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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 7/7
State
budget collection increases
Eight out of 14
collected State taxes and fees posted up strong rises in the first six
months, of which foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises, land use fee
and registration fee had the highest growth.
According to the
Ministry of Finance, domestic revenue in June was estimated at VND30.7
trillion, or just 81.5% of the previous month, and achieved only 67.5% of its
forecast. To realize the year’s target, domestic revenue should reach VND45.6
trillion a month.
The ministry blamed
reductions of key tariffs for the fall in domestic revenue. The revenue from
value added tax dropped by around VND900 billion, corporate income tax down
over VND3.5 trillion and special consumption tax down around VND600 billion.
Meanwhile, farm
produce prices declined given economic difficulties, hurting the earnings of
enterprises and their tax payments. The domestic revenue figure indicated
slow and unsustainable recovery of the economy in the period.
Revenue earned from
crude oil stood at VND8 trillion in June, falling by VND380 billion against
the previous month, as the world oil price has declined since May.
Although State
budget revenue during the first six months reached only 43.7% of forecast, it
still rose 4.5% compared to last year’s first half.
Domestic revenue in
the first half increased by 7.56% year-on-year. FDI sector revenue surged
35.3% while the industry-commerce tax beyond the State-run sector rose 14.5%,
personal income tax was up 4.9% and asset registration fee up 27.8%.
These figures
suggested that FDI and private firms were still active in production and
business, earning profits and contributing to the State budget.
The ministry did
not mention sources for registration fee revenue increase. In the report it
sent to the Government, three out of 14 collected items and taxes in the
first half reached over 50% of forecast for the year.
JFE
Engineering eyes city’s infrastructure projects
JFE Engineering
Corporation of
After 13 years of
operation in
Speaking at a
meeting with HCMC Vice Chairman Le Manh Ha on Monday, Yuri Miyaoka, senior
managing director of the overseas business sector at JFE Engineering, hoped
the city would quickly give it the license so that the company could start
operation in August.
“JFE Engineering
Vietnam will operate in the fields of environment and energy, particularly
maintenance and repair of water treatment facilities and steel structures…
We’re also interested in other infrastructure projects in HCMC, including
traffic, waste treatment and solar power projects,” said Miyaoka.
In response, Vice
Chairman Ha said: “HCMC always welcomes foreign investors.”
JFE Engineering, a
subsidiary of JFE Holdings, started operating in
Soc Trang
highlights aquatic breeding
By 2020, the Mekong
Delta
The Soc Trang
People’s Committee has issued Decision 119/QDHC-CTUBND approving a project to
revise and supplement the province’s aquatic breeder production by 2020. Of
the estimated capital of VND592 billion (US$28.2 million), VND188 billion
will be from the State budget and the rest from other sources.
The province has a
driving ambition to have 200 units producing, farming and trading aquatic products
by 2015 and 310 units by 2020. These will produce and cultivate some 5.8
billion offspring by 2015 and 10.58 billion by 2020, meeting 43.1% and 63.8%
of the demand respectively. The project can create 1,000 jobs by 2015 and
another 1,630 five years later.
An area of 154
hectares will be set aside for producing fingerling until 2020, with a
majority of it for aquatic cultivation in the province (tra fries, freshwater
and brackish water fingerling, and brackish water and saltwater young
shrimp).
By 2015, 113 farms
will produce 2.253 billion brackish juvenile shrimp, meeting 20% of the
demand; six farms will turn out 33 million tra fingerling, 22% of the demand;
and 21 farms will have output of 225 million other freshwater fries, 25% of
the demand. By 2020, 140 farms will be able to produce 3.489 billion brackish
water juvenile shrimp, representing 25% of the demand; 15 farms with 90
million tra fries, 30% of the demand; and 33 farms with 397 million other
freshwater fingerling, 35% of the demand.
If the project is
on schedule, it can help set up a chain of big-scale, modern and centralized
brackish water shrimp farms, attracting investment in new production plants
and improve management and quarantine to produce quality offspring,
contributing to the quality of raising brackish water fingerling. The project
also helps improve farms and attract the participation of other sectors.
Developing
traditional freshwater fish farms and improving productivity and technology
to meet various demands are an integral part of the project. Moreover, it
also helps better the management system, breeding quality control and
quarantine at all stages, from production to distribution.
To ensure success,
several issues must be tackled effectively. The Soc Trang Province People’s
Committee has plans to protect farming areas in Cu Lao Dung and Tran De
districts and
The province aims
to create 1,000 direct jobs at breeder farms by 2015, and 1,630 more by 2020.
By 2020, 1,120 people will work at brackish water shrimp farms; 110 at tra
fish farms; 220 at other freshwater fish and specialized fish farms; and 180
at other aquatic product farms. The project is expected to attract 130 and
215 well-trained employees by 2015 and 2020, respectively, besides 5-10
postgraduates specializing in aquatic breeding.
The province’s
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has recently announced the
project in detail and informed local authorities of it. Supporting programs
have been devised to create a sustainable aquaculture in Soc Trang when the
project is finished.
VEPR says
7-10 years needed to tackle bad debts
It will take 7-10
years for the banking industry to deal with the amount and complexity of its
bad debts, according to Dr. Nguyen Duc Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Centre
for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR).
Credit institutions
claimed that the country’s bad debts rate had been maintained at 3.57 percent
by March 31, 2013 but the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) estimated the real
figure at 8.6 percent.
Assuming that this
difference was maintained until September 2012, Thanh argues the banking
system’s bad debt rate would rise to 9.53 percent, or VND241 trillion.
At the end of
February 2013, the bad debt rate was annouced at 6 percent.
Judging from
different figures, Thanh says, the bank’s bad debts would hover somewhere
between VND180-300 trillion if the debts were classified and the collateral
evaluated properly.
If the amount bad
debts doubled as it was, the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) would be half the
current level, he says.
Thanh recommends
that bad debts should be handled systematically because they are closely
related to other macroeconomic indexes.
He cited some major
factors that have pushed up bad debts, such as the rapidly growing but
unstable economy, high inflation rate, and increasing numbers of insolvent
businesses, as well as falling asset prices leading to the weak consumption
power, and ineffective operation of many state-run enterprises.
Another negative
factor is attributed to the annual growth rate of the banking system in the
years up to 2010 at more than 23 percent, which was much higher than the GDP
rate in the same period.
Moreover, bad debts
can also be blamed on the cross-ownership of banks, increasing number of
inter-bank loans, low quality credit assessment and the banks’ tendency to
make short-term profits.
Thanh proposes that
the Government take immediate measures to iron out these snags and, come up
with long-term solutions.
Bad debts need to
be tackled in line with the restructuring of economy, both public and private
businesses.
He argues that
creating a legal foundation for the Government and related agencies to deal
with problematic and insolvent banks, while developing a mechanism for them
to cooperate, is essential for managing and controlling the financial market
in an effective manner.
Thanh adds that the
impact of bad debts on the macroeconomy must be identified with coordinated
efforts from the Asset Management Company (AMC) and relevant agencies.
He suggests that
capital can be mobilised through direct contributions or sponsorship money
from the state budget, government bonds and the business sector.
Thanh recommends
three steps to handle bad debts: first, re-buy them from banks; second,
evaluate debtors’ business performance and business plans; and third, have a
roadmap to write off all debts at any cost.
VNCB to
raise capital to VND7.5 trillion
Shareholders of
Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB) during the annual general meeting (AGM) last
week approved a plan to increase the lender’s charter capital from VND3
trillion to VND7.5 trillion by the end of this year.
The plan was
approved by over 200 shareholders, who represented 93% out of 95.7% of shares
with voting rights in the lender.
This is the first
AGM of the bank since its name changed from TrustBank to Vietnam Construction
Bank. As of the end of May, VNCB had six founding shareholders including
Agribank, Long An Foodstuff Company, Thien Thanh Group and three shareholders
belonging State agencies.
TrustBank earlier
has sold an 84.04% stake to a new shareholder group including Thien Thanh
Group and other individual shareholders. Thien Thanh holds a 9.67% stake.
G-bonds
forecast to sell well in H2
The government bond
market has seen positive signs in recent times, with the year’s G-bond sales
target seen obtainable.
By the end of June,
the State Treasury had raised over VND124.3 trillion of G-bonds, meeting 73%
of this year’s target of VND170 trillion assigned by the Ministry of Finance.
In June, the agency was expected to mobilize over VND13.7 trillion.
Tran Van Dung, general
director of the Hanoi Stock Exchange, which organizes G-bond auctions, told
the Daily that the market has enjoyed better macro economic factors and
policies while its technical infrastructure has improved compared to previous
years.
G-bonds proved to
be attractive to investors in the first half of this year. In 2012, VND167
trillion of G-bonds were sold, accounting for 52% of the volume on offer. The
figure in this year’s first half represented 69.5% of the entire volume sold
in 2012.
The secondary market
also saw an increase in scope, reaching VND456 trillion in the year to June
15, a 19% year-on-year rise. Trading value was around VND210 trillion, almost
equivalent to the entire 2012. Trading value per session also rose
significantly to VND1.9 trillion, more than two times over 2012.
Although their
yields declined steadily, G-bonds remained attractive in the first six months
of 2013. Many investors who have invested in G-bonds since last year have
reaped high profit, Dung said.
Concerning the
rising attractiveness of the G-bond market despite falling yields, Dung said
the market would continue luring investors as bank deposits have kept
increasing. As banks need time to speed up low credit growth, there will be
surplus cash at banks, creating a need to make investments, especially in
G-bonds.
G-bond yields in
As large G-bond
volumes on the market have created big transaction demand, there is a strong
possibility of developing the secondary market and G-bonds remain an
investment vehicle of choice for large investors.
In the second half,
the State Treasury will continue organizing scheduled G-bond auctions but it
will increase bond issues to meet capital demands of the State budget. It
will also underwrite 15-year G-bonds.
Although G-bond
issues went smoothly in the first six months, Dung said, excessive
mobilization or ineffective use of G-bond capital can place a burden on the
nation and pile pressure on inflation within the next five years.
Mid-end
condos still sell well
With reasonable
prices and flexible payment plans, several mid-end apartment projects
achieved fairly good sales in the year’s first half.
Project owners
launched their products on schedule, with many sales events organized in the
first six months. Thus, the market was not as gloomy as many people thought.
Hung Loc Phat Co.
last Saturday started offering 100 apartments among the total of 358 at the
Hung Phat project on
These apartments
are quoted at VND14.7 million per square meter and will be handed over to
buyers when they have paid 60% of the home value, or some VND630 million. The
remaining sum will be settled within 24 months.
Half of the
apartments on offer found buyers on the launch day, said
Earlier, Nam Viet
put up 100 apartments at the project Khang Gia-Tan Huong in Tan Phu District
for sale at around VND15 million per square meter. Some 90% of these flats
have been reserved.
Luong Tri Thin,
general director of Dat Xanh Group, said the mid-end segment was currently
the center of the market, so project owners must have suitable pricing
strategies and financial support for customers.
A member company of
Dat Xanh on June 23 offered over 40 apartments at the Gia Phu Khang project
in Thu Duc District, which were all sold in the morning with prices starting
from VND10 million per square meter, exclusive of VAT.
Dat Xanh has been
selected as the distributor for 336 apartments at the project 4S Riverside
Linh Dong developed by Thanh Truong Loc Co. in Thu Duc.
Meanwhile, Nam Long
Investment Corp. continued to offer its Ehome 3 condos at the project in Binh
Tan District after selling 330 units in August last year.
Thirty three of the
161 units going on sale on June 22 have been registered. These apartments are
offered at prices starting from VND710 million per unit with two payment
options.
With the first
option, buyers will make a down payment representing 30% of a home’s value
when signing contracts, and will not have to pay any installment until the
apartments are handed over to them.
Meanwhile, the
second option allows homebuyers to make a 10% down payment when signing
contracts. From then to apartment handover, they will make further payments
reaching 30% of an apartment’s value.
HCMC will offer a
higher coefficient of land use for eco-friendly buildings, those with an open
space for the public and those protecting the city’s architectural heritages.
The land use
coefficient for the above buildings will be increased by 1-2 or multiplied by
0.25-0.5, depending on which calculation produces a lower coefficient.
For example, a
building is given a land use coefficient of 10, meaning 1,000 square meters
of floor space can be developed on a 100-square-meter area. If such a
building provides public open space, the coefficient may be raised to 11,
which means up to 1,100 square meters of floor space can be developed.
However,
preferential land use coefficient will only be offered to buildings with more
than nine stories located in downtown areas, except Phu My Hung and the
930-hectare downtown area, according to the regulations on planning and
architecture management in HCMC.
The HCMC Department
of Planning and Architecture on Tuesday submitted the draft regulations to the
municipal government. In addition to preferential land use coefficient, there
are provisions for organizing urban architectures and landscapes in
accordance with the general planning for the city.
Huynh Xuan Thu,
director of the
Architecture
existing before the regulations will remain as they are. However, if they are
repaired or renovated, they will have to comply with the new regulations.
The planning
department said the regulations would serve as a basis to make planning for
the unplanned areas and draw up regulations on management of specific urban
areas.
The Government has
agreed to grant capital to reinstate a project developing a heavy-load vessel
passage leading to the
As such, related
sides are seeking to construct a number of components of the project under
the build-transfer (BT) format. As the project for heavy-load vessels
entering the
The Government last
Wednesday asked the central bank to advance capital from the VND20 trillion
for investment in southern dyke systems and the passage linking with
The maritime
administration has recently worked with Transport Engineering Construction
and Business Investment Company 584 as the project owner on constructing the
project’s components under the BT format, Nhat informed.
During the project’s
deployment, the Dinh An Passage in Can Tho City is still the most important
gateway for incoming and outgoing ships through the ports on the
Certain capital
volume is still set aside for dredging the Dinh An Passage annually but due
to huge annual capital needed for the waterway’s dredging and maintenance,
the transport ministry has called for investors to carry out the Dinh An
Passage’s dredging project under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) format and
other investment forms.
However, because of
the complicated waterway, no investment plans are seen as feasible as of now
although many investors have shown interest in the scheme, with some already
submitting investment plans to the Government via the transport ministry for
approval.
Developing the
waterway for heavy-load ships to enter the
The project started
construction of the 6A bidding package in December, 2009. It was scheduled for
operation at the end of 2011 to meet annual throughput capacity of some 22
million tons of cargo in the ports on the
The scheme had been
put on hold until 2015 but the transport ministry then reviewed to adjust the
project with total investment of an estimated VND10 trillion and asked
approval from the Government to continue the important scheme.
The ministry now is
also cooperating with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to seek
Airport
runway back in service
Runway 25R/07L of
The runway is 3,048
meters long and 45.72 meters wide, capable of receiving huge aircraft like
B747-400 and B777-300 ER.
The runway
suspended its service for repair on February 25. The contractor was racing
against time to finish the repair job two months earlier than planned.
With the runway now
back in service, takeoffs and landings will be more favorable and congestion
can hardly occur, especially during the peak travel season. It will also help
Tan Son Nhat meet its capability of serving 25 million passengers per year.
Jetstar and Vietnam
Airlines said they had not adjusted flight schedules after the runway resumed
service.
Travel demand rises
sharply in summer, leading air carriers to schedule more flights. Vietnam
Airlines has added more than 3,600 services, with a total capacity of 700,000
seats, to its domestic and international schedules for the peak season from
June 1 to August 31.
Similarly, VietjetAir
has scheduled 1,600 extra flights, supplying an additional 300,000 seats, for
the period from May 20 to August 31.
Meanwhile, the
25R/07L was rehabilitated and upgraded in 1992. Since then, it had
deteriorated and thus needed repairing.
Tan Son Nhat has
achieved the highest growth in the country over the past few years, with an
average rate of 10% per year in passenger number and 15% in cargo volume.
In 2012, the
airport served over 17.5 million passengers, accounting for 47% of the total
number of passengers at all airports nationwide.
Disagreement
over cashew price predictions
A number of
companies expect Vietnamese cashew nut export prices to continue to decline
in the final months of the year due to oversupply.
However, the
Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) denies the claims, saying that the news
has been released by exporting enterprises who are trying to purchase cashew
from small processing facilities with lower prices.
Seeing the farm
produce market’s volatility, Quang Vinh Company has recently forecast that
The huge local
supply, plus slackened cashew import demand, will force companies in the
industry to reduce selling prices, Quang Vinh predicted. That’s why prices of
cashew nut products have plunged to their lowest in three years, the company
explained.
Because of the
aforesaid elements, Quang Vinh said, export cashew nut prices would continue
dropping strongly in the months to come. The price of WW320 cashew nuts stood
at US$3.15-3.20 a pound on Tuesday, which the firm forecast would dwindle to
US$3 in the near future.
Crude cashew
imports totaled 205,000 tons in the first six months, marking up roughly 48%
year-on-year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reports. The
quality of many imported shipments is poor while their humidity is reportedly
high, Vinacas said, adding several foreign exporters even sell substandard
products of the previous crops to local enterprises.
Cashew demand from
other Asian nations, Europe and
Despite slight
cashew price hikes from now until the end of the year as estimated by
Vinacas, numerous exporting companies prefer spot transactions to avoid
losses caused by the market price volatility.
The country
exported a combined 115,000 tons of cashew nuts worth US$723 million in the
years’ first half, growing nearly 16% in volume and 5.7% in value over the
same period in 2012. The five-month export cashew nut price averaged out at
US$6,185 a ton, dipping 10.5% year-on-year.
The Director of the
Department of Construction, Nguyen The Hung, confirmed this on July 3 during
a meeting regarding urban development through 2030.
Between 2000 and
2010, a number of new urban areas were established, including Linh Dam and My
Dinh. But most of the real estate projects in these areas focus on the high
end sector of the market, practically ignoring the needs of those on limited
incomes.
In addition, lax
management has led to many abandoned properties because authorities grant
land to investors with infeasable plans.
The total cost for
the project will be divided into three phrase. The first phrase, from 2013 to
2015, will cost an estimated VND8.4 trillion (USD402 million), the cost of
the second phase, from 2015 to 2020 will be over VND7.6 trillion and the
phase, until 2030, will be VND8.6 trillion.
Hung also confirmed
that they have sufficient funds for this long-term project, saying that
"For the first phase, government has already given us VND3 trillion in
bonds."
In the meantime,
"There is a
surplus of commercial housing at this time, so we will halt some projects in
the inner city." Hung said.
New steel
plants seen causing power shortfall
Southern Power
Corporation (EVN SPC) has urged Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) to soon build
the 220kV Phu My 2 Substation, worrying that the existing Phu My station will
be overloaded when new steel plants start operations.
Two large steel
plants are scheduled for operations in mid-2014 in Tan Thanh District, Ba
Ria-Vung Tau, where the 220kV Phu My Substation is located.
One of them is the
plant of Posco SS Vina with an annual capacity of one million tons of steel
billets and one million tons of finished steel products. The other belongs to
Vina Kyoei, which can produce 500,000 tons of steel billets and 500,000 tons
of construction steel per year.
All 110kV
substations in Tan Thanh District get power supply from the 220kV Phu My
station to provide power to the steel plants Phu My, Pomina, Viet Steel, Hoa Sen
and Posco.
The total capacity
of the existing 110kV substations in Tan Thanh District is over 900 MVA, says
EVN SPC in a report on power production in the first six months sent to the
Daily on Tuesday.
Some new 110kV substations
will begin service in 2014, including the Posco SS Vina station (250MVA), the
Vina Kyoei station (110MVA) and the Linde Gas station (25MVA).
In the early months
of 2013, as most steel plants operated at 40-50% capacity, the power grid in
the area mainly served other consumers.
In case the
existing steel plants run at full capacity and new plants start production,
the 220kV Phu My Substation may be overburdened. To ensure sufficient power
supply to the Posco SS Vina station and the Linde Gas station in 2014, there
must be another 220kV substation.
Therefore, EVN SPC
has proposed EVN ask National Power Transmission Corp. to soon develop the
220kV Phu My 2 Substation.
Ba Ria-Vung Tau is
home to dozens of licensed steel projects.
PetroVietnam
misses targets
The Viet Nam
National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) in the first half of this year
failed to reach some targets set for oil exploitation.
Oil fields Rang
Dong-Phuong Dong, Chim Sao, PM304 Lot in
In addition, the
average oil prices in the first half fell by US$11 a barrel from a year ago
to $112 per barrel, causing the group's revenues down 2.2 per cent
year-on-year.
However,
PetroVietnam' crude oil output surpassed 50 per cent of year's plan at the
end of the first half.
PetroVietnam was
estimated to have exploited 8.3 million tonnes of crude oil in the first half
of 2013, meeting 52.1 per cent of the full year plan.
In detail, the
group exploited the equivalent of 12.58 million tonnes of oil in Q1/2013,
including 8.3 million tonnes of crude oil; 5.3 billion cubic metres of
natural gas (up 7.8 per cent year-on-year); 346,900 tonnes of liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) (up 11.9 per cent year-on-year) and 3.26 million tonnes
of gasoline and oil (up 27.9 per cent).
Oil and gas
discovered in four new oil fields, including Kinh Ngu vang-1X oil field (Lot
01 and 02/10), Dai Nguyet-2X oil field, Nam Du 1Xoil field and SYT-1X oil field
(Lot M2 Myanmar).
The group said it
also put Hai Su Trang oil field into operation.
In the second half
of this year, PetroVietnam will continue its schedule and arrange sufficient
capital for its investment projects, continue with tapping projects, develop
domestic and oversea mining to meet its targets of oil reserve and
exploitation.
Industrial
parks up for review
Thirty of 59
provinces that were asked to review their industrial park land use have said
they want to expand the area to attract more investment and develop business.
The Government had
called for the review in order to deal with situation of redundancy, with
many industrial parks in many localities unable to fully use the land they
already have.
The new move also
sought to ensure compliance with the national master plan, reduce
inefficiencies and improve land use by industrial parks.
The 30 provinces
that have asked for an expansion instead of reduction have said they want to
meet investment criteria for large-scale, modern and environmentally-friendly
projects.
The Planning and
Investment Ministry has said it will collect opinions from related ministries
and departments on the proposals from localities and submit them for
consideration to the Prime Minister.
It said priority
will be given to the proposals of 29 provinces that have asked to retain or
reduce their industrial park area.
This will serve as
basic foundation for 2020 national industrial park master plan.
Interest
rates stable despite latest SBV cuts
Interest rates have
recently tended to be directed by market forces even though deposit rates are
still capped, according to industry insiders.
Late last week the
State Bank of Viet Nam cut the interest rate cap on deposits for terms of one
to six months by 0.5 percentage point to 7 per cent while also removing the
ceiling rate on deposits with terms of more than six months.
Unlike previous
short-term rate cuts, which often forced banks to adjust their rates for
longer terms to ensure business efficiency, this time around, interest rates
have remained stable.
The deposit rates
for terms of more than six months are hovering around 8-8.5 per cent per year
and even lower at some of the major banks.
Banks say that the
improved liquidity has enabled them to maintain low rates, even though lending
has remained difficult, and setting high deposit rates would be self
detrimental.
The deputy general
director of HDBank, Le Thanh Trung, told Dau tu Chung khoan (Securities
Investment) online that despite the drop in interest rates, deposits at the
bank were still increasing with growth rising by over 12 per cent in the
first half of the year. But growth in the credit market remains limited.
Deposits at
SeABank, Sacombank, Eximbank and Asia Commercial Bank were also reported to
show no signs of a decline. Sacombank said its deposit growth had exceeded 15
per cent and outstanding loans expanded almost 8 per cent in the first half
of the year.
The chairman of a
small bank in
Small banks would
also find it easier to compete, in terms of interest rates, if the cap was
removed, he added.
National Financial
and Monetary Policy Advisory Council member Tran Du Lich agreed, saying that
doing this as well as easing deposit rates could help end the prolonged
situation where banks had money lying idle but firms couldn't approach them
for capital.
In the last few
months, many banks have had to buy bonds at a low interest rate because
lending has remained tough, he noted.
Lich said that
there was little chance of deposit rates being lowered any further as many
businesses have expected, because of difficulties relating to bad debt,
rising inventories, low purchasing power and inefficient commercial bank
operations.
With inflation
expected to reach 6.5-7 per cent this year, the current lending rate of
between 4-6 per cent would be too high and this could hamper firms that were
trying to stick to the current production levels or looking at expanding
their investments.
State Bank Governor
Nguyen Van Binh said at a meeting in
In the first six
months of the year, the southern economic hub maintained a stable economy
with GDP growth rate of 7.9 per cent.
This was revealed
at the 14th meeting of the ninth HCM City Party Committee, which was attended
by Le Hoang Quan, deputy secretary of the city's Party Committee and chairman
of the HCM City People's Committee, among others.
The figure includes
a 9.1 per cent growth rate for the service sector, a 7 per cent per cent for
the agricultural sector, and a 6.2 per cent for the industrial and
construction sectors.
Quan said that in
the first half of the year, the city's economy had been developing on the
right track, resulting in a low Consumer Price Index rate and a stable
financial market that had helped curb inflation.
The city had also
made significant progress in social and cultural areas, while social welfare
was ensured, he stressed.
The city had also
helped improve other areas that had hurt the economy, including the high
number of suspended businesses, the stagnant securities and property markets,
large volumes of inventories, the narrow access to bank loans, bad debts, and
the slow re-structuring of State-owned enterprises.
To realise targets
set for 2013, in the second half of the year, the city will carry out
policies on tax reduction, exemption and extension in accordance with the
Government's decisions.
The re-structuring
of State-owned enterprises will be accelerated together with the
rearrangement of the local economy with an aim to improve quality,
effectiveness and competitiveness.
The city will also
have more investment, business, tourism and service promotions and better
provide businesses with information about potential markets. The current
market stabilisation programme will also be improved.
Quan said that
monetary policies would also be carried out carefully and effectively with
concerned ministries.
In addition,
efforts will be taken to manage revenues and prevent losses for the State
budget.
He added the city
would better manage investment funds from the State coffers, while giving
priority to major infrastructure projects
Fitch
affirms 4
Fitch Ratings has
affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) of four Vietnamese bank
at ‘B’, according to a statement on its website.
The outlook is
stable for Agribank, Vietinbank and Sacombank while that of Asia Commercial
Bank (ACB) is negative.
Fitch said that its
long-term IDRs, support ratings and support ratings floors of Agribank and
Vietinbank reflects its expectation of likely support from the Government as
these are two among the most important banks to the economy.
According to Fitch,
the negative outlook on ACB indicates a potential further burden on its
financial profile from exposure to six companies where Nguyen Duc Kien was
chairman or a member of board of management.
Kien, a co-founder
of ACB, was arrested last year on allegations of illegal business activities.
Meanwhile the
outlook of Sacombank was rated stable due to its lower exposure to companies
related to Kien.
FamilyMart
to stay in Vietnam
With only one store
left after parting company with Phu Thai Group Joint Stock Company, the
Japanese retailer FamilyMart is preparing to open three new stores, affirming
that it will not withdraw from
The FamilyMart
convenience store at
According to an
employee, the store is temporarily moved in to meet the demand of people in
the building while the old location is being upgraded. The store will operate
as usual late this month.
This FamilyMart
store is 100% owned by FamilyMart although it was opened when the retailer
entered a cooperation deal with Phu
There will be three
convenience stores bearing the FamilyMart brand to be opened this month and
next at Le Thi Rieng Park in District 10, on
Such moves of
FamilyMart have indicated that it will surely stay in the Vietnamese market
and will not withdraw due to losses as rumored previously. Many suppliers also
say the same thing based on information they have.
However, the
unanswered point is whether FamilyMart will join hands with a local partner
or operate independently in
FamilyMart is a
retail brand of
Petition
filed against sturgeon smuggling
Lam Dong Coldwater
Fish Farming Association and sturgeon traders nationwide have sent a petition
to the Prime Minister, looking for assistance in the fight against illegal
sturgeon imports.
Currently, 2-3 tons
of sturgeons are smuggled by air into HCMC every day and sold at only
VND120,000-130,000 per kilo, much lower than the prices of locally-farmed
sturgeons, according to the petition.
Tran Van Hao,
chairman of Lam Dong Coldwater Fish Farming Association, remarked sturgeons
raised in the north were not enough for sale to other regions, while those
raised in the Central Highlands were transported to HCMC by road.
Therefore, he
stated: “The sturgeons imported into HCMC every day are not domestic
products, but they are imported illegally from
Do Quang Tung,
director of the
“All imported
sturgeon available in the local market is contraband,” he said.
Nguyen Trong Cu,
director of Viet Duc Trading and Investment Co., specializing in producing
and trading sturgeons, said that apart from the 2-3 tons illicitly flown into
HCMC, some 4-5 tons of smuggled sturgeons went on sale in the northern market
every day.
Due to smuggled
sturgeons, Viet Duc’s revenue from sturgeon sales in recent years had dropped
by over 60%, he stressed.
“Not only Viet Duc
faces such a situation, but many other sturgeon producers and traders are
also caught in this situation,” he said.
Cheap sturgeons not
only affect the local distribution network and threaten local traders and
farmers, but also make consumers confused because it is not easy to
distinguish between Vietnamese sturgeon and smuggled sturgeon.
However, at a
review conference on the seafood industry in late June, Nguyen Huy Dien,
deputy head of the General Directorate of Fisheries, said his agency had not
found any proof of sturgeon smuggling from
Fragrant
rice export turns hectic
Export of
Vietnamese fragrant rice has turned more active over the past few weeks
thanks to rising demand, limited supply and price advantage over Indian and
Thai rice.
Lam Anh Tuan,
director of Thinh Phat Co. Ltd. in Ben Tre, said fragrant rice export had
recently become bustling. In response to the sales slump in the early months
due to low quality, exporters have tightened control on their rice standard,
and thus they have recorded better sales and higher prices.
“
Pham Thai Binh,
director of Trung An Co. Ltd. in Can Tho, a large fragrant rice exporter in
the Mekong Delta, said his company had achieved an export turnover of only
US$8 million in the first quarter, which had doubled in the second quarter.
Export offer prices
of Vietnamese fragrant rice are currently US$525-535 a ton, a rise of
US$50-60 over the past 20 days, said the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).
However, such prices are still far lower than offer prices of Thai Hom Mali
Rice (US$1,065-1,075 per ton) and Indian Basmati Rice (US$1,515-1,525 per
ton).
Binh said his
company was selling Jasmine rice to
Ngo Ngoc Yen, owner
of a rice outlet named Yen Ngoc in HCMC’s Tan Phu District, who often buys
rice at Ba Dac Market in Tien Giang’s Cai Be District, said fragrant rice
prices had increased VND400-500 per kilo against a fortnight ago.
Fresh paddy Jasmine
and
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Bảy, 6 tháng 7, 2013
Business
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