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Vietnam Heritage Photo Exhibition opens
Vietnam Heritage Photo Exhibition 2013 opened in Gia Lai province on October 30 to mark the 9th Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day.
On the show are 122 photos and collections chosen from more than 6,000 entries to the Vietnam heritage photo contest.
They are focused on the daily life of ethnic groups, enjoying the marvelous and magic moment of festivities in the wide open space.
The event is part of the second Vietnam Heritage Photo Contest with the aim of encouraging the social community to discover, preserve and promote natural and cultural heritage values.
The exhibition will run until November 11.
The Vietnam Heritage Photo Awards 2013 ceremony is scheduled to take place in Ho Chi Minh City on November 21.
American pros share experience with Vietnamese filmmakers
American filmmaker Sean Trace will make a business trip to Ho Chi Minh City and share his experiences as part of a project launched by Saigon International Film School (SIFS).
Trace is one of the project’s lecturers who will work with dozens of students in cinematography from local art universities and colleges. His talks will focus on two of the most popular performance styles in Hollywood today – the Meisner and Ivana Chubbuck acting methods.
Trace’s five-day trip, beginning on November 11, will also include work and experience exchanges with Vietnamese filmmakers and film companies.
Those interested in the project can contact the SIFS office at 15 Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Binh Thanh District.
First sci-fi film contest opens in VN
The first-ever sci-fi short film contest titled "Project: Sci-Fi" is open to film makers of all ages throughout the country till December 1.
Entries on sci-fi topics are expected to last between 5 and 10 minutes including an up-to-one-minute advertising trailer.
A set of prizes with total worth of VND300 million (US$14,000) will be given to the best directors, best films and best cameraman.
The judges include director Nguyen Quang Dung and Andrew Cosby, an American comic book writer, film producer, screen writer, and most notably the co-creator of the hit SyFy TV series Eureka. He co-founded Boom! Studios.
The contest is organised by Cloud 9 Production and the Western Digital Corporation's Southeast Asia branch company.
More information can be viewed at www.project-scifi.com.
Finnish artist showcases latest works
The work of Finnish artist Maritta Nurmi, a Ha Noi resident for over 20 years, will be presented at Manzi Art Space from tomorrow.
Entitled Anima, the display will showcases her current works which use the animal form in many guises. In this new work, Nurmi seems to be questioning the necessity of man to create form, to suggest a bond between human and nature, and the implications of such a need or desire.
Nurmi was trained as a biologist so this exploration and fascination with the animal world is not a new realm. Her works are at once physical, and yet they seem to yearn to be free from constraint.
Co-organised by Art Viet Nam Gallery, Manzi Art Space and the Embassy of Finland, her exhibition is to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Finland and Viet Nam. Free entry to the display, which runs until November 30 at 14 Phan Huy Ich Street.
VNOB talents stage special dance performance
Artists of the Viet Nam National Opera and Ballet Theatre will stage a special performance featuring classical and contemporary dance tomorrow night.
The performance's first part will present two one-act ballets La Ventana and Flower Festival in Genzano by Danish choreographer and ballet master August Bournonville. Both of the ballets have been choreographed especially for Vietnamese artists by Frank Andersen – former Artistic Director of the Royal Swedish Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet.
The second part will feature the debut of the contemporary dance Secret Garden, Choreographed by Macedonian artist Sasha Evimova.
The one-night performance will take place at the Ha Noi Opera House from 8pm.
Twee Hue howling for Halloween
Despite its reputation as a city hesitant to adopt foreign traditions, the city of Hue is buzzing with halloween excitement.
The city is festooned with Halloween decorations; dead bodies, ghosts, pumpkins and monsters - a reminder of the city's younger generation.
Shops display various decorations and Halloween costumes for sale while fake dead bodies are found hanging on trees throughout the city.
"I found many interesting things from Halloween and have been feeling scared of ghosts," said 25-year-old local Ngoc Bich.
Bich and her close friends prepare costumes to dress as witches and monsters for a costume party tonight at a local bar.
Meanwhile, another local resident, Bao Huy, said he has trained in the English Language Faculty to learn about the tradition. Huy has planned a Halloween dinner for his friends before they go to a party at DMZ Bar, famous in Hue for its annual Halloween party, primarily attended by foreign tourists.
Coffee shops, where most youngsters congregate in the old city, are redesigning the shops to coincide with the Halloween theme and hold Vietnamese-style Halloween parties for young locals.
The His&Her coffee shop is offering participants free face paintings for guests who order food and beverages, with no cover charge.
"We are holding the party for frequent guests to our shop. They are young and do enjoy cross-cultural events" said shop host Thuy Duong.
Similarly, the Thuna House coffee shop is offering entrance tickets to winners of a photo contest held prior to the "Twilight Party".
Other coffee shops will hold different Halloween parties, for couples and those coming alone. Singes will have the option of a service to rent female or male partners.
As a tradition, the International Studies Faculty in Hue University of Foreign Languages holds a party for students to enjoy themselves and learn about the tradition, says young lecturer Le Ngoc.
This year's event includes a costume party, comedic performances and a musical play by students.
Talking about the effects of foreign cultural imports such as Haloween, one local culture expert said the younger generations demonstrated a keeness to embrace foreign cultural traditions, while remaining faithful to their own things.
Nepalese singer set for one-night-only show
After his performances in Kathmandu and at the "musicians' mecca" Blue Frog, in Mumbai, Nepalese singer and songwriter, Ayush Shrestha will come to Ha Noi for a one-night-only performance tomorrow night.
Shrestha will bring a fresh musical taste to the capital city coupling his contemporary folk songs with the six-string instrument and a dash of traditional Nepali melody.
His performance will start at 8pm at 6 Hoi Vu Street. Tickets are available at the venue.
Arties Quartet head to L'Espace
France's Arties Quartet will perform a classical concert at the French Cultural Centre L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street tonight to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between France and Viet Nam.
The band includes violinist Sullimann Altmayer, viola player Julien Dabonneville, violoncellist Gauthier Herrmann and pianist Romain Descharmes.
They have participated in many prestigious concerts in London, Tokyo, Beijing, Paris and Kuala Lumpur.
Tickets are available at L'Espace for VND120,000 per ticket with students receiving a 50 per cent discount.
The group will also perform tomorrow night at the Youth Culture House, 4 Pham Ngoc Thach Street, District 1, HCM City.
Hair show to highlight new, nostalgic trends
The Davines Hair Show 2013, titled Happiness, will present the latest hairstyle trends in the fashion world next Thursday in HCM City.
Organised by Davines Viet Nam Co. and Dep magazine, the annual event will gather the most famous hair artists in Viet Nam including Hoang Minh Tam, Vuong Trong Khoi and Don Hau.
Pham Vu Tung, marketing director of Davines Viet Nam said the show will help Vietnamese hair designers further develop their talents and skills.
The show will be designed as a three-chapter book depicting a happy life by director Viet Tu, using "creative and colourful" combinations.
The show will be a meeting place for several professionals including fashion, make-up and music.
A trip down nostalgia lane into the 30s-40s will be taken with Retro music presented by Saigon BigBand, headed by the nation's leading saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan as well as top DJs Wang DMC and Bnuts.
Hair designer Hoang Minh Tam will present a collection called Quy Toc Duong Pho (Street silk stocking) that reflects "rebellion in tradition" with up-to-date cutting and colour inspired by London City.
Hair designer Don Hau, meanwhile, will show off his collection called Hoi Cho Phu Hoa (Pompous Market) with exquisite and splendid hair styles in combination with back and white costumes.
Hair artist Vuong Trong Khoi's collection, Hanh Phuc (Happiness), will hark back to plain hair styles favoured in the 50s ad 60s.
The show will take place at the Nguyen Du Indoor Stadium in District 1.
Aki Matsuri Summer Festival opens in City
Aki Matsuri Summer Festival, an annual Japanese cultural event, will open at the Crescent Mall in District 7 in Ho Chi Minh City on November 3.
The free festival which was organized in Hanoi on October 27 aims to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Vietnam.
The event will feature around 15 display booths presenting Japanese arts and culture, such as Daruma-Japanese traditional doll, Furin wind chime, Japanese food and costumes, Yosakoi-style traditional dance, performance of cosplay costume, and introduction of Japanese comic strip characters and games.
Well-known cosplayers Stay of Taiwan (China) and Yuegene from Thailand will be special guests at the event.
Aki Matsuri Fall Festival is an entertaining event held in the Japanese countryside. The show was organized for the first time in Vietnam two years ago.
Hanoi hosts concert to raise funds for storm victims
A concert titled ‘The Storm’ will be held at Dai Nam Theater in Hanoi on October 31 to raise funds for storm victims in the central coastal provinces.
Well-known singers such as Tan Minh, Khanh Linh, Ngoc Khue, Dinh Manh Ninh, Duong Truong Giang, Nhat Thu, Pham Thu Ha and MC Thanh Trung, Phi Nguyen Thuy Linh will join the event.
The music show will also include an auction of paintings featuring the central region and portraits of late General Vo Nguyen Giap by artist Tran Thinh.
‘The Storm’ is a part of the Emergency Relief Campaign for Central Vietnam which will run from October 20 to November 20.
All proceeds of the concert and auction will be sent to the storm victims.
Exhibition marks Vietnam-Japan ties
An exhibition of lacquer paintings by Japanese artist Saeko Ando will be held in Hanoi on November 9, in celebration of the 40 th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties.
The painter, who has lived in Hanoi for 18 years and uses local materials and techniques in her work, wants to present her Japanese side at this exhibition themed “ Japan in Me.”
The paintings will be shown together with a series of short essays Saeko has written to explain the ideas of her works.
Saeko’s works depict aspects of life in the natural world that people usually fail to notice. Her command of lacquer techniques, use of rich colours and bold compositions, and creation of elaborate textures, enable her to transform these into enchanting characters with their own stories.
Because of her devotion to the lacquer craft and profound understanding of Vietnamese culture, the painter is regularly invited to appear in magazines and on television in Japan and Vietnam .
She is the first foreign member accepted by the Hanoi Fine Art Association.
Japanese/Vietnamese rock fest in capital
The Japan Foundation in Hanoi has teamed up with rockpassion.vn to present both Japanese and Vietnamese rock bands on November 16.
The event will transform the Van Ho Exhibition Center into a rock venue with Japanese outfit Okamoto returning to Vietnam for a fourth time together with support from The Ton-Up Motors and Ryukyudisko. An unnamed local rock band will also take part in the big night.
Van Ho Exhibition Center is located at 2 Hoa Lu, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi.
The event is free and tickets can be collected from The Japan Foundation, 27 Quang Trung Street, Hoan Kiem District, Tel: (04) 3999 7419 or at the Rockpassion.vn Office, 66 lane 40, Ta Quang Buu Street, Hai Ba Trung District.
Exhibition highlights President Ho Chi Minh’s time in Longzhou, China
An exhibition entitled ‘Activities of President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese Revolutionaries in Longzhou county, Guangxi province, in China’ opened October 30 at the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi.
The exhibition displays nearly 200 photos, documents and artifacts focusing on the activities of President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese revolutionaries in Longzhou leading up to the August Revolution in 1945.
The exhibits will help visitors discover the career of President Ho Chi Minh and achieve a fuller understanding of the support given by locals in Longzhou county to the Vietnamese revolution.
After the establishment of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1930, Longzhou became an important base for many Vietnamese revolutionaries, including Le Hong Phong, Hoang Van Thu, Phung Chi Kien, Truong Chinh and Vo Nguyen Giap.
The exhibition is scheduled to run through November 10.
Source: Nhan Dan/SGT/SGGP/VOV/VNA/VNS
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Thứ Năm, 31 tháng 10, 2013
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Textiles exports toast stellar 2013 performance
HA NOI (VNS)-
Pham Xuan Hong,
deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Textile and Garment Association (Vitas), said
the textile and garment industry, despite of many challenges in production
and business, was one of two industries reaching more than $10 billion in
export value for this year's first nine months.
Hong said the
industry expected to achieve an annual growth rate of 15 per cent in export
value for the year due to the Government's export promotion policies and the
textile and garment enterprises' efforts.
As a result, it
will add $1 billion to its initial export value target to bring the
industry's total export value to $20 billion for the whole year.
Nguyen An, general
director of the Saigon Garment Production and Trading Joint Stock Company,
said the company found new partners at a fashion fair held in the US in
August and it expected to get new export orders and expand production by
year's end.
In addition, the
localisation rate for export products has increased 40-50 per cent against
the previous year's 20-30 per cent, Hong said.
This caused
imports of material and sub-materials to fall, an advantage for the textile
and garment industry in export activities once
The industry has
paid attention to investment in design, production and new production
technology to improve the quality and value of those products.
However, Hong said
local producers must compete with rivals from other countries, such as
Local producers
have also faced difficulties in sourcing and importing material and
sub-material for making textile and garment products due to competition with
other countries in the region.
The Ministry of
Industry and Trade's statistics show that in the first nine months of this
year, the textile and garment industry earned an export value of $13 billion,
up 18 per cent from the same time last year.
The
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 1/11
VN
strengthens investor protection, says WB
“Viet
Nam has undertaken important reforms during the past nine years to strengthen
its business environment, but much work still needs to be done to sustain its
competitiveness, especially in adopting international best practices in
regulating businesses,” said Wendy Werner, investment climate advisory
services manager for East Asia and the Pacific at IFC, a member of the World
Bank Group.
In the
past year,
In
addition, the country granted the first private credit bureau license
following the issuance of a decree in 2010 that laid down the legal framework
for establishing such bureaus.
Across
the globe,
Over
the past year, 15 out of 25 economies in
The
report analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during
their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders,
paying taxes, and resolving insolvency. The aggregate ease of doing business
rankings are based on 10 indicators and cover 189 economies.
Doing
Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter
to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure the quality of
fiscal management, other aspects of macroeconomic stability, the level of
skills in the labor force, or the resilience of financial systems.
Its
findings have stimulated policy debates worldwide and enabled a growing body
of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across
economies.
Phu
Yen destined for
Under
the theme “Viet Nam Seafood-Integration and Development,” the Viet Nam
Seafood Festival 2014 will take place from March 30 to April 2, 2014 in the
southern
The
event aims to honor coastal tangible and intangible cultural heritage values
on the national scale. It will mark the 55th founding anniversary of the
The
festival will see the launch of a campaign to breed fisheries varieties to
renew aquatic resources and an Exhibition of Viet Nam seafood, Industry and
trade.
It
will also include a forum on seafood trade promotion and investment; a
workshop of Improving the efficiency of tuna exploitation; a conference
summarizing Northern fishing season, deploying Southern fish season; and
others.
Vietnam-UK trade
turnover sees strong growth
Bilateral
trade turnover between
According
to data provided by the Vietnamese Commercial Affairs Office in the UK,
Vietnam’s export turnover to the UK reached 195 billion pounds (about 3.12
billion USD), a growth of 28 percent over the same period last year, while
its import turnover dropped by 2 percent against the first eight months of
2012, at 185 million pounds (296 million USD).
According
to the office’s forecast, total bilateral trade turnover between the two
countries in 2013 will hit 3.2 billion pounds (5.12 billion USD), 17 percent
higher than the previous year, of which
Last
year,
The
important foreign trade results
In
2011,
There
has been a longer list of products with their export value exceeding 1
billion USD. This list consists of products such as cashew nuts, cassava,
fiber and yarn. Textiles, garments and mobile phones have their export value
exceeding 10 billion USD. In 2011, the export value of mobile phones reached
6.8 billion USD, behind that of textiles, garments and crude oil. But last
year, mobile phones moved ahead of crude oil, ranking behind just textiles
and garments. In the first nine months of 2013, mobile phones moved to the
first position with their export value reaching 15.1 billion USD, 2.2 times
that of 2011.
The
In
terms of export structure,
For
five consecutive years (2008-2012), the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock
Company (Vinamilk) exported to 26 markets and its export value grew an
average 62 percent annually. In the first nine months of 2013, it fulfilled
over 70 percent of the export contracts signed for the whole year with a
total value of 230 million USD.
In
2011,
These
results were achieved thanks to efforts to promote domestic production of
materials for making export products and develop support industries as well
as the strict control over the import of products.
The
import structure continued changing to cater for the country’s
industrialisation and modernisation. The products the import of which is
necessary accounted for 81.2 percent, 87.7 percent and 87.9 percent
respectively in 2011, 2012 and the first nine months of 2013. The import
value of these products has increased since the beginning of this year - this
reflected the recovery of important sectors making products for both domestic
sale and export. The products the import of which must be tightly controlled
and those which are restricted accounted for 4-5 percent.
The
Trade
deficit is inevitable for a developing economy, but thanks to efforts to
maintain a high export growth rate and seek new export markets as well as
effective import management,
The
The
Government's estimate for a GDP growth rate of 5.5-5.8 percent for 2014 that
was submitted to the National Assembly's ongoing year-end session reflects a
change in thinking in economics - a more solid and feasible growth is chosen.
Insights from the
On
behalf of the Vietnamese Government, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on
October 21 presented a report on the socio-economic situation in 2013, the
results of the first three-year implementation of the 2011-2015 five-year
plan and the tasks for 2014-2015 at the 6th session of the 13th National
Assembly.
The
Government has no longer preferred a “hot” gross domestic product (GDP)
growth rate that heavily relied on investment capital and credit growth. It
chooses a sustainable growth which depends on economic restructuring and
three strategic breakthroughs.
GDP
increased from 4.76 percent in Q1, 5 percent in Q2 and 5.54 percent in Q3 to
an expected 6 percent in Q4 this year, showing a rising trend. In the first
nine months, the number of newly-established enterprises picked up 10.8
percent and over 11,200 ones resumed operation.
GDP
estimate for 2013 is higher than real GDP growth rate for 2012 (5.4 percent
in comparison with 5.25 percent ). However, the estimate for 2013 (5.4
percent) is lower than the National Assembly's preset index (5.5 percent).
Structure
of economic sectors moved positively, in which the proportion of
agro-forestry and fishery decreased and industry-construction and service
increased.
The
proportions of investment and GDP plummeted rapidly from 39.2 percent in
2006-2010 to only 30.9 percent in 2011-2013, and around 29.1 percent in 2013.
However,
there are shortcomings in the domestic economy, especially the low GDP growth
rate of 5.63 percent on average over the last three years.
The agro-forestry-fishery
sector expanded at a low pace in two consecutive years at 4.02 percent in
2011 and 2.68 percent in 2012 and 2.52 percent in 2013 (estimated),
respectively.
The
industry-construction sector, the driving force for national economic growth,
slowed down to only 5.75 percent in 2012 and 5.43 percent in 2013.
The
total demand remains weak and the proportion of investment and GDP decline
unexpectedly - that force customers to tighten their belts.
In the
report at the National Assembly's 6th session, Prime Minister Dung also
highlighted the Government’s major solutions to address current difficulties
and realise future plans for national socio-economic development. He laid a
stress on enhancing the macro-economy stability and inflation control.
The
Government aims to implement flexible monetary and tight budget policies,
adjust the interest rates in accordance with the inflation control target,
boost export and control import while increasing foreign currency reserves
and stimulating the capital and stock markets.
A
market mechanism will be continuously applied to essential public services
and products in a suitable roadmap to ensure the inflation control
requirement, transparency and policies supporting contributors and the poor.
The
Prime Minister underlined a focus on removing difficulties in production and
trade and ensuring an appropriate growth rate. Targets have been set for
increasing the supply, supporting domestic market development, implementing
synchronised solutions and taking advantage of opportunities and favourable
conditions in international agreements to expand export market.
It is
also aimed to address bad debts, prioritise capital for agriculture, rural
development, production for export, small- and medium-sized enterprises, support
and hi-tech industry.
Administrative
procedures will be continuously simplified and further support granted to the
consumption of major goods and natural disaster and epidemic recovery
programmes. Tourism and services development will also be facilitated.
The
acceleration of the economy restructure is preferred. The general scheme on
restructuring the economy and other projects on restructuring sectors will be
implemented synchronously, focusing on boosting public investment,
restructuring the banking system, financial market, State-owned businesses,
agriculture, industry and services.
He
also pointed to the effective implementation of institutional reforms and the
development of human resources and infrastructural system.
Farmers
informed of crop protection usage
CropLife
Viet
Held
in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's
Plant Protection Department and relevant local sub-departments, the event
hopes to attract more than 2,500 farmers who will be informed of and
encouraged to adopt effective and responsible use of crop protection
products.
The
first Stewardship Day held last year captured significant interest from both
local authorities and farmers for a one-day seminar and training workshop.
Remittances
reach $3b in
The
State Bank of
In
2013,
The
World Bank said
REE
looks at $1.9m thermoelectric deal
R.E.E
Mechanical&Electrical Engineering Joint Stock Company (REE) planned to
buy an additional 2 million shares in Pha Lai Thermoelectric Plant (PPC),
creating a deal worth around VND40 billion (US$1.9 million).
If the
deal passes through, REE will hold 22.88 per cent shares of Pha Lai
Thermoelectric Plant, a slight increase on its current 22.26 per cent stake.
Foreign
investor buy shares in PNJ
Venner
Group Limited has recently bought an additional 355,068 shares in Phu Nhuan
Jewellery Company (PNJ), increasing their stake from 1.61 per cent to 2.11
per cent.
Foreign
investors now hold a total of 7.21 per cent of shares in the HCM City-listed
company, with Venner Group Limited, Warehame Group Limited and Viet Nam Enterprise
Investments Limited the major players.
PNJ's
revenue and after-tax profits were reported as VND5.74 trillion (US$273.33
million) and VND116.22 billion ($5.53 million), respectively.
PNJ
closed down 0.1 point at VND27,200 ($1.3) per share on Thursday.
Hoa
Phat reports profit for first nine months
Steel
maker Hoa Phat Group (HPG), reported earning post-tax profits of VND1.52
trillion (US$72.38 million) in the first nine months of this year, nearly a
two fold increase on the same period last year.
Total
revenue in the third quarter alone reached VND4.25 trillion ($202.47 million)
and for the nine-month period, revenues amounted to VND12.66 trillion ($603
million).
Hoa
Phat expected to pay healthy dividends of 20 per cent this year to
shareholders.
Underperfoming
stocks removed from HNX30-Index
Five
shares will be removed from the HNX30-Index from the beginning of November
due to prolonged under-performance.
The
codes in question are PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVX), Ocean
Hospitality and Service (OCH), Generalexim (TH1), PV2 Investment Company
(PV2), and Vinaconex (PVV).
The
HNX30-Index is composed of the northern bourse's top shares by capitalisation
and liquidity.
PVX
was under surveillance due to two consecutive years of losses, while the four
others suffered low liquidity, with average trading volume reaching only
7,000 to 190,000 shares.
Those
shares will be replaced by members of Song Da Group including Song Da 10
(SDT), Song Da 9 (SD9), Song Da 6 (SD6), and Nha Be Garment and Textile (NBC)
and Ha Noi Education Development And Investment (EID).
Cashew
exports to top US$1.8 billion
With
an increasing demand for cashews in the global market,
According
to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas), the country exported 212,000
tonnes of cashew worth $1.3 billion in the first nine months of the year.
The
average FOB export price in the period was $6,200 a tonne. The price was
rather low in the first two quarters of the year, but since August it has
gone up to $7,600 a tonne.
The
Nguyen
Duc Thanh, Vinacas chairman, said that export prices might rise by year-end.
Last
year, export volumes were 220,000 tonnes. This year, they are expected to be
200,000-250,000 tonnes.
Total
export revenue of more than $4 billion is predicted for the 2013-15 period.
The export ratio of processed cashews is expected to rise in the coming
years.
To
fulfill the target, the industry must import an average of 300,000-400,000
tonnes of raw cashews a year, according to the association.
The
challenge for the industry is the shortage of raw materials as domestic
production meets only 50 per cent of processing capacity, it said.
In
addition,
High-quality
cashew seedlings that would raise yields should be created.
The
association has urged its members to invest more in technology to address the
labour shortage, increase productivity and safety of cashew products, and
reduce production costs.
Bilateral
trade turnover between
Of the
total, the embassy said that Vietnamese export value to the
The
main exports during this time were audio equipment, coffee, footwear, timber
furniture and plastics.
Meanwhile,
The
embassy predicted that trade value between the two countries would jump to
$5.12 billion in 2013, 17 per cent higher than that of last year.
Nguyen
Thi Hong Thuy, Vietnamese Commercial Counsellor in
However,
she said, the result was modest compared with the total trade turnover of
each country.
This
shows that Vietnamese products in
Local
trade deficit hits $187 million
Export
revenue reached $107.97 billion and import value hit $108.16 billion, both
increasing 15.2 per cent over the same period last year.
Director
of the GSO Trade Department Pham Quynh Loi said the growth rate had remained
stable since the beginning of the year.
The
foreign direct investment sector saw high growth with export turnover of
$72.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 22.3 per cent. Domestic businesses
posted turnover of $35.9 billion, a surge of 3 per cent.
Most
export revenue came from the FDI sector. The export value of fixed
telephones, mobile phones and accessories was $17.72 billion (up 76.1 per
cent).
Meanwhile
electronics, computers and accessories fetched $8.65 billion (up 41.5 per
cent) and garments and textiles posted $14.8 billion (up 18.7 per cent).
The FDI
sector also saw high import value, which jumped 25.7 per cent in the first 10
months to $61.9 billion over the same period last year.
The
domestic economic sector posted import value of $46 billion, an increase of
3.5 per cent over last year.
The
trade deficit data shows that the domestic economic sector has maintained its
maximum production capacity, according to GSO economists, who noted that
imports of many items used for domestic production declined.
Imports
of steel stood at $5.5 billion, up 10.7 per cent, but petrol imports sank
22.9 per cent in volume and 22.5 per cent in value.
Local
firms also take blame for officials’ corruption
Local
enterprises have become more actively involved in bribe taking and giving in
a vicious cycle that they should somehow be able to escape, said an expert
from the World Bank in a seminar in HCMC on Thursday.
Soren
Davidsen from the World Bank (WB) told a seminar in HCMC on Thursday that
Vietnamese enterprises were believed to have played an active role in giving
bribes to corrupt officials.
The
seminar, one of activities held before the anti-corruption dialogue between
the Government and international donors in
More
than 75% of the enterprises when asked said they had given bribes despite not
being suggested to do so while 59% of the surveyed companies informed they
had handed gifts or money to State officials, Davidsen quoted the figures
from a recent survey conducted by the WB and the Inspectorate.
Meanwhile,
63% of the corporate respondents replied that they gave unofficial monies to
create an implicit mechanism so that their business troubles would be solved
quickly.
“This
means that local companies have played a role in creating the vicious circle
of corruption,” he stressed.
The
process began with a civil servant intentionally causing troubles in
procedures, prompting companies to offer bribes to get the troubles removed,
he explained. The official has then repeated the deplorable action since then
for illegal gains.
Business
in HCMC said that corruption was one of the three most headache-causing
problems they were facing after price hikes and falling revenue, Davidsen
said.
Quoting
the surveys on corruption faced by local enterprises conducted by the WB and
the Inspectorate between 2007 and 2012, Davidsen said that as local firms
have seen no signs of corruption abating, they think the practices have
become more widespread now.
According
to Nguyen Quang Vinh of the Business Office for Sustainable Development under
VCCI, around 50-60% of the respondents in the provincial competitiveness
index survey conducted by VCCI annually reported their problems had been handled
upon the unofficial expense payment.
“This
means that the number of enterprises failing to have their problems solved
after giving unofficial expenses is very high,” Vinh said.
According
to Davidsen, up to 88% of those polled attributed State officials’ corruption
to their worsening ethical merits while up to 79% of State officials blamed
their bad deeds on low wages.
Lawyer
Tran Trong Tien from the Phap Tien Law Office warned local enterprises of
continuing to suffer from corruption if they did not manage to improve legal
knowledge themselves.
However,
the fact shows that local authorities and entities now are seeking ways to
wipe out corruption.
In
particular, Le Thanh Nguyen, director of the hi-tech business incubator at
the Saigon Hi-tech Park, said his park had signed covenants on
anti-corruption with 13 firms operational there like Intel, FPT Software
Company and DGS Electronic Company. The covenants include supporting business
morality and business operation subject to legal compliance and fighting
corruption and power abuse.
The
central bank’s HCMC branch has proposed the city’s government and the State
Bank of
The
biggest bottlenecks are the reluctance on the part of grassroots
administration units to certify housing conditions of homebuyers who want to
take out soft loans from the VND30 trillion housing credit package while
notary offices refuse to certify papers regarding the assets which will only
be formed in the future.
Nguyen
Hoang Minh, deputy director of the central bank’s HCMC branch, told the Daily
that after many months, commercial banks involved in this special credit
program have signed credit contracts with 137 homebuyers with loans totaling
VND78 billion, but only VND22 billion has been disbursed.
Minh
petitioned the municipal authority and the central bank to remove the
difficulties by giving specific instructions to remove the bottlenecks.
As per
the prevailing laws, notary offices will only certify assets with ownership
right already established, meaning assets to be formed in the future are not
subject to the regulations. Meanwhile, low-cost housing projects under
construction have yet to be issued with ownership right certificates.
As
notary offices do not agree to certify the assets, local banks also refuse to
lend them to avoid risks.
Besides,
as most grassroots governments do not certify housing conditions for
residents in need of home loans as low-income earners and those owning no
homes, the branch urged the central bank and related authorities to seek
solutions accordingly.
Not
only homebuyers find the access to soft loans choked off, but also realty
developers consider the obstacles too high to surmount.
During
a meeting in HCMC on Tuesday, many local property developers said they found
it extremely difficult to access the credit package program.
The
meeting was attended by the city’s construction department and Real Estate
Association (HoREA) and Pham Van Dong, head of the economic and budget
committee of the city’s People’s Council.
At the
meeting, Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HoREA, informed that Resolution 02 on
tackling bad debts and inventories had been issued late last year but the
central bank and the construction ministry had not released instructions on
the credit package’s implementation until the middle of 2013.
Owners
of many commercial housing projects have been seeking permission for
converting their projects into low-cost homes and division of condos into
smaller units over the past months but have yet to receive any response from
State management authorities, Chau noted.
In
particular, he said, Sai Gon-Gia Dinh Real Estate Company has won approval in
principle from the construction ministry to convert the Thoi An housing
project with 360 units in District 12 into budget homes but it has yet to get
permission from the city’s leaders to do so.
Similarly,
Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan, chairwoman of Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Joint Stock Company,
said her company over the last three months had applied to change a housing
project in the outlying district of Nha Be into low-cost homes to be sold at
VND12 million a square meter but it had not received any feedback from
relevant authorities on this issue. Loan complained that her enterprise had
no other choice but to accept losses to sell the condos at
lower-than-expected prices to avoid paying a daily interest sum of up to
VND200 million to banks.
Meanwhile,
Hoang Quan Real Estate Company has yet to receive more than VND500 billion
from the VND30 trillion housing credit package for its project’s construction
and another VND1 trillion from a lender to support homebuyers as committed
due to failing to win approval from the local government for disbursement.
Given
such deplorable reasons, Chau urged the city’s government to step up the
process of considering the projects in need of adjustments.
Vietman’s
largest textile firm says IPO price remains a mystery
Vinatex,
the country’s largest textile company, is due to IPO (initial public
offering) during the last quarter of this year at a price its CEO says
remains a mystery.
The
state-run company, fully known as Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group,
has finished several important steps ahead of the IPO, CEO Tran Quang Nghi
told Tuoi Tre.
These
include assessing the company’s value and determining the number of
interested investors and strategic shareholders over the privatization, Nghi
said.
The
CEO said the IPO will open new chances for Vinatex as well as the Vietnamese
textile industry, especially after the Trans-Pacific Partnership is signed in
the near future.
But
Nghi refused to say how his company will be priced at the IPO.
“I
think it is an unknown number,” he said.
Nghi
acknowledged that this is “not the prime time for the stock market as well as
for investors,” and thus he “could not say anything in advance regarding the
IPO price.”
As a
state-run company, Vinatex has 51 percent of its stake held by the
government, and Nghi hoped investors will buy up to 40 percent of the stake
at the IPO.
As of
the end of last month, Vinatex posted earnings worth VND33 trillion, with
export turnovers rising 12 percent year-on-year to $3.2 billion.
Transport
inspectors discover highway project irregularities
Tranport
inspectors are criticising the execution of a build-operate-transfer (BOT)
model highway upgrade in northern Thai Binh.
The
first of their critiques is the project’s slow progress.
According
to the Ministry of Transport (Mot) inspectors’ final report, by September
this year the upgrade of 5.5km of road between the La Uyen and Tan De bridges
on National Highway 10 had yet to be completed after nearly three years
construction.
As of
that time the developer, Tasco, could only put 4.1km of the road into use
after already spending $10.6 million, not including land acquisition costs.
In the
original contract the deadline was two years from construction start and it
was extended to the end of 2013 due to problems with site clearance.
At the
same time, the project’s investment cost more than doubled from $14.8 million
to $34 million, of which added construction costs came to $10.4 million.
This
comes to $7 million for each kilometre of road built, considerably more
costly than other projects, even those with higher quality standards.
Moreover,
the investor has already started collecting road tolls on the incomplete
stretch of highway to recoup its investment capital.
Another
problem was the asphalt used in constructing the road. It was not approved by
the consultant supervisory unit and failed to produce the minutes on checking
bitumen content.
“This
is a major fault, and it may very badly affect the quality of the road,” said
one transport expert.
Another
shortcoming was when MoT inspectors required the executor of the land
acquisition sub-project, Vu Thu district People’s Committee, to return
$352,000 to the state coffers.
These
monies, added to the provincial budget, was land ret collected from local
residents.
Transport
inspectors said the executor had no rights to this sum as they had already
been provided state budget capital for land acquisition and to build
resettlement areas for affected citizens.
Relevant
authorities are required to send their responses to the inspectors’ report
before the end of this year.
“Although
the shortcomings of this project are not so great, they reflect the fading
role of relevant state management agency and highlight procedural loopholes
that need to be closed to ensure successful BOT transport project execution,”
said a senior transport expert.
Experts
forecast credit growth below target
It is
unlikely that the banking sector will reach its 12 per cent credit growth
target for this year, but experts are hopeful that next year will be better.
Addressing
National Assembly (NA) deputies at the ongoing sixth session, Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung reported that credit growth hit 6.64 per cent in the first
nine months, well exceeding the 2.5 per cent seen in 2012.
The
government is hoping credit will soar in the last quarter after wide-ranging
measures to spur demand and streamline lending procedures were aimed at
meeting full-year 12 per cent target.
Economic
experts and bank executives are not so sure.
Senior
economist Le Xuan Nghia said credit growth may reach only 11 per cent this
year as banks have abundant capital sources but the economy has poor
liquidity, thereby hindering capital circulation.
Deputy
general director of DongA Bank Nguyen Thi Ngoc Van said that businesses are
finding it difficult to boost consumption and banks are limiting their
lending.
Deputy
general director at VIB Bank Le Quang Trung said he expects credit to grow by
9 per cent this year.
While
many banks have reported sharp credit growth in recent months, this is in
terms of volume and most were personal loans, while business lending,
particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), saw little
improvement.
Ho Chi
Minh City-based Sacombank reported 13.4 per cent credit growth by the end of
September, but 70 per cent of outstanding loans were held by individual
customers.
State
giant Vietcombank, as of September, expanded its credit by 5.1 per cent,
skyrocketing against 1.47 per cent negative growth in the first six months of
the year.
“Lending
to SMEs, however, only represented around 12 per cent of the bank’s total
outstanding loans,” said Vietcombank deputy general director Truong Thuy Nga.
Despite
modest forecasts for 2013, experts anticipate much greater credit growth in
2014.
Nghia
highlighted a number of factors behind his 2014 projection of 14-15 per cent.
First
is that exports are expected to rise by 10 per cent next year.
Secondly
was that the government has set a 2014 GDP growth target of 5.8 per cent, and
the budget deficit will be 5.3 per cent along with a planned 30 per cent
increase of the budgets social investment. More public investment would
propel growth in other sectors, and thus fuel credit growth.
Thirdly,
Experts
have warned that the economy will only rebound after
World
experiences show that quite frequently foreign players jump into countries
with credit problems to buy up bad debts.
In the
case of
Gov’t
should reduce micro management: experts
Many
experts during a meeting on Thursday suggested that the Government should
spend more time setting up long-term national strategies in future years
instead of focusing too much on daily micro management tasks.
Speaking
at a seminar announcing results of the project supporting the Government in
building a vision, Grayson Clarke from SKL International/PAI said that there
have been shortcomings in operations of the Government. The Government is
still trying to do many things while there is no cohesion among departments.
Besides, the Government focuses too much on micro management and heavily
depends on administrative orders.
Nguyen
Dinh Cung, acting director of Central Institute for Economic Management
(CIEM), said that the Government should not spend too much time on daily
tasks. Meanwhile, the Government should set up long-term development
strategies like the board of directors of an enterprise.
In
addition, the Government has to be more effective with budgets. Few ministers
say that they would try to use their budget wisely. They usually try to
mobilize more capital to carry out projects. That is why
Le
Xuan Ba, former director of CIEM, said that daily tasks have consumed all the
time of the Government. Therefore, the Government’s cabinet members have no
time for strategy planning and selecting priority targets for each period.
Another
shortcoming is that both the Government and the National Assembly in
“The
Vietnamese government has many strategic initiatives but has no vision or
general roadmap to realize them,” Clarke said.
According
to a report on the project,
But
now, the population advantage has declined while the ratio of people aged 60
or above is rising fast. As the global economic turmoil has hit hard the U.S
and Europe, the two biggest markets of
Experts
at the seminar said that the Government should diversify the market, export
goods and stimulate domestic consumption. Besides, people across the nation
should be supported to access public services.
The
project assisting the Government in building a vision and a roadmap for
realizing that vision has been implemented since late 2011 and may be
complete this month. It was conducted by CIEM, the Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency, SKL International/PAI and other Vietnamese
agencies.
Vietnam
depends heavily on China textile, footwear material
The
nation’s total textile and footwear material imports from
According
to data of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, total apparel and footwear
material imports amounted to over US$2.7 billion in the first nine months, of
which
In the
coming time, Chinese companies are feared to take bigger profit and share in
the value chain of the Vietnamese garment and textile industry. Many Chinese
enterprises have expanded their business operations in the local market to
take advantage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement over which
Texhong
Textile, Pacific Textiles and Crystal Group from Hong Kong have plans to
expand investment in
The
TPP is expected to be signed in 2014, forcing enterprises to follow fiber
origin rules if they want to benefit from tax incentives. This means that
Vietnamese firms have to produce materials, except for products made at
orders of foreign partners.
Le
Quang Hung, chairman of Saigon Garment Manufacturing Trade Company (Garmex
Saigon), said it is hard for local enterprises to invest in material
production given the lack of capital and experience. Therefore, local firms
would continue depending on foreign material suppliers in the coming time.
According
to the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, the garment sector now can
meet only 2% of cotton demand and one-eighth of cloth demand while turning
out just 140,000 tons of low and medium-quality fiber a year. Despite much
effort, the textile sector meets only 48% of domestic material demand this
year.
Long
Thanh-Dau Giay expressway toll collection begins soon
Around
23 kilometers of the HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway will be opened to
traffic later this year, with the section’s toll collection starting at the
same time, the Government Office said.
According
to the Government Office, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on Monday
approved the temporary use and toll collection of the 23-kilometer section
stretching from the eastern belt road in HCMC’s District 9 to National
Highway 51 in the southern
The
transport ministry is requested to complete all related procedures to ensure
the expressway use and toll collection meet requirements based on written
approval by the State Council for Acceptance of Construction Works.
At the
ceremony for joining the main span of
The
55-kilometer HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway will cost an estimated
VND18.9 trillion, with some VND9.9 trillion used for the first phase and
funded from ODA loans.
As an
important component of the north-south expressway, HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay
expressway plays a vital role in linking the southern key economic area,
helping shorten the distance between HCMC, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and
quicken cargo transport to and from Cai Mep-Thi Vai port complex.
The
central bank’s HCMC branch has proposed the city’s government and the State
Bank of
The
biggest bottlenecks are the reluctance on the part of grassroots
administration units to certify housing conditions of homebuyers who want to
take out soft loans from the VND30 trillion housing credit package while
notary offices refuse to certify papers regarding the assets which will only
be formed in the future.
Nguyen
Hoang Minh, deputy director of the central bank’s HCMC branch, told the Daily
that after many months, commercial banks involved in this special credit
program have signed credit contracts with 137 homebuyers with loans totaling
VND78 billion, but only VND22 billion has been disbursed.
Minh
petitioned the municipal authority and the central bank to remove the difficulties
by giving specific instructions to remove the bottlenecks.
As per
the prevailing laws, notary offices will only certify assets with ownership
right already established, meaning assets to be formed in the future are not
subject to the regulations. Meanwhile, low-cost housing projects under
construction have yet to be issued with ownership right certificates.
As
notary offices do not agree to certify the assets, local banks also refuse to
lend them to avoid risks.
Besides,
as most grassroots governments do not certify housing conditions for
residents in need of home loans as low-income earners and those owning no
homes, the branch urged the central bank and related authorities to seek
solutions accordingly.
Not
only homebuyers find the access to soft loans choked off, but also realty
developers consider the obstacles too high to surmount.
During
a meeting in HCMC on Tuesday, many local property developers said they found
it extremely difficult to access the credit package program.
The
meeting was attended by the city’s construction department and Real Estate
Association (HoREA) and Pham Van Dong, head of the economic and budget
committee of the city’s People’s Council.
At the
meeting, Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HoREA, informed that Resolution 02 on tackling
bad debts and inventories had been issued late last year but the central bank
and the construction ministry had not released instructions on the credit
package’s implementation until the middle of 2013.
Owners
of many commercial housing projects have been seeking permission for
converting their projects into low-cost homes and division of condos into
smaller units over the past months but have yet to receive any response from
State management authorities, Chau noted.
In
particular, he said, Sai Gon-Gia Dinh Real Estate Company has won approval in
principle from the construction ministry to convert the Thoi An housing
project with 360 units in District 12 into budget homes but it has yet to get
permission from the city’s leaders to do so.
Similarly,
Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan, chairwoman of Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Joint Stock Company,
said her company over the last three months had applied to change a housing
project in the outlying district of Nha Be into low-cost homes to be sold at
VND12 million a square meter but it had not received any feedback from
relevant authorities on this issue. Loan complained that her enterprise had
no other choice but to accept losses to sell the condos at
lower-than-expected prices to avoid paying a daily interest sum of up to
VND200 million to banks.
Meanwhile,
Hoang Quan Real Estate Company has yet to receive more than VND500 billion
from the VND30 trillion housing credit package for its project’s construction
and another VND1 trillion from a lender to support homebuyers as committed
due to failing to win approval from the local government for disbursement.
Given
such deplorable reasons, Chau urged the city’s government to step up the
process of considering the projects in need of adjustments.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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