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BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 16/7
The Mexican
government has enacted new regulations that are applicable to all plant and
animal-based, seafood and fisheries imports as from July 29, according to the
Under the new
regulations, all packaged goods imports must be in containers and secured on
export pallets. The new regulations also aim to reduce hygiene risks and
ensure safety for imported goods into
At present, a
number of Vietnamese businesses are exporting rice and tra fish to
The
Grand
opening of Cuckoo Electronics in Vietnam
Cuckoo Electronics,
The shop will sell
Cuckoo brand products such as premium electric pressure rice cookers,
electric grills, and water purifiers. After the first shop in Phu My Hung,
the company plans to open other Cuckoo brand shops in other larger cities and
metropolitan areas including
A spokesperson for
Cuckoo Electronics expressed optimism that the first shop in
During the grand
opening, which lasts until August 11, popular products such as "Shining
Black 2.0" (model name CRP-HXXB1020FB), Induction Heating (IH) rice
cookers and an electric grill, are specially priced with huge discounts.
A spokesperson for
Cuckoo Electronics’ overseas branch said, the company aims to become the No 1
home appliance retailer in
Binh Duong
sees strong surge in H1 steel export
Steel producers
operating in the southern
In June alone,
local steel exporters’ turnover increased four times compared to the same
period last year.
Le Phuoc Vu,
Chairman of the Directors Board of the Hoa Sen Group, which accounts for 40
percent of the market share, said his firm’s products are shipped to 40
countries and territories over the world and the group’s turnover is hoped to
hit 14 trillion VND (658 million USD) this year.
Vietnamese steel
businesses will have many opportunities to promote export to potential
foreign markets in the coming time, especially when the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) agreement is signed, Vu said.
However, they
should also pay attention to innovating production technologies to improve
the quality of their products, and reduce the cost price so as to enhance
their competitiveness.
Thai Nguyen
actively betters investment climate
The
Duong Ngoc Long,
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said his province always
creates the most favourable conditions possible for investors in terms of
investment permits and ground clearance.
Having welcomed a
high-tech complex project invested by Samsung Group from the
The province has
also hastened ground clearance in Yen Binh, Diem Thuy, Song Cong and Nam Pho
Yen industrial parks, enabling investors to kick-start the construction there
at an early date.
Regarding
administrative reform, it has promulgated 20 mechanisms and policies to
facilitate investment, notably the application of the “one-stop-shop”
mechanism in dealing with administrative formalities.
Regular dialogues
between businesspersons, provincial officials and bankers to ease
difficulties for local businesses have also been maintained.
As a result, many
investors have accessed preferential loans from commercial banks and
benefited from some tax policies.
In the first half
of this year, Thai Nguyen attracted 19 foreign-invested projects valued at
134 million USD, bringing the total to 66 with a combined investment of
around 3.8 billion USD.
Phu Tho
reaps success in building new-style rural areas
As many as 75
agricultural cooperatives in the
Under the
programme, the local authorities spent nearly 20 billion VND to assist local
cooperatives in improving agricultural services for its members.
With the financial
assistance, many cooperatives have helped members apply new production models
and farming techniques.
Phu Tho is now home
to nearly 300 agricultural cooperatives, which serve as a reliable source of
assistance to farmers and play a core role in promoting the sustainable
development of rural economy in the province.
In 2014, Phu Tho
has allocated more than 280 billion VND to its new-style rural area building
programme with the goal of raising the number of communes meeting all or most
criteria to 31.
Localities in the
Mekong Delta are striving to reach a total tra (pangasius) fish output of 1.6
million tonnes and a revenue of 2.5-3 billion USD from exporting this product
by 2020.
Under a plan on tra
fish production and consumption in the region, the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development requires the localities to expand the total farming
area to 7,260 hectares of the Vietnam Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP)
standards by 2020.
Head of the
Directorate of Fisheries Pham Anh Tuan said at a meeting in Can Tho city on
July 10 that to introduce the plan by 2015, the region will farm 5,270
hectares of tra fish each year, striving for 1.2 million tonnes in total
output and 650,000-700,000 tonnes of processed products, and 2-2.3 billion
USD in export value.
According to Tuan,
to achieve the targets, the localities have worked out plans to invest in
infrastructure at farming areas, choose higher-quality strains, and improve
the chain of farming, purchasing, processing and consuming.
The region is now
home to 94 tra fish processing factories with a total capacity of nearly 1
million tonnes per year.
During the 2014-15
period, local factories will focus on renovating their production chains in
order to improve the quality of products and, at the same time, reduce
production cost.
Meanwhile, in the
2016-20 period, they will apply new technologies to the production of tra
fish by-products to meet the demand of both domestic and foreign costumers.
To expand foreign
markets for tra fish, ministries, authorities and Mekong Delta localities
will work out trade protection measures adaptable to commercial disputes and
international technical barriers, especially in the US and European Union
markets, while promoting the image of tra fish in EU countries, China,
Russia, Mexico, Middle East and India.
The localities will
also change the mode of export by boosting direct export to distribution
systems, and major shopping centres and supermarkets in order to reduce
intermediary stages.
Corn
cultivation promotion helps reduce imported animal feed
Last year, the
country spent 3 billion USD on imported animal feed and another 1 billion USD
on raw materials including maize, soybeans and wheat for animal feed. In
2013, the country imported 1.4 million tonnes of soybeans, worth 834 million
USD; 2.26 million tonnes of maize, worth 690 million USD ; and 1.7 million
tonnes of wheat, worth 584 million USD, which was a significant increase from
2012.
In the first five
months of this year,
Over the last 10
years, maize cultivation areas, yield and output in maize production both
have continuously increased. About 1.2 million ha is currently used for the
crop with productivity of 445 kilos per ha and an annual output increase on
average by 170,000 tonnes.
Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat urged relevant agencies to
implement appropriate solutions so that corn growers could earn higher
incomes than other crops and reduce the corn productivity gap between
Coal sales
on upward trend
The Vietnam
National Coal and Mineral Industries Corporation (Vinacomin) has reported
that it sold 18.95 million tonnes of coal in the first half of 2014,
equivalent to 54.1 percent of its yearly plan and up 2 percent from a year
earlier.
Increasing coal
sales pushed the group’s six-month revenue from the resource up by 13 percent
year on year, said Vinacomin Deputy General Director Nguyen Van Bien at a
meeting in
Notably, coal
consumption by fertiliser makers climbed 29 percent compared to the same
period last year, followed by that of power plants (up 27 percent), he added.
Bien also reported
that Vinacomin turned out 19.6 million tonnes of crude coal over the period,
representing 52 percent of the yearly plan.
He attributed such
outcomes to the corporation’s efforts in improving the quality of processed
coal and bettering operation regulations.
Vinacomin targets
35 million tonnes of coal to be sold this year, including 27-28 million
tonnes for the domestic market and 7-8 million tonnes for export.-
HOSE sees
busy year for securities trading
Hochiminh Stock
Exchange expects securities trading to thrive till this year-end, riding on
initial public offerings by State-owned enterprises and the operation of the
first domestic exchange-traded fund.
According to Tran
Anh Dao, the bourse's
The first domestic
exchange-traded fund (VietFund Management VN30 ETF), which recently received
the licence for its IPO, would also help boost the market liquidity, she
said.
The bourse
statistics showed that the total market capitalisation on the southern bourse
reached 46.9 billion USD as of the end of the second quarter, 2.2 percent
lower than the end of the first quarter, but up 21 percent over the end of
last year.
Notably, the second
quarter saw foreign investment in the HCM Stock Exchange increase from not
only the first quarter but also last year's same period.
Between April and
June they bought securities worth more than 16.3 trillion VND (777.6 million
USD) and sold 11.2 trillion VND worth for net purchases of 5.1 trillion VND.
This compared to
15.9 trillion VND and nearly 15 trillion VND in the first quarter, and 10.8
trillion VND and 11 trillion VND a year earlier.
Their trading
represented 22 percent of the transactions on the exchange.
SSI, HSC, and ACBS
were the top brokerages, accounting for 13.22, 13.13, and 6.23 percent of the
market.
According to
VietstockFinance, with expectations of a recovery in the realty market,
stocks of property sectors were the most heavily traded on the southern
bourse in the first half of the year.
FLC Group (FLC),
Tan Tao Group (ITA) and Hoang Quan Corporation (HQC) were the top three with
respectively 8.4 million shares, 8.1 million shares and 4.1 million shares
averagely traded per session.
Brighter
economic outlook accelerates car sales
Low interest rates
and a brighter economic outlook in
This allayed
worries of a market slowdown and set the industry up for a strong second
half.
Sales in the first
six months of 2014 rose 27 percent over the same period last year to 54,986
units, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
Of the figure, cars
were up 36 percent and trucks up 24 percent.
The association,
which comprises country's 21 leading auto makers, said in its monthly report
on July 10 that this was the 15th consecutive month that sales had been
higher.
VAMA's Chairman
Jesus Arias said with this momentum, the full year total industry forecast
for 2014 was adjusted up to 130,000 units, a 18 percent growth from 2013.
Nguyen Van Dung,
General Director of Northern Automobile Corporation, a prominent auto dealer
in
"We've seen
good improvement in manufacturing activity. Consumer sentiment has been good,
and incomes are gaining ground." he added.
Vietnam's economy
has been stable for the first half of the year with a GDP growth rate of 5.18
percent and inflation at 1.38 percent against December last year – the lowest
rise in the past 13 years.
In addition, the
latest forecast from the World Bank shows that
Of the VAMA's list,
Vietnamese manufacturer Truong Hai Auto Corp, which assembles trucks, buses
and sedans, extends its leading position, which it gained from
Japanese invested
Meanwhile, the
country imported 25,000 completely built units (CBU) cars worth 500 million
USD in the first half, an increase of 44.4 percent in volume and 53.9 percent
in value year-on-year. About 25 percent of the imports were luxury sedans and
sports utility vehicles (SUV), according to the Customs Office.-
Cassava
processors get green light in southern province
The southern
Truong Hung Co,Ltd,
Truong Thinh Co,Ltd and Viet Ma Co,Ltd will be allowed to invest in plants
that can produce up to 150 tonnes of flour each day. The investment capital
for each plant is estimated at 80 billion VND (3.8 million USD).
The plants will
produce modified cassava starch, a special kind of flour used in the
production of different foods, animal feed, drugs and industrial applications
in
Figures from the
provincial People's Committee showed that there are 74 cassava processing
businesses that produce nearly 800,000 tonnes of normal cassava starch per
year.
Cassava plantations
in the province cover approximately 45,500 hectares and produce 1.3 millions
of tonnes of cassava per year.
Deputy chief of the
secretariat of the provincial People's Committee, Pham Trung Chanh, said
cassava starch was one of the province's key exports. Normal cassava starch
was exported to mainland
However, in recent
years, Chinese traders have cut imports of cassava, and large quantities have
gone to waste in storage, causing losses for farmers.
According to the
committee, in 2012,
Chanh said the
three factories would use normal cassava starch to produce modified cassava
flour to solve the surplus and supply modified flour to the domestic market
at cheaper prices.
PPP
investment form helps develop agriculture
Given the current
serious climate change, public - private partnership (PPP) investment form is
expected to lure more investment in the agriculture sector as prices of
agricultural products will increase and stay high in the years to come, the
Vietnam Business Forum Magazine (VBF) reported.
Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat also said that the results of
PPP projects made him expect a sharp rise in PPP in agriculture in the near
future.
According to the
minister,
Tran Vu Hoai, Vice
President of External Relations at Unilever
Up to now,
businesses joining the PPP in tea group reportedly have invested 440,000 EUR
in training programmes and in production cooperation with over 23,000 farmers
in six provinces.
As head of the
seafood PPP group, Philippe Bacac, Managing Director of Metro Cash &
Carry
The PPP in seafood
group trained more than 2,000 fishermen and 400 merchants in farming
techniques, safe medicine and chemical use, packaging and transportation in
accordance with certified standards.
Dang Kim Son,
Director of the Institute for Policies and Strategies on Agriculture and
Rural Development, said
Son said PPP
projects have boosted agricultural output by 2-3 times and farmers’ incomes
have thus increased 10-15 percent. This model has successfully connected
businesses and farmers. Management agencies have timely fixed problems arised
from production activities.
Tran Kim Long,
Deputy Director of International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development, said to continue promoting PPP advantages,
good results from PPP projects in big businesses should be thoroughly studied
to apply in different levels and various sectors.
Ha Noi real
estate prices increase in second quarter
With rising sales,
the prices of villas/townhouse and apartments in Ha Noi are also escalating
in the second quarter of this year.
According to a
quarterly report released yesterday by Savills Viet Nam Ltd Company, on the
Ha Noi property market in Q2, the average primary price was approximately
VND41.7 million (US$1,966) per square metre for villas and VND41.5 million
($1,958) per square metre for townhouses.
The highest price
was in Tay Ho District at approximately VND105 million ($4,950) per square
metre and the lowest was in Quoc Oai, at VND18 million ($850) per square
metre.
The average
secondary asking price decreased slightly by 0.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter
(q-o-q) for villas and 0.3 per cent q-o-q for townhouses.
Meanwhile, the
price increased slightly between 1 and 6 per cent in districts where a number
of projects were nearly completed, including Cau Giay, Tu Liem, Ha Dong and
Hoai Duc.
"Villas/townhouse
have faced competition from private, landed houses and apartments that are
selling more as they cost less," said Ngo Thi Huong Giang, Senior
Manager of Research and Consultancy.
In Q2/2014, the
total stock is approximately 29,400 units from 105 projects. The primary
stock comprises 16 projects with approximately 1,100 units, with
approximately 28,300 units in secondary stock. One new project in Hoang Mai
District launched this quarter is providing 35 villas.
Giang said that
taking effect June 16th 2014, a Joint Circular No
01/2014/TTLT-NHNN-BXD-BTP-BTNMT was issued to guide the mortgage procedures
for future homes. This circular may increase market demand in the future.
Also in the report,
Savills said the average primary price was approximately VND28 million
($1,320) per square metre, increasing 15 per cent q-o-q. The prices increased
significantly by 8 per cent for Grade B apartments and by 3 per cent for
Grade A apartments, but reduced by 7 per cent q-o-q for Grade C.
The average
secondary asking price increased in all districts, up 4 per cent q-o-q to
approximately VND29 million ($1,368) per square metre. Ba Dinh showed the
most significant increase of 5 per cent to VND38 million ($1,792) per square
metre.
In Q2/2014,
approximately 1,900 units were sold, up 54 per cent q-o-q due to strong sales
in Grade B projects. The absorption rate was 14 per cent, increasing by 5
percentage points, q-o-q.
"Projects
which were progressing smoothly and had strong developer creditability
generated good sales this quarter. Most buyers are end-users who expect real
products," Giang said.
In Q2/2014, Ha
Noi's total apartment supply was approximately 95,800 units from 162 sold
projects and 67 active projects.
The total primary
stock decreased by 8 per cent q-o-q to over 13,400 units. Only one new
project was launched. However, four Grade C projects were sold and removed
from the primary market. The total secondary stock increased by 15 per cent
q-o-q to approximately 82,400 units.
First
domestic ETF gets listing licence
The fund will have
a passive investing strategy to carry out its investment objectives, simply
tracking the performance of the VN30 Index.
HCM City Securities
and Bao Viet Securities entered into agreements to buy units worth VND30
billion (US$1.4 million) and VND20 billion respectively. They will also be
fund authorised participants.
Tran Thanh Tan, CEO
of VietFund Management, which set up and manages the fund, said he has
received commitments of more than VND50 billion from other institutional and
high net-worth individual investors.
The IPO has to be
for a minimum of VND50 billion, but Tan hopes to scale up to VND500 billion
over the next six months.
The units are
priced at VND10,000 each and purchases are in lots of 100,000 units.
Registering for the
IPO can be done between July 21 and August 8 with HSC and BVSC.
After the IPO the
VFWVN30 ETF will be listed on the HCM City Stock Exchange and its units will
be traded in both the primary and the secondary markets.
During trading
hours the fund's indicative net asset value (iNAV) and iVN30 will be
calculated and made available every 15 seconds and every minute respectively.
The fund's NAV will be announced daily.
Standard Chartered
Bank
Industrial
production – bright spot in economic picture
Specifically, the
processing and manufacturing industry expanded by 7.8 percent compared to 6.1
percent recorded in last year’s same period and contributing up to 5.5
percent of the whole industrial sector’s growth.
Production of
electronic components, garment, leather-footwear, automobiles and
shipbuilding posted two digit growth rates thanks to stable orders from
traditional markets.
Added to the bounce
is falling inventories, especially electronics, leather products and
electrical appliances that recorded increases of 62.2, 18.4 and 16.5 percent
in consumption.
Deputy Minister of
Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang urged enterprises, especially garment,
footwear and electronic firms to seek new sources of material supply and ease
their reliance on Chinese imports against the backdrop of ongoing tension in
the
Head of the
Planning Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Nguyen Tien Vy
forecast that the 2014 industrial production index will rise by between 6-6.5
percent.
Minister of
Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang vowed to fine tune policies and incentives
meant for agro-forestry-fisheries and rural development in order to achieve
the yearly goal.
He said more
initiatives to lure foreign investment will be crafted to ramp up support,
mechanical, chemical and processing industries.
The Electricity of
Vietnam, the PetroVietnam National Oil and Gas Group, and the Vietnam
National Coal and Mining Industries Group will work at full capacity to
ensure power supply for industrial production, he assured.
State
governor: credit growth target achievable
Governor of the
State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Binh has stated that the goal of 12-14
percent credit growth for this year is achievable if the banking sector does
its best, even when the rate recorded in the first half of the year is a
modest 3.52 percent.
At the banking
sector’s conference in
However, the
banking sector itself must make all-out efforts to ensure the goal be
fulfilled, he said, adding that the State Bank will not revise down the
credit growth target. The Governor said the State Bank will continue to
implement macro-economic measures to remove bottlenecks for the credit flow,
such as bad debts and sluggish demand.
Regarding other
pressing issues in the time ahead, he said with the budget deficit was
allowed to increase to 5.3 percent of GDP and the rising amount of Government
bonds, there is the need to watch out for inflation.
On the settlement
of bad debts, he underscored the need to restructure the purchased debts.
According to Binh, the Vietnam Asset Management Company has bought 50
trillion VND (2.4 billion USD) worth of bad debts so far and plans to buy
70-100 trillion VND (3.4 – 4.7 billion USD) this year.
In addition, the
governor said several major commercial banks will also undergo reshuffling in
the second half of this year.-
Trade promotion
activities from now to the end of this year will prioritise exploring more
foreign markets for local farm produce, the Ministry of Industry and Trade
has confirmed.
This year, the
ministry has approved 19 trade promotion projects for the agro-forestry-fisheries
sector, with a total budget of 25.64 billion VND (1.2 million USD), or 36.6
percent of the budget allocated for the national programme.
Several of the
projects were successfully realised over the past five months, bringing local
enterprises to the Seafood Expo North America, the Seafood Expo Global, the
International Japan Food and Beverage Exhibition, and the International
Coffee and Tea Festival in Dubai, where they won deals worth tens of millions
USD.
The southern
The new markets,
including
In the first half
of this year, Dong Nai exported nearly 130,000 tonnes of coffee for 276
million USD, up 33 percent in volume and 30.3 percent in value against the
same period last year.
Deputy Minister Do
Thang Hai said over the past time, the national trade promotion programme has
enabled businesses to extend their reach into the new markets in the Latin
America and Africa while widening their presence in traditional ones like the
The programme has
also supported the businesses in investment attraction, as well as technology
and production renovation.
Southern
province’s GDP growth rate doubles national figure
Gross domestic
product (GDP) of the southern
The statistics were
released at a session of the provincial People’s Council, which was opened on
July 9.
Of the overall sum,
nearly 15.4 trillion VND (733.3 million USD) came from industry –
construction, rising by 11 percent year on year.
Another 7.36
trillion VND (350.48 million USD) was contributed by the service sector, up
11.6 percent, while the rest 1.3 trillion VND (61.9 million USD) was
generated by agro-forestry-fishery activities, up 3.3 percent.
Over the period,
Dong Nai’s export revenue topped 6 trillion VND (285.71 million USD), rising
by 15.8 percent yearly. Exports by foreign invested companies saw the fastest
pace at 17.3 percent.
Vice Chairman of
the provincial People’s Committee Tran Minh Phuc attributed the surge in the
production and export of garments, footwear, chemicals, processed food and
building materials to stable demand from foreign markets.
He pointed out an
array of difficulties in real estate though many measures have been taken,
and said a fall in prices of export farm produce also posed a problem due to
fierce competition from other countries.
For the rest of the
year, Dong Nai will strive to achieve a GDP growth rate of between 10.8 and
11.8 percent and realise all socio-economic targets.
To that end, the
province will step up streamlining administrative procedures, particularly
those relating to tax, customs, credit and land use, restructuring its
economy, and improving business climate.
It will also issue
a list of industries in need of more investment, in which high technology,
environmentally friendly and support projects are expected to be included.
Dong Nai, together
with neighbouring
Six-month
footwear exports see strong surge
This is mainly
thanks to the Generalise System of Preferences (GSP) tax offered by the
European Union (EU) from January 2014 to Vietnamese exporters, experts said.
Besides, with the
political stability, the abundant workforce and the high quality of the
products,
The earnings from
footwear export to the traditional markets of the
The positive signs
along with new business opportunities are expected to help the sector
complete its export turnover target of about 11 billion USD in 2014.
Some large
Vietnamese enterprises have increased investment in upgrading technology,
modernising production chain, and developing their own brand name for export.
Thanks to these, the sector’s labour productivity has increased up to 30
percent.
Macadamia –
farmers’ new hope of getting rich
Macadamia plant can
be a good choice for farmers in the northwestern and Central Highland regions
seeking to improve their income, said experts at a recent seminar in
Macadamia nut is
dubbed as “the Queen of Nuts” for its outstanding nutrition value. Experts
said that compared to other common edible seeds such as almonds and cashews,
macadamias are high in fat and low in protein. They have the highest amount
of monounsaturated fats of any known seed.
The plant,
indigenous to
In particular,
macadamia grown in
According to Nguyen
Tri Ngoc, Director of the Thanh Tay Institute for Agro-Forestry Technology
Research and Development,
Meanwhile, Bui Xuan
Trinh from the Government Office, cautioned that as macadamia is a new plant,
it is necessary to make careful steps in this direction. He said there needs
to be a specific plan to connect farmers and enterprises to ensure stable
markets for the product.
Participants
discussed measures to introduce the plant as a new option of good
profitability to farmers, thus expanding its cultivation, as well as
investment in processing.
It was reported at
the seminar that
Vinh Phuc
aims to boost support industry
Vinh Phuc has been
one of top spots in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the north
of
Despite the
difficult economic situation, in the 1st quarter of 2014, Vinh Phuc’s
investment attraction achieved positive results. Total newly invested capital
and added capital reached 115.7 million USD with 6 newly invested projects
and 1 added capital project. The number of projects increased by 3 times and
total capital increased by 7 times against the same period last year.
The projects of
Aiming to attract
investments in the industrial sector, with the priorities to automobile,
motorcycle and electronic manufacturing sectors, Vinh Phuc aimed to become a
centre of industrial production in
Supporting Industry
(SI) has accounted for over 50 percent of Vinh Phuc's GDP. Vinh Phuc’s SI
primarily focuses on three major sectors: mechanics, electronics and
computing and automotive and motorcycle, accounting for over 10 percent of
the industry.
However, besides
industrial products for the automobile and motorcycle industry, the fields of
mechanical engineering, automotive, electronics-computer are limited in
manufacturing simple components. Many sectors of FDI enterprises such as
automobiles, motorcycles and electronics have high export value, but depend
entirely on imported sources, so their added value is low.
The industrial
growth of Vinh Phuc has received great contribution from
A decision of Vinh
Phuc People’s Committee on development planning for SI by 2020, with a vision
towards 2030, identified the SI planning as closely linked with industrial
development planning.
In particular, SI
development will become the foundation for the industry towards the use of
advanced technologies, with high competitiveness, first to increase the
localisation rate of major industrial products. The SI sector of the province
strives to provide SI products for industries in the province and neighbouring
provinces, as well as participate in global supply chains of multinational
corporations in the world.
Binh Duong
fulfils yearly FDI goal in first half
The southern
According to
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Thanh Cung, by the end of
June, 400 million USD were poured in 83 new projects, while 614 million USD
were added to the 69 underway ones.
So far, the
province has hosted 2,317 FDI projects with a combined investment of over
19.8 billion USD, he said.
The official spoke
of the locality’s efforts to provide investors with cleared land equipped
with complete infrastructure systems, together with effective investment
promotion programmes.
He referred to the
drastic reform of administrative procedures and one-stop-shop services,
saying these moves have enabled investors to operate stably and expand their
business.
Binh Duong is
focusing on completing the planning of areas dedicated to the support
industries, aimed to become a regional supplier of raw material and make it
ready for the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, Cung said.
The locality has
seen a strong flow of FDI from big foreign groups since late May. On June 24,
the Taiwanese Kingtec Group signed a contract with the My Phuoc III
industrial park to rent land for its electronics factory whose first phase
will have an investment of 30 million USD.
Local firms
missing out on supporting industry opportunities
Local supporting
industries are looking to hike their localisation rates, but doubts remain
over whether local businesses are prepared to take advantage of the
opportunity.
According to the
Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), Samsung
“Samsung will
explain what they need and how Vietnamese companies can engage in their
global supply chain,” said VAFIE deputy chairman Nguyen Van Toan.
“If they take this
networking opportunity seriously, local firms can get a range of benefits
from joining the Samsung value chain, and this could significantly change the
face of investment into local supporting industries and the development of
In fact, this is
not the first time a foreign-invested enterprise has taken the initiative in
sourcing local suppliers.
For several years
now, Japanese companies have held annual fairs to display the products they
want to source from Vietnamese suppliers. But the results have been only
modest.
The latest survey
from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) shows that Japanese firms
buy very few input materials and accessories for their
The rate was 27.9
per cent in 2012 with a slight increase to 32.3 per cent in 2013, far lower
than other regional countries. The rate in
Moreover, of that
supply, most came from foreign enterprises operating in
Foreign firms have
also been proactive in preparing for
“To prepare for the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), more than $1.2 billion in foreign investment
was poured into
Many developers of
foreign fibre, dyeing and export production projects have revealed their
interest in investing in
These factors pose
a real threat to Vietnamese firms’ efforts to bolster local supporting
industry development.
Cassava
processors get green light in southern province
The southern
Truong Hung Co,Ltd,
Truong Thinh Co,Ltd and Viet Ma Co,Ltd will be allowed to invest in plants
that can produce up to 150 tonnes of flour each day. The investment capital
for each plant is estimated at VND80 billion (US$3.8 million).
The plants will
produce modified cassava starch, a special kind of flour used in the
production of different foods, animal feed, drugs and industrial applications
in
Figures from the
provincial People's Committee showed that there are 74 cassava processing
businesses that produce nearly 800,000 tonnes of normal cassava starch per
year.
Cassava plantations
in the province cover approximately 45,500 hectares and produce 1.3 millions
of tonnes of cassava per year.
Deputy chief of the
secretariat of the provincial People's Committee, Pham Trung Chanh, said
cassava starch was one of the province's key exports. Normal cassava starch
was exported to mainland
However, in recent
years, Chinese traders have cut imports of cassava, and large quantities have
gone to waste in storage, causing losses for farmers.
According to the
committee, in 2012,
Chanh said the
three factories would use normal cassava starch to produce modified cassava
flour to solve the surplus and supply modified flour to the domestic market
at cheaper prices.
Attracting FDI
remains a major challenge
State agencies are
doing their best to bolster foreign investors' confidence, yet difficulties
remain in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in key
sectors, said Foreign Investment Agency director Do Nhat Hoang.
Registered FDI in
the country totaled approximately US$6.6 billion in the first half of 2014,
representing 64.7 per cent of last year's figure. Implemented FDI rose by 0.9
percent annually to $5.75 billion.
But Dang Xuan
Quang, the agency's deputy director, pointed out that incentives have done
little to alter FDI distribution. Scant capital goes to rural areas and key
sectors such as agriculture, which are in urgent need of investment; real
estate draws significant investment despite the lack of incentives.
Brian Portelli, an
expert from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, said that
financial incentives should only play a supplementary role in FDI attraction.
Other strategies to
boost FDI included publicising information for investors on the Internet and
streamlining the project verification process so that investors could begin
their projects faster, said Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Viet Nam Association
of FDI Enterprises.
Selecting the right
projects and investors was also key, economist Le Dang Doanh said, noting
that authorities should not make commitments before thoroughly understanding
investors' intentions and potential.
Instead of offering
too many incentives, he recommended that localities work harder to improve
their investment climate, infrastructure and manpower quality.
At the end of 2013,
there were 9,093 FDI businesses in
This year 31.7 per
cent of FDI firms plan to increase their capital, 79 per cent expect higher
revenues and 81.1 per cent hope to gain better yields, said Pham Dinh Thuy,
director of the office's Industrial Statistics Department.
Binh Duong
surpasses annual FDI goal in H1
The southern
According to
Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Le Thanh Cung, by the end of
June, $400 million had been poured into 83 new projects, while $614 million
was added to 69 projects already being carried out.
So far, the
province has attracted 2,317 FDI projects with a combined investment of more
than $19.8 billion, Cung said.
The locality's
official spokesperson said investors had been provided with cleared land
equipped with infrastructure and invited to participate in programmes
promoting investment.
He referred to the
drastic reform of administrative procedures and one-stop-shop services,
saying the moves had enabled investors to streamline operations and expand
their businesses.
Binh Duong had also
focused on completing the planning of areas dedicated to support industries,
and was aiming to become a regional supplier of raw materials and in the lead
up to the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, he said.
The locality has
seen a strong flow of FDI from big foreign groups since late May. On June 24,
the Taiwanese Kingtec Group signed a contract with the My Phuoc III
industrial park to rent land for its electronics factory comprising an
initial investment of $30 million.
Industrial
production improves
The country's
industrial production is likely to increase from 6 to 6.5 per cent by the
year-end despite the numerous challenges, says a Ministry of Industry and
Trade (MoIT) forecast.
To achieve this
figure, top priority would be given to mobilising and utilising investment
capital effectively as well as fully exploring local production capacity and
market demand, MoIT said,
The ministry laid
emphasis on a policy on incentives to attract more foreign investment and
boost domestic production in the areas of support industry, mechanical
engineering, agriculture, chemicals, and light industry.
Balancing the
supply and demand of essential goods such as electricity, coal and petroleum
would be also essential, it said.
According to MoIT,
the nation's industrial production was witnessing improvement, with a growth
of 5.8 per cent seen in the first half of this year, higher than last year's
5 per cent rise.
During this period,
the electricity production and distribution sector posted the highest growth
at 10.9 per cent. It was followed by the processing and manufacturing
industry at 7.8 per cent and water supply, sewage, waste management at 5.9
per cent. However, the mining and quarrying sector fell by 2.5 per cent.
Among industries
recording high growth rates in the period were rolled electronic components,
textiles and garments along with leather production, footwear, machines and
equipment. Shipbuilding also recorded high growth.
Thanks to the rise
in consumption, the number of workers recruited in industrial production
firms, as of June 1, saw an increase of 0.8 per cent against the previous
month. The rise was 2.7 per cent as compared with the same period last year.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Ba, 15 tháng 7, 2014
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