(VTC News) - Below are outstanding Vietnamese economic events in 2024 that have contributed to changing the face of the country, as voted by VTC News Online Newspaper.
On November 30, at the 8th session, the National Assembly voted to approve the Resolution on investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis.
The National Assembly approved the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project. (Illustration photo: AI)
The project has a total length of about 1,541km; starting point at Ngoc Hoi station (Hanoi), ending point at Thu Thiem station (HCMC), passing through 20 provinces and cities. The entire route is newly invested with a double gauge of 1,435mm, a design speed of 350km/h, a load capacity of 22.5 tons/axle; has 23 passenger stations, 5 cargo stations; transports passengers, meets dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary. The project is applied in the form of public investment, with a preliminary total investment of 1,713 trillion VND (67 billion USD). The National Assembly requested the preparation of a feasibility study report from 2025, striving to basically complete the project by 2035. The preliminary total land use demand of the project is about 10,800 hectares; an estimated 120,836 people need to be resettled. Thus, after nearly 20 years of research, this key project has been approved and will soon become a reality in the near future. Rapid completion of the 500 kV line 3 The 500 kV line 3 from Quang Trach (Quang Binh) to Pho Noi (Hung Yen) was officially inaugurated on August 29. This is the first key project to be completed in a record short time: after just over 6 months of construction. The project has a total length of 519km, a total investment of over VND 22,300 billion (nearly USD 1 billion), and is very important to increase the power transmission capacity through the 500kV system from the Central to the North with a capacity of 2,500MW at present to 5,000MW, improve the stability of the power system operation, increase power supply to the North in 2025 and the following years, reduce the risk of overload for existing 500kV lines and stations, and contribute to ensuring national energy security.
The 500kV circuit 3 project was completed after more than 5 months of construction. (Illustration photo)
Exports and imports hit a new record of nearly 800 billion USD According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, exports and imports are a highlight this year with a total turnover reaching a new record of nearly 800 billion USD. This figure increased by 15% compared to last year and nearly 3 times higher than the Government's planned target of about 6%. Of which, exports were over 400 billion USD, up 14.4% and imports increased by 16.4%. The trade balance maintained a high trade surplus of nearly 25 billion USD, marking the 9th consecutive year of trade surplus. The country has 36 items with export turnover of over 1 billion USD (in the same period last year, there were only 33 items), of which 7 items exported over 10 billion USD. There are 44 imported items with a value of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 92.6% of total import turnover (there are 5 imported items over 10 billion USD, accounting for 51.4%). According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the above figures demonstrate a strong recovery in import-export activities in 2024. Vietnam cooperates with NVIDIA to establish 2 AI development centers Accordingly, Vietnam cooperates with NVIDIA Corporation to establish the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development Center, known as VRDC, along with the AI Data Center in Vietnam. The cooperation agreement is an important milestone for Vietnam to become the leading AI research and development center in Asia, thereby creating breakthroughs for key technology industries; at the same time, opening up career opportunities for domestic talent. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that the Vietnamese Government is committed to creating the most favorable conditions for the effective implementation of cooperation contents between the two sides, bringing practical benefits to both sides in the spirit of "harmonious benefits, shared risks", "listening, understanding together; sharing vision and action together; working together, winning together, developing businesses and developing the country together; enjoying joy, happiness and pride together". Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung also emphasized that innovation is one of the areas that the Vietnamese Government pays special attention to and considers one of the key factors in the country's development strategy. Vietnam is committed to creating the most favorable environment for the world's leading technology companies, such as NVIDIA, to be able to implement research and development projects in Vietnam.
Vietnam cooperates with NVIDIA to establish 2 AI development centers. (Photo: VGP)
VinFast becomes No. 1 in the Vietnamese market At the end of November, VinFast announced that it had delivered more than 16,000 electric cars of all kinds to customers, bringing the total number since the beginning of the year to more than 67,000 units, firmly consolidating its No. 1 position in the market established since October. The gap between VinFast and the No. 2 best-selling car company is nearly 10,000 vehicles. This is a special milestone for the Vietnamese automobile industry when, for the first time, a domestic car company, a young brand, has surpassed all long-standing competitors in the industry, capturing the largest market share. This is also a special milestone for the world electric vehicle industry when an electric car company completely overwhelmed gasoline car companies to rise to the No. 1 position in the market consecutively. This demonstrates the strong strength of the Vietnamese automobile industry represented by VinFast, affirming that Vietnamese people have truly mastered the automobile industry chain from product research to finished product production for the market. More importantly, VinFast has become a symbol of the change in Vietnamese consumer awareness. VinFast electric vehicles - representing the "green, clean and sustainable" trend - are increasingly chosen as the main means of transportation, reflecting the determination of Vietnamese people in protecting the environment and moving towards a green future. In addition to the strong increase in sales over the past year, VinFast also left memorable marks such as: VinFast VF 3 received nearly 28,000 deposits after only 66 hours of opening for sale and was honored as Car of the Year 2024 at the Car Awards 2024; VinFast VF 5 is the best-selling model in the A-SUV segment. In particular, VinFast has achieved a localization rate of 60%, far surpassing many foreign car manufacturers in Vietnam in the past few decades...
VinFast rises to number 1 in Vietnam's automobile market. (Illustration photo: VFS)
Passing 3 laws to remove difficulties for real estate On the morning of June 29, the National Assembly passed the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Land Law, Housing Law and Real Estate Business Law. All 3 laws take effect from August 1, 5 months earlier than the previous regulations. With many advantages, these laws are expected to "support" the economy in general and the real estate market in particular. One of the most notable changes that people are interested in is the land price list that will be built annually. According to the 2013 Land Law, the Government issues a periodic land price frame every 5 years for each type of land, according to each region. The Land Law (amended) has abolished the regulation on land price frame. Instead, land prices will be determined according to market principles. Thus, the price of assets may be higher but it is the actual value, not the "virtual" price. Thanks to that, the real estate market can develop more transparently and healthily, reducing speculation and "virtual land fever". The State Bank of Vietnam sells gold, curbing unprecedented price increases . Domestic gold prices have had a volatile year with unprecedented increases, continuously setting records. Notably, on October 30, the selling price of gold bars reached 90 million VND/tael. The price of gold rings also approached this mark. In the context of domestic gold prices continuously increasing sharply and at times being nearly 20 million VND/tael more expensive than world gold prices, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has organized many auctions to sell gold bars to increase supply, in order to stabilize the market and narrow the gap. Notably, from June 3, the SBV has sold gold directly to 4 state-owned commercial banks so that these banks can sell gold to people. The selling price is applied according to the price determined by the SBV based on world prices. Thanks to this measure, the gap between domestic and world gold prices has been significantly narrowed. Currently, domestic gold prices are about 5 million VND/tael more expensive than world prices.
Comment (0)