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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 6/1
Property
sales increase at year-end
Many
real estate investors have been racing to launch apartment and land lot
projects onto the market in a bid to attract homebuyers at the end of the
year.
Nam
Long Investment Joint Stock Company over a week ago introduced EHome 5 The
Bridgeview in HCMC’s District 7, offering 592 apartments at around VND1
billion each.
The
investor expects to launch sales of the project in mid-January but the
introduction event drew much attention from homebuyers. Around 95 customers
registered to buy the apartments.
PARCSpring
condo project in District 2, which is jointly invested by
Around
1,000 customers attended the sales opening ceremony. The investors expect to
hand over the apartments to clients in the first quarter of 2014.
In
addition, Hung Thinh Land Company is going to offer 8X Dam Sen condo project
in Tan Phu District, targeting young customers with stable incomes.
Nguyen
Duy Minh, general director of Hung Thinh Land Company, said that around 200
out of 600 flats of the project will be offered within the next few days. The
condos are priced from VND13.3 million per square meter.
Explaining
the condo sales at the current time, Minh said that customers always have
housing demands, so investors always can find buyers. The crucial point is
that investors must offer reasonable prices and convenient locations.
Meanwhile,
Hung Loc Phat Production & Construction Company has launched the
sale of the second stage of Hung Phat condo project in Nha Be District. The
condos are distributed through the real estate center Nam Viet.
In the
second phase, the enterprise will sell 80 flats at VND14.8 million per square
meter or higher. Homebuyers will enjoy a payment schedule over three years
without interest.
Earlier,
the investor sold 100 apartments of the first stage within six weeks. The
project is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2014.
In
addition, many land lot projects have also been launched to meet demands of
investors. Tac Dat Tac Vang Company has launched onto the market 200 land
lots of ijc@vsip urban area in
Kim
Oanh Company has also offered land lots in
Marc
Townsend, general director of CBRE Vietnam Company, said that the condo
market has seen positive moves after staying quiet for a long time.
The
enterprise’s statistics show that around 1,700 apartments were launched onto
the market in the third quarter of 2013, up nearly 46% against the previous
quarter. Low-cost condos accounted for 72% of the new supply.
FrieslandCampina
helps farmers produce clean milk
FrieslandCampina
Vietnam Company better known for the brand of Dutch Lady has clinched a deal
on fresh milk purchase and cow breeding technique supports with over 4,000
cow farming. The contract aims to help farmers breed cows under three quality
criteria: safe feed, clean water and healthy cows. Accordingly, the
enterprise purchases 240 tons of raw milk from farmers every day while it is
able to control the quality of the milk provided by each farming household.
As per
the technological process guided to farmers, the raw milk is frozen
immediately, securing a low ratio of bacterial counts, shortening heat
treatment time and maintaining freshness and nutritious contents of the
product.
Each
milliliter of fresh milk has to pass strict quality tests for bacteria counts
and nutritious facts such as protein and fat. Before being transported
to the factory, the fresh milk must be free from any antibiotic residues and
toxic additives.
To
meet these strict requirements, fresh milk must be treated with latest
advance technologies and follow strictest food hygiene standards of
FrieslandCampina Vietnam As a renowned business with the Dutch Lady brand,
FrieslandCampina Vietnam has applied serious fresh milk quality checking
process from feed, water and living environment, cow health to breeding
methods and milk cooling. Therefore, the enterprise has ensured that
fresh milk supply in
According
to FrieslandCampina
To
obtain these achievements, FrieslandCampina
Over
the past 17 years, the enterprise has affirmed that its input milk supply has
reached the best quality standard. Besides cooperation with farmers to turn
out high-quality milk products, FrieslandCampina
Banks
shy of unsecured loans
Failing
to collect many debts due to insolvency of enterprises and making provisions,
banks have now been more cautious about providing unsecured loans.
According
to an executive at Dong A Bank, unsecured loans are only offered to reputable
enterprises which have high credit ratings and do not owe overdue debts.
Besides,
the lending limit is lower as banks are concerned over such loans turning bad
debts.
In the
case of collateral loans, banks can handle mortgaged assets in case of
default, while in the case of unsecured loans, banks will have to set aside
sums as provisions to cover such debts.
The
chairman of a small bank said that after seeing banks suing a coffee trading
enterprise, banks have turned hesitant in making loans, even those loans
secured by mortgaged movable assets, let alone unsecured loans.
Meanwhile,
many banks used to be willing to offer unsecured loans to enterprises,
especially to exporting ones due to rapid loan payments and good results of
exporting activities. However, exports are in difficulty and some exporters
failing to pay debts have taken flight.
Besides,
there are many cases in which bank employees are criminalized as borrowers
become insolvent, making the door to unsecured loans narrower.
Sharing
the same opinion, deputy governor of the central bank Nguyen Phuoc Thanh said
that although the central bank had encouraged banks to make more loans to
enterprises by making regulations more liberal, lenders still dared not risk
their capital.
In
addition, though business and production plans of enterprises may look
feasible, it is not certain that such enterprises can pay debts. As a result,
banks have become more cautious in offering loans to those with bad debts and
extending unsecured loans.
According
to Thanh, banks will remain cautious next year. Once banks have not finished
solving bad debts and profit is not their top target, loosening borrowing
requirements is impossible as it will be harmful to both enterprises and
banks.
It is
therefore not easy to get access to bank loans without mortgaged assets.
Besides, small and medium enterprises are no longer allowed to borrow via
credit guarantee funds as enterprises are required to mortgage assets at such
funds if wanting to borrow money.
SCB
launches MasterCard credit card
Saigon
Commercial Bank (SCB) introduced SCB MasterCard to local customers last
Friday, making it the 30th lender in
SCB
MasterCard holders can pay for goods and services in
Besides,
cardholders are able to control their transactions via SMS Banking service
and pay for debts through various channels.
In
MasterCard,
Payoo facilitate bill payments
MasterCard
and Payoo, an online bill payment service provided by VietUnion, clinched a
deal on Thursday allowing MasterCard holders to pay for goods and services on
Payoo’s websites and at point of sale (POS) terminals.
Holders
of MasterCard credit, debit and pre-paid cards now can pay for electricity,
water, telephone, cable television and Internet bills.
Next
year, customers can pay for the services at POS terminals of Payoo in the
country, according to a statement released by Payoo.
Technical
teams of both sides are trying to finish applications enabling bill payments
with mobile phones.
Bill
payment services for MasterCard holders are available at paybill.com.vn and
EVN
awards huge EPC contract to consortium
Electricity
of Vietnam Group (EVN) on Monday cut a deal to award an
engineering-procurement-construction contract worth US$1.36 billion to a
consortium grouping both international players and local partners.
Under
the agreement, EVN assigned Package No. 4 to build the main plant of Vinh Tan
4 Thermo-power project to the consortium, which comprises of
The
value of the EPC contract is US$1.36 billion, with 85% coming from loans
given by South Korean banks Kexim and Ksure and Japan Bank for International
Cooperation, while the balance is reciprocal capital at home. The total cost
for the project is VND36.7 trillion, or roughly US$1.8 billion.
The
power plant, with two turbines, has a capacity of 1,200MW, and is located in
The
coal-fired power plant will be commissioned between 2017 and 2018, able to
supply 7.2 billion kWh each year to the national power grid.
Work
will start on the project in January, and the first turbine will be
operational after 46 months of construction. The second turbine will be
commissioned six months later.
More
hydropower projects to be canceled
The
Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to check hydropower projects,
especially small ones, to eliminate those that are deemed inefficient and
harmful to residents and the environment.
According
to the draft resolution on enhancing management and planning of hydropower projects
discussed on Monday at the online meeting between the Government and
localities, the management of hydropower projects over the past time shows
the loose State management.
With
projects that have been finished but not satisfied regulations on project
quality, dam safety, forest planting, environmental protection and the like,
the ministry may revoke the power generation certificates.
According
to a report presented by the ministry on Monday,
After
checking many projects, localities nationwide and the Ministry of Industry
and Trade have crossed out six terraced projects (395 MW) and 418 small ones
(1,175 MW). Besides, 172 potential locations suitable for hydropower projects
(375.6 MW) will not be considered.
Besides,
provinces have temporarily suspended four terraced projects (208MW) and 128
small projects (915.7MW). The remainder with 149 small projects (1,345MW) and
nine terraced ones (551MW) is being inspected.
Therefore,
there are 815 projects left with a total designed capacity of 24,324MW. Among
these, 268 projects (14,240MW) have been operational while 205 others
(6,198MW) will be put into operation between now and 2017.
According
to the ministry, operational hydropower projects have contributed VND6.5-7
trillion in value added tax, water resource tax and environment fee.
Nearly
40% of the dams of small projects whose capacities are smaller than 30MW have
not been tested and 78% of the dam owners have not prepared flood prevention
plans.
White-leg
shrimp still favored despite ministry’s concerns
The
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has expressed concerns that the
farming area of while-leg shrimp will continue to rise next year, making
diseases on shrimps easily recur.
According
to the ministry, farming shrimps at unqualified places is the cause of
disease recurrence.
Nguyen
Van Nhiem, chairman of the My Thanh Shrimp Association in
It is
because the life cycle of white-leg shrimp is much shorter, as it can be
harvested after only three months, and furthermore, the productivity is much
higher compared to tiger prawn.
Truong
Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters
and Producers (Vasep), once told the Daily in an interview that consumers had
started to get familiar with products processed from white-leg shrimp and the
demand was on the rise, resulting in the higher export of white-leg shrimps
compared to tiger prawn.
“As
consumers of foreign markets still favor white-leg shrimp, farmers will
continue to raise this kind of shrimp for export processing,” Hoe said.
According
to statistics of the ministry, as of end-November
The
shrimp export value in the January-November period was US$2.5 billion, up 33%
year-on-year, with over US$1.2 billion contributed by white-leg shrimp, over
US$1.1 billion by tiger prawn and the rest by other kinds of shrimp.
According
to Pham Anh Tuan, deputy director of the Directorate of Fisheries, it is likely
that supply of white-leg shrimp from China and Thailand will increase next
year as the early mortality syndrome (EMS) has been partly put under control,
and thus when the supply rises, it will push down the price of white-leg
shrimp.
Nhiem
from the My Thanh Shrimp Association said that white-leg shrimp was priced at
VND200,000 per kilogram early this month, equivalent to that of tiger prawn
of the same quality.
According
to the Directorate of Fisheries, the farming of white-leg shrimp was piloted
in
Hepza
says more enterprises shut down business
The
HCMC export processing zones and industrial parks authority (Hepza) says the
number of enterprises in such concentrated production zones shutting down
business this year has still been on the rise.
This
year to date, 20 such enterprises have suspended operations, including 13
foreign-invested enterprises with total capital of US$18.38 million and seven
local firms with combined chartered capital of VND122.8 billion.
In
addition, there are up to 32 enterprises performing business liquidation
before the expiry, including five foreign-invested enterprises, Hepza said.
The watchdog explained that most enterprises liquidating business before
terms have operated perfunctorily or have scaled down business.
Last
year, there were only 15 enterprises liquidating business before the expiry
date.
In its
report, Hepza also stated that 35 enterprises have scaled down business by
20%-30% compared to designed capacities, including 15 foreign-invested firms.
The
dreary business by enterprises in such IPs and EPZs is also reflected by the
dwindling purchase of goods and materials from the local market.
Such
enterprises have purchased only US$250 million worth of goods and materials
from the local market this year, a sharp
fall
of 30% from last year. Meanwhile, their imports of goods and materials from
overseas markets have totaled US$3.8 billion, some 7.3% short of target
although it posts a slight increase of 7% year on year.
However,
the total export revenue from these zones still reaches an estimated US$5.1
billion, a rise of 13% on year.
There
are currently 1,275 projects still valid in EPZs and IPs in HCMC with total
registered capital of US$7.78 billion, including 504 foreign-invested
projects worth a total US$4.71 billion.
Metro
Line No. 1’s last package to kick off next year
Contractors
will commence work on the last package of Metro Line No. 1 linking Ben Thanh
Market in District 1 with Suoi Tien in District 9 at the end of next year to
complete the project in 2017, according to the HCMC Urban Railway Management
Authority.
Le
Khac Huynh, deputy director of the unit, on Monday told the Daily that among
three packages of the project, only package No. 1, a 2.6-kilometer
underground section connecting Ben Thanh Market and Ba Son Shipyard, has yet
to be constructed. The city is organizing an auction for the package and
expects to start work on the project next year.
Package
No. 2 stretching over 17 kilometers along
Metro
Line No. 1 is expected to be just about finished in 2016 and officially start
operating in 2018.
Concerning
fine reduction due to slow site handover, Huynh said that the issue is under
negotiation with contractors. Land handover is expected to finish at the end
of December to minimize the fine.
Given
the contract signed with contractors, the city’s government should have
handed over land at the end of 2012. However, due to slow site clearance, the
HCMC Urban Railway Management Authority has delayed land handover to
Sumitomo-Cienco 6 contractor consortium on many occasions.
According
to a notice on October 25, the city had to bear a fine of around VND2.5
billion each day. This fine has caused big losses to the State budget and
affected the city’s prestige in the eyes of donors and foreign contractors.
The
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Tuesday signed agreements
with the Ministry of Finance to lend US$447 million to two infrastructure
projects in the country.
The
loans will be used for construction of the Mai Dich-Nam Thang Long section of
The
signing of the official development assistance (ODA) loans is the outcome of
a diplomatic note exchange between the two nations during Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung’s official visit to
Speaking
at the signing ceremony, JICA chief representative Mutsuya Mori said
This
is the 21st consecutive year the Japanese Government has provided ODA for
Binh
Thuan wants
TKV,
or Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group, had been licensed to
build the seaport specially designed for transporting alumina for export, but
the group relinquished the project early this year citing low feasibility.
The Government has approved TKV’s stance to temporarily shelve the project.
Le
Tien Phuong, chairman of
The
status quo of the seaport project if further extended will be costly and make
it difficult for the provincial government in allocating land to 12 tourism
project owners whose land plots had been recalled to make room for the
seaport project, Phuong said at the meeting.
“
Deputy
Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at the meeting asked the Ministry of Industry
and Trade to make a full report on the issue for the Government’s
consideration.
TKV
after several times delaying construction kickoff on the seaport project made
an abrupt announcement early this year to indefinitely put it on hold. The
group said the construction of a deep-water seaport at
The
total cost for the seaport project, according to TKV, would amount to VND8
trillion, or nearly US$400 million, a colossal sum at a time of big economic
challenges like now.
Earlier,
12 resort projects around Ke Ga Cape in
The
cost of damages, according to project owners in a letter of complaint in
2012, amounted to VND800 billion. By April 2008 when the provincial
government forced resort projects to suspend operation or construction, only
one project had been put into operation while the others, some of them
large-scale ones, were either nearing completion or under construction.
Samsung
eyes Vung Ang III power project
Representatives
of the South Korean group Samsung had a working session with the government
of Ha Tinh Province last week on the investment plan of Vung Ang III thermal
power center.
A
source of the provincial government told the Daily that Samsung planned to
invest in Vung Ang III.1 and Vung Ang III.2 power centers having a total
capacity of 2,400MW. Samsung looks for Ha Tinh Province’s support to soon
have a decision of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and then take the next
steps.
According
to the source, Samsung has studied six locations to develop coal-fired
thermal power projects and intends to choose Vung Ang as it is the best site
among the places Samsung has inspected in
On
October 14, Samsung wrote to the Ministry of Industry and Trade informing its
intent to invest in Vung Ang III thermal power center.
After
inspecting several power projects such as Quynh Lap 2 in Nghe An Province,
Quang Trach 2 in
Having
a capacity of 2,400MW, Vung Ang III was previously proposed to be split into
smaller projects to quicken implementation.
Samsung’s
commitment to investing in
The
memorandum of understanding opens up many opportunities for Samsung to
participate in projects in other sectors like power, shipbuilding, airport,
oil refinery and information technology besides pouring billions of dollars
in electronic and cell-phone projects.
Jewelry
sells well at year-end
While
demand for gold bars remains low, the jewelry market has heated up due to
falling gold prices and strong demand during the wedding and holiday seasons
at the year-end.
Nguyen
Ngoc Trong, sales director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Company (PNJ), said that now
is the high season for jewelry purchase, prompting PNJ to launch new products
to meet customer demands. Over the past two months, jewelry sales at PNJ have
jumped by 30%.
Trong
said that the jewelry market has seen positive improvements compared to the
same period last year. Total sales in the last two months are expected to
increase 20% year-on-year.
As
gold prices have strongly declined in 2013, many consumers have calculated to
buy jewelry to wear or to keep as a family heirloom, he added.
In
addition, jewelry demands have also picked up during the wedding season at
the year-end. PNJ has sold a lot of jewelry sets as wedding presents in
recent times.
Meanwhile,
Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) has focused on jewelry production and business
since last year. Currently, the enterprise is speeding up advertising for SJC
Diagold brand.
Pham
Quoc Dung, director of the high-class brand, said that launching the brand
amid the high season has helped raise sales of the products.
However,
commenting on the jewelry consumption at SJC in the fourth quarter, Dung said
that revenue has increased strongly compared to the first half of 2013 but is
only equal to the same period of 2012.
However,
jewelry sales would keep on rising until the end of the first quarter of 2014
thanks to Lunar New Year, or Tet, Valentine’s Day and International Women’s Day,
he said.
Meanwhile,
the gold bar market has seen buying power weakening since early this year.
Nguyen
Cong Tuong, SJC’s deputy sales director, said that buying power has
contracted around 60% this year even though gold prices have tumbled.
As the
world economy is expected to recover next year, gold is no longer a safe
haven for investors. People are turning their back on gold as they fear
further price declines.
Most
financial institutions predict gold prices to oscillate between US$1,250 and
US$1,300 an ounce in 2014. Gold prices have averaged out at US$1,350 an ounce
this year.
Trong
of PNJ said that the enterprise has sold 300 to 400 gold taels each day this
month compared to last year’s figures from 800 to 1,000 taels.
SJC on
Tuesday quoted gold prices at VND35 million and VND35.1 million a tael for
buying and selling respectively. Meanwhile, the price of the precious metal
dropped US$5 to below US$1,200 an ounce on the
Local
gold prices were around VND4.5 million higher than the world price for a
tael. The gap was VND4 million a tael early last week.
Chevron
explores business opportunities in south
Chevron
Lubricants Vietnam Limited is sounding out business opportunities in southern
Le Van
Khai, general director of Chevron Lubricants Vietnam Limited, told the Daily
that the company had invested some US$1 million in enhancing the production
line and storage capacity of its factory in the northern port city of
The
company, which is marketer of the Caltex Delo and Havoline brands of engine
oils, lubricants and coolants, has commissioned the factory in Dinh Vu
Industrial Zone for years, with an annual designed production capacity of 15
million liters of lubricants. This is one of the reasons why the company has
gained a more solid stance in the north than in the south.
To
further tap into the south, Khai said Chevron Lubricants Vietnam would spend
more on marketing and building a strong distribution network in the southern
market in order to reach out to more customers.
Khai
said that the company would hire more employees for expansion in the south.
“We
see more opportunities to expand our business in different segments, from
cars to motorcycles in the south in 2014,” Khai said. “Cars are the market
segment for future growth.”
The
expansion plan of Chevron Lubricants Vietnam is supported by economic
indicators and the recent move of HCMC authorities to slash the registration
fees from the current 15% to 10% on under-ten-seat vehicles effective on
January 1.
With
the lower registration fee together with changes in tax policies as well as
economic recovery, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA)
expected auto sales could reach 109,000 units this year, which are much
higher than the some 93,000 units sold last year.
Khai
said despite challenges,
FDI
approvals higher than expected
The
nation’s fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals had amounted to
US$21.6 billion in the year to mid-December, a year-on-year pickup of 54.5%,
beating the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s earlier forecast.
According
to the General Statistics Office (GSO), there were nearly 1,300 new projects
licensed with total registered capital of US$14.3 billion, up 70.5%
year-on-year and 472 operational projects got approval to inject an extra
US$7.3 billion, up 30.8%.
The
Ministry of Planning and Investment’s 2013 FDI target is only US$14 billion.
GSO has yet to gather data about the projects whose investment licenses have
been issued this month by provincial authorities.
FDI
disbursements are estimated at US$11.5 billion this year, a 9.9% year-on-year
increase. The figure was slightly higher than the ministry’s target at around
US$10.5-US$11 billion.
Industrial
processing and manufacturing remained the most attractive sector with US$16.6
billion, accounting for 76.9% of total FDI approvals. Power generation and
distribution, gas and water supply, and air conditioning followed with US$2
billion, accounting for 9.4% of total FDI capital. The other sectors
accounted for 13.7% with US$3 billion.
Notably,
more foreign capital is flowing into other provinces than HCMC,
Among
50 nations and territories with new investment licenses in
Many
factories in the Mekong Delta now are suffering live tra fish undersupply
which may badly affect the country’s exports from now until next year,
according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers
(Vasep) and local processors and exporters.
Numerous
tra fish processing factories in the delta are currently struggling to
maintain operation owing to the shortage of materials, Duong Ngoc Minh, vice
chairman of Vasep, said. The undersupply will continue into the first months
of 2014, he forecast.
Vasep
had earlier forecast tra fish export value to decline by some 5% next year
compared to 2013 as material supply is decreasing and seafood companies have
still found it hard to ask for bank loans.
According
to local exporters, there are around 70 tra fish processing plants in the
delta and less than 30 of these plants have material supplying zones that are
only able to provide a part of necessary materials. Plenty of factories in
the region, meanwhile, still depend on supply from farming households while
multiple farmers are also currently mired in troubles.
Nguyen
Ngoc Hai, head of Thoi An Cooperative in Can Tho City, reported that lots of
members in the cooperative had abandoned farming areas in the context that
enterprises have failed to pay them, while banks have stopped lending to tra
fish farming and the production cost is higher than the selling prices.
The
director of a tra fish exporting company who declined to be named told the
Daily that many farming households as the partners of his firm have been
confronted with countless difficulties this year.
“Given
business difficulties, our company has had to manage to make profits to pay
dividends to shareholders and pay Tet bonuses to workers instead of sharing
difficulties with the associated farmers and providing them feed purchasing
money like in previous years,” he explained.
Tra
fish exports brought home some US$1.7 billion in 2012, dipping 3.4%
year-on-year, and are expected to reach US$1.8 billion this year, the Vietnam
Directorate of Fisheries reports.
VASEP
concerned about shrimp farming rise
The
country’s shrimp export sector has been faring well but the Vietnam
Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has expressed concerns
about an uncontrolled expansion in the farming of white-legged shrimp.
VASEP
general secretary Truong Dinh Hoe told the Daily that strong growth in shrimp
cultivation could help meet market demand. However, if shrimp farming spirals
out of control, farmers and enterprises will suffer losses due to an
oversupply.
The
Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries has warned that shrimp prices might drop
next year when the shrimp farming sector in
Therefore,
the Government should ask farmers to choose suitable farming methods, follow
planning and get updates about market demands to adjust farming in an
appropriate manner, Hoe said.
Recently,
the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries has set up a working team to inspect
production facilities and breeding shrimp providers. The State should
strengthen control of imported breeder shrimps; otherwise, substandard
breeder shrimps could cause heavy losses to farmers, Hoe said.
VASEP
expects that seafood exports in 2014 would be strong as global demand would
continue growing. This year, shrimp export value is projected to rise 30%
from a year ago to US$3 billion.
According
to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, thanks to strong growth
in the shrimp farming area, white-legged shrimp exports have surpassed those
of tiger shrimp in terms of volume and value this year.
By the
end of November, Ben Tre, Long An and Tra Vinh provinces had reported pickups
of 30-50% in white-legged shrimp output against the same period of 2012. In
VASEP’s
data show that white-legged shrimp exporters fetched nearly US$980 million in
the Jan-Sept period in 2013, up by 85% year-on-year. Meanwhile, tiger shrimp
export value only rose 4.8% to US$943 million.
Shrimp
farmers and enterprises have also gained strong profits thanks to high prices
this year. According to Long An Province’s Department of Agriculture and
Rural Development, white-legged shrimp is around VND140,000-150,000 per kilo,
enabling farmers to earn around VND100-150 million per hectare.
Rural
farmers cash in on cocoa market surge
In
Although
cocoa is still only one of seven top agricultural plants in the region, the
newly imported plant has spread far and wide in a place where cashew nuts and
coffee were previously seen as the mainstay of the province's agricultural
industry.
With
surging demand from Asia and shrinking production in West Africa, a global
shortfall in cocoa output of around 160,000 tonnes in 2013 and about 1
million tonnes will occur by 2020, according to Dinh Hai Lam, cocoa
development manager at MARS Incorporated.
With
multinational companies the likes of Cargill and Mars wanting to grab their
slice of Viet Nam's emerging cocoa industry, despite it yielding only 6,700
tonnes of beans per year, an opportunity has emerged for Dak Lak farmers to
cash in on this market driven frenzy and dramatically to improve their
standard of living.
For
Hbim Kbrong, a M'Nong woman in Yang Tao Commune's
In the
sand-laden area of Yang Tao commune in LaK District, locals used to depend on
short-term plants like corns or cassava to supplement poor returns from
coffee. However, all this has changed since cocoa was introduced through the
Sustainable Cocoa Enterprise Solutions for Smallholders (SUCCESS)
The
programme, a public-private partnership driven by USAID, USDA, the World
Cocoa Foundation, Mars Inc. and ACDI/VOCA, provided Hbim's family and nearly
40 others between 150 and 200 young cocoa plants each, fertiliser and
technical training on how to grow cocoa plants.
After
just three years, her cocoa garden was providing 400 kilos of dried-cocoa
beans. She sold the beans and received more than VND22.4 million
(approximately US$1,060) for her efforts.
"That
was the most money I'd ever had at that moment," said Hbim.
Hbim's
life has improved in leaps and bounds from that moment thanks to a regular
source of income from cocoa. She says that her family used to ‘live in
misery' when they had to collect firewood and bamboo shoots from the forest
and trade them for rice in the dry season.
"The
cocoa usually provides beans for 9-10 months a year. Now, I have a regular
source of income to buy food, clothes, meat and fish for my family. My son
can go to school and I have time to participate in community social
activities such as the commune's women's and farmer's unions," said
Hbim.
Hbim
said she received more than VND70 million ($3,300) from her 400 cocoa plants
in 2012 and her family's income will double in coming years when all 900
cocoa plants start producing beans.
She
has managed to save VND125 million ($6,000) to build a house, pay for her
daughter's wedding and buy more land for her cocoa garden.
Hbim's
family is one of 80 households (approx. half of the commune) who have escaped
poverty thanks to cocoa farming.
But
Hbim hasn't stopped there. She is also now leader of the commune's cocoa
growing club, organising monthly meetings to discuss cocoa growing techniques
and share valuable knowledge.
In Lak
Commune there are now 262 hectares of cocoa land belonging to 45 cocoa clubs
with more than 2,100 participating farmers.
The
impetus to raise incomes has also led to innovations in growing hybrid crops,
with farmers in neighbouring Eakar district planting cocoa trees alongside
cashew nuts.
The
model has showed remarkable results with 200 members now growing 350ha of
cocoa and cashew nuts in hamlet 12 alone. In 2013, the district harvested 80
tonnes of dried cocoa beans.
"No
other plants beside cocoa would be planted in cashew nut gardens. Cocoa
plants have doubled my income to VND60 million ($2,900) per hectare,"
said co-operative chairman Thai Xuan Quang.
"Coffee
is still the number one plant in Dak Lak. However, cocoa has showed it's a
strong competitor when it is grown alongside other plants or in small
plots," said the province's agriculture and rural development deputy
director Huynh Quoc Thich.
Thich
highlights an important point that Dak Lak still faces difficulties
developing cocoa farming due to a shortage of land, capital and technical
support for farmers with no experience growing the plant.
In
spite of this, there are positive signs this plant will continue to make it's
mark on Dak Lak. The province currently has 2,500ha of cocoa and there is
even a master plan for 6,000ha of cocoa farming to be implemented by 2015.
The
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Cultivation Department has
also recently said cocoa farming has increased from 9,000ha in 2007 to more
than 22,000ha across the country, with growth mainly concentrated in the
Central Highlands, south-eastern and Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces.
"It
presents a great opportunity for Viet Nam to become one of the world's major
cocoa suppliers. There are opportunities here for all cocoa growers,"
said Lam.
Vietnam
ships first batch of canned quail eggs to Japan
A
quail breeding farm and a fruit exporter in Tien Giang have joined hands to
export their first batch of quail eggs to Japan, a sweet result of their
four-year effort to meet all requirements of the strict East Asian market.
Nguyen
Ho Farm and Tien Giang Food Corp said a container of some 1.3 million canned
quail eggs are arriving in Japan, and they are hurriedly preparing for the
second shipment to be completed before the Lunar New Year.
Tran
Nguyen Ho, owner of the farm, said there is huge demand for canned quail eggs
in Japan.
In
Japanese cuisine, quail eggs are sometimes eaten raw or cooked to make
tamago, a type of omelette made by rolling together several layers of cooked
egg often found in sushi and bento lunches. They are also common in ramen
dishes.
But Ho
admitted that the export volume is modest because his farm is the only
Vietnamese facility that meets the Japanese partner’s requirements, which he
deemed “a great pity.”
The
farm owner said it took the two countries four years, with a number of
working sessions and intense supervisions and checks, to settle the first
shipment.
One of
the requirements is that the yolk should be exactly in the middle of the egg
rather than on the left or right side.
Steel
consumption seen growing 3-5% in 2014
As
industries with big demands for steel such as shipbuilding, auto, mechanical
engineering and construction will not prosper in 2014 as predicted, next
year’s total steel sales will be only 12.2-12.5 million tons, a year-on-year
rise of 3-5% only, said Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of the Vietnam Foundry &
Metallurgy- Science and Technology Association.
In a
report on the steel industry’s prospects in 2014 sent to the Daily on
Thursday, Cuong, who is also former chairman of the Vietnam Steel
Association, estimated the country’s economy to change for the better next
year owing to State macroeconomic policies.
However,
such policies have yet to tackle the current difficulties of local firms,
with next year’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth projected at only 5.8%,
meaning the deployment of new investment projects will be limited, he
remarked.
The
real estate market will still be frozen as the demand stimulus package worth
VND30 trillion has failed to prop up the market, Cuong said.
Other
major steel consumers such as shipbuilding, auto manufacturing and mechanical
engineering are still far from prosperity, so steel consumption will barely
increase next year, he noted. The sales volume of steel products is forecast
to total 11.8 million tons in 2013.
Total
designed production capacity of the local construction steel segment amounts
to 11.3 million tons annually while its operational capacity is seven million
tons a year, Cuong reported.
Local
construction steel sale volume posts nearly five million tons this year, falling
about 500,000 tons compared to the 5.5 million tons recorded in 2012.
As the
local steel demand is to remain low next year, domestic companies will
continue facing fierce competition and more enterprises will have no other
choice but to close production when failing to compete with others with
higher capacity and lower production costs.
Banks
target familiar clients to boost credit
Instead
of offering cheap loans to all potential clients to simulate credit growth as
had been done in 2012, commercial banks towards the end of this year are
instead targeting clients with specific credit packages.
LienVietPostBank
agreed to provide a VND2 trillion ($95 million) loan for the
PetroVietnam-invested Vung Ang 1 Thermal Power Plant this month.
Vietcombank
and SeABank this month signed a credit agreement worth $150 million with
Petrovietnam Exploration and Production Corporation. Vietcombank will provide
83.5 percent of the funding with the remaining $24.75 million covered by
SeABank.
TPBank
signed an agreement providing VND2 trillion ($95 million) to Vietnam Railways
to bolster the company’s working capital.
Sacombank,
Agribank, MHB, OCB, Military Bank, ACB, NamABank, Navibank, VietinBank and
DongABank also granted VND289 billion ($13.7 million) to 34 enterprises in Ho
Chi Minh City’s Go Vap district alone.
While
this is by no means a new approach, targeted credit packages have become more
common this year. At the end of last year, to meet the greater year-end
demand for capital, many banks offered VND1 trillion-VND10 trillion ($47.5
million-$475 million) in loans at 7-9 per cent interest. However,
disbursement was slow as many firms could not afford to take on extra debts.
According
to experts, targeting specific customers with real need for capital will help
banks ensure their credit growth for the future. The agreements are also
often characterised by long-term mutual benefits, including the banks
providing additional financial services.
In
addition, this closer co-operation means greater trust and the likelihood
that banks will be inclined to extend credit to other projects.
When
talking about the recent PetroVietnam-LienVietPostBank credit agreement,
PetroVietnam’s chairman Phung Dinh Thuc said this was the first project
between the state-run oil and gas giant and the bank. PetroVietnam was
implementing several petrochemical, industrial gas and electricity projects
and LienVietPostBank would act as one of the group’s most important financing
partners.
However,
Dang Ngoc Ha, strategy deputy director of VietA Bank said the approach might
meant that capital would fail to be allocated effectively if banks tended to
only focus on major clients, especially enterprises with close relationships
to the banks.
However,
Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Binh praised the move,
claiming credit growth might hit 10 per cent by the end of the year.
The
Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) also bought nearly VND35 trillion
($1.66 billion) of non-performing loans (NPLs), which had acted as a barrier
for credit growth. “The purchase of NPLs, together with efforts to
restructure debts and settle NPLs via greater risk provision has contributed
to GDP growth of 5.4 per cent this year,” said Binh.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Chủ Nhật, 5 tháng 1, 2014
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