|
BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 3/10
Of the figure,
US$9.294 billion was poured into 872 newly-licenced projects, a yearly
increase of 34.9 percent, while the rest US$5.71 billion was added to 340
running projects, up 37.9 percent.
An estimated
US$8.62 billion was disbursed, up 6.4 percent compared to the figure of the
same period in 2012.
The processing and
manufacturing industry led all sectors in attracting FDI with 400 new
projects and nearly US$13 billion in both total new and additional capital,
accounting for 86.4 percent of the total amount.
Real estate
followed with US$588.11 million, while the science and technology sector came
next with US$380.59 million.
Fifty provinces and
cities nationwide welcomed foreign investors in the reviewed period. The
northern central
The Foreign
Investment Agency under the MPI announced that exports of the FDI sector
(including sales of crude oil) in the nine-month period are estimated to
exceed US$63 billion, a 22 percent rise year-on-year and accounting for 66
percent of the country’s total export earnings.
Vietbuild
2013 opens in Can Tho
More than 200 local
and foreign businesses have their products showcased at 450 stalls at the
international exhibition Vietbuild 2013 which opened in Can Tho city on
October 2.
Le Thi Kim Thu,
director of the Can Tho International Exhibition Fair Centre said that the
exhibition brings into focus local and global trademarks in the fields of
construction, real estate and interior and exterior decoration.
During the five-day
event, seminars will be held to introduce the latest technologies and
products which are friendly to the environment and investment opportunities
in the fields of real estate, tourism and trade, as well as new policies on
housing construction.
There will be an
awards ceremony for producers of high quality products in the housing estate
sector.
Vietbuild 2013 was
co-organised by the Ministry of Construction and Can Tho city.
US$450
million poured into mining exploration in
The Vietnam
National Chemical Corporation (Vinachem) is set to break ground on a US$450
million rock salt exploitation and processing project in the central Lao
Designed with an
initial annual capacity of 320,000 tonnes and expected to reach an eventual 1
million tonnes, the project will slash Kali fertilizer imports, limit the
burden on both nations’ foreign currency reserves, and create jobs for
thousands of Lao workers.
The Lao Ministry of
Energy and Mines says 64 Lao and foreign investors have signed government
mining and exploitation plant construction contracts.
Four more foreign
firms are expected to invest in
Since 1998,
Manufacturing
sector grows in September
The Hong Kong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has reported
The PMI is a
composite indicator offering a snapshot of the manufacturing industry’s
operating conditions. September’s 51.5 improves on August’s 49.4 and is the
best reading since April 2011.
HSBC said record
rises in new business and employment drove the PMI’s surge.
New business
growth was solid, reflecting more positive underlying demand from domestic
and foreign clients. Improved product quality and competitive pricing—demonstrated
by six successive months of output charge declines—also helped to support
sales growth.
New export business
rose at a series record pace. For the first time in four months, new export
sales increased.
This encouraged the
Vietnamese manufacturing sector’s observed payroll expansions as companies
sought to keep on top of their workloads.
Work backlogs
continued to abate during September, their eighteenth consecutive month of
doing so. But the rate at which work outstanding reduced was the slowest seen
since April.
Stocks of finished
goods rose slightly. Manufacturers were able to add to stocks, reduce
backlogs, and manage more new orders while maintaining generally stable
output.
September’s input
cost inflation stayed steady. Despite easing from August’s high, average cost
rises were still marked, and competitive pressures continued to squeeze
profit margins.
Demand for inputs
was also higher in September. Purchasing activity increased for the first
time since April in line with rising new orders and positive demand
projections.
HSBC Asia Economist
Trinh Nguyen said the PMI reading exceeding 50.0 reflects stronger global
demand for Vietnamese goods and the stabilisation of domestic conditions.
“We expect output to
pick up in the second half of 2013 thanks to predicted recoveries in the
Eurozone, China, the US, and Japan,” she said. “Internal demand is still
lacklustre. While prices rose in the third quarter, we believe inflationary
pressures will remain contained.”
Biotechnology
prioritised in science, tech development
The programme
"Research on Development and Application of Biotechnology"
(Ministry of Science and Technology) and the
It offered
biologists nationwide a chance to share their research, and allowed managers
and researchers to review the achievements in biotechnology over the past
five years.
Addressing the
event, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan said biotechnology has
practically contributed to improving the quality of scientific and
technological advances in agriculture, health care and the environment.
Much research in
biotechnology is highly relevant and can be widely disseminated in life, he
added.
According to the
minister, biotechnology is developing quickly in the right direction in
Minister Quan said
he hopes the workshop will contribute significant and practical scientific
research to national development.
BIDV
awarded best domestic forex services provider
The Bank for
Investment and Development of Vietnam has been named as the Best Domestic
Provider of Foreign Exchange Services in
This is the fourth
time the BIDV has received the Asiamoney’s prestigious award, which was voted
by financial institutions. The bank won the prize in three straight years,
from 2008.
The Asian leading
regional financial publication also awarded the Best for Foreign Exchange
Products and Services in
The bank was also
named in 2012 as the Best Overall Domestic Cash Management Services and Best
Overall Cross-border Cash Management Services by the magazine.
Also in 2012, the
world’s leading financial magazine, Euromoney, has named the Bank as the Best
Domestic Trade Finance Provider in
Developing the
coffee industry in a sustainable manner is a mutual concern of the
government, ministries, sectors, businesses and coffee growers in the Central
Highlands provinces.
With an annual
average output of over 1.5 million tonnes, developing coffee has been
underscored as key to
He highlighted the
advantageous climate and fertile soil as well as the unique and creative
farming techniques used in the area as the reasons that local producers can
still sell their products despite the unstable coffee prices in the market.
The director,
however, warned that an increasing number of local coffee growers persist in
harvesting green beans, which may result in their products being of lower
quality.
Added to this,
erratic weather and security issues also responsible for the unstable coffee
quality, Bau said.
He suggested
Vietnamese businesses in the field come up with solutions to enhance the
quality of their products mainly via improving the harvesting process.
Local authorities
must also intensify security during the harvest to ease workers’ worries of
their coffee beans being stolen, Bau said.
Furthermore, the
State should encourage farmers and enterprises to focus on deep processing,
as one kilogram of soluble coffee has far greater value than the same amount
of raw processing coffee.
Scientists have
also been tasked with conducting more research on technological scientific
solutions to increase replanting efficiency, which will spur the sustainable
growth of local coffee.
Shareholders
approve DaiABank-HDBank merger
Shareholders of
DaiABank during the extraordinary shareholders meeting on Wednesday approved
the plan to merge with HDBank at the share swap ratio of 1:1.
Shareholders of
DaiABank approve merger with HDBank at the extraordinary shareholder
meetingon Wednesday - Photo: Courtesy of DaiABank
Based in southern
Meanwhile, HDBank
has capital of VND5 trillion and 106 transaction points nationwide.
The consolidated
bank will keep the brand of HDBank and have a chartered capital of VND8.1
trillion. Given the merger deal, all employees of DaiABank will be retained.
The new bank will
have total assets of over VND70 trillion and 210 transaction points to serve
420,000 individual and institutional customers. The bank will have around
3,600 employees.
HDBank expects to
organize an extraordinary shareholding meeting on Saturday to approve the
merge plan. Recently, HDBank has acquired 100% equity of Société Générale
Viet Finance (SGVF) while it has also owned stake in low-cost carrier VietJet
Air.
SeABank
wins international bank awards
SeABank has been
crowned Best Customer Service Bank
The bank’s
chairwoman Nguyen Thi Nga was also named Most Innovative Banking Chairperson
Vietnam 2013.
The awards are a
testament of SeABank’s constant and painstaking efforts to provide a comprehensive
suite of financial solutions to better serve customers.
According to a GBAF
spokesperson, Nga was singled out for her contribution to the bank’s 19-year
development from a small bank in the northern port city of
A great night for
SeABank was capped when deputy general director Nguyen Tuan Cuong received
both the ASEAN Chief Information Officer and Chief Security Officer awards
for 2013.
According to the
International Data Group Vietnam (IDG Vietnam), Cuong was selected by a panel
including IDG Vietnam and government agencies on information technology (IT)
in the ASEAN region, for his prominent contributions to promote the usage of
IT applications in socioeconomic development.
With 17 years of
experience as CIO at SeABank, Cuong is now in charge of a pipeline of
projects intended to bolster the bank’s competitiveness.
Thanks to sound
management and effective support from foreign strategic partner Societe
Generale, as well as local partners MobiFone and PV Gas, SeABank has
witnessed market developments in products and services diversification
focusing on retail banking.
Its intensive
investment into information technology infrastructure is proving a key factor
in perfecting customer service quality. SeABank is developing cloud computing
with modern applications to improve customer experience.
In April 2013, the
bank was also at the heart of an award ceremony when it won Best Cloud Based
Project 2013 for its outstanding improvements in information technology
application and cloud computing by The Asian Banker – a leading financial
forum in
Green goods
generate green demand
While more and more
Vietnamese customers are buying green products, few actually understand their
contribution to the environment.
Nguyen Ngoc Thuyen
decided to spend several thousand dollars on light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs
for his new four-storey house.
“They are ten times
the price of standard bulbs, but they are durable and I can buy them in many
different colours,” said Thuyen, an architect living in
Pham Ngoc Minh,
head of an electrical appliances store on
“LED products are
both durable and fashionable, and though they are expensive, there is high
demand,”Minh said.
Thuyen and Minh,
while appreciating some of the lights’ qualities, did not realise that they
are also helping
“I buy them because
they look good and are reliable,” Thuyen explained.
Are consumers
thinking green?
Ralf Matthaes, the
regional managing director of TNS Indochina – a world leader in market
research, global market information, and business analysis, said the average
Vietnamese consumer had little knowledge of environmental issues, let alone
green products.
“Most consumers
think of environmental issues in the sphere of motorbike and car emissions
and garbage and toxins in rivers and waterways. However, they have little
knowledge of things like depletion of the ozone layer and deforestation,” he
explained.
“This is not a
surprise, given that most Vietnamese focus on basic needs like filling their
stomachs and consumer fads like buying the latest mobile phone. Green
products are not high on their wish list, and though the younger generation
is much more aware, this is only on a superficial level” he added.
A representative
from Osram Vietnam, which makes the LED lights Thuyen used in his home, said
that many Vietnamese consumers regularly used environmentally friendly
products, but were unaware they were helping to save the environment.
Nguyen Duc Anh, a
salesman at the HC electronics superstore on
“We have sold many
energy-saving refrigerators, irons, and TVs, but the local demand comes from
a reputation for quality, design and reasonable prices, not from the
companies green outlook,” Anh said.
“Consumers are not
even aware of HCFC, which is largely responsible for ozone depletion and used
in the manufacture of refrigerators and air-conditioners,” he continued.
HCFC is the generic
and chemical acronym for DuPont’s Freon and is used as a refrigerant,
propellant, and solvent in numerous retail and industrial products.
According to Nguyen
Dinh Thanh, a senior branding expert from locally-owned company
“If Vietnamese
consumers go green, it will be a tremendous step toward reducing pollution
and mitigating the impact of climate change, Thanh said. “Supermarkets such
as Hanoi-based Tutraco still give nylon bags to customers and that damages
the environment.”
According to TNS,
environmental pollution tops the list of concerns in its 2010 survey of
Vietnamese consumers about the environment. 63 per cent of respondents
believed pollution would worsen in the following 12 months.
The survey also
reflected that over 90 per cent of consumers were concerned with
Perhaps reflecting
this concern was head of Big C supermarket chain’s public relations and
corporate affairs division Duong Thi Quynh Trang’s opinion that consumer
awareness and interest in environmentally friendly products was beginning to
grow.
“Demand for
biodegradable bags is increasing, and Big C is aware of and is meeting that
demand,” she said.
The bags, which
have been recognised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's
Vietnam Environment Administration, decompose within five years after being
discarded.
German-backed Metro
supermarket joined the club when they decided to use biodegradable plastic
bags and cardboard boxes to wrap meat and vegetables.
“They [disposable
bags and boxes] are convenient and are eco-friendly,” said Nguyen Thu Ha, a
housewife from
Khuat Quang Hung,
head of Metro’s general affairs and corporate communications, said customers’
demand for these bags and boxes was so great that Metro sold them in large
volumes to other businesses.
“There is an
increasing demand for environmentally friendly products,” Hung added.
A greener tomorrow
According to Thanh, millions of customers are benefiting from and seeking
green brand trends.
He added that all
around the world, companies are developing and distributing greener products
built by environmentally friendly technology.
In particular,
electronics producers such as Osram, Samsung and Haier, as well as auto
manufacturers like
“
He also said that
enterprises needed to continue churning out newer and better green products,
as this was now a major factor in competition. Furthermore, companies all
over the world were having to adapt to policies limiting emissions.
Keisuke Seto,
assistant manager of
“Going green means
you aim at a sustainable future for your business and customers,” Seto
explained. “
Many companies that
work in foodstuff and industrial products are also showing a greener outlook.
Swedish-backed
Tetra Pak, the world leader in processing and packaging solutions for food
and beverages, is supplying eco-friendly milk cartons to all Vietnamese milk
manufacturers including TH TrueMilk, Vinamilk, and Dutch Lady.
“These cartons can
be recycled to make other products such as ornamental trees and office
stationery,” said Vu Thu Hang, a public relations representative from TH
TrueMilk.
Citibank’s
big achievements see rewards
Citibank has been
named Best Foreign Commercial Bank in
The award was
presented last week by FinanceAsia, a Hong Kong-based publication reporting
on
According to
FinanceAsia, Citibank has consolidated its position via a number of landmark
transactions for local clients, both corporate and state, including Vietnam
Airlines, Vinacomin, PetroVietnam and the National Power Transmission system.
In addition to
arranging financing, the
Although liquidity
swaps are routinely traded offshore, Citibank has worked with the regulators
and stock exchange to bring these tools onshore, with the underlying asset
denominated in dong. The bank assumes the foreign exchange risk to provide
dollar-denominated financing and allows companies to generate liquidity on
the back of their local shares – thereby creating cheaper financing than may
be available traditionally.
“I am exceptionally
pleased that Citibank Vietnam has been named Best Foreign Commercial Bank in
Experts
shine light on bank rate controversy
Banks’ lending
rates are unlikely to fall and the government needs to keep a tight hold on
the ceiling deposit interest rate say Vietnamese economic experts.
Last week several
banks rolled out lending packages at highly competitive rates to woo
borrowers.
Accordingly,
lending rates for production businesses are holding at around 6-7 per cent.
Ocean Bank even offered personal loans at 5.91 per cent.
Member of the
National Financial and Advisory Policy Council Le Xuan Nghia applauded banks
for their actions.
“Banks lending at
rates equal to or below the current deposit interest cap of 7 per cent was
due to them having access to low cost capital from international
organisations as well as government and business deposits. This does not
mean, however, that the government’s grip on the lending rate will be
loosened,” Nghia explained.
The lending rate
remains considerably relaxed compared to 2012, but as of late August more
than 25 per cent of loans still marked over 13 per cent.
According to senior
economist Nguyen Minh Phong, this year’s inflation may hit 7.5 per cent,
surpassing the government’s target of around 7 per cent. This will make it
difficult for bank’s to further scale down their interest rates.
Given this conflict
between deposit and lending rates, some experts are arguing that it is time
for the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to relent on the mobilising cap.
Between 2012 and
now, the SBV revised its deposit rate cap several times. In early June 2012
the central bank had no rate ceiling for 12-month term and over deposits.
A year later, it
went even further to remove the cap on deposits with a six-month and over
term.
According to the
SBV’s Monetary Policy Department, after the SBV removed the cap for six-month
deposits, the market has remained fairly stable. The competition between
banks for market share has been healthy.
Even as banks
reduced their deposit rates, this did not stop customers from putting their
money in banks.
By mid-September,
VND deposits jumped 13.78 per cent against the end of 2012.
These factors
suggest the time may be right to dissolve the deposit rate ceiling.
Some experts,
though, argue that removing the cap would hurt the liquidity of small banks.
They said also that
removing the cap is risky at a time of surging inflation and as problems with
underperforming banks had yet to be tackled.
Rice for
export insufficient
Although rice
export runs into difficulties and the Vietnam Food Association has lowered
this year’s target to 7.2 million from 7.5 million tons, it is paradoxical
but likely that
According to a
local well-informed source, the current rice inventory of member enterprises
of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) is lower than the export volume under
contracts enterprises have signed.
The rice export
volume of signed contracts recorded as of September 19 reached 6.399 million,
inclusive of 450,000 tons carried over from last year, while the rice volume
that has not been delivered after September 19 is 1.54 million tons.
However, the total
rice inventory of enterprises under VFA is only 1.44 million tons, meaning a
shortfall of 100,000 tons.
Besides, if
enterprises sign more export contracts from now towards the year-end, the
volume they need to buy in the domestic market will be higher.
Moreover, at least
900,000 more tons of rice is needed if rice traders are to realize the year’s
newly-revised export target of 7.2 million tons.
In addition, if
rice traders store rice late this year for new contracts with the delivery
time early next year under normal practices, the amount in need will be much
greater than 900,000 tons, the source explained
The source said
that recent information about the local rice market and rice export on
newspapers was like smokescreen which was unfavorable for farmers and traders
with rice in stock. Therefore, farmers and traders need to remain calm and
should not sell rice when the price is low as the rice demand of enterprises
will be heavy in the coming time.
Early this month
when VFA reported that the Thai government was selling the 100% B rice,
equivalent to Vietnam’s 5% broken rice, at only US$380 per ton, the local
rice price dropped to VND4,000-4,100 per kilogram of IR 50404 rice from
VND4,600-4,700.
However, the
website on the rice market Oryza.com stated that the selling price of
S’pore
court upholds
The Supreme Court
of Singapore has upheld rulings by Vietnam International Arbitration Center
(VIAC), forcing Singapore’s Wilson International Trading Co. Ltd. to
compensate nearly US$2.2 million and VND500 million for Vietnam’s Loi Loi
Import-Export Co. Ltd.
Lawyer Le Thanh
Kinh, director of the Le Nguyen Law Office, who protects the interests of Loi
Loi, told the Daily on Wednesday that the decision of the Supreme Court of
Singapore is now being enforced.
“
The dispute on the
economic contract between Loi Loi and Wilson erupted five years ago when the
two companies in August 29, 2008 signed a contract on fertilizer trading
worth about US$3 million, with Loi Loi selling 5,000 tons of packed Prilled
urea products at US$605 a ton. Both sides on September 1, 2008 signed another
fertilizer trading agreement with a total value of around US$3 million, with
one ton of Prilled urea priced at US$610.
Under the two
agreements, Loi Loi was responsible to transport the products while
Loi Loi had
fulfilled its obligations but
Because of this,
Loi Loi on September 17, 2009 filed a lawsuit against
VIAC on September
11, 2012 released a judgment forcing Wilson to pay Loi Loi a fine of
US$60,500 for breaking the first contract and compensation of about US$1
million and roughly VND34 million for involved damages.
For violations of
the second contract,
The ruling by VIAC
clarifies that the amounts must be paid by
Experts:
CIOs must be business strategists
Changing
technologies and a tough business situation have placed a great burden on the
shoulders of chief information officers (CIOs), making them not only
technology leaders but also strategists for enterprises, experts said here on
Wednesday.
Speaking at the
ASEAN CIO/CSO Summit and Awards organized by the International Data Group
(IDG) in HCMC on Wednesday, Maynilad Water Services Inc.’s senior vice
president Francisco Castillo said that the roles of CIOs have changed,
staying very close to business strategies of enterprises and organizations.
CIOs not only
provide consulting for enterprises in investment and technology application
but also act as business strategists, he said.
CIOs must be
knowledgeable of business. They must act as brokers between users and
services they want to offer, Castillo said.
Sundara Rajan
Ramesh, director of
“CIOs must solve
the problem of combining business and technology,” he said.
Experts at the
summit said that the next technology trend will focus on cloud computing,
mobile, social media and big data. Therefore, enterprises should consider
using these technologies to better IT investment and business models.
IDG and relevant
ministries also granted awards to 20 outstanding CIOs and chief security
officers (CSOs) in
Demand for
wood processing machines runs high
The demand of
replacing and upgrading woodworking machinery and equipment is on the rise as
the industry is growing well, said representatives of wood processing and
exporting enterprises.
Speaking to the
Daily at the Vietnam International Woodworking Industry Fair 2013 opened on
Wednesday, Huynh Quang Thanh, chairman of the Binh Duong Furniture Association,
said that most wood processing enterprises in
That is to say
local furniture makers have the demand to acquire new technologies for their
production expansion, according to Thanh.
Furthermore, most
of the wood processing enterprises have operated for a long time, and thus
their technology is somehow outdated and the demand of new equipment is high,
Thanh observed.
According to a
report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the export value
of wood and wood products in the January-August period was over US$3.34
billion, up 12% year-on-year.
Except for a drop
seen in shipments to Germany (-14.4%) and France (-2.2%), the January-July
export rose strongly in most of the major markets, with the U.S. at 7.2%,
China 14.7%, Japan 20.3% and South Korea 48.2%.
Meanwhile, Nguyen
An Diem, chairman of the Binh Dinh Timber and Forest Products Association,
said that enterprises in
However, according
to Diem, some enterprises have started to import equipment from Europe and
The tenth Vietnam
International Woodworking Industry Fair is taking place until Saturday at
Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in HCMC’s District 7. The fair has
the participation of over 260 enterprises from 19 countries and territories
with over 500 booths.
The fair is
organized by Vietnam National Trade Fair and Advertising Company (Vinexad),
Chan Chao International Co. and some partners and associations.
Binh Duong
expects to sustain trade surplus
The southern
According to Vo Van
Cu, Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, recent harsh
years have pushed forward businesses’ production restructuring, leading to
increasing export value and an inevitable export surplus.
Local businesses
have taken steps towards more stable and sustainable development thanks to a
steady exchange rate and inflation, reduced interest rates and falling costs
of imported materials, the department said.
The recovery of
major importers such as the US, EU, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and
the Middle East along with the positive impacts of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiations have raised their export orders by
10-15 percent compared with last year’s corresponding period.
However, the
decisive factor behind the surplus is the businesses’ efforts to reduce
expenditure, said Phan Van Xo, President of the Binh Duong Association for
Exporters.
Semiconductor
industry to watch for big rewards
Experts believe
that it’s now the right time for
Don Tran, Managing
Director of Global Equipment Services GES, said the demand for electronic
products in
All these could be
the favorable conditions for
According to the
official, the heavy investment in the semiconducting industry would help
reduce the imports, increase the values of domestically made electronics and
ease the reliance on imports.
"I believe
that the establishment of an IC factory in
Bettina Weiss, Vice
President of SEMI, also thinks that it’s now the right time for
Asia- Pacific has
emerged as a world’s leading source of IC supply.
To Thi Thu Huong,
Deputy Director of the Information Technology Department under the Ministry
of Information and Communications, also said the government has highlighted
the IC production as one of the priority industries.
Analysts have
predicted that the Vietnamese IC market is worth 2 billion USD a year.
As such, the matter
for discussion now is what way
According to Huong,
there would be many different phases of development. The first would be the
time for setting up the infrastructure, designing IC production factories,
and building up the workforce, while the next would be the period for
development which needs the state’s support to help create the market for
domestic products.
In order to do
that, it’s necessary to build up the list of the strategic products
Pham Ba Tuan from
the CNS IC factory project, which is expected to be implemented in the time
to come, thinks that the 180 nm technology proves to be most suitable to the
Vietnamese current financial capability. If it chooses the 90 nm, the price
it has to pay would be triple. Meanwhile, the 180 nm is believed to exist in
the next 20 years.
He went on to say
that an IC factory would not be enough for the semiconductor industry
development. In the future,
Ca Pass
tunnel project sped up
Transport Minister
Dinh La Thang has urged relevant authorities to speed up the construction of
the Ca Pass Tunnel in the
The project aims to
replace Ca Mountain Pass and Co Ma Mountain Pass, parts of
Originally
scheduled for completion in 2016, along with other parts of National Highway
1 that are also being repaired, the VND15.6 trillion (US$742.8 million)
project is currently one year behind.
The construction
was supposed to be carried out under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and
Build-Transfer (BT) models. Deo Ca Investment Join Stocks Company was to
mobilise capital to finance the project and see a return on its investment
later, while the two provinces' authorities and transport ministries were in
charge of providing surface for the construction.
But the investor
failed to do the necessary preliminary work, said Tran Xuan Sanh, head of the
ministry's Department for Management of Traffic Work Construction and
Quality.
"The investor
has not yet finished assessments and strategies for the construction
process," he said.
The ministry is
also concerned about the investor's financial capacity as its shareholders
have committed barely VND1.078 trillion ($51.3 million).
Dinh Van Chuong,
head of the Project Management Department of Deo Ca Investment Joint Stocks
Company, blamed the delay on slow land clearance. He told Nguoi Lao dong (The
Labourer) newspaper that the investor had nearly completed the resettlement
area for households in
"The province
committed to handing over space for the construction next month, but that is
the rainy season, so we have to postpone it until next February," he
said.
However, Nguyen
Tai, chairman of Dong Hoa District People's Committee in
Slow disbursement
of compensation also delayed nine affected households from moving, Tai said.
While compensation amounts were determined last year, the investors did not
pay until this year. Other affected households complained about unfinished
power and water infrastructure in resettlement areas.
Minister Thang
asked local authorities and the investor to co-operate with other experienced
project management units to review both project design and staffing.
Export
profits expected for ‘functional foods'
The target was
announced by Nguyen Xuan Hoang, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Association of
Functional Foods (VAFF) at a conference on the so-called "functional
foods".
Hoang said the
country imported 40 per cent of its needs although it had potential for
production. However, an investigation by the Ministry of Health showed that
60 per cent of 60 imported samples were substandard.
The Association of
Functional Foods' chairman, Tran Dang, said
The areas were
under the control of the Ha Noi Institute for Medicine Research, the centre
for medicinal plants research, HCM City Medicine Centre and the centre for
science and technology transfer and development.
Dang said the
functional foods market had developed rapidly. The country had 1,500
production and trading firms last year while in 2000 there were only 13.
In 2000, the market
had 63 functional food items while the number was more than 5,500 last year.
He added that the
sector should have suitable development strategies to reduce imports and
become a strong exporter.
Dang said the
industry had shortcomings. This included the fact that half of all
advertisements were violations of existing laws - and most sold in
The market has been
linked with multi-level marketing by distributors who were only interested in
profits and who over stated the characteristics of their products.
Do Ngoc Thach, vice
general secretary of the association, said the sector should have a legal
framework to apply good manufacturing practice (GMP), good agriculture
practice (GAP) and good hygiene practice.
ANZ pleads
for refinance stability
In a report issued
late last week, ANZ Bank called for the State Bank of
The central bank
lowered the rate from 9 per cent to 8 per cent in March, and to 7 per cent in
May, to assist struggling businesses and support market growth.
Although interest
rates have been cut by a cumulative 800 basis points since 2012, over a
quarter of loans are still priced at over 13 per cent per year, according to
ANZ.
The Government
expects lending to continue to pick up in the fourth quarter to fulfill the
12-per-cent annual target for credit growth, after overall credit increased
6.45 per cent in the first eight months, compared to 5.3 per cent recorded in
July.
The bank also said
it was cautious of
A recent joint
report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the United Nations
Development Programme estimated the ratio of Government-issued to Government-guaranteed
bonds of two-five year tenors stood at 88.7 per cent. It also mentioned that
both foreign and public debt have rapidly increased over the last decade.
"Despite the
lack of of timely data, we will continue to monitor developments in Viet
Nam's debt management and its effect on economic growth," ANZ said.
The bank said data
dump for September, including muted retail sales and a foreign trade deficit,
revealed that the trend of sluggish activity amid easing inflation pressure
had continued.
Foreign direct
investment (FDI) continued to lend support to the sluggish economy, however,
with investment values increasing 34 per cent this year to August for a total
of about US$7.4 billion.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
|
Thứ Tư, 2 tháng 10, 2013
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét