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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 27/2
European Parliament hears progress of EU-Vietnam FTA talks
The European Parliament (EP) heard reports on the progress of
negotiations on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in
Chief Negotiator of the EU Mauro Petriccione noted that as
He outlined basic contents of the trade pact, including the
union’s priorities to government purchase, State-run businesses, and market
opening for goods, services and investment.
The chief negotiator said he believed the two sides can wrap
up the negotiation at the March talks and the EP will quickly ratify the
pact.
Vice Chairman of the EP’s International Trade Committee (INTA)
Jan Zahradil expressed satisfaction at the outcomes of the past negotiation
rounds, adding that based on these results and the pace of negotiation, the
two sides can hope for an early conclusion of the EVFTA.
Vietnamese Ambassador to
He underlined
Phong said he hopes the two sides will conclude the FTA in the
first quarter of 2015 in accordance with the agreements and directions of
their leaders.
He also took this occasion to call upon the European parliamentarians
to continuously support
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment officially
approved a plan on putting up for auction the ore mining rights at four
sites, the first bidding event of its kind in 2015.
Bidders will be invited to vie for the right to mine iron ore
at Khe Bang in Tan Son district, northern Phu Tho province; metacacbonat
(stone for construction and decoration) at Suoi Giang commune in Van Chan
district, northern Yen Bai province; gold in Xa Khia in Le Thuy district,
central Quang Binh province; and fluorit in Binh Duong in Nguyen Binh
district, northern mountainous Cao Bang province.
The auction is held in line with the policy to reform the
management of mining activities under the 2010 Law on Minerals.
The Prime Minister has ordered the Mekong Delta to purchase
and stockpile 1 million tonnes of rice in the winter-spring crop.
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) was requested to direct
commercial banks to offer loans for the purchase, with a six-month maturity
through August 31.
Interest rates will be wholly subsidised by the SBV until June
30.
In collaboration with the People’s Committees of centrally-run
cities and provinces in the region, the Vietnam Food Association will be
responsible for allocating the rice to be purchased by each locality.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the
Ministry of Industry and Trade will closely monitor the process in line with
regulations.
VietJet Air gets trial terminal franchise at Noi Bai
International Airport
Private airline VietJet Air has won a franchise for control of
part of Terminal T1 at
Under the deal, struck yesterday (February 25), VietJet will
initially get Lobby E under an overall proposal by the airline to operate the
entire T1 and old T2 at Noi Bai for on a 20-year franchise.
T1 serves domestic passengers, with T2 handling international
flights.
Some agencies under the ministry recommended VietJet be
granted a pilot franchise of Lobby E at T1 to monitor its plans to improve
efficiency before taking the negotiations further. The lobby currently serves
domestic flights of low-cost airlines, such as VietJet Air and Jetstar
Pacific Airlines.
More
turbines installed at Bac Lieu wind power plant
The installation of 52 more wind turbines in phase 2 of the
Bac Lieu wind power plant began on February 24 at Vinh Trach Dong commune in
Bac Lieu city of the Mekong Delta
According to the Cong Ly Construction, Commerce and Tourism
Ltd. Co., the project’s investor, the construction of facilities in phase 2,
which costs VND4.2 trillion (US$197 million), began in November, 2013.
Up to 65% of the workload has been completed to enable the
plant’s phase 2 to become operational in the second quarter of 2016, said To
Hoai Dan, Cong Ly company General Director.
Dan said that the first 20 turbines of phase 2 will supply
electricity to the national grid starting May 29, raising the plant’s
capacity to 48 MW, which will be lifted to 73.6 MW by the operation of an
additional 16 turbines on September 2, 2015.
On April 30, 2016, the plant’s capacity will reach 99.2 MW
with the last 16 turbines running.
In phase 1, the plant’s 10 turbines with a capacity of 16 MW
have supplied 58 million KWh to the national grid after 14 months in
operation.
With over 3,000 kilometres of coastline and numerous islands
within its national boundaries,
According to figures from the Ministry of Industry and
According to the national power plan through 2020, wind power
is being prioritised and encouraged to fulfil the target of installing a
combined capacity of 1,000 megawatts by 2020 and 6,200 megawatts by 2030.
Food prices fall following Tet holiday
After Tet (Lunar New Year holiday), prices of food and farm
produce at traditional markets in HCM City fell significantly compared to
normal days, especially for vegetables, due to an abundant supply.
At Van Thanh, Thi Nghe and Tan Son Nhat markets, a kilo of Da
Lat kohlrabi, for instance, was priced about VND7,000-10,000 compared to
VND10,000-VND15,000 (US$0.46-$0.7) before Tet.
Broccoli prices fell to VND25,000-VND30,000 ($1.17-$1.4) a
kilo, according to traders. Many other kinds of vegetables sold at prices 20
per cent lower than before Tet.
The price of Da Lat Lys flowers fell from
VND100,000-VND180,000 ($4.69-$8.4) for a bundle of five sprigs before Lunar
New Year to VND80,000 ($3.75).
The supply of farm produce and flowers were abundant while
demand after the New Year was still modest, resulting in lower pices, said
traders.
Prices of seafood and aquatic products were rather stable,
with about VND55,000-VND60,000 for a kilo of pink tilapia, and
VND55,000-VND65,000 for a kilo of carp or snakehead fish.
Supermarkets and convenient stores all reopened after Tet, but
sales remained low compared to normal days of last month.
At supermarkets, customers mainly shopped in the morning, with
fresh food being the bestseller.
Commodity prices at supermarkets remained stable. In addition,
to stimulate sales, supermarkets such as Co.opmart, Big C and Lotte Mart have
launched promotions with discounts between 5 and 49 per cent on offer on many
products.
But prices remained high for eatery services because many of
them applied a "Tet surcharge".
Le Thi Thu from
"While other people are off, they still have to sell
food. Sellers have the right to set a price and customers can decide if they
want to use those services," she said.
For instance, a pho eatery on
The owner of the shop said that the "Tet price" will
be applied until the middle of this lunar month.
Similarly, many eateries and coffee shops in many districts in
the city are still applying "Tet prices", which are 15-25 per cent
higher than normal prices.
Many hair salons increased prices by VND5,000-VND10,000 for
their hair washing services before Tet, and they plan to maintain that prices
for this year.
Parking fees, especially near pagodas, including Pho Quang in
Tan Binh District, and Vinh Nghiem in District 3, remain high at VND10,000-VND15,000
for a motorcycle compared to the normal price of VND5,000.
Construction of
The Ministry of Transport accelerated the construction of four
major bridges in the Cuu Long (
The completion date for Co Chien Bridge, with investments
totalling VND2.31 trillion (US$108 million), will be moved up from the
beginning of August as originally planned to May 19, says Deputy Minister of
Transport Nguyen Van The. The change comes after a request from Transport
Minister Dinh La Thang.
Once complete, Co Chien Bridge, together with
Another important project in the delta that should be
completed as soon as possible is My Loi Bridge, which will connect Tien Giang
and Long An provinces. With an estimated cost of VND1.44 trillion ($67.3
million), the bridge should be finished by the end of August.
The inauguration of Co Chien Bridge and My Loi Bridge this
year will create more motivation for the development of Tien Giang, Ben Tre,
Tra Vinh and all provinces in the Ca Mau Peninsula, Deputy Minister of
Transport Nguyen Van The told the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
The ministry asked investors and contractors to finish
construction on
These two bridges will help traffic flow more efficiently in
the western region, creating better conditions for the development of the
Long Xuyen Quadrangle.
The total investments for
The Ministry of Transport is also looking to speed up the
construction of highways in the delta. The Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway
Project, with an estimated cost of VND14.68 trillion (US$672.8 million), is
expected to open in December 2018, and shorten the travel time from Ho Chi
Minh City to My Thuan to one hour.
The ministry is also preparing to submit to the Government a
mechanism for supporting My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway Project investors.
Upon completion, the My Thuan 2 Bridge and My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway will
reduce the distance between
According to The, accelerating construction requires getting
consensus on site clearance from authorities and residents near the
infrastructure. In addition, all projects' progress should be reviewed and
contractors should choose strategies that can reduce the time needed to build
but still ensure quality.
Local agriculture sector reliant on seed imports
Domestic breeding technology remains underdeveloped and is
unable to meet production demands.
To address the situation, the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development said it would evaluate varieties across the nation to
determine their strength and weaknesses, with the aim to create high-quality
varieties.
In a Government-approved plan, 1.3 million hectares will be
set aside for growing vegetables, flowers and fruits by 2020.
Da Nang port hastens infrastructure
construction
The management board of
When completed at an estimated cost of nearly 1 trillion VND
(47 million USD) in 2018, the Tien Sa port is expected to be able receive
50,000 DWT vessels.
Additionally, the port authorities are paying more attention
to developing logistics services as a part of its future strategic direction.
They are seeking investors to build a logistics service centre on a 20h plot
of land in Hoa Vang District.
As the projects are fulfilled and commissioned, they will
improve the capacity of the
In 2014, nearly 130 billion VND was dedicated to building
infrastructure, modernising equipment, training human resources and improving
service quality in the port.
The
The port’s management board aims to handle 6.5 million tonnes
of cargo this year with the intent to make the port one of the ten leading
container ports in
Under the seaport development plan through 2020, the
Government gives guidelines on Public-Private Partnership
agreement
The Government has issued a decree on investment in the form
of public-private partnerships (PPPs), which sets out five conditions for a
PPP project.
Accordingly, in order to get approval, a PPP project should be
relevant to the development master plans of the relevant sector and region
and the socio-economic development plans of the area where the project is to
be carried out.
Secondly, the project should meet legal conditions relevant to
the field of investment.
Thirdly, the project should be capable of attracting and
absorbing investor’s capital, technology and management experience.
Fourthly, the project should be capable of supplying products
and services continuously at stable quality and meeting the needs of consumers.
Fifthly, the project must have a minimum investment capital of
20 billion VND (952,000 USD), excluding those in the form of Operations and
Maintenance (O&M) and those operating in agricultural and rural
infrastructure, and production services related to agricultural product
processing and sales.
Projects not listed on development plans of sectors and
regions or local socio-economic development plans require approval from
authorized bodies and provincial People’s Committees.
Priority will be given to projects meeting the above
requirements and have the ability to recovery capital from business
activities.
The decree also stipulates in detail the investor’s ownership
capital and mobilised capital. For projects with a total investment capital
up to 1.5 trillion VND (71.4 million USD), the investor’s ownership capital
must be at least 15 percent of the total capital. The percentage of ownership
in projects with capital exceeding 1.5 trillion VND must be at least 10
percent.
Government funds are not included in the calculation of the
total investment capital to determine ownership ratios.
VN
trade value with
Trade relations between
Trade exchange value between the two countries reached US$691
million in 2014.
Omar Al-Qenaei, Consul General of Kuwait in
Government puts stop to exports of coal dust
As per a recent Government directive,
In keeping with the Government instruction, Deputy Prime
Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT),
and the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group to adjust its coal
production and formulate plans to meet the target.
Deputy PM Hai also directed the Ministry and the group to
adjust the coal industry's development strategy, by suggesting stable and
long-term exploitation to ensure sustainable operations for the coal industry
to meet power demand. The coal industry will produce roughly 50 to 60 million
tonnes of coal annually during the period.
The strategy also suggests that domestic coal will meet demand
at existing power plants and industrial establishments in other industries.
The country will have to import coal only for new plants.
MoIT has also been asked to formulate policies that support
the development of recycled energy sources that have so far not gotten the
Government's support.
As domestic coal demand for thermal power plants is very high,
the country will have to import an estimated 20 to 30 million tonnes of coal
by 2016. This need will increase to 40 to 50 million tonnes of coal annually
by 2020.
The southern economic and business hub,
To reach the goal, the city has steered businesses to focus on
shipping industrial and processed goods with high added value.
The businesses are also advised to strengthen their presence
in big markets in Europe, the
In 2014, excluding crude oil, the City’s export revenues
reached US$27.8 billion, up 12% from 2013.
In the first month of 2015, it raked in over US$2 billion from
overseas shipments, a 9.1% increase year on year.
In middle-income Vietnam where buying a new motorbike is
already a reason for celebration, there is a man well off enough to even
purchase a new business jet to replace his old turboprop.
Doan Nguyen Duc, 53, is the man who has just bought a Legacy
600 at more than US$20 million, according to VTC News.
But newswire VnExpress said the price could be as high as $27
million.
Legacy 600 is a business jet derivative of the Embraer ERJ 145
family of commercial jet aircraft and it has seating for two crew and 13-14
passengers, according to its maker Embraer.
Embraer says that the Legacy 600 can carry four passengers for
6,297km and eight passengers for 6,019km, adding the plane can reach Mach
0.78 for a normal speed cruise and Mach 0.80 at a maximum operating speed.
(Mach 1 = the speed of sound)
The aircraft has five 8″ x 7″ LCD displays and CCD, charts and
maps capability, a data loader 1000 with SD card and USB ports, dual
integrated computers, touchscreen PCUs at each seat, and other modern
equipment, according to Embraer.
Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper said that in order to buy an
aircraft, Vietnamese individuals have to prove that they have had pilots work
for them, have maintenance facilities, and ensure aviation and defense
security.
Buyers are required to register their airplanes with competent
agencies after meeting these requirements, the paper reported, adding that
they have to apply for a license before each flight.
Duc splashed out about $7 million on a Beechcraft King Air
350, imported from the
That turboprop is 10 meters long and has its wings spread over
15 meters, An Ninh Thu Do (Capital Security) newspaper said, adding that it
can fly 3,500km on end and hit the maximum speed of 583km per hour.
The newspaper, which is managed by
Duc is now chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group whose
portfolios range from mining, cow raising, rubber planting to real estate and
hydropower plant construction.
He owns a Vietnamese league club, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, and an
Arsenal-supported football training center, the
He is the second richest man in Vietnam with his stock value
topping VND7,575.118 billion ($353 million) in 2014, too whopping for
Vietnamese whose GDP per capita was around $2,000 last year.
Pham Nhat Vuong topped the 2014 list of the wealthiest people
on the stock exchange in
Many Vietnamese would throw a party and invite friends to
celebrate when they purchase a new motorbike, the favored means of transport
in the Southeast Asian country.
But there is no word from Duc as to such celebration for his
new airplane.
Vinachem targeting equitization of units this year
The
These companies, in which Vinachem holds registered capital,
include the Ha Bac Nitrogen Fertilizers and Chemicals Company, the Ninh Binh
Nitrogenous Fertilizer and Chemical Limited Company and the Viet Nam Chemical
Import & Export Corporation (Vinachimex).
Chuyen said the group will also divest its investment capital
from eight businesses, including the Vietnam Industrial and Commercial
Securities JSC, the Hanoi Soap JSC and the Additives and Petroleum Products
Joint Stock Company.In addition, he said the group will have to reduce its
holdings to 30 per cent of the working capital of Chemical Industry
Engineering JSC and Construction and Investment Consultancy JSC.
"These developments are important tasks that Vinachem
will have to carry out this year, and are aimed at synchronising
organization, reducing spending, focusing on human resource training and
renovating technology and production lines," said Chuyen.
It is also expected to boost trade and production in 2015 and
going forward," he stressed.
In 2015, the domestic economy is expected to encounter many
difficulties, owing to the impact of the world's disparate situation.
As for good markets, especially in the fields of chemicals and
fertilizers, the economy will experience medium-intensity disorders because
of the supply and demand impact, fluctuation in oil prices, and due to fierce
competition between
This year is also the time when free trade agreements between
The General Director of the Vinachem Group Nguyen Gia Tuong
said the group has submitted to the Prime Minister, its development strategy
for the 2015 to 2020 period with a vision to 2030 for approval. At the same
time, the group has been working with the ministries of Finance and Industry
and Trade to study and issue a financial regulation, which aims to orient the
group's operations and implementation of tasks and plans the next time
around.
The group also completed the equitisation of its subsidiary
companies in 2014, including the Southern Basic Cheminal JSC, DAP-Vinachem
JSC and Industrial Gases and Welding Electrode JSC.
The group is targeting a 7.2 per cent jump in its industrial
production to more than VND45 trillion (US$2.14 billion) and a similar fillip
in revenue to over VND49 trillion ($2.33 billion) this year. Its employees'
salaries are also expected to increase by 5 per cent.
Ministries instruct steady petrol prices
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade
on February 24 instructed wholesale businesses to keep petrol prices steady
in order to stabilize the prices of necessary items in the market.
The price has been capped at VND15,686 a liter of Ron 92,
VND15,356 for E5 gasoline ethanol blend and VND15,183 for diesel.
Kerosene and engine oil prices are not permitted to surge more
than VND15,623 a liter and VND11,861 a kilogram.
Businesses have also been ordered to reduce contribution level
to the price subsidization fund by VND40 to VND300 a liter of gasoline and 0
dong to E5.
The contribution rate slides to VND300 a liter of diesel and
kerosene but increases by VND30 to reach VND300 a kilogram of engine oil.
Source : VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Năm, 26 tháng 2, 2015
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