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BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 29/7
The
The average price
of rice for the six months hovered around US$452 per tonne, a year-on-year of
2.4%.
Total rice exports
for the first seven months of 2014 are estimated at 3.86 million tonnes worth
US$1.75 billion, down 7.9% in volume and 4.8% in value over the same period
last year.
Experts
expect 6.27% economic growth rate in second half
“ There should be
uniform solutions to reach the set target” they said.
In the first half
of the year, GDP growth rate increased 5.18% against the same period last
year with a low inflation rate and trade surplus reaching US$1.3 billion.
These figures have shown positive signs of economic recovery, which will open
up opportunities to fulfill macro-economic targets as scheduled.
Most notably, the
Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) remained high in the past six months, which
shows that businesses are regaining their motivation thanks to improved
production conditions.
However, local
businesses are facing difficulties in production activities. In addition, the
low demand for business loans to expand operations has reduced these
businesses’ competitive capacity.
Talk sheds
light on
Young researchers
from the Argentine Council for International Relations and the International
Research Network in
Vietnamese
ambassador to Argentina Nguyen Dinh Thao introduced
He said that in the
context of
According to
At the meeting,
ambassador Thao also rebuked
Participants
expressed undaunted support for
Jan-Jul
agricultural exports rise 11.8%
Agro-forestry-fishery
exports for the first seven months of the year jumped 11.8% year-on-year to
US$17.43 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development (MARD).
Major agricultural
product exports (rice, coffee, rubber, cashew nut, tea, pepper, wood and wood
products) hit US$8.31 billion during the seven month period, up 5.9% against
last year’s same period.
Seafood exports
surged 24.5% on-year to US$4.2 billion, along with forestry products up 13.2%
to US$3.52 billion.
The Ho Chi Minh
City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) and the Japan
External Trade Organisation (JETRO) on July 25 announced the establishment of
the Vietnam-Japan Supporting Industry Forum (VIETPANSIF).
JETRO Ho Chi Minh
City office director Hirotaka Yasuzumi said local suppliers can meet 32.2% of
the demand of Japanese-invested enterprises in
Therefore, the
VIETPANSIF will work to connect enterprises and make policy recommendations
relating to the supporting industry, he said, adding that the forum’s
executive board plans to organize an event every quarter of the year to this
purpose.
According to HEPZA
Director Vu Van Hoa, the forum’s establishment aims at facilitating
cooperation and mutual assistance between government agencies in charge of
support the business circles of both countries towards promoting the
development of the supporting industry in
State
budget spending in 2012 exceeds estimates by 8.3 percent
The State Audit of
Vietnam (SAV) on July 25 announced the result of its 2013 report, which shows
that state budget spending in 2012 exceeded estimates by 8.3 percent, or
VND2.07 trillion (US$97.3 million).
Meanwhile, budget
revenues were 1.9 percent higher than the set target.
The report also
showed a decrease of over VND1.6 trillion in public debts, compared with the
figure in a Finance Ministry report.
The audit of
financial reports of the State Bank of Vietnam, the Vietnam Development Bank,
and three commercial banks of Vietcombank, Vietinbank and Agribank showed
they all registered profits in business activities.
However, bad debts
in the banking sector remained high. According to reports of 125 credit
institutions, as of December 31, 2012, the average rate stood at 4.08
percent.
While auditing, the
SAV also discovered wrongdoings in collecting student fees at many
universities.
The Ministry of
Planning and Investment (MoPI) has pledged to create favourable conditions
for Japanese businesses, including those from Kanagawa prefecture, to operate
efficiently in
MoPI Deputy
Minister Nguyen Van Trung made the commitment at a Vietnam-Kanagawa
investment seminar in
“I do believe that cooperation
with Kanagawa and its businesses will bring more benefits for
He revealed the
MoPi will support Kanagawa’s businesses in investing in health care,
education-training, as well as in recruiting Vietnamese trainees to work in
the prefecture.
The ministry will
prioritise technology investment in
Yuji echoed Trung’s
view, saying about 40 businesses from Kanagawa are operating in
In 2013 Kanagawa’s
GDP reached US$307.6 billion, accounting for 5.63% of the country’s total.
The prefecture houses many leading Japanese businesses operating in
electronics, mechanical engineering, information technology, and biological
technology.
At the seminar,
Trung and Yuji signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation.
DOJI
celebrates its 20th anniversary
DOJI Gold &
Gems Group Joint Stock Company recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and
was presented the second class Labour Order for the company’s contributions
to the homeland.
Addressing the
ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hailed the staff’s great
efforts and their contributions to economic growth and job generation.
Phuc asked the
company to focus on applying science and technology into production to create
high quality products which can compete in both the domestic and
international marketplaces in the coming time.
He also urged the
company to boost exports of its unique jewelries, generate more jobs and pay special
attention to social welfare activities.
Established in
1994, DOJI has developed strongly with a famous jewelry trademark in
Last year, the
company grossed revenue of VND35,000 billion and expects to fetch VND40,000
billion this year.
Heightened
prospects for Vietnam-South
The Vietnamese
embassy in
Addressing the
seminar, Ambassador Le Huy Hoang highlighted great opportunities to deepen
all-around cooperation, especially in economics and trade.
Last year’s two-way
trade turnover reached over US$1 billion, up 20 fold compared to 2002’s
figure of US$54 million.
Ambassador Hoang
expressed hope that the seminar will provide fresh impetus to promoting
bilateral economics and trade cooperation.
For her part, JCCI
President Fay Mukaddam expressed delight at the growing Vietnam-South Africa
relationship over the years, stating that JCCI will do its utmost to boost
investment and trade between the two nations.
The Ministry of
Industry and Trade’s African and West and South Asian Market Department
Director Tran Quang Huy said that
In the future,
apart from traditional goods such as farm produce and seafood, garment and
textile, footwear,
Meanwhile,
Business
Network International debuts in Laos
The Business
Network International (BNI) made its debut in
Speaking at the
ceremony, BNI Vietnam Chairman Ho Quang Minh said the organization plays a
strategically important role in assisting companies in expanding their
business connections, creating more favourable conditions for them to
penetrate the global marketplace.
He added that BNI
Vietnam always stands ready to share experiences with Lao businesspeople, and
provide assistance to their neighbour in improving the quality and
effectiveness of international integration.
On the same day,
BNI Vietnam held exchanges with Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in the capital of
Chairman Minh said
he hopes OVs in
Concerns
mount over low credit growth
Many commercial
banks are raising concerns that cheap money has not led to the
growth-igniting investment spree the monetary policy was designed to
encourage.
Credit growth
remained sluggish in the first half of the year at 3.52% and commercial banks
are cautioning the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) decision to continue lowering
lending interest rates to stimulate credit growth and spending is likely to
be ineffectual.
SBV Governor Nguyen
Van Binh optimistically said the entire banking system may achieve an overall
growth rate of 12% - 14% by the end of this year. However, a more
conservative prediction is that it will peak at slightly over 10%.
The Bank for
Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) recently reviewed its operations for
the first six months of 2014 and announced that its growth rate was above the
national average.
Vietcombank
Director General Nghiem Xuan Thanh said the bank’s capital mobilization was
estimated at VND378,780 billion in the first half, up 14.2% compared to early
this year and threefold the whole banking sector’s average growth rate
(5.3%).
As a result,
Vietcombank’s pre-tax profit hit VND5,178 billion in the first six months of
2014, nearly 14.2% higher than last year's same period.
The bank also
enjoyed remarkable achievements in resolving bad debts, which is currently
hovering around 3.06%, much lower than that recorded in the whole banking
sector. Additionally, the bad debt reserve ratio is moving in a positive
direction, approaching 90%.
Tien Phong
Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) in turn reports it has earned more than
VND263 billion in profits since the beginning of this year, fulfilling 60% of
its annual plan in spite of encountering numerous challenges in its
restructuring process.
Saigon Thuong Tin
Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) Director General Phan Huy Khang said
since January 2014 its total assets have risen 10.8%, with its profit meeting
50% of the set target for the year.
Khang attributed
the bank’s successful operations to high demand for capital from industrial
and processing zones in
For a number of
reasons, some other banks, such as the Bank for Investment and Development of
Vietnam (BIDV) and the HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank
(HDBank), are hesitant to reveal their profits.
Many commercial
banks are concerned low credit growth may result in the central bank reducing
interest rates further.
In the present
economic climate with the inflation rate is in line with deposit rates,
further reduction of interest rates will be counterproductive and adversely
affect the economy as a whole.
Lower interest
rates on bank loans require banks to lower the interest they pay on customer
deposits which disincentives savings and does little, if anything, to
stimulate spending, bank leaders say.
Lower interest
rates are quite simply not the key to encouraging businesses to borrow and
spur expansion of their operations, they say.
At a recent meeting
to review banks’ operation in the first six months of 2014, SBV Governor
Nguyen Van Binh underscored that the banking sector’s decision to reduce
interest rate by 0.5% resulted in commercial banks having to cut deposit
rates by 0.5% - 1% to maintain their liquidity.
Binh revealed
credit growth is set to be controlled at 12% - 14%, with a view to serving
both investors and bankers. Currently, there’s a rising demand for bank
loans, he said, adding this is a positive signal for improvements in credit
growth.
According to the
SBV Governor, the credit growth in the second half is usually higher than
that recorded in the first half. He forecast growth rate in the second half
will hit 7% to bring the entire year’s figure to over 10%.
Binh pledged to
strengthen cooperation between the SBV and relevant ministries and agencies
to remove obstacles and help businesses and credit organizations iron out
their snags in operations.
Vietfish
2014 to attract global companies
More than 170
domestic and foreign companies have registered to take part in the 2014
Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2014) to be held in
Leading consumers
of Vietnamese seafood such as the European Union,
Participating
businesses will showcase products and advanced seafood processing
technologies at more than 300 stands covering a total of 10,000sq.m at the
Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC).
The fair aims to
promote links between domestic and foreign businesses in seafood production,
processing and export. It creates a forum for businesses to share
information, increase cooperation, and help promote the brand of Vietnamese
seafood globally.
Within the
framework of the exhibition, conferences and workshops will be organised with
the participations of many international scholars from the Global GAP, Global
Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) and VASEP.
Vietfish has been
held annually since 1998.
FDI hits
US$9.53 billion in 7 months
Inflows of foreign
direct investment (FDI) dipped 19.90% in the first seven months of 2014
year-on-year to US$9.53 billion, according to) the Ministry of Planning and
Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).
The FIA reported
that as of July 20, FDI firm’s total disbursements were estimated at US$6.8
billion. They generated an export turnover of US$55.83 billion and incurred
around US$46.04 in imports, resulting in a trade surplus of US$9.78 billion.
In the reviewed
period, as many as 889 FDI projects were licensed with total registered
capital of US$6.85 billion. About 300 projects increased their investment by
US$2.67 billion.
The processing and
manufacturing industries took the lead in FDI attraction with 448
newly-licensed projects, followed by the real estate and construction
sectors.
At present, 46
countries and territories are investing in
They are operating
companies in 45 provinces and cities across the country, and many are keen on
northern Bac Ninh province that led the country in FDI attraction with
US$1.33 billion.
Malaysia’s
CIMB bank eyes expanding into Vietnam
Malaysia’s second
largest bank, CIMB Group, is planning to obtain banking licenses in Vietnam
as part of its drive to expand into the fast-growing Southeast Asian market,
according to Reuters.
The group has
embarked upon an ambitious plan for opening branches in all Southeast Asian
nations by 2015 coinciding with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC), reports ChannelNewAsia.
At present, CIMB is
the fifth largest bank in the region in terms of total assets. The Kuala
Lumpur-based bank has an estimated 40,000 employees in 17 locations
throughout ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region
In Vietnam, Malaysia’s
largest bank Maybank is also entrenched in investing in the Vietnamese
market. Maybank is now a strategic shareholder of An Binh Bank (ABBank) which
has opened two branches in Hanoi and HCM City.
As of the end of
2013, Vietnam had five wholly foreign-invested banks with 100 branches and
representative offices.
Seminar
discusses preferential rules of origin
A seminar was held
in HCM City on July 24 to assist businesses better understand the
‘preferential rules of origin incorporated in free trade agreements (FTAs) so
that their export products are eligible for preferential treatment.
Speakers at the
seminar explained, preferential Rules of Origin are concerned with
determining the nationality of goods. When a product is manufactured in
Vietnam in accordance with the rules, it becomes what is called a Vietnam
‘originating product’ and is eligible for tariff reductions when exported
into another member country.
In summary, the
rules help maintain the delicate balance between facilitating trade liberalisation
and preventing trade fraud.
With certificates
of origin and preferential tariffs, businesses’ production and export
activities will be promoted, helping boost the national economy and expanding
international trade relations. Therefore, businesses should devise strategies
to learn more about certificate of origin (C/O).
At the seminar,
businesses were updated with specific information on trade agreements that
Vietnam signed with other nations and territories around the globe and the
tariff reductions qualifying Vietnam originating products receive when
exported to other member countries.
Monopoly in
railway sector set to go
Vietnam Railway
Corporation will no longer hold monopoly in the railway sector once the
Government approves a decree that prohibits those entities managing the
railway infrastructure from doing railway transport business.
According to the
draft decree meant to provide guidelines for the Railway Law, enterprises
assigned to manage national railway infrastructure facilities will be barred
from directly doing railway transport business, or joining forces with other
entities to do so on railway sections under such enterprises’ management.
Meanwhile, all
other local or foreign companies who meet requirements as per the law could
engage themselves in railway transport business or related business, and will
not face any discrimination when they rent the railway infrastructure
invested by the Government.
The nation’s
railway infrastructure will mainly be leased for operating trains, but other
associated facilities can also be leased, such as train stations, train
stations’ surrounding areas, warehouses, and signal cable systems.
The Ministry of
Transport which helped prepare the decree said that it will create a
competitive environment for all enterprises without any discrimination with
an aim to attract capital from the private sector and ease pressure on the
State budget.
Once the new rule
takes effect, Vietnam Railway Corporation could only choose to manage the
railway infrastructure, or to do railway transportation business. Currently,
the State-owned giant is allowed to do both functions.
Customs
uses GPS to track goods transport
All import-export
shipments transported by containers are now officially tracked by customs
agencies via Global Positioning System (GPS) devices following a decision by
the General Department of Customs, effective from this month.
The General
Department of Customs issued Decision 2031/QD-TCHQ introducing regulations on
the use of GPS in managing and inspecting containerized goods that are
transferred from port to port, temporarily imported for re-export and
transited in the country.
In June the
department told its customs offices to strengthen management and supervision
using this technology.
GPS devices will be
installed on container trucks to avoid smuggling and commercial fraud during
the transportation process. GPS chips are capable of transmitting warning
signals when containers are unsealed or opened, as well as locating the truck
position on its journey from port to port.
This monitoring
system will record the entire routes of containers and immediately send
warning messages to the customs agencies if the trucks are in the wrong
direction or exceeding the parking time limit. It also reports
information about the container trucks’ journey, time schedule, parking
location and so on.
At first, the
customs departments in Haiphong City and Quang Ninh Province will run a pilot
project of using GPS devices in their cargo inspections. After the trial use
in these two locations, the General Department of Customs will expand the use
of GPS to HCMC, Hanoi, Lang Son, Vung Tau, Danang, Quang Tri and other
regions.
Stringent
rules imposed on imports of used machinery
Used machinery,
equipment and production lines can be imported into Vietnam from September 1
if they can meet the strict conditions of the Ministry of Science and
Technology.
In Circular
20/2014/TT-BKHCN, the ministry states that second-hand machines in most cases
can be imported if they have been in use for less than five years and their
quality is equivalent to 80% of new machines. However, the ban remains in
place for many types of secondhand machines, especially medical and
electronic devices as well as motorbikes and automotive components.
The circular provides
specific conditions for the import of secondhand machines.
Used machines and
equipment for agriculture and beverage as well as those for postal services
must have been in use for less than three years and have quality 80% assured.
Old machinery in
the fields of geological and mining; shipbuilding, ship repair and
infrastructure construction; and printing will be approved for importation if
their quality is 80% assured and they have been in use for no more than
seven, ten and 15 years respectively.
Besides, customs
procedures required for importers are also more stringent. In particular,
importers have to submit all relevant dossiers proving such used machinery
meet the criteria.
For second-hand
production lines, requirements are similar to those applied to old machinery
and equipment. In addition, the importer is also required to show projects in
need of such used production lines that have been approved by competent
authorities.
By imposing
stringent regulations on secondhand machinery and equipment, authorities
clarify their stance of encouraging enterprises to use brand-new machinery,
equipment and production lines with advanced technology.
According to
experts, Vietnam has been facing the risk of becoming “the world’s industrial
dumpsite” due to the rampant import of outdated machinery, equipment and
production lines with low quality and harmful to the environment.
Investors
still upbeat about earnings results
The local market
beat the 600-point resistance level for the second time this month after two
days of consolidation thanks to solid earnings reports from several oil and
gas companies.
GAS again led the
rally by adding 1.11 points to the VN-Index, followed by VNM and PVD. Other
affiliates of PetroVietnam such as PVB and PVS also made strong gains,
helping push the main index up 4.56 points, or 0.76%, from the session
earlier to close at 602.06.
As more companies
announced second-quarter earnings results, trading volume and value on the
Hochiminh Stock Exchange jumped 34% and 37% to 87.8 million shares worth
nearly VND1.5 trillion.
FLC continued to be
the volume leader with more than 22 million shares traded. The ticker rallied
for three days in a row after being added to the VN30 basket.
Foreigners’ net
share acquisitions amounted to VND118.5 billion on the southern bourse,
including VND67.2 billion worth of PAN shares through block deals. They also
bought VND20.2 billion of PVD shares and VND10.4 billion of PET shares.
The Hanoi market
was almost flat with the HNX-Index inching up 0.07 point, or 0.09%, to close
at 80.42.
The bourse saw 44.4
million shares worth nearly VND619 billion changing hands, up 15.8% and 39%
from the previous day respectively. Foreigners net bought VND6.5 billion, in
which they took VND12.5 billion of PVS shares and VND4.1 billion of VCG
shares.
According to
vietstock.vn, positive signs were clear as 18 out of 24 sectors gained ground
Thursday. Both stock indexes and liquidity improved strongly after some
correction in previous days.
Investors showed
interest in speculative stocks after having offloaded the tickers in recent
days. The mining group took the lead with a 2.13% rise, followed by
construction, real estate and securities.
Therefore, the
market is expected to maintain its rally in the last session of the week
thanks to good earnings results of blue-chips.
Concerning the
macroeconomic outlook, Viet Capital Securities Company said inflation would
remain low although July’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.23%
month-on-month mainly due to the recent gasoline price hikes.
Meanwhile, food and
foodstuff remain fairly subdued with foodstuff falling for the fifth
consecutive month.
“We should see a
gradual acceleration of prices in the second half as the peak season nears.
But the year-to-date figure, which now sits at a 10-year low of 1.62%, give
us little reason to change our inflation forecast of 5.5-6% for 2014,” it
said.
Vietnam
enjoys higher rice export prices than rivals
Vietnam is offering
rice export prices higher than other countries such as Thailand, India and
Pakistan.
According to
www.oryza.com, a website on the international rice market, Vietnamese rice
prices are US$455 and US$405 per ton for 5% and 25% broken types
respectively, US$10-25 per ton higher than those offered by other countries.
Explaining the
issue, Nguyen Dinh Bich, a local rice expert, said Vietnamese exporters need
not compete with rivals such as Thailand and India.
At the moment, the
government of Thailand has yet to finish its rice inspection program, so the
country could not speed up rice exports. Meanwhile, India has also scaled
down rice sales given concerns over El Nino impacts.
Many rice importing
countries have plans to increase stocks, including the Philippines that
should improve food reserves in the aftermath of Typhoon Ramasun.
Therefore,
Vietnamese rice exporters still have their advantages until August or
September. After that, rice prices may fluctuate in line with weather
conditions, Bich said.
Nguyen Hung Linh,
chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), said rice price hikes
followed market demands. As Vietnam now has no much rice to sell, it is
reasonable for enterprises to offer higher prices.
Local firms have
signed contracts to export around 5.3 million tons of rice. Whether
enterprises will consider signing new contracts or not depends on rice output
in the upcoming crop, Linh said.
Earlier, VFA set up
a rice export target at 6.2 million tons for 2014, a decline compared to the
previous year, due to market difficulties and tougher competition. Though
local enterprises have gained an edge recently, VFA still sticks to its goal,
Linh said.
In the year to July
17, Vietnam had exported 3.26 million tons of rice worth over US$1.4 billion.
In the local
market, paddy prices in the Mekong Delta have been hovering from
VND5,550-5,650 per kilo and long-grain type from VND5,750-5,850 per kilo. The
prices of unprocessed rice used to produce 5% broken rice range from VND7,150
to VND7,250 a kilo and those for 25% broken rice from VND6,900 to VND7,000.
FOB prices of 5%
broken rice are VND8,600-8,700 a kilo, 15% broken rice VND8,100-8,200, and
25% broken rice VND7,650-7,750.
Transport
firms bemoan tight checks for truck registration
The tight checks on
trucks at registration centers have posed more challenges for transport firms
in recent months and many firms take more than one week to complete
procedures due to the remodeled trunk of their vehicles.
Nguyen Van Hung,
director of Binh Duong Province-based U&I Logistics, complained many
procedural changes require his firm to have more time when having its
vehicles registered and this has made the firm lack trucks to transport goods
for clients as requested.
The owner of trucks
should remove the extended truck parts of their trucks otherwise they will
fail procedures at registration centers, according to another transport firm
which operates more 20 trucks and semi-trailer trucks.
As a result,
instead of using ten trucks to transport 300 tons of goods, transport firms
now have to use more trucks to carry the same volume.
However, some
transport firms said the registration process of new trucks is easy than that
for the old ones, especially the remodeled vehicles. To avoid a host of
difficulties at registration centers, transport firms have invested in new
trucks and this is why the demand to buy vehicles is surging and the truck
price is up.
Dinh Nam Dinh, vice
chairman of the HCMC Cargo Transport Association, said truck purchases are
now not as easy and buyers will have to wait four to five months to take delivery
of new vehicles.
Roads in Vietnam
can normally handle trucks of 12-13 tons or 25 tons maximum while a
semi-trailer truck’s load amounts up to 37 tons. Therefore, the truck cannot
easily cross a bridge if it is carrying goods.
This month, the
Ministry of Transport, the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam and Vietnam
Registry will deploy more measures to tighten controls on vehicle loads and
at the same time find ways to help transport firms out of their difficulties.
Finance
ministry mulls tariff rises on fertilizer imports
The Ministry of
Finance plans to double the duties on imported urea and DAP fertilizer
products to 6% from the current 3% in an effort to support sales of
locally-made products and ease difficulties of local enterprises.
According to the
Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem), fertilizer inventory in the
country surged to 685,000 tons in the first four months of this year. Of
which, the volume of urea in stock soared a staggering 900% year-on-year
to138,000 tons.
Vinachem estimated
domestic fertilizer and insecticide output in the January-April period was
down 5.8% in volume and 10.6% in revenue.
As the group
attributed the increase in fertilizer inventory to rising imports, it called
for the ministry to impose higher tariff rates of 7% on urea imports and 8%
on DAP.
However, the
ministry plans to impose a single tariff rate of 6% on the urea and DAP
fertilizer imports based on Vietnam’s commitment to the global trade club
WTO. The ministry will announce its final decision after gathering comments
from the ministries of trade, agriculture-rural development, and
planning-investment, and the Vietnam Farmers Association.
Le Thanh Tung from
the Cultivation Department under the agriculture ministry, warned of the
possibility of supply surpassing demand which is around 900,000 tons of DAP
fertilizer per year. Therefore, he predicted the Ministry of Finance will
hike the import tariffs.
Pham Van Quynh,
director of the Can Tho Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, told
the Daily that the tariff rise plan is a needed policy at the moment as it
will help promote consumption of locally-made products despite possible
protest from enterprises.
“I think that the
enterprises heavily dependent on fertilizer imports would react against the
policy but this policy will place a possible impact on the local fertilizer
industry,” Quynh said.
Quynh said the duty
rise in fertilizer imports will result in higher prices of locally-produced
fertilizer products and more pressure on farmers. However, farmers will be
able to cut input costs by properly spreading fertilizer on their farms.
Tung noted
fertilizer trading firms would take advantage of the tariff increases to push
their selling prices to earn more profits and this would hit farmers if this
is translated into reality.
Tung proposed
administering agencies tighten controls on the prices of fertilizer products
on the domestic market if higher import tariffs are applied.
Le Minh Canh, a
fertilizer trader in Tien Giang Province, said local producers and trading
firms usually peg their selling prices to those imported from China. For
instance, if a 50-kilogram bag of Chinese urea fertilizer is sold at
VND390,000, the prices of domestic fertilizer products are adjusted to make
them the same or a little bit higher.
Therefore, Canh
assumed the possibility of local fertilizer prices rising is high if the
import tariffs are up.
On January 1 this
year, the Ministry of Finance adjusted up the tariff rates from 0% to 3% for
imported urea and DAP.
Statistics from the
agriculture ministry showed Vietnam spent US$547 million importing 1.73
million tons of fertilizer in the first six months of this year, down 32.1%
in value and 13.6% in volume compared to the same period last year.
Foreign
funds seek to invest in local tech firms
Two foreign
investment funds Monk’s Hill Ventures and Digital Media Partners will look
for opportunities to pour their money into new Vietnamese technology firms
taking part in Tech in Asia Arena, which kicked off in HCMC yesterday.
The two funds are
expected to invest approximately US$30 million in the five technology
startups chosen to make presentations at the event. As scheduled, Monk’s Hill
Ventures director Kou-Yi Lim and Digital Media Partners president Khor Chieh
Suang will participate in Tech in Asia Arena.
Tech in Asia Arena
gives firms the opportunity to call for funds and learn how to expand their
presence to Southeast Asia. The event also includes seminars for seasoned
investors to share expectations from technology business startups and
experiences for companies to expand their operations to the region and the
world.
Monk’s Hill
Ventures intends to invest US$1-5 million and Digital Media Partners plans
from US$500,000 to US$1 million in each of the firm they pick at the event in
the initial time. Digital Media Partners will add US$3 million to every of
its chosen firms when they expand.
Prior to Monk’s
Hill Ventures, Lim was former chief executive officer of Singapore’s Infocomm
Investments, a US$200-million venture capital fund for cultivating promising
technology startups at the seed and early stages.
Suang used to work
at the Economic Development Board of Singapore for a project to develop the
island state into a hub for technology startups. Later, she moved to Infocomm
Investments and Nusantara Ventures.
Cooking oil
giant raises $24m in IPO
Viet Nam Vegetable
Oils Industry Corporation (Vocarimex) raised more than VND500 billion
(US$23.6 million) from its initial public offering yesterday with 37.9
million shares sold.
This was a
successful IPO of a State-owned enterprise (SOE) after a large number of
shares of many SOEs had failed to attract buyers at their IPOs recently.
Vocarimex fetched
between VND13,000 (US$0.61) and VND30,000 ($1.4) a share, averaging VND13,428
($0.63) a share, which was 19 per cent higher than its initial price, by 42
individual and five institutional investors.
Notably, investors
registered to buy up to 84.4 million shares, 2.2 times higher than the offer
volume.
After the IPO,
Vocarimex's charter capital would be at VND1.218 trillion ($57.4 million)
with the State holdings of 36 per cent.
The company also
planned to sell 39 million shares, accounting for 32 per cent of its charter
capital, to two strategic partners which were Kinh Do Corporation (24 per
cent) and VPBank Securities (8 per cent).
Vocarimex currently
dominates the Viet Nam's cooking oil market with holdings in leading cooking
oil companies, including Tuong An, Tan Binh and Cai Lan vegetable oil
companies, which all together account for 85 per cent of the local market,
according to Vietcombank Securities.
FPT reports
lower than expected revenue due to domestic difficulties
Financing and
Promoting Technology Corporation (FPT) has reported its business results for
the first six months of the year.
FPT reported a
total profit of VND1.2 trillion ($56.338 million) before tax and VND1.04
trillion ($48.826 million) after tax, a decrease of two per cent compared to
the same period last year.
The company's total
revenue was VND15.2 trillion ($713.615 million), an increase of two per cent
and equal to 107 per cent of the six month target.
Revenue from
overseas markets rose 26 per cent to VND1.4 trillion ($69 million).
The figures were
less than expected due to negative effects in the domestic market, said the
corporation.
FPT has also
completed its acquisition of RWE IT Slovakia, and is targetting a revenue of
$80 million from Europe in the next five years.
Campaign to
support Taiwanese businesses in Viet Nam launched
Taiwan Excellence –
an international campaign co-ordinated by the Department of Foreign Trade and
the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) – opened in Viet Nam
on Thursday.
The campaign was
launched to support Taiwanese businesses to promote their brands and products
in Viet Nam, and contribute to the development of the traditional
relationship between Viet Nam and Taiwan.
The 5th Taiwan
Excellence campaign features 45 brands from various fields, including
interactive activities.
Viet Nam,
Czechs move to boost ties
Viet Nam and the
Czech Republic have agreed to enhance the operation of their
intergovernmental economic co-operation committee.
They have also
agreed to encourage firms to invest in an effort to boost two-way trade.
The agreement was
reached in Prague on Thursday at meetings between Deputy Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and senior Czech officials, including Deputy
PM Pavel Belobradek, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek, and Minister of
Industry and Trade Jan Mladek.
Minh suggested that
the Czech side increase imports of rice, rubber, coffee and seafood.
The Czechs offered
to consider Viet Nam's bid to run for a seat in the UN Economic and Social
Council for 2016-18 and the UN Security Council for 2020-21.
They are also
committed to an early conclusion of an EU-Viet Nam free-trade agreement.
The hosts said Viet
Nam had been a crucial factor in developing peace, stability and development
in the region , adding that they considered Viet Nam an important partner in
Southeast Asia.
Regarding the East
Sea issue, Zaoralek said the Czech Republic backed the settlement of all
disputes by peaceful measures in accordance with international law, including
the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Minh thanked the
Czech government for its recognition of the Vietnamese community there as the
country's 14th ethnic minority group.
Both sides said
they hoped President Truong Tan Sang would pay an official visit to the
European nation when appropriate.
State Audit
highlights public debt
State Audit of Viet
Nam (SAV) plans to hold an audit on public debt next year.
SAV announced the
plan yesterday as it released the national financial audit for the 2012
fiscal year.
It examined records
from 16 ministries and central agencies, 34 major cities and provinces, 32
State-owned enterprises and credit institutions.
SAV reported that
State budget collection in 2012 was more than VND1,058 trillion (US$50
billion), 1.9 per cent higher than planned.
State budget
spending was more than VND1,170 trillion ($55 billion ), 8.3 per cent higher
than planned.
The overspending
accounted for 4.75 per cent of gross domestic production, 0.05 per cent lower
than the rate approved by the National Assembly.
Public debt in 2012
was more than VND1,642 trillion ($77.4 billion), accounting for 55.7 per cent
of GDP, while the public debt in 2011 accounted for 54.9 per cent of GDP.
Head of SAV's
General Affairs Department Dao Van Dung said State-owned enterprises
incorrectly reported revenues and taxable costs, thus paid less value-added
tax and corporate tax.
They were required
to pay an extra VND3 trillion ($141.4 million ) to the State budget.
By the end of 2012,
15 ministries, central and local agencies had debts of more than VND1
trillion ($47.1 million) each. Many localities reported the start of a large
number of projects in 2012, but many projects proceeded slowly.
After audits
conducted in 2011, the SAV said violators should pay fines worth more than
VND14.5 trillion ($683.5 million), but during 2012, just 65 per cent of this
was collected.
Last year, SAV
audited State Bank of Viet Nam, Viet Nam Development bank and three
commercial banks.
Vietinbank,
Vietcombank and Agribank claimed profits with 2012 pre-tax revenues of more
than VND8 trillion, VND5.7 trillion and VND2.8 trillion respectively.
Dung noted that the
bad-debt rate of banks was high. By the end of 2012, bad debts accounted for
4.08 per cent of total loans, according to reports from 125 local credit
institutions. The ratio increased to 4.46 per cent until June, 2013.
BIDV,
Vietravel to offer joint finance, travel products
The Bank for
Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) has signed a co-operation deal
with tour operator Vietravel to offer finance and banking packages, travel
insurance and a co-branded MasterCard.
BIDV has committed
in the agreement to offer Vietravel customers with financial evidence and
promotional services.
BIDV Insurance
Corporation (BIC), a unit of BIDV, will provide customers with its
international travel insurance in partnership with the International
Assistance Company (SOS).
Mobile app
creation contest kicks off
Vietnamese
individuals and organisations, inside and outside the country, have been
invited to take part in a contest on developing applications for mobile
devices.
The Viet Nam
Internet Association and Microsoft Corporation in co-operation with
TingWorld, a Vietnamese mobile application company, and Xa Hoi Thong Tin
(Information Society) magazine have organised the contest, aimed at boosting
the development of the Vietnamese mobile market.
In a category for
completed products, the board of judges will award VND50 million (nearly
US$2,400) for the first prize, VND20 million ($950) for the second and VND10
million (nearly $480) for the third. Meanwhile, the board will give VND15
million ($700), VND10 million and VND5 million ($240) for the top three
outstanding ideas, respectively.
Organisers and
sponsors will also present awards for exceptional products. Microsoft will
give an award worth VND20 million for an app with creative solutions to solve
issue in cities of Viet Nam.
Mobogenie, an
Android synchronisation software and applications developer, will grant VND20
million for the most downloaded app at the Mobogenie market. The same amount
will also be given to the best ideas or products for the community by
TingWorld company.
The awards ceremony
will be held in HCM City in the beginning of December.
Participants are
required to submit their complete products or ideas from August 1 to September
30 to Xa Hoi Thong Tin magazine, 10 Ha Hoi Street in Ha Noi.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Hai, 28 tháng 7, 2014
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