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VietNamNet Bridge – Casinos in Vietnam must have a registration book to track their visitors. In the case they let Vietnamese players gamble, they will be fined from VND180 to VND200 million ($9,000-10,000).
The Government has issued Decree 86 on bonus games for foreigners, which will take effect from October 1, 2013. The new decree still bans Vietnamese from playing games with cash prizes. Only foreigners and overseas Vietnamese who have foreign passports are allowed to play in the casinos.
In case of violation, in addition to monetary fines, casinos may have their business licenses withdrawn from six months to one year. If the violation is repeated, they will be suspended up to two years.
At the same time, to develop the tourism industry, casinos must be located in the resorts with 5-star hotels.
In the casinos, the players are not allowed to directly bet on the game results, otherwise they will be fined VND90-VND100 million and the casinos will be fined double, along with the business license to be revoked for three months.
Besides, casinos are not provided with preferential taxes and charges related to the purchase of machinery and equipment and other taxes and fees from bonus games.
According to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Finance, the country now has 50 casinos, mainly with gaming machines, at hotels and tourist sites.
The largest casino is the Ho Tram Strip in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, with a total investment of $4 billion, with 180 tables and 2,000 electronic gaming machines.
My Le
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Thứ Tư, 31 tháng 7, 2013
Explaining the death of craft villages
The craft villages fall into distress because of their own faults. Some villages do business without a long-term development plan. Some others label their products as Chinese goods.
The product showcase area of Phu Vinh village, in Phu Nghia commune, Chuong My district, Hanoi is deserted.
Located along National Highway 1, the traditional house of Phuoc Kieu bronze casting village in DienPhuong Commune, Dien Ban District, Quang Nam Province, is closed all the time.
Meanwhile, households in the village do not have enough orders to operate regularly. Mr. Tran Dinh Tri, a villager, said: "In this village, every man for himself."
Defeated by Chinese goods
According to a senior artisan of Phuoc Kieu village, the traditional job of Phuoc Kieu is affected because a number of private workshops do business honestly.
Many stores are named after the famous brand of Phuoc Kieu but they sell bronze items purchased from the provinces of Thua Thien - Hue, Bac Giang or Ho Chi Minh City. They also play a dirty trick on others.
Unhealthy competition is also popular in a few craft villages in Hanoi, such as Van Phuc silk village (Ha Dong district) and Bat Trang pottery village (Gia Lam district).
Mr. Luu Duy Dan, chairman of the Association of Vietnam Craft Villages, said in Bat Trang, a number of households import Chinese ceramics and label them with Bat Trang brand for sale. Some people play tricks to gain advantage in competition.
In Van Phuc, some people purchase silks from elsewhere to turn them into Van Phuc silk. Many craft villages are dying because of lacking long-run development strategies and losing their prestige.
On the other hand, the product range of craft villages are too monotonous and sometimes low quality so they are not selected by foreign partners and foreign tourists.
Explaining this issue, Mr. Nguyen Ky from Ma Chau weaving village in Duy Xuyen District, Quang Nam Province, said that textile products from craft villages are less favored in the market because they cannot compete with Chinese goods which have nice design and cheap.
One more reason mentioned by artisans is that they have to buy materials at high price and have to pay immediately while they are not paid immediately for their products. As a result, they lack of capital for reinvestment.
Backward technology causes pollution
Brick and ceramic kilns in My Phuoc Commune, Mang Thit District, Vinh Long Province exhaust fumes causing environment pollution.
While many craft villages in Hanoi, Thua Thien – Hue and Quang Nam are operating in moderation, the tile and ceramic villages in the two provinces of Vinh Long and An Giang are forced to narrow production scale because their outdated methods of production causes environmental pollution.
According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Vinh Long province, brick kilns in the province released high concentrations of hydrofluoric acid. In some places, it is 10-30 times exceeding the limits, affecting the health of local people. Most of these facilities do not cover rice husks and ash so when there is strong wind, it is blown to rivers, canals and houses.
Mr. Truong Chi Thien – Deputy Director of the Industry and Trade Division of Mang Thit District, Vinh Long Province - said because traditional brick kilns cause pollution, the local authorities have banned them from expansion, unless they change their technology.
Mr. Tran Minh Doan, from the Cho Thu carpentry village in Cho Moi district, An Giang province, said sawdust and PU paint from carpentry workshops cause heavy pollution.
For sustainable development of the village, locals need state assistance to purchase modern machinery and equipment, to set up a concentrated production area which is far from residential areas and to open showrooms.
Doan also suggested building factories to process sawdust into charcoal to use in cooking, which can help increase profits and lessen environmental pollution.
Capital needed
Ms. Le Thi Hanh, from the Department of Trade and Industry of Thua Thien - Hue province, said the agency is trying to turn 1-2 enterprises in each craft village into the big ones and will seek investment for these villages to deal with the above issues.
Also facing financial difficulty, Ms. Nguyen Thi Han, the owner of a rattan and bamboo manufacturing facility for exports in Phu Vinh village, Hanoi, lamented: "It is so hard to have access to bank loans at present. Sometimes when you got the loan, it is too late because customers cannot wait."
According to Mr. Luu Duy Dan, chairman of the Association of Vietnam Craft Villages, up to 80 percent of households and production facilities in craft villages are inaccessible to bank loans because of strict regulations.
Source: NLD
HA NOI (VNS)- National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has affirmed the need for Ha Noi to become an economic and cultural hub for Viet Nam at a meeting held yesterday to review Ha Noi's expansion plan.
The meeting marked the fifth anniversary of the expansion of Ha Noi's boundary and was attended by most of the country's leadership.
Speaking to the meeting, Hung said the capital's expansion had contributed considerably to the country's general socio-economic achievements.
NA Resolution No 15 expanded Ha Noi's boundary to encompass neighbouring provinces, including Ha Tay, Me Linh District of Vinh Phuc Province and four communes in the Luong Son district of Hoa Binh province.
According to a report by Pham Quang Nghi, Secretary of the Ha Noi Party Committee, the city's currently covers 3,328 square kilometres, three times its former acreage. The population had also increased by half to more than 7 million.
Under the expansion, the capital assumed responsibility for 29 administrative units across 577 communes, districts and townships.
In the five years since the expansion in 2008, approximately 12.6 million square metres of housing have been built, providing millions with accommodation, Nghi said.
He also said that the city had achieved significant milestones across a range of political, social and economic issues.
The most notable achievement is the capital's economic growth. Between 2008 and 2012, Ha Noi's economy grew at an average rate of 9.5 per cent, 1.5 times higher than the national average growth rate and amounting to 10 per cent of the country's total GDP.
Meanwhile, exports saw an average annual increase of more than 15 per cent, from US$6.8 million in 2009 to $10.3 million in 2012.
Budget revenue has risen more than twofold, from over VND57 trillion (over $2.74 billion) in 2007 (before the city's expansion) to over VND146 trillion (over $7 billion), contributing more than 20 per cent of the country's total budget revenue.
More than VND50 trillion (over $2.4 billion) of the city's budget revenue has been spent on developing agriculture and assistance to farmers.
In an interview with the Government's Web Portal, Deputy PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the expansion was historically and strategically important, paving the way for the further development of the capital.
The expansion has allowed Ha Noi to have an appropriate administrative boundary and enabled stable, permanent development, he said. The city has become the political and administrative heart of the country and an international hub for culture, technology, education and economic activity.
The expansion has also had positive impacts on Ha Noi's industrialisation, Phuc said. In particular, the strategy had helped reduce overpopulation in the inner city, allowing for the development of more green spaces and agricultural areas, he stressed.
He noted that despite the city's achievements, Ha Noi still faced challenges in sustainable development, including land management, urban planning and population management. Meanwhile, traffic congestion and environmental health were also below expectations.
Phuc called for greater cooperation between relevant State agencies and the Ha Noi People's Committee, for the timely issue of instructive legal documents for the Capital Law.
He also noted that progress in relocating businesses, factories and universities beyond the inner city had been slow with no specific plans being developed. - VNS
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A young man claimed to be a singer named Han Quoc Hung, and spray-painted the name in public places.
It’s normal when young people want to be popular, however, in the digital age, with the fast development of the Internet and Social Networks the young seem to cry out for fame by any means necessary.
Recently, a young woman uploaded a short video of herself onto the Internet in which she was wearing a skimpy costume, dancing around in a provocative way and saying shocking words. By doing this, she quickly gained notoriety and stirred up more public controversy over the behaviour of today's youth.
A short time ago, a young man claimed to be a singer named Han Quoc Hung, and spray-painted the name in several public places including roads, drain pipes, and under bridges in Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Nai Provinces as well as in HCM City. He then got himself a nickname: “Singer under the bridge” even though no one knew or remembered any of his songs.
Those are just a few examples among many. It seems that the desire for fame has become a developing trend among a group of young people in Vietnam. Many of them have devised plans to become famous by showing off their bodies or making shocking statements.
A recent trend is for young people to upload sexy photos or videos of themselves on their Facebook pages.
Many young people have opted to imitate the lifestyles of the rich and famous, usually by way of conspicuous consumption of clothing and accessories.
Some young women have tried taking part in beauty contests in order to get their foot in the door of the showbiz industry.
Recently, a mother in HCM City was so worried when she consulted a psychologist who might be able to help her 14 year-old daughter concentrate on her school work rather than spending her time trying to be a "hotgirl", wearing trendy clothes and too much make-up.
“I’m trying to become famous, so I can find a rich and generous man who will take care of me for the rest of my life. So, it’s unnecessary to study too much,” she said, shocking and disappointing her parents.
Young people need healthy playfields for further development
Experts said this is an unexpected result of modern life and fast development. Many have been misled to believe that quick fame means success and prosperity.
Doctor Do Hong Ngoc, author of a series of books on the young, said many young people want quick fame when they see that many of their idols became very successful without any particular training or talent.
“It’s dangerous when young people think that they can easily have a prosperous life without proper attention to their studies or some kind of training which nurtures an existing talent. But more people tend to seek popularity by using shock tactics. It’s doesn't help when several current contests: beauty pageants, singing and dancing contests--not unlike American Idol--enable them to use tricks instead of developing their ability,” she commented.
Experts emphasised the necessity to provide good guidance for young people to help them understand real life values and stop them from wasting their lives.
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 1/8
USTDA
helps develop wind power in Vietnam
The US
Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has approved a nearly US$288,000 in
non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) for a technical
assistance project to develop wind power in
The
project will contribute to evaluating the effect of integrating the wind
power into the national electricity grid, defining the scale and creating
regulations concerning to the issue.
It
also helps review the management of the electricity market to ensure power
supply security.
According
to the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) the country has only two wind power
plants with a total capacity of 60MW in Binh Thuan and Bac Lieu provinces
which have been already connected to the national grid.
Experts
said the integration of such a large amount of wind power into the national
grid will pose great technical challenges due to the instability of this
energy source.
However,
they argued that it will also open up a good opportunity to fully tap the
potential of wind power, especially in the
HCM
City host Chinamac Fair, Metal&Weld 2013
The
14th China Machinery and Equipment Exhibition (Chinamac Fair) and the 2nd
International Metalworking and Welding Technology Exhibition (Metal&Weld)
will both take place in HCM City from July 31 to August 3.
Around
150 businesses representing 11 countries and territories will showcase their
products and services at over 200 stands. Featured displays will span
metalworking and welding equipment and technology, project machinery, mechanical
products, machine tools, packaging machinery, and food processing equipment.
Advances
in paper production, garment, and energy recycling technology will also
receive pride of place.
The
fairs encompass networking events and professional seminars on investment
policies and trade as well as previous collaborative experiences.
PM
instructs thrift practice, anti wastefulness in SOEs
The
Prime Minister has asked ministries, branches, localities, economic groups
and State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to strengthen thrift practice and prevent
wastefulness in the management, exploration of natural resources, capital,
asset and labour in SOEs.
He
required that ministries, branches, localities and SOEs review the use of
land, minerals, forest and water resources in order to promptly deal with
inappropriate use of these resources.
The
agencies should reclaim the areas of land and water surface which are being
used ineffective or illegally, as well as those left unused.
They
are also told to tighten control over the grant of licence and activities in
exploiting natural resources and minerals, to ensure economical use of
resources and environmental protection.
In the
field of managing and using State capital and asset in SOEs, the PM demands
that enterprises ensure their investment serves their main business lines
while resolutely cutting down or eliminating ineffective and unnecessary
projects.
They
must also quicken the pace of capital divestment from professions outside
their main business lines.
The PM
required strengthening the management, inspection and supervision of capital
disbursement for public projects and making public the use and management of
State capital and assets in SOEs.
He
also instructed ministries, branches, localities and SOEs to check and revise
regulations on labour recruitment and staff promotion while streamlining the
management structure.
Five
listed firms win SRA
Five
listed companies on Thursday won the Sustainability Reporting Awards (SRA)
for their outstanding environmental and social issue achievements that were
mentioned in their annual reports.
They
were among 35 listed businesses that reached the final round of SRA in the
framework of the 2013 Annual Report Awards.
There
were some 88 out of over 600 listed companies mentioning sustainable
development issues in their annual reports this year. This was the first year
SRA had been introduced to honor enterprises with outstanding environmental
and social issue achievements.
The
World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Association of
Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) were on the judging panel of the
award.
Speaking
at the award ceremony in HCMC on Thursday, Phan Thi Tuong Tam, general
director of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange and head of the judging panel, said
this year’s reports had improved. The average score of the first round rose
13.4% against last year while the number of substandard reports dropped 20%.
However,
many annual reports failed to make comments and give deep information,
especially on corporate management, compare their results with enterprises in
the same industry and set up clear strategies for risk management.
In
addition, some reports with sustainable development issues failed to follow
the standard structure. To deal with this problem, the organizing committee
will cooperate with IFC and ACCA to provide more training for enterprises in
the coming time, Tam said.
Investment
firm debuts on HNX
F.I.T
Investment Joint Stock Company, which operates in investment and investment
consultancy sector, debuted on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) last Friday
under the code of FIT.
The
enterprise began trading 15 million shares on the exchange at the reference
price of VND11,000 each.
Established
in 2007, the enterprise has a chartered capital of VND150 billion and equity
of VND159 billion. It obtained total assets of over VND1.8 trillion by the
end of 2012 and has established business relationships with over 1,600
customers.
Phan
Trung Phuong, chairman of the company, said that listing on HNX is part of
its development strategy. The move aims to increase liquidity of FIT shares,
secure information transparency before shareholders and help the enterprise
mobilize capital for its projects.
Dai-ichi
Life
Dai-ichi
Life Vietnam Insurance Company on Monday announced results in the first half
of 2013 with new business premium reaching over VND291 billion, up 19%
against the same period of 2012.
Its
total premium income was over VND743 billion, a 23% increase year-on-year,
while its preliminary profit is estimated at VND91 billion, up 42% from last
year.
The
life insurer since May has implemented the customer loyalty awarded points
program, which credits the loyalty points to customers in every transaction
with the company such as direct premium payment at the premium collection
channels, premium payment before and on due date, and purchase of new policy
after maturity. These points can be used to redeem cell-phone prepaid cards, gift
vouchers at supermarkets, or to pay premiums for their own policies.
The
enterprise inaugurated 12 new general agencies in this year’s first half,
raising the number of total offices and general agencies to 103 in the
country.
Masan
Group and Germany-based H.C. Starck have announced the signing of an
agreement on establishing a joint venture to tap wolfram ore at Nui Phao in
the
The
new entity, with 51% stake held by
H.C.
Starck has pledged to buy and use and a large proportion and will help the
joint venture sell the remaining volume on the global market.
H.C.
Starck is one among the world’s biggest companies in the wolfram industry and
also a high-quality provider of innovative, high-tech and high-performance
metals like molybdenum, niobium and rhenium.
Meanwhile,
Nui Phao Co. as supplier of materials for the joint venture is developing one
of the biggest wolfram mines in the world. It expects to tap the mine in over
15 years.
The
plant at Nui Phao mine which is being built will be part of the joint
venture, according to
The
first phase of the wolfram processing plant will come into operation next
month and the next phase is scheduled for completion next year.
Underground
shopping complex opens in Hanoi
Vingroup
has opened
Speaking
at the launching ceremony last Friday, Vingroup CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said that
With
the all-in-one model, the complex consists of a wide range of services such
as 600 stalls for shopping, entertainment space with indoor water park and
ice rink, food court with over 200 eateries and many other facilities. The
complex welcomed thousands of visitors on its opening day.
According
to Thuy,
The
complex was kicked off in 2010 and received the site in May, 2011.
“The
success of the complex lies not only in fast development progress of 30
months but also in suitable business strategy. After ten months of offering
for lease, the commercial center has had over 95% of its area filled up by
hundreds of well-known brands,” Thuy said.
The
opening of Vincom Mega mall
On the
occasion of Vincom Mega mall
Contractor
suspended for careless construction
East
Mekong Investment, Manufacturing and Construction Co. Ltd. was on Thursday
suspended from the XL14 package of the
The
HCMC Department of Transport had found this contractor failing to ensure
safety during the execution of the XL14 package, putting pedestrians at risk
and affecting the urban landscape. Therefore, the department on Thursday
released a decision suspending the company from this construction package.
Moreover,
the department may revoke the construction permit previously issued to
Nguyen
Bat Han, deputy chief inspector of the HCMC transport department, said
suspension was a must since many contractors had committed violations
although they had been penalized for several times. In 2012, inspectors
detected nearly 1,100 violations committed by contractors of traffic projects
and collected a total fine of over VND6.5 billion.
Many
urban traffic management units have proposed the transport department impose
heavier sanctions against offending contractors so that they could get more
responsible for ensuring safety.
Bui
Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the HCMC transport department, said many
accidents had occurred due to careless construction on the streets of Pham
The Hien and Ba Hom. Therefore, the department is establishing criteria for
ranking project managers, consultants and contractors following the example
of the Ministry of Transport in order to eliminate incompetent contractors.
The
project for rehabilitating the
The
U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Tuesday to initiate investigations
into charges that oil country tubular goods imported from
According
to the Vietnam Competition Authority under the Ministry of Industry and
Trade, this is the U.S.’ fourth anti-dumping case against Vietnam’s steel
since 2011, after the cases of welded carbon steel pipe, stainless steel pipe
and steel hangers.
Statistics
of the
Early
this month, some
Anti-dumping
duties proposed by
The
U.S. International Trade Commission will make its preliminary decision on the
case in August, and final determinations will be made next year.
According
to the Vietnam Steel Association, SeAH Steel and Lida Pipe are two among
eight Vietnamese steel producers which might be investigated by the
SeAH
Steel based in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province currently has three steel pipe plants
with a total capacity of 180,000 tons per year. Its fourth plant having an
annual capacity of 20,000 tons will be put into operation this November.
Speaking
to the Daily, a representative of SeAH Steel said that the firm received an
announcement from the Vietnam Steel Association and was preparing documents
to pursue the case.
He
said that if the U.S. imposed an anti-dumping duty of 111% as proposed,
Vietnamese steel pipe producers could not export as a tax hike of only a
couple of percentages could be enough to leave a huge impact on steel
exporters.
FDI
inflow keeps burgeoning
Foreign
direct investment (FDI) in
Since
January 1, the country has attracted 677 new FDI projects with total
registered capital of nearly US$1.7 billion. Although the number of projects
has declined 6.5% year-on-year, the capital volume has picked up 10%.
Meanwhile,
266 ongoing projects have raised their capital by more than US$4.99 billion,
an increase of 36.2% over the same period last year.
To
date, the manufacturing-processing sector has taken 87.6% of the total
pledged FDI capital, or over US$10.44 billion. This sector has always been
the strongest magnet for FDI in recent years.
As the
frozen property market has yet to thaw, FDI inflow has returned to
manufacturing-processing with a number of sizable projects. This trend is
expected to grow further as businesses from
The
real estate sector in the first seven months has attracted about US$580
million of FDI, or 4.9% of the total FDI inflow. The remaining industries
have enticed some US$889.3 million, making up 7.5%.
Thai
Nguyen has taken 44.8% of the total fresh FDI inflow in the first seven
months, or more than US$2.14 billion, thanks to the Samsung hi-tech complex
project capitalized at US$2 billion. Thus, the province secures the top spot
in the list of localities attracting the most FDI.
Next
up is Binh Dinh with over US$1 billion (21.1%), Hai Duong US$611.6 million,
(12.8%), Binh Duong US$460.7 million (9.6%) and Dong Nai US$338.8 million
(7.1%).
An
estimated US$6.65 billion of FDI capital has been disbursed this year, up
6.4% year-on-year, says the General Statistics Office report.
State-owned
enterprises run poor business
The
State Audit of Vietnam has announced the audits of the 2011 business results
of State-owned enterprises, which show that many of them either incurred
losses or got lower profits.
Speaking
at a press briefing in
Four
of the 27 entities and some of their affiliates were running at a loss, with
Petrolimex losing nearly VND1.7 trillion, Cienco 8 nearly VND138 billion,
Vinaincon VND20 billion, Mipeco VND17 billion and Thanh An Corporation VND1.7
billion.
Other
groups and corporations saw profits sliding strongly against 2010, including
Vinaconex, PVC, Vinafood 2 and Habeco. Some enterprises made gains but their
return-on-equity (ROE) was below 5%.
Total
receivables at the 27 companies amounted to over VND54 trillion by late 2011,
making up around 20.5% of their total assets and 83% of their equity.
The
total capital of the audited enterprises had reached over VND263 trillion by
end-2011, of which equity was VND65.2 trillion, while their payable debts
made up 69.9%.
Dung
said these figures suggested the enterprises mainly relied on loans.
Taiwanese
hi-tech firms come knocking
Many
companies in the supporting industry in
The
information was revealed by Huey-Ching Yeh, director of the Economic
Development Department of the
The
Vietnamese market is attractive to enterprises of New Taipei in particular
and
He
believed the deep participation in international trade cooperation of
“New
In
fact, plenty of New Taipei companies have invested in
Yeh
reported there are roughly 500 New Taipei entities among some 2,000 Taiwanese
firms making investments in
The
business exchange meeting with New Taipei enterprises in HCMC on Monday
attracted around 500 local firms.
State
Bank auctions one more ton of gold
The
State Bank of Vietnam sold 26,000 taels of gold, or one ton, at the 48th gold
auction on July 30 to seventeen banks and companies with highest bid at
VND38.08 million a tael and lowest bid at VND38 million.
During
the past four months, the Central Bank had sold 1,297,400 taels of gold, or
49.9 tons, out of 1.4 million taels, or more than 53.8 tons, that were up for
auction.
On
July 30, the price of SJC-brand gold dropped by VND320,000 per tael to
VND37.7 million for buying and VND38.1 million for selling.
Commercial
banks also lowered US dollar exchange rate by VND10-30 on the same day. On
the free market, dollars were bought at VND21,420 per dollar and sold at
VND21,440 per dollar, down VND10-30 per dollar.
Central
bank stops dollar selling
The
State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has stopped selling U.S. dollars to intervene in
the market as the foreign exchange rate has been stabilized over the past
time.
Local
banks have revised down the exchange rate. Meanwhile, the price of the
greenback also declined on the unofficial market, with a dollar exchanged at
VND21,400 on Monday, down from VND21,900 early this month.
At
kiosks around Ben Thanh Market in HCMC, the greenback was bought and sold
VND21,350 and VND21,400 respectively, a mild decline compared to the buying
price of VND21,500 on July 15.
Vietcombank,
one of banks with ample dollar supply, bought the greenback at around
VND21,190, down around VND30 against late last week, and sold it at
VND21,245, a mild drop of VND1 compared to during last week.
VietinBank
also revised down dollar prices to VND21,175 and VND21,240 for buying and
selling respectively, dropping strongly against the previous week.
Eximbank
posted up dollar prices lower than those of Vietcombank, buying the greenback
at VND21,170 while selling it at VND21,230, or VND16 lower than the ceiling
price. Meanwhile, DongABank sold a dollar at only VND21,225.
DongABank
deputy general director Nguyen Thi Kim Xuyen said that dollar supply and
demand of the lender stayed normal as the demand to buy dollars for goods
imports is not high. This was the reason why DongABank quoted lower dollar
prices than last week.
Phan
Huy Khang, general director of Sacombank, said that the exchange rate
situation has been stabilized. The bank has balanced foreign currency supply
and demand and it has seen no unusual fluctuations.
According
to deputy general director of a local bank, the greenback has been sold at
around VND21,188 on the inter-bank market, much lower than VND21,246 early
last week.
A
leader of the central bank said that SBV has stopped selling dollars to
commercial banks as the exchange rate has declined. This agency only
intervenes in the market upon signs of tension.
In the
coming time, the forex rate stability is expected to continue. Foreign
currency supply is expected to increase as the country’s balance of payments
is estimated to run a surplus of around US$5 billion this year.
People
at present are turning foreign currencies into dong as dollar deposit rates
have dropped to around 1.25% per annum compared to dong deposit rates from
5-7% per annum. Overseas remittance is forecast to be equal to last year’s at
over US$8 billion.
Central
Bank appoints new chief
The
State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has promoted Ngo Quang Luong to become the
central banks' chief administrator, replacing Nghiem Xuan Thanh.
Nghiem
Xuan Thanh left the position to become general director of the Joint Stock
Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank), in place of
Nguyen Phuoc Thanh.
Reportedly,
Nguyen Phuoc Thanh left the CEO post after he had been appointed as deputy
governor at the central bank on July 19, 2013.
Delta
to restructure agriculture sector
The
Southwest Region Steering Committee says the agriculture sector in the Cuu
Long (
The
committee is working with other agencies on the mechanisms and policies for
developing three key agricultural products – rice, seafood and fruits.
The
committee held a meeting on the issue in Can Tho City on Monday with Vuong
Dinh Hue, head of the Party Central Committee's Economic Commission.
Other
important suggestions that the committee made at the meeting included the
increase of Government investment capital for major climate change adaptation
projects.
It
also mooted a new State-owned seafood corporation that would help reduce risk
for farmers.
The
steering committee reported at the meeting that the Mekong Delta, the
country's largest producer of rice, fish and fruits, had achieved an economic
growth rate of 9 per cent in the first half of the year.
During
this period, total investment capital from all sectors reached VND88.9
trillion (US$4.2 billion), up 12.5 per cent against the same period last
year.
The
delta's export value reached $4.7 billion, a rise of 10.6 per cent
year-on-year, the committee said.
It
conceded, however, that the region was suffering from several shortcomings,
evidenced by difficulties in production, low prices and lack of stable
outlets for agriculture produce.
Investment
and trade promotion in the Delta have not met targets and the programme of
building new rural areas in many provinces lags far behind schedule.
He
asked the committee to work closely with the Party Central Committee's
Economic Commission in accomplishing this task.
To
solve current difficulties faced by rice and tra fish farmers, the steering
committee, various sectors and localities should actively carry out
activities to promote agriculture products, focusing on domestic users, he
said.
The
delta should also implement programmes to reduce post-harvest losses and
switch from ineffective rice fields to other crops, he said.
Salt
‘mountain' continues to grow
The
salt ‘mountain' increased to 206,493 tonnes on July 20, 2013, the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has reported.
By
July 20,
From
Jan 1-July 20, 2013,
Current
salt prices are VND1,300-2,000 ($0.061-0.094) per kilo in the north and the
Mekong Delta; while in the south central, rough salt is being sold at
VND850-1,400 ($0.04-0.066) per kilo and industrial salt at VND1,000-1,200
($0.047-0.056) per kilo.
HTV,
VTC sign strategic agreement
HCM
City Television (HTV) and the Ha Noi-based Viet Nam Multimedia Corporation
(VTC) signed a strategic co-operation agreement on Monday.
Under
the agreement, the two State-owned agencies will fully utilise each other's
infrastructure, including the transmission of television channels operated by
both parties.
The
VTC plays a significant role in the country's development, broadcasting
various channels and disseminating various news and information.
Fertiliser plant
hits milestone million tonnes in Ca Mau
The Ca
Mau fertiliser plant in the southernmost
A
ceremony to honour the achievement was held at the Ca Mau
Gas-Power-Fertiliser complex last Friday in the presence of Deputy Prime
Minister Hoang Trung Hai.
As the
largest project operating in the Ca Mau Gas-Power-Fertiliser complex, the
US$900 million plant has a designed annual output of 800,000 tonnes, which
satisfies roughly 40 per cent of domestic fertiliser demand.
It has
so far earned a total revenue of VND8 trillion ($380 million) and profits of
VND1.6 trillion ($76 million).
Addressing
the ceremony, Hai praised the plant for its achievements and lauded its
officials and workers for their responsible working spirit.
This
initial success has not only eased fertiliser shortages in
The
Deputy PM said he hoped that with dynamism, creativity and an all-out effort,
the staff of managers, engineers and workers would reap even greater
successes in the future, improve its output and meet domestic standards.
Leaders
of SOEs to be dismissed for slow non-core investment withdrawal
Leaders
of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) which are slow in withdrawing their
investments from non-core business activities might easily be dismissed.
This
is one among many proposals the Ministry of Finance will submit to the prime
minister in August, in order to speed up non-core investment withdrawal, said
Dang Quyet Tien, the Ministry of Finance’s Deputy Head of the Enterprise
Finance Department.
According
to Mr. Tien, many SOEs said that they do not want to sell their stake at this
time when prices of shares and real estate are very low, which would cause
them big losses. This has slowed down the removal of non-core capital.
He
noted that, “We need such strong measures to force SOEs’ leaders to quicken
non-core capital removal.”
In a
recent meeting with reporters, in early February this year, Deputy Minister
of Finance Truong Chi Trung said SOEs currently account for 70% of the
country’s total development investment, 50% of stated-funded capital, 60% of
banking loans and more than 50% of bad debts. Therefore, restructuring SOEs
is an essential task.
The
World Bank has warned that sluggish restructuring of banks and SOEs would
adversely affect investor confidence in the Vietnamese business environment,
as well as economic growth prospects.
Matt
Hildebrandt, an economist at JPMorgan Chase in
On
July 29, the prime minister urged ministries, agencies and localities as well
as SOEs, to reduce and remove ineffective projects to deal with massive, but
inefficient, state-funded investments. They've also been encouraged to revise
regulations on recruitment of labourers and appointment of officials. The
recruitment and appointments must be transparent and in line with existing
laws.
According
to the prime minister’s instructions, officials who cause problems for for
their agencies must be dismissed.
State-owned
corporations and groups have been requested to withdraw their non-core
investments before 2015. This is considered an important step towards the
restructuring of state-owned enterprises, particularly those that have
invested in riskier sectors such real estate, banking, finance and insurance.
The
Australian Anti-Dumping Commission (AADC) has announced its decision to
conduct anti-dumping investigation into power transformers imported from
Accordingly,
HS850422-23 shipments to in
The
AADC said detailed information about the case, such as complaints, product
descriptions and reports, was posted at its website:
http://www.adcommission.gov.au on July 29.
This
is
In
2012 Vietnam’s total earnings from two kinds of power transformers exported
to Australia reached US$1.631 million and US$6.979 million, respectively,
accounting for 4.75 percent and 25.57 percent of its market share.
As
many as 43 leading businesses from
They
examined the possibility of cooperating in the areas of the support,
mechanics, hardware, information technology, and electronics industries, and
the manufacturing of automobile components, global positioning system (GPS)
devices, industrial valves, cylinder air compressors, chemicals, consumption
goods, green energy products and lighting devices.
The
New Taipei City Commissioner of Economic Development, Hui-Ching Yeh, said the
event helped
Six-month
inventory ratio at 75 percent
According
to the General Statistics Office, inventory index of industrial processing
and manufacturing until July 1, rose by 8.8 percent compared to the same
period last year.
Inventory
ratio was at 71 percent in June, sending six-month inventory ratio to 75
percent.
Some
industries that saw higher inventory levels compared to the same period last
year include beverages with 33 percent, cigarettes with 22 percent, medicines
and pharmaceutical chemicals with 20 percent, chemicals and chemical products
with 14.3 percent, electronic devices with 12 percent, food processing with
7.2 percent, and textiles with 2.9 percent.
Meanwhile,
clothes inventory dropped 1.3 percent and leather and leather products fell
19.2 percent.
State
Budget revenue posts poor growth
Data
from the Ministry of Finance showed that from the beginning of this year
until July 15, budget revenue was estimated at VND381.7 trillion, accounting
for nearly 47 percent of this year’s plan.
Of
which, domestic revenue reached VND251.5 trillion, or 46 percent of the plan;
revenue from export and import touched VND68.6 trillion, or 41 percent of the
plan; and revenue from crude oil hit VND58.4 trillion, or 59 percent of the
plan.
Domestic
revenue from state-owned companies was at VND73.4 trillion, accounting for 42
percent of the plan; from foreign-invested companies, excluding crude oil, at
VND56.3 trillion, or 52.5 percent; and non-state taxes from industry, trade,
and services at VND54.7 trillion, or 45 percent.
Meanwhile,
total budget expenditure from the beginning of this year to July 15 was
estimated at VND483.6 trillion, or 49.5 percent of this year’s plan.
The
support was marked by an agreement signed yesterday between the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development and the Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The
National UN-REDD Programme to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation (REDD+) would be a major pillar of
REDD+
was considered a promising solution to help
As one
of the original pilot countries of the programme,
Phase
Two will build on the REDD+ readiness work of Phase One, and start
implementing
During
the next three years, the programme will help identify, negotiate, plan and
implement land-use practices that are sustainable, climate-smart and adapted
to local needs.
Additional
financial incentives would be made available by the Government of Norway and
other international partners for verified greenhouse gas emission reductions
achieved through the programme, said UN Resident Co-ordinator in Viet Nam
Pratibha Mehta.
She
said that the event was a landmark for
Japanese
Fund for Poverty Reduction, through the Asian Development Bank, has promised
to grant US$1.5 million to help Viet Nam pay for forestry environmental
services during the 2014-16 period.—Illustrative image/Photo tinmoitruong
The
same day, the Japanese Fund for Poverty Reduction, through the Asian
Development Bank, has promised to grant US$1.5 million to help
The
Vietnamese Government also contributed $150,000 to the technical assistance
project which will help work out the criteria for economic evaluation of
environmental services at provincial level as well as the procedures for
pilot programmes and the payments for forestry environmental services.
Speaking
at the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding yesterday, Deputy
General Director of Viet Nam's Forestry Administration at the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development Vo Dai Hai said that Viet Nam introduced a
policy on payments for forestry services in 2008 and had collected VND1
trillion ($47.6 million) annually from these services.
However,
it still faced with problems in carrying out the policies because of poor
communications, inadequate staff and not enough individuals being allocated
to forestry protection.
ADB
country director Tomoyuki Kimura said that the bank would continue to promote
green growth in
Work
begins on
Construction
began on
The
system will have two carriages capable of carrying 80 passengers each.
They
will travel at an average speed of 18kmph along the 390m route and carry
1,600 passengers per hour. The system and its equipment have been supplied by
the Swiss company Garaventa.
The
project is scheduled for completion in March next year.
Tungsten
chemical joint venture formed
Private
equity firm Masan Group (MSN) announced yesterday it had reached a deal with
technology metals manufacturer HC Starck to establish a joint venture for the
production of value-added tungsten chemicals in
The
joint venture will process all of Nui Phao 's tungsten concentrate into
higher value tungsten chemicals. It will have an installed capacity of up to
10,000 tonnes of tungsten concentrate per annum.
HC
Starck will operate the joint venture and has committed to buying a
significant share of the production for its own internal use. The company
will also support marketing of the remaining product.
Meanwhile,
Nui Phao will be the tungsten concentrate supplier of the joint venture. The
construction of a tungsten chemical plant for the operation was in progress,
"The
first stage of the tungsten chemical plant will start production next month,
with further stages expected to be completed in 2014."
Dominic
Heaton, CEO of Masan Resources, a subsidiary of Masan Group and the parent
company of Nui Phao, commented: "With HC Starck's specialised know-how
and technology, Masan Group is able to contribute to
The
establishment of the joint venture and closing of the definitive agreements
are subject to customary corporate and regulatory approvals.
August
CPI likely to rise 0.6%
The
consumer price index (CPI) is expected to rise 0.6% in August (twice as much
as the estimated figure), if Hanoi makes adjustments in its hospital fees,
announced the Ministry of Industry and Trade on July 30.
However,
if the fees remain unchanged, the CPI will hover around just 0.4-0.5%.
The
domestic commodity market is often up and down depending on weather
conditions as heavy rains and storms threaten to drive food prices up.
Another
reason is that petrol has risen from VND420 to VND470 per litre as of July
17, up 0.1-0.15% on the previous month.
Meanwhile,
the prices of fertilizer and sugar remain stable thanks to no fluctuation in
both demand and supply.
Earlier,
the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that the CPI in July hit a five
month record, up 0.27 over June, 2.68% over December and up 7.29% over the
same period last year.
Exports
to Germany surge
The
two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Germany reached US$3.695 billion
in the first half of 2013, up 29.51% compared to the same period last year.
According
to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, export earnings from Germany
reached US$2.352 billion (up 22.35% over 2012), accounting for 18 percent of
Vietnam’s total turnover from the European Union (EU).
Vietnam
exported mainly phones and components, garment and textile, coffee and
footwear to Germany.
It
imported vehicles and spare parts, machine, tools and spare parts, chemicals
and automobiles from Germany.
Total
imports from Germany were estimated at US$1.342 billion, up 44.32% year on
year.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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