BUSINESS IN BRIEF 29/8 Ho Chi Minh City to host Cotton Day in September Ho Chi Minh City will host the Cotton Day 2017 on September 12, which aims to strengthen connection between garment-textile firms and partners, suppliers and experts in the cotton sector. The event, to be held by the Cotton Council International (CCI) and the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (VITAS), will be a chance for enterprises to learn about global cotton demand and brands’ consumption trends. Within the event, a conference and fashion show will be held, introducing the COTTON USA collections of Canifa and John Henry brands, including those designed by five winners of the COTTON USA-Fashion Design contest. Vu Duc Giang, VITAS President, said that Vietnam has to import a large amount of cotton as the domestic sector meets only 0.04 percent of demand. Among supply sources, cotton from the US is considered the highest quality, accounting for up to 60 percent of total cotton imports. Giang said that the Cotton Day is expected to enable Vietnamese firm to use the COTTON USA label on their products. Since 2017, the CCI has helped Vietnamese fashion brands use US cotton to enhance their products’ quality. According to the VITAS, despite challenges facing Vietnam’s garment and textile sector, including pressure from anti-dumping tax on fibre in Turkey and India, the sector still earned 19.8 billion USD from export in the first eight months of 2017, up 9.9 percent year on year. The Cotton Day is one of the CCI’s biggest events in Asia. The event began in Japan in the early 1990s and has been held in the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), China, Thailand, and Bangladesh. This year, it is held for the first time in Vietnam and Indonesia. Indonesia firm to build coal port in Vietnam   Indonesia’s PT. Intra Asia Corpora has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vietnam’s Hong Phat Coal and Resources Company to build a coal port in southern Vietnam. “The port will especially be used for cargo and logistics that will serve exports and imports between Indonesia and Vietnam, particularly coal,” Intra Asia Indonesia commissioner Lutfi Ismail said on the jakartapost.com. The port, worth 1 billion USD, is designed to have a capacity of 15-20 million tonnes of coal per year and will help cut logistics costs for importing coal from Indonesia. Hence, it will facilitate the sustainable development of coal exports from Indonesia to Vietnam and supply fuel to coal power plants in Vietnam. Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency recorded that trade between Indonesia and Vietnam reached 6.3 billion USD last year, while Indonesia suffered a 182.9 million USD deficit. This year, Indonesia is targeting to export 4.5 million tonnes of coal to Vietnam, Lutfi added. Agro-fishery-forestry export surges in first 8 months Agro, fishery and forestry export turnover in the first eight months of this year rose 13.5 percent from the same period last year to 23.66 billion USD, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Turnover was estimated at 3.1 billion USD in August alone. In the first eight months, agricultural export value was estimated at 12.6 billion USD, up 17.2 percent from the same period last year, while seafood exports fetched 5.13 billion USD, up 18.1 percent and forestry products saw an increase of 9.6 percent to 5.07 billion USD. Rice exports garnered 220 million USD with 504,000 tonnes in August, raising the total rice export value to 1.75 billion USD with 3.96 million tonnes, up 17.5 percent in value and 19.8 percent in volume year on year. China remained the largest market for Vietnamese rice, accounting for 41 percent of total export volume, followed by Malaysia with 7.3 percent. Coffee shipments reached 1.02 million tonnes for export value of 2.33 billion USD, down 19.9 percent in volume but up 3 percent in value.  Rubber exports stood at 795,000 tonnes for nearly 1.36 billion USD, marking an 11.2 percent growth in volume and a 52 percent increase in value over the same period last year. Pepper exports were estimated at 165,000 tonnes, worth 889 million USD, up 21.6 percent in volume but down 19.5 percent in value. Cashew nut exports fell by 1.1 percent in volume while surging by nearly 25 percent in value thanks to a 27 percent increase in prices. The sector shipped 223,000 tonnes abroad, worth 2.2 billion USD. In the reviewed period, exports of fruit and vegetables earned 2.32 billion USD, up 46.5 percent year on year. China, Japan, the US and the Republic of Korea are among the top importers of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables.  Meanwhile, agro, fishery and forestry imports in the first eight months of this year amounted to 19.17 billion USD, including 2.69 billion USD in August. Bac Lieu strives to become centre of shrimp industry The establishment of a hi-tech shrimp farming zone in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu approved by the Prime Minister is expected to create a momentum for the locality to build itself into a centre of shrimp industry in Vietnam. Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Ngoc Lan said the zone will support the seafood sector in the Ca Mau peninsula in general and Bac Lieu in particular.  It is estimated that close to 500,000-600,000 hectares of shrimp farming in the peninsula will benefit from the project which encourages the application of the latest science and technology. According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Thanh Trung, 270 out of the total 420 hectares of the zone will be for super-intensive farming, which is able to produce 100-300 tonnes of shrimps per hectare. The application of this model will have strong impacts on the restructuring process of the local agricultural sector towards increasing added value and sustainability. The Ca Mau peninsula boasts the largest farming area of shrimp in the Mekong Delta with nearly 552,000 hectares in 2015, accounting for 88.8 percent of the region’s total area. Though Bac Lieu ranked second in the area of shrimp farming area (124,000 hectares, after Ca Mau over 280,000 hectares), its output is leading the region with nearly 105,000 tonnes per annum. Vietnam is the world’s leading shrimp exporter with 680,000 hectares of shrimp breeding area in 2015, producing 603,000 tonnes of shrimps, making up 15.1 percent of the global market. Seafood exports roses by 18.1 percent in 8 months Vietnam shipped 749 million USD worth of seafood abroad in August, bringing seafood exports in the first eight months of 2017 to 5.13 billion USD, up 18.1 percent from the same period last year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the largest buyers of Vietnamese seafood included the United States, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, accounting for 55.6 percent of total exports. Export value to China showed the biggest increase of 57.2 percent, followed by Japan (30.8 percent), the United Kingdom (30.1 percent), the RoK (28.8 percent), the Netherlands (25.3 percent) and Canada (20.7 percent). Meanwhile, Vietnam imported 912 million USD worth of seafood in the first eight months, a year-on-year rise of 31.3 percent.  In a move expected to hurt seafood exports, the US Department of Agriculture has just revealed it will begin inspecting all pangasius and Siluriformes fish imports from Vietnam from August 2, instead of September 1 as previously announced. However, no customs-related issues have been reported on export batches to the US since then. The pangasius has been fetching from 22,000 – 25,000 VND per kg in the Mekong Delta during August, depending on its quality and the payment method. Prawn prices meanwhile have been rising this month due to low supply alongside increased demand from local seafood processing firms. Free trade agreement helps boost Vietnam-EAEU trade Trade between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) hit 1.7 billion USD in the first 6 months of 2017, up 21 percent year-on-year, according to statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The figure was reported at a seminar on the EAEU market and opportunities to boost export via the Vietnam – EAEU free trade agreement held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on August 25.  At the function, Hoang Quoc Vuong, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade said the pact, which took effect in October 2016, has enabled Vietnam to access a market of 183 million people and nearly 2.2 trillion USD in GDP. Currently, about 900 Vietnamese exporters are active in the EAEU market, with key exports including seafood, coffee, rubber, tea, rice, apparel, woodwork products and confectionary.  Kharinov Vyachslav Nikolaevich, Chief Representative of the Russian Trade Office in Vietnam, said from the beginning of 2017, a strong increase has been seen in Vietnam’s import of Russian food, coal, steel, paper products and chemicals, while healthy growth has been recorded for Vietnamese shipments of mobile phone components, apparel and farm produce to Russia. However, many were not satisfied with the growth.  Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, Vice Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, said Vietnam – EAEU trade felt short of potentials, staying at just over 3 billion USD on an annual average. Trade between Vietnam and EAEU members have recorded unequal growth, he said, citing as an example that HCM City’s firms have mostly worked with Russian partners and are yet to tap business potentials with those from Belarus and Armenia. In fact, Vietnam – Russia trade makes up 90 percent of total trade revenue between the country and the EAEU, while trade between Vietnam and Belarus and Armenia in 2016 even recorded decreases from 2015. Nguyen Khanh Ngoc, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s European Market Department, attributed the issue to long-time trade partnership between Vietnam and Russia and inadequate understanding of Vietnamese firms about other EAEU markets. She urged Vietnamese enterprises to study these markets and boost their product quality to maximize trade before the EAEU signs free trade agreement with more nations.- Can Tho wishes for stronger cooperation with Japan in agriculture, health care Chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee Vo Thanh Thong told Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Umeda Kunio on August 25 that he wants Can Tho and Japan to foster cooperation in farm produce processing and health care. Thong said that Can Tho city is a major agriculture hub of the Mekong Delta region with high agricultural productivity and quality. However, the prices of many local farm produces have yet to meet expectation, he said, adding that the city is also facing many difficulties in exporting products to certain markets due to poor processing technologies. He suggested that Ambassador Umeda Kunio, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), help the city to build a centre for preserving and processing fruit using modern technology meeting international standards. The Can Tho leader also asked the diplomat to assist Can Tho in accessing Japanese ODA to improve its cardiovascular hospital with 200 beds at a cost of about 32 million USD. For his part, Ambassador Umeda Kunio said that he finds Japanese-funded projects in Can Tho are operating effectively with right purposes and expectation. He noted that the proposal on cooperation in agricultural product processing and health care is in line with the two countries’ direction for cooperation, and promised to encourage Japanese firms to invest in Can Tho, as well as introduce Japanese localities to the city for establishing twinning relations. According to Can Tho Department of External Relations, as of July 2017, Can Tho had six Japanese-funded projects worth 12.05 million USD, mostly in automobile, paper, computer software and food. Vietjet announces Hanoi-Yangon route Low-cost carrier Vietjet Air officially announced its new route connecting Hanoi with Yangon, the renowned tourism city of Myanmar, at a ceremony in Yangon on August 26 on the occasion of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s state visit to the country. The route is expected to meet traveling demands between the two countries, making contributions to promoting regional trade and integration. Vietjet Air will conduct daily round-trip flights on the route with flight duration of nearly two hours. Flights from Hanoi take off at 12:05 and arrive in Yangon at 13:30 (local time). Meanwhile, the return leg leaves Myanmar at 14:30 and touches down in Hanoi at 16:55 (local time). This is the second Vietjet Air service to Myanmar, following its Ho Chi Minh City-Yangon route.  Currently, the low-cost airline operates over 350 flights per day on 73 routes to domestic and international destinations. Vietjet has flown nearly 40 million passengers so far. Coffee value to increase despite output dropping Vietnam exported 974,712 tonnes of coffee from January 1 to August 15 this year, a reduction of 16.4 percent from the same period last year, earning 2.22 billion USD in value, up 7.9 percent, according to Vietnam’s Customs. Average export value hit 2,262 USD per tonne, a yearly increase of 30.4 percent. Germany and the United States remained Vietnam’s biggest coffee importers, with 16 percent and 14.3 percent of the market share, respectively. Meanwhile, the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa) said since the beginning of the 2016-2017 crop (from October last year to November this year), Vietnam has shipped some 1.3 million tonnes of coffee abroad while 50,000 tonnes remained in stock.  Vietnam’s coffee exports were estimated to drop 20-30 percent in the 2016-2017 crop due to a supply shortage, said Vicofa, adding that the coffee price may go up as the new crop will start from November and the goods is still in demand. Do Ha Nam, Vice President of Vicofa and Director-General of Intimex Group, said coffee was sold at 44,300-45,100 VND a kilo in central highlands provinces, up 1,000 VND per kilo. He noted that the price of Robusta coffee at the London stock exchange sharply increased to 2,116 USD per tonne in September and 2,101 USD per tonne in November, up 54 USD and 47 USD respectively, adding the price is expected to reach 2,066 USD per tonne in January 2018, up 33 USD. Nam also said Brazil needs to import Robusta coffee due to severe losses, while this kind of coffee is in high demand globally, particularly in Asia and emerging markets.   Vietnamese coffee producers started to invest in packaged instant coffee because of its higher value than raw coffee. The country’s instant coffee export expanded to 15 percent of total coffee exports and is hoped to reach 30 percent per year. However, a recent proposal by the Ministry of Finance to impose packaged instant coffee on some beverages, including processed coffee, might hinder the country from meeting the 30 percent target. Viet Nam to export dragon fruit to Australia      Australia last week announced that it would permit the import of Vietnamese dragon fruit, making Viet Nam the first country to get licence to export fresh dragon fruit there. Dragon fruit is one of Viet Nam’s key export fruits, and saw export sales worth US$895.7 million in 2016, accounting for 50.3 per cent of the country’s total fresh fruit exports and 36.1 per cent of Viet Nam’s total fruit and vegetables exports. The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in order to export goods to the Australian market, exporters must comply with stringent regulations. Specifically, to export to Australia, businesses must have a valid licence issued by the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as well as a certificate of no-insect infection in the area of biological safety control by Viet Nam’s Plant Protection Department (PPD). The fresh dragon fruit must originate, be produced and exported from Viet Nam, in accordance with relevant conditions and programmes. Before shipment, the fruits must undergo vapour heat treatment (VHT) for 40 minutes at 46.5 degrees Celsius at a minimum of 90 per cent humidity at a processing facility approved by the PPD. The produce must be free of insects and diseases and must not have contaminant pollutants. Packaging must be done using synthetic materials or highly processed materials of plant origin; unprocessed materials such as straw cannot be used. The cartons or individual packages must be tied firmly and labelled with unique identifier to facilitate traceability. The treated products must be protected from harmful insects during and after packaging, while handling, storing and transporting between locations. Products that have been inspected and certified by a competent authority from Viet Nam must be maintained in a safe condition so as not to be mixed with fruits exported to other markets, or for consumption in the domestic market. The PPD must inspect containers prior to loading and ensure there are no insects, and all vents must be covered to prevent insect infiltration. The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources can review the import policy at any time after trade commences, or when pest and quarantine control rules in Viet Nam are altered. Fresh dragon fruit is one of Viet Nam’s priority agricultural commodities for the Australian market. Australia is also speeding up the approval process for other fresh fruits from Viet Nam.  Hoa Phat Poultry Co imports high-quality chicken breed      Hoa Phat Poultry Company Limited has imported the first batch of Hyline Brown chicken breed, the world’s most balanced brown egg layer, from the UK-based Hy-Line International. According to the company, co-operation between Hoa Phat Poultry and Hy Line International, a world leader in poultry-layer genetics, will help step-by-step concretise the target of Hoa Phat in the hi-tech poultry sector. A Hy-Line Brown chicken produces over 355 brown eggs over a period of 80 weeks, peaks well and begins laying early with optimum egg size. These traits combined with unrivaled feed efficiency, interior egg quality and classy livability give the Hy-Line Brown the perfect balance, which means more profit for the poultry producer. Hy-line Brown chicken has a slim body with an average weight of about 2kg at 72 weeks of age, consuming less food. Hyline Brown chicken’s eggs are brown, slender and suited to the tastes of the majority of buyers and distributors in Viet Nam. Prior to the delivery of the batch of chickens to Hoa Phat’s farm, all the cages at the farm were disinfected to ensure the best conditions for the growth and development of the chickens. All chickens were vaccinated in accordance with the regulations of the livestock industry. Hoa Phat’s strategy in the poultry sector is to provide over 300 million high quality, clean chicken eggs per year to the market from 2020. Currently the company aims to provide high quality chicken eggs to its farms in the northern province of Phu Tho and southern province of Dong Nai, while the remaining will be supplied to the market. Da Nang IT Park restarts construction      The Trung Nam Group has restarted construction of the Da Nang Information Technology Park (DITP) in Hoa Vang District after an agreement to buy a 65 per cent stake from the US’s Rocky Lai & Associates Inc, the project’s former investor. Deputy General Director of the group, Bui Xuan Dinh told Viet Nam News the project is to be put into operation in the second quarter of 2018. “We have reviewed the construction schedule since we inked an agreement of buying 65 per cent stake from the US’s Rocky Lai & Associates Inc and partners. We plan to complete infrastructure to handover to new investors in 2018 before starting the second phase in 2018-23,” Dinh said. He hoped that the project will offer more opportunities for information technology (IT) investors in Da Nang in the future. The park, which covers 341ha with total registered investment of US$278 million, aims to become central Viet Nam’s Silicon Valley. It expects to create revenue of $3 billion each year with 25,000 jobs and a satellite city of 100,000 people.  Cashew sector may miss export target      Viet Nam may not reach this year’s targeted cashew export value of US$3.3 billion, due to a shortage of raw materials for cashew export processing. Ta Quang Huyen, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Cashew Association and general director of the Hoang Son I Co Ltd, stated that Viet Nam’s cashew exports in the first seven months of this year have reached a total value of $2.6 billion. The domestic cashew industry must import about 300,000 tonnes of raw materials for export processing, to reach its targeted export value of $3.3 billion for the entire year, Huyen added. However, the cashew crop season in West Africa has already ended so the available supply of raw materials from this region will not be too significant, making it difficult for the domestic cashew processing industry, he further said. “In the first seven months of this year, Viet Nam’s cashew processing and export enterprises have imported 1.3 million tonnes of raw cashew nuts, 200,000 tonnes higher than in the same period last year,” said Nguyen Hue Chi Thai, consulting expert at the association. By the end of the year, the demand for cashew nuts in the world market will increase, especially for Christmas. Therefore, factories will continue to import 300,000 tonnes of raw cashew for processing and export to many countries, such as Libya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Indonesia. However, due to unusual weather conditions, many African cashew growing countries, such as Libya, have reduced their cashew output by 250,000 tonnes, so the two main regional suppliers of raw materials for the industry are Tanzania and Mozambique. Indonesia will also supply 200,000 tonnes for the world market, but at higher prices, at $2,500 per tonne, compared to raw materials from African countries, so local businesses will have to calculate the cost of importing raw materials from Indonesia.  Automated customs-clearance system brings improvements      The application of the new electronic customs clearance and a station operating system has brought remarkable efficiency and benefits to import and export businesses, an official said. During a meeting held on Friday in Ha Noi, Bui Thai Quang, deputy head of the risk management team of General Department of Viet Nam Customs, said the e-customs procedures, referred to as VNACCS/VCIS system, helped reduce cargo clearance time, paperwork in customs documents, and saving costs during procedure completion, as well as the state administration of customs. The VNACCS/VCIS, based on Japanese models, the Nippon Automated Cargo Clearance System (NACCS) and Customs Intelligence System (CIS), is a modern e-clearance system dedicated to electronic processing of air and cargo to enable faster and more efficient customs clearance. VNACCS/ VCIS system was officially operated on April 1, 2014 and has been implemented in all customs departments nationwide, aiming to support enterprises best in customs declaration such as automatically apply tax rate, exchange rate for calculating tax, automatically calculate taxable amount, payable tax, automatically alerts incorrect declared items. The system also automatically checks, numbers and allocates red, green or yellow channels for customs declaration 24/7. Under the system, cross-border goods are classified into three types according to the degree of risk, which are easy access or green channel, yellow channel and red channel. The clearance of goods via green channels takes only three seconds so goods can quickly go through the customs formalities without any inspection since they have no risks. Moderate risk products undergo yellow channel which require some types of customs documents including foreign trade contracts, commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin, quality inspection, tax certificate and other documents. All high risk products are diverted to the red channel, which requires a variety of documents and physical inspection to be completed. According to Quang, in the first seven months of this year, among over six million cross-border goods undergoing the custom clearance procedure, 57.53 per cent of them were diverted to green channel and 37.46 per cent of goods flew through the yellow channel. Only 5.01 per cent passed through the red channel. This, according to Quang, even exceeded the goal set out by the government (below 7 per cent of goods undergoing red channel toward 2020). The VNACCS/VCIS, built at a cost of US$21.2 million and funded by the Japanese government, contributed to stimulating the country’s economic growth and strengthening connectivity between Việt Nam and the global economies through ASEAN’s one-stop-shop mechanism, he said.  Grab cabs now operate in Quảng Ninh      Residents of the northern province of Quang Ninh can now avail of Grab ride hailing services. At the launch ceremony on Wednesday, the provincial Department of Transport said Grab Viet Nam has been allowed to carry out a pilot project for passenger transport using contracted cars in the province. From Wednesday, GrabCar and Grab Taxi services have been operational. Quang Ninh Province has become the fourth region to offer Grab’s ride-hailing services, after HCM City, Ha Noi and Da Nang City.  Ha Noi celebrates Hung Yen longan      Longan lovers rejoice: the delicious fruit from Hung Yen province has its very own week for the first time ever. A group including Ha Noi supermarkets and area government departments launched Hưng Yên longan week yesterday. It will run through August 31. The week was jointly organised by Central Group Viet Nam, Big C Viet Nam and Hung Yen Department of Industry and Trade, with the aim of expanding longan trade and reaching a large number of consumers. “The event is an occasion for Central Group Viet Nam and Big C Viet Nam to make a commitment of contributing to the prosperity of Viet Nam, as well as improving the country’s quality of life,” deputy director of Big C Supermarket Nguyen Thai Dung told Viet Nam News. In celebration of Hung Yen longan week, customers can taste different types of the fruit and purchase it at Big C Thang Long Ha Noi, located at 222 Tran Duy Hung street, Cau Giay District. Nguyen Minh Quang, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said longan was a longstanding specialty of Hung Yen Province. Some special features include its round shape, dark brown shells, thick pulp, drain, white sticky color inside and sweet flavor. Currently, the province plants around 3,300ha of longan in four main areas, including Hung Yen City, Khoai Chau, Kim Dong and Tien Lu. The province’s total longan output is over 40,000 tonnes per year. Two cultivation areas in Hong Nam commune (Hung Yen City) and Ham Tu commune (Khoai Chau district) also export longan to the United States for sale there. Big C supermarket aimed to sell 35 tonnes of Hung Yen longan in the first three days of longan week, Dung added.  FPT signs strategic deal with Coca Cola Viet Nam      Accordingly, FPT will research and develop appropriate digital solutions for Coca-Cola Viet Nam to promote its manufacturing. In addition, the two sides will cooperate in some other activities such as training and encouraging students of FPT Education to participate in Coca-Cola Viet Nam’s projects as well as implementing several sustainable development projects. "Digitalising manufacturing operations and business operations is one of Coca-Cola’s priorities for building smart plants, besides green energy, automation, partner capacity development for the small and medium-sized enterprises in its supply chain, and a high quality work environment,” Tiffani Sassei said at the ceremony. “This demonstrates our commitment to stable investment that is consistent with Viet Nam’s priorities in Industry 4.0. As one of Viet Nam’s leading technology companies, FPT has helped many enterprises with digital transformation. We believe that with its experience and technological capacity, FPT will make Coca-Cola Viet Nam’s digital transformation process as swift and effective as possible," she added. Also at the event, FPT Chairman Truong Gia Binh stated that this co-operation with Coca-Cola Viet Nam is a highlight in FPT’s digital transformation practices for its customers. With its capacity and experience, FPT will study and offer the most appropriate solutions to help Coca-Cola Viet Nam improve its capabilities in Industry 4.0.  Kyo York supports Co.opmart, Vietnamese goods      On August 26 American singer Kyo York, despite a rainstorm, took a flight to Saigon and went straight to the Co.opmart Foodcosa supermarket, on Quang Trung Street, Go Vap District, to participate in a performance programme to promote Vietnamese goods. The programme, called “Tu hao hang Viet” (Proud of Vietnamese Goods), is the Co.opmart supermarket system’s largest promotion in the year. “Proud of Vietnamese Goods 2017” will offer attractive discounts for three weeks, from August 26 to September 17, at all Co.opmart and Co.opXtra supermarkets nation-wide. After singing Thuong qua Viet Nam oi to huge cheers from the audience, Kyo York shared images of his shopping at Co.opmart Nguyen Dinh Chieu. He said he trusts the quality and prices of Vietnamese goods, and likes Vietnamese rice especially. After coming to know it was the 20th anniversary of the very meaningful Proud of Vietnamese Goods programme, he was eager to take part in it, he said. The highlights of the programme are activities to increase the benefits of customers when buying Vietnamese goods, including discounts of up to 50 per cent on thousands of products, hundreds of valuable gifts, points that are many times higher than normal, and very big discounts on many Vietnamese goods under the “Super incentive” programme. There are also many other attractive activities such as setting aside space for suppliers to organise samples, introducing new products, and game shows to promote Vietnamese goods. During the “Proud of Vietnamese Goods 2017” promotion month, Saigon Co.op will organise a programme called Vietnamese goods trip - Together with Co.opmart to spread the love of Vietnamese goods. It will see truck carrying Vietnamese goods depart from the southernmost province of Ca Mau, go through Can Tho, HCM City and central and northern provinces and cities to reach Ha Noi before finishing in Thai Nguyen Province. During the trans-Viet Nam journey, the organisers plan to hand out more than 20,000 gifts, all made-in Viet Nam products, to local residents en route to spread happiness among them and at the same time promote Vietnamese goods. IDICO reveals criteria for strategic investors Domestic enterprises who want to become strategic investors in Vietnam Urban and Industrial Zone Development Corp. need to have at least U$110.1 million and US$115 million with foreign investors, in the chartered capital as the end of 2016, This is one of IDICO’s criteria to select strategic investors. There are a number of other major criteria. Domestic enterprises must have an equity of at least VND1.5 trillion ($66.08 million) or $68 million for foreign enterprises as the end of 2016. Additionally, enterprises must not have overdue debts, accumulated looses, and bad debts. In June this year, IDICO secured the prime minister’s approval of its equitisation plan. Accordingly, the company is permitted to reduce its state ownership to 36 per cent from the current 100 per cent. Notably, IDICO will put a 45 per cent stake on sale to strategic investors. Besides, IDICO will offer 53.3 million shares, equalling an 18.44 per cent stake, at its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) at an initial price of VND10,000 ($0.44) per share.  The date of the IPO is yet to be set, but it will most likely be held this year or next year at the latest, as the government will also offload its 36 per cent controlling stake in IDICO after December 31, 2018. According to its accumulated financial report for the first six month of this year, IDICO earned VND620.02 billion ($27.3 million) in revenue, five times as much as in the same period of 2016. It is currently investing in, managing, and operating 17 industrial zones nationwide with a total area of 7,000 hectares and investment capital of about VND10 trillion ($440.5 million), including Nhon Trach I and Nhon Trach 5 in the southern province of Dong Nai, My Xuan A, My Xuan B1, and Phu My II in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Kim Hoa in the northern province of Vinh Phuc, Cau Nghin in the northern province of Thai Binh, and Que Vo 2 in the northern province of Bac Ninh. Chu Lai port, a key logistics hub in the central region After nearly a year, the Chu Lai port expansion project of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in Quang Nam has been completed. The port has expanded the zone’s logistics service chains to make it a key logistics hub in the central region. Chu Lai port is now 500 meters long with a berth-side depth of 9.5 meters. It is capable of receiving three 20,000-ton vessels at one time, including cargo ships and tankers.   Its warehouse and workshop system has grown from 71,000 to 91,000 square meters. Tran Huu Hoang, the port’s Director, says the project cost US$5.2 million, raising the total investment to more than US$35 million since 2010.                                      He noted that “Chu Lai port, also known as Chu Lai-Truong Hai port, now is an international seaport of Quang Nam province. It used to have only one crane of 40 tons but now has three. In the first phase, the port was 8.7m deep to serve 20,000-ton ship. In the second phase, the depth increased to 10.7 meters to accommodate vessels of 30,000 tons.” The Chu Lai Port is divided into three separate functional areas to serve different types of cargo - containers, bulk, and liquid cargo. The port has invested in loading and unloading equipment. Pham Van Tai, Deputy Director General of Thaco Group, says “We plan to turn Thaco into a multi-sector group in which logistics is a new element. We hope Chu Lai port will become a logistics center of the central region offering direct maritime routes to the Republic of Korea and Japan. Chu Lai port will export the products of Quang Nam and the Central Coast and Central Highlands region via Sai Gon port.” In addition transporting finished products, materials, and parts for industries of THACO in Chu Lai, the port also provides ship towing and rescue services; cargo loading, unloading, tallying, and warehousing; domestic inland shipping, and freight forwarding; bridge and berth services: and related shipping services. In the first half of this year, the port received 150 ships, towed 200 ships and handled 23,000 TEUs of containers and 140,000 tons of bulk cargo, equivalent to 600,000 tons of cargo through the port. Containerized cargos increased 10% against last year. Mr. Hoang says “The logistics and port development strategies go together. If a great volume of cargos transit the port, the logistics sector can develop. Thaco Truong Hai has invested in several areas to make Chu Lai a logistics center for Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam, and Central Coast and Central Highlands provinces. Currently Chu Lai port is linking to Saigon Newport port and Hai Phong port to create a cargo chain along the coast.” Chu Lai has opened direct international maritime routes to the Republic of Korea, to reduce transportation costs for investors in the key economic region of central Vietnam. From 2018 to 2020, Chu Lai Port wants Quang Nam province’s support in increasing the port’s depth to 12m to accommodate vessels of 30,000 to 40,000 tons. Saigon One Tower going under the hammer The future of the ill-fated US$256-million Saigon One Tower remains uncertain after Vietnam Asset Management Company recently announced that the project will be seized due to the owners’ accruing significant bad debts. Earlier this year, Alpha King Real Estate Development announced acquiring the project that has been delayed for more than ten years from a consortium of old investors. The developers, however, have not paid debts to the project lender Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC). According to VAMC, this project was seized because Saigon One Tower JSC, the developer of Saigon One Tower, failed to pay off its debts (principal and interest) of VND7 trillion (US$308 million) despite numerous requests from VAMC. VAMC previously signed a debt purchase contract with a number of credit institutions for the debts of a group of customers, including Saigon One Tower JSC, Lien Phat Investment JSC, Minh Quan Investment and Construction Consultant JSC, and Tan Superdeck M&C JSC. “Although VAMC has repeatedly urged the group of customers to meet their repayment obligations, they have not obliged nor adopted a viable repayment plan,” a representative from VAMC said. VAMC asked Saigon One Tower JSC to hand over collateral to fulfil its obligations, which it failed to do, therefore prompting VAMC to seize the collateral. According to Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, the seizure was conducted in accordance with Article 7 of Resolution No.42 of the National Assembly on addressing non-performing loans (NPLs). Saigon One Tower has a total space of more than 6,670 square metres with the total investment capital of VND5 trillion (US$256 million), including a 46-storey building consisting of retail properties, offices for lease, and high-end apartments for sale.  The project has been stalling since 2011 after 80% of the construction was finished. The developer of Saigon One Tower was not available for comments. The asset portfolios seized by VAMC in Saigon One Tower include ownership, the right of operations of the whole construction consisting of underground basements, a trading centre, offices for lease, and other additional constructions. According to Chau, the assets will auctioned later on. “A transparent auction will bring about higher revenue for the state budget than any other assignment,” Chau said. Nguyen Van Duc, chairman of Dat Lanh Real Estate, commented that it is not easy at all to sort out the extensive and complicated assets of Saigon One Tower. Workshop seeks opportunities for Vietnam-China cooperation A workshop on China’s Belt and Road Initiative has discussed the implementation of the Initiative to seek cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and China. At the event held in Hanoi on August 25 by the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Le Hai Binh, Deputy Director of the Academy, stressed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, cooperation, and development in the region.  He said discussion of the Belt and Road Initiative is significant, helping scholars and businesses understand more about the goal, and opportunities brought about by the initiative. “The Belt and Road Initiative is expected to bring opportunities for Vietnam in infrastructure development through financial cooperation with China. Vietnam will also enjoy opportunities to develop economy and trade with China, which is Vietnam’s top trade partner. The two countries have seen increasing trade turnover as well as two-way investment. This brings practical benefits to the two countries and contributes to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region," Binh said. Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Yin Hai Hong said the foremost goal of the Belt and Road Initiative is to facilitate infrastructure development, trade and exchanges. The participants also discussed advantages and disadvantages facing countries joining the initiative. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNEVET