BUSINESS IN BRIEF 1/10 VN, Textile industry representatives from About 160 businesses from the two countries took part in the seminar-workshop which the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) organised in collaboration with the Indian Embassy in Do Huu Huy, an official of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said diversification in the supply of textile materials and the sustainable development of the Vietnamese garments industry was not dependent on a particular market. According to Pham Quang Thinh, VCCI deputy head of International Relations, Some textile-importing countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) require the exporter to identify the origin of their products as well as the progress in the production of fabrics made in Meanwhile, Mohit, a representative of the Indian Business Chamber in Ha Noi, said that He added that According to In the first eight months, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $3.78 billion. Major exports to Major imports from As of August 2014, Leverage for development of support industries The Vietnamese Government has developed a range of policies to support industrial businesses in anticipation of a huge wave of foreign investment. This is considered an important boost for enterprises operating in support industries. According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Hieu, the government is drafting a decree to encourage and develop support industries and build a favourable business environment to attract foreign investors to the field. It is necessary to acknowledge that the support industries play a central role in the entire industrial sector, Truong Thanh Hoai, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Heavy Industry Department, said. Attempts to develop support industries must target key sectors and those that attract foreign direct investment (FDI), including garment, mechanics, electronics and assembling, he stressed. Meanwhile, Shim Wonhwan, General Director of the Samsung Complex, said that if Therefore, industrial businesses need to try their best to gain a competitive edge, he noted. Since investment in technology requires a large amount of capital, the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Deputy Minister Hieu admitted that ineffective Government mechanisms and policies, combined with businesses’ limited technology, capital, production capacities, management experience and human resources, made FDI enterprises hesitant to join Mai added that the support industries are not developing at a pace in line with the country’s full economic potential and that their products have low added value. Locally-made spare parts only account for 27.8 percent of those needed, while Statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that In recent years, FDI in the electronics industry increased remarkably, especially from the Republic of Foreign-invested businesses have made Can Tho city devises plans for aquaculture sector The Mekong Delta city of To this end, Can Tho plans to implement 12 aquaculture projects in two main farming areas, Director of the department Pham Van Quynh said. About 16,000ha in Thot Not district, Vinh Thanh district, and islets on the The city aims to increase its aquatic output to 270,000 tonnes by 2020, up by 90,000 tonnes compared to 2013, Quynh added. He said in order to meet the local demand for juvenile fish for breeding, Can Tho will build a large-scale juvenile fish farm in Vinh Thanh and 100 smaller farms by 2016, increasing the number of farms for juvenile fish to 130 by 2020. Additionally, the city will develop and apply advanced technology and expand the application of VietGAP, GlobalGAP, and SQF 1000CM standards in aquaculture. An additional 16 processing factories that meet ISO and HACCP standards are also going to be built in an effort to increase the city’s aquatic exports to 120,000 tonnes by the end of 2015 and 180,000 tonnes by 2020, the official said. Quynh noted that the city will cooperate closely with other Mekong Delta localities to source seafood products for export. So far this year, Can Tho has generated 320 million USD from aquatic exports,fullfing 65 percent of its yearly target.- Ninh Binh forum discusses economic restructuring The biannual Autumn Economic Forum that opened in the Former Minister of Commerce Truong Dinh Tuyen commented that the restructuring process is slow due to a lack of capital regulations, cumbersome formalities and unfavorable business climate. He warned that foreign investors are dominating the distribution sector, citing that 67.3 percent of exports are sourced from these players who also record a massive 70 percent industrial production value. Vo Tri Thanh, deputy head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said state-owned enterprises should properly address the issues of transparency, supervision, governance and equitisation if they wish a change. Tran Du Lich, deputy head of In his opinion, the Vietnam Asset Management Company should be made more financially capable, suggesting an inflow outside the banking sector to deal with this issue. Attendees also called for more changes to the Law on amendments and supplements to some articles of the Laws on Housing, Civil Affairs, Real Estate Business and Corporate Law. The two-day forum is co-hosted by the National Assembly Economic Committee, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI ). Singapore-Vietnam two-way trade totaled 13.538 billion SGD (equivalent to 10.83 billion USD) for the first eight months of 2014, a 22.2- percent year-on-year increase, according to the Singapore Department of Statistics. During the period, The country’s leading export products were cellphones, electronic devices and components (839 million SGD); machinery and spare parts (over 256 million SGD); and crude oil (over 246 million SGD). However, the trading value of items made from iron and steel, paper and paper products as well as beverages saw a decline. Meanwhile, A number of those exports, including food and processed products; cigarettes and tobacco; oil and petrol; and optical and measurement devices and equipment, grew rapidly.- Farm export profits rise 11.4 percent According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the profits represented an 11.4-percent year-on-year increase, with farming products bringing in 12.7 billion USD or a 9.8 percent increase; forestry products, 4.41 billion USD or 13.2 percent; and seafood products, 5.65 billion USD or 21.6 percent. The ministry said the farming, forestry and seafood sector achieved a 6-billion USD trade surplus for the first three quarters of the year even as the sector spent 16.11 billion USD on imports, an 18-percent year-on-year increase. It added that in the first nine months, coffee exports experienced a 31.9-percent year-on-year surge in volume to 1.35 million tonnes and a 27.9-percent year-on-year surge in value to 2.81 billion USD. The coffee crop for the calendar year 2013 to 2014 is expected to post a 15-percent year-on-year increase in volume to 1.6 million tonnes and a nine-percent year-on-year increase in value to 3.27 billion USD. Pepper exports achieved a 24.5-percent year-on-year surge in volume to 140,000 tonnes and a 41.9-percent year-on-year surge in value to 1.06 billion USD. The price of pepper exports posted a 12.3-percent year-on-year increase to 7,459 USD per tonne. Cashew exports posted a 19.6-percent year-on-year surge in volume to 225,000 tonnes and a 21.8-percent year-on-year surge in value to 1.46 billion USD. The price of rice exports posted a 3.3-percent year-on-year surge to 453.7 USD per tonne, but posted a 5.2-percent year-on-year decline in volume to 5.02 million tonnes and a 1.6-percent year-on-year decline in value to 2.29 billion USD. Since mid-September, the domestic rice industry entered into new export contracts with the According to the Plantation Department, Rubber exports likewise posted a 2.4-percent year-on-year decline in volume to 705,000 tonnes and a 21.9-percent year-on-year decline in value to 1.25 billion USD, as well as a 24-percent year-on-year decline in price to 1,800 USD per tonne. Wood and wooden products exports posted a13.5-percent year-on-year increase in value to 4.41 billion USD. The value of forestry products exports to the The key export markets of the Asus Expo 2014 set to kick off in Hanoi Asus Expo 2014 gets underway in Spanning 3,000 square metres, the three-day exposition is attracting 400 pavilions showcasing a wide range of modern computers and components, tablets, and smart phones. Asus is also introducing a new series of tablets to Vietnamese consumers including the – ASUS FonePad FE375CG and FE380CG – the best selling tablet cum phone last summer in Additionally, two fashion-forward designs the MeMO Pad 7 ME572CL and MeMO Pad 8 ME581CL are set to display, bringing more options for Vietnamese users in the peak shopping season. Within the framework of the exhibition, the final rounds of two major technological talent search contests with total cash prizes of VND200 million are planned. ASUS, a technology-oriented company with a global staff of more than 10,000 and blessed with one of the world’s top R&D teams, is renowned for its high-quality products and cutting-edge innovation. Based on consumption data, the Mekong Delta region plans to gradually reduce the scale of its Tra fish production and apply a series of measures to enhance fish quality in 2015–2016, according to the Vietnam Tra Fish Association (VTFA). The plan foresees a reduction of the Tra fish farming area by 500ha each year from the current 6,400ha. A new environmentally friendly breeding technique will be implemented, helping increase the average productivity of Tra fish farming in the region to 180–200 tons per ha, compared to 160 tons per ha today. Estimates reckon that in 2016, Tra fish output will total 1.2 million tonnes and the value of exports will reach at least 2 billion USD. The region plans to change the production lines in all its Tra fish processing factories to cut production costs, improve quality and add value. Some 320 breeding facilities in nine provinces will be upgraded to produce high-quality breeding fish for farmers. Vo Hung Dung, VTFA Vice Chairman, said attempts to boost Tra fish sales in international markets requires appropriate commercial protective measures and more promotional efforts in potential new markets, such as Russia, China and India. During the first nine months of 2014, the region’s total volume of Tra fish production was 776,000 tonnes, of which 490,000 tonnes were exported, generating 1.27 billion USD. This year Tra fish export is expected to hit 1.8 billion USD. Can Tho plans new air routes to boost tourism The Mekong Delta city of The city hopes that the new routes will bring more foreign as well as domestic visitors from these places. Also next year the city plans to develop tourism services and products and organise events to attract foreign tourists. This year the city hopes to welcome 1.3 million visitors, an increase of four percent over last year. Hisao Tanaka, Toshiba’s president and CEO last week announced the group’s comprehensive strategy for expanding its business in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, and doubling its current sales to $7 billion by 2019. “Southeast Asia currently enjoys positive benefits For MoU signed between Kinh Bac and LG for latter’s The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed last week during an investment promotion conference held by the Haiphong Municipal People’s Committee in LG Electronics previously leased 40 hectares of land in the The investment promotion conference last week also attracted 50 South Korean companies, which are looking for opportunities to act as suppliers for LG Electronics in Koreans drive industrialisation Increasing investment from South Korean companies in the areas of energy, electronics and manufacturing are helping facilitate South Korean giants including Samsung Electronics, Doosan Heavy Industries, Kumho Asiana, Lotte and Posco have all heavily invested into Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest electronics firm, has already committed $8 billion to Since Samsung Electronics built its first mobile phone factory in Bac Ninh in 2007, the company has helped Export revenue from electronics products is expected to further increase next year, when Samsung puts its manufacturing complex in Thai Nguyen province into full operation and LG Electronics starts production on its $1.5 billion complex in The focus of Korean transnational companies on “In the past we could only attract Korean investment into light industries, but there is a growing trend towards more advanced industries,” said Do Nhat Hoang, director of the FIA. “ Hong Sun, general secretary of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Posco Group, for example, has said it considers Kumho Asiana, which built a $100 million tyre factory in southern Binh Duong province in 2008, is planning to expand its investment in Another Korean firm, Doosan, is preparing to expand the second phase of its production base in Lotte Consortium – a joint venture between Early this month, Lotte opened the Lotte Centre Hanoi - a major apartment, office, shopping and entertainment tower. US$130-million integrated business park to go up in city The joint venture was revealed on September 25 when HCMC Chairman Le Hoang Quan presented the investment certificate to William Tay, CEO for Ascendas Southeast Asia, and Vo Sy Nhan, Managing Director of Saigon Bund Capital Partners under the witness of Goh Chok Tong, Emeritus Senior Minister and former Prime Minister of Singapore at the City Hall. Ascendas said in a statement that the issuance of the investment certificate is the approval by the authorities of The 60:40 joint venture will develop a 12-hectare land plot at the main entrance of Saigon Hi-Tech Park in District 9. The OneHub Saigon development costs S$163 million (some US$130 million) and will be directly connected to a future station of Metro Line No.1 under construction at the moment. Ascendas executives said OneHub Saigon will be implemented in different phases in over seven years depending on market requirements. The first phase will commence with quality business spaces for companies in hi-tech manufacturing industries, information technology, media and outsourcing industries. Components of Phase 1 will also consist of a mixed-use development with retail components to cater to existing demand in the vicinity. The business spaces and amenities within the park will be developed to meet international green standards to promote environmental and community sustainability. Tay of Ascendas said the company has already established a presence in Nhan of Saigon Bund Capital Partners believed that the joint venture will build a successful integrated development that will set “a new benchmark for a dynamic and creative working environment in Saigon Hi-Tech Park.” OneHub Saigon will be another project in the OneHub series of developments by Ascendas in Located 15 kilometers away from HCMC’s downtown area, Saigon Hi-Tech Park is one of important economic projects aimed to drive the city’s development till 2025. As of last month, the park had attracted a total investment capital of US$2.5 billion from over 60 multinational companies, including Intel, Nidec, Sanofi Aventis and Air Liquide as well as major Vietnamese technology companies such as FPT. Singapore-based Ascendas has built a strong regional presence and serves a global clientele of more than 2,700 customers in 26 cities across 10 countries and territories, including Saigon Bund Capital Partners is an investment company with offices in Formosa incident impacts budget revenue of Ha Tinh Ha The central province had posted budget revenue of VND2.645 trillion as of September 19, equivalent to 68% of the year’s target assigned by the Ministry of Finance and 43% of the target approved by the provincial People’s Council. If the taxes and fees paid by The shrinking budget revenue of Ha Tinh was attributable to contracting tax and fee collections from foreign contractors and enterprises after new regulations on value-added, corporate and personal income taxes took effect on January 1 this year and the incident at Vung Ang Economic Zone on May 14. Formosa paid VND1.083 trillion in tax and environmental protection fee in the January-August period last year but only VND462 billion in the same period this year. As reported by agencies, An executive of Formosa told the Daily earlier this year that the company had disbursed over US$4.2 billion for the steel project in Vietnam as of the end of June but had not earned any revenue from the project. Government bonds to be transacted online The Internet site for online transactions of Government bonds will be put into use soon, marking a big change on the Vietnamese bond market. Nguyen Thi Hoang Lan, vice chairperson and deputy CEO of the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), said the northern bourse will operate the site with many products and information for investors. This online transaction channel is being test-run. More products and new transaction tools on both primary and secondary markets will be developed and offered in the coming time, she said, adding HNX will also launch the Bond Index this month. Together with the yield curve, the bond index is a market indicator assisting investors in calculating bond prices and forecasting investment trends, which is expected to help boost participation of members and investors in Government bond transactions. Derivatives like zero-coupon bond, when-issued, sell/buy repo, borrowing/lending repo and cross-currency repo have been studied, which have attracted much attention from members and investors. The Government bond transaction system on HNX will be connected with the information system of Bloomberg, making it easier for investors to search for information and make transactions on only one screen, and facilitating access of foreign investors to the Vietnamese bond market. Compared to bond markets in the region, To make In addition, favorable conditions for insurance and financial companies and pension funds to join the market will be created. HNX encourages the participation of foreign investors by adjusting tax policies and bond transaction fees as well as offering hedging mechanisms for those investors. Much higher tax sums collected from Chinese goods The tax sum imposed on each container of Chinese goods has been revised up by four to five times as relevant agencies bolstered their fight against smuggling, the General Department of Customs said in an anti-smuggling report just issued. Accordingly, each container is taxed at VND125 million on average, or VND100 million higher than before, the report said. Smuggled goods from The report did not mention how many containers of Chinese goods have been taxed by HCMC Customs Department. However, the general department will continue to warn customs departments nationwide against the illicit trade of Chinese consumer goods. According to Vietnam News Agency, the HCMC Customs Department has uncovered various illegal, counterfeit and substandard products packaged in containers shipped from Customs authorities in There have been as many as 13,700 smuggling cases worth an estimated VND240 billion reported in the country in the January-September period, dropping 36% in the number of cases but rising 15% in value year-on-year. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently honoured a number of countries, including Mutation breeding, which uses radiation to mimic natural plant mutation events, is a well-established method that enables plant breeders to work with farmers to develop variations of rice, barley, sesame and other crops that are higher-yielding and more resistant to diseases. The awards were initiated by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture to celebrate successes achieved so far, promote the development of further sustainable crop varieties, and ensure national food security. "Through the use of plant mutation breeding, nuclear techniques help to create new strains of plants with characteristics that allow them to resist disease and thrive under harsh conditions, such as high altitudes and saline soils," IAEA Director General Amano said at the awards ceremony on September 24. The Agriculture Genetics Institute under the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) won three out of 23 awards, including an Achievement Award. Since the IAEA provided support since the 1980s, Vietnamese agricultural research institutes have obtained many outstanding achievements in breeding better crop varieties which are higher-yielding and more resistant to diseases. The awards presentation was held in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Joint Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)/Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture (IAEA). SeABank recognised by Global Banking & Finance Review Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank) has been honoured by Global Banking and Finance Review (GBAF) for its innovative investment and financial solutions in three categories of its banking awards. GBAF named SeABank as ‘Best Bank for Project Financing 2014’, ‘Best Co-Branded Credit Card 2014’ and ‘Best Young Banking Leader Vietnam 2014’. Ms. Le Thu Thuy, Standing Deputy Chairman of the SeABank Board of Directors, was also selected as the best young banking leader in 2014 for her extraordinary contributions to the development of SeABank. Ms Thuy said the awards prove the strong innovativeness of SeABank, particularly in the fields of financing and developing card services. In the future, SeABank will strive to make even greater efforts to provide the best quality products and services to customers. GBAF is the Eximbank cited ‘Best Bank in Vietnam Export Import Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Eximbank) last week was named the “Best Bank in Vietnam 2014” by the world’s leading financial magazine Euromoney. This is the second consecutive year in a row Euromoney has chosen Eximbank for the prestigious award. Key selection criteria included total revenues, total assets and pretax profits. At present, Eximbank’s market capitalization is estimated at US$747 million and it is one of the few joint-stock commercial banks in Euromoney, a London-based financial communications company, is one of the world’s leading publications for the global banking and capital markets. Supporting industries are playing an important role in the long-term sustainable economic growth and foreign investment attraction, said the Vietnam Economic News on September 29. According to Dang Van Chi, Deputy General Director of N&G Investment and Development JSC, an investor in the Hanoi Southern Supporting Industrial Park (Hanssip), despite successfully attracting large corporations such as Samsung, Nokia, Toshiba, Honda, Panasonic, and Canon, Vietnam has to spend billions of dollars on importing components or raw materials for these corporations. Many firms admit that their production depends too much on import of inputs, he said. Supporting industries also help improving competitiveness of industrial products, promoting new technologies, and developing domestic small and medium enterprises develop, added Chi. According to Director of Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade Le Hong Thang, along with specific solutions for capital and infrastructure, the government and local authorities need to issue policies to further promote the development of supporting industries. For example, According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong, global economic integration requires close links between national and international companies. “The most important issue is how to find outlets for support industrial products to promote sales. Once you have a market, you will need financial sources for sustainable business development,” Chairman of Hanoi Supporting Industries Business Association Nguyen Hoang was cited as saying.- Rice output forecast at 45 million tonnes for 2014 By mid-September, farmers in southern and Mekong Delta’s provinces harvested summer-autumn rice on 1.81 million hectares, with average yields up 120 kg per hectare compared to the previous crop. The Mekong Delta also has harvested about half of the 625,000 ha planted with summer-autumn rice. At the same time, farmers across the country have planted rice on more than 1,659 million ha for the winter crop, almost the same as the cultivation area in comparison with 2013. The winter rice is growing well thanks to favourable weather and good irrigation, according to MARD.- Fisheries development policy implemented in central region A meeting was recently held in Quang Ngai province to realise a Government decree on fisheries development in the central region. The event was attended by representatives from the central provinces of Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Da Nang city, fishing businesses, local fishermen, and a number of commercial banks, including BIDV, Agribank, Viettinbank, Vietcombank and MHB. Speaking at the conference, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Binh stressed that He said that Decree 67/2014/ND-CP provides a full, systematic and synchronous set of basic policies to boost fisheries development, including supporting fishermen in building high-capacity, iron-covered ships designed for offshore fishing, a practice that could earn fishermen higher incomes. It is considered a leverage for localities to improve fishing efficiency, thus contributing to protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands, he added. Participants suggested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development promptly approve and publicise a list of preferred ship models so that individuals and businesses could take out loans for the construction of new ships. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance should guide and organise the implementation of insurance policies. The provincial People’s Committees were asked to select ship-owners based on their previous business experience and support them in applying for loans from banks. According to the decree, commercial banks are responsible for guiding fishermen to complete loan procedures. For those who borrow money to build ships, especially iron-covered ones, the decree regulates a preferential interest rate of 1-3 percent per year, the lowest level at present, for 11-year loans. Loan limit also stands high, about 70-95 percent of the newly-built ship value. Thua Thien-Hue greenlights more FDI projects The central The newly registered projects include a 25 million USD shrimp breeding facility and a 5 million USD project to build infrastructure for Tu Ha industrial park. Authorities plan to pour over 22 billion VND (1.03 million USD) to build infrastructure at local industrial parks and support construction firms in ground clearance, mine removal, and building waste treatment plants. As of September, local FDI businesses grossed 495 million USD in revenue, contributing 1.3 trillion VND (around 68 million USD) to the State budget, up 7.5 percent over the previous year. Thua Thien-Hue is now home to 79 FDI projects with a total registered capital of 2.2 billion USD. Austrian enterpries eye growing Thirteen Austrian energy and environmental companies attended the meeting to learn more about the market and seek potential partners. Economic and trade co-operation between the two countries have grown considerably in recent years. Two-way trade rose from US$175 million in 2007 to US$1.3 billion in 2012 - and US$$2.1 billion in 2013. However, the results were considered low compared with the potential, said Doan Duy Khuong, vice-chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). He said Therefore, the market could grow from He said the Vietnam Government was trying to complete the country's legal regulatory framework and develop better market mechanisms to create favorable condition for companies to come to The business meeting is held by the VCCI, the Austrian Embassy and Advantage Khuong said that the VCCI was willing to co-operate with trade promotion agencies in other countries to organise similar events. Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR |
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