Tourism operators have warned Minister of Tourism Sorawong Thienthong to brace for a global economic downturn and fiercer competition next year, urging the government to start planning for the worst-case scenario from this year.

The State budget collection from import-export activities topped 335.1 trillion VND (13.8 billion USD) during January – November, or 78.9% of the estimate, marking a year-on-year decrease of 16.8%, the General Department of Vietnam Customs said on December 6.

The confidence of European enterprises in Vietnam’s investment and business environment slipped further to 62.2 percentage points in the wake of a worsening global economic downturn but still remains strong, according to the recent Business Climate Index (BCI) survey published by the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s GDP in the third and fourth quarters will grow better than it did in the first half of the year as the country still has ample space for growth, a press conference in Hanoi on June 29 heard.

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020 grew 3.82 percent, the lowest pace during the 2011-2020 period, head of the General Statistics Office Nguyen Bich Lam said at a press conference in Hanoi on March 27.

The number of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia in 2019 may fall short of the government’s target of 18 million after attracting only 13.62 million in January - October.

The UK’s Dunlop Aircraft Tyres plans to build a factory in Karawang, Indonesia’s West Java province, with total investment of 1 trillion IDR (70.92 million USD).