YBO - With a forestry land area of ​​nearly 533,000 ha and a forest coverage rate of 63 percent, the fourth highest nationwide, Yen Bai is well-positioned to develop forestry economy sustainably and striving to become a high-tech forestry processing centre.

The total amount of foreign investment poured into Vietnam this year to September 20 reached 21.2 billion USD, equivalent to 81.8 percent of the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

YBO - Despite annual deposit rates being adjusted down between 0.3 and 0.5 percent, idle money continues to flow into banks in Yen Bai.

Van Yen district in Yen Bai province is striving to elevate potential communes, namely An Thinh, An Binh and Xuan Ai to tier-V urban areas by 2025, while focusing all resources on developing Mau A township from a tier-V urban area to a tier-IV urban area in near future.

Yen Bai province was ranked 36th among the country’s 63 provinces and cities in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) in 2019, and placed in the group of localities with good governance, according to the rankings announced by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on May 5.

YBO - The provincial People’s Committee, the Party organisation of the bloc of provincial agencies and businesses, and the business association in Yen Bai on August 28 co-hosted a monthly meeting among local businesses called “Business Café” to discuss impacts of the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) on the Vietnamese economy.

The Yen Bai Department of Taxation has applied online payment for registration fees and online fee data exchange on all automobile and motorbike vehicles in the province. However, after two weeks of implementation, many locals have yet to master the process.

YBO - Over the recent past, farmers in Van Chan district have actively piloted some new plant varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases and generate high economic benefit.

YBO - “Nganh” fish, scientifically known as Cranoglanis henrici, belongs to order Siluriformes. This species of fish is mainly found in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and China.

Over the last five years, Yen Bai province has mobilised over 50 trillion VND (2.2 billion USD) for developing infrastructure, including key projects meant to help boost local socio-economic development and the facilities mitigating natural disaster damage.

The northern province of Yen Bai has taken a number of measures to help local businesses overcome difficulties and complete the goal of 210 million USD in export revenue in 2020.

On the foundation of the outcomes of the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) Programme in the first phase, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will continue to support the second phase of the programme in the 2019-2022 period in Vietnam, including Yen Bai province.

Mu Cang Chai, a rural district in the northwestern province of Yen Bai, is well known for its specialities such as black chickens, black pigs, honey, and “son tra” (a fruit that can be used to make jam, alcohol and medicine).

On January 29, 2016, Tran Yen district of Yen Bai province introduced Resolution 22-NQ/HU on key programmes to develop agricultural economy in the 2016-2020 period. After five years of implementation, all key targets for the period have been surpassed.

A teleconference on trade promotion between Vietnam and Japan in support industries opened on July 7.

Located in the centre of the northern midland and mountainous region and on the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong economic corridor, Yen Bai province is one of the satellite localities helping to promote the “Two Corridors-One Belt” cooperation and connect the region with the ASEAN free trade area.

Over the past years, Yen Bai has taken various measures to promote the development of the products this province has strength in.

YBO - Considering the preparation of goods participating in the ‘One Commune One Product’ (OCOP) campaign as a key task in the local rural economic development and new-style rural building, Tran Yen district had two qualified products in 2019 – Bat Tien tea of the Bao Hung high-quality tea production cooperative in Bao Hung commune and cinnamon quills of the Vietnam cinnamon and anise cooperative in Dao Thinh commune.

Production and business activities in Yen Bai province were resumed in early May after one month being suspended to implement social distancing measures.

YBO - More than 117,600 households in Yen Bai province were recognised as production and business role models between 2016 and 2018, including over 93,400 at the communal level and 24,000 others at the district level.

The World Bank (WB) has issued an update on Vietnam’s macro-economy for May, in which it said the economy may prosper again after social distancing measures were eased nationwide on April 23.

The People’s Committee of northern Yen Bai province has licenced 14 industrial projects with a combined registered capital of 552 billion VND (23.5 million USD) and 11 million USD, in Luc Yen district in the 2016 – 2020 period.

Standard Chartered Bank has forecast that the growth of Vietnam’s economy will slow down to 3.3% in 2020 due to the impacts of external challenges.

YBO - According to the Yen Bai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in the first quarter of this year, Yen Bai welcomed 55,238 tourists, down 56,5 percent from the same period last year and representing 36.2 percent of the yearly plan. The number of international arrivals was 7,488, down 65 percent year on year, while the number of domestic holiday-makers was 47,750, down 57.8 percent year on year.

Many businesses in the northern province of Yen Bai are actively taking measures to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak and protect health of workers while maintaining production.