BUSINESS IN BRIEF 5/6 Greenback rises to one-year high The U.S. dollar rose to the highest level over the past year versus Vietcombank in the afternoon on June 3 quoted the greenback at VND21,220 per dollar, up VND40 against the previous day. The currency increased by VND115 a dollar, or 0.5%, compared to a month ago. According to the website of the central bank, the dong-U.S. dollar exchange rate on the inter-bank market was VND21,036 per dollar on June 3, still lower than the ceiling of VND21,246. Meanwhile, the dollar was traded for VND21,370 on the unofficial market, which was unchanged from the previous day, according to the owner of a gold shop in HCMC. At a meeting with representatives of banks in HCMC on May 22 after the dollar fluctuated on both official and black markets, Nguyen Phuoc Thanh, deputy governor of the central bank, said some banks might have raised dollar prices given concerns over further price increases. However, the central bank will not intervene in the market if dollar prices are still moving within the allowable trading band of 1%. Thanh said that there was no pressure on the forex rate as the nation’s exports in the first four months this year increased 19% against the same period of last year. In addition, incoming remittances and foreign reserves remain strong. Meanwhile, Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) quoted gold at VND36.28 million per tael on June 3, falling by VND40,000 against the previous day. This was the lowest over the past 10 days. A tael equals to 1.2 troy ounces. Few Vietnamese businesses open to outsourcing study Most Vietnamese companies are unwilling to use outsourcing despite its benefits like the reduction in management work and payroll without any impact on output, according to a report by business consultancy Grant Thornton. The International Business Report, based on interviews conducted last November with more than 3,300 CEOs, managing directors, chairpersons, and other senior executives from all industry, reveals that only 12% of businesses in The effectiveness and cost saving of outsourcing are not realised by many Vietnamese companies, and so the service providers need to increase access to these companies, a potential market, said Trinh Thi Tuyet Anh, director of outsourcing at Grant Thornton In certain cases, enterprises think they could lose control over critical business processes if they outsource, she said. For small- and medium-sized enterprises in Globally too the majority of business leaders have no plans to outsource any business processes in the near future. While the cost savings and process efficiencies that outsourcing can provide are widely recognised, many business leaders are worried about losing control of key processes. Around 60% of global businesses have no immediate plans to outsource a business process. Outsourcing is least prevalent in Southeast Asia (26%), By contrast, more than half of businesses in southern Europe (64%) and Trinh Thi Tuyet Anh, director of outsourcing at Grant Thornton Among those businesses which currently (or plan to) outsource back-office services, 57% globally cited improving efficiencies — marginally ahead of reducing cost (55%) — as the key drivers. In Of those businesses with no plans to outsource, the requirements to find cost savings (41%) and process efficiencies (33%) are the main reasons that will encourage them to consider it. Anh said the results clearly show that outsourcing is worthy of serious consideration. Aside from driving efficiencies and reducing costs, outsourcing can allow business to tap into skills and expertise offered by their providers that might not necessarily be as readily available in the local labour market. More domestic consumers put purchases on credit Consumer habits of Vietnamese are changing, with an increasing number looking to purchase their desired products through affordable loans. Igor Prerovsky, General Director of Home Credit Vietnam, invested by PPF, said at June 3 conference on consumer finance that consumer credit, which helps consumers buy their desired items and pay later, is expanding in Vietnam. Statistics released by Home Credit showed that around 20% of consumers in the country's southern part make purchases on credit while it accounts for around 10% in the north. These figures are showing signs of increasing. Prerovsky pointed out that consumer finance is another way to contribute to economic development through boosting purchasing capacity and demand, while enhancing living standards of consumers. This also helps consumers to form a habit of saving, he added. In addition, financial companies targeted low-income earners rather than the middle-class, in comparison with retail banks. Home Credit, with more than 5,000 points of sale in all 63 provinces and cities in Vietnamese, Bulgarian firms look to the future Vietnamese enterprises and their Bulgarian counterparts have inked a number of partnership deals at a recent business forum in The deals cover a broad spectrum of areas, ranging from tobacco, paper export-import, garment accessories to confectionery. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa, gave assurances that the ministry will help bolster ties between the two business communities in every possible way. In his speech, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Duc Luu highly recommended the new economic partnership model reached by both countries’ leaders. Once active, it will become an exemplary model for Vietnamese and Bulgarian stakeholders, he said. Many Vietnamese firms in Two-way trade between The event was co-hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy. Korean Dong-IL Group builds first textile factory in Vietnam June 3 marked the start of construction by the The facility, to be built on 12ha at a cost of nearly US$52 million, will have an annual capacity of 9,000 tonnes of products. Dong –IL leaders said when the Posco E & C Phan Thi My Thanh, Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Nai provincial People’s Committee, said 31 out of 35 industrial zones have been built on nearly 10,000ha in the province. They attracted more than 1,100 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a combined capitalisation of nearly US$20.6 billion. The RoK ranks second among foreign investors in the province with 276 projects capitalized at more than US$4 billion. Thanh expressed her hope that Dong-IL group and other Korean businesses in the province will help lure more Korean investors to the locality. 20% of Australian seafood imported from According to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Its demand is set to increase in the future, creating huge opportunity for Vietnamese seafood products. Large volumes of shrimp are consumed in Last year, As In addition, Vietnamese suppliers are encouraged to make fact-finding tours of ASEAN Customs chiefs meet in Lam Dong The 23rd Meeting of the ASEAN Directors-General of Customs opened in Da Lat City, Lam Dong province, on June 3, bringing together nearly 70 delegates from ASEAN, Participants discussed and proposed orientations, action plans and working programmes for ASEAN customs in the 2016-2020 period. In recent times, ASEAN customs has achieved significant progress in building the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. They have signed an agreement on customs, created a legal framework for implementing the ASEAN customs transit system (ACTS), and initially established the single-door customs mechanism in all ASEAN countries. 2014-2015 is considered a pivotal time for ASEAN to enter a new period of cooperation, integration and connectivity towards AEC. ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh said the results of the meeting will be an important step towards forming an ASEAN Community in 2015 as scheduled and beyond. Customs cooperation must bring out more specific results in the future, he stressed. This is the third time Vietnam Customs Director General Nguyen Ngoc Tuc took the occasion condemning He called on participating delegates to voice opposition to Secretary General of World Customs Organisations (WCO) Kunio Mikuriya said the current Dubai group looks to invest in Vietnam Representatives from the largest The commitment was made at a working session between ICD executives and Quang Ninh leaders following the latter’ recent visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Quang Ninh leaders briefed their hosts on the provincial socio-economic development master plan, including turning its Van Don economic zone into a special economic zone in the future with preferential policies. It may coincide with Dubai ICD development of the “Future city” project. Jawad Khan, Dubai ICD representative, affirmed that the group will send a delegation to Quang Ninh late this year to seek investment opportunity there. Dubai ICD is the UAE investment fund. It currently manages a huge property portfolio worth US$120 billion, including Emirates Airlines, Emaar, Emirates National Bank and many other companies. East Sea dispute encourages consumption of Vietnamese goods, deputy minister The ongoing Hai said that in order to narrow the trade deficit with The growth rate of Vietnamese goods touched 28.4 percent in the first four months this year, showing that several domestic products have been able to compete with Chinese goods, Hai added. “In addition, the campaign ‘Vietnamese prioritize consumption of Vietnamese goods’ is launching to be drastically implemented to take advantage of the 90 million people market”, he said. Consumption of Vietnamese goods is patriotic at this time, Hai concluded. Customs work overtime to help foreign firms The Vietnam Customs has instructed its agencies to work overtime in weekday, at the weekend and in holidays to clear customs procedures for foreign companies hit by anti-China protests. The instruction said that customs departments in provinces and cities should arrange a division to directly receive and solve problems for businesses and provide them with specific contacts. They should also send officials to work with the companies and authorized agencies to assess losses of businesses. This aims to calculate the exempt or reduced tariff on damaged commodities and to extend tax payment deadlines for them. Customs officials must facilitate customs clearance for export and import consignments of businesses including those that owe taxes so that they can resume production and meet their orders. Binh Dinh makes ODA call out for project wish-list Located in the southern-central coastal region, Binh Dinh is a key gateway to the country’s highland provinces, southern The province has rich maritime and other natural resources, and huge potential for tourism. However, like many other provinces in Binh Dinh has learnt the importance of utilising all available resources to develop. As investment from the private sector in transportation infrastructure, healthcare, and education lags behind demand, official development assistance (ODA) from international donors is vital to the province. In recent times, international donors have provided $281.44 million in ODA to 21 projects in Binh Dinh. To call for more financial support from international donors, the province has completed a list of projects needing ODA from 2015-2020. The list comprises 32 projects with a combined investment capital of $361.82 million, with $334.38 million needing to be raised from international donors and the remainder coming from the provincial budget. All of the projects are in the fields of healthcare, education, transport infrastructure, environment, agriculture, irrigation, and water supply. Specifically, there are two projects in the healthcare and education sectors, capitalised at $38.5 million, three infrastructure projects with $92.25 million in total, and six projects in the environment field with total capital of $41.15 million. The agriculture and irrigation sectors include 14 projects with $79.82 million in total investment and five projects in water supply with $73.65 million. Binh Dinh is doing its utmost to develop the local economy, but needs the support of the central government and international donors to make these efforts become a reality. Viettel’s switchboard for ethnic customers wins global prize The Military Telecom Corporation (Viettel) has won a silver Stevie Awards in the category of New Consumer Service of the Year for its ethnic minority language mobile phone services, which made debut in January 2013. The awards ceremony to honour the winners was held in The switchboard, the first of its kind in With over 120 telephone operators and an automatically answer calls switchboard providing inquiry services in 10 ethnic minority languages, the telecom firm has served as many as 2.5 million customers over the past year, or an average 30,000 calls each day, according to the group. Viettel has so far operated customer care switchboards in the northwestern region, the Central Highlands, northern Thai Nguyen province, and the Mekong Delta localities of Can Tho and An Giang. Initiated in 2002, Stevie Awards is one of the world’s leading prizes to honour active contributions by individuals and businesses to the development of community-based interests, including the fields of telecom and information technology. Vietnam-Singapore business forum to bolster trade More than 100 representatives from governmental agencies, enterprises and organisations will attend the 2014 Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum (VSBF 2014), which is expected to promote economic cooperation between the two countries. Hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Ho Chi Minh City from June 4-6, the event will provide a business platform for enterprises from both countries to explore cooperation opportunities, particularly in the context of a strategic partner agreement adopted by the two countries in September last year. It will also be a good chance for attendees to be updated on trade and investment policies of the two governments, thus helping them make appropriate business strategies in the future. During the event, participants will focus their discussion on how to foster partnership between the two sides in the fields of financial services, agriculture and aquaculture production, tourism and hospitality, real estate and environment management for sustainable business development. Two-way trade between The Mongolia-Vietnam Friendship Association and the Vietnam-Mongolia Friendship Association have jointly organised a seminar for the two countries’ businesses in Both sides agreed that the seminar offered a good chance for businesses to exchange experience and expand connections. They vowed to continue helping the two countries’ enterprises strengthen their cooperation in order to boost bilateral economic and trade ties and enhance mutual trust and understanding between the two peoples. During the seminar, the two associations also issued a joint statement voicing deep concerns over the current Besides, Chinese ships deployed to defend the rig have repeatedly rammed and fired water cannons into Vietnamese coast guard and fisheries surveillance ships which are carrying out their law enforcement missions in the country’s waters, leaving many Vietnamese ships damaged and officers injured. Participants agreed that These acts are also worrying neighbouring countries of During its stay in Mongolia from June 1-6, the Vietnam-Mongolia Friendship Association delegation led by its President Ho Xuan Hung has visited the Mongolian Union for Peace and Friendship and the Ho Chi Minh high school in Ulaanbaatar capital city.- Vinacomin sets high June target The Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) expects to sell around 10 million tonnes of its products in the April-June period and export at least 1.5 million tonnes. To realise the goal, the corporation has taken a number of measures to promote the production of high-quality coal, satisfying customer demand and ensuring good income for workers. In the first five months of 2014, it sold 16 million tonnes, down nearly 11 percent year-on-year, and shipped over 3.7 million tonnes abroad, only 62.6 percent of the same period last year. Despite an array of economic difficulties in 2013, the group earned more than 97 trillion VND (over 4.6 billion USD) from selling 39 million tonnes of products, including 11.6 million tonnes for export. The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and the Economy, Trade and Industry Department of Japan’s Kansai region on June 2 signed a framework agreement on cooperation, under which they will enhance connections in support industry. The two sides will also speed up the establishment of a business environment that can facilitate Kansai enterprises’ investment in the support industry in The city has assigned its management board of industrial and export processing zones to set up a division in charge of connecting ties with Kansai and providing consultations for its enterprises. At a meeting with the Japanese guests earlier, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan said that Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, commits to creating all favourable conditions for foreign investors, considering them part of the country’s economy. Toshinori Kobayashi, head of the Kansai department, the region’s businesses, especially those operating in the support industry, are paying much attention to boosting investment in New Binh Dinh fishing port to open in 2016 The World Bank has financed a 47 billion VND (2.2 million USD) project to upgrade De Gi fishing port in the central coastal Tran Van Vinh, Deputy Director of the management board of the provincial Coastal Resources for Sustainable Development (CRSD) project, noted the upgrade will allow the port to handle around 3,000 boat arrivals a year, mainly following fishing voyages, and improve the quality of seafood processing. Once finished in 2016, the expanded port, covering 2.4 ha in Phu Cat district, is expected to generate jobs for up to 600 local labourers. It will have a clean water system designed to treat wastewater, along with other facilities. Vice Chairman of the Phu Cat People’s Committee Luong Ngoc Anh emphasised the importance of the port as it will be able to serve as a safe shelter for boats in stormy weather, while bringing in many economic benefits. Dong Nai continues export growth trend The southern The state and domestic private sectors contributed 98 million USD and 13 million USD respectively, according to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Van Quan. In the first five months of 2014, Dong Nai recorded around 4.98 billion USD in export earnings, a yearly surge of 16.1 percent, driven by high-value garments, wooden products, iron, steel, machinery and coffee. The high performance is in part due to a series of trade promotion events that the sector has hosted in and outside the country since the start of this year. In the face of volatile business climate around the world, with the ongoing dispute in the Throughout the rest of this year, trade fairs and exhibitions in key economic zones in Binh Duong, Bac Lieu aquatic exports see record high Aquatic exports of the Mekong Delta Prices of aquatic exports have increased by 2-3 USD/kg on average, benefiting both farmers and businesses. In recent years, local exporters have reportedly paid due attention to protecting their trademarks and ensuring the quality of products, while authorities have also facilitated their access to preferential credit sources to renovate production lines. In the coming time, managerial agencies plan to help the Bac Lieu business circle expand its partnership with foreign enterprises to drive trade. Businesses will also receive more assistance to build their own aquatic farms in order to ensure a stable and quality input. Currently, Bac Lieu has more than 100,000 hectares of shrimp farm and 495 fishing vessels. Great opportunity for This is the theme of the 10th supporting industry forum, titled “How to develop the supporting industry in Hirotaka Yasuzumi, Managing Director of the JETRO office in A difficulty for Japanese companies is the shortage of supporting industries in the domestic market. A 2013 JETRO Survey showed that the proportion of domestic supply for the Japanese companies was less than 32 percent in Bui Quang Hai, representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Mechanical Engineering (HAME), shared that In recent years, Many enterprises admit that their operations depend on materials sourced from abroad. “Currently, we are facing opportunities with More specifically, Hirotaka Yasuzumi said that this year JETRO plans to cooperate between private enterprises and the relevant state agencies for the development of supporting industries. The organisation has promoted technological transfer to Vietnamese enterprises by encouraging development of human resources and establishing close ties with Japanese companies. Duangdej Yuaikwarmdee, Deputy Executive Director of Reed Tradex Company, which has co-hosted the supporting industry forum over the past ten years, commented that Garment enterprises tend to be largely dependent on importing raw materials from Chairman of the Association of Garment-Textile-Embroidery-Knitting in “Since enterprises investing in According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saigon Garment Manufacturing Trading Joint Stock Company (Garmex) Le Quang Hung, the domestic textile sector has not kept up with the growth of the garment sector in recent times. Domestic garment enterprises like Garmex have been searching for locally sourced raw materials to reduce costs, but many kinds of fabrics are not produced in-country. Meanwhile, most businesses in the sector are not sufficiently resourced in terms of capital and technology to produce raw materials for the garment sector, especially the textile and dye sectors. Moreover, many localities don’t want to grant license to build dye factories due to environmental impact. “When negotiating TPP, we must sacrifice benefits of some sectors to receive the export tax exemption for the garment and textile sector. If we do not take advantage of the opportunity, it is insignificant to perform TPP, especially with regard to regulations on the origin of raw materials. Consequently, it is necessary to have policies to develop the sector providing the garment and textile materials clearly published from the Government,” Hung said. VN's import, export policies remain unchanged Most businesses which suffered damages in southern industrial zones have so far resumed their productions, according to the Vietnam Economic News on June 2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has provided timely guidance to stabilise investment and import, export activities, making foreign businesses feel secure about their operations in The Formosa Group’s steel projects are in the process of overcoming the damage and gradually resuming operations while bauxite projects in Dak Nong and Lam Dong provinces are operating normally, the online newspaper said. The Viet Trung Minerals and Metallurgy Company Limited produced its first batch of 50 tonnes of cast iron on May 26, 2014. The company said that experts were examining the quality of cast iron so that it could be refined to produce the first batch of steel billets. Chinese and Vietnamese experts and workers are working together in this project. Foreign invested projects in the field of energy, including projects with the participation of Chinese contractors, are going on normally. So far, however, according to the Agency of Foreign Trade under the MOIT, the volume of imports, exports in the southern region has remained equal to that in the time prior to China’s illegal installation of its Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the East Sea. In the central region and The Agency of Foreign Trade has provided guidance for the export-import management divisions of Dong Nai and Binh Duong province to provide assistance for businesses which suffered damage. In At border-crossings in Lao Cai, Lang Son and Quang Ninh provinces, there has been a slight slowdown in the circulation of goods due to concerns among some merchants and shop owners. However, import, export activities have been stabilised since they found no changes in Dong Nai aims for green development The southern Under the plan, as many as 95-100 percent of local enterprises and manufacturers will apply advanced waste treatment technologies. All waste generated from residential areas, hospitals and industrial parks must be treated. To reach the goals, the province plans to prioritise environmentally friendly investment projects, said Le Viet Hung, Director of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Since 2012, the province has installed automated waste water observing stations in its industrial parks. This helps prohibit pollutants released by enterprises. More than 77 billion VND (3.63 million USD) has been poured from the provincial budget into building 13 stations, while four others were invested by local businesses, Hung added. As many as 25 out of the province’s 28 IPs are effectively running large-scale waste treatment systems, while in July, the Ong Keo and Thanh Phu IPs expect to put into operation their own waste treatment systems. The province aims for all of its IPs to have such systems. Dong Nai has also been keen on tackling small-sized enterprises whose production causes serious harm to the local environment. In addition to the existing seven waste treatment areas, the province is set to invest in building two more ones in the near future, aiming to treat all waste generated in the locality. The province is focusing on tackling and wiping out 25 temporary dumping grounds by the end of this year, and building a system designed to track the generation of solid waste and stone exploitation. It is expected that a global positioning system (GPS) programme will be put into operation to check the route of waste transporting vehicles, the official revealed. He stressed Dong Nai will publicise strict measures to handle pollution and any information related to fines imposed on firms whose production activities harm the local environment. Boosting sustainable development in central coastal region A forum on sustainable development in the central coastal region was held in Hoi An ancient town, the central province of Quang Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the World Bank (WB) Country Director for Discussions at the forum focused on boosting regional sustainable development, strengthening connectivity of transport infrastructure for socio-economic development in the new context and developing water resources in association with mitigating natural disasters in the central coastal area. The event also gave delegates a chance to share experiences in mobilizing human resources, managing risks of natural calamities and water resources sustainably to promote economic development and contribute to poverty reduction.. According to the overall goal, the central coastal region will be developed into a important hub with dynamic, and sustainable development to enhance international cooperation, maintain political stability and social order, develop the marine economy along with ensuring national defence, security and sovereignty over sea and islands. Three solutions to reduce imports from China Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai made the remark at his ministry’s at a recent press briefing. At present, Hai said that two most direct ways to reduce the trade deficit with According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first four months of the year, Vietnam’s export turnover to China increased by 28.4%. This is an impressive figure and the best way to reduce the trade deficit, Hai added. He also underlined the needto strengthen domestic production and encouraged Vietnamese people to use Vietnamese goods. If a population of 90 million priotize using Vietnamese goods, it will help generate a huge turnover to thus reducing imports from Garment exports hit US$7.44 billion Garment and textile exports increased 17% to US$7.44 billion in the first five months of this year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). MoIT Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai reported that from January to May 2014, domestic garment production experienced a decline due to disturbances in industrial zones in a number of provinces and cities. He suggested local firms seize opportunities offered by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to take a proactive role in ensuring adequate supply of input materials and reducing import value. In the wake of tensions in the Garment producers should keep a close watch on such promising market as Reducing China's economic dependence by FTAs Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) not only open up opportunities for Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vietnam (VCCI) Chairman Vu Tien Loc told a recent discussion on socio-economic development in Many NA deputies stated that the illegal placement by VCCI Chairman Loc said that "Preparation for the country to seize opportunities and overcome challenges from FTAs at this time is more urgent than ever "Loc noted. According to More than half of With its commitment to remove and at least reduce tariffs and technical barriers to the lowest levels in FTAs with the world’s leading partners in the future, Vietnam will have a good chance to import machinery, equipment, input materials, consumer goods from the US, the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Australia, New Zealand and Russia " In terms of economic output, according to official figures cited by Loc at the NA session, So, to invest enough in the output chain for goods, especially agricultural products in the demanding global markets, Loc stressed the need to find a way out for the national economy to avoid the current dependence. “But the fact is that we are trading in a global trade and economy, where every business, every economy are bound and closely linked to each other. This is true for both While many people are concerned about Trade activities with For Milk prices lowered in anticipation of price ceiling Many shops and agencies have slashed retail milk product prices by 10% to 21% in anticipation of new regulations taking effect from June 1. According to the Ministry of Finance’s regulation, the decrease in the wholesale milk prices will be applied from June 1, while the retail price cut will be no later than June 20. Some anonymous retailers on Nguyen Trong Nghia, Director of the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Legal Affairs, said in the case milk product companies, they are currently complaining of potential losses from the new regulation, and the ministry will reconsider and properly adjust if the situation if this turns out to be true. The owner of a milk shop in There are 25 milk products which will be affected by the new regulations. In order to prevent loopholes or deceptive pricing methods by retailer or wholesalers, the ministry has requested that companies register their prices. Five days after the submission of new regulations, the ministry will announce the new price ceiling. New gold jewelry management ruling effective Although many gold traders had suggested extending the effective date of a new circular on jewelry quality management, the Ministry of Science and Technology still insisted on applying the circular since early this month to protect the interests of consumers. Circular 22/2013/TT-BKHCN, which was issued by the ministry last September and took effect on Sunday, regulates management and measurement policies for the gold trading business. Under the circular, the standards of quality and measurement of the gold jewelry items traded on the local market must be written in a code with the correct gold content. The circular is aimed to help reduce substandard gold products on the market and serve as a more effective legal tool for managing agencies to tackle violations. However, local traders claimed that they had been on tenterhooks as the time from the circular’s date of issuance to the date of coming into force was too short for them to make necessary preparations and manage their inventory. Nguyen Hoang Linh, head of the ministry’s Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality, said Circular 22 did not mention the concept of ‘inventory’ and that all jewelry items available on the market must meet quality requirements set by the circular since early this month. In the past nine months, gold traders should have finished preparations to meet requirements of the circular and solved all substandard jewelry items. Consumers had the right to choose the items with various gold content and prices and to buy those with the correct gold content announced by producers, Linh said. In fact, most jewelry products on the market have been made without codes indicating clear gold contents. As a result, many people pay for the gold jewelry items they believe to have sufficient gold content but when they sell the products, they receive far less money than they expect because gold content is much lower. For instance, most 18-carat jewelry whose at least 75% of the content should be pure gold but the real content is only 66% gold on the domestic market. Therefore, Nguyen Van Dung, chairman of the Saigon Jewelry Association, said the circular was a legal foundation to restore order on the gold jewelry and fine arts market and to protect the interests of customers. Dong Tam reports profits after years of losses Dong Tam Group has announced its 2013 after-tax profit of VND125.7 billion after two consecutive years of losses. At an annual shareholders meeting last week, shareholders of Dong Tam Group passed this year’s targets for VND1.8 trillion in revenue, VND135 billion in after-tax profit and a dividend of 5%. Last year, Dong Tam Group obtained good business results with net revenue of over VND1.58 trillion, up 87.7% against 2012. It racked up losses of around VND35 billion in 2012 and VND191 billion in 2011. However, experts attributed losses of Dong Tam Group to the huge loans it took for property projects, including industrial parks, seaports and residential areas in those years when the country’s real estate market was stagnant. Experts said that the demand for building materials had improved much this year. Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR |
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