United States in June allowed Baghdad to repay the equivalent of $2.7 billion from accrued energy import debts. It was reported at the time that part of funds will be for Iran to spend on Muslim pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Apparently, a portion of the released funds were in Iraqi dinars.
Iran is critically short of hard currencies despite much higher oil exports in recent months in the face of US sanctions.
The chairman of the central bank Mohammad-Reza Farzin told local media on Saturday that Iran intends to use the Turkish lira or the UAE dirham for regular tourism based on the model it employed with the recent pilgrimage to Iraq.
The US dollar and other top currencies are near all-time highs in Tehran’s free market, while the government could sell regional currencies to tourists, possibly at more advantageous rates, converting regional currencies it earns from trade into Iranian rials for government expenses.
Farzin added that the central bank is in the process of expert analysis and planning for the move.
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202309106271
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Harambe: Biden Showcases Boeing, Chip Deals as US and Vietnam Draw Closer | Bloomberg (9/11/23)
US President Joe Biden announced a series of semiconductor, aerospace and infrastructure deals with business leaders in Vietnam, part of a push by the White House to deepen economic integration with Indo-Pacific nations that can provide a bulwark to China.
Biden touted a “new stage” in the ties between the two countries to a meeting of officials and with executives from Vietnam and top US firms including Boeing Co., Intel Corp. and Marvell Technology Inc. in Hanoi. “My message today is quite simple: Let’s keep it up,” he said.
The announcements are intended to solidify Vietnam’s decision a day earlier to upgrade its relationship with the US to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” the same designation it uses for China and India. The hope in Washington is that by boosting ties with nations in Southeast Asia, the US can increase its influence in a region that sometimes chafes at Beijing’s assertiveness.
Headlining the deal announcements was a memorandum of understanding between Vietnam Airlines JSC and Boeing to purchase 50 737-MAX aircraft, a tentative agreement that would be valued around $7.88 billion and allow the carrier to eventually replace aging Airbus AE-A321 planes. Any delivery could be years off, however, as Boeing has sold out most of its production slots through the end of the decade.
Read more: Vietnam Air, Boeing Near $10 Billion Deal for 737 Max Jets
Vietnam had previously announced plans by US-based Amkor Technology Inc. to build a $1.6 billion factory in Bac Ninh province, while Synopsis Inc. and Marvell Technology are both working to establish semiconductor design centers in Vietnam.
The Biden Administration has prioritized improving the semiconductor supply chain over concern the US has become too closely reliant on Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.
Technology firms including Microsoft Corp. and Nvidia Corp. announced new programs to make emerging artificial intelligence programs more accessible to Vietnamese businesses, while Meta Platforms Inc. unveiled a new effort to help small and medium businesses in the country use digital tools. Apple Inc. has also expanded its footprint in Vietnam as it diversifies its supply chain beyond China.
Other announcements focused on traditional infrastructure. The US president has increasingly sought to promote US financing for projects in the developing world to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, including a new rail, natural gas and fiber corridor announced earlier this week at the G-20 summit in New Delhi that would link India to Europe through the Middle East.
In Vietnam, SSA Marine Inc. announced it would partner with Vietnam’s Gemadept Corp. on a proposal for a $6.7 billion port and logistics center in southern Vietnam. Massachusetts-based Australis Aquaculture LLC signed a memorandum of understanding to spend $100 million to expand its operations in Van Phong Bay.
And one announcement was focused on the future of Vietnamese money – literally.
Crane NXT Co. announced its plans to partner with Vietnam’s Hi-Tech Polymer Co. Ltd. to develop the next generation of bank notes for the State Bank of Vietnam.
Future commercial deals with Vietnam may become even more possible after the US pledged to review Vietnam’s formal request to review its market economy status. A favorable review by US authorities could decrease duties on some imports from Vietnam.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-11/biden-showcases-boeing-chip-deals-as-us-and-vietnam-draw-closer
Tishwash: Factbox: US, Vietnam reach deals on planes, tech and human rights as Biden visits
The United States and Vietnam announced new deals and partnerships as U.S. President Joe Biden visited Hanoi on Sunday including billions of dollars in plane orders, heightened human rights discussions, digital economy education and semiconductor design centers.
Here are the highlights:
BOEING AND VIETNAM AIR
Vietnam Airlines (HVN.HM) has agreed to buy about 50 Boeing (BA.N) 737 Max jets in a deal valued at about $7.5 billion. The deal will support “over 33,000 direct and indirect jobs” in the U.S., the White House said in a statement.
AMKOR, MARVELL, SYNOPSIS INVEST IN VIETNAM
Arizona’s Amkor Technology (AMKR.O) will start operations at a new $1.6 billion factory in Bac Ninh Province in October, the White House said. Delaware’s Marvell Technology (MRVL.O) and California’s Synopsys (SNPS.O), will invest in semiconductor design and incubation centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Saigon, respectively.
AI FOR EMERGING MARKETS
Microsoft (MSFT.O) will make a “generative AI-based solution tailored for Vietnam and emerging markets,” the White House said, while NVIDIA (NVDA.O) will partner with Vietnam’s FPT (FPT.HM), Viettel and Vingroup (VIC.HM) on AI in the country.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The two countries have an “enhanced commitment” to talking about human rights, the U.S. said, building on the decades-old U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue, an annual meeting.
The United States and the United Nations recently criticized Vietnam’s detention of members of an environmental group as part of a wider trend of Vietnamese authorities targeting free speech.
ILLEGAL FISHING
The U.S. is helping to “build Vietnamese capacity to fight regional and international transnational crime,” the White House said, including “illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.”
China and Vietnam have a long-simmering dispute about fishing and other rights in the South China Sea; Beijing claims the waters almost entirely, ignoring other nations’ exclusive economic zones.
US WAR LEGACY
The U.S. will expand its efforts to address lingering damage from the Vietnam war, which ended in 1975, including increasing funding from $183 million to $300 million for a dioxin remediation project in the Bien Hoa Air Base area.
Dioxin is a component of “agent orange” toxic herbicides sprayed by the U.S. during the war.
The U.S. will also provide an additional $25 million to clear unexploded ordnances in Vietnam; these efforts have totaled more than $230 million since 1993, the White House said. link
