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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 6/7
Forestry
sector climbs sharply in first half
The
country's forestry sector grew by 8.3 per cent in the first six months of
this year, its highest-ever growth rate for a half-year period.
The
sector is expected to grow by 9 to 10 per cent over the course of the full
year, according to a conference held in Ha Noi yesterday on the sector's
restructuring efforts, which started two years ago.
Nguyen
Ba Ngai, general director of the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry under
the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the restructuring
efforts helped rake in an average growth rate of 6.57 per cent per year in
2013 and 2014, compared with the average of 5.03 per cent from 2010 to 2012.
A wood
chip export turnover of US$2.7 billion contributed to the sector's recent
high growth rate, and showed an increase of 8 per cent over the first half of
2014, said Ngai. The percentage of finely-processed wood chips accounted for
up to 85 per cent of the export volume, he stressed.
Still, Nguyen
Ton Quyen, vice president and general secretary of the Viet Nam Wood and
Forest Product Association, said the wood processing industry was unlikely to
achieve the target of $7 billion in wood exports set for this year, because
of the euro's depreciation in export markets and rising electricity, petrol
and oil prices.
Over the
last two years the sector had planted more than 200,000ha of forest, 90 per
cent of which were production forests.
In
The
conference was also told that during the sector's restructuring, it had found
57 individuals or companies that were good models for positive, profitable
forest economy practices.
All of
these individuals and firms earn at least VND100 million ($5,000) per hectare
of forest per year. They are mostly forest plantations specialising in big
trees.
Le Thien
Phuong's forest-farming household is one example. This war veteran in
Phuong said
if the State allows banks to extend the term of soft loans, which are lent
for a repayment period of three to five years, farmers will keep trees
standing longer.
"A
tree cut at the age of five can get a price only half of what it costs if
kept until the age of 10. But people need money to repay the bank loans, so
they are forced to cut their trees earlier than they'd like," Phuong
said.
Despite
the rosy figures, Ha Cong Tuan, vice agriculture minister, said many forested
provinces had not started restructuring.
He
ordered them to ready their forestry restructuring plans before the start of
the fourth quarter this year. They were also told to act quickly to introduce
good practices from other areas to their provinces and encourage local
businesses to join hands with farmers to develop planted forests.
Deputy Minister
of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has highlighted the importance of
Addressing
a conference on Vietnam-China rice and farm produce trading in
Meanwhile,
Guangdong Vice Governor Zhao Yufang held that there is room for cooperation
between
She
affirmed that the provincial government will continue collaborating with
During
the conference, leaders of the Vietnam Food Association briefed over 100 Chinese
leading agriculture firms on
On his
part, the head of the Guangdong Food Association introduced the province’s
need for agricultural products, especially rice, expressing willingness to set
up an affiliation mechanism between the two associations and act as a bridge
for business circles of both sides.
Earlier,
Deputy Minister Tran Tuan Anh had a working session with Guangdong Vice
Governor Zhao Yufang to seek measures to foster economic and trade
partnership between
During
his stay in
According
to statistics from the Vietnam Customs, last year, trade between
At the
same time, Guangzhou’s Customs’ statistics show that in the first four months
of this year, trade between Vietnam and Guangdong hit 4 .44 billion USD, an
increase of 10.6 percent year on year.
More than
70 government officials and personnel from travel agencies, hotels as well as
academics from
The
ASEAN-Korea Culture and Tourism Promotion Workshop was organised by the
ASEAN-Korea Centre in cooperation with the Vietnam National Administration of
Tourism.
The
workshop aimed to increase the competitiveness of the Vietnamese tourism
sector by providing knowledge about Korean culture. The goal is to improve
the quality of services given to South Korean tourists.
"The
workshop is a platform for travel agents and tourism enterprises from the two
countries to further strengthen tourism cooperation," said La Quoc
Khanh, deputy director of the city's Tourism Department.
In the
first five months of the year,
Over the
period, the number of Vietnamese tourists visiting the
Since
its inception in 2009, the ASEAN-Korea Centre has implemented various
cultural and tourism exchanges programmes, such as the ASEAN Culture and
Tourism Fair, ASEAN-Korea Tourism Development Workshop and ASEAN-Korea Youth
Network, Kim Young-sun, the centre's Secretary General, said.
In the
next six months, the centre plans to introduce tourism attractions in
Last
year, the number of two-way visitors reached nearly one million, including
833,000 visits to
The
ASEAN-Korea Culture and Tourism Promotion Workshop has been implemented since
2009 to promote tourism exchanges between ASEAN and the
This
year, the workshop was held in
Bac
Lieu economy grows in first 6 months
The
Mekong Delta
The
agricultural sector was key to the province’s encouraging results in the
first half.
In the
summer and winter-spring season, the province harvested 339,100 tonnes of
rice, equal to 32 percent of the year’s target and up one percent against the
same period.
Total
seafood output reached 137,000 tonnes, 79,000 tonnes of which are farmed
seafood, up four percent annually.
Frozen
shrimp exports, amounting to 18,739 tonnes, earned the province 212 million
USD, a four percent increase.
Among
its animal livestock, the province has 235,000 pigs and 2.3 million chickens,
on track for the year’s plan.
The
province produced a combined industrial production value of 1.6 trillion VND
(73 million USD), up 11.8 percent against the same period. However, the
figure only met 31 percent of the set target.
Targets
in exports were also not met, with rice export value reaching only 34 percent
of the plan, requiring the province to intensify their efforts from now
through the end of the year.
Industrial
parks and export processing zones in the southern
As a
result, the province had 231 valid foreign direct investment projects with
total registered capital of nearly 3.4 billion USD as of the end of June.
The
province is also home to 361 domestic projects worth a total 38 trillion VND
(approximately 1.76 billion USD).
Of the
projects, Trang Bang industrial park has attracted 160 projects with total
investment of 700 million USD; the Moc Bai industrial zone has 46 investment
projects with total registered capital of 444 million USD.
Chairman
of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy said the province
has bolstered foreign investment capital in industrial production and economy
in the past time.
She
reported that local foreign invested businesses posted a combined industrial
output value of 631 million USD in the first six months of 2015, around 48
percent increase compared to the same period last year.
FDI
projects in the province’s industrial parks and processing centres have
created jobs for 93,000 local and neighboring workers.
Binh
Duong sees foreign investment boom in garment sector
Over 50
percent of the 1 billion USD in foreign direct investment that landed in the
southern
The
province has granted an investment certificate to Polytex Far Eastern Co.,
Ltd under the Taiwan Far Eastern Group. With an investment of 274 million USD
in the first phase, the company will construct a 99-hectare plant producing
auxiliary products including cotton, synthetic and knitted fibres at Bau Bang
industrial Park.
This is
the largest investment project in the locality since the outset of this year.
As the
Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade pact enters the final rounds of negotiation,
foreign investors are making huge investments in
In the
first two quarters of this year, provincial garment export revenue reached
over 904 million USD, rising 11.2 percent from the same period last year and
accounting for 10.6 percent of the total exports in the locality.
Vietnam
attends 2015 Lisbon Fair
Vietnamese
businesses are showcasing their products for the first time at the 2015
Lisbon Fair held in
This
year’s event, the 28 th of its kind, is featuring approximately 1,000 enterprises
from more than 40 nations worldwide and is expected to draw 150,000 visitors
over the nine days.
Vietnamese
top products include tea, coffee, handicrafts and garments, which have
attracted the attention of visitors thus far.
On the
opening day, Portuguese Secretary of State of Employment Octavio Oliveira
visited
He
expressed his hope that the two countries would intensify cooperation and
take advantage of their potential to support each other effectively in
development as well as in raising their position in the international arena.
Trade
between
AEC
brightens prospects for infrastructure investment
The
formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of this year will
herald many cross-border opportunities for infrastructure investment between
the bloc’s member states.
This was
the shared opinion at a seminar held on July 2 in
Most of
the businesses held that the AEC would create a competitive market with 600
million people in multiple sectors including commerce, retail and tourism as
well as the region with the highest demand for infrastructure development in
the globe.
Demand
for capital and building materials in line with the latest technology has
turned the ASEAN into a hot spot for infrastructure investment.
Attendees
also spoke highly of the Vietnamese government’s drive to set up a legal
framework for public-private partnerships (PPP) which opens doors for
overseas investors in the field.
Khalid
Saleem, General Manager of Transport Business in the Asia Pacific at
Australia-based SMEC, said
Lena Ng,
Board Advisor for Thailand’s Amata Public Company, underscored Vietnam’s
commitment to build a conducive business climate for foreign investors,
noting that the firm is scheduled to expand its business in Vietnam alongside
its existing projects in Bien Hoa (southern Dong Nai province) and Tuan Chau
(northern Quang Ninh province).
On July
3, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced the upcoming debut of an
initiative promoting Vietnamese products across the country.
According
to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa, this year’s annual
campaign, titled “
From
July 6 to September 22, the campaign will seek and subsequently unveil its
ambassador. It will also give details on activities scheduled for the main
week due to take place in
The
initiative is part of a long-running “Vietnamese prioritise Vietnamese goods”
programme, under which all cities and provinces will build communication
channels with a “Proud of Vietnamese goods” slogan by 2020.
The
programme has thus far helped locally-made products win consumer favour. A
2014 survey from the Public Opinion Research Institute showed that 92 percent
of polled participants were interested in the programme and 63 percent
preferred using Vietnamese goods, increasing 4 percent from 2010.
Binh
Duong: tourism revenue earns 30.5 mln USD in first six months
The
southern
The
figure represents an increase of 19 percent from the same period last year.
Of the
tourists, 172,000 were international guests and 1,828,000 were domestic
visitors.
The
industry earned 640 billion VND (30.5 million USD) in the first six months,
up 29 percent compared to last year.
According
to the chairman, the province targets to receive six million tourists and
earn 4.45 trillion VND (212 million USD) in 2020.
To reach
the target, the province is calling for investors for tourism projects worth
8.3 trillion VND from 2016-2020.
In order
to meet the rising demand of tourists, the province has developed an
additional 29 hotels with 420 rooms to accommodate travellers since the
beginning of 2015.
To date,
the province has nearly 500 businesses working in the industry.
Forestry
sector records largest-ever growth rate
Forestry
production value has seen its largest-ever growth rate, reaching an average
annual increase of 6.57 percent per year over the last three years, 1.54
percent higher than the level recorded in 2010-2012.
Deputy
Head of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry Nguyen Ba Ngai made the
statement at a conference to review the two-year implementation of a forestry
restructuring plan held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD) in
He said
the growth rate is expected to hit 9-10 percent this year.
According
to Ngai, the export value of wood and forestry products experienced a
two-fold increase within the last five years from 3 billion USD per year in
2010-2012 to 6.27 billion USD per year from 2013-2015.
The
conference heard that reforestation received due attention during the period
with over 200,000 hectares of forest planted nationwide. The ministry built a
number of intensive forestry models in localities as well.
However,
restructuring remained limited as the plan has been implemented
non-synchronously and slowly.
Addressing
the event, MARD Deputy Minister Ha Cong Tuan urged localities to swiftly
approve activities for implementing the forestry restructuring plan.
Along
with expanding high-yield forestry models, localities need to improve their
policies in order to attract enterprise investment in the field, Tuan added.
Italian
region shares cooperative development expertise with Vietnam
The
Italian region of
At the
workshop, Giovanni Monti – President of the Emilia-Romagna branch of the
National League of Co-operatives and Mutuals (Legacoop) – said cooperatives
in Italy date back more than 150 years and currently generate annual revenue
of 45 billion EUR (about 49 billion USD), accounting for 8 percent of the
country’s GDP.
The
Palma
Costi, an official of the region, said cooperatives play an important role in
the regional economy and many have become popular worldwide.
She
added
At the
function, major cooperatives of the Italian region like Coop Italian Food,
Granarolo, Cefla and Cadiai shared their management and development
experience and expressed their interest in boosting business partnerships
with
Vietnam
Fatherland Front President Nguyen Thien Nhan said his country is a global
leading exporter of farm produce and is working towards sustainable
agricultural development.
Despite
that, it is facing difficulties in processing farm produce, building
trademarks and selling products, he said, noting the lax connectivity among
the 10 million farming households nationwide as hindering production and
sales efficiency.
Nhan
said the workshop was an opportunity for Vietnam to learn about the organisation
and operation of cooperatives in Emilia-Romagna to help Vietnamese farmers
improve their livelihoods. He hoped the region would continue to share
experience and support Vietnam in creating food processing industrial parks.
The
official also took the chance to present potential business opportunities in
Vietnam with its abundant human resources and competitive labour costs,
affirming that the Italian region could export its products to the Southeast
Asian country with its market of over 90 million people.
At the
workshop, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation was signed between the
Vietnam Cooperative Alliance and Legacoop and Emilia - Romagna’s Union of the
Chambers of Commerce.
Room
for VN to expand trade with Mercosur bloc
There is
ample room for Vietnam to expand trade and business links with countries in
the Mercosur bloc, according to participants at a conference on business
opportunities with countries in the sub-regional bloc comprising Argentina,
Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The
conference was held in Hanoi by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry
and the Mercosur-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce (MACC) to boost economic
cooperation between the Vietnamese business community and businesses from
countries in the Mercosur bloc as well as the bloc’s associate countries.
Addressing
the conference, Pham Thi Thu Hang, General Secretary of the VCCI, underlined
that Vietnam and Latin American countries have a strong opportunity to
develop economic relations because their economic structures are highly
complementary.
Trade
volume between Vietnam and 33 Latin American countries in 2014 reached 9.5
billion USD, up 40.7 percent from 2013, the highest level thus far.
Brazil
makes up for 3.3 billion USD, followed by Argentina with 1.9 billion USD and
Chile with 890 million USD.
Vietnam
mainly exported footwear, garments and textiles, electronics products,
refrigeration appliances, rubber, electric motors, optic devices, rice,
coffee and coal.
Latin
America has become an increasingly important source of materials for
Vietnam’s production of footwear, steel, plastics, animal food and soybean
and cotton.
According
to President of the MACC Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer, despite encouraging achievements,
the trade between Vietnam and the Mercosur bloc is still below potential.
Besides
traditional partners such as Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, trade links
between Vietnam with other Latin American countries continues to be limited,
he said.
Power
engineering consulting company receives Independence Order
Deputy
Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai presented the Order of Independence-1 st class
to the Power Engineering Consulting Joint Stock Company 2 (PECC2) at a
ceremony held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 3.
Speaking
at the event, the Deputy Prime Minister underscored that the company needs to
renew their management mechanisms while enhancing their consulting capacity
to meet the demands of customers and both domestic and foreign investors.
He asked
the company to broaden their consulting fields while fostering studies on
renewable energies to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and take
advantage of available resources.
In the
past 30 years, PECC2’s development has been attached to a raft of national
key projects – the North-South 500 kilovolt transmission line, Ha Tien-Phu
Quoc 110 kilovolt submarine power cable and a number of power plants
nationwide.
Last
year, the company took charge of the design of the EPC contract for the Vinh
Tan 4 thermal power plant, one of three power projects built at a cost of
over 1 billion USD.
PECC2’s
activities have been extended to countries in the vicinity such as Laos,
Cambodia and China.
Vietnam
– third largest importer of Chinese steel
Vietnam
purchased 3.5 million tonnes of steel from China from January-May, accounting
for 8.9 percent of the market share and ranking third among the nation’s
importers, according to the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero).
Alacero’s
latest data shows that in the period, the Republic of Korea imported the
biggest volume of Chinese steel with 5.2 million tonnes or 13.3 percent of
the market share.
It was
followed by Latin America with 3.8 million tonnes, up 12 percent from the
same period last year.
According
to Alacero, China exported 39.5 million tonnes of steel to the world in the
first five months of this year, an annual rise of 30 percent.
Import-export
turnover through Noi Bai airport increases
The
import-export turnover of goods through Noi Bai International Airport hit 2.7
billion USD in the first six months of 2015, according to the Airport Customs
Department.
During
the reviewed period, nearly 2.8 million passengers on 23,758 flights entered
and went out Hanoi through Noi Bai International Airport .
Vu Quoc
Hung, head of the department, said the airport’s Terminal 2 has a capacity of
handling ten million passengers a year and is expected to cater 15 million
passengers a year.
The
airport has applied risk management through the e-customs system for both
passengers and cargos in T2 has helped the sector cut down the time required
to deal with procedures, he said, adding the staff’s capacity and sense of
responsibility have also improved substantially.
MoIT
leads trade mission to China
The
Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is laser focused on expanding rice and
agricultural exports to China and has appointed Deputy Minister Tran Tuan Anh
to head up a delegation of trade representatives to support the effort.
In
connection therewith, Deputy Minister Anh was the key note speaker at a
recent forum held in China’s Guangdong province that gathered more than 100
leading Chinese business leaders to discuss trade related issues.
At the
event, Anh dilated on how Chinese and Vietnamese business could benefit from
expanded trade in agriculture, saying he highly appreciated the important
role that Guangdong plays in the trade relations between the two nations.
For his
part, the President of the Guangdong Food Association stressed the importance
of Vietnam’s agricultural products, especially rice to China and expressed
willingness to build strong mechanisms to enhance trade.
At the
forum the two sides signed a number of contracts to import rice.
In 2014,
China was the largest export market for the nation’s rice at 2.09 million
tons valued at US$891.19 million.
Can
Tho economy expands at fast pace in six months
The
southern city of Can Tho posted a higher economic growth rate than the rates
of the country and centrally-run cities in the first half of this year, said
a local official.
Its
growth was estimated at about 9.2%, up 8.26% annually, as compared to the
national rate of 6.28%, Hanoi’s 7.8%, Hai Phong’s 9.12%, Da Nang’s 8.15% and
Ho Chi Minh City’s 8.55%, said head of the municipal Statistics Department Le
Ngoc Bay.
The high
economic performance is credited to less bureaucratic procedures and
stabilised market prices.
During
the period, Can Tho reeled in nine new projects worth US$29 million in
processing and industrial zones.
The
total goods sales and service value topped VND76.35 trillion (US$3.63
billion), marking a yearly rise of 14%, more than VND42.2 trillion (US$2
billion) of which was from the retail and service sectors.
Export
earnings from farm produce, garment and handicrafts were also growing,
ranging from 11.5 – 25%.
On the
tourism front, the city welcomed about 1 million visitors, including over
103,500 foreigners and raked in VND970 billion (US$46.1 million), up 85%.
It
contributed over VND8.8 trillion (US$419 million) to the State budget, up 50%
from last year’s same period.
Vietnamese
exporters should leverage EU trade pact to increase exports to N.Europe
Local
exporters will earn much more if their products are put on the shelves of
retail stores in Northern Europe following the expected signing of a free
trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) this year, an
expert said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on July 3.
Once
successfully penetrating the Finnish market, and then expanding into other
Northern European markets, Vietnamese exporters will generate much higher
export revenue than what they can earn in other EU markets, Le Ky Anh, a
trade and economic officer at the delegation of the EU to Vietnam, remarked
at the “Doing Business with the EU and Finland” conference.
Importers
in Northern European countries, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway,
and Sweden, are willing to pay high prices for quality imports, Anh said.
The
government of Finland has begun funding the FLC14-04 project, which will help
Vietnamese enterprises with the export of agricultural and aquatic products
to that specific nation and the Northern European region, he said.
The
FLC14-04 project will be implemented to organize activities to promote the
image of Vietnamese goods in those markets and offer Vietnamese firms a
chance to get into thecountries, Anh said.
Via the
project, the government of Finland, in cooperation with the Vietnam Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, has opened many training courses for Vietnamese
companies to keep them informed of any market update.
Under
the project, many study tours for Vietnamese enterprises to survey the Nordic
market have been organized, Anh added.
The
project management unit will post information on their business and capacity
on its official website after finding out about potential Vietnamese
exporters.
The
website will help Finnish importers look for information on capable
Vietnamese exporters and sign cooperation agreements with them immediately
with no more verification needed.
As
Vietnam and the EU are complementary economies, the former’s exports to the
latter will not be challenged by goods produced by the firms there, Anh said.
Vietnam
is good at producing and processing agricultural and aquatic products, which
are contrary to the Nordic countries which have advantages in machinery and
technologies, he elaborated.
Moreover,
because it is very cold in Northern Europe, most agricultural commodities are
imported from abroad.
This
will be the potential markets for Vietnamese agricultural exporters, Anh
asserted.
Vietnam
has posted strong growth in exports to the EU market with consistent annual
rates of 15-17%, he said.
Last
year, bilateral trade between Vietnam and the EU surpassed US$36 billion and
the Southeast Asian country enjoyed a trade surplus of around US$19 billion,
the trade and economic officer cited official figures.
The EU
accounted for 19-20% of Vietnam’s exports of key products in 2014, 36% of the
country’s phone exports, 35% of its leather-shoe shipments, and 16.8% of its
outbound apparel sales.
Once the
trade pact between Vietnam and the EU is signed this year, the bloc will
liberalize 95-97% of tariffs on Vietnamese goods and thus local firms should
prepare to make the most out of this opportunity, Anh said.
Finance
Minister underlines Vietnam’s market economy policy
The
conference held recently in the US by the Ministry of Finance and US partners
wants to clarify Vietnam’s consistent policy of developing the market economy
and the wish to attract more foreign investment, especially that from the US,
according to Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung.
In an
interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency in early July, the minister said
the investment promotion conference also aims to update US investors on
Vietnam’s economic reform, particularly the efforts to fine tune
institutions, mechanisms and legal framework to facilitate foreign
investment, citing the Government’s Decree 60 as an example.
The
message of the conference, which took place in New York on July 1-4, was to
build more intensive and comprehensive partnership in the fields of finance
and capital market of Vietnam and the US for mutual benefit, he said.
Looking
back at the Vietnam-US economic relation over the last 20 years, Dung said
the bilateral ties recorded positive development, especially in economics,
investment, finance and trade.
The US
is one of the 10 largest foreign investors in Vietnam, with an increasing
number of US firms operating in Vietnam such as JPMorgan Chase, CitiGroup,
Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.
In terms
of trade, Vietnam has become the largest ASEAN exporter to the US market.
Economic
ties between the two countries will be likely to witness strong breakthroughs
in the coming time, Dung commented, citing favourable conditions such as the
upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement to which both Vietnam and the US
are members, and the strengthened comprehensive partnership between the two
countries.
Latin
America, Vietnam to expand trade
Vietnam
and Latin American countries have supplementary business structures, which
could help boost economic development.
Pham Thi
Thu Hang, general secretary of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(VCCI), made the remark at a workshop on business opportunities in the
Southern Common Market (Mercosur) organised by VCCI and the Mercosur-ASEAN
Chamber of Commerce.
The
businesses include oil and gas exploitation and processing, mining,
hydro-electricity, wind-driven electricity, nuclear power, atomic energy,
biological products and agriculture.
The
trade relations between Vietnam and the trade block have seen fast
development in recent years, as Vietnam has established trade relations with
33 markets in the region, according to Hang.
Vietnam's
export turnover to Latin American countries increased by 37% to US$4.7 billion
last year, compared with 2013.
Meanwhile,
imports to Vietnam from Latin America rose by nearly 50% year over year to
reach US$4.8 billion.
The
two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and 33 Latin American countries
reached $9.5 billion last year, up 40.7% over 2013.
Commodities
Vietnam exports to Latin American markets include footwear, electronic
products, rubber, electric motors, optical devices, rice, coffee and coal.
The
country imports raw material for textiles and garments, footwear, steel and iron
scraps, animal feed and cotton from Latin American markets.
Mercosur
- ASEAN Chamber of Commerce President Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer said that
despite the achievements, trade between Vietnam and Mercosur could be
improved.
Apart
from traditional partners like Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela,
trade between Vietnam and other countries in the block has not expanded.
Rodolfo
said the trade was lower than its potential due to language barriers,
geographical distance and limited information between partners.
Enterprises
from the two sides also have fewer opportunities to meet each other, due to
high market research expenses, the president added.
Mercosur
is an important region in Latin America, with free trade agreements among
Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador and Peru.
Taiwan
investors unable to fund multi-billion dollar steel mill
The fate
of a multi-billion dollar steel mill project is now uncertain after its
Taiwanese investors struggled to raise money for it, following several
adjustments to the construction plan the past decade.
Guang
Lian Dung Quat Steel Mill's investors have confirmed with local agencies
about their funding problems, nine years after the project was licensed, news
website Tuoi Tre Online reported on July 3.
As of
last June, Quang Ngai authorities had spent VND223 billion (US$10.21 million)
on compensation to residents relocated for the project, according to the news
report. Two-thirds of the site has been cleared.
Meanwhile,
investors have spent around US$42 million building initial structures for the
construction, news website Saigon Times Online reported.
The
project was initially proposed in 2006 by Taiwanese-owned Tycoons Vietnam
Co., Ltd with a cost estimate of over US$1 billion, aiming to produce five
million tons of steel a year.
Soon
after that E-United Group, a steel conglomerate also from Taiwan, jumped in,
increasing the factory's investment to US$3.3 billion without changing its
designed output.
E-United
contributed 90% of the projected cost and the rest from Tycoons.
In 2011,
the investors asked for permission to raise both the cost and capacity of the
factory, but authorities rejected the request, saying the investors failed to
prove that they could provide enough funding.
The next
year Japan's JEF Steel Corp. showed interest in the project, but backed out
after studying its feasibility for two years.
After
that, E-United proposed to cut the project's investment to US$2 billion.
Vietnam
to publish list of major tax defaulters: report
The
Ministry of Finance has ordered the tax department and tax offices in Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh City to publish the names of 600 businesses with the most
unpaid taxes and debts this month, according to media reports.
Each
will make a list of the 100 biggest tax defaulters and 100 with debts much
higher than their capital, Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Tuan Anh was
quoted as saying.
The move
is part of the finance ministry's effort to reduce the high ratio of unpaid
taxes over collections, which is currently 10%, he said, adding that tax
agencies also have to step up oversight of businesses.
Vietnam's
total back taxes amount to VND72 trillion (US$3.29 billion) and the ratio is
high in some places like Hanoi where it is 12%.
Tax
agencies have to increase their revenues by 10% this year as part of the
ministry's efforts to make up for the decrease in the country’s income from
crude oil, Anh said.
Government’s
revenues may be VND32 trillion (US$1.46 billion) lower than estimated due to
the sharp decline in crude oil prices, according to the ministry.
They
were VND446 trillion (US$20.43 billion) in the first six months, or 49% of
the target, it said.
Vietnam’s
first-half cell phone production tops 107 million units
With
major foreign phone makers expanding production, Vietnam’s mobile phone
industry posted strong growth in the first half of this year, the latest
figures show.
The
first six months saw 107.3 million mobile phones made and assembled in the Southeast
Asian country, a massive 68.8% increase compared to the same period last
year, according to the General Statistics Office.
The
export value of cellphones and components in the six-month period topped
US$14.7 billion, up 27% from the first half of 2014.
The
General Statistics Office also reported that 2.16 million televisions, 1.38
million motorbikes, and 88,100 cars were made in Vietnam from the start of
the year to the end of June.
The TV
and car sectors also posted solid production growth rates of 40.3% and 57.6%,
respectively.
The
robust manufacturing of mobile phones in Vietnam was mostly driven by foreign
players, including Samsung Electronics Vietnam, Microsoft Mobile Vietnam, and
LG Electronics.
Samsung
is operating seven projects worth a total of US$11.3 billion in the Southeast
Asian country, the two biggest of which are mobile phone production complexes
in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, two provinces in the north.
The
Republic of Korea's electronics behemoth has so far channeled US$2.5 billion
and US$5 billion into these complexes, respectively.
Microsoft,
meanwhile, inaugurated its first authorized resale store in Vietnam last
week.
It was
reportedly shutting down two handset plants it inherited from Nokia in China
and relocating part of the manufacturing to Vietnam, according to media
reports in February.
The
General Statistics Office also said Vietnam’s gross domestic product expanded
6.28% year-on-year in the first six month of this year, whereas the country
suffered a US$3.8 billion trade deficit.
In the
first half of 2014, the country enjoyed a US$1.9 billion trade surplus.
Vietnam’s
exports in the six-month period of 2015 topped US$77.7 billion, up 9.3% from
the same period last year, but imports soared 17.7% to US$81.5 billion,
according to the office.
Construction
firms step up privatisation
The
privatisation of businesses in the construction sector has been accelerated
to complete the target for equitising its 19 firms nationwide.
In the
first half of the year, the Ministry of Construction established a steering
committee on privatisation for approving plans, clarifying business value,
and spending for works at each company.
Viet Nam
Construction and Import-Export Corporation and the Infrastructure Development
and Construction Corporation (Licogi) sold out all their shares at initial
public offering (IPO). Licogi has negotiated to sell shares to strategic
shareholders and labourers.
The
ministry also submitted a privatisation plan for Viet Nam Machinery Erection
Corporation. It has completed the announcement of business value, as well as
the privatisation plan for Construction Corporation No.1 (CC1) and
Construction Material Corporation No.1.
Accordingly,
CC1 will be converted into a joint stock company by the end of this year. The
corporation will issue 110 million shares, with the starting price at
VND10,000 each. The government will hold 44 million shares; 413,500 shares
will be distributed to the corporation's labourers for preferential prices;
49.5 million shares will be sold to strategic investors, and 14 million
shares will be sold at IPO.
Tuan Loc
Construction Investment Company and Top American Viet Nam want to be CC1's
strategic investors by buying 41.8 million and 7.7 million shares,
respectively.
In
addition, several businesses in the sector have been carrying out business
value assessments for their privatisation. These include Construction
Machinery Corporation, Khanh Hoa Housing Development Company, Viet Nam
Construction Consultant Corporation, Song Da Corporation, as well as Housing
and Urban Development Corporation and Viet Nam Cement Corporation.
The
construction sector is expected to announce business value in the third
quarter. The ministry will submit privatisation plans to the Prime Minister
in the last quarter of the year for approval.
The
ministry also plans to divest from non-core businesses at State-owned
enterprises, with a total value of VND5.25 trillion (US$243 million).
Source : VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Hai, 6 tháng 7, 2015
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