|
BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 18/3
FDI businesses receive Gold Dragon Awards Seventy-eight foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses have been presented with Gold Dragon Awards and a hundred domestic enterprises have won the title of strong trademarks. Last year, FDI activities achieved significant results reaching a total capital of US$21.628 billion from newly licensed projects, a 54.5% increase against the previous year and much higher than the target of US$13-14 billion. FDI projects also disbursed approximately US$11.5 billion last year, demonstrating an annual increase of nearly 10%. Seven FDI projects have investment capital of a billion US dollars, namely Japan-invested Nghi Son Oil Refinery Project which has raised capital by US$2.8 billion. Samsung is considered the success story of the year. It has implemented two new projects in Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh with a combined capitalisation of more than US$4 billion and is committed to long-term investment in In addition to leading world brand names, such as Samsung, Dutch Lady, Heniken, and Honda, domestic trademarks like Vinamilk, Traphaco, Hoa Sen and Truong Hai were also honoured. The organising board said awardees are chosen based on criteria, such as the quality of products and services, environmentally friendly operation, and their contributions to the local community and the country in general through tax obligations for the State, employment generation, and their social responsibility The Gold Dragon and Strong Brand Names Awards were initiated by Vietnam Economic Times in 2001 and has become an annual event for both FDI and domestic businesses. PM chairs rice consumption conference Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on March 15 presided over a conference in Can Tho addressing pressing matters to provide adequate funding for agricultural rice production and consumption. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported that this year’s rice production output in the Mekong Delta region is estimated at 8.6 million tonnes, including roughly 4.3 million tonnes in winter-spring crop. The current most pressing issue is that beginning in early March rice prices have been dropping and now stand at VND4,400-5,000 per kilo for normal rice and VND4,500-5,300 per kilo for high-graded rice. Participants discussed To cope with the detrimental effects on the market, localities are implementing comprehensive urgent and long-term measures to prop-up support rice production and consumption. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is committed to providing VND8,000 billion preferential credits to purchase rice for reserves and is offering 2-3 year agriculture loans at a 7% rate per annum aiming to encourage the expansion of large-scale field models and application of high technologies in agricultural production. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is actively negotiating to close deals on contracts to export rice while the MARD is accelerating research efforts to improve the quality of rice and production. Int’l experts hail Austrian experts, scientists and businesses representatives have compared notes on They agreed that after the Doi Moi (renewal) process, the Vietnamese economy is enjoying robust growth with significant results. However, such rapid growth causes various problems for the economy. Dr Thomas Jandl from the Dr Thomas Jandl cited FDI capital to He said when the economy develops the Government has enough capital to invest in infrastructure and public welfare projects, such as hospitals, schools and kindergartens, to improve living conditions for local people. He added that Dr Jankowitsch, President of the In 2012, The seminar offered a good chance for Austrian experts and businesses to gain a better understanding about Deputy PM urges businesses to raise standards Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has called upon the Vietnamese business community to modernize technology and improve productivity and the quality of products to conquer both domestic and foreign markets. At the recent national quality awards and Global Performance Excellence Award (GPEA) ceremony held in He asked the Ministry of Science and Technology to work closely with ministries, sectors and the businesses community to devise practical solutions to increase the productivity and the quality of products. Proper measures are need to encourage businesses to update technology and pay closer attention to quality control and raising the standards of products and services, he added. This year’s national quality awards were presented to 82 businesses, including 20 with gold and 62 with silver awards. Two businesses awarded with GPEA are the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) and Traphaco. EU to promote trade ties with Vietnam EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht is scheduled to arrive in In The seventh round of FTA talks is taking place in The EU is also the largest source of foreign direct investment for The EU primarily exports high-tech products, machinery, electronic equipment, airplanes, bikes, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel to It mainly imports mobile phone components, electronic products, footwear, garments, coffee, rice, seafood, and timber products. Fresh impetus for Vietnam-Japan economic ties Japan was the first G7 nation to recognise Vietnam’s full market economy status, a valuable legal and trade appellation with far-reaching implications for the developing nation, and has since become Vietnam’s leading trade partner. The Chief Representative of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in He suggested that State President Truong Tan Sang’s upcoming visit to Twenty years ago, Through the construction of infrastructure such as roads, railways, power plants and ports, Over the past 20 years, From 1992 to March 31, 2013, At a recent press conference, Mori Mutsuya, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Vietnam Office, said that in 2014, Mr Mori added that his statement was made based on the fine relations between He expressed hope to witness The fourth phase of the Vietnam-Japan joint initiative on improving investment environment in JETRO Chief Representative in Hanoi Atsusuke Kawada said that Japanese investment in As from December 20, 2013 In January 2014, Recent JETRO survey on Japanese businesses’ operations has indicated that over 70% of Japanese businesses investing in Statistics from Vietnam Customs show that total import-export turnover between Of the figure, Vietnam Customs office said that \ In a joint statement in 2011, both sides voiced their resolve to double bilateral trade turnover by 2020. Both nations have exchanged the Most-Favoured-Nation status since 1999. Last but not least, on January 21, 2014, Mercedes-Benz expands operation in Vietnam Mercedes –Benz, currently in its second year of operations in Mercedes-Benz Director General Michael Behrens said on May 14 that half of the additional capital will be designated for developing new production lines and the remainder will be utilised for environment equipment. Last year, the German auto manufacturer placed a modernised environmentally friendly paint factory into operation at a cost of US$10 million. This year, the company will introduce 18 new models, bringing the total number of its up-scale automobile models on its showroom floors to 40. Last year, sales of the auto retailer grew by 65%, triple that of the country’s average dealer, and Mr Behrens has high expectations they will continue to prosper this year. According to Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), Mercedes-Benz has sold 381 cars in the first two months of this year. Foreign invested companies in Vietnam MM Company and Dobal Company were presented with this year’s coveted Belgium-Luxembourg-Holland Award for business achievement in The Belgium Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Additionally the Excellent Enterprise Award was presented to De Heus Company. Fresh Studio received honours for its contribution to renovation and sustainable development while Gabor Fluit, General Director of De Heus Company received the Management Excellence Award. Puratos Grand-Place Vietnam has also been recognized for gaining long-term and stable business achievements in the country. The Belgium-Luxembourg-Holland Award was launched in 2011 and is presented annually to promote cooperative relations and highlight achievements by Belgian, Dutch and Automobile parts factory opens in Hoa Binh Nissin Manufacturing Vietnam Co. Ltd. on March 14 opened a factory producing automobile and motorcycle spare parts in the northwestern mountainous The factory, located in Built at a total cost of US$75 million, the factory is designed to turn out 23 million products a year for the domestic market and export. It is expected to gain an annual revenue of US$28.2 million, contribute over US$1 million to the State budget every year and create jobs for 242 locals. Business forum discusses green growth Green growth and sustainable development were key subjects discussed at a business forum held by the Vietnam Economics Times in Participants said that the two trends are key strategies that enterprises should to look for in the future. They stressed that green growth supports enterprises outline their specific short-and long-term development. Participants also noted that the sustainable development should be built based on the foundation of information transparency to enhance prestige of businesses and improve confidence of customers. According to Vice President of the Vietnam Steel Association Le Phuoc Vu, enterprises should pay attention to developing their green growth strategies by building environmentally friendly and energy-saving production facilities. They should also turn any limitation of resources into an advantage, thinking outside the box to promote growth and reduce negative effects on the environment, Phuoc said. Attendees said that it is necessary for the sector to develop production technology that can save energy and seek clean energy sources to reduce environmental pollution. Japanese investment in The Municipal Department of Planning and Investment says Japanese businesses are keen on investing in In line with this information, a report from the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zone Authority (Hepza), a series of For example, Sai Gon Precision Co, LTd in Linh Trung IP, Tosok Co, Ltd, Nidec Tosok, Akiba Co, LTd and Juki Co, Ltd have increased their capital to US$129 million, US$95 million, US$10 million and US$12 million, respectively. Notably, many other hi-tech international companies expanded their investment in Hepza including Roeders Last year, total investment in Hepza IPs peaked at US$608 million, up 47% over the previous year. In 2014, investment in Hepza is expected to cap out at US$550 million, up 10% compared to the 2013 plan. According to the 2013 Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) survey on Japanese companies in Asia and Oceania, 70% out of 435 Japanese businesses currently investing in Over 50% of Japanese businesses listed In 2013, Japanese investment in The survey showed that the Hepza attributed strong FDI inflows in its EPZs and IPs in the early months of the year to the fact that investors are gearing up for the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. In addition, To entice increased investment capital in 2014, Hepza said that EPZs and IPs have set aside 408 hectares of land and 67,400 square metres of workshop areas for investors in IPs such as Tan Phu Trung, Dong The Last but not least, it is incumbent to streamline procedures of granting investment licenses, and conduct transparent and publicized administrative formalities, improve infrastructure facilities, and promote investment in the green and hi-tech industry. The Mexican government has expressed a desire to purchase Vietnamese paddy rice from An Giang province for further processing in its husking factories. At a meeting with An Giang leaders on March 14, Mariana Rodrigue Alvere, Director of the Mexican Rice Council in the Asia Pacific region, said if Vietnamese paddy rice meets requirements on quality and prices, Mexican businesses will purchase it. Mai Thi Anh Tuyet, Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, said An Giang is willing to meet all the Mexican requirements and create the best possible conditions for them to develop material zones if necessary. An Giang will set up a group to monitor prices in order to avoid unhealthy competition among businesses and to ensure benefits to both exporters and importers, Tuyet said. The group will timely deal with obstacles and facilitate Mexican businesses’ rice purchase. This is the first foreign partner that wants to purchase Vietnamese paddy rice, Tuyet emphasised. An Giang annually produces around 4 million tonnes of paddy rice and exports more than 700,000 tonnes of rice to 62 countries in the world, including 22 in Africa, 19 in Asia, 4 in An Giang’s rice specialities, such as Jasmine, can meet the high demand of countries, like A foreign business recently developed a 2,000ha material zone to plant, process and export rice to Protecting the Vietnamese trademark Vietnamese companies have yet to pay sufficient attention to solidifying their business identity through trademark investment and promotion. The view was shared by experts at a March 14 seminar in They held that it is difficult to build a brand name, and it is even more difficult to keep and promote it in the fiercely competitive world marketplace. Trademark protection is only one of the many issues that Vu Tri Dung, a marketing lecturer at Hanoi National University of Economics, said Vietnamese trademark protection in the international market is not strict enough so many domestically-recognised trademarks are infringed upon in the international arena. In recent times, many Vietnamese brand names have been regularly imitated or infringed upon, such as Ben Tre Coconut Candy in 1998, Vinataba cigarettes, Trung Nguyen (Highland) coffee, and Vifon noodles in 2001. Noteworthy is that the intellectual property rights of Buon Ma Thuot Coffee were violated by a Chinese company. Only when the Vietnamese company lodged a lawsuit to an international court, was the situation rectified. Dung said the Government plays an instrumental role in protecting Vietnamese trademark and assisting Vietnamese businesses with legal support. He suggested the Government sign and implement intellectual property rights and trademark protection agreements and protocols, as well as showing its role in dealing with disputes on international market. Laos, The figure was released at a meeting between the Ministries of Planning and Investment (MPI) of Vietnamese Minister Bui Quang Vinh and Lao Minister Somdi Duong briefed each other on their respective countries’ economic situation and evaluated cooperative results in recent times. They noted Both sides have worked closely to timely address concerns to promote development investment. They agreed to strengthen comprehensive cooperation in investment and planning, increase investment promotions in each country, and handle obstacles to joint projects over 2014-2015. They will closely monitor the implementation of signed agreements, including the 2011-2020 cooperation strategy, the 2011-2015 cooperation agreement, and the Laos-Vietnam cooperation strategy in Xiengkhouang and Houaphan province till 2020. Vietnamese furniture companies expand overseas markets Twenty-nine Vietnamese companies taking part in the International Furniture Fair Singapore 2014 and the 31st ASEAN Furniture Show (IFFS/AFS) in Phan Thi Thuy Hang, Director of Kien A Interiors Co. Ltd. said this is the first time the company participated in the IFFS/AFS. The company has shipped its furniture to Also in the first day of the IFFS/AFS, Saigon River Factory Director Peter Arts said this is the fourth time his company has been exhibiting at the event. The company has about 160 workers and needs to expand. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Director of Tan Phu Furniture Co. Ltd, said after each year of participation to the event, its market share increased and more and more overseas customers knew Tan Phu brand. This is the 11th time that Tan Phu has participated in the annual IFFS. Tan Phu has exported furniture to According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tran Hai Hau, many of Vietnamese companies displaying at the IFFS received export orders on the very first day of the show, which indicated that Last year,
Making breakthroughs
for garment and textile sector
Leading economists have forecast a healthy 10%
increase in However, the National Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex) cautions that a number of thorny problems, particularly those dealing with the procurement of raw materials, must be overcome if such an optimistic outlook is to be achieved. The sector is overly dependent on the importation of raw materials to meet its production quotas, which adds significantly to its production costs Vinatex reports. Additionally, businesses are under financial pressures resulting from increases in other production costs such as electricity and transportation, which are even more exaggerated by an increase in the minimum wage that went into effect on January 1 of this year. Further exasperating the sector is the lack of highly trained workers and an uneven distribution of them in regions throughout the country, the report states. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Thanh Son in turn has stated that weaknesses in terms of design and product quality also plague the sector. “To be competitive in the international market, businesses need to overcome these design and quality defects”, Son said. “The goal of becoming a full member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by 2018, cannot succeed if businesses do not rise to the challenge and effectively resolve these issues.” Vinatex also points out that, local businesses face challenges from “black market activities” such as illegal smuggling in the domestic market along with an influx of a myriad of fake and inferior quality products with the phony “Made in These “black market” activities are denting the images of many high-profile Vietnamese garment and textiles businesses and creating a lack of consumer trust in their international consumers. Vinatex’s said its priorities are to maintain an export growth by focusing on increasing the rate of growth in original design manufacturer (ODM) products to 12-14%. Regarding Free-on-Board (FOB) products, the group must optimise orders to bring added value to their products. Vinatex will diligently strive to duplicate a production model in 2014 which has been applied successfully in similar businesses to reduce stockpiles, improve labour productivity and increase the competitive edge of products. To develop domestic material sources, Vinatex said that it is imperative to strengthen coordination between garment and textile businesses and production sectors in order to shift resources of materials among businesses. The promotion of both foreign and domestic investment in garment and textile material will facilitate an increase in the rate of localization and increase the added value of products as well as reduce import surplus. Concurrently, the State should devise much improved zoning plans to support the development of the dyeing and textile industry to produce high-quality raw materials in country. Without good materials produced in Garment sector promotes exports to Middle East According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, there is an increasing demand for products, especially gowns, shirts, jeans and kids ready-made garments from the Experts say products from The industry in the first two months of this year gained a year-on-year increase of 30 percent in export value to reach US$3.2 billion. In February alone, it earned US$1.3 billion from exports, a surge of 44.9 percent. ICAEW forecasts Increased net exports will help ICAEW is a highly acclaimed leading professional membership organization and a founding member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide and the Global Accounting Alliance. The report states that a healthier banking sector in In the next few years, Meanwhile, increased government spending, partially due to the equitisation of state-owned assets, will also pump money into the economy and support higher growth rates. As a result, we expect annual GDP to increase by 5.7% in 2015 and 2016, the report concluded. Douglas McWilliams, Chief Economist of the ICAEW and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) forecasts that Lack of funds chokes social housing projects A shortage of funds has stopped work on many social housing projects for low-income earners in southern Nguyen Khac Son, manager of Son An Urban Development and Investment JSC, said 408 apartments in Tam Hoa Commune, Son said he had no idea when the project would be resumed. Another project to build 500 apartments in the city's Buu Hoa Commune by Minh Luan Co, Ltd is in a similar situation. The VND229 billion (US$10.7 million) project was brought to a halt after site clearance was completed. Figures from the provincial Department of Construction show that seven social housing projects providing a total of about 6,000 apartments had been approved in the province. However, according to project investors, at least four projects were forced to halt due to a serious shortage of capital. Most banks in the province refuse to lend money for these projects due to high risks. Tran Quoc Tuan, director of Dong Nai's State Bank, said enterprises offered their apartments as security for borrowing money, but many lacked capital or were experiencing bad debts. This has caused prices for apartments to spiral, putting them out of range for many low-income earners. Many apartments in the social-housing range remain unsold. Tuan cited apartments built by Son An Urban Development and Investment JSC as an example. Low-income workers and civil servants could not afford to buy housing worth VND500-600 million ($23,500-28,200). Investors have asked the department to help them get favourable loans from the Government and the State Bank's VND30 trillion ($1.4 billion) credit package so that they can complete their projects. The central city's people's committee of Following the decision, only profitable or audited businesses and enterprises without bad debts with any bank in the city are eligible to avail the loan of VND120 billion (US$5.7 million) from the city's budget and the Investment and Development Fund. It means that each eligible business will be offered a maximum loan of VND5 billion ($238,000) once, with strict regulations from this year. However, the loan will be provided to businesses involved in the stable price programme in the city. Loss-making enterprises employing a large workforce will get the loan if they propose their effective production plan or provide confirmation of their tax returns and debt payments in the previous years. The city also increased the budget contribution to the Credit Guarantee Fund from VND30 billion ($1.43 million) to VND50 billion ($2.38 million). Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the city's Small-and Medium-sized Enterprises Association, Nguyen Van Ly, stated that businesses will have more opportunities to get loans from the Credit Guarantee Fund and the Investment and Development Fund. "We propose loans with low interest rates, ranging between 9 and 13 per cent, for small- and medium-sized enterprises, under the city's guarantee and the association, but they (businesses) have to negotiate with the banks for the eligible rates of interest," Ly said. Last year, the city implemented the Credit Guarantee Fund worth over VND100 billion ($4.8 million), of which 30 per cent will come from the city's budget and 70 per cent from banks and large firms. Over 1,200 enterprises, or 10 per cent of the total businesses in The year 2014 has been designated as the Year of Enterprises by the city. 2014 insurance market hopes for booming growth The domestic insurance market is expected to fare well this year, fuelled by economic recovery trend and the sector’s remarkable growth rate of 14 percent recorded in 2013, according to economists. The Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA) forecast that the sector could reach a total premium of 51.63 trillion VND (2.42 billion USD) this year, up 9.7 percent over 2013. Non-life insurance is hoping for a growth rate of 8 percent while life insurance targets an increase of 11.5 percent year-on-year. At the sector’s recent annual conference held in northern Ninh Binh province, Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung emphasised that the insurance market is an important pillar supporting the financial service sector, together with the banking system and the stock market. The market has tapped its role in mobilising idle money in society to reinvest in the economy. The annual reinvested sum reportedly reached 47 trillion VND (2.2 billion USD) in the 2002-12 period, and 105 trillion VND (4.93 billion USD) in 2013, equivalent to 3 percent of the year’s GDP. Besides, stable jobs were generated for more than 350,000 people, contributing greatly to social welfare. Since its inception in 1993, the market has offered a variety of insurance products. Most of them, however, are alike in type. The country’s annual insurance premium has to date accounted for nearly 2 percent of its GDP while that of the regional market was 3.2 percent and the world market, 6.5 percent. Towards this year’s target, domestic insurance businesses need to put forth strategies to further diversify their services, expand their distribution systems, and improve the quality of customer services, Minister Dung said. According to the ISA, management agencies this year continue to perfect related mechanisms and policies to create a favourable legal framework for the development of the industry. Various measures will be taken to step up the restructuring of insurance businesses and foster their mutual collaboration. 29 state businesses pledge on-schedule equalization in HCMC Director Generals of 29 state-owned businesses pledged to equitize their businesses by the end of next year as per schedule in Their pledges were witnessed by Deputy Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Manh Ha and officials from relevant departments. Leaders of the companies have agreed for severe penalties if they failed to equitize their companies on schedule. HCMC planned to equitize 31 state businesses by 2015. Nine of them ran behind schedule in 2013. The southwestern In the 2013-24 Winter-Spring crop, the province has 2,658 hectares of VietGAP rice area, up 568 hectares, mainly in 12 chosen communes of the districts of Ben Cau, Go Day, Trang Bang, Chau Thanh and Hoa Thanh where the pattern of large-scale paddy fields is underway. Vuong Quoc Thoi, director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said his department has supported farmers with guidance in varieties to maximise the efficiency of the model. It has also worked with a number of fertilizer producers to ensure sufficient supply for them. According to the department, VietGAP rice fields have an average yield of 8-9 tonnes per hectare, 2 tonnes more than that of non-VietGAP fields. Japanese investment trends in Vietnam The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) recently announced a report on investment trends of Japanese enterprises in According to JETRO's survey, in the supporting industry, although the localisation rate of Japanese enterprises in Vietnam has reached 32.2 percent, up 4.3 percentage points compared with the year before, this level is still low compared to 64 percent in China, 53 percent in Thailand, 42 percent in Malaysia and 41 percent in Indonesia, said the Vietnam Business Forum on March 13. Supporting industry is considered to play a very important role in the development of Vietnamese economy. But despite the fact that investment in high-quality machinery and equipment is crucial for success, many small and medium businesses have yet to overcome difficulties in this area such as accessing formal sources like bank loans. Yasuzumi Hirotaka, CEO of JETRO Ho Chi Minh City, suggested that attracting only FDI enterprises in developing supporting industry is not advisable, it’s also important to simultaneously develop Vietnamese companies, expanding the domestic market. Regarding supporting industry, JICA also published the handbook on There are two main reasons behind the supporting industry in The first one comes from the banks. According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the credit risk assessment of small and medium enterprises in supporting industry is still uncommon. On one hand, enterprises of the supporting industry are subject to fluctuations in the supply chain of global and domestic manufacturing, on the other hand, the investment in support machinery and equipment requires technical characteristics and specialities which many banks right now are not confident to handle. The second reason stems from enterprises itself. The majority of businesses in the survey share common obstacles such as lack of a good business plan, insufficient financial information and lack of collateral. According to Manabu Tsurutani, Chief Advisor of the Small & Medium Enterprise Finance Programme (SMEFP III), this situation can be resolved through coordination between banks, supporting industry enterprises and third parties such as machinery sellers. Third parties can make up for banks’ shortcoming in giving loans to small and medium enterprises. In return, banks can help machinery companies accelerate the process of credit assessment and apply better loan conditions so that these suppliers can serve customers with better total solutions, including financial solutions. “Handbook on In recent years,
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
|
Thứ Hai, 17 tháng 3, 2014
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét