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BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 8/8
Canada
conducts investigation on Vietnam’s OCTG
The Canadian
International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has initiated a preliminary investigation
on anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariff on certain oil country tubular goods
(OCTG) from several countries, including
The Competition
Management Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on August
6 that CITT decided to conduct the investigation after it received a report
from the Canada Border Services Agency on carrying out the anti-dumping price
and anti-subsidy investigation on OCTG imported from some countries,
including
Those who want to
take part in the investigation are required tosend their application to CITT
before August 5. List of participants will be announced on August 8.
Submissions by
those in opposition to the lawsuit must be sent not later than August 21,
2014 and plaintiff can submit its documents to the respondents no later than
August 29.
CITT is scheduled
to give preliminary decision on October 19, 2014.
Ms Leow Siu Lin
said that his nation’s investment and cooperative projects such as
Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) have become a symbol of
bilateral effective economic cooperation.
Nguyen Thanh
Rum,Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association President in
Positive
signal for Vietnamese handicraft exports
The export value of
handicraft products in the first half of this year reached nearly US$900
million, an increase of about 10% compared to the same period last year, the
Vietnam Economic News (VEN) reported, citing figures released by the Vietnam
Handicraft Exporters Association (Vietcraft).
The
Vietcraft General
Secretary Le Ba Ngoc said that BRICS countries have strongly developed in
recent years and this block would create a potential market of the handicraft
sector.
Furthermore, thanks
to favorable geographical location,
Ngoc also added
that orders from
To promote
advantages and increase export turnover, Ngoc recommended that small scale
enterprises should focus on mid-market segment in accordance with its
production capacity, raw materials and skilled workers. In addition,
expanding the market and improving the competitiveness are needed.
“To promote exports
to the BRICS block, in August, Vietcraft will send delegations to
According to Hanoi
Industry Promotion Centre Director Hoang Xuan Thuy, Vietnamese businesses
should register the copyright, contributing to protecting their design and
avoiding replication.
Dung Quat
EZ attractive to RoK investors
Companies from the
The RoK is one of
the largest investors in the EZ. Most notably, Doosan Group has invested more
than US$300 million to construct five factories specialising in producing
steam boilers.
Korean Hanwha Group
erected an asphalt factory in the EZ while Ulsan Industrial Centre investors
recently announced plans to install state-of-the-art machinery and equipment
in a modernised facility.
Le Van Dung, deputy
head of the zone’s management board said they have gone to great lengths to
support companies’ efforts to locate highest quality labour resources and get
them in contact with vocational training schools in the province.
The province also
hired a Japanese consulting agency to assist in planning the Dung Quat deep
water port No 2 with a capacity to handle over 300,000 tonne container
vessels, meeting the demand for development of the local heavy industry.
Local
company exports ocean tuna to Japan
Binh Dinh Fishery
Joint Stock Company (Bidifisco) and Japanese Kato Hitoshi General Office Co
Ltd (Kato Office) have signed a contract to export ocean tuna to
In accordance with
the terms of the contract, the Kato Office will act as a distributor of ocean
tuna products in auction centres and seafood chains of Kato’s partners.
As scheduled,
Bidifisco will send the first shipment of tuna to
Previously,
Bidifisco had inked contracts to buy ocean tuna with five Japanese fishing
boats using advanced technology.
From late July to
early August, the fishing vessels have caught 54 ocean tuna with an average
weight of 40-50 kilogram’s each.
LienVietPostBank
pledges to finance Tuan Chau projects
LienVietPostBank
will consider lending VND10 trillion to Tuan Chau Group’s projects in the
country as part of a comprehensive cooperation deal the two sides clinched in
The group will lend
to Tuan Chau’s infrastructure, tourism and technology projects with a focus
on those in
According to a
statement released on August 4, the deal aims to tap the strengths of both
sides and contribute to development of
LienVietPostBank
has strongly expanded its network through more than 10,000 post offices
nationwide. At the end of last year, the bank had total chartered capital of
nearly VND6.5 trillion and total assets of nearly VND80 trillion. The total
amount deposited at the bank hit over VND70 trillion while its total
outstanding loans reached over VND36 trillion.
Tuan Chau Group is
active in various fields such as real estate, travel, hotel, entertainment,
golf course and mining.
In a related
development, the company on August 4 received Guinness
VN
Airlines, Jet Airways ink deal
Vietnam Airlines
signed a code share agreement with Indian Jet Airways yesterday.
Under the deal, Jet
Airways will co-operate with Vietnam Airlines on flights from
Khanh Hoa
approves new resort
The People's
Committee of the central coastal
The US$2 billion
project, invested and managed by Hoan Cau Group, will cover 88 ha in Phuoc Ha
Hamlet, Phuoc Dong Commune,
Designed by
architect Luong Trong Vu, the urban resort will contain villas, apartment
buildings, offices, hotels, amusement parks, restaurants, a spa and gym, as
well as a yacht bay with space for 500 cruise ships.
Construction is
expected to be complete in 15 years.
Making a
case for river transport
The Minister of
Transport, Dinh La Thang, said yesterday he would ask the Government for
policies to attract investment to inland waterway facilities.
Thang told a
conference on boosting water transport throughout the Hong (Red) River Delta
that it was necessary for agencies and localities to recognise the role of
inland waterways in helping create a balance among different modes of
transport.
He said river
haulage generally cost less than road or rail transport and could carry
super-long and super-heavy loads.
In the delta
region, water transport had huge potential because it involved 10 out of the
18 main river routes in
The region is also
home to economic hubs such as Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh which have high
demand for coal and building materials.
River transport
carries about 25 per cent of total goods transported in the region.
Minister Thang said
that to take full advantage of river transport, he would give priority to
projects to open new routes and canals linking up with road and marine
transport.
A representative
from the Waterway Transport Company (VIVASO) said that little money had been
spent on river transport or adjusting and dredging rivers and canals.
Some routes faded
in the dry season because of low river levels. In some cases, the space
between the river and bridges was too low for boats to pass.
He said investment
could bring great economic benefits. For example, to carry one tonne of goods
by road from Ha Noi to Viet Tri cost VND4,000, only VND500 by river.
He added that the
link between rail and rivers also needed adjusting because both systems
offered cheap transport.
"However,
logistic costs or costs to load or unload goods and carry goods from trains
to boats and vice versa are too high," he said.
Pham Minh Nghia,
chairman of the Viet Nam Inland Waterway Transportation Association, said
that now was the time to improve public awareness about inland waterway
transport as cheap, fast and safe.
In
In
He noted that
waterway tourism had developed well in the south, but not in the Red River Delta.
Deputy director of
the Directorate for Roads, Nguyen Van Quyen, said that about 70 per cent of
goods and 90 per cent of passengers were transported by road, creating an
imbalance among transportation modes.
To reduce
overloading on roads and cut costs, harmonious development of different
transport modes was needed.
He suggested
setting up a trading floor for the transport sector where transport firms,
logistic firms and goods owners could operate.
The floor could
help create healthy competition and reduce costs - including bribery.
Crimes at
major banks prompt call for oversight
The Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung told the State Bank of
The PM gave the directive
following the arrest for criminal investigation and temporary detention of
three former senior officials of the Viet Nam Bank for Construction (VNBC)
last week, and the detection of other wrongdoings at some big banks.
According to the
Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency, the three former
officials of VNBC were arrested for allegedly violating
The three arrested
persons are Pham Cong Danh, 49, former chairman of VNCB; Phan Thanh Mai, 43,
former member of VNCB's executive board and general director; and Mai Huu
Khuong, 31, former member of VNCB's executive board, in charge of finance.
Thanh Nien Daily's
sources said that preliminary investigation found that the accused used a
savings book of the Tan Hiep Phat Group to deposit 39 loans at VNBC, and made
transactions without the signatures of the account holders for personal
gains. The fraud involved more than VND6.6 trillion (US$311 million).
Earlier on July 25,
the State Audit of Viet Nam's (SAV) 2013 report hinted at dubious operations
being done by big lenders.
Agribank, one of
the big four credit institutions in terms of assets, reportedly violated the
safety ratio of united capital, which is the ratio of due-date payment
capacity to seven-day payment capacity. In 2012, its return on equity (ROE)
was 5.39 per cent, a sharp drop compared to 7.11 per cent in the previous
year. At the end of 2012, Agribank reported credit growth rate of 10.22 per
cent, but its bad debt ratio was 8.16 per cent, surging by one-third year on
year.
In terms of deposit
activities, three of the big four banks, namely Vietcombank, Vietinbank and
Agribank, were marked down for exceeding the deposit cap set by the central
bank.
In the July
Government Meeting Resolution issued on Monday, PM Dung told the central bank
to hasten restructuring at commercial banks and to accelerate the speed of
the process of resolving bad debts.
The bad-debt ratio
in Vietnamese commercial banks rose in the first half of the year to 4.84 per
cent in late June 2014, from 3.61 per cent in late 2013. The SBV reported
last week that the total amount of bad debts stood at VND240 trillion ($11.3
billion).
Lending
drive reconciles banks to losses
Under pressure to
achieve their growth targets, many banks are now ready to take losses to
boost lending and are offering loans at very low interest rates, according to
analysts.
State Bank of
But the central
bank remained determined to pursue a target of 12-14 per cent for the year,
Nguyen Thi Hong, director of its Monetary Policy Department, said.
The analysts said
this put banks under great pressure to push up credit activities even at the
likelihood of making losses.
SeABank, for
instance, which achieved credit growth of 6 per cent in the first half, has
slashed lending rates to attract borrowers.
Its general
director Dang Bao Khanh said the bank offered long- and medium-term loans at
just 6 per cent interest for the first six months.
"The bank also
has several other credit packages with interest rates that could cause a
‘shock' to customers.
"Between April
1 and June 29 the first borrowers could enjoy a zero interest rate for the
first 12 months.
"With such low
interest rates, the bank will make a certain loss from new loans."
But the rate cut
was imperative since banks found it very difficult to lend now, especially to
well-performing companies, which are the target of most banks, he said.
OceanBank recently
earmarked VND2 trillion (US$94.14 million) for companies that want to bolster
their working capital at an interest rate of just 7 per cent for the first
three months.
ABBank has joined
the race, offering personal loans worth VND1 trillion ($47.07 million) at 8.5
per cent for the first 12 months.
LienVietPostBank is
prepared to lend VND2 trillion for various terms at interest rates starting
from zero per cent.
A bank executive in
"This means
that the banks are making losses," he said.
"Some
companies are taking advantage of the interest rates difference to make
profits: They borrow from this bank and deposit the money at another bank.
"This
phenomenon is not good for the economy since … the money is not pumped into
the economy."
The analysts said
the banking sector faced a difficult task in achieving the credit growth
target because demand was very low.
Interest rates were
not a central factor in deciding credit growth, they said, adding that the
growth relied on the demand and enterprises' ability to absorb capital.
OceanBank deputy
general director Vu Nhat Lam concurred, telling Business Times newspaper that
whether or not capital can be pumped into firms "depends on the efforts
of both the banks and enterprises."
"The former
need to simplify lending procedures and the latter must prove their capacity
to use the money effectively and earn profits."
Vietnamese aquatic
products are gaining a firmer foothold in the global market as evidenced by
healthy growth in export to both traditional and new markets.
In the first seven
months of 2014, the country’s aquatic exports picked up 24.5 percent from a
year earlier to 4.2 billion USD with the
Such a pace was
fuelled by strong shrimp shipments which saw double-digit growth in many
markets, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers
(VASEP). Shrimp export to the
In the first half
of this year, white-legged shrimp brought home 1.06 billion USD, shooting up
133 percent compared to the same period last year.
Shrimp exports for
the period almost reached 1.8 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 62
percent, and accounted for 49.5 percent of total export revenues from aquatic
products.
Nguyen Huy Dien,
deputy head of the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development, attributed the achievement to stable material supply
and good control over diseases of shrimps.
Rising demand also
pushed the export of other kinds of crustacean, squid and octopus up by 14 –
21 percent.
Meanwhile,
To satisfy strict
quality regulations by importers such as
At present, some
100 tra fish farms covering more than 2,800ha of water, about 40 percent of
All frozen food
processing companies in
Among them, 415 (or
over 73 percent) seafood processing plants in the country are qualified for
shipping their goods to
Notably,
The shipment of
aquatic products has also been assisted by trade promotion in potential
markets as well as active negotiation with foreign partners to enhance
cross-border activities and deal with trade barriers.
VASEP predicted
that aquatic exports will continue the upward trend in the third quarter to
hit 2.1 billion USD, including 1.2 billion USD from shrimps, as foreign
demand is expected to increase in the holiday season at the end of the year.
Nghe An
focuses on developing breeding farms
The central
In the past, the
animal husbandry in Nghe An was characterised by small scale and scattered
breeding. Even in some mountainous districts, buffaloes and cows were let
wander in forests while pigs and chicken in residential areas.
This breeding habit
not only reduced productivity but also spread diseases among livestock and
poultry and caused environmental pollution.
To improve its
livestock industry, the province has rearranged breeding farms and encouraged
businesses to get involved in building large-scale breeding models. Farmers
have been given loans to develop their concentrated breeding farms.
Nghe An has also
coordinated with relevant agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development in selecting breeding animals that can produce high yield
and adapt to local climate conditions as well as sent veterinarians to all
communes.
Thanks to these
efforts, the province has to date developed 380 breeding farms, including 90
pig, 32 poultry and over 210 cattle farms.
It now has more
than 29,700 dairy cows, expected to produce 100,000 tonnes of fresh milk this
year.
Number One
factory starts operations in Ha Nam
The Tan Hiep Phat
Group has started operating the first phase of the Number One beverage
factory in the northern Ha
With this, the factory
has become the largest non-alcoholic beverage factory in northern
Spread over 26
hectares in the Kien Khe 1 Industrial Park, the Number One factory has been
built with a total investment of 1.78 trillion VND (84.76 million USD) and
has European technology capable of producing 600 million litres of the
beverage annually.
The project is
divided into two phases. The 2012 -17 phase will have five production lines,
while the 2018-22 phase will have six lines.
Once becoming fully
operational, the factory will create jobs, offering an average monthly income
of 5.5 million VND (262 USD) for about 2,000 local workers.
Garment
group furthers investment in local market
The Vietnam
National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) is striving to gain a firmer foothold
in the domestic market by expanding its distribution system and increasing
the quality of its products.
This year, the
group is working towards a rise of 12 percent in total revenue, of which 30
percent will be contributed by domestic sales.
Tran Viet, head of
the marketing department of Vinatex, said the local garment market is
promising as domestic consumption for clothing and fashion accessories only
ranked after food and foodstuff.
In the first six
months of this year, the group’s domestic revenue is estimated at 11 trillion
VND (517 million USD), a year-on-year increase of 10 percent.
According to the
group’s statistics, each Vietnamese consumer spends between 150,000 VND and
500,000 VND (7-24 USD) on clothes and fashion accessories every month,
accounting for 18 percent of his or her monthly consumption.
Vinatex General
Director Le Tien Truong said that to seek a firm foothold in the local
market, garment companies have to enhance their localisation ratio to 60
percent by 2015.
To that end, the
group has increased investment in upgrading technology in order to increase
production and renew designs.
Than Duc Viet,
Deputy General Director of Garment 10 – a Vinatex subsidiary, said that his
company has paid attention to technology investment and cut production costs
to supply domestic products at competitive prices.
Expanding the
distribution network is also one of the solutions to ensure Vinatex products
get closer to local consumers. The group now has more than 4,000 shops in the
country. However, Truong said domestic products have sought a firm foothold
in medium and high-end segments only, while locally-made products are not
capable of competing with cheap imported ones.
Phan Chi Dung,
Director of Light Industry Department under the Ministry of Industry and
Trade, said Vietnamese garment companies need to make more efforts to compete
with imported ones on home turf, while paying more attention to developing
the retail network across the country.
Garment companies
need to work out policies to further invest in designing and applying new
technology to produce high-quality and specialised products, he added.
Coal
industry aims to increase production in H2
The Vietnam
National Coal Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) has adjusted this years’
coal production and consumption plans as domestic coal consumption in the
second half of 2014 is expected to rise.
The group set a
target to increase the clean coal output by one million tonnes to over 35
million tonnes and coal consumption to 35.5 million tonnes, up 500,000
tonnes.
Vinacomin’s reports
showed that the group turnover from coal and electricity production in the
first half of this year (H1) was approximately 55.3 trillion VND,
representing 52 percent of the years’ plan and 18 percent year-on-year increase.
The group also guaranteed jobs for 126,000 laborers.
Vinacomin's General
Director Le Minh Chuan said coal consumption in H1 of the group reached 18.6
million tonnes, equal to 54.1 percent of the years’ plan, including 3.9
million tonnes of exported coal and 14.7 million tonnes of domestic
consumption. Coal inventory level until the end of June was 7.5 million
tonnes, down one million tonne compared with early this year.
Some member
companies of the group have made significant contributions to Vinacomin’s
growth during the period such as the Underground Mine Construction Company II
and Mong Duong Coal Joint Stock Company.
Le Minh Chuan said
in H2, Vinacomin strives to increase turnover by five percent, implement
technological innovation to improve capacity, reduce product prices and
increase wages for workers from 5-10 percent. The group has also adjusted
coal exploitation up one million tonne and coal consumption up 500,000 tonnes
compared with the earlier plan, including domestic consumption of 28 million
tonnes and export of 7.5 million tonnes.
It is expected that
in H2, the domestic coal consumption will not see sudden changes. However,
with the recovery of construction material market, notably the operation of
five cement plants at capacity of 8.1 million tonnes, there will be more
opportunities for coal consumption in the coming period.
At the Vinacomin’s
conference to sum up its production and business activities in H1 and task
implementation in H2, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang stressed:
“The coal industry has to keep making efforts, resolving difficulties to
complete its set targets as the coal industry could affect other sectors such
as building materials, fertilizers and people’s daily activities.” He also
asked the group to accelerate its restructuring and focus on its core
businesses.
ODA
disbursements reach US$ 3.2 bln by first half 2014
The Official
Development Assistance (ODA) and preferential loan capital disbursements in
the first half of 2014 were US$ 3.2 billion, reaching 58.7 percent of this
year goal and up 46 percent compared to the same period last year, according
to the Ministry of Planning and Investment
Additionally, the
total ODA and preferential loan capital in the first half of 2014 gained US$
2.25 billion.
At the meeting of
the national steering committee presided by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung
Hai, he asked the relevant agencies have to continue to check, supervise and
speed up tasks of campaigning, managing and using ODA and contracted
preferential loan capital for this year.
Low
interest loans needed to replant aged coffee fields
The Vietnam Bank
for Agriculture and Rural Development (BARD) should lower interest rate and
facilitate farmers’ loan access to replant a large area of aged and low-yield
coffee area in the Central Highlands, said Mr. Trinh Tien Bo, an official
from the Department of BARD in Dak Lak Province.
About 50,000
hectare coffee plants in Dak Lak, the largest coffee growing province in the
Central Highlands, are getting old and yielding very low productivity. Of
these, only 6,287 hectares have been replanted for the last two years.
A lot of households
are short of capital for replanting, said Mr. Bo.
BARD has approved
the credit package worth VND8-10 trillion for a coffee replanting program in
the Central Highlands for the 2013-2015 period.
However, the
package’s disbursement is very slow because of high interest rate, he said.
According to the
Coffee and Cocoa Association,
However the process
has been too slow. Only 2,000 out of 25,000 hectares older than 20 years have
been replanted for the last three years.
Lam Dong, the
second largest growing province in the Central Highlands, has replanted most
with 8,500 out of 150,000 old hectares.
Grower Hoang Van
Lam has one aged coffee hectare in Cu Kuin District, Dak Lak says it costs as
high as VND150 million to replant a hectare and the newly grown area will
bear fruits after three years.
Farmer Nguyen Van
De from Cu M’gar District last year destroyed and replanted 1.5 hectares of
30 year old coffee field. However the surviving ratio is only 20 percent. He
hoped that banks would provide low interest loans in three years when the new
plants are ready for harvest.
4G may need unique approach in Vietnam
Industry insiders
are mulling strategies to boost 4G services in
Qualcomm
In fact, current 4G
terminal equipment fetches a fairly high price, but the cost of each unit of
equipment was expected to drop to $150 each by the end of this year, and
further slide to $100 in 2015.
The Ministry of
Information and Communications (MIC) is considering using low frequency bands
to help firms save on initial expenditure, which would lower investment costs
and end users’ 4G service costs.
Huawei
In terms of how to
boost 4G service revenue, LTE Business Group vice president Qin Liang at
China’s Huawei suggested network operators apply diverse value added services
to increase data usage services by subscribers and thereby boost revenues.
“Also, voice
services on 4G are often lower quality than on 2G, which has a lower service
cost. Operators therefore must change their business models when implementing
4G,” Qin noted.
Statistics by the
global association for the mobile telecoms industry (GMSA) show that 279 networks
in 115 countries and territories are using 4G, and that this number may
increase to 350 networks by the end of this year.
Mobile subscribers
reportedly represent 56 per cent of total telephone subscribers, putting
This is regarded as
a significant strength for network operators promoting 4G.
Ministry
seeks ways to secure new rice export contracts
The Ministry of
Industry and Trade has urged Vietnamese rice exporters to promptly manage the
volume of rice exports and stockpile, thus accelerating the signing of new
contracts by the year-end.
The request was
made in the context that the amount of rice exports through sub-border gates
in
Given this
situation, the ministry has partnered with customs office and related
agencies to inspect the cross-border export of rice.
The ministry has
also coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the
Vietnam Food Association and food companies to review the rice supply as well
as signed rice export contracts. Then it will propose rice export scheme in
the time to come.
In the first seven
months of this year,
In June and July,
rice exports dropped about 30 million USD each month compared with that in
previous months.
To date this year,
domestic rice exporters have signed contracts to sell 5.3 million tonnes of
rice.
Moody’s
upgrades credit ratings of BIDV and Vietinbank
Credit ratings
agency Moody’s has upgraded by one notch the long-term deposit and issuer
ratings of BIDV and Vietinbank, two of the largest commercial banks in
In a statement on
its website, Moody’s said the upgrades are due to a more stable outlook and
they reflect a systematic reassessment of the deposit ratings of Vietinbank
and BIDV.
The reassessment
came following Moody’s upgrading of the Vietnamese Government’s issuer and
senior unsecured bond ratings from B2 to B1 and the upgrade of the long-term
foreign currency deposit ceiling from B3 to B2.
Moody’s said the
upgrades were driven by the Government’s enhanced capacity to provide extraordinary
support to these two banks, which it considers as critically important to the
domestic banking sector with market shares of assets of around 10% each at
the end of 2013.
Vietinbank and BIDV
currently have 64.5% and 95.8% of their respective shares owned by the State,
added Moody’s.
It noted that
In its latest
report, Moody’s also kept its ratings unchanged for another seven Vietnamese
banks, including Techcombank, ACB, Military Bank, SHB, Sacombank, VIB and
VPBank.
Cooking gas
prices to fall in August
Retail cooking gas
prices will be reduced by VND 1,000 per kilogram in August due to falling
prices on the world market, according to several companies in
Saigon Petro said
that they have reduced the price of SP gas by VND 12,000 to VND 384,000 per
12-kilogram canister, beginning August 1.
Do Trung Thanh,
deputy head of Saigon Petro’s Business Department said, that the price cut
was a result of a USD 40 per tonne fall on the world market in August.
The price of gas
was remained stable in July despite a fall of USD 5 per tonne for imported
gas. Local trading companies attributed the situation to an increase in the
value of the USD against the VND imposed by the state bank.
Fruit and
vegetable imports fly under radar of inspection
Food safety
inspection teams have been facing difficulties in inspecting fruit and
vegetable imports as a result of lack of funding and skilled staff.
Recently, this
problem was brought into the public eye when it was reported that a 280 tonne
batch of fruits imported from
Nguyen Xuan Hong,
director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Plant
Protection Department, said that the inspection of that batch of fruits was,
in fact, in accordance with Vietnamese regulation. He said that fruits and
vegetables entering
During the period
when authorities are waiting for the results, distribution of the produce is
monitored but not controlled. If the results show any violation in food
safety regulations, the next loads from that importer would have their goods
subject to 30% testing. The importer would also have to wait for a maximum of
ten days, pending the test results, and pay for storage of the goods during
that time.
“In cases of normal
inspections, in which produce has been found to slightly exceed the limits of
harmful agents, there is not serious risk for harm," Hoang noted.
Many, however,
remain worried about the department's inspection policies.
Hong admitted that
the state budget for examination of imported fruits and vegetables is modest.
The figure was around VND7.5 billion (USD353,107) in 2012, which fell to
VND2.5 billion (USD117,702) in 2013, and VND2 billion (USD94,161) in 2014.
“The lack of
resources has forced us to limit our inspections to fresh vegetables and
fruits because of the large volume and high costs of inspecting other goods
such as dried beans. It would be great to double our funding to around VND5
billion (USD235,404). That way we could inspect all imported products,” he
stated.
The process also
suffers from a lack of modern equipment and facilities at the borders.
Because there are no labs located at border crossing points, vegetable and
fruit samples must be sent to the labs in
The lack of funding
also means that there is not enough to purchase new equipment or train staff
thoroughly. Recently, Cao Duc Phat, minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development (MARD), approved a plan to invest VND33 billion (USD1.55 million)
in purchasing equipment and machines at labs and training staff in 2015.
“We really lack a
skilled workforce capable of conducting reliable inspections. Due to the
limited targets for hiring state employees, the current staff are compelled
to work overtime and on weekends and holidays,” he added.
Filling
station employees found fleecing customers
A DTiNews
investigation found employees at yet another petrol station have been using
their pumps to steal from customers.
After several days
of investigation, reporters caught two employees at a petrol station at
These employees
would take advantage of customers who do not pay attention to the meter when
they arrive at the pump, and begin filling tanks starting from the amount the
last customer paid instead of clearing the meter back to zero. During the
time reporters were monitoring the situation, these employees skimmed an
average of VND5,000 from each fraudulent transaction.
In the video taken
of this activity, the victim wearing white-blue t-shirt was obviously
cheated. When the staff is pumping petrol for him, the gauge started at
VND70,110 and suddenly stopped at VND115,160, selling the customer VND45,050
out of the ordered amount of VND50,000.
DtiNews has
conducted similar investigations in the past, in which we exposed scams being
run at stations located at
For years, public
concerns have been raising over the misconducts by petrol stations; however,
local authorities have yet to take comprehensive measures to improve the
situation.
VietJet Air
compensates passengers for delay
VietJet Air has
compensated hundreds of passengers whose flight was delayed by 10 hours on
August 2.
The flight from
Passengers received
two light meals, but most passengers were still very upset because of the the
long wait. Many requested that they be rescheduled on another airline.
A VietJet Air
representative said that, due to the bad weather, another flight from
Vo Huy Cuong,
deputy head of Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, said that the delay was
due to the fact that VietJet Air lacked aircraft. The flight
finally left at 10:20pm on August 2, 10 hours behind schedule.
VietJet Air has
compensated each passenger with VND300,000 (USD14.2).
Under current
regulation, a flight is considered late when the departure time is more than
15 minutes later than scheduled.
Ministry
suggests unprecedented incentives for supporting industries in Vietnam
The Vietnamese
Ministry of Industry and Trade has completed adraft decree on developing
supporting industries with the largest-ever incentives in order to give a
real boost to the sector considered vital to modern manufacturing industries.
The ministry has
stressed the need of incentives for those operating in the supporting
industry area as the sector is still in a very primitive stage. This is
emphasized from the beginning of the report on the draft decree that will be
submitted to the government.
Meanwhile, after
studying many aspects, the ministry underlined that without multi-faceted
support from the state, it is very hard for local businesses operating in the
field to have the chance to be involved in the supply chain of multinational
corporations investing in
Moreover, according
to the ministry, the underdeveloped state of the local supporting industry
has resulted in increased production costs, the risk of bigger trade deficits
with foreign partners and low competitiveness of Vietnamese products compared
with regional peers due to the imports of components and spare parts, mostly
from
The top incentives
include the exemption of business income taxes for organizations and
individuals operating in the field or taking part in the transfer of
supporting industry technologies, according to the draft decree.
Specifically, those
participating in the process will enjoy corporate income tax exemption for up
to four years, and the tax rate will be cut by half in the next nine years.
They will also be
refunded up to 50 percent of their capitals if investing in technologies in
pollution treatment and environmental protection.
In addition, if
their bases are located outside industrial zones, the land rent will be
reduced by 50 percent for 11 years.
The state will also
support a maximum of 50 percent of funding for the training costs of
technical staff of businesses operating in support industries. Each employee
is trained only once with a training period lasting no more than six months.
The state budget
will also support a part of the cost of advertising in mass media and
registering trademarks for the businesses' operations. The funding to
participate in the local and international trade fairs and access market
information will also be partly covered by the state.
There will also be
a pilot program lasting until 2020 that will cut 50 percent personal income
tax for individuals working as specialists or trainers in technology transfer
in supporting industries for a maximum period of one year.
The incentives also
include exemption from import duties for goods imported to create fixed
assets for production and products of supporting industries.
The lending rate
for projects in supporting industries will enjoy a preferential rate that
will not exceed the maximum rate of 80 percent of normal rates for loans with
a maturity period of up to 10 years.
Those who join a
cluster of supporting industries will be allowed to pay land rent for one
time or multiple times. If businesses choose to pay once for all, the rate
will be cut by 20 percent.
The development of
supporting industries in clusters will achieve the maximum synchronization
capacity, optimize the supply and manufacturing process for the final
products, and accelerate the allocation of labor and the specialization of
labor to a higher level, said the ministry.
As a result, many
preferential policies will also be available for investment in the
development of industrial clusters.
There will also be
centers for the development of supporting industries to be established across
the nation.
The support center
will help reduce costs for businesses such as the costs of hiring experts,
designing, production, product testing, and combined testing and checking of
product quality standards to meet the norms of multinational corporations.
At the same time,
they will help promote the consumption network inside and outside the country
by connecting with local and multinational corporations.
The ministry said
that those policies are needed to support this sector before 2018 when the
regional free trade agreement takes full effect.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Năm, 7 tháng 8, 2014
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