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BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 27/7
French
businesses satisfied with
French businesses
that are currently operating in
Fleur Pellerin,
Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Tourism Promotion and French Nationals
Abroad of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Development, hailed the city’s dynamic development during a July 21 reception
given by Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee.
She said she will
ask the French Development Agency (AFD) to closely work with the city to draw
up cooperation programmes, especially between the two business communities.
She welcomed
effective cooperation between Lyon city of the Rhône-Alpes region and
Briefing the guest
on the city’s key infrastructure projects, Quan expressed his hope that the
French government and businesses will assist the city in providing financial
and technical assistance for these projects.
He said HCM City
and France have great potential for increasing cooperation in the areas of
French strength such as transport infrastructure, education, health care,
urban management, culture and arts.
The city will do
its utmost to create favourable conditions for the two sides’ businesses to
promote investment cooperation for mutual benefit, he affirmed.
Pellerin is leading
a delegation of French companies to
Property
sector FDI rises in 2014
Bui Ngoc Suong,
acting chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Property Association (VnTPA), told
online newspaper bizlive.vn that real estate tourism has been a special
sector. Developers have to invest in both property and high-quality services.
Statistics from the
Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that the country attracted 6.85
billion USD in FDI in the first half of the year.
The FDI poured into
the property sector was 692.3 million USD, a 65 percent increase year over
year, and accounting for 10 percent of the total.
Suong said FDI in
the sector was mainly from international tourism groups and tour operators,
such as from
For example, the
central Khanh Hoa province received two FDI tourism projects, namely the 300 million
USD Alma and 89 million USD Flowers.
Sharing his
opinion, Robert McIntosh, Executive Director, CBRE Hotels, Asia Pacific, said
He said this meant
that foreign investors were attracted by the investment opportunities in
However, the
country's tourism industry had relied on the potential of its long and
beautiful coastline, but had not done enough to help its development, he
said.
He added that the
sector needed synchronised investment while ensuring transparency on
information, policies and the business environment.
Vietnamese
enterprises should promote joint-venture models in the sector to learn from
the management and operational experiences of foreign investors. This could
help
CBRE's survey based
on views and prospects of private investment in
Footwear
giants transfer orders into Vietnam
Footwear giants
like Nike, Adidas and Puma have been moving their orders from
The moving rate is
25 percent higher than the same period last year.
Besides, Target
Sourcing Services who is among the world ten largest distributors and Dansu
Group are planning investment in
Companies that used
to order in
Timberland and Puma
want to expand production in
Japanese
investors keen on coal power projects
Many big Japanese
companies are interested in BOT coal-fired power projects in
Watanabe made the
statement at the second Vietnamese-Japanese high-level dialogue on boosting
public-private partnership projects on July 16, which was co-chaired by him
and Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dao Quang Thu.
Japanese firms are
negotiating with Vietnamese partners to invest in projects such as the Nghi
Son 2, Vung Ang 2 and Van Phong 1. “These projects are feasible and meet
According to the
National Master Plan for Power Development for the 2011-2020 period,
The Vietnam National
Coal-Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) has
forecasted that
NA members
call for better use of state capital
Many National
Assembly members have suggested that the law on management and usage of state
capital invested into enterprises’ production and business specify a concrete
new model for state capital ownership in enterprises.
The National
Assembly’s Economic Committee’s chairman Nguyen Van Giau told a National
Assembly Standing Committee meeting last week that the draft of this law,
currently under discussion, should allow the establishment of an independent
agency under the government’s control to manage and supervise all state
capital in enterprises.
“This solution will
help create a breakthrough in managing state-owned enterprises (SOEs),
thereby separating state bodies’ management function from their function as
enterprise owners,” Giau said. “Such bodies should focus on making mechanisms
and policies for enterprises, rather than doing business. They also should
transparently access the effectiveness of enterprises’ usage of state
capital.”
However, the law’s
drafters proposed that the existing model for state capital ownership in
enterprises be maintained as currently prescribed in the draft law’s Article
5 on representatives of state capital ownership.
Under this, the
prime minister, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies
and people’s committees would continue exercising some rights to and
responsibilities for representing state capital ownership in enterprises that
they establish.
“The removal of the
current model will mean a set-back in state capital management, because it
will create a new administrative apparatus,” said Nguyen Hanh Phuc, Chairman
of the National Assembly Office.
But Giau argued
that “The maintenance of this model will not help remove chronic weaknesses
in SOE management.”
For example, when
the Vinashin scandal was uncovered several years ago, the Ministry of
Transport, which manages Vinashin, was not held responsible.
Many other National
Assembly members have echoed the committee’s view, saying that the existing
model must be removed as soon as possible.
Deputy Minister of
Finance Nguyen Van Hieu said that the ministries of Planning and Investment
and Finance were weighing the pros and cons of three scenarios for a new
model.
“We are considering
whether we should establish a ministerial-level body or a department in
charge of SOEs’ capital and assets. We also wonder if we should maintain the
existing model or not,” Hieu said.
“If we maintain the
existing model, society will not be able to advance, because state capital
largely comes from people, while it is being used wastefully by SOEs. At
present, all ministries have their own enterprises which compete with one
another. This will reduce the economy’s competitiveness globally,” said the
National Assembly’s Council of Ethnic Affairs’ Chairman Ksor Phuoc.
“I totally with the
Economic Committee’s proposal that there must be an independent body in
charge of representing state capital in enterprises,” he said.
National Assembly
vice chairwomen Tong Thi Phong and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan also gave the
thumbs-up to the proposal.
“There should be an
independent body that can help overcome the weaknesses of SOEs. However, what
model should be used will need further discussion,” Ngan said.
A good
example of rural finance model
The country has
completed three rural finance projects with total capital of US$548 million.
The World Bank provided US$200 million for the 3rd one.
The objective of the
3rd project is to raise economic benefits to rural private enterprises and
households by enhancing their access to finance.
The expected
outcomes include: improved access to financial services for rural
entrepreneurs, increased capital investment made by the rural entrepreneurs
as well as increased employment, and increased lending, particularly term
lending to the rural private sector for capital investment by all
participating financial institutions on market-based terms.
Between 2009 and
2013, this project has effectively contributed to increasing medium and
long-term finance for rural economic development, poverty reduction and job
creation.
Specifically, over
135,000 rural households and enterprises, including 70,000 poor households
could access to the World Bank-funded capital. More than 140,000 new jobs
were created within the reviewed period.
World Bank Country
Director Victoria Kwakwa noted that
The 1st project,
deployed in 1996, provided 600,000 loans for low-income and poor households,
and created 410,000 new jobs for rural residents.
Speaking at the
workshop, Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai highly valued the importance of the
capital granted to
Ministry
tightens regulations for second-hand machinery imports
The import of
second-hand machinery will be allowed if its quality is 80 per cent as good
as a new one, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The remaining
quality is based on technical parameters of used machinery in comparison with
that of a new one.
The circular
20/2014/TT-BKHCN, issued last week, also regulates that the machinery,
equipment and technology, if imported, must be in use for less than five
years.
The rule for
machinery and equipment less than three years old is applied to those used
for agricultural production, beverage manufacturing and post services.
Minister of Science
and Technology Nguyen Quan said
Accordingly,
documents showing the machinery's technical standards and quality-control
certificates must be submitted to the customs for clearance.
The regulation will
come into effect on September 1.
This move was aimed
at preventing the inflow of obsolete machinery and equipment which would turn
the country into a landfill for the world's discarded technologies.
In 2012, the
Government temporarily put a halt to the import of outdated second-hand
machinery, equipment and production lines in response to information about the
closure of 2,250 companies in
Beer plant
left unfinished
A beer plant under
construction in the centre of Ha Tinh City has become a pasture for local
residents to graze oxen.
Hoang Van Son,
deputy director of the central city's Department of Planning and Investment,
said that construction on the Toan Cau Beer Plant started in 2004 and was
essentially finished in 2006.
However, after
construction began, local residents worried about pollution proposed moving
the plant from the city centre, according to chairman of the city People's
Committee Tran The Dung.
"Sooner or
later the beer plant will be moved from the city, as the city's plan does not
allow a beer plant to be built in the city centre," said Son, explaining
that when provincial authorities first instructed the company to move the
beer plant, they received no response.
Dung said that the
Viet Trung Investment and Co-operation Corporation had not moved the plant
because of economic difficulties and because "the city and province's
guidance was not strong enough".
Lao dong (Labour)
newspaper reported that the plant's basic infrastructure was complete and
equipment for beer manufacturing was present, although it had rusted due to
rain and sun.
The Viet Trung
Investment and Co-operation Corporation invested more than VND262 billion
(US$12.4 million) to build the plant, which was expected to have a capacity
of 50 million litres per year and create jobs for 250 workers.
Vietnamese
businesses urged to boost exports to S Korea
Vietnamese
enterprises should make greater efforts to accelerate trade promotion,
improve production capacities and sharpen their competitive skills to further
tap into the lucrative South Korean market.
According to the
Vietnamese Trade Office in
They also preferred
environment-friendly foods and were paying increasing attention to the
country of origin of foods, with top priority being given to Korean-made
goods.
Thus, in order to
successfully penetrate into Korean markets, Vietnamese exporters should
ensure the quality of their products with a focus on food safety and hygiene
as well as make their goods different from those already available in the
market, the office said.
According to the
office,
Meanwhile,
Vietnamese exports to
In the first half
of this year,
The department
noted that exports of Vietnamese agricultural goods and foodstuff to
different markets were also increasing.
Trade experts
attributed the encouraging results to efforts by domestic enterprises in
exploiting the market and the positive influence of the ASEAN-Korea Free
Trade Agreement, through which
Credit
growth rises in two largest cities
Total outstanding
loans this month of Ha Noi-based credit institutions are estimated to inch up
0.5 per cent to nearly VND927 trillion (US$43.52 billion), according to the
Ha Noi Statistics Office.
The July credit
growth of the capital was lower than the 2 per cent rise last month.
In detail,
short-term outstanding loans of credit institutions in the capital are
estimated to drop 1.3 per cent over the previous month and 8.3 per cent from
December 2013, while medium and long-term loans are estimated to rise by 4.1
per cent over the previous month and 12.1 per cent against December 2013.
In July, Ha
Noi-based credit institutions are also estimated to have mobilised nearly
VND1,140 trillion ($53.52 billion), up 2.7 per cent over the previous month
and 8.9 per cent from December 2013. Meanwhile, the HCM City Statistics
Office reported that the city's credit is estimated to rise 2.2 per cent from
the previous month to VND979.9 trillion ($46 billion).
Medium and
long-term outstanding loans accounted for 46.5 per cent, surging 14.5 per
cent year-on-year, while the short-term outstanding loans accounted for 53.5
per cent, rising 5.6 per cent year-on-year.
The city's credit
institutions are also estimated to mobilise a total VND1,205.6 billion ($56.6
billion), up 2.8 per cent as compared to June, and up 14.4 per cent
year-on-year.
According to the
latest survey on business trends of credit institutions, released last week
by the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), 90 per cent of credit institutions expect
deposits and loans of the whole banking system to grow 3.6 per cent in Q3 and
14.2 per cent in 2014.
Officials have so
far shown optimism despite the slow credit growth of 3.52 per cent over the
past six months, which had raised concerns over the banking system's ability
to reach the credit growth target of 12 to 14 per cent this year.
SBV Deputy Governor
Nguyen Dong Tien said that credit growth will possibly meet the target as it
is usually slow in H1 and accelerates in H2.
Besides, Tien said,
domestic production and businesses have shown signs of recovery. Some key
sectors saw a high rate of growth, including exports, supporting industries
and the hi-tech sector. Social and agriculture programmes also reacted
positively.
The central bank
will continue to closely monitor credit institutions, make appropriate
adjustments and quickly deal with any problems, Tien said, adding that it
will also ask the Government to revise credit policies in rural areas and the
agricultural sector.
CPI increases
in Ha Noi, HCM City
The consumer price
indices (CPI) in the country's two biggest cities in July continued to rise,
according to the statistics departments of Ha Noi and
The Ha Noi
Statistics Department reported that the capital's CPI in July rose up by 0.18
per cent over June.
The department said
the two surges in petroleum retail selling prices at the end of June and the
beginning of July, pushed transport costs higher, thus contributing to the
rise in the CPI.
Ten out of the 11
baskets of goods, which contribute to the calculation of the capital's CPI
data, saw an increase in prices this month. Among these, beverages and
cigarette groups rose by 0.55 per cent, housing, electricity, water and
building material saw a 0.53 per cent increase and transport rose by 0.51 per
cent.
The department
added that tightening of truck loading capacity raised costs on
transportation of building material.
In addition, the
surge of people attending the university entrance examinations also made
demands on accommodation, food, room rentals and other services.
Gold prices rose
1.97 per cent in comparison with the previous month and reduced 2.51 per cent
over the same period last year. The US dollar saw 0.56 per cent
month-on-month rise and 0.76 per cent against the corresponding period last
year.
HCM City Statistics
Department also reported an increase of 0.12 per cent in the city CPI for
July against the previous month and represented a 7.89 per cent year-on-year
increase.
However, this has
been the lowest CPI rise in months which increased so far this year. Of the
11 baskets of goods that saw a rise were food (0.25 per cent), garments and
textiles (0.05 per cent) and warehouses (0.03 per cent). Others that rose
were transport (0.4 per cent), posts and telecommunication (0.01 per cent),
and goods and other services (0.29 per cent).
Beverage and
tobacco saw a 0.06 per cent decrease while that of housing, water and
electricity was 0.07 per cent, education 0.12 per cent and entertainment 0.34
per cent.
Pharmaceutical and
healthcare services remained unchanged.
The department said
the factors that caused the CPI increase in July was a rise in prices of
meat, egg and vegetables, and especially the recent rise of petroleum
products selling at a record level of VND25,640 (US$1.22) per litre.
Retailers offer
special deals on school supplies
As the new school
year approaches, producers and distributors of school supplies participating
in the city's price stabilisation programme have increased supply and
launched promotions to boost sales.
The Huong Mi
Handbags Co Ltd, for instance, said it was assigned to offer stablised prices
on 600,000 backpacks and schoolbags, up 30 per cent over last year.
Besides providing
products under the city's price stabilisation programme, the company has also
supplied products to other provinces and cities nationwide, said Nguyen Ba
Dung, the company's deputy director.
The company's
employees have been working under high pressure to guarantee supplies, he
said, adding that sales had been good.
Many shops under
Minh Tien Bag Manufacturing Company, which takes part in the programme, have
received many customers, especially at night.
Sales of school
bags and backpacks are expected to increase strongly until the middle of next
month, according to sellers at these shops. They are offering discounts of 20
per cent for all products until August 15.
In addition, Tuan
Viet Shoes Co Ltd has introduced many kinds of shoes, priced 15 per cent
lower than market prices.
Many supermarkets
and bookstores have launched promotions on stationery and other items.
The Co.opmart
supermarket chain is offering discounts of up to 50 per cent on more than
1,500 items, including student uniforms, school bags, notebooks, pens and
other school supplies, until August 3.
French supermarket
chain Big C is also running a discount programme called "Vui mua sam,
don tuu truong" (Happy shopping, welcome back to school) until July 28.
The programme offers special discounts of 5-50 per cent on more than 500
items including notebooks, pens, uniforms and school bags.
Many bookstores in
The city's price
stabilisation programme for school supplies this year has the participation
of 15 enterprises with about 500 items at stabilised prices, meeting 35-40
per cent of demand, according to the city Department of Industry and Trade.
Ministry issues
provisions on apartment building
The Ministry of
Construction issued Circular No 03/2014/TT-BXD (February 20, 2014) and
Circular No 05/2014/TT-BXD (May 9, 2014) on calculation of the area of an
apartment and contributions to the fund for operational management of the
commonly owned area of an apartment building based on the area of the
apartment.
Calculation of use
area of an apartment
The use area of an
apartment is calculated based on net measurements and must be recorded in the
certificate issued to apartment purchasers. The use area of an apartment
includes the area of walls partitioning rooms within the apartment, and the
area of balcony and loggia attached to the apartment, but does not include
the boundary walls of the apartment building, the walls dividing the various
apartments, the areas of the floor column and the technical box inside the
apartment.
The area of balcony
is calculated in the entire floor area. If the balcony contains an area of
common wall, the calculation is made from the inner edge of the common wall.
Once handing over an apartment, the parties must specifically record the use
area of the apartment that is actually handed over and the area recorded in
the signed apartment sale and purchase contract ("Contract") in the
minutes of apartment handover or in the Contract appendix. The minute of
apartment handover or the Contract appendix is an integral part of the
Contract.
Calculation of fund
for operational management of an apartment building:
Provincial People's
Committees regulate a framework of general expenses for the operational
management of apartment buildings within their locality. The framework of
general expenses is the basis for calculating and formulating funding for
operational management. If the apartment building does not yet have a
management committee, the investors in the apartment building can calculate
and collect the same from the owner and users. If the apartment building has
the management committee already, the apartment building operational
management enterprise calculates applicable fees and they are reported by the
management committee to the Apartment Building General Meeting for passing.
The contribution to
the fund for operational management of an apartment building is calculated on
a monthly basis, and allocated according to the net area of the apartment and
other parts of the building not the apartment (including the garage) under
private ownership of each apartment owner.
Who funds the
operational management of an apartment building?
If the apartment
building is owned by a single person, he or she must pay the fund for
operational management of the apartment building, unless the owner and users
have a different agreement.
If the apartment
building is owned by multiple owners, the owners and the users must pay the
fund on the principle of ensuring a sufficient budget for the operational
management of the apartment building.
Apartment sale and
purchase contract before April 8, 2014
Regarding the
Contract signed before the effective date of MOC Circular No 03/2014/TT-BXD
(April 8, 2014), in which the parties agreed to calculate the use area of
apartment based on measurements made from the centre of the thickness of
walls, the contribution to the fund for the operational management of the
apartment building is allocated based on the net area of the apartment
beginning the effective date of Circular No 05/2014/TT-BXD (June 25, 2014).
Water
transport potential untapped
The Cuu Long (
The region has more
than 26,500km of rivers and canals and 13,000km of them are used for waterway
transport.
Pham Minh Nghia,
chairman of the Viet Nam Inland Waterway Transportation Association, said the
delta is considered to have among the highest density of rivers and canals in
the world, but this advantage has not been exploited well enough for
transportation.
Zoning plans and
prioritised projects for developing waterway transport were created long ago,
but investment in them has been very low, he said.
Le Hoang Linh,
director of the Tan Cang Waterway Transport Joint Stock Company, said 80 per
cent of the delta's containers meant for export have to be transported to
The cost of
carrying them by road transport is 10 -60 per cent higher than by waterway,
he pointed out.
More investment is
needed in waterway transportation and connecting it with other transport
modes to ensure economic effectiveness, he said.
The delta is the
country's largest seafood and agricultural producer.
It has many old
bridges that only allow narrow boat navigation lanes and low clearance,
according to the Viet Nam Inland Waterway Administration.
It also has more
than 2,500 ports and boat stations each with a capacity of handling 50,000
tonnes to two million tonnes of goods a year, but loading and unloading
facilities there are not modern.
Roads leading to
these ports and boat stations are not in good condition.
Tran Thanh Man,
secretary of the Can Tho Party Committee, said the problem was that
investment was not simultaneously made in all related aspects of waterway
transport, citing the example of ports that lack channels for large vessels
to pass through.
For instance, Can
Tho's
Minister of
Transport Dinh La Thang said to resolve the delta's waterway problems and
capitalise on its potential, awareness needs to be raised among authorities
and businesses about the effectiveness of waterway transport and link up
various transport modes.
He instructed
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The to work with the Southwest Region
Steering Committee and authorities in the region to review strategies and
zoning plans for developing waterway transportation.
He ordered the Viet
Nam Register and the Viet Nam Inland Waterway Administration to publicise
waterway transport routes by this quarter.
The Ministry of
Transport is set to create a marine route from HCM City to Long An, Tien
Giang, Dong Thap, An Giang, and Kien Giang Provinces in the delta.
When it is
completed, vessels weighing 500-1,000 tonnes can ply directly to and from
Work to expand the
Cho Gao Canal, which links the region with HCM City, will be finished by the
end of the first quarter of next year.
The Quan Chanh Bo
Canal, which is being dredged, will allow large vessels to reach the
These projects
would improve waterway transportation in the delta, Thang added.
Shrimp
exports to
Nearly 62 per cent
came from white-leg shrimp and 30 per cent from black tiger prawns, according
to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
With a population
of over 80 million, the largest European economy is forecast to see
increasing demand for imported shrimp and other aquatic products in the
future.
Central
EZs, IPs draw $310m in H1
Industrial parks,
export processing zones and economic zones in central coastal provinces and
cities attracted 23 domestic and foreign investment projects with total
capital of US$310 million in the first six months of this year.
Binh Thuan and Ninh
Thuan, two provinces that recently joined the Co-operation and Development
Coastal Centre Region Group, were set to build tourism centres as well as
wind and solar power plants. Ninh Thuan also plans to construct a nuclear
power plant.
Regional industrial
parks attracted 943 projects with total capital of over US$1.3 billion, of
which 775 involved foreign direct investment.
Buon Ma
Thuot coffee registers in EU
The Central
Highlands
The move aims to
protect the brand in this large, lucrative market. The price of coffee
products with GI certification is about 15 per cent higher than that of their
non-certified counterparts.
Early this year,
the Chinese Ministry of Commerce revoked the patent of a company in
EU experts have
organised seminars and training courses to help Dak Lak complete the complex
process in three years. The Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association is currently
putting the final touches to a dossier to be submitted to the EU.
Vinamilk
cattle farm certified by GAP
Viet Nam Dairy
Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) received a certificate from the Global GAP Control
Union last week for meeting international Global Good Agriculture Practices
(Global GAP) standards.
Vinamilk's cattle
farm in central Nghe An Province was the first in ASEAN to be certified by
Global GAP and one of three Asian farms to meet these international
standards.
The five Vinamilk
farms previously received a certificate from the French Certification
Organisation of Bureau Veritas.
Global GAP
standards were introduced to meet the demands of domestic and international
markets to produce high-quality and safe products, enrich farmers, develop
rural areas and preserve the environment.
Vinamilk
plans $470m share issuance
Dairy giant
Vinamilk (VNM) will issue a maximum of 167 million shares to raise charter
capital from VND8.34 trillion (US$395.3 million) to VND10 trillion ($474
million).
The rate is 20 per
cent, or each holding of five shares will be given one additional share. The
deadline for shareholders to register to participate in this issue is August
15.
Last year, the
company paid shareholders a high cash dividend rate of 48 per cent. It has
set an ambitious target of cash dividends of no lower than 50 per cent this
year.
Hoa Sen
forecasts Q2 profits over $5m
Steelmaker Hoa Sen
Group (HSG) estimated revenue would be more than VND4.32 trillion (US$204.8
million) and net profits VND111 billion ($5.3 million) in the second quarter
of this year.
The group sold
237,000 tonnes of finished products, 36 per cent of which was for export and
lower than the average of 46 per cent in the first six months of the fiscal
year.
VinGroup to
create building, fashion companies
Construction giant
VinGroup (VIC) will contribute VND94 billion (US$4 million) to establish
Vincom 2 Construction Company with a total charter capital of VND100 billion
($4.7 million).
Recently, the group
decided to release their treasury share (re-acquired stocks) to make
additional capital contribution to Vinpearl, an affiliates focusing on travel
and hospitality services. The contribution mounted up to VND2.443 trillion
($115.8 million).
It also plans to
contribute VND14 billion to set up a fashion company with a charter capital
of VND20 billion ($948,000).
Steel pipe
maker to sell 10m shares
Son Ha
International Coporation (SHI), a manufacture of stainless steel welded pipe,
registered to sell 10 million shares at a price of just VND5,000 (US$0.24)
per share, below the par value of VND10,000 a share.
Two-way trade
between
Vietnam’s export to
the island country reached over 1.9 billion SGD (1.57 billion USD), up 34.2
percent year-on-year, with mobile phones, spare parts, oil and gas, coffee
and tea as staples.
Meanwhile, the
country spent over 8.1 billion SGD (6.5 billion USD) purchasing mobile
phones, accessories, plastic, oil and gas, among others from the market.
During the period,
Singaporean firms poured about 732 million USD, both newly-registered and
additional investment, into
As of June,
LaoVietBank
buys US$30 million worth of
The Lao Viet Joint
Venture Bank (LaoVietBank) will buy US$30 million worth of Laos Government
bonds in 2014.
An agreement to
this effect was signed between Laos Ministry of Finance and LaoVietBank in
Laos Finance
Minister Lien Thikeo said that through the buying of Laos Government bonds,
the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), parent bank of LaoVietBank,
continues to contribute to both the stability of
LaoVietBank was
established as a joint venture between BIDV and Banque Pour Le Commerce
Exterieur Lao (BCEL) with 65% of its equity capital owned by BIDV. It is now
one of the most modern banks in
LaoVietBank began
to invest in Laos Government bonds in 2012 and its total investment so far
has reached nearly US$60 million.
Vinalines’
joint-venture ports restructuring debt
The joint-venture
ports of Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) are struggling to
restructure debt while the State-owned giant has yet to find an effective way
out for its massive debt.
Since 2013,
Vinalines has been pursuing an ultimate goal of restructuring debt and
revitalizing business operations. While its 100% State-owned and joint stock
ports have made modest profits, joint-stock ports have continued racking up
losses.
In the first six
months of this year, Vinalines boosted debt restructuring at its
joint-venture ports. Representatives of Vinalines’ holdings at the joint
venture companies tried to negotiate with creditors to extend debt payment
deadlines, according to a report of Vinalines.
SSIT Port, a joint
venture between Saigon Port and the U.S.’s SSA Port, has clinched an
agreement with the creditor to reschedule bank loans and write off the
additional interest until 2016.
At SP-PSA, a joint
venture of Vinalines,
CMIT, a joint
venture between Vinalines and
The report did not
mention specific debt and losses at the joint venture ports.
In the January-June
period, Vinalines estimated its revenues at over VND9.7 trillion, meeting 44%
of its whole-year target and dropping 1% from the same period last year. The
firm has incurred losses for the fifth straight year, with this year’s losses
put at VND775 billion.
For Vinalines’ core
business operations, ports remained the most stable with throughput up 4%
year-on-year. The still-good business results were reported at Vinalines’
non-joint venture ports and those Vinalines were trying to reduce State
holdings and undergo equitization.
In general, port
operators are facing difficulties as the Transport Ministry’s tight controls
on overloaded trucks since April has led cargo backlogs to pile up at ports.
Operations have also increased while shipping firms have forced ports to cut
service charges and extend payment times, triggering tough competition in the
industry.
In the second half
of the year, Vinalines looks to raise its throughput to 67 million tons. It
will work out more equitization plans to launch the initial public offerings
(IPO) of Cam Ranh, Nghe Tinh, Can Tho and Nam Can ports.
Yamaha
Motor
Yamaha Motor
Vietnam (YMV) has unveiled its new scooter model called Nozza Grande 125cc in
HCMC and plans to introduce more scooters to this market in the future.
Hoang Ha, YMV
director of sales and marketing in the north, said the company would launch
more models of luxury scooter equipped with the Blue Core engine later this
year at competitive prices.
Compared to the old
Nozza scooter model, the new one has some differences, including a higher
saddle, a wider trunk container and the fuel-saving engine Blue Core 125cc.
Last month, YMV
introduced the motorbike engine Blue Core for a new scooter model the company
intended to launch on the domestic market this month. The company boasted the
Blue Core engine could save up to 50% of fuel consumption compared to normal
engines.
The Nozza Grande
scooter is designed for women and has many functions to meet their needs. It
comes up with seven colors and retails for VND40 million and VND42 million a
unit.
French
businesses keen on infrastructure projects in city
French enterprises
are looking forward to getting involved in large-scale infrastructure
projects of HCMC, said a French official.
At a meeting with
HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan on July 21, Fleur Pellerin, French Minister of
State for Foreign Trade and the Promotion of Tourism and French Nationals
Abroad, said French enterprises operating in HCMC were satisfied with the
investment environment here.
Introducing major
infrastructure projects such as metro, sanitation and airport developments,
Quan said that HCMC is urgently implementing those projects and expected to
receive financial and technical assistance from the French government and
enterprises.
According to
PVN’s
after-tax profit drops slightly
Vietnam National
Oil and Gas Group (PVN) has reported around VND192.4 trillion in consolidated
revenues in the January-June period, equivalent to the same period last year,
but its after-tax profit declined slightly.
PVN said in a
statement released on July 21 that its consolidated revenues reached VND192.4
trillion in the first six months. Its after-tax profit was VND23.6 trillion,
or 19% higher than the January-June target but lower than the group’s VND27.5
trillion over the year-ago period.
As of this month,
PVN’s capital adequacy ratio reached 1.07 times and the debt to total asset
ratio was 0.25.
In the first half,
PVN paid VND85.5 trillion in taxes to the State budget, which was 27.2%
higher than the target set by the Government and down 3.3% from the same
period last year. However, the VND85.5 trillion included VND5 trillion
belonging to last year’s tax payments.
In the current
situation, PVN has taken steps to closely monitor the implementation of oil
and gas projects in the
The group has also
asked enterprises to thoroughly inspect and safely operate the systems
transmitting gas to Ca Mau 1, Ca Mau 2, Nhon Trach 1 and Nhon Trach 2 power
plants.
According to the
Ministry of Finance’s report on operations of State groups and corporations
submitted to the National Assembly last December, PVN’s overdue debt amounted
to over VND2.17 trillion as business activities depend much on loans.
Besides, its debt to equity ratio was around 60%.
SJC opens
largest jewelry center in south
Saigon Jewelry
Company (SJC) on July 21 inaugurated a building in HCMC’s District 3 that
incorporates its new headquarters and biggest jewelry wholesale and retail
center in the south.
Covering 4,000
square meters with two basements and 10 stories, the center offers customers
a safe place for gold and jewelry trading and a wide selection of quality
products and services, Vietnamplus reports.
SJC general
director Do Cong Chinh said the opening of the new building is a new stage of
SJC’s development.
The goal of SJC in
the coming years is to focus on making and trading jewelry items and applying
advanced technologies to improve product designs to meet high demands of
customers.
Southern
hydropower firm debuts on HOSE
Southern Hydropower
Joint Stock Company (SHP) floated 93.7 million shares on the Hochiminh Stock
Exchange (HOSE) on July 21 at a reference price of VND12,000 each.
Closing on July
21’s session, SHP rose to VND13,800 per share with a volume of over 507,000
shares.
Earlier, SHP was
listed on the UPCoM, a market for unlisted public companies. The firm is
considered one of the attractive tickers on the southern exchange.
Last year, SHP
obtained nearly VND104 billion in after-tax profit, up 14% against the
previous year. Its revenue mainly sourced from Dasiat and Da Dang 2
hydropower plants.
Ending the first
quarter of 2014, the company obtained VND60.7 billion in revenue and VND7.3
billion in after-tax profit.
The firm’s total
assets last year inched up 15.5% against a year earlier, Nguyen Van Thinh,
general director of the company, told reporters on July 21.
Currently, the firm
is running Dasiat, Da Dang 2 and Dambri plants with a respective generation
capacity of 13.5 MW, 34 MW and 75 MW.
Securities experts
appreciated SHP as institutional investors hold a 71.4% stake in the firm
versus a private stake of 28.54%. Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Joint Stock
Corporation (Sabeco) now owns a 20.2% stake, or nearly 19 million shares.
Organizations and
foreign investors are interested in Sabeco’s stake at SHP as Sabeco will have
to divest from non-core business operations in the coming time.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Bảy, 26 tháng 7, 2014
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