BUSINESS IN BRIEF 14/11
Traders
overstock foods due to typhoon Haiyan
Many
trades in
By
late November 11, the vegetable stall of Mrs Hoa in Thanh Xuan District was
still full of different kinds of varieties of products. Still, that day the
amount she sold was lower than normal for an average day.
She
said, “I thought when I saw many people trying to stock up on food in case of
the effects of the storm that I would have enough to provide their needs. Now
I have a big inventory that may go rotten."
According
to Hoa, after storms, vegetable prices usually increase due to heavy rains.
However, the typhoon Haiyan only directly affected the
At
Trieu Khuc Market, traders also faced the slow sales of vegetables. One
seller said many people had already bought food for storage and did not need
to stock up.
Traders
said their business situation would become better after some days to come
when people will have used up their stored food.
Nguyen
Thi Nga, from Dong Da District,
Mrs.
Nguyen Thi Ly at Nam Dong residential area said her family’s refrigerator is
full of various kinds of foods. This food can be enough for her family to
last until next week.
Some
days ago after hearing about the typhoon, many people in
Investors
of resettlement apartment projects in Thu Thiem new urban area may face
stricter sanctions in the future as the HCMC government has urged
implementation acceleration of such projects.
The
implementation process of resettlement projects is slow and only 1,132
completed resettlement apartments have been transferred to residents in the
new urban area. There are still up to 1,993 apartments falling behind
schedule by over four months.
Investors
of these apartments are Nam Rach Chiec Co. with 712 units, Duc Khai Corp.
with 1,080 units and the Vietracimex-POSA.C joint venture with 201 units.
Such
low implementation, according to the city government, is unacceptable as it
wastes money and lengthens the temporary residence of the people.
The
Department of Construction is required to deal with slow implementation of
investors based on signed contracts. The apartment transfer deadline has also
been extended to June 30, 2014.
Those
able to follow the schedule are allowed to keep working on their projects,
while those who are incapable have to return the projects to the city.
Expert:
Home loan rate of 3% impossible
Although
the HCMC Department of Construction has suggested that lending rates from the
VND30-trillion loan package should be slashed from 6% to 3% to support
homebuyers, an expert from the central bank said that the lending rate could
never be that low.
Nguyen
Viet Manh, head of Credit Department under the central bank, told the Daily
that the current rate of 6% per annum is reasonable as it is far lower than
lending rates of commercial banks. The Government can consider revising the
lending rate at year-end but still relies on interest rates on the market.
Therefore, the lending rate of the VND30-trillion package may not drop
strongly.
In
addition, the lending rate is not the culprit of slow disbursement of the
package. Currently, lending activities are facing problems due to low budget
home supply. Meanwhile, many investors have yet to convert commercial
projects into low-cost home projects while verification of residence reality
remains slow, Manh said.
Besides,
verification of income for debt payment is also a time-consuming step, making
disbursement slower. Like other commercial credits, banks must consider home
loan applications carefully to prevent further bad debts.
When
the program kicked off, many people were concerned that banks would focus on
giving credits to enterprises while ignoring homebuyers. However, banks up to
now have disbursed just over VND80 billion for enterprises while they have given
over VND200 billion to individuals, Manh added.
Le
Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA), said that
homebuyers will benefit from lower lending rates but in fact, there are no
foundations for the lending rate to drop to 3%.
In
March, HoREA suggested banks joining the home loan program to reduce
management fees of 1.5% to share the burden of enterprises and homebuyers. If
banks cut the fees from 1.5% to 0.5%, credits from the loan package will bear
a lending rate of 5% per annum.
At the
suggestion, Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the central bank’s HCMC
branch, said that it is difficult for banks to reduce the management fee as
it supports lenders in extending the loan package to borrowers and
compensates for risks. Therefore, the proposal may not be met.
The
central bank has sent a document to five banks appointed to join the loan
program to ask them to speed up disbursement. Up to now, only 1% of
VND30-trillion worth of credits has been disbursed to borrowers.
POS
transactions increase
Statistics
of the Payment Department under the central bank showed that transactions via
points of sale (POS) increased steadily in the January-September period.
In the
third quarter, transaction value via POS surged by 21.9% against the previous
quarter while the second quarter had already posted up a 14% increase.
Meanwhile, transaction value via automated teller machines (ATMs) reported a
low growth rate at 3.7% in the third quarter and even declined by 1% in the
second quarter.
The
average transaction value also increased during the period, standing at
VND4.79 million each transaction in the first quarter, VND5.24 million in the
second quarter and VND5.85 million in the third quarter.
However,
total transaction value via POS in the third quarter was over VND36 trillion
in the third quarter, which is much lower than the VND246 trillion via ATMs.
As of
the end of the third quarter, over 57.2 million domestic payment cards were
issued nationwide versus 5.7 million international credit and debit cards and
the nation had in total over 14,500 ATMs and 119,000 POS.
To
develop a non-cash payment economy, the central bank is studying measures to
encourage payments via POS. The nation expects to have 250,000 POS by the end
of 2015.
EuroCham:
customs reforms needed to back auto industry
Vietnam’s
automotive industry has fallen behind regional countries and will have to
compete with imported vehicles in the future when many tariffs are cut to 0%,
and reforms including customs ones should be enacted to support the industry,
said the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham).
EuroCham
on Monday released the White Book 2014 which was conducted with 800 European
enterprises and included issues concerning trade/investment and
recommendations.
According
to the White Book 2014,
The
automotive market achieved considerable growth in the past five years despite
high taxes but saw a decline last year. This resulted from potential
customers cutting spending due to tightened credit and high fees.
The
inventories of both assemblers and dealers are not stable. To facilitate the
industry, the authorities have lowered the registration fee to 10-15% for new
cars (depending on each province and city) and 2% for cars with second
registration.
Besides,
the report indicates that the Vietnamese assembling automotive industry is
likely to achieve a growth rate of only 3% per year due to the formation of
the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 which will make local assemblers
import vehicles from ASEAN as well as countries like
The
import tariff imposed on completely built up vehicles from ASEAN countries
will be cut to 50% as from next year, 35% from 2015, 20% from 2016 and 10%
from 2017 and zero percent in 2018. This will make imported vehicles more
competitive compared to locally assembled ones.
According
to Michael Behrens, a member of the EU automotive business group, the first
thing to boost the Vietnamese automotive industry is reform customs
procedures.
Although
EuroCham recommended reducing procedures in the White Book 2013,
According
to members of EuroCham, unnecessary additional costs should be avoided as
they increase the retail prices of cars in
Capital
punishment suggested against corrupt exec
Prosecutors
on Monday suggested the death penalty against Vu Quoc Hao, former CEO of the
State-run Agribank Finance Leasing Company 2 (ALC II), for corruption and
intentional violation of the law, causing losses totaling VND530 billion.
The
prosecutor representing the HCMC People’s Procuracy at the fifth day of the
first-instance hearing proposed harsh sentences against Hao for different
counts, including capital punishment
for
embezzlement of State assets, 20-year imprisonment for intentional violations
of the law causing grave consequences, and 15 years behind the bars for abuse
of power when performing public duties.
According
to the verdict, Hao and his accomplices between April 2008 and March 2009
signed ten finance leasing contracts to give loans of over VND795 billion to
four companies, although ALC II as a subsidiary under the State-run Agribank
is not permitted to make loans.
Hao
and other culprits in signing such agreements embezzled some VND140 billion,
but their violations caused losses of over VND530 billion to the State.
In
this court case, the prosecutor also proposed the death penalty against Dang
Van Hai, former chair of the board of representatives of Quang Vinh
Construction Co. Ltd., for similar offenses to Hao’s.
The
prosecutor also proposed jail terms of between 10 to 20 years against six
defendants as former mid-level and senior executives at ALC II, and jail
terms of between six and ten years against executives of other companies
involved in the law-breaking loan agreements.
Regarding
civil responsibility, the prosecutor proposed the presiding judge to force Vu
Quoc Hao to pay VND83.8 billion as compensation to ALC II. The court was also
asked to force Hao and nine other accomplices to jointly pay compensations of
VND387 billion to the finance leasing firm.
The
hearing in HCMC is expected to last several more days.
The
People's Committee of HCM City has approved a six-year (2013-18) project to
send farmers abroad for study tours and training courses.
With a
total investment of over VND4.7 billion (US$222,700), the project aims at
making the city's New Rural Areas programme a success and contributing to the
plan for restructuring its agriculture sector.
The
project is also expected to strengthen the city's integration with the
regional and global communities, introduce advanced farming technologies and
expand overseas markets for the city's farm produce.
Under
the project, between 2014 and 2015, the city will send 100 to 125 farmers and
managers from farms and agricultural co-operatives in
The
study tours will focus on how to build new rural areas; models of economic
co-operation in agriculture; commercial promotion; and measures to link
farming with product consumption.
They
will also cover topics like the building of brands for farm produce, using
advanced methods to produce plant varieties and breed animals.
City
authorities have asked the HCM City Farmers' Association to establish a
management board for the project with the association's Chairman as the head
of the project management unit.
European
Parliament hearing on EU-Vietnam FTA
A
hearing on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement took place at the European
Parliament in
This
was the European Parlimanent’s second hearing on the EU-Vietnam FTA.
Mauro
Petriccinone, Chief Negotiator for the EU-Vietnam FTA negotiations announced
the results of the fifth negotiation round held in
During
the negotiation round, both sides agreed on four contents including the
building of an equal playing field for state and private enterprises,
intellectual property rights related to copyright and author’s rights,
geographical indications, and sustainable development.
Petriccinone
was optimistic about the negotiation process and affirmed that
He
also highlighted
Vu Ba
Phu, Minister Counsellor to
commited
to concluding negotiations late next year, well ahead of October 2014 in
order to release an official statement when the tenth Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM 10) is held in Milan, Italy the same month.
Leaders
of both sides are scheduled to take part in online conferences, and sideline
meetings in order to address technical matters in the negotiation process.
The EU
is also in the process of FTA negotiations with some other ASEAN countries
after concluding FTAs with
The EU
has been
There
is high hope that the EU-Vietnam FTA will help
New
opportunities arising from RoK-ASEAN FTA
Local
businesses should seize new opportunities offered by the free trade agreement
(FTA) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the
Republic of Korea (RoK), said participants in a seminar in HCM City on
November 12.
They
said since the FTA was signed five years ago, bilateral trade ties have grown
significantly, with two-way trade turnover reaching US$131.2 billion last
year.
Vietnam-RoK
trade value had increased by four fold to US$21.7 billion in 2012. However,
they said, the figure has not yet met both sides’ huge potential.
They
suggested Vietnamese and Korean businesses focus on removing trade barriers,
managing product origins and conducting market surveys to take full advantage
of free trade markets.
They highlighted
the significance of the FTA that helps increase global competitiveness,
promote exports, boost economic growth and overcome the negative impact
caused by the financial crisis. As of October 2013, as many as 346 FTAs were
signed, they noted.
The seminar
was jointly held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and
the RoK Consulate General in
Japanese
businesses keen to invest in Vietnam
A
seminar themed “M&A in
This
was part of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan
friendship, and encourage Japanese busineses to invest in
Acqusition
(M&A) as well as Vietnamese businesses to select strategic partners.
He
expressed his belief in
He
emphasized
Vietnamese
ambassador to
Many
Japanese businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises are
interested in investing in
Vietnam’s
commercial bank blips stunt credit growth
Experts
have forecasted lower-than-expected credit growth for 2013 amid mixed results
reported by the country’s commercial banks.
Sai
Gon-Hanoi Bank recently said it was approved by the State Bank of Vietnam
(SBV) to raise its credit growth quota for this year from 12 percent to 20
percent, after its lending increased 8.7 percent in the first nine months –
significant progress compared with 2.7 percent recorded for the first half.
Ho Chi
Minh City Development Bank (HDBank)'s outstanding loans were up about 20.4
percent in nine months and expected to reach 26 percent by year-end. A bank
representative told VnEconomy that sharp interest rate declines, better
financial capacity and rallying business performances were facilitating
lending.
A
Government's October report said about 11,750 enterprises were reopened in
the first 10 months, and the number of newly-registered firms increased 9
percent over the same period last year.
HDBank
said it is offering 1 trillion VND (47.6 million USD) with interest rates of
8-8.5 percent per year to help producers, importers and exporters supplement
their capital.
Some
banks, including Sacombank and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), were reported to
be gradually increasing deposit rates to the 7-9 percent range following
forecasts of improved lending between now and the end of the year, especially
by importers of goods for the New Year season.
SBV
officials said the central bank is considering allowing banks to raise
lending limits at a time when general credit growth is targeting an 11-12
percent annual goal, while it reached only 7.89 percent at the end of
October.
Meanwhile,
nine-month lending growth reached only 4 percent at Vietcombank, 1.2 percent
at DongA Bank and "a few percent" at Vietinbank and Eximbank. Loans
even declined at Southern Bank, Navibank and PGBank, according to Dau tu
Chung khoan (Securities Investment).
Eximbank
Deputy General Director Tran Tan Loc said the bank's nine-month outstanding
loans reached only half of its annual target, although it cut lending rates
for some import and export loans to below the 7-percent deposit rate cap.
ACB
Deputy General Director Bui Tan Tai said enterprises are being more careful
with borrowing decisions not because of interest rate pressure, but due to
weak demand on the market.
"Lending
has improved, but it's not easy to attain credit growth of 1.5-2 percent per
month for the remainder of the year to fulfill the annual goal," said
Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of SBV's
Former
SBV Governor Cao Sy Kiem said general credit growth could reach 10 percent by
year-end if lending progressed well in the fourth quarter. He added that more
Government policies are needed to stimulate demand, although it would take
time for them to take effect.
"The
overall lending situation will be brighter in 2014 when business performances
show clearer signs of recovery. However, the more important thing is still
how to solve bad debts and clear capital flows," he said.
"The
Vietnam Asset Management Company is undertaking an important role in dealing
with bad debts, but a debt trading market is needed for more success,"
he noted.-
Preferential
tax rates to rise for range of imports
The
Ministry of Finance will raise taxes by up to 10 percent for 462 preferential
import tariff lines next year.
The
ministry reviewed 3,425 tariff lines for all kinds of products based on lists
of domestically-produced goods, discouraged imports and the import value of
all goods in 2012.
The
review also takes into consideration its WTO commitment for 2014 and the
import-tax rate. The proposed increases will be on such products as mackerel,
rock lobsters and sea shrimps, crabs, soft shell crabs, white-legged shrimps,
animal fat and oils.
To
encourage the use of Vietnamese products, the rates will rise by 2-3 percent
for domestically-produced materials and by 1-3 percent for imported mineral
products.
The
ministry will also increase import tax rates for imports carrying tax rates
that are 0.5-1 percent lower than WTO commitments. Imports limited by quotas
will surge by 5-10 percent, again to encourage the use of local goods.
The
import rates on another 2,963 imports not produced domestically will be left
the same. They include agricultural, forestry and aquatic products, processed
farm goods, animal feed, animals and plants that are not developed
domestically, raw minerals, basic chemical products and high-tech equipment
that can't be made domestically.
The
ministry has been collecting opinions on the increases from ministries,
sectors, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and associations.-
Private
investors fund number of road projects
The
Ministry of Transport raised nearly 90 trillion VND (4.3 billion USD) from
private investors to build major transport infrastructure projects in
2011-13, officials have said.
Nguyen
Hoang, head of the ministry's Planning and Investment Department, said the
projects include expansion of the
Private
investment has been given under several financial/management models,
including build- operate- transfer (BOT), build and transfer (BT) and public
private partnership (PPP).
Investment
for the BOT projects to expand
With
private investment capital during this period, many transport projects were
built according to schedule or completed early, Hoang said.
Capital
was raised from many sources, including from non-State sectors, for
Vietnam
needs 480 trillion VND (22.86 billion USD) for the 2011-15 period and 730
trillion VND (34.76 billion USD) for 2016-20 to build roads and bridges,
according to Resolution 13 NQ/TW issued in January last year.
State
funds for the transport sector fell from more than 40 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP) in 2010 to under 30 percent this year. The Ministry of
Transport has created many preferential policies to call on private
investment since 2011.
Tran
Xuan Sanh, head of the ministry's Transport Engineering Construction and
Quality Management Bureau, said the transport sector should create favourable
conditions to attract more private investment, even though it had risen
greatly in recent years.
But
experts said that was made more difficult because of current policies and regulations
about the period to recoup investment capital for investors. They said the
transport sector should set a minimum investment level for potential
investors interested in projects.
Legal
rules related to these kinds of investments have not been clear and lack
guiding documents, leaving investors feeling insecure, they said.-
Content
marketing vital for brand success
Content
marketing is helping brands attract consumers by harnessing creative
platforms to promote information, according to Yahoo! Inc's senior vice
president of the Asia Pacific region, Rose Tsou.
Speaking
at the 28th Asian Advertising Congress in
Tsou
also highlighted how much time consumers spent on communications and
entertainment on mobile devices, emphasising that brands could not ignore the
opportunity to engage more profoundly with consumers.
"Recently,
e-marketers have established a poll to learn what is most important for
marketers to think about. Content marketing is number one. For a long time,
the advertising industry has focused very much on creative advertising rather
than just looking at brands and communications in conventional ways,"
she said.
The
industry has seen a dramatic shift in the way marketers approach consumers in
the market place, according to the senior vice president, who said that the
two million devices connected to the internet was estimated to double by
2017.
Tsou
urged participants to set view content marketing as a staple to marketing
efforts in an increasingly connected marketplace, saying that content
marketing would merge brand messages and stories organically, to appeal to
consumers.
"Social
tools will help you share the messages and stories more widely and amplify
the impact. Word of mouth is also very effective to drive more users to
follow your brands. Of course, they will drive them for the purchase and transaction,"
she said, adding that "social marketing is one of core strategy."
Appearing
on Youtube from November 2012, the "
The
marketing campaign, from an Australian advertising agency, snagged a record
of five Grand Prix awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of
Creativity this year.
Taking
this campaign as an example, Google Asia-Pacific chief creative officer John
Merrifield emphasised the creativity and objectives of every campaign.
"If you want your company to be among the top 10 brands in the country,
I think it needs an amazing campaign," he said.
He
said that he did not know how many likes converted into actual sales, but said
these kinds of campaigns would help companies engage with audiences.
Merrifield added that if a brand did not have its points of view, it would
fail to attract attention.
"Did
you make something easier? Did you make something better? Take something that
consumers have already been doing and make that experience better," he
said. "You treat them with respect and bring them into your world in the
way they want to come into. That will give rewards in the future," he
said.
Tsou
and John were among a high-powered medley of speakers who chaired conferences
during the three-day event, which attracted nearly 400 international
participants to the National Convention Centre.
VAMC
buys nearly 600 million USD in bad debts
The
Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) bought over 12.4 trillion VND (591.9
million USD) in non-performing loans from 15 commercial banks by November 10.
VAMC
vice chairman Nguyen Quoc Hung said 23 banks had applied to sell 38 trillion
VND (1.8 billion USD) of bad debts to the company, and application assessing
was underway.
Earlier
this year, the company purchased debts from Maritime Bank, Techcombank,
Global Petro Bank, Agribank, Viet Nam Construction Bank, Southern Bank, Sai
Gon Commercial Bank, Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank and Petrolimex Group Bank.
The
State-owned VAMC was established in late July with charter capital of 500
billion VND (23.5 million USD) to remove bad debts from the banking sector.
It is expected to buy around 30-35 trillion VND (1.42-1.66 billion USD) in
bad debts by the end of this year.-
Tra
Vinh hopes to welcome more Japanese investors
Japanese
investors are ready to set up long-term cooperation with the Mekong Delta
Japanese
Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Hida Harumitsu made the statement at a
November 12 conference held in the city to promote investment in Tra Vinh.
At the
event, the provincial leaders pledged to address weaknesses including
undeveloped support industry, asynchronous infrastructure system, along with
improving administrative procedures and human resources quality to meet the
need of investors.
The
province is calling on Japanese firms to invest in several key industrial
parks and projects majoring in processing farm produce for export and clean
water supply.
Located
130km from
The
locality wants to set up twin relations with Japanese localities in the
context that they are likely to expand investment in
Japan
now ranks first among foreign investors in Vietnam with 5.1 billion USD in
FDI capital poured into the country in 2012 and 4.7 billion USD in the first
three quarters of this year.-
Vietnamese
Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung made the affirmation during a November 12
conference in
He
said currently, the Vietnam-Japan cooperation environment is favourable as
Japanese companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, are paying much
attention to
The
diplomat affirmed that all Vietnamese localities are eager and ready to
welcome Japanese investors.
Speaking
at the conference, which was among activities to celebrate the 40 th
anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties, former Japanese Prime Minister
Yasuo Fukuda held that bilateral relations between the two countries are
growing strongly and stably, and have expanded to people-to-people exchanges.
He
said it’s time for the two sides to boost bilateral economic cooperation,
citing Vietnam’s strengths in attracting Japanese investment, including an
abundant labour force, favourable location and increasingly completed
infrastructure.
Meanwhile,
Deputy Director General of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange Le Hai Tra
briefed the general situation of M&A in
Nguyen
Trung Dung, Trade Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in
Representatives
from many businesses also clarified their trend of choosing partners and
areas of their interest.-
Chairman
of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan has affirmed that
Quan
made the affirmation at a reception on November 12 for Vice President of the
European Commission Antonio Tajani, who is leading a delegation of European
businesses visiting
He
expressed his delight at the growing cooperation between
Over
the past years, the city has also received much attention and cooperation
from EU member countries, Quan said, adding that in the first half of 2013,
the city imported more than 4.6 billion USD worth of products from the EU,
while earning 11.7 billion USD from exports to the region.
Antonio
Tajani stated his delegation’s visit aims to intensify ties in industrial
development, affirming that European companies want to establish
relationships with Vietnamese partners in this field.
He
also stressed the EU’s hope to hold more mutual visits and exchanges to
further promote cooperation in food, minerals and jewellery.
During
the meeting, the two sides also exchanged information related to the
investment environment and cooperation opportunities between their businesses
in fields of mutual concern.
The
latest figures on retail estate space suggest that
According
to the latest report from CBRE Vietnam,
The
gap between the two cities will become even larger in 2015 when
This
low quantity of retail space in
Foreign
companies looking to enter the
“
Both
Starbucks and Burger King are continuing their expansion plans, while Auchan,
one of the world’s largest hypermarket chains, is considering channelling 500
million USD into
Leech
revealed that in March next year, Central Group, a renowned Thai retailer,
will setup operations in
“This
will cause a remarkable change to
A
number of large-scale retail developers are present in
In
Singaporean
retailer Fairprice and Saigon Co.op have also received approval for a
commercial joint-venture and will open two supermarkets named Co.opXtra and
Co.opXtraPlus in the near future.
The
Korean company Lotte has been gradually consolidating its presence in
Vietnam
Business Network inaugurated in HCM City
The
EU-Vietnam Business Network (EVBN) was inaugurated in
Speaking
at the inaugural ceremony, Antonio Tajani, Vice President of the European
Commission (EC) and Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship said the
EVBN is also expected to help EU businesses operate effectively in
The
establishment of the EVBN is within the framework of a project on helping
business players from the European Union (EU) to seek investment
opportunities in
The EC
Vice President is leading a business delegation on a visit to
Also
on November 12, the EU delegation attended a business forum and trade
exchange, where they got updated on the local market and sought partners in
the fields of their interest, such as pharmaceuticals, medical equipment,
food and drinks, garment and textiles, and information technology.
Rice
exports see sharp increase
The
export volume included more than 537,000 tonnes shipped in October, about
10,500 tonnes higher than the figure from the previous month.
The
rice exports to Europe drastically increased by 161 percent against the same
period last year, followed by
The
price of rice exported increased by around 30-40 USD per tonne last month
whilst that of the five-percent broken rice climbed to 365-405 USD each
tonne.
The
surge is attributed to a rise in price of domestic rice exports due to the
great volume of rice exported to
The
export volume is expected to reach one billion tonnes in the remaining months
of this year, raising the total volume of Vietnam’s rice exports in 2013 to around
6.7 million tonnes.-
Tra
Vinh invites Japanese investors
An
investment promotion seminar was held in
Tra
Vinh always creates favourable conditions for foreign businesses, especially
in infrastructure, human resources, and administrative procedures.
It has
a number of projects on support industry, agricultural product processing,
clean water supply, and rice consumption.
With
its great potential for the agricultural, industrial and tourism development,
the province is expected to cooperate with Japanese prefectures and
enterprises who are keen on the Vietnamese market. It already has a
Japanese-invested project with a total registered capitalization of US$48.64
million.
Hida
Harumitsu, Japanese Consul General to
Hida
Harumitsu highlighted the fruitful results of Vietnam-Japan strategic
partnership, noting that
Currently,
Italian
economists appraise Vietnamese market
A
leading economic expert has called on Italian businesses to invest in the
Vietnamese market, and considered a gateway to the
Vice
President of European Chamber of Commerce, Tomaso Andreatta, told The Sun24
hours” that Vietnam has served as an important bridge for Italian businesses
to penetrate the East Asia region, particularly the ASEAN market with a
population of 610 million.
He
said it is high time Italian businesses realized the importance of this potential
market in the years up to 2015 when ASEAN becomes a common economic bloc to
expand trade ties with other major economies in the region.
He
emphasized that
in the
first eight months of the year. However,
EU-Vietnam
Business Network debuts in HCM City
The
EU-Vietnam Business Network (EVBN) has inaugurated its
Addressing
the inauguration ceremony, visiting European Commission Vice President and
Industry and Entrepreneurship Commissioner Antonio Tajani, said the EVBN also
expects to help EU businesses achieve success in
The
EVBN’s establishment is part of a joint project from the European Union’s
(EU) Vietnam Delegation and the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in
Vice
President Tajani is leading a business delegation’s November 12 and 13
The EU
delegation attended a business forum and trade exchange on the same day,
updating their local market information and exploring potential partnerships
in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, food and drinks, garments and
textiles, and information technology.
HCM
City, EU promote business cooperation
European
Commission (EC) Vice-President Antonio Tajani told HCM City People's
Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan at their meeting on November 12.
Tajani
described
Mr
Quan believes Vice President Tajani’s visit will only add to HCM City-EU
relations, especially as it related to industry.
He
expressed delight at recent results from
The
city is home to 364 offices representing EU companies and groups.
The
commitment was made at the sixth session of the Vietnam-Kazakhstan
Inter-governmental Committee on Economic, Trade and Scientific-Technological
Cooperation in
Vietnamese
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang and Kazakh Deputy
Foreign Minister S. Sarubai co-chaired the event.
The
two sides assessed the implementation of the previous session’s minutes, the
Joint Action Plan for the 2011-2013 period, and outcomes of bilateral
economic, trade, scientific and technological cooperation over the past time.
They
also discussed issues affecting their cooperation while proposing concrete
solutions to enhance the linkage in the time to come.
Deputy
Minister Quang said political and diplomatic ties have developed fruitfully.
He
said the visit to Vietnam by Kazakh President N. Nazabaev at the end of 2011
and the visit to Kazakhstan by President Truong Tan Sang in September last
year have created an impulse for further economic and trade links between the
two countries.
and
protection, investment encouragement and protection, tourism cooperation and
judicial assistance in civil and trade sectors, he said, adding that many
others are under consideration.
Deputy
Minister S. Sarubai announced
In an
effort to create a legal framework for economic and trade cooperation, the two
sides have also taken the initiative in negotiating the free trade agreement
between
They
also accelerated cooperation in culture, sports, tourism, aviation and investment,
he said, citing direct flights from Almaty to
Statistics
released by the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade show that two-way
trade between Vietnam and Kazakhstan have recorded remarkable growth with
export-import value reaching US$85.6 million last year, up 176 percent
against the previous year.
In the
first half of this year, bilateral trade revenue hit US$74.7 million,
representing a year-on-year increase of over 200 percent.
Tax
and customs revamp urged to reduce red tape
Enterprises
had asked customs and taxation departments to simplify procedures, according
to an official from the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
The
VCCI found that more than 70 per cent of the 1,500 enterprises surveyed in
2013 complained that customs clearance was too slow, said Hoang Quang Phong,
head of the VCCI's Membership and Training Division.
He was
speaking at a meeting with enterprises on administrative procedures and tax
and customs policies held in Ha Noi on Wednesday.
Phong
said 69 per cent of those enterprises had to wait for over 30 minutes for
feedback on declarations, and needed help to complete simple customs
procedures. The customs department has been targeted with a time of less than
30 minutes.
The
enterprises said one of reasons for the slow customs clearance was that there
were often errors on the e-customs system.
They
also complained that there were often overlapping regulations that cost them
time and money.
Phong
said most enterprises agreed that customs and taxation offices had simplified
some administrative procedures, but a deadline was needed to speed them up
with a clear legal framework to facilitate global economic integration.
The
State should set preferential tax policies for enterprises with an annual
revenue of under VND20 billion (US$943,300) to help small enterprises.
The
customs office should apply IT to clear goods and save time and money.
The
enterprises said the two offices should offer support for small and medium
sized enterprises, and train them on customs and tax policies and
regulations.
They
asked the Ministry of Finance to set uniform standards across the board for
customs and tax procedures. They also asked the finance ministry to increase
the efficiency of the customs and tax hotline.
Deputy
Finance Minister Do Hoang Anh Tuan agreed with the survey, and said that the
customs and taxation sectors had created favourable conditions for
enterprises to solve administrative procedures.
The
two sectors would continue to review procedures and make adjustments where
necessary, Tuan said.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Tư, 13 tháng 11, 2013
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