|
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 25/5
Local
food showcased in IFEX Philippines
A
Vietnamese business delegation is attending the International Food Exhibition
(IFEX) Philippines 2015 held in
Four businesses
namely Vinamilk, Trung Nguyen Coffee, Trung Thanh Food and HOGANO are
showcasing their products in four pavilions.
ViNa
Gourmet Ville –
Vietnamese
businesses introduced the Filipino and international visitors to
Master
Chef Vietnam 2014 Hoang Minh Nhat joined the event and prepared Vietnamese
dishes to serve visitors.
After
visiting the Vietnamese pavilions, Vietnamese ambassador in the Philippines
Truong Trieu Duong affirmed that the Vietnamese embassy in the
The
four-day event was organised by the Philippine Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) to mark APEC 2015
During a
reception for Director of the Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry of
Japan’s Kansai region Seki Soichiro in
The city
has established a mission to implement the localities’ agreements signed in
2014, Cang elaborated.
He
praised the Japanese Enterprises Association’s membership expansion, with 100
members more in
The city
has developed the Vietnam-Japan Technology in the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone
and plans to expand it to lure more Japanese investment, Cang said.
For his
part, Seki Soichiro highly valued the active support the municipal
authorities have continuously provided for Japanese enterprises operating in
the city.
He also
noted possible cooperation between Kansai enterprises and the city in waste
treatment.
Earlier
on May 20, the Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan’s Kansai region
signed an economic cooperation framework agreement with southern Dong Nai
province, with a focus on links in support industry.
Business
operation will be facilitated in
In the
first eight months of 2014,
Bac
Ninh, Hai Duong foster dialogue with foreign firms
Authorities
in northern Bac Ninh province pledged to create a more transparent and
favourable investment environment for international businesses, particularly
companies from the
This
commitment was made during a dialogue held in the locality on May 21 between
representatives of the local Department of Taxation, other relevant bodies
and more than 60 RoK businesses that are active in the locality.
Nguyen
Van Hai, Head of the provincial Department of Taxation, affirmed that his
agency will hold regular meetings with international firms, while providing
them with up-to-date information on new tax regulations.
Representatives
of the RoK enterprises requested easier tax and customs procedures. They also
asked questions related to investment incentives and the detailed regulations
on value added tax, among others.
According
to the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, Nguyen Luong
Thanh, Bac Ninh is home to 346 RoK-invested projects with a total capital of
US$4.95 billion, concentrated in the industrial parks Yen Phong, Que Vo,
VSIP, Tien Son, and Thuan Thanh.
RoK
businesses, mainly operating in electronics, the processing and support
industry, and manufacturing, boost the locality’s socio-economic development
and significantly contribute to the province’s budget.
On the
same day as the dialogue in Bac Ninh, a similar event was held in the
Participants
discussed policies and issues related to the laws on labour, insurance and
the management of international employees.
Hai
Duong is currently pursuing administrative reform, simplifying investment
procedures and increasing management in a bid to attract an investment capital
of US$200 million in 2015.
Close to
300 foreign-invested projects from 24 countries and territories are operating
in the province, generating over 140,000 jobs.
Peugeot's
Chinese JV to start production in Vietnam
French
automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen and its Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng
Motor Group will open an assembly plant in
Dongfeng
Peugeout Citroen Automobile is producing compact cars in cooperation with
local firm Naza Group in
Employees
work at a production line of a Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile factory in
Officials
at Peugeot and Dongfeng did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for
comment.
Last
year, Peugeot and Dongfeng agreed on a 3 billion euro (US$3.34 billion)
capital tie-up, giving the French carmaker much needed funding to turn its
business around.
The two
firms also agreed that their China JV would aim to sell 1.5 million vehicles
a year starting in 2020, as well as consider setting up a new company
responsible for sales in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in
More
loans needed despite rising debt
Truong
Hung Long, head of the ministry’s Department of Debt Management and External
Finance, told a media briefing in
“Due to
limited resources, the country will have to borrow more to prop up growth,”
Long said. “Therefore, a higher public debt ratio is unavoidable.”
However,
Long did not reveal the current ratio of public debt.
Speaking
at a conference on public investment planning for 2016-2020 in
Therefore,
Vinh said the possibility of raising the public debt ceiling was high. The
Government will need to review regulations on public debt and suggest
adjustments if necessary, he noted.
According
to the finance ministry’s report,
The
Government’s direct debt payments are projected to inch up to 16.1% of total
budget collections this year from 13.8% last year. The 2013 percentage was
15.2%.
The
ratio is still lower than the 25% limit set in the nation’s public debt
strategy, Long said.
However,
a recent report of the NA’s Financial and Budgetary Committee showed the debt
payment percentage has climbed to 31% of budget revenues this year, higher
than the permissible level.
Nguyen
Minh Tan, deputy head of the Department of State Budget, said the debt
payment ratio is still lower than 25% of budget revenues when asked by the
Daily about the matter.
“I will
check up the 31% figure,” Tan said.
Long
explained the 31% ratio includes the Government’s on-lending loans as 60% of
loans go to the State budget and the remaining 40% is lent on.
The
State budget does not directly pay for the on-lending deals as this is the
duty of beneficiaries of these loans, Long said.
Long
added that 80% of government debt is paid in
The
State budget is now facing rising pressure.
In 2015
alone, the value of Government bonds that fall due amounts to VND135
trillion, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung told a meeting of the NA’s
Standing Committee early this week.
Budget
deficit rose to 6.6% of GDP in 2013, much higher than the ceiling of 5.3% of
GDP. Last year’s State budget revenue exceeded the target by over VND80
trillion but this surplus amount has been used up.
Billions
in bad loans resolved
The
banking system has resolved roughly VND311.1 trillion (US$14.33 billion) of
non-performing loans (NPLs) in 2012-14, accounting for 67 per cent of total
NPLs reported in September 2012.
These
results were recently reported by the State Bank of
The
ratio of NPLs had been reflected more accurately and transparently since late
2014, Binh said, adding that the NPL ratio had declined from 3.61 per cent in
late 2013 to 3.25 per cent in late 2014.
Though
the NPL ratio inched up in the first two months of this year to 3.59 per
cent, it was still within the range of what was forecast, and had remained
under control of the central bank, Binh said, explaining that NPLs often
increased in the first months of the year, before declining sharply at the
year end.
Binh
said that the central bank would continuously instruct commercial banks and
credit institutions to handle NPLs strictly through debt classifications and
risk provisions in accordance with legal regulations.
The
central bank has targeted to resolve at least 60 per cent of the total number
of NPLs that they are supposed to handle in 2015 by June 30. Further, they
have to transfer at least 75 per cent of the total debts that they assign for
sale to the national debt dealer, Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC),
this year.
Additionally,
the central bank is to take bold measures, including restrictions on profit
sharing, to punish credit institutions and commercial banks whose NPLs are
large and inactive.
VAMC
chairman Nguyen Quoc Hung said that VAMC estimated that it had bought roughly
VND40 trillion ($1.84 billion) of NPLs at their book value during the first
five months of this year, out of VND80 trillion ($3.68 billion) planned for
the entire year. More than 90 per cent of the debts bought by VAMC were
mortgaged by real estate assets.
The
VAMC's NPL purchase, to date, has been relatively smooth, Hung said, adding
that all credit institutions, including State-owned commercial banks, had so
far suggested they would sell their NPLs to VAMC.
The Bank
for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV), to date this year, sold
roughly VND3 trillion ($138.24 million) of its NPLs to VAMC, out of VND8
trillion ($368.66 million) planned for the entire year.
Vietinbank
has also plans to sell roughly VND4 trillion ($184.33 million) of NPLs to
VAMC this year, while Vietcombank expected VND1 trillion ($46.08 million) in
NPLs to be sold to VAMC in the second quarter of this year.
Rural
areas need banks, banks need rural areas
Nguyen
Toan Thang, deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), made this
statement at the opening ceremony of the 17th Banking Viet Nam 2015 in Ha Noi
yesterday.
He added
that banks had not taken advantage of cross-border banking services based
upon the growing activities in trade, education, training and tourism.
According
to SBV, the proportion of people living in the countryside owning bank
accounts reached 22 per cent by the end of 2013, lower than the average rate
in neighbouring countries, such as
Attending
the event, Kaleem Chaudhry, Oracle's senior director of sales consulting in
ASEAN, referred to the need to use large amounts of data in analysing
banking.
Chaudhry
said that before having such data, decisions were made based upon transaction
data, but after the availability of this data, decisions are now based upon
reviewing all data, including videos and images, documents, social data and
machine-generated data.
Data
could also be received by using multi-channel customer interactions and
market data, location-based information, news and financial reports, and
applying new metrics to pricing models, underwriting, trading strategies and
fraud models.
As
Chaudhry said, banks should set three priorities: complying with regulatory
requirements, providing better customer service experience and increasing
operational efficiencies.
The
event, which concludes today, is a forum for discussions on information
technology applications, and product and service development in the banking
sector. Organised by the SBV and International Data Group (IDG), it is also
part of a series of activities celebrating
Tan
Cang - Hiep Phuoc seaport inaugurated in HCM City
Tan Cang
- Hiep Phuoc seaport, which is capable of handling 50,000-70,000 DWT ships,
was inaugurated in Nha Be district,
Its
construction, sprawling over 18.7ha, was divided into two phases at a total
cost of 1.5 trillion VND (71.4 million USD).
With a
420-metre-long pier and a 253-metre-long dock for barges to handle 9 million
tonnes of cargo per year, Tan Cang – Hiep Phuoc is projected to become a
major trans-shipment port for goods from the southern industrial parks in
It also
takes advantage of the Soai Rap channel to save transportation time and cost
rather than sailing through Long Tau channel.
Start-up
branding vital to success
Branding
is one of the things start-ups should plan for before launch, a recent
conference heard in
Building
a brand comprised many steps and start-ups needed to research the market they
were about to enter and know their competition to come up with unique and
distinctive branding measures, Dang Hoai An, marketing director of Microsoft
MDS Vietnam, said.
Startups
need to create "interesting story to tell". They need to think
about how to make people believe their products better but more reasonable
prices than existing products in the market, she said.
Le Trung
Nam, General Director of the Hoa Thien Phu Pharmaceutical Joint Stock
Company, said in 2009 his group had started operating with a capital of just
200 million VND (9,208 USD) and made a nutritional product to treat anorexia
in children.
At that
time there had been a myriad of nutritional products for children from large
companies, but thanks to his company's awareness of customers' psychology and
focus on the correct segment, it had been successful.
Today it
was one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in manufacturing and
distributing traditional medicines and functional foods.
Branding
was an unceasing and long-term process for enterprises, he said.
The role
of humans in building brands was extremely important, even more important
than capital, he stressed.
To be a
successful start-up, "You need to have three things: a unique idea,
specific and detailed action plans, and a way to approach investors
actively."
Dinh Van
Loc, Chairman of Onnet Joint Stock Company, who began his business with an
initial capital of less than 100 million VND (4,606 USD) and specialises in
internet marketing, said clever usage of internet marketing tools helped
promote brands.
Organised
by the Business Start-up Support Centre in collaboration with the HCM City
Young Businesspeople Association, the conference attracted more than 500
university students from the city.
It is
part of a series of activities related to the 2015 Start-up Wheel
competition, which aims to be a forum for young people to present innovative
business start-up ideas and business strategies and mobilise funds for
projects.
New
Taiwanese motorbike factory opened in Vietnam
The
Taiwanese motorbike producer Kymco Group officially opened its new 20 million
USD factory at the Dai Dang Industrial Park in southern Binh Duong province
on May 19.
As part
of the group’s long-term strategy, the newly built factory is set to become a
manufacturing centre supplying motorbikes and components to the entire
Southeast Asia region and several European countries, such as Germany, France
and Italy .
At the
opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Tran
Thanh Liem, spoke highly of the hi-tech project, which satisfied all local
requirements for an investment.
Three
new product lines were introduced to the public the same day, including Many
S 50cc bikes suitable for young customers and the K-Pipe 125cc and Xciting
400 models.
Kymco
Group has established two factories and a number of showrooms in Vietnam.
Vietnam
attends Asia-Pacific Week Berlin 2015
The
Asia-Pacific Week (APW) was launched in Berlin on May 18, attracting a number
of high-profile officials from Germany and Asian-Pacific countries alongside
representatives from German enterprises.
Attendees
included Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and
Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh.
Themed
“Smart Cities”, the 10 th APW includes seminars, conferences, exhibitions and
music concerts held at the Federal Foreign Office, CityCube Berlin and
several local museums and universities.
Smart
cities are cities that use digital technologies to enhance performance and
well-being, reduce costs and resource consumption, and engage more
effectively with its citizens. Key “smart” sectors include transport, energy,
healthcare, water and waste.
Highlights
will be the Embassy Day and the Business and Technology Conference. Embassy
Day will provide a forum for diplomatic missions from the Asia-Pacific region
to present their countries and market opportunities to German companies,
while the latter event will discuss new business models, partnerships and
financing for smart cities as well as propose strategies and technical
solutions.
Representatives
from embassies of Asia-Pacific nations were invited to tour the EUREF-Campus,
one of the first smart cities in Berlin.
Organised
since 1997, the APW has provided a forum to discuss important themes in
business, politics, research-science, culture and society.
Since
then, it has served as a platform for Vietnam to introduce its culture,
landscapes and investment opportunities to international participants.
New
bridge improves traffic flow in Phu Tho
The Hac
Tri Bridge, part of the National Highway 2 which spans across the Lo River in
northern Phu Tho province, became open to traffic on May 19.
The
operation is expected to reduce traffic congestion in the locality,
particularly during the Hung Kings Temple Festival held annually from the
eight to the eleventh day of the third lunar month, honouring the legendary
founders of the nation.
The
six-lane bridge, built at a cost of more than 1.9 trillion VND (88.4 million
USD), is 736.5 metres long and 24 metres wide. The construction started in
November 2013 and was completed 6 months ahead of schedule.
The same
day work began on the Viet Tri-Ba Vi Bridge linking Hanoi and Phu Tho. The
bridge, worth 1.5 trillion VND (69.8 million USD), is 1,557 metres in length
and 12 metres in width. Once operational, it will shorten the distance
between the provincial Viet Tri city and Hanoi by 20 kilometres.
Media,
press sign cooperation agreement with financial sector
The
Ministry of Finance hoped media and press agencies would continue cooperating
with the ministry to enhance communication and public budget management
publicity, according to Minister Dinh Tien Dung.
Speaking
at a ceremony to sign a media cooperation agreement among the Ministry and
the Nhan Dan (People) newspaper, the Vietnam Television, the Vietnam News
Agency and Radio The Voice of Vietnam, Dung hailed the effective and active
contributions of the media and press, saying they have helped raise public
awareness and understanding of relevant legal documents and policies.
He also
highlighted four key publicity campaigns to be promoted by the media and
press, including comprehensive measures to effectively implement fiscal
policies and administrative reform, particularly in taxes, customs, and the
state treasury.
Focus
will also be dedicated to restructuring public investment and state-owned
enterprises and improving management of public debt, energy and
consumer-goods prices.
Under
the agreement, the media and press are also to cover the financial sector’s
activities, including events to mark the 70 th founding anniversary of the
sector (August 28, 1945).
On
behalf of the four press agencies, editor-in-chief of the Nhan Dan Newspaper
Thuan Huu said they have highlighted the role and efforts of the ministry in
stabilising the macro-economy, controlling inflation, ensuring social
security and boosting production.
He also
expressed his hope that the ministry and its bodies would facilitate access
to the sector’s information for the media organisations, ultimately contributing
to the nation’s reformation and development.
Vietnam
leaps 5 steps ahead in travel and tourism competitive index
Vietnam
has jumped five steps to claim the 75th seat of 141 countries in the 2014–2015
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) rankings, according to the
World Economic Forum (WEF) report.
The
biennial report is based on four criteria: tourism environment (Vietnam
received 4.6/7 points), policies (3.7/7 points), infrastructure (2.9/7
points) and culture and natural resources (3.2/7 points).
The
country’s tourism sector ranked 22 nd in price and 132nd in sustainable
tourism development.
Although
the rankings are relatively low, Vietnam has continuously moved up in the
TTCI rankings; the country ranked 89th in 2009 and 80th in 2013.
The TTCI
aims to address factors and policies to encourage development in the tourism
sector in different countries around the world.
The top
ten countries in the WEF’s TTCI rankings are Spain, France, Germany, the US,
the UK, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Japan and Canada.
Vietnam
Exhibition Hall in Milan Expo 2015
Vo Trong
Nghia Architects have designed and built the Vietnam Pavillion for the Milan
Expo 2015, that will run from May 1 till October 31 in Italy.
The
Milan Expo 2015 is a universal exposition at which participating countries
will display their technology, innovation, culture, traditions, creativity
and food, highlighting this year's theme: "Feeding the Planet, Energy
for Life".
This year's
Milan Expo motto has inspired the design team to bring back the power of
living for urban people by providing food for their bodies and a positive
outlook for their minds, which are equally important.
"Our
proposal is to bring back the trees to the cityscape in order to share the
importance of nature and regenerate living in harmony with nature," said
architect Vo Trong Nghia.
The
design team has set up a two-storey exhibition space at the centre of the
pavilion, surrounded on all sides by water and framed by 25 bamboo
structures.
Vietnamese
cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are losing green areas, with less
than one square metre per person.
The team
said they wanted to tackle the problem by incorporating trees into their
designs and buildings. Bamboo has been used in the construction of the
pavillion, because it has a very rich and strong relationship with Vietnamese
culture and life.
Hanoi's
central business districts bounce back
After
three years of grappling with competition from the West, office buildings in
Hanoi's central business districts (CBDs) have upgraded, said CB Richard
Ellis Vietnam Co. Ltd. (CBRE).
Over the
past three years, companies moved "West" in search of better rents,
so landlords in Hanoi's CBDs began feeling the pinch for the first time.
This saw
fully-integrated commercial areas mushrooming in the West and an increasing
office population boosting restaurants and related amenities. This eventually
influenced rentals in the West, as buildings filled up and landlords became
more bullish, according to CBRE.
To stem
and reverse this flow, the market-savvy landlords of CBDs began renovating
their aging facilities and started offering new and improved services while
also bringing down rents.
Long-standing
buildings such as Pacific Place, Hanoi Towers, and Central Building have
upgraded their facilities and are providing not just better office space but
also improved services with "lifestyle" and "wellness"
facilities. These changes have retained as well attracted tenants to keep up with
global trends in mobile office environments.
"Wellness
is the impact that atmosphere, flexibility and mobility have on one's
productivity," Nigel Smith, Managing Director of CBRE Office Agency
Services, Asia, noted, adding that it's about not only having a coffee shop
in a building's ground floor but also ensuring that the coffee shop provides
free power supply for charging mobile phones.
With
current CBD rental rates expected to remain stable at least until the end of
2015 and infrastructure development, such as the Metro system, well under
way, office tenants are shifting back to town as they thoughtfully consider
their real estate strategies for the next 5 to 10 years.
The
asking rental of an average Grade A decentralised office building is now
approximately 22 USD per square meter per month (it was 15 USD per square
meter per month almost 5 years ago).
Meanwhile,
the asking rent for offices in prime CBDs has remained considerably flat for
the past 5 years; it hovers around 32-35 USD per square metre per month.
"Office
tenants are planning to return or are already returning to CBDs as rentals in
non-CBD areas have started going up," said Greg Ohan, Director of Office
Services for CBRE Vietnam.
"We
see office demand strengthening off the back of expected trade agreement
ratifications such as the Trans Pacific Partnership and European Union Free
Trade Agreement, as well as improved market conditions."
Nigel
Smith, Managing Director of CBRE Office Agency Services, Asia, said,
"This is a trend that is currently on in many markets such as Hong Kong
and Bangkok, where major infrastructure projects have been developed."
International
corporate and Vietnamese firms in the market today would use this "urban
renaissance" to rethink their operational strategies and not just focus
on bottom line as a means of operational efficiency, he said.
Already
major international occupiers, including the Danish and Dutch Embassies,
JICA, Ernst & Young and Itochu, have shifted from non-CBD areas back to
CBDs.-
Seminar
promotes German investment in Vietnam
Authorities
and businesses from Vietnam and Germany gathered at a seminar on May 19 in
Berlin, Germany to seek ways to promote German investment in the southeast
Asian country.
Speaking
at the opening of the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Thi
Hoang Anh attached significance to the event amid the 40th founding
anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
She
highlighted the space for the two nations to strengthen their cooperation and
to fully tap the potential of the strategic partnership established in 2011.
Vietnam
and Germany aim to achieve bilateral trade worth EUR10 billion, Anh said.
The
Vietnamese Embassy in Germany will ensure its role as a bridge to connect the
two nations and actively support bilateral cooperation, Anh affirmed.
Meanwhile,
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, who led the Vietnamese
delegation to the ongoing “Asia-Pacific Week” in Germany, underscored the two
nations’ roles in the economy of the region and the world.
Vietnam
has integrated into the global economy by actively playing a role in the
World Trade Organisation (WTO), Asian free trade agreement (AFTA),
accelerating the signing of other FTAs, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),
the minister said.
Vietnam
will continuously improve its legal framework and administrative procedures
opening up opportunities for German investors, particularly in vocational
training, technology transference and human resource training and development,
Anh added.
He
highlighted Vietnam’s business climate with its stable macro economy, young
labour force and consistent policies as advantages for international
investors while hailing the contributions made by the two nations’ business
communities in fostering their multilateral cooperation.
He also
expressed his expectation for strong development in cooperation between
Vietnam and Germany as well as other partners in the EU in the coming years.
Germany
is currently the largest European trade partner of Vietnam with two-way trade
reaching nearly 8 billion USD, accounting for over 20% of the total trade
between Vietnam and the EU.
More
than 300 German businesses have been licensed to operate in Vietnam with
Siemens, Daimler, Adidas, Braun and Allianz as long-term operators in the
country.
HCM
City encourages Japanese investment
Ho Chi
Minh City is committed to creating a favourable investment climate for
foreign companies, said Tat Thanh Cang, Deputy Chairman of the municipal
People’s Committee.
He made
the remark during a reception for a Japanese delegation led by the new
President of the Japanese Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City (JBAH)
Tsutomu Sakagami on May 19.
Cang
said HCM City encourages Japanese businesses to invest in services, transportation,
high-tech agriculture, as well as the processing and support industries.
The city
leader also spoke highly the contribution of JBAH in connecting the two
countries’ businesses.
For his
part, Tsutomu Sakagami appreciated the city’s efforts to create favorable
conditions for operations of JBAH and Japanese businesses.
In the
coming time, JBAH will organise a series of activities to further develop the
businesses cooperation between the two countries, he added.
JBAH
added 105 new members in 2014, bringing its total membership to 770
businesses.
Remittances
to HCM City hit US$1.4 billion in four months
Vietnamese
living abroad remitted around US$1.4 billion to HCM City in the first four
months this year, 19.6% higher than last year’s same period.
Deputy
Director of the State Bank of Vietnam's, HCMC branch, Nguyen Hoang Minh
attributed the increase to the peak remittance season falling in
mid-February. As usual, the Lunar New Year - the peak remittance season – is
often in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
Foreign
remittances sending to HCM City in recent years saw a growth of 8-10%
annually. Minh forecast that this year they are likely to hit around US$5.3
billion – US$5.5 billion.
According
to the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), foreign remittances
to Vietnam rose constantly over the last 4 years, from US$9 billion in 2011
to US$10 billion in 2012, US$11 billion in 2013 and US$12 billion in 2014.
Seafood
growth to bounce back in mid-year
Since
early this year, shrimp exports have dipped sharply and just reached nearly
US$800 million in the first quarter, a fall of 28% against last year’s same
period.
Traditional
markets like the US, Japan and the EU all saw a drastic decline. However, it
is forecast that export growth is likely to bounce back as from mid-year.
This
situation can be attributed to the decreasing in shrimp import demands and
fluctuation of exchange rates between the US dollar and other currencies.
The
average export price dropped from US$12 to US$10 per kilo in February. In
Japan, the economic difficulty and the devaluation of the Yen made shrimp
imports from Vietnam fall sharply.
According
to Vice President and Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood
Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Nguyen Huu Dung, seafood exports often
witness a decline in early months and gradually resume growth as from
mid-year, particularly at year end.
Dung
added that Vietnamese seafood products are now available in 165 countries and
territories. Markets with robust growth for the first quarter included ASEAN
and Mexico (more than 30%).
He asked
businesses to diversify markets and products to avoid dependence on certain
markets.
Vietnam
investors ‘bullish’ on Indonesia
Indonesia
– a kaleidoscope of culture and lifestyles – is now emerging as Southeast
Asia’s largest economy creating many bright spots for Vietnamese investors in
the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.
At a
recent seminar held in HCM City addressing Indonesia’s integration into
ASEAN, leading economists underscored the fact that its 253 million strong
population and rising personal incomes are lifting millions into the middle
class every year.
The FMCG
sector they said represents the first items consumers in emerging markets
spend more money on as their disposable incomes rise.
The
sector includes products for which Vietnam businesses have strengths—such as
fish, seafood, meat, poultry, rice, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, baked
goods, alcohol, pre-packaged foods and soft drinks.
Ho Xuan
Lam, deputy director of the International Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC)
stressed that currently the Indonesian government has removed the import
quota and duties on 38 different fruits and vegetables.
Both
nations have been working collaboratively over recent times to enhance trade
and investment Lam said and this May 15 the Vietnam Embassy in Indonesia is
organizing a forum to promote agricultural exports.
Lam
underscored the point that building strong brands is vital for Vietnam
businesses seeking to gain a foothold in the market as Indonesian consumers
are quite finicky and seem to attach more importance to brands than other
nations in the region.
Donna
Gultom, director of ASEAN Cooperation under Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade
said Vietnamese businesses should thoroughly master the market regulations
and insure they prepare export permits and provide a Certificate of Origin
(CO) for their products.
She said
businesses should also be sure to label their products in the Indonesian
language and be cognizant of the fact that strict compliance with labelling
on packaged foods and beverages is mandatory.
Nguyen
Anh Ngoc, vice president of Vietnam-Indonesia Friendship Association in HCM
City, said a local presence or cooperation with Indonesian firms is highly
recommended and can help marketing efforts.
In
particular Ngoc said it can help the Vietnamese business customize its
product and adopt marketing campaigns that resonate with Indonesian shoppers
and create a strong brand attachment.
While
the Island of Java remains the heartland of commerce and retail, ample
potential is waiting to be unlocked across the Indonesian archipelago.
Second-tier cities such as Medan in North Sumatra or Makassar in South
Sulawesi have witnessed a strong increase in business activity over the past
several years.
The
urbanization movement in Indonesia has also tended to promote new lifestyles,
creating demand for products consumers may previously have considered
unnecessary. This is a trend that is buoying sales of personal care products
across Indonesia’s diverse consumer market.
The fact
that urban families tend to have fewer children leaves more disposable income
to be spent on non-essentials such as beauty products or even higher quality
foodstuffs and parents normally spend more per child.
This has
created a vast array of bright prospects for Vietnamese businesses selling
premium-brand baby and childcare products to boost exports to Indonesia, a
country with Asia’s second highest birth rate.
One FMCG
category set to benefit from changing Indonesian lifestyles is infant formula
milk which has seen sales increase by 9% per annum (Reuters). As more women
in city environments are formally employed, they are finding it harder to
maintain a breast-feeding regime and are therefore more ready to opt for
commercial alternatives.
Transnational
as well as domestic producers are investing heavily in new dairy plants to
meet swelling demand such as Nestle and Fonterra in addition to Indofood
Sukses Makmur who have a prominent presence in the market.
The
upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will see increasingly tight
integration of local markets in the 10-nation bloc. The AEC, which is
scheduled to be fully implemented by 2016, creates a unified market for goods
and services, skilled labour, trade and investment.
For
Indonesia’s FMCG sector, it will bring both challenges and opportunities. A
market of 600 million people has obvious allure for consumer goods makers.
Imports to Indonesia are set to become easier as tariff barriers fall,
standards are harmonized and the AEC aims for closer integration with global
trade.
Firms
told to develop websites for mobiles
Firms
are being urged to develop mobile websites, given the enormous potential of
mobile e-commerce in Viet Nam, speakers said at a conference on Monday.
According
to Le Duc Anh from the E-commerce and Information Technology Agency under the
Ministry of Industry and Trade, mobile shopping is expected to grow rapidly,
but firms must learn how to exploit the mobile shopping trend.
He cited
statistics showing that 90 per cent of smartphone shoppers used their phones
to search for information, including prices, and where to buy and look for
promotions, while 19 per cent of smartphone shoppers made payments via
smartphones, and 50 per cent of smartphone shoppers used their phones for at
least 15 minutes per visit to websites.
The Viet
Nam E-commerce Index 2014, released recently by the Viet Nam E-commerce
Association (Vecom), also revealed that 36 per cent of the country's
population owned smartphones.
There
has been increasing mobile phone usage, with the percentage of daily internet
access via smartphones reaching 76 per cent, which was much higher than the
percentage of access through PCs and laptops, which stood at 59 per cent.
Meanwhile,
just under 15 per cent of the nation's companies have developed mobile
websites.
Those
figures suggest the enormous untapped potential of mobile e-commerce in the
country, though many firms remain indifferent to developing mobile websites,
said deputy president of Vecom Nguyen Thanh Hung.
According
to Hoang Anh Viet, a representative from Lingo, an online store, figures
indicate that in 2012 90 per cent of the access to the company's website was
conducted through desktop computers, but now that percentage has decreased to
about 50 per cent, coupled with increasing mobile traffic, rising from 17 per
cent in 2013 to 40 per cent.
"Mobile
websites will be an indispensable trend," Viet stressed, adding that if
firms did not redesign their websites, they would fail to keep pace with
customer trends.
However,
Viet revealed that only 23 per cent of online orders were conducted via
mobile phones, as user experiences with mobile websites remained limited.
Meanwhile,
Le Thiet Bao from Deca Company said that the loading speed of mobile websites
must be optimised, as smartphone shoppers were becoming increasingly less
patient.
Bao
stressed the need for the development of mobile websites, as Google now gives
a boost in search rankings to mobile-friendly sites.
Of note,
the Ministry of Industry and Trade would soon issue a circular about the
development of mobile e-commerce, said Anh.
Bridge
to connect capital and Northwest
Work on
the construction of a bridge connecting Ha Noi and Phu Tho Province over the
Red River commenced yesterday morning, promising to boost the development of
the region.
The
bridge is expected to ease congestion on Highway 30, and spread Ha Noi's
development momentum to Phu Tho and the whole Northwest region that the
highway runs through, including Yen Bai and Lai Chau.
Construction
is expected to take 18 months and cost VND1.46 trillion (US$66.67 million)
under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.
The Viet
Tri – Ba Vi Bridge will start in Ha Noi at Ba Vi District's Phu Cuong Commune
and span to Viet Tri City's Tho Son Commune.
When the
bridge is completed, the distance from central Ha Noi to Viet Tri City will
be reduced by 20 km.
The 12m
wide bridge will be 9.46km long and span 1.56km over the river.
A toll
station will be set up to collect tolls for more than 21 years.
The
builder is the Vietnamese company Phu My Group, based in Ha Noi.
FPT
Corporation's profits up 23% in first four months
FPT
Corporation (FPT) yesterday announced that the company recorded a net profit
of VND585 billion (US$27 million) in the first four months of the year, an
increase of 23 per cent over last year.
The
company's pre-tax profit in the first four months increased by 14 per cent to
VND884 billion ($40.9 million) over last year.
The
company's earnings per share (EPS) also rose by 23 per cent to reach
VND1,700.
In the
first four months, FPT's combined revenue rose by 30 per cent over last year
to VND12.6 trillion ($587 million), 107 per cent of this year's plan.
FPT set
a total revenue target of VND39.6 trillion ($1.83 billion) for the year, an
increase of 13 per cent and a pre-tax profit of VND2.85 trillion ($132
million), an increase of 16 per cent over last year.
FPT said
that the growth of sales in the company's technology sector and
distribution-retail sector was the major factor that helped FPT achieve such
high profit and revenue.
The
technology sector, in the last four months, recorded VND2 trillion ($96.5
million) in revenue and VND244 billion ($11.3 million) in pre-tax profit, an
increase of 43 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.
FPT's
growing overseas branches was a key factor in FPT's growth. Its overseas
business doubled in revenue to VND1.3 trillion ($60 million) in the last four
months.
FPT is
one of Viet Nam's leading conglomerates, with affiliates active in software
outsourcing, telecommunications, property, education and financial services.
Its market capitalisation last year was more than VND17.6 trillion, or $838
million.
State
to hold 100% capital in MoF units
The
State will still hold 100 per cent capital in State Capital Investment
Company, Debts and Assets Trading Company, Vietnam Securities Depository
Centre, and Vietnam Lottery Company.
This was
stated in a recently issued Prime Minister's instruction on the restructuring
and renovation of 100 per cent State-owned enterprises (SOEs), which are
under the Ministry of Finance, during 2016-20.
The
Prime Minister has so far also approved the equitisation plans of 19 out of
23 ministries, agencies, cities, provinces, and State-owned economic groups
that have submitted their plans to him.
According
to the Ministry of Finance, the country plans to equitise 289 SOEs this year.
However, by the end of the first quarter, only 27 SOEs had launched their
Initial Public Offerings and had withdrawn capital from non-core businesses.
According
to experts, the reason for the slow progress of equitisation is that the
period between the end of 2014 and early 2015 was the time that enterprises
had to complete production and business plans to ensure income generation and
solve other issues after one year of operation.
Besides,
they said, the equitised enterprises are large and important corporations and
economic groups, so their financial issues are complicated and will require
more time to resolve.
The low
percentage of the shares sold to investors are has not matched their market
demand, they added.
To speed
up the SOE equitisation, experts said that the Enterprise Reform and
Development Steering Committee and ministries concerned with the equitisation
of SOEs should complete mechanisms and policies needed to support and solve
difficulties that come up in the equitisation process, besides supervising
the enterprises in the process.
Source : VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
|
Thứ Hai, 25 tháng 5, 2015
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét