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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 15/7
Settling
VND40-70 trillion in bad debts to be difficult for VAMC: Economist
Governor
of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Binh expected that Vietnam Assets
Management Company (VAMC) would settle between VND40 trillion (USD142.8
million) and VND70 trillion (USD333.3 million) bad debt this year, but this
may be a difficult task.
This
comment was made by senior Economist Le Xuan Nghia, Head of Business
Development Institute.
The
company started operations on July 9, however, its two most important
regulations, Internal Operation Regulation and Special Bond Issue Regulation,
have not yet been signed, he explained
According
to Mr. Nghia, VAMC only deals with one third of bad debts; meanwhile, private
banks will have to be responsible another third and the Ministry of Finance
will restructure the rest.
The
firm only buys bad debts valued at more than VND1 billion for individual
customers and VND3 billion for corporate customers.
After
selling bad debts to VAMC, banks will receive special bonds from the company
which can be used as collateral to get loans from the SBV through the OMO
mechanism. Accordingly, banks will be provided with loans of a maximum of 30%
of the bonds value.
Capital
source is the most decisive factor for bad debt settlement, making settlement
quicker using the state budget rather than capital from the SBV, the
economist said because the bank has to settle bad debts while also enforcing
inflation policies. He added that, during the process of bad debt settlement,
growth will be around 5.5-6% per year.
“We
hope that the bad debt problem can be dealt with in the next four to five
years. During this time economic growth will be slowed down and the property
market will gradually recover. These are things we have to accept,” Nghia
emphasised.
Diseases
ravage shrimp farms in several provinces
The
Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development on July 7 said that outbreak of diseases in six provinces and
cities across the country have been mainly in shrimp farms with brackish
water.
The
affected areas are the central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Ninh Thuan;
the Mekong Delta provinces of Tien Giang and Ca Mau; and
About
1,843 hectares have been damaged due to white spot disease and 2,797 hectares
have been damaged due to Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Syndrome.
The
Animal Health Department has proposed to localities to speed up measures to
cope with diseases and their spreading. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has
instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide
farmers with 95 tons of chlorine to disinfect shrimp farms.
According
to departments of agriculture and rural development in Bac Lieu, Soc Trang
and
US
grants FDA certificate to Vinamilk
Vietnam
Dairy Products Joint Stock Company or Vinamilk has just been granted a
certificate by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to export
their products to the
According
to food safety regulations in the
In
2012, export turnover of Vinamilk was nearly US$180 million, and by end of
2013, the Vinamilk Company hopes to reach a turnover of US$230 million.
Currently,
Vinamilk products exported to the
Sugar
inventory running high as export deadline over
Local
sugar inventory is running high though a four-month sugar export plan allowed
by the Ministry of Industry and Trade ended last month, with sugar shipments
reaching some 40% of the permitted volume.
According
to a recent report of the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association (VSSA),
sugar exports via minor border gates and border trade channels were still
small in June and will be difficult as the Chinese side tends to push down
prices and sometimes suspends border trade without prior notice.
Therefore,
only about 81,600 tons of sugar had been exported in the year to June 12
among 200,000 tons licensed for export, or roughly 40%.
Meanwhile,
the volume of unsold sugar at local plants had totaled about 490,000 tons as
of June 14, lower than the peak level of around 579,800 tons in May but still
high compared to the same period in 2012.
Ha Huu
Phai, chief representative of VSSA in
“Prices
of sugar exports to
VSSA
forecast the total yield of the sugar crop 2012-2013 at a record high of more
than 1.5 million tons while local demand is put at 1.3-1.4 million tons in
2013. Along with ample domestic supply, sugar imports in line with
New
water plant in city operational
A new
water treatment plant in HCMC’s outlying district of Cu Chi on Monday started
supplying water for city residents with a daily first-phase capacity of
200,000 cubic meters.
Work
on the VND1.3 trillion Kenh Dong plant began in 2006. Its treated water will
run through a 12km pipeline with a diameter of 1.2m to the reservoir of Tan
Hiep water plant in Hoc Mon District through before it is supplied for users
in districts Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, Binh Tan and 12.
Ha Van
Sang, general director of Kenh Dong Water Supply Joint Stock Company, said
the remaining capacity of the plant, at about 50,000 cubic meters a day, will
go to Tay Bac urban area and four industrial parks in neighboring Long An
Province’s Duc Hoa District.
Crude
water for the Kenh Dong facility is sourced from Dau Tieng reservoir.
The
city’s other operational water plants are Tan Hiep, Thu Duc, Hoc Mon and Binh
An. There are also Binh Tri Dong and Go Vap underground water well compounds
and smaller wells with a total capacity of around 1.7 million cubic meters a
day.
Kenh
Dong Water Supply Joint Stock Company was established in 2007 and currently
has chartered capital of VND400 billion. Its shareholders are the State-owned
HCMC Finance and Investment Company, Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco), HCMC
Irrigation Management Exploitation and Service Company and Manila Water
Company.
HCMC’s
water demand is forecast to reach nearly 2.8 million cubic meters a day in
2015 and rise to nearly 3.8 million in 2025. Crude water for the city comes
from the Saigon River, Dau Tieng reservoir (0.95 million cubic meters a day),
the Dong Nai River and Tri An reservoir (nearly 1.5 million cubic meters) and
underground water (nearly 0.5 million cubic meters).
Sawaco,
HCMC Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company (CII) and REE Corporation
are under preparation to carry out the Tan Hiep 2 water plant project having
a capacity of 300,000 cubic meters per day and an investment of VND1.2
trillion.
Tan Hiep
2 has three shareholders – Sawaco with a 36% stake, CII with 32% and REE with
32%. The facility is scheduled to get off the ground early next year and be
put into operation in 2015.
RoK
firm builds textile factory in Ben Tre
A
company from the
The 50
million USD project, the largest of its kind in Ben Tre, is invested by
Unisoll Vina Ltd., Co. under Hansoll Textile Ltd.
Covering
an area of 25 hectares, the factory is expected to produce 90 million items
per year, all of them for export.
The
factory is scheduled to be completed in September 2014, generating over
11,000 jobs.
Since
2001, Hansoll Textile Ltd has also invested in the southern provinces of Binh
Duong and Dong Nai under its policy of expanding investment in Mekong Delta
provinces.-
The
project will be enforced in 21 selected districts and towns which desperately
need their agricultural methods to be revamped.
Under
the project, the level of mechanisation in tillage will increase from 69.2
percent to 90 percent by 2016 (and 95 percent by 2020); in seeding and
planting the level will rise from 7.1 percent to 20 percent (and 40 percent
by 2020); and in preventing insects from damaging crops it will grow from
10.2 percent to 40 percent (80 percent by 2020).
Mechanisation
in the harvesting process will rise from the current 7.8 percent to 30
percent by 2016 before reaching 60 percent by 2020.-
Lax
requirements on customs preferential treatment
Enterprises
gaining US$200 million or above in trade revenue are qualified to enjoy
customs preferential treatment, according to the Circular 86/2013/TT-BTC of
the Ministry of Finance.
The
Circular replaces the business preference policy since 2011 in which
enterprises were required to have a minimum of US$350 million per year to
receive preferential treatment.
The
requirement is also relaxed for those exporting agro-aqua products,
textile-garment, and leather-footwear and importing raw materials for
production. To get priority, they must have at least US$50 million in
turnover, instead of US$70 million as stipulated by the old rules.
Accordingly,
eligible businesses are granted certificates that entitle them to priority
customs clearance, such as a reduced customs clearance time and the right to
go through the green gate.
In
addition to the condition on import-export turnover, businesses must also
satisfy the conditions on legal compliance, financial accounting and payment.
However, all of them have been eased.
The
time for evaluating legal compliance of a business is now 24 months from the
date of the General Department of Customs receiving its application for the
preferential treatment, versus 36 months previously.
Under
Circular 86, the process for verifying preferred business applications is
simpler.
Enterprises
only need to be approved by the General Department of Customs and local tax
authorities, and no longer have to seek the nod from local departments of
investment and planning, the authorities of industrial parks and economic
zones, and local market monitoring agencies.
The
Circular will take effect from August 11.
EZs,
IPs database to be finalized
Deputy
PM Hoang Trung Hai has urged the Ministry of Planning and Investment to work
with related ministries and localities to early finalize the database on
economic zones (EZs) and industrial parks (IPs).
The
move aims to improve the domestic investment environment and sharpen the
competitiveness of Vietnamese localities in the regional arena.
Deputy
PM Hai, who heads the Steering Committee on EZs and IPs Development, asked
the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to review and accelerate the
development of industrial complexes and report obstacles in formulation,
environment, land clearance, and investment preference for prompt remedies.
Especially,
the MoIT is in charge of rashly finalizing the database on the operation of
EZs and IPs including land usage, sewage treatment and labor structure.
The
MoIT is also responsible for assessing the establishment and operation of
industrial complexes especially those that have yet complied with the
regulations or are running inefficiently.
So
far,
In the
first half, IPs and EZs attracted over US$7.9 billion registered capital,
occupying over 80% of the total newly-registered capital and supplemented
capital.
As of
June, 2013, IPs lured 4,665 FDI projects worth around US$70 billion; coastal
EZs US$40 billion; border EZs US$700 million.
In
addition, IPs and EZs attracted over US$14 billion from domestic investors.
IPs
and EZs in some localities, however, are coping with weak management, slow
infrastructure construction, complicated site clearance, prolonged complaints
on land, and low FDI attraction.
Fuel
price stabilisation fund statistics released
The
Finance Ministry published its first edition of quarterly statistics related
to the management and use of the fuel price stabilisation fund on its website
on July 9.
This
disclosure was made pursuant to a request made by Deputy Prime Minister Vu
Van Ninh on May 3, when he asked the Finance Ministry to publicise the data
on the fund every quarter on its website to provide transparency.
According
to the Finance Ministry, the fund balance at the end of June was over VND55
billion (US$2.6 million), a decrease of roughly VND700 billion (US$33
million) when compared to last year's figures.
Since
2009, the fund balance has never been in the red and has always been in the
black and had reached as high VND1,800 billion (US$84.6 million) in 2010.
It was
reduced to roughly VND1,500 billion (US$70.5 million) in 2011, VND740 (US$34.8
million) in 2012 and down to VND55 billion at the end of June 2013.
Seven
out of 12 companies using the stabilisation funds now have positive fund
balances such as Vietnam National Petroleum Group and Military Petroleum
Corporation.
Currently,
fuel companies must extract VND300 per kg or litre of oil and petrol to add
to the price stabilisation fund to be used for the purpose of price
stabilisation.
Garment
exports target comes near
The
textiles and garments industry is approaching its 19.5 billion USD export
target for this year after receiving sufficient orders to meet the goal,
according to Le Tien Truong, vice chairman of the Vietnam National Textile
and Garment Group (Vinatex).
The
The
Exports
to the EU currently account for nearly 15 percent of the total volume, and
the industry aims to boost exports to
The
Korean market was expected to become the fourth largest for the country's
textiles and garments, with a total export turnover of more than 1 billion
USD by 2014, VITAS added.
The
industry's profits in H1 accounted for 53 percent of the annual plan.
The
domestic market posted modest growth of only 9.5 percent, the lowest in the
last three years.
Vinatex
itself enjoyed slightly better growth of 11 percent, according to Truong.
The
unsold inventory stock dropped slightly by 2 percent compared to the same
period last year, with products remaining in the store for less than one year
accounting for 82 percent of the total.
Truong
said the industry was actively expanding in new markets such as
Local
textile and garment companies are anticipating the success of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, which should boost export turnover to
several markets, especially the
SOEs
seek to streamline business structure
Seven
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) out of the 44 that had their restructuring
plans approved have re-organised their management structure to boost
efficiency, according to the Ministry of Finance's statistics.
The
SOEs include such major firms as PetroVietnam, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN),
Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), National Tobacco
Corporation, Machines and Industrial Equipment Corporation, Vietnam Paper
Corporation (Vinapaco) and Vietnam National Chemical Group.
In
addition, four had withdrawn from non-core businesses, including EVN,
Vinatex, Vinapaco and the Vietnam National Coal – Mineral Industries Group.
The
restructuring was in line with the plan on reforming SOEs during the 2011-15
period approved in the Prime Minister's Decision 929/QD-TTg in July last
year.
As of
June, 66 SOEs had drafted their restructuring plans, 44 of which were
approved.
Statistics
showed that 42 out of 92 SOEs had investments in non-core businesses, such as
securities, insurance, real estate, investment funds and banks, estimated to
total 22.405 trillion VND (1.06 billion USD) in investments.
Previously,
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh asked relevant State organisations to speed
up the restructuring of SOEs, with the withdrawal of investment from non-core
businesses while ensuring transparency and efficiency.
The
restructuring of SOEs aims to improve the performance of the sector, which
had been inefficient for many years.
Handbag
exports have grown impressively with many companies investing in outsourced
work for famous products bearing international brand names.
According
to statistics from Vietnam Customs, the export revenues of suitcases,
handbags and umbrellas in the first five months of the year reached US$744.58
million, up 22.22 percent against the same period last year. The total
turnover of these products was only US$1.518 billion in 2012 and US$1.33
billion in 2011.
Vietnam’s
leading handbag importer was the US (US$317.63 million), followed by Japan
(US$93.28 million), Germany (US$54.53 million), Belgium (US$40.93 million),
the Republic of Korea (US$28.01 million), France (US$23.32 million), Holland
(US$22.11 million), China (US$18.7 million), the UK (US$17.1 3million),
Canada (US$13.8 million), Spain (US$12.02 million) and Italy (US$11.04
million).
Besides
these major markets, the handbag sector saw a sharp increase of export
turnover in Hong Kong (up 56.76 percent),
The
Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso) has set a target of US$1.7
billion in briefcase and handbag revenue this year and expects an export
growth rate of 30 percent in the coming years.
The
demand for made-in
For
example, Thai Binh Shoes is one of the leather and footwear companies which
have quickly seized export opportunities. With a total investment capital of
US$10 million, the company has invested in building garment workshops and a
factory to produce handbags for Coach Company to export to the
Nguyen
Duc Thuan, President of Lefaso, said that eight out of ten global handbag
brand names have transferred their orders to
In the
past, FDI enterprises produced the bulk of handbag exports. Two years ago,
domestic businesses began to get involved in the sector. Since 2011, which
saw the highest export turnover of US$1.33 billion, the handbag, suitcase,
umbrella and wallet producers have succeeded in earning more than US$1
billion in revenue a year.
According
to Lefaso, the domestic demand for handbags and knapsacks rose 25 million
units last year. But only 15 million products were made of local materials.
For luxury handbags,
Foreign
investors continue to eye
To
Singaporean investors,
Max
Loh, the EY's regional managing partner for ASEAN, said that, with total
investment capital of more than US$23 billion,
New
Singaporean investors continue to be interested in
EY,
however, said
Nevertheless,
EY praised the Government for addressing these problems.
As for
regional competition, Loh said that
"In
a globalised world, every country competes for investment dollars. Every
country wants to upgrade itself and be value-added," he said.
"
To
become more attractive, EY experts said that Vietnamese companies should
increase productivity, restructure their business and develop innovative
practices.
Having
low costs and cheap labour is not an advantage anymore, as these competitive
advantages do not last forever, according to the experts.
Companies
need to move up in the value chain and adapt to rapidly changing conditions,
both locally and internationally.
Tran
Dinh Cuong, managing partner of EY in
"Emerging
markets, including
Credit
access easier for many
Up to
94.7% of enterprises in the Mekong Delta took out bank loans in the first six
months of the year while the figure was only 81.8% in 2012, according to a
survey of the Can Tho branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(VCCI).
It is
apparent that the number of enterprises borrowing money from banks in the
first six months picked up against 2012, says the survey’s report presented
at “Capital solutions for delta firms, removal of bottleneck between banks
and enterprises” seminar in Can Tho City on Wednesday.
However,
Nguyen Phuong Linh, director of the Member and Training Department of VCCI
Can Tho, told the seminar that most banks only disburse short-term loans
while minimizing long-term amounts. Furthermore, the lending requirement
remains stringent.
“As
per the survey, most borrowers are big companies while small- and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) complain they couldn’t access bank loans due
to stringent lending procedures,” Linh said.
Similarly,
speakers at the seminar said it is still difficult for SMEs to gain access to
bank loans and that lending rates remain high.
Enterprises
in An Giang Province still have difficulties borrowing money from banks
despite lots of supporting policies issued by the Government including loan
payment extension or lending rate reductions, said Tran Thi Dep, chairwoman
of the An Giang Business Association.
Several
entities want to get long-term loans for investment in production but owing
to strict screening procedures at lenders, they have no other choice but to
use short-term loans for long-term investment, making them unable to repay
the banks on schedule, she stressed.
Explaining
why lenders are inclined to tighten long-term loans, Nguyen Hoang Minh,
director of Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) for southwestern region, said due to
low capital absorption, locals tend to place short-term deposits at his bank,
only from three to six months, making it hard to meet demand for long-term
loans.
Although
lenders have slashed lending rates, credit growth is still very low, at a
mere 3.31%, compared to the 12% as earlier projected for 2013.
Gold
volume for auctions down
The
central bank will continue to supply gold for the market through auctions but
the volume put up for sale will drop back given the falling demand, said Le
Minh Hung, deputy governor of the State Bank of
Hung
said banks have settled all gold deposit accounts and will continue to deal
with gold loans in the coming time estimated at around nine tons.
However,
banks have no need to buy gold to settle gold arrears. Therefore, the demand
for gold of banks will decline sharply.
So,
the central bank will offer around 26,000 gold taels for each auction, not
40,000 taels like before.
Nguyen
Ngoc Trong, sales director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Company (PNJ), said that
banks bought smaller gold volume in the bidding on Tuesday. Enterprises
bought up around 10,000 taels out of 40,000 gold taels put up for sale while
earlier, enterprises found it hard to compete with banks at previous
sessions.
Gold
supply to the market will increase if the central bank continues to organize
auctions, which may help narrow the gap between local and international gold
prices, Trong said. Gold demand is low now, with PNJ selling just around 400
taels of gold each day this week.
Since
March 28, the central bank has auctioned off over one million taels,
equivalent to around 42 tons of gold.
In
related news, Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the central bank’s HCMC
branch, said that HCMC authorities have detected three gold smuggling cases
over the past six months. Gold trafficking is more active in border provinces
rather than in HCMC.
Saigon
Jewelry Company (SJC) closing the day posted up gold prices at VND37.3
million and VND37.6 million per tael for buying and selling respectively,
down a slight VND100,000 against the previous day.
The
Greenback price also declined on the unofficial market. On Wednesday
afternoon, currency exchange points at Ben Thanh Market in HCMC bought a U.S.
dollar at VND21,600 and sold it at VND21,650, down around VND250 against
early this week.
Meanwhile,
banks bought the greenback at VND21,240 and sold it at the ceiling price of
VND21,246.
Overseas
remittance to HCMC hits US$1.9 billion
Overseas
remittance via HCMC-based banks in the first six months of this year reached
US$1.9 billion, up 3% against the same period of 2012.
Nguyen
Hoang Minh, deputy director of the central bank’s HCMC branch, said that this
is a positive sign as remittance inflow usually moves up in the fourth
quarter before the Lunar New Year holiday. Therefore, this year’s total
remittance to the city is expected at US$4.5-4.8 billion, higher than last
year’s figure of US$4.1 billion.
Notably,
remittance flowing to the real estate market dropped to around 7% compared to
around 23% last year. Most remittance was put into operation of family-run
businesses.
The
remittance volume exchanged into
Most
remittance was sent from overseas Vietnamese for their families while that
from laborers accounted for around 22%.
Real
estate M&A bustling
The
real estate market has seen merger and acquisition (M&A) activity active
over the past six months with some large projects changing hands while the
market has turned more transparent.
One of
most notable transactions is the transfer of Vincom Center A in downtown
HCMC. Vingroup Company, owner of the commercial center-hotel complex, has
sold the project to Vietnam Infrastructure and Property Development Group
Corporation (VIPD) at nearly VND10 trillion.
In
May, the U.S.-based investment fund Warburg Pincus negotiated with Vingroup
to acquire a 20% stake of Vincom Retail, a member of Vingroup, at around
US$200 million.
Meanwhile,
Marc
Townsend, managing director of CBRE Vietnam, said that project investment
tendency has been changing.
Five
years ago, foreign capital ran into the local real estate market via
investment funds. They were seeking to tap the potential
However,
foreign investors now have had tendency to make direct investments in
projects, focusing on high-rise office buildings.
Unlike
previous years, real estate companies are offering project sales and seeking
partners publicly, Townsend said.
For
example, owner of the Saigon Link project is calling for investors to invest
in the 2,500-square-meter land lot in Phu Nhuan District. Pacific Property
and Infrastructure Development and Investment Company is also seeking
partners for the
Chris
Brown, managing director of Cushman &Wakefield Vietnam Company, said that
investors from Asia, the Middle East and
However,
these investors focus on main markets such as
According
to a market survey of StoxPlus, 2012 saw 35 real estate M&A deals
involving projects with legal procedures completed or under construction, of
which, only six projects were transferred to foreign investors and 29 others
changed hands among local investors with the total value of around US$400
million.
Statistics
of the Ministry of Planning and Investment shows that real estate sector
ranked second among areas most lucrative to foreign investors in the first
half of this year with total capital of nearly US$420 million, or 4% of the
total capital of US$9.3 billion.
Local
suppliers advised to partner with
As
U.S. customers now are shifting to purchasing Southeast Asian commodities
instead of from Chinese vendors, Vietnamese companies need to make the most
of the great chance, the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham
Vietnam) said.
At a
seminar on the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP)
organized by AmCham
However,
despite the advantages of TPP as well as other free trade agreements,
Vietnamese businesses need to woo
In
fact, foreign-invested firms in
According
to Herb Cochran, executive director of AmCham in HCMC, big
For
instance, Walmart requires its suppliers to carry out transactions with
electronic bills and have their factories audited before delivering goods to
the
The
18th TPP round of negotiations will take place in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia
from July 15-24, with Japan becoming the 12th member joining this round of
talks, seeing the 12 TPP members holding a combined 40% of total gross
domestic product globally.
Maguchi
eyes investment opportunities in Binh Dinh
Japan-based
company Maguchi is considering cooperating and investing in the seaport
business in
A
delegation led by Hiroyuki Kawata from the company’s board of directors
visited and worked with provincial officials and leaders of Quy Nhon Port
earlier this week to seek investment opportunities.
According
to Kawata, potential and advantages of
The
visit of Maguchi to
According
to Bay, in addition to seaport business cooperation, seafood and ceramics
production are the sectors Maguchi is also interested in.
The
delegation of Maguchi visited seafood firms, plants and frozen facilities in
the province to study the chance of cooperation in processing seafood and
exporting frozen seafood to Japan as well as sending local laborers to
At the
reception held for the delegation, provincial chairman Le Huu Loc pledged to
facilitate Japanese investments. He expected the firm to consider investing
in the seafood sector, helping the province improve ocean tuna processing and
preservation.
According
to Kawata, Japanese investors are shifting investment focus to
Textile-garment
shipments to major markets surge
Le
Tien Truong, deputy general director of Vinatex cum vice chairman of the
Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), said at a meeting on Tuesday
that textile-garment exports in January-June generated some US$8.9 billion.
The
Meanwhile,
exports to EU,
According
to Truong, such results are quite high compared to the growth rates in
importing markets as well as the global textile-garment market as a whole.
The
total volume of imported textile and garment stateside in the six-month
period reached US$52 billion with a year-on-year of only 3% while the
respective figures of EU, Japan and South Korea were US$124 billion and 8.5%,
US$20.8 billion and 9.8%, and US$5.78 billion and 4.5%.
Truong
said that the above growth of
Regarding
the
Vinatex
forecasts that
With
results obtained in the year’s first half and current good conditions, it is
likely that
Contrary
to export, the local textile-garment market has not improved much since the
year’s beginning with a rise of only 9.5%, which is the lowest rise in the
past three years.
Vietnamese
textile-garment enterprises are expecting the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP), if ratified, will boost their exports, especially to the
Vinatex’s
revenues earned in the six-month period rose 11% year-on-year to VND20.227
trillion, with domestic revenues rising by 11% and accounting for nearly a
half.
Some
units under Vinatex posting good sale growth rates in the period are Viet
Tien Garment with 35%, Binh Minh Garment 18%, Vinatex Danang 59%, Chien Thang
Garment 25%, Tan Chau Garment 49%, Hoa Tho Textile-Garment 40%, Hanoi
Textile-Garment 39% and Dong Phuong Knitting 76%.
Petrol
stabilization fund almost depleted
The
petrol price stabilization fund is running out, with only VND55.5 billion
left as of June 30 compared to VND756.4 billion on December 21, 2012, said
the Ministry of Finance.
The
ministry, citing reports from 12 wholesale companies paying to and using the
fund, said that negative changes of global oil prices have made inroads into
the fund.
Under
the current practice, wholesale oil traders extract part of the selling
prices of oil products for the fund, and can use a certain amount from the
fund to compensate their selling prices when the global price surges. The
fund is managed by wholesalers themselves at the supervision of central
authorities.
During
this year’s first half, oil wholesalers contributed roughly VND2.2 trillion
to the fund, according to the finance ministry. However, during the period,
these wholesalers have tapped a combined VND2.9 trillion from the fund,
resulting in the balance dropping to only about VND55.5 billion as of June
30.
The
ministry said the fund at certain oil traders was even deficit at end-June.
Some
wholesalers still enjoyed a surplus fund as of June 30, such as Petrolimex
posting VND201.7 billion, Military Petroleum Co. VND179.2 billion, Saigon
Petro Co. Ltd VND51 billion and Thanh Le Import-Export Co. roughly VND56
billion.
Meanwhile,
PetroVietnam Oil Corp. saw the highest deficit of nearly VND218.7 billion,
followed by Petec Trading and Investment Corp. with a shortfall of VND146.2
billion.
Wholesale
enterprises have made extractions from selling prices for the petrol price
stabilization fund since the end of 2009 in accordance with Decree
84/2009/ND-CP, with a fixed value of VND300 for a liter/kilo of petrol or oil
to be sold.
In the
meanwhile, they have tapped the fund many times from April, 2010.
The
highest tapping volume was from February 12 to February 24, 2011, with
wholesalers allowed to use up to VND1,650 for a liter of petrol, VND2,300 for
a liter of diesel oil, VND2,150 for a liter of kerosene and VND1,400 for a
kilo of fuel oil.
At
present, the tap rate is fixed at VND300 a liter of gasoline, VND200 a liter
of diesel oil or kerosene and VND100 a kilo of fuel oil.
Without
the price stabilization fund, local fuel price hikes must have been higher
and more regular since 2010, the ministry said.
This
is the first time the ministry has announced the fund balances at all
involved entities. It plans to publicize the figures in the first month of
every quarter so that companies and locals can supervise the management and
usage of the fund as well as petrol price administration.
The
announcement is what newly-appointed Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung
promised when he assumed the position over a month ago. There are 15 fuel
wholesalers in operation now, Dung’s ministry reports.
Water
department proposed for city
The
HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment proposed to establish a
Water Department that will focus on managing and exploiting water resources
in the city effectively at a meeting on Tuesday.
According
to the plan presented at the meeting, the Water Department will be under the
management of the HCMC government and in charge of allocating, using and
protecting water resources and preventing and fighting against damage caused
by water.
Regarding
management of water resources, agencies specializing in managing and
protecting water resources in HCMC are the Water and Minerals Management
Division, the Environmental Protection Division under the Department of
Natural Resources and Environment and the Irrigation Division under the
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
However,
according to the proposal, the city’s current water resources management
model is inadequate as there are many agencies in charge, which causes
overlapping management, low management efficiency and declining water quality
and volume.
Besides,
one of the existing problems concerning water resources in HCMC is
groundwater depletion resulting from inappropriate exploitation and lack of
planning.
Moreover,
the quality of surface water is getting worse due to untreated domestic and
industrial waste discharged into rivers as well as low efficiency of
controlling damages caused by water leading to flooding when there is heavy
rain and high tides.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Chủ Nhật, 14 tháng 7, 2013
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