August 17-23: August Revolution celebrations, Vietnam dong devaluation

There were several notable events from the past week.

 

 

A wide range of cultural, artistic events, meetings and conferences were held across the country to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the August Revolution and Vietnamese National Day. Vietnam’s diplomatic missions abroad also held ceremonies to mark the historic events leading to the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

 

Students participate in a gala concert marking the 70th anniversary of the August Revolution and Vietnamese National Day.

National Assembly’s Standing Committee concludes 40th session

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly wrapped up its 40th session after one week. During the week, legislators debated many important laws including amendments to the Civil Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Bill on Referendum, and the Bill on Religion and Belief.

 

 

Vietnam’s central bank devalued the Vietnamese dong by 1% for the third time this year and widened the USD/VND trading band to 3% following a sharp depreciation of the Chinese yuan and in expectation of an interest rate rise by the US Federal Reserve. The move came after the SBV widened the trading band from 1% to 2% the previous week.

 

 

The retail prices of RON92 petrol and bio-fuel E5 were cut by VND768 per litre following declines in global fuel prices, with RON92 being traded at US$62.76 a barrel on August 18, down nearly US$4 a barrel from two weeks earlier. It was the 14th fuel price adjustment in 2015, which saw the price of petrol at around VND650 higher than at the start of the year.

 

 

The consumer price index of Ho Chi Minh City in August fell by 0.12% against the previous month while that of Hanoi went up by 0.17%. The slight increase in HCMC’s CPI was due to the reduced price of petrol while Hanoi’s CPI was driven up by a higher demand for food and increased education costs.

 

 

Several architectural artefacts were recently unearthed at the Ho Dynasty Citadel, a UNESCO world heritage site in Thanh Hoa province. They include a 61 metre wide moat, 89 monolithic columns made out of limestone and shale, and a number of pieces of pottery and building bricks.