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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 21/6
Key
pepper growing regions look to sustainable development
Representatives
from the Southeast and
Participants
considered conforming to proven technical processes a key action.
Accordingly,
regional provinces should plan pepper plantations and manage production in
collectives to boost experience sharing and cut costs.
Growing,
processing and preservation methods require thorough research and careful
application and agricultural promotion programmes need to be launched more
often.
Concerning
related commercials activities, local authorities and producers ought to
strengthen business links with major and demanding markets such as the EU,
the US and Japan, and seek new markets from the Middle East and Africa.
Meanwhile,
domestic enterprises working in the sector should work to strengthen their
connection with growers to build direct purchase networks across the regions.
The
forum also set a target for
Vietnamese
peppercorn plantations have increased substantially to 86,000 hectares in
recent years. The industry is now facing difficulties posed by rapid
plantation expansion, intensive farming and poor techniques.
The
nation posted a total pepper production of 152,000 tonnes in 2014.
Binh
Duong records $1.1 billion trade surplus in two quarters
The
southern
Of the
total revenue, the province raked in 8.5 billion USD from exports, up 16.6
percent from the same period last year; 7.2 billion USD was contributed by
the foreign investment sector and 1.5 billion USD from the domestic economy.
Major
exports included wooden furniture with a total revenue of 1.7 billion USD,
shooting up 15.7 percent and accounting for 12.6 percent of the provincial
exports.
Meanwhile,
free trade deals signed with the Republic of Korea and the Eurasian Economic
Union (EAEU) helped increase the value of garment exports to 904 million USD,
rising 11.2 percent against 2014’s first two quarters.
Increase
in export revenue was also seen in footwear (741 million USD, up 16.4
percent) and ceramic products (nearly 51 million USD, up 6.6 percent).
Through
June, the province spent 7.4 billion USD on imports, up 16.9 percent from the
same period in 2014. Of the amount, nearly 6 billion USD was spent on imports
of foreign investment sector; the import value in the domestic economic
sector was nearly 1.5 billion USD.
The
2011-2015 disbursement of official development assistance (ODA) in
The
figure showed a 213 percent increase compared to the 2006-2010 period,
according to the municipal Department of Planning and Investment.
Since 2011,
the city has raised about 49.6 trillion VND (2.3 billion USD) worth of ODA
capital for 13 new projects and three ongoing projects.
Of
which, non-refundable aid hit 122 billion VND (5.7 million USD) and the
remaining were loans and soft loans.
ODA
capital contributes an average of 20-30 percent of the city’s budget to
infrastructure development each year.
Non-life
insurance firms lack qualified actuaries
Non-life
insurance companies in the country are faced with a shortage of actuaries who
meet national standards, according to the deputy general secretary of Viet
Nam Insurance Association.
Beginning
in January next year, non-life insurance companies are required to use
actuaries who meet national standards, including being a fellow of
international actuary societies, having at least five years of work
experience and at least two certificates in the field issued by international
actuary societies.
Only one
actuary in the country meets these standards, according to Ngo Trung Dung,
deputy general secretary of Viet Nam Insurance Association.
He spoke
at a workshop held yesterday at the International University-HCM City. The
country has 30 non-life insurance companies, 17 life insurance companies and
two reinsurance companies, Dung said.
No
university in the country offers training in actuary, he said, adding that
the International University-HCM City should be a pioneer in training.
It
should co-operate with other international universities to offer training, he
said, adding that incomes of actuaries are high.
The
country's insurance market has seen rapid development. Within the last five
years, the market's growth rate reached 16 per cent, including 11.9 per cent
for non-life insurance.
Last
year, the total revenue from insurance was around US$2.6 billion. The total
assets of insurance companies were $7.7 billion.
The
workshop, held by the association in co-operation with the International
University-HCM City and Viet Nam Insurance Association, provided information
about a relatively new statistical method called chain ladder. This method is
used to estimate outstanding claims, whereby the weighted average of past
claim development is projected into the future.
Vietnam-EAEU
trade pact brings political, economic benefits: professor
The recent
conclusion of the free trade agreement (FTA) between
The
remark was made by Professor Evgeny Kanaev at the ASEAN Centre of MGIMO
University – one of the most prestigious educational institutions in
The
Professor said cooperation between
He added
that
The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which
The
signing of the trade pact enables
HCM
City businesses promote investment in Russia
Since a
free trade agreement between
As a
potential market, the investment flow is likely to be full of promise.
This
September,
The six
main areas that
Duong
Ngoc Minh, President of the Hung Vuong Joint Stock Company who has more than
a decade of experience of doing business in
Minh
noted that his company aims to develop logistic services to serve Vietnamese
exporters and creates links with local supermarkets.
Hung
Vuong will also work with Russian seafood processors to move the commodities
from
Minh
says his company “will set up a system of depots in the industrial zone for
Vietnamese exporters to
Pham Phu
Cuong, deputy director general of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment
Group (Vinatex), said there are about 40,000 Vietnamese workers in
Cuong
who is also the Chairman and Director General of Nha Be Garment Corporation
comments, “Vietnamese garment companies have pledged to invest in trading and
the construction of workshops. Once the industrial zone is completed, we will
likely be able to generate stable jobs for more than 10,000 workers there. We
will also build accommodation, workshops, and even kindergartens to help
Vietnamese workers live in the best possible conditions.”
Vo
Truong Thanh, chairman of the Truong Thanh Timber Processing Company, said,
“We’re doing business in
If
Vietnamese enterprises invest in Russia, they will enjoy many advantages in
favorable methods of payment between the two nations, the available human
resource of Vietnamese people living in Russia, the zone’s location, about 50
km from Moscow, and other preferential treatment policies.
Nguyen
Thi Hong, deputy chairwoman of
The
establishment of a light industrial zone in
Steel
businesses strive to compete in integration process
Soon
after
Nguyen
Van Sua, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), said with
current competitive capacity, the domestic steel industry finds it difficult
to compete with cheap steel products from
Since
early this year,
According
to the VSA, nearly 4 million tonnes of steel worth over US$2.3 billion were
imported into
Meanwhile,
It shows
a trade deficit of US$1.7 billion for the steel industry.
Trade
experts warned that with current pace, especially after FTAs with the RoK and
the EEU come into effect, the steel industry will come under strong pressure
from countries like the RoK,
To keep
a firm foothold on the home turf, domestic businesses should maintain
production by raising their competitive advantages and product quality,
lowering prices and sustaining after-sales services, Sua said.
The VSA
also urged the Government to help the steel industry build safeguard measures
such as conducting anti-dumping investigation into the sale of home-made
steel products to protect domestic businesses, Sua added.
Eurasian
trade deal promising
The
Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement signed on May 29 is
expected to offer ample opportunities and tough challenges to Vietnamese
businesses.
According
to the agreement,
Dang
Phuong Dung, Vice President and Secretary General of the Vietnam Textile
Association (VITAS), said that before signing the free trade pact with the
EEU, Viet Nam had an average export value of about US$17 million in garment
products to each member countries of the union, accounting for 2 per cent of
the total national export value of textile and garment, partly due to high
tax rates for imported garments to the countries.
Dung is
upbeat about Vietnamese textile and garments' market share in the union after
the pact, predicting that the two-way garment trade will grow by 50 percent
in the first year of the agreement's implementation and 20 percent over the
next five years, Vietnam News Agency reports.
Thanks
to the signing of free trade deals between
Dung
remarked that the agreements would create favourable conditions for
Vietnamese enterprises and products to approach foreign markets and enhance
trade promotion activities, and enterprises could gain good results right
now. They would need time to approach markets and reach agreements with their
foreign partners.
As for
enterprises in the textile and garment industry, they also need to make
efforts to increase their competitiveness.
On the
contrary, the deal would bring major competition to the Vietnamese steel
sector as Russian steel had low production costs and high quality, said
Nguyen Van Sua, Vice Chairman of the Viet Nam Steel Association.
Each
year,
Furthermore,
most Vietnamese steel enterprises are small-scale operations and lack the
backing of advanced technologies.
Sua
suggested that Vietnamese enterprises need to expand knowledge of
international trade, and the Government should deploy legal trade tools to
protect and support local steel production.
Pham Chi
Cuong, former chairman of the association, said only large steel producers
that have the ability to export their steel products would have the advantage
of price, market, and capital to acquire competitive ability after the FTA.
The number of local large steel producers was not many.
Phan Dao
Vu, a representative of the Viet Nam-Australia Steel Company, said local
steel producers would face many challenges following the FTAs, especially in
a situation of non-recovery in the local real estate market and a slight
increase in demand on the home market.
Domestic
steel makers would have difficulties selling their products due to competition
from the member countries of the union after the Viet Nam-EEU FTA, he
observed.
Container
truck rush affects property sales in HCM City
Buyers
are staying away from new apartment projects in the eastern area of HCM City
largely because of container truck traffic on nearby roads heading toward Cat
Lai seaport in District 2.
Cat Lai
seaport in District 2 is the biggest container seaport in the country with
more than 10,000 trucks every day.
The
eastern area, which extends from Sai Gon Bridge toward Dong Nai and Ba Ria –
Vung Tau provinces, includes district 2, 9 and Thu Duc.
Modern
infrastructure, including highway and flyover bridges, has been built in the
area, to accommodate the increasing number of buildings.
"With
the huge number of big trucks, the area's traffic has become worse, and
residents hesitate to live there," Associate Professor and Dr Nguyen
Trong Hoa, former head of the HCM City Development Research Institute, was
quoted as saying in the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper.
"The
traffic situation is the worst problem for real estate businesses. Big trucks
travelling the entire day on the long stretch of road is not good for
residents," the director of one real estate company said.
In a
recent report, District 2 leaders announced that only 25 per cent of new
urban projects have residents. Within the next five years, they will try to
double the number of residents in those projects.
A
representative of the municipal Master Planning and Architect Department said
centres that receive big containers, like Cat Lai port, should have a railway
system to transport commodities.
However,
in the Viet Nam Seaport Master Plan up to 2030, Cat Lai would be the only
port for southern provinces, while Cai Mep – Thi Vai Port in the Ba Ria –
Vung Tau Province would be an international and regional port with good
conditions.
Investment
in a railway system should be for Cai Mep – Thi Vai, not for Cat Lai.
"The
railway system requires a high investment, but it needs a long time to return
the capital. So, it will be used for long-term development," Hoa said.
"Cat
Lai Port is still very important for HCM City as well and southern provinces.
Investment for a railway system for the port is not possible," Hoa
added.
Upgrade
for economic zone
The Nghi
Son Economic Zone in the central province of Thanh Hoa is expected to become
a multi-sector industrial complex focusing on petrochemical refineries and
basic industries in the near future.
Under a
recent decision issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to amend the zone's
operational regulations, the basic industries that will be further developed
include steel, shipbuilding and repair, electricity and construction
material, as well as consumer goods and high-quality agro-forestry and
fisheries export-processing industries.
The
complex will help create jobs and promote training as well as improve the
quality of local human resources. It will also gradually be developed into a
high-quality regional human resources training centre.
Nghi
Son, currently spanning more than 18,610ha, will be expanded to cover
106,000ha, including nearly 66,500ha of the mainland and island and more than
39,500ha of water bodies.
The
mainland and island will comprise the entire Tinh Gia district, three
communes of Nong Cong district and three communes of Nhu Thanh district.
As
mentioned in the decision, additional efforts must be made till 2025 to
improve the economic zone's (EZ) business climate, implement key
socio-economic infrastructure projects and attract more domestic and foreign
investors.
It is
hoped the zone will see comprehensive development in industry and services,
and commercial, financial, cultural-social and tourism sectors after 2025,
while ensuring security and defence.
Green
and modern urban areas will also be developed within the Nghi Son EZ.
The Nghi
Son EZ, established in mid-2006, is about 200km to the south of the capital
city of Ha Noi. It is now home to 134 projects, including 124 domestic
projects, with a total registered investment of VND96.9 trillion (US$4.5
billion).
In 2014,
the zone attracted 41 new domestic projects with a total registered capital
of more than VND3.1 trillion (US$145.7 million), and three foreign-invested
projects worth $40.5 million. That same year, it generated VND18 trillion
($846 million) in revenue and created jobs for about 63,000 people.
It also
houses the Nghi Son seaport and the Nghi Son oil refinery and petrochemical
complex, the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia and the largest foreign
direct investment project in Viet Nam with a registered capital of more than
$9 billion.
Banks
to guarantee Sacomreal property projects
Saigon
Thuong Tin Real Estate Co. (Sacomreal) signed agreements with OCB, ACB and
HDB banks on Sunday to guarantee its property projects, following Article 56
of the Law on Real Estate Business, which will take effect on July 1.
OCB
committed to guarantee all Sacomreal-invested products, including the recent
Jamona City project in District 7, while ACB committed to guarantee products
of Jamona Riverside in District 7 that will be on sale in the third quarter.
HDB will
guarantee products of Carillon 3 project in Tan Binh District which will be
announced in the third quarter.
Pham
Nhat Vinh, chairman and general director of Sacomreal, said if developers
failed to hand over residential houses as agreed in the lease-sale contracts,
the purchaser may request the guarantor to return the advance and other
payments made to the investors.
"The
property market will then develop more transparently and sustainably. The
provision ensures that developers are financially viable and greater security
is provided to buyers," he said.
"Sacomreal's
signing with banks prior to Article 56 taking effect has shown our strong
commitment to buyers about the projects' quality and progress," he said.
At the
signing ceremony, the company announced the sale of 117 land lots covering an
area of 90-220 sq.m each of the Jamona City project in District 7 after the
first sale of all of its land lots.
State
Bank approves TFC acquisition to Maritime Bank
The
State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has approved the Vietnam Maritime Commercial
Joint Stock Bank (Maritime Bank) to acquire the Vietnam Textile and Garment
Finance Joint Stock Company (TFC).
The
decision will be put into effect on July 6 and TFC will be converted into the
Maritime Bank Finance Company Limited (MSB-FC).
The bank
will take over all assets, rights and legal obligations associated with the
TFC as well as the principles of ensuring the rights of employees and customers
who currently have financial affairs with the company.
As of
May 31, the company had VND673.6 billion (roughly US$30.9 million) in total
assets, VND598.7 billion (nearly US$27.5) in total capital and VND10.5
billion (US$481.530) in pre-tax profits.
The
acquisition of the TFC by Maritime Bank will facilitate the strategy to
promote retail banking as well as customer segmentation, which the bank has
persistently pursued.
The
direct acquisition is an important move whilst undergoing the process of
building the Maritime Bank into a multifunctional and modern bank, capable of
providing comprehensive financial services to meet the diverse needs of
consumers.
Maritime
Bank will also complete its official merger with the Mekong Development Bank
in the second quarter.
Two
investors eye cargo terminal project at Cat Bi
Hop
Thanh Mineral & Investment Joint Stock Co. and VietJet Aviation Joint
Stock Company (VietJetAir) are looking for support from the Ministry of
Transport to invest in a cargo terminal project at Cat Bi Airport in Haiphong
City.
In late
March, Hop Thanh wrote to the ministry proposing joining forces with Airports
Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to develop and operate the cargo terminal at the
airport in the northern city.
VietJetAir
submitted its petition to the ministry on May 12 suggesting that around six
hectares of land be allocated to it to build the terminal and a technical
center for aircraft.
According
to the ministry, at a meeting with the two investors on June 15, Deputy
Minister of Transport Pham Quy Tieu told ACV to coordinate with the
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit to decide on an investment format of
the project.
Early
this year, ACV began construction of a passenger terminal project at Cat Bi at
an investment of VND1.5 trillion (US$68.8 million). The project is planned
for completion in the last quarter of 2016.
*
VietJetAir on June 15 clinched a cooperation agreement with Saigon Beer,
Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) for brand development and sales
promotion campaigns.
Under
the agreement, VietJetAir will sell products of Sabeco to customers on its
domestic and international flights. Sabeco will cooperate with the no-frills
carrier in promotion, marketing and customer care programs.
Nguyen
Thi Thuy Binh, deputy general director of VietJetAir, said in a statement
that the cooperation between the airline and Sabeco would provide customers
of the two sides with more added value.
Meanwhile,
Pham Thi Hong Hanh, general director of Sabeco, said the partnership with
VietJetAir would enable the corporation to better serve customers and
introduce its products to more buyers.
VietJetAir
now operates 25 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft for 150 daily flights on 30
domestic and international routes linking Vietnam and Singapore, Thailand,
South Korea, Taiwan and Cambodia.
Vietnam
Register: Fuel consumption test fee won’t send car prices up
Vietnam
Register and automakers have said the fuel consumption test fee planned in
the Ministry of Finance’s draft circular for autos of no more than seven
seats will not send prices of these cars up.
Under
the draft circular on the fees for emission and fuel consumption tests and
energy labeling for autos of under seven seats, the ministry plans to collect
VND16 million for a fuel consumption test of gasoline cars and VND16.5
million for diesel autos.
The test
fee is part of the regulation which became effective on January 1, 2015 and
requires under-seven-seat autos, either locally assembled or imported, to
have energy labels before being sold.
Such
labels are printed by automakers after being verified by Vietnam Register and
stuck on cars before being delivered to buyers. Therefore, to have energy
labels, automakers and importers need to test fuel consumption of cars.
According
to auto firms and Vietnam Register, fuel consumption tests can be combined
with emission tests to help cut costs. This is also mentioned in the draft
circular of the ministry, which says only the emission test fee is applicable
to autos registered for both fuel consumption and emission tests.
Besides,
the tests are applicable for just one sample of an auto product, not all
autos of the same type. For instance, one of the 20,000 new Innova cars
assembled by Toyota Vietnam is tested.
Therefore,
the overall costs including that of energy labeling which automakers and
importers have to pay are not considerable. The cost of issuing a fuel
consumption certificate for every car model is just about VND100,000.
As
explained by a representative of the ministry, the fuel consumption fee will
not be charged on car users but manufacturers and importers. The ministry
said in a statement released on June 15 that such fuel consumption tests were
not compulsory to car owners.
The
ministry confirmed that the fuel consumption fee is not imposed on car owners
and buyers, or every car manufactured, assembled and imported. Only
organizations and individuals wanting to have their under-seven-seat cars
tested fuel consumption will have pay the fee.
The fuel
consumption fee is not new as it does exist in Circular 195/2011/TT-BTC on
emission tests of autos issued on December 26, 2011, the ministry said.
ACV
says Danang airport expansion urgent
Airports
Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has underlined the urgent need to expand Danang
International Airport in Danang City to meet an upsurge in arrivals,
especially of international visitors, says a report recently sent to the
Ministry of Transport.
ACV said
the third largest international airport in Vietnam after Tan Son Nhat in HCMC
and Noi Bai in Hanoi will be overloaded in the coming years if it is not
expanded soon. The corporation noted the number of passengers going through
Danang has registered an average annual growth rate of 14% in the past years.
In 2014
alone, the airport handled five million passengers, increasing 16%
year-on-year, and international visitors accounted for over nine million of
the total, soaring 53% compared to the same period last year, VietnamPlus
reports, citing the corporation.
The
number of passengers at Danang airport is forecast to reach six million next
year, over nine in 2020 and 20 million in 2030.
Le Manh
Hung, general director of ACV, said the number of passengers at Danang
airport could rise to 6-8 million passengers a year from 2015. “The airport
will certainly be overloaded in the next few years if the number of
passengers going through the airport continues to grow strongly as in
previous years.”
Therefore,
Hung said building one more terminal at Danang airport is a must as it will
help meet surging demand for air travel to and from the airport in the
commercial hub of central Vietnam. The new facility will enable the airport
to have separate terminals for domestic and international services.
The new
terminal is planned to go up in the area of the old passenger and cargo
facilities of Danang airport. The consulting firm ADCC will add the location
of the new terminal to a revised zoning plan for the airport and this plan
will be submitted to competent agencies next month.
The new
terminal is designed to have floor space of 40,000 square meters, two
separate arrival and departure floors, 40 check-in counters, nine boarding
gates, four boarding bridges and five baggage conveyor belts.
ACV
estimated the expansion plan would require VND3.2 trillion (more than US$147
million), including VND2.39 trillion for construction and equipment costs and
VND300 billion for site clearance.
The
corporation is seeking approval to join forces with a consortium of Thang
Long Airport Services Corporation (TASECO), AOV Investment Corporation and
Hanoi Construction Corporation (HANCORP) to form a joint stock company to
implement the expansion project. ACV plans to contribute 10% of the new
company’s chartered capital and the remainder will be covered by the
consortium.
Hung
said private investment would help speed up infrastructure development and
improve service quality at Danang airport.
ACV
expected the new passenger terminal would get off the ground in January next
year and be completed in June 2017, four months ahead of an APEC summit in
Danang City.
Earlier,
the consortium of TASECO, AOV and HANCORP sent the Ministry of Transport a
plan to develop a new passenger terminal at Danang airport with annual
handling capacity of four million passengers.
The
existing passenger terminal at Danang airport was put into use in December
2011 at a cost of more than VND1.3 trillion. It has total floor space of
36,600 square meters, nine boarding gates, four boarding bridges, 40 check-in
counters and eight baggage conveyer belts, and can handle up to six million
passengers a year.
At
present, three local airlines and 10 foreign carriers offer scheduled and
chartered flights a day linking Danang and 25 airports around the globe with
some 140 take-offs and landings.
Finance
ministry seeks to improve G-bond sales
The
Ministry of Finance is seeking measures to reverse a decline in demand for
government bonds.
Speaking
to the Daily via email, Phan Thi Thu Hien, deputy director of the Department
of Banking and Financial Institutions under the ministry, said Circular 36
sets a limit on bank loans for share and G-bond investment, leaving an
adverse impact on equity markets.
The
ministry and the central bank have reported to the Government and proposed
solutions to revitalize the interest in G-bonds.
The
ministry is considering issuing bonds both in Vietnam dong and foreign
currencies, offering various tenors and improving bond issue processes to
attract investors. It expects to strengthen technical solutions to facilitate
bond trading, meet with investors and cooperate with the central bank to
enforce fiscal and monetary policies to help maintain macroeconomic
stability, Hien said.
Since
2012, the ministry and the central bank have shared information and
cooperated to supervise the monetary and stock markets and bond issues.
The
participation of credit institutions in the capital and G-bond markets is in
line with international practices as they are the most important investors.
Regarding
the sale of US$1 billion worth of G-bonds to Vietcombank, Hien said that
sales of foreign-currency bonds on the local market are one of the measures
to raise capital for the State budget and development investment.
By May
15, the ministry had met only 26.7% of this year’s G-bond sale target,
tumbling 48.3% year-on-year.
Mismatched
numbers of household businesses
The
General Statistics Office put the number of household businesses nationwide
at 4.65 million last year but the figure given by the General Department of
Taxation was 1.6 million.
Dau Anh
Tuan, head of the Legal Department at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce (VCCI),
said at a conference in Hanoi last week that according to data of the General
Statistics Office, Vietnam had over 4.65 million household businesses in 2014
and 4.53 million this year.
Tuan
said the household business sector had contributed significantly to Vietnam’s
growth over the past 10 years. By 2014, the sector had created jobs for some
7.9 million people.
“This is
a big number but in reality it might be bigger,” he said.
Nguyen
Thi Hanh, head of the Tax Management Division at the General Department of
Taxation, said as of December 31 last year, the department had issued tax
codes to over three million household businesses. However, only 1.61 million
of them are operational while the remainder are not though they already have
tax codes, Hanh noted.
The
different figures caused confusion among attendees at the conference. Many
wondered whether the different numbers had led to a miscalculation that just
a small number of household enterprises had gone bust in recent years.
Hanh
said statistics were collected from different sources, so different agencies
would have different data.
She explained
the General Statistics Office used the number of business registration
certificates granted to households while the General Department of Taxation
relied on the number of tax codes.
“One
individual has one tax code but can do business at three different
locations,” she said.
However,
it is unclear why the differences are huge.
Representatives
of the Business Registration Management Department under the Ministry of
Planning and Investment gave no explanation about the figure differences.
Vu Tien
Loc, chairman of VCCI, said at the Vietnam Business Forum 2015 in Hanoi early
this week that the private sector was responsible for half the country’s
gross domestic product (GDP), with household businesses contributing over 33%
of GDP.
A
household business is defined as a Vietnamese person, a group of people or a
family runs a business, registers business at a location and uses no more
than 10 staff. They have no seals and are responsible for their businesses
via their businesses’ assets, according to Article 49 of Decree 43 on
business registration issued by the Government in 2010.
Disbursements
in home loan program still slow
Just a
quarter of the VND30-trillion (US$1.37 billion) the Government approved for a
home loan program benefiting low-income people has been disbursed though the
program was launched two years ago to support the sluggish real estate
market.
By
end-May, banks had pledged to lend VND14.1 trillion, with VND8.8 trillion of
it for individuals and households and the remaining VND5.3 trillion for
investors of 37 housing projects, said Nguyen Manh Ha, head of the Housing
and Real Estate Market Management Department under the Ministry of
Construction.
VND7.6
trillion, or 25.4% of the total, had been disbursed, with VND5.5 trillion of
it going to 17,600 families and individuals and VND2.1 trillion to 33
projects.
Banks
sped up lending to the real estate sector in the final months of last year
and the first five months of this year. According to reports of banks
involved in the home lending program, they had by end-May boosted lending by
200% against August 31, 2014, or before the Government issued Resolution
61/NQ-CP fostering the lending program, with loans for households and
individuals alone surging nearly 250%.
However,
Ha admitted it is tough to apply for a loan in this program.
First,
the borrower must sign a home lease or purchase contract with the investor,
meaning that they have to find out apartments eligible for the program.
Nonetheless, many localities, especially Hanoi and HCMC, lack low-cost
housing projects or commercial projects with small units priced at less than
VND15 million per square meter or VND1.05 billion each unit.
In
addition, the investor has found it hard to take out loans from the program
if they still have bad debt.
Second,
aside from requirements from the Ministry of Construction, the borrower has
to meet the criteria set out by the State Bank of Vietnam and lender banks.
To speed
up disbursements of the VND30-trillion program, relevant administering
agencies will order local authorities to simplify procedures and shorten the
approval time for low-cost apartment projects.
Foreign
investors eye Vietnam real estate market
Foreign
investors are seeking new investments in real estate projects in Vietnam with
attention on those at good locations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, according
to Saigon Giai phong newspaper.
The
trend began in late 2014 and has become obvious this year, as the date the
new law on housing takes effect is nearing. The law will allow foreigners and
overseas Vietnamese to own houses in Vietnam.
Savills
Vietnam Managing Director Neil MacGregor said while Vietnam is at the trough
of its real estate cycle, many other Asian markets are at the peak of their
cycles. The Southeast Asian country is well-positioned for a big number of
investors to take advantage of the market recovery, especially in the hotel
and office segments, he added.
According
to Savills Vietnam, many foreign investors are excited to buy houses in
Vietnam, especially those from Singapore, a leading nation in foreign direct
investment (FDI) in Ho Chi Minh City, followed by the Republic of Korea and
Japan.
As a
result, the high-end property segment is attracting attention. The demand for
high-end apartments is continually rising. The price of renting a flat in one
of the tallest buildings in Ho Chi Minh City is estimated at 36-42 USD per
one square metre per month – an incredible increase from several years ago.
According
to the Ministry of Construction’s Agency for Management of Housing and Real Estate
Market, Ho Chi Minh City had about 1,600 successful real estate transactions
in May, up nearly 6 percent from the previous month, and is expected to reach
1,700 in June. Hanoi saw 1,650 successful transactions in May and hopes to
have 1,700 in June as well.
The
rising demand for home ownership in Vietnam from overseas Vietnamese and
foreign investors is expected to create major momentum for the local real
estate market.
The
Housing Law 2015 states that foreigners with current Vietnam visas are
allowed to buy property in the country, as are foreign investment funds and
banks, Vietnamese branches and representative offices of overseas companies.
Such
property must be in commercial housing developments and not in areas that
limit or ban foreigner access.
For
investment projects with separate houses for sale or lease, foreign
organisations and individuals may not own more than 10 percent of the total
number of units within any given administrative area.-
Supermarkets
help boost farm produce exports
The presence
of many giant retailers in Vietnam is expected to create new distributing
channels for domestic agricultural products, giving local farm produce more
chances to enter foreign markets, according to the Nong nghiep Vietnam
(Vietnam Agriculture) Newspaper.
During
the last 16 years, Big C, the French supermarket chain under the umbrella of
Casino Group, has exported Vietnamese goods, mainly garments, farm and
aquatic products and rattan fine art products to Casino branches in various
countries, with around 1,100 containers each year, said Ho Quoc Nguyen,
director of public relations at Big C Supermarket.
According
to Nguyen, shrimps, fish and cuttlefish have been sold to Casino branches in
France, some South American countries and Indian Ocean nations, while dragon
fruit has been shipped to France.
He said
that in the coming time Big C will continue exports to Casino branches as
this is one of the key business activities of the retailer.
Metro
Cash and Carry Vietnam (Metro Vietnam) has cooperated with relevant agencies
to increase local farm produce exports to foreign countries since mid-2013.
In the last six months of 2013, Metro Vietnam purchased 6 million USD worth
of agricultural products to provide for stores in the Metro chain worldwide.
In 2014,
the supermarket exported 7 million USD worth of vegetables and fruits such as
garlic, ginger, passion fruit and rambutan as well as sea food.
Although
Metro Vietnam is transferring its wholesale business to Berli Jucker
Corporation of Thailand (BJC Thailand), the export of agricultural products
will continue, said Phillip Bacac, managing director of Metro Vietnam, saying
that demands for Vietnamese sea food are growing in Metro chain worldwide.
Furthermore,
there are an increasing number of supermarket chains selling Vietnamese
products abroad. Last year, Saigon Coop sold a raft of farm produce to
Singaporean NTUC FairPrice supermarket chain, including rice, fruits,
vegetables and processed products such as instant noodle. Particularly, the
partnership between Saigon Coop and FairPriceCoop to open the Xtra
hypermarket has created favourable conditions for Vietnamese products to
enter stores of this Singaporean supermarket chain.
Aeon
Vietnam, though a new comer to the Vietnamese market, is quick to ship
Vietnamese products to Japan.
Recently,
retailers in foreign countries have organised a number of promotion
programmes and exhibitions to introduce Vietnamese farm produce, which is a
boost to local exports.
In
addition, some supermarkets are building their own cultivation areas to
supply farm produce meeting safety standards, with Metro Vietnam as an
example.
Export
activities boosted by retailers’ distributing channel will make great
contributions to fostering relations between businesses and local residents,
paving way to form high-quality and safe material areas.
Vietnam-EEU
trade pact brings political, economic benefits: professor
The
recent conclusion of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), encompassing Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, brings both political and economic benefits for the
involved parties.
The
remark was made by Professor Evgeny Kanaev at the ASEAN Centre of MGIMO
University – one of the most prestigious educational institutions in Russia
for young people with international interests – as quoted by Sputniknews.com
The
Professor said cooperation between Russia and Vietnam has become more
sustainable and the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership facilitates
the expansion of all-around economic links with other ASEAN member states.
He added
that Vietnam has proved itself to be an active member of multilateral
cooperation in the regional and international arena.
The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Vietnam is an important
member, is striving to become the 4th biggest economic region in the world
and enhance its influence on global political and economic progress, he said.
The
signing of the trade pact enables Vietnam to balance external and trade
relations with foreign partners and is a significant move towards
strengthening common ASEAN policies, and increasing the country’s position in
the association and beyond, he noted.
Source : VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Chủ Nhật, 21 tháng 6, 2015
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