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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 31/7
A
groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 26 in the central city of
The
cable, with a capacity of 80 passengers in each cabin, will travel at an
average speed of 18 kilometres per hour along the 380m route. The system will
be able to carry 1,600 passengers per hour.
The
equipment and technology were supplied by the Garaventa company in
The
first cable line will contribute to the development of tourism in the city,
particularly to the cable tourism.
The
system is expected to be completed and put into operation in March, 2014.
Viedam
opens mold R&D center at SHTP
Vietnamese-Danish
joint venture Viedam on Wednesday received the investment certificate to set
up
With
an area of 7,500 square meters, the center worth US$7.5 million is expected
to be kicked off in the fourth quarter and be operational after one year of
construction.
According
to Vo Cong Hai, managing director of Viedam, the project will apply new
materials in molding, and Viedam will train 50 engineers for the center.
In
addition to opening the research and development center, Viedam will also
build a high precision molding plant producing complicated molds for the
electronics and healthcare sectors. Most of products produced will be
exported to European countries.
Hai
said that Viedam has studied and produced such products for years. However,
due to an increasing global demand, the joint venture has decided to build a
new plant together with the research and development center at SHTP to meet
the demand of customers.
According
to the management board of SHTP, products of Viedam belong to the supporting
industries and thus can enjoy investment attraction incentives. This is also
the project which SHTP is calling for.
The
new project has increased the total number of valid projects at SHTP to 56
with total registered capital of over US$2 billion.
Local
firms keen to make strong investments in Laos
HCMC
Show, an exhibition of investment, trade and tourism from Monday to this
Friday, and a market survey for Vietnamese enterprises to set up distribution
systems in
The
trade event is being organized by the HCMC Investment and
Champasak,
a large province in
With
415 Vietnamese-invested projects totaling US$5 billion licensed as of now,
Bilateral
trade posted a pickup of 22% year-on-year to over US$900 million in 2012, and
the figure is expected to hit the US$2-billion mark in 2015.
Vietnamese
companies have developed about 50 projects in southern
The
latest Vietnamese-invested project commissioned is the sugar and sugarcane
industrial complex Hoang Anh Attapeu, which was opened on February 25 this
year. Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAGL), said his
firm had grown over 5,000 hectares of sugarcane in Attapeu and that the rest
would be developed by Laotian farmers. The sugarcane farming areas totaling
up to 12,000 hectares will provide materials for the sugar plant with a daily
crushing capacity of 7,000 tons of sugarcane.
Besides,
HAGL has already constructed a thermo-power plant with a designed capacity of
30 MW connected to the national power network of
The
total investment on this complex is US$87.8 million, with US$68.7 million for
the thermo-power plant and the sugar factory and US$19.1 million for the
material region.
Similarly,
Tin Nghia Corporation, a local firm in the southern
Thai
firms encouraged to invest in Vietnam
Thai
entrepreneurs are encouraged by their government to invest in
Vimooktayon,
leading a delegation of 12 members, met HCMC Vice Chairman Le Manh Ha on
Tuesday to discuss how to strengthen trade and investment ties between
She
hoped the HCMC government would assist Thai investors in the city as well as
in
There
are two more years until AEC springs to life in 2015.
Vice
Chairman Ha appreciated
He
said the city would welcome Thai investors and give them favorable conditions
for business development in
He
informed there were currently over 100 Thai-invested projects in HCMC, but
Thai investment per project remained small. He expected Thai investment
inflows to expand in the coming time.
So
far, Thai companies have got involved in 313 projects in
In
HCMC, there are now 108 Thai-invested projects with total pledged capital of
US$155 million, mainly in processing, commerce and construction services,
said the municipal Department of Planning and Investment.
Vietnamese
consumers less optimistic: Nielsen
Confidence
of Vietnamese consumers continued to wane in the second quarter as the
economy has shown no signs of recovery, according to Nielsen’s survey of
global consumer confidence and spending intentions released on Tuesday.
The
survey was conducted among over 29,000 consumers in different regions,
including 3,000 consumers in
According
to the survey,
Some
42% of the Vietnamese respondents said that their job prospects were good and
excellent in the second quarter, unchanged compared to the first quarter and
lower than the regional average (61%).
However,
nearly half of the
Regarding
spending demand and intentions in the next 12 months, the number of consumers
felt good and excellent inched up from 33% to 37%.
However,
consumers in
According
to Nielsen, 68% of Vietnamese consumers saved their spare cash compared to
47% of the global average. Meanwhile, the respective figures in
In the
aforementioned Southeast Asian markets, over three among five consumers said
they changed their spending to save household expenses over the past year.
Most consumers tried to save spending on gas, electricity, new clothes and
out-of-home entertainment activities.
Some
36% of the
New
technology products are also appealing to consumers in
Inflation
seen well above 7% this year
The
nation is facing risk of a return to high inflation after the Government has
revised up prices of some necessities, with inflation forecast to exceed 7%
by the end of this year, according to a macroeconomic analysis report of Viet
Dragon Securities Company (VDSC).
The
nation’s inflation was around 2.4% in the first half of this year, the lowest
since 2009, offering great chance of speeding up a plan to let prices of
electricity, coal, oil and gas and public services be decided by market
forces.
Therefore,
in the second half, VDSC said that price hikes in some necessities will cause
negative impacts on the consumer price index (CPI).
For
oil and gas products, retail gasoline price has increased around 2% this
month after having shot up by around 3.4% in June. The retail price of A92
gasoline has hit a record high after three bouts of upward price revision.
This factor will cause the strongest impact on the nation’s CPI in July and
the third quarter.
Meanwhile,
prices of health services in
However,
impact of health services may be mild and VDSC said that electricity prices
were a wild card.
Vietnam
Electricity Group (EVN) has yet to revise up electricity prices in July.
However, another round of power price hikes is inevitable after coal prices
have jumped 27% and the exchange rate has increased 1% while power
consumption is expected to increase in the second half of this year.
Electricity
prices may be revised up by 10-15%, adding a 0.7% rise to the nation’s CPI.
Of this, 0.4% is caused by direct impacts and 0.3% is triggered by indirect
impacts.
VDSC
projects the nation’s CPI at around 0.3% in July while inflation may surpass
7% this year. With these levels, the possibility of further interest rate
cuts is low.
However,
this is a good sign for credit growth in the second half. As inflation is on
the rise while further rate cuts are impossible, enterprises with capital
demand will not be hesitant in taking out bank loans any more. Banks will
also try to speed up credits to meet this year’s credit growth target of 12%,
the report said.
Speaking
to stock investors in a recent workshop, economist Tran Du Lich said that
high inflation and the stagnant market would cause more difficulties for the
economy.
Although
inflation was only 2.4% in the first six months, risk of high inflation is
here to stay as the economy is still plagued by protracted woes, such as low
consumption, high stockpile, production slowdown, bad debt, slackened credit
and slow economic restructuring.
Economy
to get back on fast-growth track in 2015: EY
The
assurance, tax and advisory service firm in a report noted that although the
monetary and financial policy is being loosened as inflation has been put
under control, this year’s growth will still remain low at 5-6%.
Besides,
the report indicates that the factor impeding private investments is still
excessive supply and weak demand.
Meanwhile,
the credit growth keeps staying limited as banks continuously encountered
increasing bad debts last year.
Therefore,
the investment proportion in State-owned companies and infrastructure
projects as well as the slow recovery of the EU and the
However,
However,
this also indicates the country’s independence on local and foreign
investments to hit the growth target of 7% or more in the medium term.
The
aforementioned evaluations are included in the Rapid-Growth Markets Forecast
released globally this month.
The
quarterly report evaluates the economic prospects of 25 countries with high
growth rates to give timely analysis about emerging markets and their roles
in the global economy.
ICP
successfully defends X-MEN trademark
The
trademark X-MEN is now officially property of International Consumer Products
Co. Ltd. (ICP) since the time for Marvel Characters Inc. to lodge an appeal
against the judgment of the Hanoi City People’s Court has run out.
ICP in
June 2003 applied for registration of the trademark X-MEN for its cosmetic
products. Two years later, the National Office of Intellectual Property of
Vietnam (NOIP) granted the company a trademark registration certificate.
In
August 2006, Marvel Characters Inc. proposed invalidation of such a
certificate, accusing ICP of making the use of its famous X-men characters,
causing confusion among consumers.
ICP is
a producer of home care and personal care products in
NOIP
rejected the proposal of Marvel Characters, saying the trademark X-MEN that
ICP registered is written in capitalized letters with a stylized X placed in
a circle, different from X-men of Marvel Characters.
Moreover,
X-MEN is a trademark of a commodity, not of a publication. Therefore, the case
could not be seen as a copyright infringement.
NOIP
stated names of fictional characters are not protected by Vietnamese laws.
After
much debate, Marvel Characters brought the case to court. The Hanoi City
People’s Court handled this case.
It was
reasoned that ICP sent its application for trademark registration to NOIP in
2003, when Marvel Characters had not registered for the trademark X-men in
Besides,
as products of ICP and Marvel are different from each other and the Copyright
Law of Vietnam does not protect names of fictional characters, it is not
right to conclude that ICP makes use of the reputation and the copyright of
Marvel.
Evidence
provided by Marvel Characters was not powerful enough to prove its lawsuit
against ICP justified. Therefore, the Hanoi City People’s Court this March
cancelled the petition of Marvel Characters.
The
time for Marvel Characters to lodge an appeal has run out now. Thus, the
court’s judgment becomes effective and ICP still has its X-MEN as its
property.
Several
disputes over intellectual property have occurred in
Binh
Minh Plastics Joint Stock Company earlier filed a lawsuit against Binh Minh
Plastic Pipes Manufacturing, Service and Trading Co. Ltd. over the brand name
Binh Minh. The case lasted for three years, with the plaintiff ending up the
winner.
Vincom
Joint Stock Company sued Vincon Real Estate and Financial Investment Company over
its similar name to Vincom’s. Eventually, Vincon had to change its name to
Vicoland in 2011.
However,
an expert said many enterprises were not patient to pursue such cases and did
not bring them to court.
Auto
imports from
The
total number of completely built-up (CBU) vehicles imported into
According
to a recent report of the General Department of Customs, auto imports from
In the
meantime, auto imports from
According
to the general customs department, most CBU cars imported by the country in
this year’s first six months were vehicles of less than nine seats, at over
8,900 units, an increase of 12.5%. The number of imported trucks, meanwhile,
was 6,860 units, jumping 41.1%.
Among
ASEAN countries, only
Meanwhile,
Experts
therefore forecast
As for
the luxury segment,
Vingroup
picked to build Thu Thiem financial center
The
HCMC government has selected Vingroup Joint Stock Company to develop an
international trade-finance-banking-housing center in Thu Thiem, said the
Investment and Construction Authority of Thu Thiem New Urban Area (Thu Thiem
ICA).
Vingroup
will carry out the project on a total area of some 170,000 square meters at
the main functional zone No.1, Trang Bao Son, deputy head of Thu Thiem ICA,
told the Daily on Tuesday.
The
local company will be also in charge of developing a trading-services-residential
area at the functional zone No.6 on around 79,000 square meters on
It
will spend its own money hiring a consulting firm to map out a zoning plan
with scale 1/500, and another with scale 1/500 for the two projects in line
with the zoning plan of scale 1/2,000 that was already approved.
Construction
on four main roads and low-rise residential areas is underway in Thu Thiem,
which is envisaged becoming a new modern town of the city.
In
addition, a scale-1/500 planning for the peninsula’s southern part,
considered as a main greenery of the city in the future, is being done by a
consulting company hired by Thu Thiem ICA.
Unemployment
numbers fall as companies recover
The number
of jobless residents in
Local
media on July 25 cited the department as saying that of 49,973 people out of
work recorded during the period, 43,526 sought unemployment insurance, and
36,171 were successful.
The
143,522 people who were introduced to jobs in the first six months of the
year include those whose properties had been reclaimed for public projects.
Department
head Tran Trung Dung said the fall in unemployment reflected the fact that
enterprises have overcome difficulties and revived production.
Nguyen
Tan Dinh, deputy head of the HCM City Export Processing Zone Authority said
that many companies in the city’s industrial and export processing zones have
shown signs of recovery.
The
food, engineering and textile industries are likely to need more workers as
they expand production in the third quarter and the remaining months of the
year, he said.
According
to the municipal People’s Committee, the city’s first-half GDP was 340.6
trillion VND (14.5 billion USD), an increase of 7.9 percent over the same
period last year.
Its
first-half export turnover was 13.7 billion USD, up 6.2 percent year-on-year.
The
city’s industrial production index also increased 5.2 percent in the first
half over the same period last year.-
IBM
named leader in Smart City Suppliers
The
According
to the report, IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) commitment to smart cities has become a key
component of its broader Smarter Planet strategy. Its continued investment in
research and development (R&D), products, and city engagements has
allowed it to maintain its leadership position despite the growing number of
heavyweight competitors.
With
deep expertise in helping cities, IBM has worked with thousands of cities globally
to help transform their systems and provide better service to citizens.
For
example,
In
The
new Navigant Research Leaderboard Report on smart city suppliers examines the
world’s leading companies that support smarter cities projects including
energy, water, transportation, building management and government services. The
report specifically compares companies that provide an integrated approach to
city operations, technologies and solutions.
“IBM
continues to be the leader in the Smarter Cities market, helping transform
cities of all sizes,” said Tran Mai Huong, manager of IBM Vietnam’s banking
and government section. “Our collaborations in the world and
Mass
urbanization, innovations, and new intelligence are changing the look of
cities and challenging the next generation of leaders with new opportunities
in public safety, healthcare, transportation, water and energy.
Navigant
Research estimates that the global market for Smart Cities technology will
grow from $6.1 billion annually in 2012 to more than $20 billion in 2020, a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.2 per cent. This represents a
cumulative investment of over $117 billion in smart city technologies between
2012 and 2020.
Navigant
Research Leaderboard Report evaluates smart city suppliers on the basis of
market share, product performance and features, product integration,
marketing and financial resources to support large-scale smart city projects
on a global basis.
Leading
plastics company cooperates with Japan
Tien
Phong Plastic Joint Stock Company, a leading plastics producer in
Under
the contract, Tien Phong and Sekisui Chemical will cooperate in selling the
latter’s several products to
The
Japanese company will transfer necessary equipment and give technical
assistance to Tien Phong to produce these products. It will also share
information relating to patents, technology and trademarks with the
Vietnamese side.
If
sales total 300 million JPY (3 million USD), the two sides will consider the
establishment of a joint venture to produce these plastic products in
With
three factories in Hai Phong, the southern
Banking
system’s safety ratios better
The
State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has unveiled a number of basic indices of the
banking sector on its website, indicating that operations of credit
institutions have improved compared to previous months.
The
network’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at 14.25% at the end of May, a
mild increase from 13.41% by late April.
The
ratios of return on equity (ROE) and return of assets (ROA) in May were
unchanged compared the previous month, standing at 2.52% and 0.23%
respectively. By late March, the ratios were 3.97% and 0.48% respectively.
The
ratio of short-term capital used as long-term loans had declined from 16.64%
to 16.27%. The credit-to-deposit ratio had also eased to 87.44% from 87.87%
in late April.
The
total assets of the entire system had reached over VND5,200 trillion, a
slight rise compared to late April and up 2.7% against the end of 2012.
Meanwhile, chartered capital of the system had picked up 2% against late 2012
to over VND400 trillion.
There
have been concerns over reliability of data of the banking system over bad
debts. For instance, Barclays predicted the bad debt ratio of the local
banking system at 20% while Fitch’s projected it at 15% at the end of 2012.
Concerning
the problem, a leader of SBV told the Daily that the figure calculated basing
on current lawful regulations must be recognized.
Each
organization will give a figure basing on its own calculations, suggesting
organizations have different evaluation methods. This is normal, the official
said.
He
said that banking data are relative. The most important thing is that
administering agencies should understand the nature of the problem and they
should not be fooled by the figures.
Singapore
becomes largest investor in Vietnam
Its
investment accounted for 35.9 percent of the total capital of newly invested
projects in
Other
major foreign investors in the reviewed period included
The
GSO reported that as of July 20
A
large amount of FDI was injected into key areas such as manufacturing
(US$10.44 billion) and real estate (US$580.8 million).
Thai
Nguyen province led the nation in FDI attraction, with total registered
investment in the past seven months reaching US$2.141 billion, followed by
Binh Dinh (US$1 billion), Hai Duong (US$611.6 million), Binh Duong (US$460.7
million), Dong Nai (US$338.8 million), Haiphong (US$335.4 million), and HCM
City (US$333.5 million).
According
to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in July alone
the country shipped approximately 12,000 tonnes of pepper abroad, earning
US$81 million.
However,
MARD said, the average price of export pepper in the past seven months saw a
year-on-year decrease of over 4% to US$6,563/tonne.
The US
and
At
present,
The
Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) predicted that local farmers will have
harvested 90,000-95,000 tonnes of pepper on 60,000 hectares by the end of
this year.
The
association has set a target of exporting 105,000-110,000 tonnes in 2013.
Northern
central region aims for sustainable sea economy
The
northern central region is targeting rapid and sustainable growth as a
national sea-based economic hub by 2020.
According
to a draft report on the regional socio-economic development master-plan, the
region will expand its tourism sector and tourist sites, and serve as one of
the key gateways of
Thanh
Hoa city in Thanh Hoa province will be turned into a development centre,
while Vinh city (Nghe An province) will be developed into a cultural-economic
centre of the region, under the Prime Minister’s Decision.
The
plan also gives priority to developing five marine economic zones (EZs), with
Nghi Son EZ to become the country’s second refinery and petrochemical complex
while Vung Ang EZ will house the country’s largest steel producer and a
national-level sea port, turning it into an international trade zone in the region.
The
three other EZs are Chan May-Lang Co,
Regarding
tourism development, the north central region can be divided into two
sub-regions based on the allocation of natural resources.
The
first, stretching from Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh province with Vinh city as its
centre, is home to beautiful beaches, such as Sam Son, Cua Lo, Xuan Thanh and
Thien Cam, to name just a few, where a wide range of tourism services can be
developed, such as eco-tourism, cruising, resorts and adventure tours.
The
second sub-region, home to three World Heritage sites including Phong Nha-Ke
Bang, encompasses provinces from Quang
Many
nice beaches are also located here, such as Nhat Le, Cua Tung, Cua Viet,
Thuan An, Canh Duong and Lang Co.
To
reach their sea and island–based economic development goals, localities in
the region are asked to develop specific plans to implement the Government’s
policies in this field in accordance with their own real situation.
They
also need to strengthen management agencies and create links between
themselves and central ministries and industries.
Dong
Nai attracts over US$700 million FDI
Dong
Nai province claims to have attracted nearly US$709 million foreign direct
investment (FDI) by the end of July.
In
seven months, local authorities licensed 42 new projects worth US$339 million
and approved an additional capital worth US$369.5 million for 39 operational
projects.
Meanwhile,
Dong Nai withdrew investment licenses granted to 4 projects worth US$7.72
million. By far, 1,037 projects have been operating effectively with a
combined capitalisation of US$19.17 billion.
According
to the provincial Management Board of Industrial Zones, 39 countries and
territories have invested in 31 IZs, and more than 70 FDI projects have
stopped operation with an estimated capitalisation of over US$250 million,
accounting for nearly 7% of total registered projects.
Currently,
the provincial People’s Committee is calling for investment in five major
projects: the Dong Nai bio-technological application centre in Cam My
district, the DOFICO industrial-agricultural complex in Xuan Loc district,
the support industry subdivision in the Giang Dien IZ in Trang Bom district,
the support industry subdivision in Nhon Trach 6 IZ, and the support industry
subdivision in An Phuoc IZ.
Plastic
exports set record
Export
revenue from plastics in the first half of 2013 surpassed US$1 billion, up
9.3% year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Plastics Association (VPA).
Revenue
from finished plastic products rose by 11.5% to reach US$851 million.
According
to the VPA, plastics firms are still investing in new equipment and
technology to enhance their capacity as the demand for plastic materials and
products remains strong in major markets such as the
The
association said that home and car accessories made of plastics are selling
well in 2013 and predicted to remain strong in the coming years thanks to its
wide applicability and large global demand.
Under
a plan running until 2020,
Indonesian
coal firm eyes Vietnamese market
Indonesian
coal mining company Bukit Asam (PTBA) plans to build a thermal power plant in
Milawarma
revealed that his firm will also get involved in exploration and supply of
coal to the Vietnamese market, alongside its plan to run business in
In the
first half of this year, PTBA exported 500,000 tonnes of coal to
In
Indonesia, the State-owned PTBA is implementing projects to build many power
plants, including 2x8 MW Lampung, 2x 110 MW Banjarsari and 3x 10 MW Enim in
southern Sumatra, which are expected to be operational later this year and in
early 2014.
PTBA
exports 55% of its annual output. Between January-June 2013, it sold 8.81
million tonnes for US$527 million up 20% in volume but down 6% in value due
to lower prices on the global market.
Over
4 million tonnes of rice exported in seven months
In
July alone, 633,000 tonnes were delivered to foreign importers for US$293
million.
Other
key export markets included
However,
the price of export rice saw a year-on-year decline of 6.7% to US$443/tonne
during the January-June period. As a result, in the past seven months, rice
exports decreased 11.3% in volume and 13% in value compared to the same
period last year.
Bankruptcy
law needs revising
The
Bankruptcy Law, despite amendments in 2004 since entering into effect in
1993, is still unable to prevent many insolvent businesses from littering the
national economy.
Ministry
of Planning and Investment statistics show more than one fourth of over
600,000 operational businesses remain unaware of their legality. The General
Department of Taxation reports nearly one third of those businesses have
stopped paying taxes.
At the
recent mid-term Vietnam Business Forum 2013, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (VCCI) painted business bankruptcy in a gloomy light.
According
to VCCI, the revised 2004 Bankruptcy Law, which was intended to address the
shortcomings of its 1993 original, has yet to live up to public expectations.
Courts and relevant agencies have proposed at least half of its articles
require further amending to keep up with recent market developments.
Article
3 stipulates that any businesses or cooperatives unable to pay debts by a
specific due date should be considered as threatened by bankruptcy.
In
reality, most businesses and cooperatives are both creditors and debtors. In
some cases, businesses and cooperatives with credits much higher than their
own overdue debts are still forced to declare bankruptcy.
Filing
for bankruptcy is also a preventatively complex process. Article 22 says once
a court receives a business’s official request to file, it can ask for any
further information it deems relevant to be submitted within 10 days.
Hanoi
People’s Court Judge Pham Tuan Anh says the impractical deadline ignores the
fact businesses find it difficult to collate the request evidence themselves,
not to mention the widespread unwillingness to cooperate with the court.
Out of
Hanoi’s hundreds of thousands of businesses covering all sizes and
industries, tens of thousands could be teetering on the edge of bankruptcy or
dissolution. Anh notes that none of them, however, have been officially
declared bankrupt so far.
State
businesses’ bankruptcy declarations are themselves delayed by the requirement
for approval in writing for their ministry or provincial People Committee governing
bodies.
The
economic slowdown has prompted legal experts have propose another revision of
the 2004 Bankruptcy Law, arguing the courts’ failure to properly deal with
insolvent businesses is impacting economic relations.
These
“zombie” businesses are forced to halt their operations while courts consider
their decisions, wasting resources and damaging other healthy businesses.
The
Zombie phenomenon creates illusions that could fuel long-term problems. Banks
often respond to profit losses with rollovers or by injecting more capital
into insolvent businesses, eventually threatening the integrity of the
banking system as a whole.
The
State’s business governing bodies sometimes drag their feet admitting the
extent of their responsibility’s troubles for fear that bankruptcy will
affect their reputation and performance assessments. They claim bankruptcy’s
repercussions, like rising unemployment and welfare system burdens, are the
real reasons behind the delay.
There
is no doubt that the nation’s business environment will be healthier when
insolvent businesses are officially declared bankrupt as soon as possible.
The declarations free up funds once earmarked for moribund businesses,
allowing reallocation to the wider restructuring process that will create entities
better able to compete in the current economic context.
Hanoi
Industrial and Economics College Dr Duong Duc Chinh notes business
bankruptcies are a normal part of a functioning economy. He says eliminating
inefficient businesses and cooperatives is even more imperative in a market
economy to ease their burden on the State budget.
Experts
say the Bankruptcy Law needs revision to simplify bankruptcy filings for
inefficient businesses. Bankruptcy’s winnowing effect should be considered a
valuable impetus driving economic development.
Agricultural
exports’ 7 month total hits US$15.57 billion
July’s
agro-forestry and seafood exports are estimated to have earned US$2.39
billion, bringing their seven-month export value to US$15.59 billion.
The
figure is a 1.6% slide from a year earlier.
Major
agricultural exports are valued at US$7.84 billion, down 11.9%. In
contrast export earnings of seafood edged up 0.7% to US$3.14 billion,
and forestry product exports rose 12.2% to US$3.05 billion.
Vietnam
exported 4.22 million tonnes of rice over the reviewed period, earning
US$1.88 billion, down 11.3% in volume and 13% in value compared to 2012.
Prices remained at an unfortunately low level. China is still Vietnam’s
largest rice importer.
Vietnam’s
coffee exports totaled around 890,000 tonnes in the 7 months, worth US$1.91
billion, representing a sharp fall of 23.7% in volume and 22.4% in value.
The
country’s other major export commodities include tea (US$120 million, up
4.1%), cashew nuts (US$759 million, up 5.9%), pepper (US$618 million, up
17.7%), wood and timber products (US$2.9 billion, up 12.3%), rubber (US$1.21
billion, down 18.4%), and cassava (US$629 million, down 22.5%).
Sugar
supply far in excess of demand
Sugar
supply is now far in excess of demand by about 100,000 tons, before the next
sugarcane crop, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development.
The
Ministry revealed this information at a meeting to review sugar production in
the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang for the period 2012-2013.
The
Vietnam Sugar Association has proposed to the Government to have flexible
mechanisms to boost sugar exports and for authorized organs to strictly
tackle sugar smuggling.
According
to the Ministry, there are 40 sugar processing plants operating with total
capacity of 134,200 tons per day.
They
have so far processed 16.6 million tons of sugarcane to yield 1.53 million
tons of sugar, an increase of 224,000 tons over the previous crop.
The
sugar industry still faces a lot of difficulties. The biggest concern is that
farmers cannot sell their sugarcane right after harvesting.
In
addition, farmers have been forced to reap sugarcane early to avoid expected
flooding in Hau Giang Province, which lowers the sugarcane quality and price.
Over
the last three years, the sugar industry has remained quite stable in
comparison to other agricultural sectors. Ninety-three percent of sugarcane
cultivation has been contracted by processing plants in the country. Some
businesses have also mapped out good policies to assist the development of
sugarcane cultivation.
Salary
disparity between managers at state-owned corps and affiliates
A
report announced by the State Audit of Vietnam showed that there is a big
disparity in average salary between managers at state-owned corporations and
groups and managers at their affiliates.
In
2011, managers’ average income at Vietnam Northern Food Company No. 1
(Vinafood 1) was VND56.5 million (USD2,667) per month compared to VND6.5
million (USD309.5) for those at its affiliate Vinh Ha Food Processing and
Construction JSC. Meanwhile, Vinh Ha Food Processing Construction JSC has the
highest average salary among Vinafood 1's audited affiliates.
The
situation was the same at Vietnam Northern Food Company No. 2 (Vinafood 2).
The average monthly income of Vinafood 2’s managers was 79.74 million.
Whereas the average was just VND11.17 million at Dong Thap Food Company which
has the highest salary among Vinafood 2’s audited affiliates.
At
Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 4 (Cienco4), the member
council and deputy general director had an average monthly salary of VND39.9
million compared to just VND5.49 million for labourers.
The
auditing result submitted to the National Assembly last November showed that
in 2011 Petrolimex made a loss of VND1.42 trillion (USD67.6 million). In that
year, the corporation chairman had a monthly salary of VND58 million and the
members of the board of director’s salaries were VND42 million. The salary
level for the head of the board of supervisors was VND41 million and
deputy-general -director was VND40 million.
The
salary unit cost at wholly state-owned enterprises is approved by the ministries
of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. At joint
stock companies, however, this is decided by the member council, said Nguyen
Hong Long, an official from the State Audit of Vietnam.
Regarding
the salaries of managers, Long said, Vinafood 1 and Vinafood 2 have made a
profit and the salary unit cost is approved by the Ministry of Labour,
Invalids and Social Affairs.
Vietnam
National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) is an exceptional case, he said,
explaining that in spite of making a loss, it still offered a high salary
unit price because the corporation has joined the market petroleum
stabilisation.
According
to the State Audit of Vietnam, a number of units at corporations and groups
have not yet formed its salary unit price or initiated a suitable one.
Viet
Nam plastic exports set record
Viet
Nam export revenues from plastics in the first half of 2013 surpassed US$1
billion, up 9.3 per cent year-on-year, according to the Viet Nam Plastics
Association (VPA).
Revenue
from finalized plastic products rose by 11.5 per cent to reach $851 million.
According
to the VPA, plastics firms are still investing in new equipment and
technology to enhance their capacity as the demand for plastic materials and
products remains strong in major markets such as the US.
The
association stated that home and car accessories made of plastic are selling
well in 2013 and predicted to remain strong in the years to come thanks to
its wide applicability and large global demand.
Under
a plan running until 2020, Viet Nam aims to increase its share of the plastic
products market used by construction and industry, and to reduce the
proportion of plastics used for packaging and household goods.-
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Ba, 30 tháng 7, 2013
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