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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 24/8
CPI
to increase by 6.77% in 2013
Credit
organisations expect 2013’s consumer price index (CPI) to reach 6.77 percent,
slightly higher than the Government’s 6–6.5 percent target.
An
early August survey conducted by the State Bank of
Over
75 percent of surveyed credit organisations said adjusting State-managed
commodities will decide how the CPI plays out in the third quarter and 2013
as a whole.
In the
opinion of 67.11 percent of survey respondents, loan rates will fall during
the third quarter at a rate below 2 percent. After the SBV’s recent June
adjustment, most credit organisations hope inter-bank rates will rise by a
maximum of 2–3 percent.
The
third quarter GDP growth rate is estimated at 5.26 percent and at 5.48
percent for the whole year.
The
majority of credit organizations are optimistic about Vietnam’ economic
prospects as saying that judged SBV’s monetary policy as reasonable and
balanced and urged the SBV to extend it until the end of this year.
They
believe inflation will nudge upwards as part of the gradual national economic
recovery and business credit promotion. Exchange rates are stable, interest
rates continue to fall, and Government support will help ease businesses’
access to capital.
Forum
discusses social business development
Investors
gathered at a forum in
They
hoped to seek partners through co-ordinated efforts to settle social and
ecological issues in the country, said Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the host
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
They
all wished for viable State policies to help raise their prestige among the
masses, and support around 28 percent of
For
their part, they pledged to support the State in ensuring social stability
and security as well as gradually improving local living standards and
bridging the gap between residential classes.
Some
200 social businesses are reportly operating effectively in the country.
Participants
in the forum focused on the role of social businesses in
Japanese,
Vietnamese businesses seek cooperation opportunities
Vietnamese
and Japanese entrepreneurs met in
The
event was attended by leaders of the
Participants
were introduced to
Co-hosted
by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, the
Vietnam-Lao
2013 trade turnover totals US$504 million
Bilateral
trade between the two countries reached US$504 million in the first half of
this year, up 8.3 percent on last year’s same period.
Vietnamese
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu and his
This
assessment was shared by the two Deputy Ministers at their talks in
They
acknowledged the significant increases in Vietnamese-Lao trade turnover,
including 2012’s US$866 million total (up 17 percent year on year)
The
two sides pledged to remove obstacles hindering business operation and create
the best possible conditions for trading goods across border areas.
They
also committed to keeping each other up to date on their respective incentive
policies and promulgate the necessary legislation facilitating bilateral
trade and investment.
The
two leaders discussed tailoring trade agreements to both countries’ World
Trade Organisation membership.
They
vowed to extend preferential tariff rates for select goods in 2014, another
measure designed to cultivate trade links and encourage development, peace,
and stability in both countries.
HCMC
hosts Int’l Medical and Pharmaceutical Exhibition
As
many as 350 enterprises from 20 countries and territories are attending the
13th Vietnam International Medical and Pharmaceutical Exhibition
in
The
400-booth exhibition showcases medical and laboratory products,
pharmaceutical and processing equipment, packaging machinery, and
ophthalmologic and dental products.
It
also includes a series of seminars introducing the latest medical and
pharmaceutical products, high-tech equipment, and Vietnamese trading
policies.
The
exhibition offers domestic and foreign enterprises a chance to negotiate for
business partnerships, exchange experiences, and promote their products and
services efficiently.
The
annual event is co-organised by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of
Industry and Trade.
Report
projects future financial woes of social security fund
ILO
suggests that the Vietnam Social Security Fund could start having deficits by
2021 and experience depletion by 2034 if no reforms are made.
The
report, titled “Actuarial Valuation of the public pension scheme of the
Vietnam Social Security Fund” was presented to the Vietnamese Government at a
workshop co-organized by the ILO and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and
Social Affairs on August 22.
It
provides financial projection of the present public scheme of the fund and
analyses possible reforms that could increase the fund’s sustainability.
This
is in the context of
“Social
insurance reform is like driving a big boat: the captain cannot wait until
the last moment”, said ILO Vietnam Director Gyorgy Sziraczki. “Rather, it
should start turning even before seeing the obstacles in front.
Unfortunately, the ILO report shows that the obstacle is dangerously close”.
“Government,
employers and workers need to work together urgently and find the right
balance to ensure pensions now and in the future,” he added.
To
ensure the fund’s sustainability, according to the ILO,
Vice
Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Minh Huan, stressed that
in the 2020-50 period, the rate of aging for Vietnam’s population would
expect to be among the fastest in Asia.
ILO
projects are critical for the Ministry to have the ground for future
development plan of the social insurance and retirement policies, he said.
The
Vietnam Social Security (VSS) covers Vietnamese citizens with employment
contracts of three months or longer but the enforcement remains a challenge.
Only one fifth of the total workforce has social insurance today.
Despite
increase in compulsory contribution collection to VND89.6 trillion last year
from VND6.3 trillion in 2001, only 47 per cent of all registered enterprises
contributed to compulsory social insurance fund in 2010.
Petrol prices
slightly decrease
Petrol
retailers have reduced their price by VND300 per litre as from 8pm on August
22 at the request of the ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade.
Meanwhile,
the price of mazut oil has also gone down by VND257 per litre.
This
is the first time reduction in fuel prices this month. A92 petrol is now sold
at VND24,270 per litre.
Since
the beginning of this year, domestic petrol prices have gone up four times
and down three times, hitting a record high of VND24,570 per litre.
Plastic material
import tax hike from 2014
Polypropylen
(PP) material imports will be slapped a tax rate of 1% from 2014 from the
current 0%, which will then be increased to 2% in 2015 and 3% in 2016
onwards, says a new circular of the Ministry of Finance.
The
circular provides amendments on preferential import tax rates imposed on
certain commodities effective from September 26, 2013.
The
finance ministry announced the import tax rate hike plan on May 10. According
to the ministry, the tax adjustment from 0% to 3% on PP, benzene and p-Xylene
is to protect and encourage the local production of these items. Besides,
with the tax adjustment, the State doesn’t have to offset prices for Binh Son
and Nghi Son oil refining companies from 2013 when their factories came into
operation.
According
to the Vietnam Plastic Association (VPA), as PP is one of the three major
plastic materials used for local plastic production, those suffering the most
from the tax rate hike will be household utensil producers in the low-value
segment.
Domestic
firms only turn out 150,000 tons of PP annually while local demand is 750,000
tons per year, forcing industry players to import 600,000 tons to make up for
the shortfall, VPA reports.
With
the import price of some US$1,500 a ton, plastic enterprises will have to pay
an extra VND500 billion to import the same material volume when the tax rate
is increased to 3%.
VietinBank
gets approval to expand
The
Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) got
approval to open eight more transaction offices in five provinces, the State
Bank said in a post on its website.
Specifically,
the Ha Noi-based bank is allowed to open eight transaction offices, including
three in
Vietnamese
goods week for Dong Nai
A
Vietnamese goods week is set to take place in the southern
According
to Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Le Van Danh,
the week aims to promote Vietnamese goods and provide local high-quality
products to consumers with reasonable prices.
More
than 300 supermarkets, shops, trade centres and manufacturers will showcase
their products during the week-long high-quality Vietnamese goods fair.
Smartlink
cards increase coverage
Smartlink
Card Services (Smartlink) announced that they have expanded inter-network
connections with ATM/POS system of Banknetvn for six banks, including VCCB,
KienLongBank, MDB, Shinhan Vietnam Bank, OCB and LienVietPostBank.
Accordingly,
holders of cards issued by these institutions can now make cash withdrawals
and balance inquiries at more than 16,000 ATMs of banks within Smartlink and
Banknetvn network.
Holders
of cards issued by VCB, KienLongBank, MDB, OCB and LienVietPostBank can make
payments for goods and services at 105,000 points of sale (POS) in commercial
centres, supermarkets, restaurants and hotels across the country.
Thais
invest in thermal power plant
The
Thai electricity firm Egati will invest in a 1,200MW thermal power plant
worth about US$2.26 billion in the central
Chairman
of the provincial People's Committee, Nguyen Duc Cuong, announced this
yesterday.
The
plant will be built in the form of BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer), and will be
transferred to
According
to Cuong, the plant, which will cover 450ha in Hai Lang District, will
include two turbines. The first is expected to be operational between 2019-20
and the second one in 2030.
Once
operational, the plant will generate 7.25 billion kWh of commercial
electricity a year.
Rice
exporters told to be careful
Most
of the cancelled contracts were related to Chinese traders and the rest to
Philippine traders.
To
prevent this, the VFA has recommended that businesses carefully check the
conditions of every contract before they decide to sign, especially with
Chinese traders.
Nguyen
Dinh Bich, a leading expert on rice exports, said
SBV
holds forex rate as market steadies
An
official from the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) told local media on Wednesday
that there would be no adjustment of the foreign exchange (forex) rate at
present.
He
said the forex market showed good liquidity and the demand for dollars had
been met.
Earlier,
SBV said on its website that the forex market was becoming stable while the
exchange rates at commercial banks and on the free market tended to decrease.
SBV
said it would continue closely monitoring the forex market so that it could
also take measures to stabilise the market if necessary. Two months ago, SBV
devaluated the Vietnamese dong by 1 per cent.
On
Wednesday, some commercial banks raised dollar prices, offering from
VND21,060-21,075 for buying and VND21,120-21,140 for selling.
US$16
billion poured into Vung Ang Economic Zone
The
Vung Ang Economic Zone in central Ha Tinh province has attracted 79 projects
with registered capital totalling over US$16 billion year to date, according
to Ho Anh Tuan, head of the EZ.
He
said the 79 projects include 44 from domestic investors and 35 from foreign
ones.
In the
first seven months of 2013, investment licences were granted to 14 projects
with a total capital of more than US$500 million.
One of
the largest projects in the Vung Ang EZ is the project to build a US$10
billion steel factory and sea port invested by Formosa Heavy Industries
Corporation from
Firms
based in the Vung Ang EZ have so far created jobs for over 15,000 workers
with the average salary of VND4.5-5.5 million (US$211.5- 258.5) per month.
The
Vung Ang, one of the country’s five key coastal economic zones, was founded
in 2006, covering an area of 22.78 hectares in Ky Anh district.
Tra
fish production up, but prices fall
State
and local enterprises should promote renovation to overcome current
difficulties in the local tra fish industry, said experts.
The
Fisheries Department, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, said from early this year to mid-August, farmers achieved a
total output of 770,000 tonnes of tra fish, 5.3 per cent higher than the same
period of last year.
The
increase in output has pushed the price of tra fish down by VND2,000 per kilo
to 19,000-22,000, so both farmers and enterprises suffered losses, they said.
In the
Cuu Long (
Farmers,
on their part, also had no money to invest in production.
During
the first seven months of this year, tra fish export values declined,
year-on-year, 0.6 per cent to US$985 million, the department said.
Nguyen
Van Kich, general director of Cafatex, a seafood export processor in
To
solve the surplus, the state should control exporters, as well as market
supply and demand, Kich said. It should also review the current plan on the
production of tra fish to connect production with sales.
Additionally,
Nguyen Huu Dung, VASEP deputy chairman, said exporters should study export
prices and customer's tastes on many export markets, but not focus on some
markets.
State
management should be promoted to ensure the quality of tra fish products and
the trade mark of Vietnamese tra fish, Dung said.
Nguyen
Huy Dien, deputy director of the Fisheries Department, said in the near
future, the provincial people's committees should push for investigations
into the quality of raw tra fish to ensure the quality of tra fish products.
Vu Van
Tam, deputy minister of agriculture and rural development, said enterprises
should restructure export markets, expand outlets to
The
ministry would strengthen management of tra fish varieties and turn out
products of high quality, Tam said.
The
department said
Proposal
to place retail ceiling on essential goods
The
Government should stipulate ceiling prices for essential goods such as
petroleum, oil and electricity for businesses which have a monopoly in the
market, thus preventing them from making their prices too expensive for
customers.
This
was a proposal made by economist Vu Dinh Anh at a seminar, held in Ha Noi on
Tuesday, to discuss solutions to complete a State management mechanism for
the prices of essential goods and services set by monopolistic businesses in
the market.
Anh
said the ceiling price should be the retail one, not the producer price.
Enterprises would be allowed to sell their products and services lower than
the ceiling price, encouraging them to save costs.
He
added that management agencies should include taxes, businesses costs and
workers' salary to calculate the ceiling price. Enterprises therefore would
strive to reduce costs instead of increasing prices.
Businesses
would have to lower their selling prices to increase their market share, he
said.
Nguyen
Anh Tuan, head of the Finance Ministry's Price Management Department, said
prices of goods and services played an important role in the economy. The
State management on some goods and services has been vital.
However,
Tuan said the management on essential goods of monopolistic businesses has
seen shortcomings.
Sharing
this idea, Nguyen Minh Phong, head of the Ha Noi Institute for Socio-Economic
Development's Economic Research Division, said the Viet Nam National Coal and
Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), the Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) and
wholesale petroleum trading companies were allowed to increase selling prices
in a road map, causing concerns among people about the possibility of
increasing prices because these were monopolistic enterprises.
Phong
said businesses asked to implement market prices, while petroleum, oil,
electricity and coal have not had a competitive market.
EVN
has not separated generation power companies, while Viet Nam National Petroleum
Corporation (Petrolimex) accounted for a half of the petroleum market.
He
said it was difficult to bring the essential prices for goods close to the
world market because the country does not have a complete competitive market.
Economist
Ngo Tri Long, former deputy head of the Price Management Department, said the
electricity sector included three phases of power generation, transmission
and distribution.
However,
EVN controls all three phases which accounts for 60 per cent of the market.
It is
the reason why EVN has been monopolistic, he said, adding that the power
price has been adjusted seven times in upward trend since 2009.
He
said the power calculation, mostly based on EVN's production costs and
compensation for losses, does not consider cost saving.
He
proposed publishing price calculating methods, diversifying power resources
and avoiding imports.
In
addition, the Government should quickly separate the power purchasing company
from EVN to create a fair competitive market.
In
terms of petroleum, he said businesses stipulated selling prices themselves,
which was contrary to price management in the market mechanism.
Petroleum
businesses immediately proposed an increase of selling prices as soon as
there was a slight increase in the world market. However, they had not
reduced prices when world prices continued to decrease.
He
said the Government should establish an independent agency to evaluate the
prices of monopolistic goods, then submit suitable selling prices to the
Government to ensure benefits for the people and businesses.
Plastics,
steel face more tax
Viet
Nam would raise import duties for plastics and steel under plans announced by
the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on Wednesday.
The
announcements came as the Ministry opened consultation with authorities and
businesses on the proposed tax hikes.
The
move will see plastics (unsaturated polyester) import duties raised to 5 per
cent from the current zero per cent rate; while steel wire and steel bar
duties will rise to 3 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
Domestic
plastic enterprises have alleged plastic importers have side-stepped import
taxes on plastics by declaring goods as "other polyesters" which
carry a zero per cent rate; creating an unfair playing field for local
producers.
Domestic
companies complained to MoF, pushing the proposal to raise import taxes.
MoF
clarified that polyester was only taxed zero per cent in liquid or paste
form, although customs declarations have shown that polyester has been
declared in "debris" and "other" forms to exploit the lax
import duty.
MoF
has criticised these kinds of customs declarations as ‘commercial fraud' and
is backing the plans to protect domestic production and crack down on fraud.
Similar
plans will be put into place to protect local steel makers who have also come
under pressure from importers exploiting loopholes in import taxes.
Currently,
only one category of steel is taxed with a 10 per cent duty, while the
remainder are taxed at a rate of zero per cent.
The
Ministry has vowed to raise import taxes across all four steel categories in
an effort to boost domestic production and shield domestic companies from
imported products.
Poor
fertiliser plagues farmers
The
overlapping management over fertiliser production and trade has been blamed
for the increased number of violations relating to fake or poor-quality
fertiliser in Viet Nam.
At
present, the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry and the Ministry of Industry
and Trade are in charge of managing fertiliser.
Viet
Nam has about 30,000 fertiliser producing and trading establishments with a
total output of 8 million tonnes, meeting 80 per cent of the domestic demand.
However,
Truong Hop Tac, head of the Fertiliser Management Department under the
Agriculture Ministry, said that the vague responsibilities for each ministry
caused confusion for local enforcement agencies.
For
examples, some localities assigned the Cultivation Division to manage
fertiliser, while others assigned the Plant Protection Division or the
Agricultural Product Quality Testing Agency, he said.
Most
localities lacked staff to oversee fertiliser-related activities, as well as
equipment for testing the quality of fertiliser, he said.
Moreover,
presently, Viet Nam decides which fertiliser products are eligible to
circulate on the market based on list of over 5,000 registered fertiliser
labels, he said, adding that the tool posed problems because of difficulties
in tracking the products' origin.
Do
Thanh Lam, deputy head of the Market Management Department under the Ministry
of Industry and Trade, said that violations for fake or poor-quality
fertiliser production was growing constantly.
Over
the last 18 months alone, market watch forces detected over 5,300 violations,
fined 1,390 for a total of VND17.2 billion (US$816,000) and seized 917 tonnes
of substandard fertiliser.
Notably,
the Market Watch of northern Hoa Binh Province found a trading violation
involving 36 tonnes of fake fertiliser. In northern Yen Bai Province, 225
tonnes of fake Diamino Phosphate fertiliser was found being transported from
China.
Lam
said that violators including firms, private establishments and households
were using more and more complicated tricks.
They
take advantage of border terrain for smuggling, change packaging and use fake
documents to make the smuggled products penetrate domestic market.
There
were cases in which farmers collected cheap substandard fertiliser and then
sold it to other farming households. Some even added half baked brick
powders, soil, salt and dyeing substance.
He
said that violators, to avoid criminal prosecution, did not pack all of the
stored fertiliser as finished products, but just packed enough fertiliser for
it to sell out soon.
"It's
difficult for them to control fertiliser prices and quality because of an
insufficient distribution system," Lam said, adding that few fertiliser
producers have set up their own distribution channel from production to
retail stores.
Now
most of their distribution relies on commercial companies or private stores,
he said, implying that products needed to undergo many steps before reaching
farmers.
At
present, it seems that any one can make and sell fertiliser.
Tac,
from the Agriculture Ministry, said that it was necessary to impose more
requirements for fertiliser production and trade, as well as clarify or set
up a vertical system from central to local levels responsible for fertiliser
management.
Lack
of employer/applicant connection causes labour market paradox
While
the unemployment rate in Vietnam has been at a high level, many local
enterprises are still finding it hard to recruit good employees.
Statistics
showed that unemployment rates in the country had reached 2.28% in the first
half of this year. The figure indicated a considerable increase compared with
the rate of 1.96% in 2012.
However,
recruitment demand among big companies has not fallen and many claimed that
they’re still looking for new employees.
Mai
Hoa, who is in charge of human resource at VinGroup, said, “Currently, we’re
trying to employ new staff at several posts in order to meet our long-term
development plans.”
According
to her, they have a great need for those who have finished vocational
training.
Trinh
Thanh Hai, a human resources official at ABB Group, said they’re recruiting
newcomers for several posts, ranging from specialists to office staff, to
ensure that their business plans are realised on schedule.
It
seems that there is a paradox in the labour market as demand for the labour force
of big companies has yet to be filled but many trained workers can’t find a
job.
Some
experts attributed the situation to the lack of an effective connection
between employers and applicants.
Paul
Nguyen, General Director of CareerBuilder, said, “Apart from online job
applications for employment, the organisation of large-scale job bazaars and
training events could be an effective solution to foster such a connection”.
Dr.
Alan Phan said such events are a great opportunity for applicants to learn
how to find a good job.
A
Career Builder Day – Career & Education Expo 2013 will be held on August
24 at HCM City's White Palace and on September 7 at Hanoi's Grand Plaza.
Enterprises
boost rice product exports
Many
food producers in the country have raised the value of rice by making rice
flour, noodles and rice paper that are favorite products in overseas markets.
Trang
Si Duc, deputy general director of Bich Chi Food Joint Stock Company, said
that the enterprise has over 100 products made from rice. In the first six
months, revenue generated from these products increased by around 10%
year-on-year.
Exports
to the U.S., the EU and Japan made significant contributions to the growth.
The enterprise has also shipped products to Myanmar.
Its
rice flour exports have strongly increased. In 2010, domestic consumption
accounted for 70% of its revenue but the ratio between domestic consumption
and exports is now 50:50.
Bich
Chi Company expects to ship its products to Africa this year. To enter the
overseas market, the enterprise has joined many international fairs and trade
promotion trips to find partners overseas, Duc said.
Other
enterprises have also updated production technology, using rice as material
for many instant products.
Bui
Huu Loc, director of flour processing firm Loc Sanh, said that enterprises
can produce over 700 kilos of flour from a ton of rice. Rice flour export
prices average out at over VND14 million a ton while average 5% broken rice
export price is over US$400, or around VND8.4 million. Obviously, processed
rice products generate higher value than the raw product.
At the
recent seminar on Vietnamese rice values, a representative of Colusa-Miliket
Foodstuffs Joint Stock Company said that it uses 10,000 tons of rice to
process instant products for domestic sale and export each year. Processing
technology has helped local enterprises raise the value of rice compared to
normal rice exports.
The
Vietnam Trade Office in Japan has also recommended local firms to raise the
quality of rice exports, focusing on production of rice products to meet
increasing demands in Japan.
Hi-tech
firms face ‘huge need' for skilled workers
Hi-tech
firms in HCM City are facing a severe shortage of skilled workers with only
30 per cent of trained workers meeting their job demands.
Tran
Anh Tuan, deputy director of the city's Centre of Forecasting Manpower Needs
and Labour Market Information, said that the IT industry has a huge need for
programmers, network engineers, hardware engineers and web designers.
But
the number of job seekers meets only 70 per cent of recruitment demand, and a
majority of these are new graduates with little experience who lack foreign
language competency, he said.
The IT
sector is among the industries with the highest demand for skilled workers.
Likewise, only half the recruitment demand for mechanical engineers is being
met.
Nearly
55,000 students graduating from universities and colleges in the city every
year, with 40 per cent majoring in science and technology streams.
Major
national power projects still in limbo
Deputy
Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has urged the northern provinces of Son La,
Dien Bien and Lai Chau to speed up land clearances and the resettlement of
local residents to allow construction of key Son La and Lai Chau hydropower
plants.
Working
with the State Steering Board for the Son La-Lai Chau hydropower plant in Lai
Chau province yesterday, Hai praised the board and the province for the
project's progress, affirming the Government would prioritise investment in
the project.
He
also requested the three provinces of Lai Chau, Son La and Dien Bien
accommodate displaced residents, adding that the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development would take a leading role in helping to resettle locals and
foster development in resettlement areas.
At the
working session, leaders of the relevant ministries and departments also
suggested measures to allocate land and forest plots to resettled families
and assist them with farming sustainable livelihoods.
Le
Trong Quang, Deputy Chairman of the Lai Chau Province People's Committee,
said the resettlement policy had made good progress in line with the master
plan previously approved by the Prime Minister.
Currently,
60 of 1,760 households in the province have been relocated, with the
remainder to be moved in 2014, he said. Meanwhile, a total of 4,600 families
resettled in Son La province have received compensation.
According
to the steering board, construction of necessary infrastructure in resettlement
areas in Son La and Lai Chau province have been complete, while locals moving
into the new areas had received land for agricultural production.
Many
local residents have extracted higher incomes from planting rubber trees in
the districts of Sin Ho and Mong Te.
Lai
Chau's province leader Quang requested the Electricity of Viet Nam speed up
capital allocations to resettlement areas, which had been delayed.
Construction
of Lai Chau hydropower plant – the third biggest after Hoa Binh and Son La
plants – began in January 5, 2011 and is scheduled to be operational by early
2017.
Son La
hydropower plant began generating power in December 2012, after 7 years of
construction.
Conference:
VN in need of safe natural rubber standards
Viet
Nam needs to establish a national standard for protein-free natural rubber to
ensure the safety of products made from it, a seminar related to a
Japan-aided project heard in HCM City yesterday.
The
"Establishment of Carbon-Cycle-System with Natural Rubber" project
is being carried out at the Ha Noi University of Science and Technology and
Rubber Research Institute of Viet Nam in co-operation with the Japan-based
Nagaoka University of Technology.
The
six-year project, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and
the Japan Science and Technology, will be completed by March 2016, seeks to
help Viet Nam establish a national standard for protein-free natural rubber.
It will
also present the latest research developments in evaluating rubber and
methods to purify rubber, and enable the rubber industry to share their needs
and knowledge.
Speaking
at the meeting, Ngo Thi Ngoc Ha, deputy director of the Viet Nam Standards
and Quality Institute, said the country has not had a standard for
protein-free natural rubber by which the safety of products can be measured.
The
latest research on "de-proteinisation" method under the project
would help create a standard, she said.
Products
made from natural rubber are environmentally friendly but could cause latex
allergy in people, she said.
Conventional
leaching and rising methods can only remove protein from the surface but not
inside. The latter comes out when the surface is damaged, causing latex
allergy.
Prof
Tran Van Top, vice president of the Ha Noi University of Science and
Technology, said the project includes five research groups, adding its
results would pave the way for future development of natural rubber in the
country.
Prof Masao
Fukuda, the programme leader, said the project aims to help Viet Nam replace
synthetic rubber made from fossil sources with natural rubber, enabling
"green" development in the country.
Viet
Nam is a leading producer of natural rubber and the fourth largest rubber
manufacturer in the world.
The
meeting was attended by more than 50 senior executives from companies
belonging to the Viet Nam Rubber Group, scientists from the Ha Noi University
of Science and Technology, Rubber Research Institute of Viet Nam, and Nagaoka
University of Technology.
Vinacomin
plans corporate bond issue
The
debt-laden Viet Nam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group, or Vinacomin,
is planning a big bond issue this year, reported the newspaper Dau tu Chung
khoan (Securities Investment).
The
issue, if carried out this year, will be the second biggest corporate bond
issue behind the VND7.6 trillion (US$362 million) deal conducted by Viet Nam
Infrastructure and Property Development Group in April.
Last
week, Vinacomin selected Vietcombank Securities and VP Securities to be its
advisory on the deal.
The
group is now preparing to set up a contract, identify the issuance volume,
prepare documents and determine the interest rate, Vinacomin announced on its
website.
The
specific volume has not been disclosed but is forecast to be VND3 trillion
($143 million).
In the
middle of last year, Vinacomin also put up VND3 trillion worth of bonds for
sale but only successfully sold VND500 billion ($23.8 million). The group
sold the remaining VND2.5 trillion ($119 million) worth of bonds in the first
quarter of this year.
This
year's issue is forecast to face many difficulties, especially since the
group's business results are not good.
Vinacomin's
2012 profit declined 60 per cent from the previous year to VND2.6 trillion
($123.8 million) due to soaring cost. Liabilities as of 31 December, 2012 was
VND81.85 trillion ($3.9 billion) compared to its total equity of just VND32.8
trillion ($1.56 billion).
The
Ministry of Finance decided to raise the export tax for coal from 10 per cent
to 13 per cent on July 7 this year, forcing the group to increase the price
of coal.
Vinacomin
reported July sales of over 2 million tonnes of coal in both domestic and
overseas markets, 60 per cent lower than the monthly average in the first
half of this year.
The
group has recently asked to decrease the export tax to the old level of 10
per cent due to low global prices.
According
to some analysts, Vinacomin's bond issue can attract some investors such as
banks. Demand for "safe" bonds, especially issued by State-owned
enterprises, have increased since the beginning of this year along with
banks' capital abundance.
Total
credit growth reached only 4.5 per cent by June's end, far below the yearly
target of 12 per cent. At some major banks like Vietcombank, credit growth
was even negative.
Cost
of living rises again in Ha Noi and HCM City
Consumer
price indices in the two largest cities saw strong increase in August due to
a surge in health care service prices and petrol products.
According
to statistics from offices in Ha Noi and HCM City, August's CPI in Ha Noi
rose 3.16 per cent over July and 0.31 per cent in HCM City.
The Ha
Noi Statistics Office said the city's CPI saw a year-on-year surge of 8.7 per
cent.
The
growth rate for August's CPI, at 3.16 per cent, was 2.5 folds higher than the
rate for the CPI during the month for Tet festival when the price of goods
and services often increase sharply.
The
strong surge of August's CPI in Ha Noi was due to an increase in the price of
health care services, the office said. The CPI would rise only 0.59 per cent
if the price of health care services was not used to calculate the CPI.
In
August, the price of health care services gained the highest surge of 63.94
per cent, followed by the transport service price with an increase of 1.23
per cent due to the effects of petrol and oil price surges in July.
The
petrol and oil price increase also pushed the price of the housing and
building material group up 0.95 per cent against last month.
Also
this month, the price of food and catering services had a strong surge of
0.78 per cent against last month, following months of decline since February.
The
office said the price for vegetables was high due to shortages attributed to
too much rain, while the price of meat increased as a result of high
transport fees.
Additionally,
farmers halted pig breeding due to difficulties which lead to a shortage of
pork and expected increases in pork prices over the coming months. This was
one of the factors that could affect the CPI by year's end, the office said.
HCM
City's CPI in August rose 0.31 per cent against the previous month, according
to the municipal Statistics Office. The index experienced increases of 1.26
per cent and 3.17 per cent compared to those of eight months and one year
ago, respectively.
Most
commodities saw price hikes during the month, with exceptions falling in the
telecom and education sectors. The highest price rise, 1.24 per cent, was
recorded in transport due to the impact of price hikes in petrol and oil
products in July.
The
surge in petrol, gas and oil prices also made the price of housing and
building material, electricity and tap water group rise 0.58 per cent.
Prices
of food and catering services rose 0.22 per cent and 0.19 per cent
respectively.
Slight
increases were also seen in the prices of beverage and tobacco (0.28 per
cent); culture-entertainment-tourism (0.28 per cent); and garment-headwear-footwear
(0.19 per cent).
The
groups of household appliances, goods and other services, and medicines and
health care services witnessed humbler price rises.
Metal
factory green lit in Quang Ngai
The
People's Committee of central Quang Ngai Province has given nod to Huong Hai
Group Co Ltd to set up a rare metals factory in Ba To District, the Ministry
of Industry and Trade newspaper has reported.
The
project has a total investment capital of over VND1.4 trillion (US$66
million) and will specialise in mining and processing bronze and other metals
to provide for the domestic industry and for exports.
The
factory is planned to have an annual capacity of 1,500 tonnes. It will
officially become operational in 2014 according to the provincial Department
of Planning and Investment.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Sáu, 23 tháng 8, 2013
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