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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 18/2
Deputy
Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has suggested the southern
Deputy
PM Hai made the proposal at a February 14 meeting with provincial leaders to
review the province’s 2013 socio-economic development performance and discuss
ways to realise this year’s targets.
He
praised the locality for its achievements in the spheres of finance, banking,
health and construction of new style rural areas.
Tay
Ninh has reached balanced growth in agriculture, construction and services,
he said, hailing its efforts in ensuring budget collection and social
welfare, and reducing the number of people in poverty.
The
province was asked to actively seek new opportunities, upgrade its
infrastructure and expand its high-tech processing industry and precision
mechanics as well as increase investment promotion.
Meanwhile,
measures should be taken to tackle difficulties faced by local businesses in
administrative procedures, enabling them and those from abroad to access
loans, he added.
According
to Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, the
area under rice cultivation in the winter-spring crop reached 68,577 ha in
January, a year-on-year surge of 6.5 percent.
In the
face of the complicated movement of bird flu in Ben Cau and Chau Thanh
districts at the current time, Tay Ninh has directed relevant departments to
thoroughly monitor and control epidemic-infected areas, she said.
Quang
Ninh to host Int’l special economic zone seminar
The
The
provincial People’s Committee announced the seminar at a press conference in
Ha Long Cityon February 13.
Managers,
scientists, and international scholars will have the chance to discuss the
30-year global history of cluster models and special economic zones, as well
as the opportunities they present in
Special
economic zones in Quang Ninh will be a particular focus, such as the Van Don
Economic Zone and the Mong Cai Border Gate Economic Zone.
Participants
will also cover administrative formalities, industry development strategies,
investment attraction, holistic infrastructure networks, green economic
principles, and the service sector’s.role in special economic zones.
Vietnam-Malaysia
trade exceeds US$9.1 bil
The
Vietnamese Embassy in
Customs
Vietnam says computers and electronics products topped Vietnamese exports
withUS$1.18 billion in turnover, followed by crude oil (US$916.2 million),
telephones and components (US$654.8 million), rubber (US$517.9 million), rice
(US$231.4 million), and iron and steel (US$198.1 million).
Analysts
expect 2014 will be a more successful year for the Vietnamese real estate
market, after the year began with an increase in the number of apartment
transactions.
In the
first weeks of the year, several real estate transaction centres in Ha Dong
and Linh Dam saw a remarkable increase in the number of customers seeking to
buy apartments and houses costing from VND1-2 billion.
With
many measures taken by the government to solve difficulties facing property
enterprises and efforts made by businesses in recent times, the real estate
market is recording positive changes after a long spell in the doldrums. The
liquidity of the market has increased once again, especially for apartments.
Thanks
to the rosier picture, the inventory level has so far reduced almost 25%
compared to the first quarter of 2013.
The
price of housing has dropped sharply compared to the period between
2008-2010, with many projects having prices cut by 50%, returning to the 2006
price level.
The
department said that the price of apartments in
Under
a programme on social housing before 2015, approved recently by the
government, as many as 125,000 apartments are expected to be built in
The
city has recently finished 18 major residential projects, with eight others
to follow in 2014-2015.
The
main supply sources of low-cost housing in
In
addition, several developments of middle-class apartment buildings, including
Kim Van-Kim Lu, Van Phu-Victoria and Trung Van-Vinacones 3, are also
attracting the attention of customers.
State
to keep stake in equitised SOEs
Leaders
of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have pledged to implement schedules for
equitisation of enterprises by 2015 in accordance with the Government’s
announced plans.
However,
they still expect the State to be themajority shareholder in the enterprises.
Many
SOEs said they have promoted implementation of steps to equitise the
enterprises as scheduled. Yet, the equitisation process has yet to meet
expectations.
Le Van
Tuan, general director of the Vietnam Machine Installation Corporation
(Lilama), said the Prime Minister has approved its equitisation plan and that
it must be finished by 2015, reports Tuoi Tre news wire.
Tuan
said Lilama has set up a division to prepare the necessary procedures for the
equitisation process. Investment in non-core businesses has not had much
effect on the process, but the corporationmust collect debts from some
projects to implement the equitisation activities.
Tuan
said Lilama would still ensure the equitisation is done as per the plan.
Ha
Hung, general director of the Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No5
(CIENCO 5), said the Prime Minister has approved its equitisation plans also
and the State would hold 35% if CIENCO5 shares after equitisation, as
expected by the enterprises.
CIENCO
5 has hired a consulting firm and expects to complete the necessary
procedures in the first quarter this year.
However,
the timing of the initial public offering (IPO) must be considered carefully
to ensure the maximum efficiency in offering its shares, Hung said.
A
representative of the Vietnam Cement Indusitral Corporatiuon (Vicem) said
Vicem expects to finish its equitisation process in 2015.
At
present, Vicem is withdrawing its capital from some joint ventures. Then the
corporation will find strategic partners and choose a suitable time to offer
IPO shares in the market, the representative said.
The
representative also said the State would still be the majority shareholder at
Vicem because many foreign investors want to enter the local cement market.
The market would succumb to the foreign investors if the State is not the
majority shareholder, he added.
Meanwhile,
Tran Quang Nghi, general director of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex),
said the company has prepared for its equitisation programme and has promoted
it at its member companies.
Now,
Vinatex is waiting for the Government’s approval of the percentage of shares
for foreign strategic investors out of the 49% of shares. That means the
State hold 51% of the corporation’s shares after equitisation.
Economic
expert Le Dang Doanh said many industries in
Enterprises
should sell more shares to investors to attract more investment at home and
abroad, renew the management, improve the competitiveness and efficiency of
SOEs, Doanh said.
Equitisation
should focus on attracting good strategic investors and on having large
targets t take full advantage of capital, market and management in the world
and increase efficiency in production and business, he said.
Steel
industry experiences New Year slump
The
Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) reports steel production and
consumption faced difficulties in January due to an imbalance in supply and
demand.
Many
businesses only managed to achieve 40-50% of their production capacity,
fuelling production costs.
Demands
for steel in late Lunar New Year (Tet) declined significantly despite reduced
sale prices. The purchasing power was rather low as most construction
projects had been completed before Tet.
In
January, iron and raw steel output was estimated at 236,800 tonnes, down
22.4% against the same period last year while rolled steel was estimated at
309,800 tonnes, up 16.7% and steel bar 248,700 tonnes, (down 3%).
Some
steel mills temporarily halted production during Tet to save operation costs,
knowing market demands would not increase after Tet.
To
ease business difficulties and and remove barriers, the steel sector should
focus investment in producing steel ingots to reduce dependence on imported
materials.
As of
January 25, the MoIT temporarily imposed an anti-dumping tariff on some
cold-rolled stainless steel products imported from
Earlier
on January 1, the MoIT regulated to apply national technical standards for
steel reinforced concrete, with the aim of protecting the legitimate rights
of domestic producers and customers.
Revised
law prioritises local contractors
The
revised bidding law, which took effect in January, prioritises local bidders,
made-in-Viet
Le Van
Tang, Head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Bidding Management
Department, said that the revised bidding law also helped improve the
efficiency of State capital spending.
The
revised law encourages community supervision in the selection of bids and
contract practices. Individual responsibility and corresponding punishments
for particular improper bidding activities is regulated. These regulations
are made to avoid the consequences of closed-bids.
There
is also a separate part on the bidding process for medicines and medical
equipment purchases that spend State capital, medical insurance funds,
healthcare services incomes, and other legal sources of public clinics.
The
current law also amends some regulations related to contract management in
order to improve responsibilities of bidders and contractors. These
regulations aim at easing practices of contracts that do not suit the nature
of the bids and that may cause waste.
The
selection of investors in the Public-Private Partnership projects and online
procurement are also presented in separate chapters.
The
objective of the online procurement is to ensure information disclosure and
to simplify bidding procedures. This is in line with the country's commitment
to fight corruption and increase the effectiveness, efficiency and
transparency of public procurement systems.
The
revised law also introduces several options to evaluate the bidding dossiers
for the bidding organisers to select, particularly the packages on constancy
and construction work.
And
finally, under the new legislation, all foreign bidders are welcome to take
part in international bidding in
Further,
foreign contractors are only allowed to employ foreign workers when there are
no qualified Vietnamese workers available for projects.
Also,
the new law devotes a chapter on e-procurement and legislative requirements
on information disclosure, as well as transparency throughout the procurement
process and project implementation.
The
law also deals with the imposition of sanctions on violations or acts of
prohibition. Any organisation or individual violating the law will be exposed
in the mass media.
Deputy
PM urges the spread of ‘smart grid'
Deputy
Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has encouraged the nationwide development of
"smart grid" to improve power quality and raise the efficiency of
energy.
On
Thursday, he was briefed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and
Electricity of Viet Nam about the implementation of the road map on
developing "smart grid".
Last
year, the steering committee on developing "smart grid" managed to
set up a system of supervisory control and data acquisition and a remote
metering system at all power plants with the capacity of more than 30MW and
110kV transformer stations.
In
addition, a system of monitoring 110kV grid operator, a mini system of
supervisory control and data acquisition to customers who consumed a large
amount of electricity, and production and installation of electronic metres
were also implemented widespread.
In
this year, the committee planned to boost the efficiency of the power system
and test the remote control centre of Da Nhim, Ham Thuan and Da Mi
hydro-power plants.
Deputy
PM Hai said it was necessary to improve the forecast ability of electricity
demand and power supply and limit the power reduction during peak periods.
He
asked the ministry and the corporation to collaborate closely to urgently
implement the tasks on large scale and need more detailed plans for each
task.
Local
auto makers toast jump in January sales
Amid
an economic slowdown, consumers in one of the emerging auto markets in the
region bought 11,066 vehicles last month, including 8,326 cars and 2,740
trucks, industry group Viet Nam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA)
said yesterday.
The
northern region continued to be the biggest buyer with 3,729 units, followed
by the south with 3,494 units and the central region with 1,472 units.
The
sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV)
registered the highest growth rate of 74 per cent, followed by passenger cars
which saw a growth rate of 9 per cent.
The
latest data, which excludes adjustments for seasonal factors, came from VAMA
which comprises the country's 18 leading car makers.
"This
is the tenth consecutive month when the industry volume has been higher than
the same period last year," VAMA chairman Jesus Metelo Arias said in a
statement yesterday.
Jesus
said with this momentum, he forecasts 120,000 units for 2014, a growth of 9
per cent over 2013.
Besides
the booming demand before Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, attractive discounts
offered by automakers have also helped, industry insiders said.
In
order to keep the market vibrant following the prolonged economic slowdown,
most car makers announced retail price cuts between VND6 million (US$295) and
VND58 million ($3,330).
Meanwhile,
the strong momentum of last year's sales also helped accelerate the January
bonanza. The sales of domestically assembled cars in
The
recovery in demand last year was aided by a brighter economic outlook,
attractive financing deals, price discounts and lower car registration fees.
The
results surpassed the industry group's forecast of 10 per cent growth for the
entire year and marked a strong rebound in one of the smallest auto markets
in the region after years of stagnation.
This
was a decrease of 33 per cent in volume and 55 per cent in value compared
with the previous month, the General Statistics Office has estimated.
However,
the import volume in January is 9.9 per cent higher than the corresponding
period last year, the office said.
The
country imported 34,500 CBU cars worth $709 million last year, an increase of
25.9 per cent in volume and 15.2 per cent in value compared with 2012.
The
rising number of imported vehicles is seen as evidence of restored consumer
confidence following the improvements in the economy.
However,
the number of vehicles imported last year is still lower than the 2011
figures, when 54,600 autos valued at over $1 billion were imported.
The
Viet Nam Transport Development Strategy last year approved plans to have
between 3.2 and 3.5 million vehicles on the road by 2020, compared to nearly
1.65 million at present.
Services
industry grows despite nationwide economic slowdown
During
the 2011 -2013 period,
Despite
challenges from the national economy, the services sector retained a growth
rate of 11 per cent per year, with turnover from the sector representing over
58 per cent of total GDP growth, according to HCM City People's Committee.
Trade
accounted for 22.1 per cent of growth in the service sector, with a growth
rate of 12.3 per cent annually.
Of
that amount, exports gained US$84.4 billion or 8 per cent growth annually,
the same growth rate of the previous four-year period between 2006 and 2010,
which was 8.1 per cent.
Also,
in the trade segment, the commodities sector focused on industrial processed
products and intellectually realised products rather than the production of
natural raw materials.
After
trade, finance, banking and insurance ranked second in rate of growth.
During
the period, the banking system faced many difficulties with slow credit
growth.
A high
inventory level of goods and a stagnant real estate market limited the
success of this sector.
In
2011, finance, banking and insurance grew 23 per cent but fell to minus 2.3
per cent. It jumped to 8 per cent in 2013, with an average of nearly 20 per
cent of total GDP.
Transport
and storage ranked third in the services sector with 11.3 per cent growth
every year and a proportion of 13.8 per cent of GDP, thanks to a series of
transport construction projects that have been completed in
Information
and telecommunications, along with science technology consultancy, all
developed speedily during the period.
For
the last three years, information and telecommunications grew from 16.1 per
cent in 2011 and up to 26.8 per cent in 2012, and 20 per cent in 2013.
The
sector's proportion of GDP increased from 4.6 per cent in 2011 and 6 per cent
in 2013.
Science
technology consultancy retained its growth of 18.5 per cent each year and
improved its proportion from 8.2 per cent in 2011 to 9.3 per cent last year.
Education,
hotels and restaurants also saw positive growth.
According
to the yearly plan, the city will continue to develop its service sector and
in 2015, the city expects to have 57 per cent of GDP from services, 42 per
cent from industry and only 1 per cent for agriculture.
Extra
retail space causes drop in rents
The
increase in retail space is closely linked with lower rents in the capital
city, according to the latest reports of two leading real-estate firms,
Savills and Cushman and
According
to Savills, in Q4 of 2013, some 1 million square metres of retail space was
assigned to 149 projects, a sharp increase of 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter
and 37 per cent year-on-year, while the average rent dropped by 2 per cent.
Cushman
and
According
to the firm, the average rent for outlets on the ground floor of a shopping
centre during the quarter was down to around VND844,000 (US$40) per square
metre per month, as much as 9 per cent lower compared to Q3 2013.
Likewise,
the average rent for a retail podium site declined by roughly 10 per cent to
VND1,306,000 ($62) per square metre per month.
However,
the company's chart also indicates that there is no downtrend in rents for
outlets in the most expensive parts of the city. Rent on
The
highest rent for an outlet in a shopping mall is charged by
According
to Cushman and
However,
Tuna
exports fall despite new markets
Export
turnover of fresh tuna fell last year despite the addition of 16 export
markets that brought the total to 112, according to the Viet Nam Association
of Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP).
In the
fourth quarter, export turnover reached nearly US$112 million, down by 16 per
cent year-on-year.
For
the entire year, turnover value dropped slightly by over 7 per cent to reach
$526 million.
Last
year, export value of tuna declined in all key markets, including
Although
it remains the biggest partner, the
Total
export turnover to the
In
In the
ASEAN market, there was stable growth only in the first few months of the
year. Growth fell near the year-end with export value of $35.5 million, down
by 3.6 per cent year-on-year.
Experts
attributed the downturn in key markets to the high stockpile of tuna in these
markets.
Moreover,
some Vietnamese exporters could not meet the required food safety standards,
which had become more stringent.
Bad weather
and high transport costs were other factors that contributed to the drop in
export value.
Because
of these difficulties, the association said it had modest expectation for
this year's tuna exports.
It
predicted that turnover could reach $550 million, an increase of 4 per cent
compared to last year.
Oversupply
forces cement producers to look abroad
Domestic
cement producers this year will have to give priority to developing exports
as supply still exceeds demand and the domestic market outlook remains grim,
industry insiders have said.
According
to the Ministry of Construction, the country's total cement output last year
was more than 70 million tonnes, while it sold roughly 61 million tonnes of
cement at home and abroad, up 14 per cent against the previous year.
Supply
sources are expected to be higher as five additional cement production lines
with a total designed capacity of more than 7 million tonnes per year are due
to be put into operation in the second half of this year.
Although
the domestic construction material market has, in recent months, showed
slight recovery signs after two years of sluggishness, significant
improvements in purchasing power cannot be expected.
Cement
producers have also faced major challenges as the real estate market has not
rebounded significantly, while input costs are rising. Producers find it
difficult to access bank loans as interest rates have remained high.
Tran
Viet Thang, director of the country's largest cement producer Vicem, said
that most of the country's cement plants had to seek foreign loans to invest
in the business and are still paying off these debts. Due to the 2-per cent
exchange rate fluctuations last year, cement producers suffered a loss.
Dao
Ngoc Binh from Vicem Hoang Thach, a subsidiary of Vicem in central Nghe An
Province, noted that due to the fierce competition in the domestic market,
many cement producers have promoted exports.
Thang
claimed that the country's cement exports last year reached more than 14
million tonnes, the highest ever recorded.
Southeast
Asia and the Middle East are the two main markets for
The
added focus on exports also has an eye on long-term business success, given
that
Many
industry insiders are hoping the TPP can help ameliorate the situation by
boosting exports.
Chairman
of the Viet Nam Steel Association Pham Chi Cuong pointed out that with the
TPP agreement, the domestic construction material industry will be able to
sell more products, while they can import better products at reasonable
prices.
He
said that most Vietnamese construction materials are of average quality, but
even these are needed in some countries. These countries would have to drop
their import tariffs under the TPP, creating an opportunity for Vietnamese
firms.
However,
economist Tran Minh Hai of the
Dong
Nai eyes
In
2014, the
The
provincial Department of Trade and Industry has confirmed that since the end
of 2013, orders, especially from the
At the
beginning of this year, many local companies signed contracts for the end of
the second quarter, the department was quoted as saying in Dong Nai
newspaper.
The
newspaper reported that while exports to bigger markets such as
Experts
predict that in 2014, the demand from this market will further increase.
Nguyen
Thanh Nhan, owner of a timber-based product manufacturer in Trang Bom
District said that in the first month of this year, his manufacturer had
already received orders for the second quarter and that the volume had
doubled, while prices are up 10 per cent.
There
will be more opportunities for Dong Nai in 2014, when the
Le Van
Danh, director of the department, told the newspaper that the improved
predictions for the economy shows there's a bright future for Dong Nai in
particular and
The
department, he promised, would regularly meet local companies to try and
solve difficulties that they faced when doing business in his province. The
province would also provide more information on export activities and any new
credit packages, to companies.
Danh
encouraged local companies to develop exports by learning more about their
standards and information relating to companies that will sign the TPP.
Meanwhile,
local enterprises hoped that they will be able to find competitive suppliers
so that they too will be able to be competitive in such a big market.
Vietnam-Japan
trade hits 25.6 bln USD
Two
–way trade between
Of the
amount,
Meanwhile,
the country mainly imported machinery, spare parts, computers, iron, steel,
fabric and electronic products from
The
Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, which took effect in October
2009, has facilitated the Vietnamese goods, especially farm produce, garment
products, and seafood to penetrate into the Japanese market.
It is
currently Vietnam’s biggest foreign investor, injecting 5.7 billion USD into
the country in the first 11 months of 2013, accounting for 26.7 percent of
Vietnam’s total foreign investment.-
Tra
fish exports to ASEAN surge
Southern
firms unveil ambitious 2014 expansion plans
Although
not being out of the woods yet in terms of economic hardships, numerous
businesses in
Director
of Minh Tien Company Limited Nguyen Tri Kien said they plan to double
production space to meet burgeoning customer demands.
Minh
Tien produces bags and suitcases under the Miti brand and operates five
production lines currently and boasts a workforce of 500 skilled workers and
employees as well as an expansive distribution system with 200 agents and 50
outlets throughout
Kien
said Chinese-made suitcases hold a 90 percent market share in the north and
60-70 percent in the south but often have problems with wheels, handles or
zippers.
“Our
company does not have these problems and we offer customers a five-year
guarantee on our suitcases,” said Kien.
As
well as doubling their production area and procuring state-of-the-art
equipment, the company has a production goal of 500,000 units, up 80 percent
against 2013.
According
to CEO of Thien Nam Elevator Joint Stock Company Tran Tho Huy, the company
managed stable production last year with 328 billion VND (15.6 million USD)
in revenue, on par with the yearly projection.
More
importantly, it developed a strategy to more effectively tap the Japanese
market.
“In
early February our company shipped off the year’s first batch of elevators to
Thien
The
company, which was honoured as a national brand and named a leading elevator
supplier in the country, has set out to surpass 10 percent growth this year.
Deputy
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association Pham Ngoc Hung said
difficulties in 2013 resulted in many firms going bankrupt, leaving the
market open to other players.
Healthy
firms have the opportunity to fill this void in 2014.
One
example is Nam Thai Son Plastic Packaging Joint Stock Company in
All of
these firms responded similarly that fairly stable exchange and lending rates
played a major role in their decisions to expand.-
Military-run
companies see more chances in 2014
2014
is projected to be a good year for military-run businesses, said the People’s
Army newspaper online, adding that although over 60,700 companies went
bankrupt last year due to economic recession, military-run firms are still
seen as a silver lining of the national economy.
By the
end of last year, Construction Corporation 36 under the Ministry of National
Defence entered a list of military investors to start the project to upgrade
two sections of National Highway 19 in Binh Dinh and Gia Lai provinces under
the BOT (build-operate-transfer) investment scheme.
Previously,
the Ministry’s Group 319 became the main investor for the BOT upgrade project
of the National Highway 1A road surface between Binh Thuan and Dong Nai
provinces, and formed a joint venture with the Civil Engineering Construction
Corporation No.4 (Cienco 4) of the Ministry of Transport to carry out the
project to expand National Highway 1A from Thanh Hoa to Nghe An provinces.
Senior
Lieutenant General Nguyen Viet Anh from the Department of Economics under the
Ministry of National Defence said that the above examples showed the great
development of defence businesses.
He
held that last year, military-run companies achieved a turnover of 260
trillion VND (12.264 billion USD) and profit of 39.9 trillion VND, and
contributed nearly 18.1 trillion VND to the State budget, increasing 11.6,
28.7 and 9.5 percent against 2012, respectively.
The
military-run telecom group Viettel still takes the lead with a turnover of
162.4 trillion VND and profit of 34.6 trillion VND, about 39.54 and 27.3
percent higher than the same period last year, and contributed 13.3 trillion
VND to the State budget. These figures are considerably beyond the figures
obtained by the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNP)s. Besides,
Viettel heads the list of the top 1,000 taxpayers in Vietnam.
In
addition, the Saigon Newport Group is one of Vietnam’s leading ports, making
up 65.54 percent of Ho Chi Minh City’s market and 42.87 percent of the
nation’s. Of that, the Cat Lai Port ranks 34th on cargo entrepôt worldwide.
Meanwhile, the Dong Bac Coal Corporation effectively fulfilled all production
targets set by the Ministry of National Defence, added Anh.
As a
result, with the remarkable growth rate, military-run businesses are striving
to win more success in 2014.
Despite
facing many difficulties in 2013, the ACC Aviation Construction Company, Lung
Lo Construction Corporation and Corporations 319 and 789 gained turnovers of
2 trillion VND, 1.6 trillion VND, 3.7 trillion VND and 1.2 trillion VND,
respectively, to become prestigious brand names in the construction sector.
The
recognition of official contractors for projects in the region, such as the
Lung Lo Corporation which has been constructing hydropower plants in Laos,
affirmed the potential and development of military-run businesses.
However,
in order to boost sustainable development in the coming time, they should
improve competitive and financial ability, bring into play the self-control
in operating business, and team up with others, while developing their
dynamism and effectively using money sources from budgets of the State and
Ministry of National Defence.
Anh
stressed that the military companies should also work out suitable
development strategies, apply advanced technologies in production, mobilise
more capital from financial organisations, and well manage and monitor debts.
The
above measures will help them develop their business and speed up
restructuring plans according to Decision 929/QD-TTg signed by Prime Minister
on July 17th 2012 on restructuring State-owned enterprises, focusing on
economic corporations and groups for the 2011-2015 period, he concluded.-
New
resolution aims to cut investment red tape
Many
unnecessary administrative procedures would be cut out when a new resolution
on administrative reform in investment projects is approved by the
Government, the Vietnam Law and Legal Forum Magazine reported.
The
draft resolution, which was announced at a meeting held by the Ministry of
Justice on February 7 in Hanoi, aims at simplifying administrative procedures
in investment projects and improving the business environment.
It
proposes measures to simplify administrative procedures in investment project
implementation, including the abolishment of unnecessary and ineffective
administrative procedures. One-stop-shop policy would also be applied in
investment projects.
Other
measures on administrative procedures transparency would help prevent
corruption and build up trust for individuals and enterprises in investment
and business activities.
The
number of administrative procedures that enterprises have to follow from
preparation to implementation of projects would be cut down from 34 to 22.
Accordingly,
the time frame would be halved, helping individuals and enterprises save
around 60 million USD every year.
Speaking
at the meeting, Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong said the simplification of
administrative procedures at many State agencies remained slow and
unsystematic, many agencies even set out extra requirements for individuals
and enterprises while administrative procedure fees in Vietnam ranked the
highest in the world.
He
asked related agencies to properly address individuals and enterprises’
responses and recommendations on administrative reform and timely tackle
government staff corruption and wrongdoings related to investment
procedures.-
Mekong
Delta to contribute 38 trillion VND to State budget
The
Mekong Delta region is striving to collect 38 trillion VND (1.8 billion USD)
for the State budget in 2014, an increase of 406 billion VND compared with
the previous year.
To
reach the goal, Mekong Delta provinces have accelerated administrative reform
and modernised the tax and customs sectors through adopting state-of-the-art
technology in order to make it easier for taxpayers and prevent tax fraud.
Provincial
People’s Committees have instructed tax agencies to strictly collect money
and handle debts or actions that appropriate the State budget, according to
the Steering Committee for the Southwestern region.
The
provinces also inspected the operation of businesses that have regularly
engaged in international transactions along with amending and supplementing
procedures in granting business liences.
The
customs sector will also simplify its clearance process and carry out an
array of methods in a bid to ease tax fraud.
The sector
has, so far this year, partnered with the Anti-Smuggling Investigation
Department under the General Department of Vietnam Customs, market management
forces and border guards of provinces sharing a border line with Cambodia to
fight against smuggling and trade fraud.
Fall
in January FDI approvals not worrisome
Fresh
foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals tumbled in January after a sharp
rise in all of 2013, but there is no concern about this as the country’s
macroeconomic situation has stabilised. Analysis by The Saigon Times Daily on
February 12.
Last
month FDI approvals, including both new and existing projects, reached over
397 million USD, down 21.9 percent year-on-year, according to the General
Statistics Office.
This
is in stark contrast to last year when new FDI approvals amounted to 21.6
billion USD, up 54.5 percent year-on-year and well above the target of 13-14
billion USD.
FDI
attraction is forecast to be fine this year and the following year as the
macroeconomy has been stabilised.
The
National Financial Supervisory Commission hopes that FDI activities will
improve now that the World Bank has projected the world economy to grow 3
percent this year and 3.3 percent next year, compared to last year’s 2.2
percent, and that investors are expecting to benefit from the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) which will be signed soon.
Over
the recent past, many multinationals have expressed interest in investing in
Vietnam. For instance, Vung Ro Petroleum Company and Rose Rock Group have
struck a deal to develop a 2.5-billion-USD resort complex in Vung Ro Bay in
the central coastal province of Phu Yen.
Hansol
Electronics Vietnam, an affiliate of Samsung, has obtained approval to invest
150 million USD in an electronic components production project to serve Samsung’s
phone manufacturing factory in Thai Nguyen province.
Some
industry insiders said the FDI inflow would keep coming into the country
thanks to its ideal geographic location, cheap labour, a large market with 90
million people and prospects from the TPP and the ASEAN Economic Community.
However,
some experts said that the strong FDI inflow in 2013 was unsustainable, so
the nation may find it hard to reach such a high figure this year unless
foreign investors pump capital into big-ticket projects.
Phan
Huu Thang, former head of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of
Planning and Investment, said the substantial rise in FDI approvals last year
was far beyond the investment authorities’ expectations. Whether the country
can attract more quality foreign investment depends on the competitiveness of
the economy and the investment environment.
Increasing
the competitiveness depends on the implementation of solutions to increase
FDI capital attraction, and use and manage the capital efficiently in the
coming time, he said.
In
addition, FDI attraction also depends on the results of negotiations of the
Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement and the TPP and Vietnam’s ability to
implement its commitments to those pacts, he said.
Phu
Yen provides 22 billion VND for disadvantaged areas
The
central province of Phu Yen has decided to allocate over 21.7 billion VND (1
million USD) to underprivileged communes and hamlets to help them develop
infrastructure and production.
Accordingly,
each of the three mountainous districts of Dong Xuan, Son Hoa and Song Hinh
will receive between 5.8 billion VND and 7.7 billion VND to support 18
communes and 28 hamlets with extreme difficulties. The funding will come from
the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction.
Last
year, the province’s specially difficult communes and hamlets was provided
with more than 32.6 billion VND (1.55 million USD) to upgrade public houses
and build transport and water supply systems, classrooms and markets.
In
addition, the province also invested over 3 billion VND in implementing 10
sustainable poverty reduction models on afforestation, rubber and sugar cane
planting, and cow breeding.
These
models attracted the participation of 173 poor households and employed 370
labourers.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Hai, 17 tháng 2, 2014
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