|
BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 24/8
Huge hotel
project in BR-VT remains stalled after years
The Saigon Atlantic
Hotel project worth up to US$4.1 billion in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province has
remained stalled due largely to site clearance and land rental problems,
although the project owner obtained a license seven years ago.
Last week, leaders
of Ba Ria-Vung Tau had a meeting with relevant departments and agencies to
discuss ways to remove difficulties and get the project restarted.
The provincial
government will work with the investor, U.S.-based Winvest LLC, first to
assess its capability and ask it to soon finish doing the 1/500 scale
planning used as a basis for authorities to determine land rent.
The Saigon Atlantic
Hotel project covers 297 hectares in wards 11 and 12 of
The province was
originally expected to hand over 100 hectares of land in 2009 so that the
project could be kicked off within the year.
Between April 2007
and June 2008, the investor advanced VND98 billion in land rent to the
province to facilitate site clearance and compensation for affected families.
However, the investor was not given the cleared site as promised.
Ba Ria-Vung Tau has
so far cleared 214.9 hectares and paid VND261 billion in compensation, with
VND163 billion sourced from the budget and the rest from the investor’s
advanced rents. The compensation cost for the remaining 82.4 hectares is
estimated at over VND600 billion.
According to the
provincial Department of Planning and Investment, the biggest hindrance is
that the province is facing financial constraints in paying site clearance
compensation, and has to rely on advance land rent payments by the investor.
But this is also where a new problem emerges, as the rent level has picked up
over the years.
As per law, the
investor is required to pay land rent when the site is handed over, and in
this case November 2012. This has placed the investor at a disadvantage as
the rate at the time was much higher than the level it should have deserved
in 2007 and 2008.
The rent
differential between two points of time, according to calculations of the
province, amounts to VND800 billion.
The investor
expects to pay the rent level applied in 2007 and 2008, which is beyond
jurisdiction of the provincial government.
Therefore, the
local authorities will ask the Ministry of Finance to offer special land rent
to the Saigon Atlantic Hotel.
According to a
source, due to unfinished site compensation, many households have not
relocated.
Under the investor’s
original plan, the project has a five-star hotel, recreational facilities, a
golf course, a shopping area, sport facilities and villas.
Inter-bank
rates tend to rise
The average
interest rates on the inter-bank market last week rose for all tenures,
according to the central bank’s report.
The overnight
interest rate inched up 0.63 percentage point on average against the previous
week. The respective rates of one-week and one-month loans rose by 0.48 and
0.22 percentage point per year, Vietnamplus reports.
According to the
central bank, the mobilization and lending rates in
The rates of demand
deposits and deposits of less than one month ranged between 0.8% and 1% per
year. Deposits of less than six months, 6-12 months and over 12 months
carried the rates of 5-6%, 6-7.5% and 7.5-8.1% respectively.
Meanwhile, the lending
rates offered to priority enterprises in the sectors of agriculture, rural
development, export and supporting industries as well as small and medium
enterprises and hi-tech ones averaged out at 7-8% per year. The lending rates
offered to enterprises in other sectors ranged between 9-10% for short-term
loans and VND10.5-12% for medium- and long-term loans.
Besides, banks
continued offering preferential rates of 6-7% per year on loans to
enterprises with healthy finance and feasible business plans.
With U.S. dollar
loans, the overnight rate stayed at 0.18% per year and the one-week rate
picked up 0.03 percentage point from the previous week. However, the average
rates of one-month, three-month and six-month loans dropped by 0.02, 0.04 and
0.24 percentage point respectively.
The borrowing rates
in dollar average out at 0.25% per year for deposits by corporate clients and
1% for individuals. Meanwhile, short-term loans saw the rates set at 3-6% and
the rates of medium- and long-term loans were 5.5-7%.
Expressway
opens to all autos next week
After opening new
approach roads leading to the HCMC-Long Thanh section of the HCMC-Long
Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway, from August 28 all kinds of automobile will be
allowed to run on the road instead of only light automobiles of under ten
tons as previously announced.
According to
Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), the developer of the expressway, the
company will inaugurate two new roads leading to Belt Road No. 2 and close
two old ones. The new roads help shorten the distance by 4 kilometers
compared to the old routes.
Regarding toll
collection applied to automobiles above ten tons, Vietnam Expressway
Investment and Development Corporation said it is waiting for instruction
from the Ministry of Finance and will inform drivers in the coming time.
The expressway’s
20-kilometer section starts at Belt Road No. 2 and ends at National Highway
51. The remaining section stretching 30 kilometers from Long Thanh to Dau
Giay is still under construction.
It is estimated
that at the end of 2015, the whole HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway will
be completed.
No recalled
Ford autos shipped to Vietnam
Ford Motor Company
has made an announcement to recall up to 163,000 autos in the world to fix
certain technical problems, but none of the erroneous vehicles have been
shipped to
Over 160,000 units
equipped with 2.0L engines of 2013-2014 Ford Escape and
In
Other 1,300
crossovers of 2015 Lincoln MKC have been also recalled due to air bubbles
between layers of the windshield. Ford said the defect could get worsened
under high temperatures and may pose a danger for drivers.
Finally, some 1,900
vans of 2015 Transit have been recalled due to brake fluid leaks and sliding
doors without epoxy reinforcement that could open in the event of a
side-impact crash. However, the Transit models in
Up to now, there
has been no report on any accidents or injuries linked to these technical
problems.
Workshop
seeks ways to stabilise exports to US, EU
Local exporters
need to proactively meet requirements of their import markets, particularly
the provision of full, clear, and accurate information of their products, in
order to secure stable sales in the US and EU markets, experts have said.
They came with the
advice at a workshop to identify risks of exporting goods to the
Meanwhile, Deputy
Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh called on businesses themselves
to seek effective methods to overcome barriers installed by these markets.
According to the
official,
However, commercial
and technical barriers and respective business customs remain big hurdles,
requiring local businesses to make greater efforts.
In recent time,
several export items of
Japanese
medical device firm runs plant in Dong Nai
Paramount Bed
Vietnam Co., Ltd officially put its factory in southern Dong Nai province
into operation on August 21.
As a subsidiary of
According to the
firm’s representatives, their plant, built at a cost of over 7 million USD,
will provide about 350 tonnes of hospital equipment like beds, trolleys,
cabinets and dining tables for patients among others a year.
All these products
will be exported to
This is Paramount
Group’s third plant of its kind in
Dong Nai has hosted
over 170 Japanese enterprises which have so far poured in a total capital of
over 3.1 billion USD.
So far this year,
the province has attracted over 920 million USD of foreign direct investment
(FDI) capital.
Local authorities
have asserted that the province will create all possible conditions for
Paramount Bed
FTAs bring
more opportunities for plastic businesses
Free trade
agreements (FTAs) have opened up opportunities for Vietnamese plastic
businesses to expand their export markets, the Vietnam Economic News
reported.
According to the
newspaper, the Vietnamese plastic industry needs to build production
connectivity to help businesses tap and secure market positions, aimed at
obtaining sustainable development in the long run.
The country
exported plastic products worth an estimated 992.12 million USD in the first
half of 2014, up 17.61 percent from the same period last year.
The
The EU market
provided many opportunities for Vietnamese plastic businesses. Importers
highly appreciated the quality of Vietnamese plastic products so their orders
to Vietnamese exporters grew in value. Vietnamese plastic exports to
Vietnam Plastics
Association Chairman Ho Duc Lam said that the plastic industry focused on
both quality and quantity to serve for exports. Vietnamese plastic exports in
2014 are expected to grow 13.5-16.5 percent over 2013.
In the context of
economic integration, Vietnamese plastic businesses need to renovate
technology, improve product quality and design and learn about the market’s
new trends. They need to modernise technology and production lines, focus on
developing environmentally friendly products,
In the long term,
Vietnamese businesses need to build production connectivity to form major
product supply chains, giving priority to product quality improvement, Lam
said.
Dong Nai
among five leading exporters in Vietnam
The southern
In August alone,
the locality raked in nearly 1.2 billion USD from exports, the highest level
since the beginning of this year.
The success was
significantly attributed to efforts by local authorities in organising trade
and investment promotion activities in several countries, said Le Van Danh,
Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.
Through these
activities, local enterprises, especially those producing textiles, footwear
and fibre, set up partnerships and signed long-term orders to ship their
goods abroad, he noted.
To realise its
export target set for the year, Danh said local authorities will continue to
increase promotion activities as well as create all possible conditions for
enterprises to bring their ware to new markets such as Africa, the Middle
East and
From now to 2015,
Dong Nai will focus on the markets of
The department will
regularly hold meetings with firms to swiftly address difficulties facing
them in export.
Businesspeople and
authorities in 13 Mekong Delta cities and provinces shared opportunities and
obstacles arising from the global integration at a conference in Can Tho city
on August 21.
Speaking at the
event, Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son urged them to update knowledge
and information to make them highly competitive, both at home and abroad.
The conference was
a platform for participants to suggest ideas for the sake of sustainable
development, he said.
Businesses need to
advance professionally between now and 2015, from human resources to
management, said Director of the Centre for Economics and Policy Research
under the National Economics University Nguyen Duc Thanh.
Under the auspices
of the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany, the event will run until August
22.
Lao Cai
halts temporary import, re-export via Ban Vuoc gate
The People’s
Committee of the
Under Decision
1336/QD-UBND issued by the provincial People’s Committee on May 21, 2014,
goods were allowed to be temporarily imported and re-exported to
According to the
committee, the decision comes as temporary and re-export activities have
since then exposed infrastructure weaknesses at the gate, evidenced by
storage capacity, as well as custom clearance incompetence.
The move also aims
to ease overload in Ban Vuoc border gate which was sparked by a large volume
of goods subject to these activities, said the committee.
The local Industry
and Trade Department reported that during only two months of pilot
implementation, as many as 1,589 containers of goods were temporarily
imported and re-exported through Muong Khuong and Ban Vuoc gates, with a
total value of 88 million USD.
Meanwhile, a number
of domestic companies voiced their complaints to the Prime Minister and
relevant authorised agencies as the temporarily imported and re-exported
goods blocked their exports of farm produce to China through Ban Vuoc gate.-
Major cocoa
material area to be built in Dong Nai
Trong Duc Cocoa
Co., Ltd in southern Dong Nai province plans to work with local farmers on
developing a 1,000-ha specialised area for farming cacao alternating with
cashew trees in the locality, so as to meet its growing demand of raw
materials for processing.
According to the
company’s director Dang Truong Khanh, his firm will ink agreements with
agricultural cooperatives in the districts of Dinh Quan, Tan Phu, Thong Nhat
and Xuan Loc to provide local farmer with equipment and technologies for
processing cacao and cashew fruits.
The company will
then purchase the partly processed fruit at a higher price than the market
price.
Apart from the
major products of cocoa powder, wine and chocolate, the company intends to
produce several other products such as juice from fresh cacao and cashew
fruit in the future, Khanh stated.
According to Khanh,
his firm has an increasing demand of raw materials for production, with an
estimated volume of about 3,600 tonnes per year, while existing cacao area in
Dong Nai can supply only 625 tonnes.
To ensure the
quality of materials for processing, the enterprise has encouraged local
farmers to cultivate the crops in line with the globally-recognised UTZ quality
control programme, which stands for fostering sustainable farming and
bettering opportunities for farmers.
As many as 79 cacao
growing households in Dong Nai have received their certification from the
programme so far.
The cacao
plantation area in
Pepper has high
export potential with export turnover target of 1 billion USD this year.
However, a long-term strategy to enhance the value added to this commodity is
needed, the Vietnam Economic News reported.
In the first seven months
of the year, pepper maintained steady growth in terms of quantity and price
with exports reaching 119,000 tonnes, up by 29 percent compared to the same
period last year, export value reaching 862 million USD up by 46.1 percent,
and export prices up by 10.6 percent.
According to the
Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), by the end of 2014,
According to the
Vietnam Pepper Association, pepper production under GAP standards is an
urgent requirement for domestic pepper producers to ensure sustainable pepper
export growth in the future.
Currently,
According to the
Ministry of Industry and Trade, pepper is placed in the commodity group with
high export potential. However, the local pepper processing technology should
be renovated in order to improve the value added to pepper exports.
Under a newly
appoved plan to 2020 with a vision toward 2030,
According to the
plan, high-quality pepper products will reach 90 percent. For product
structure, black pepper will make up 70 percent while the rest will go for
white pepper.
The plan aims to earn
1.2-1.3 billion USD from pepper exports by 2020.
Measures to
strengthen blue dragon export
The price of dragon
fruit in the central
Over the past time,
the blue dragon cultivation area has increased rapidly in our country’s
provinces and cities. Some countries and territories also started growing the
fruit. So
Moreover, the
quality of fruit is also challenged by some diseases, leading to reduce
export value in the coming time when foreign markets require strict
standards.
To export
Each country has a
different quarantine requirement for the import and export of fresh
consumable commodities which we have to meet. For
In
By the end of 2013
there were 3,566 hectares affected in just three provinces; Binh Thuan
province with 1,266 hectares, Tien Giang with 1,500 hectares and Long An with
800 hectares, causing considerable losses to the producers.
The Plant
Protection Department (PPD) warned farmers not abuse pesticides in disease
prevention; instead, farmers should use methods of cultivation, care,
irrigation and fertilization for the blue dragon as wisely as possible and to
use the method of bundling to limit injury by insects and diseases. More
importantly, it must produce blue dragon to VietGAP standards. Binh Thuan
province has planned to cultivate 7,300 hectares of the fruit under the
VietGAP mode.
Tien Giang and Long
An provinces are also developing VietGAP production models. Although the
scale is small, the farmers are clearly aware of disease prevention problems
and the need to ensure quality for food safety, a prerequisite for export.
To meet the
stringent market and country requirements on food safety and plant
quarantine, farmers must produce in a sustainable manner to the VietGAP
standard. Partners in the value chain will become more willing to promote and
sell the fruit on the international market, providing better returns for the
producers.
VNR kicks
off restructuring process
After a tremendous
effort, the restructuring plan of state-owned Vietnam Railways Corporation –
one of
The state-owned
enterprise (VNR) recently submitted its member business restructuring plan to
the Ministry of Transport (MoT) for the period 2014-2015, which highlighted
the goal of restructuring of two major members – the
According to the
plan, the two railway transport firms, which are VNR’s primary revenue and
profit earners, will be changed from financially dependent units into
one-member limited liability companies with VNR holding their entire
chartered capital. The conversion is slated for completion before the end of
this year.
Regarding the
shake-up plan, VNR said it would restructure another two companies who are
locomotive operators, Di An Train Limited and Gia Lam Train Factory in two
stages.
In stage 1, another
VNR member Railway Rubber Enterprise will be merged with Gia Lam Train
Factory, which will then be separated from its current parent the Hanoi
Railway Passenger Transport Company before turning into a limited company
controlled by VNR. According to the government, this task must be fulfilled
by year-end.
Stage 2 will see Di
An Train and Gia Lam Train equitised before the end of 2015.
Also as part of its
overall restructuring plan, VNR hopes to turn 20 railway infrastructure
management businesses into railway infrastructure maintenance joint stock
companies, including 15 railway bridge maintenance and five railway signal
and information units. This task must also be completed by the end of next
year.
To raise capital
for its core service lines, VNR has asked the MoT’s permission to entirely
divest from 10 joint stock companies, sell all but 30 per cent of three joint
stock companies, and sell all but 20 per cent at the Transport Investment and
Construction Consultant Joint Stock Company.
VNE expects capital
divestment at the aforementioned units to be completed within this year.
VNR’s stake in
these joint companies has been valuated at around VND286 billion ($13.6
million), including VND85.7 billion ($4.08 million) at seven member companies
with VNR’s stake in these companies averaging 64 per cent.
VNR’s stake in 21
affiliated firms was reported at VND200 billion ($9.6 million), averaging
VND28.9 billion ($1.3 million) per firm. In the year’s first half, VNR
received VND15.8 billion ($752,000) in dividends from these firms.
“This would be a
crucial step towards realising parent company VNR’s initial public offering
target in 2016,” said chairman Tran Ngoc Thanh.
Deputy Minister of
Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong has commented that “spurring the equitisation
process of member companies will be VNR’s most urgent task in 2016 and
“compared to the equitisation pace of other state-owned enterprises in the
transport sector (slated for completion before the end of next year), VNR’s
is expected to take place a year later, so drastic measures are needed to
avoid any further delays.”
Cumbersome and
ineffective organisational structures are reportedly the main reason for
VNR’s poor performance, despite its position as the exclusive railway
operator in
VNR employees also
reportedly have the lowest average per capita among companies in the
transport sector.
This year VNR was
assigned by the MoT to reach VND5.211 trillion ($248 million) in total
revenue and other income and VND59 billion ($2.8 million) in pretax profits.
“These figures will
serve as a base to evaluate the operational efficiency of VNR’s management
this year – a transitional time in restructuring the railway sector leader,”
said an MoT Business Management Department executive.
The operator of a
multimillion-dollar hydropower project in Vietnam’s Central Highlands
announced Wednesday it had terminated an agreement with two Chinese
contractors for their failing to carry out the work as committed.
A joint venture
between Hydrochina Huadong Engineering Corporation and China Railway
Construction Co Ltd broke ground on the VND5.74 trillion ($270.36 million)
Thuong Kon Tum project in 2009, but asked to end the contract in May when all
construction units of the project were behind schedule.
The contractors
even abandoned construction in spite of beingrepeatedly reprimanded by the
project operator, Vinh Son Song Hinh Hydropower JSC (VSH).
The Vietnamese
company said it had “rescinded the contract with the Chinese side.”
VSH attributed the
contract cancelation to the tardy construction progress and the failure to
meet commitments of the two Chinese firms.
Previously the
contractors asked for unreasonable conditions when developing the project,
one of the largest hydropower plants in the Central Highlands
The Chinese venture
won a tender for building the penstock, which regulates the water flow, of
the project at VND1.61 trillion ($75.78 million), only 44 percent of the
prices bid by other contractors.
However, during
construction, the contractors repeatedly demanded additional expenses worth
up to VND800 billion ($37.65 million), which the Vietnamese investor
rejected.
As their clamor for
money was unheard, the Chinese firms ceased construction and announced that
it would end the contract for “inevitable reasons” in a document sent to the
Vietnamese side on May 25.
The companies have
since withdrawn their workforce and machinery back to
It is not uncommon
for Chinese contractors to join tenders offered by
NA members
want new enterprise law to allow closer supervision of businesses
While granting
enterprises freedom in doing business, the new Law on Enterprises may include
regulations that manage such “freedom”.
Last week the
National Assembly proposed that the draft amendment to the Law on Enterprises
include text that allows the examination of enterprises after they receive
their business registration certificates and become operational.
This is because
under the draft, the certificates will not detail out an enterprises’
business sectors and professions. Such details must currently be declared in
an enterprise dossier when applying for a certificate.
Enterprises are
currently allowed to operate only in the professions and sectors written on
their specifically requested investment certificate. If they want to add an
additional sector or profession, they have to undergo the entire licensing
process again, which obviously causes major headaches for firms eager to
exploit new business opportunities.
“In-line with the
Constitution, which allows companies to do business in any sector and
profession not banned by law, under the new law expected to be adopted this
November, you have the right to sell both pho and coffee, but how you are
operating should be managed. The new law must have a mechanism to manage
enterprises’ performance,” said National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.
“Enterprises can
bend the law to do business. For example, they can open a karaoke palour, but
then open a dance hall or bar. Thus, who will manage them if they keep
changing their business?” said National Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman
Nguyen Van Hien.
Mai Thi Anh Tuyet,
the National Assembly deputy representing An Giang province, said that
currently the state only managed enterprises’ business registration, but not
their performance.
“Consequently, many
enterprises have evaded tax and conducted illegal transfer pricing, greatly
diminishing the state coffers,” she added.
Late last year,
Last year in Dong
Nai province, cloth-maker Hualon Corporation, a joint venture between
National Assembly
Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu said he was also disheartened by enterprises’
continued tax evasion.
“I could not
imagine that the inspections (in 2012 by the State Audit of Vietnam) of only
8 per cent of state-owned enterprises uncovered tax avoidance of VND3
trillion ($142.8 million). Those same inspections, of only 0.31 per cent of
non-state enterprises, showed that VND765 billion ($36.4 million) in taxes
has been dodged.”
National Assembly
deputy Tran Hoang Ngan, representing
“Last year
HPG
expansion to make it
Leading steel
producer Hoa Phat Group (HOSE:HPG) plans to expand its capacity to become
After construction
on the third phase of its VND3 trillion ($142.2 million) integrated steel
complex is completed in the next year-and-a-half, HPG’s annual capacity will
rise to two million tonnes from the current 1.15 million tonnes, enabling the
firm to surpass Pomina (HOSE:POM), which has a current capacity of 1.6
million tonnes.
HPG earned net
profit of VND1.874 trillion ($88.8 million) in the first half of 2014 on
revenues of VND13.339 trillion ($632.2 million), up 85 per cent and 60 per
cent on-year. Its sales in the period were 445,000 tonnes, up 37.74 per cent.
Also in the first
half, HPG led the domestic steel market with 18 per cent market share, and
started exporting its product to many countries in ASEAN. In June it became
the first Vietnamese steel producer to supply steel products to
ASEAN
tariff reduction not lower car prices as expectation
Although ASEAN auto
tariff rate has fallen from 60 percent to 50 percent on less than 25 seat
types since early 2014 but Vietnamese consumers’ dream of purchase cars at
low prices has not come true due to the outrageously high taxes and fees set
by importers. Those taxes make the cost of getting a car often increase as
high as twice or triple the original price.
Domestic car prices
are found 1.5 time higher than that in Asia and as high as triple the
Freelance
businessman Nguyen Trung Quang in Tan Phu District,
However, Mr. Quang
has purchased the car from an auto import company at US$60,000 including
tariff, exercise, value added taxes and an extra of nearly ten kinds of fees
including registration fee, road toll, fees for license plate and premiums.
For instance, a
Toyota Yaris E is priced US$17,700 (VND400 million) abroad. It escalates to
VND661 million after being imported. The price of a domestically assembled
Suzuki Swift is VND550 million, VND200 million higher that in
According to the
Industrial Policy and Strategy Institute under the Ministry of Industry and Trade,
costlier production fee and higher exercise tax make the prices of less than
nine seat cars higher than that in other Asian nations.
In addition, high
selling prices set by the importers also make heavy consumers’ dream.
For instance, after
importing a high class car at US$33,000, businesses sell it at US$121,000
earning $12,394 (VND260 million).
Another high class
modal is imported at $40,000 and sold at VND3 million, bringing the importers
US$11,805 (VND250 million) per car.
Ten items
make over US$58 billion in exports
Ten items earned
US$58.34 billion from exports, accounting for 69.5% of the nation’s total
export turnover over the past seven months of the year.
Phones and
accessories ranked first with US$13.33 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15.41%,
followed by garment with US$11.5 billion, up 19.54% and footwear with US$5.78
billion, up 22.46%.
Computers,
electronics and spare parts came fourth with a turnover of US$5.53 billion.
Crude oil raked fifth with US$4.77 billion, up 11.97% and aquatic products
US$4.27 billion, up 26.71%.
Other items joined
the US$1 billion export clubs such as machines, equipment and spare parts
US$4.13 billion, up 24.02%, timber US$3.38 billion, up 14.19%, vehicles and
accessories US$3.32 billion, up 9.93% and US$2.33 billion, up 22.63%.
Vietnamese
banks race to open branches overseas
Many Vietnamese
banks have been racing to open branches in other countries to increase their
competitiveness and facilitate Vietnamese companies’ overseas investments.
After getting the approval
from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Ho Chi Minh City Housing Development
Bank (HDBank) said that it was competing procedures to open a representative
office in
Vietnam Bank for
Investment and Development (BIDV) and Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for
Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) have both been licensed to set up their
offices in the neighbouring country.
In September of
2011, Vietinbank became the first Vietnamese bank to set up operations in
According to Phan
Huy Khang, general director of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank,
Vietnamese banks are also open to certain risks when operating abroad. They
must compete with local banks and even other Vietnamese banks in the same
country.
Experts say that
expanding operations in foreign countries will help banks to open up new
markets and opportunities as well diversify their products. This would also
help Vietnamese companies, many of which are also expanding into neighboring
countries.
Dr. Le Dang Dat,
from University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City, however, warned that the
State Bank of Vietnam should keep close scrutiny over the financial capacity
of banks which invest abroad so as to mitigate risks for banks and their
customers. Dat added that Vietnamese banks should improve their risk
management systems in general.
Circular on
tax for foreign organizations, individuals in Vietnam
The Ministry of
Finance has issued Circular No. 103/2014/TT-BTC guiding tax
levied on foreign organizations and individuals operating business in
Revenues from
business, machines and insurance leasing, construction and installation without
the supply of raw materials, machinery and equipment will be subject to a
value-added tax rate of 5%.
For production,
transportation and services in association with products, construction and
installation with the supply of raw materials, machinery and equipment, the
rate is 3% and other business activities, the rate is 2%.
The trade
distribution, goods supply, materials, supplies, machinery and equipment;
distribution and goods supply, materials,
supplies,machinery
and equipment in accordance with service in Vietnam will be subject to a
corporate income tax of 1%; for services, equipment leasing, insurance, oil
rig rent, the tax is 5%; for production, business, transportation (including
shipping, air transport), it is 2%; for the transfer of securities,
certificates of deposit, foreign reinsurance, and reinsurance commission, the
rate is 0.1%.
Companies
attempt to gain from preferential policy for fishermen
The Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development refused requests from seafood companies for
low-interest loans for the importation of old fishing ships.
The Duc Khai
Corporation and Tri Viet Seafood Company have been asking for permission to
use the preferential loan policy for fishermen, designed to help fishermen
continue their offshore expeditions, to import hundreds of second-hand
fishing boats.
According to the
request sent by Tri Viet, they intend to import 72 ships from the
Similarly, the Duc
Khai Corporation wanted to take out loans at an interest rate of 1% to import
100 30-year-old ships. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
pointed out that the proposal did not meet the requirements. Regulations
state that, in order to get preferential loans, investors can only import
ships 8 years old or less.
Deputy Minister Vu
Van Tam also pointed out that, despite the ambitious proposal, the Duc Khai
Corporation had not made any plans for investment, or seafood exploitation.
Tam said they
needed a proper monitoring mechanism to avoid such situations.
"Investors should have to register their plans with communal
authorities. The communal authorities should inspect and review all the
information before submitting the plan to provincial authorities."
Several experts
have also said that enterprises should invest in seafood processing and
distribution instead of the importation of more ships.
Vietnamese
authorities have a couple options on the table for the efficient regulation
of legal casino gambling for Vietnamese citizens, including a possible
requirement to verify income.
Recently the
Ministry of Finance (MoF) proposed that the government allow Vietnamese
citizens aged 21 or over to visit casinos.
However, in order
to better control the operations of casinos and and prevent social harms
related to the industry, Vietnamese authorities are considering making it
necessary for citizens to prove their monthly incomes before entering a
casino.
An anonymous
official from the MoF said they had proposed that the government divide
Vietnamese gamblers into two groups. Frequent gamblers would have to prove a
minimum monthly income of VND15 million, while others would have to prove
they have equivalent assets which could be used as collateral.
Nguyen Truong Son,
chairman of the Bao Son Group, said that casino managers should learn from
the experience of golf course operators, who require players to pay for
membership.
However, some
warned of the possible pitfalls in such a policy. Professor Ha Ton Vinh, who
studies the field, said.“It’s no easy task to verify incomes, as some may try
to find loopholes, such as taking out loans in order to falsely inflate their
incomes.”
He suggested that
collecting entrance fees could be a good way to minimise risks. Currently, he
said,
Vinh suggested,
that for
He went on to
suggest that other steps might be taken to mitigate harmful social effects,
such as the MoF assigning special envoys to casinos to verify gamblers.
A modern hybrid
rice research centre was inducted in
The launching
ceremony was held on the morning of August 14 in Tan Thinh Commune of
northern
The centre covers
of four hectares, and was built at a cost of over VND30 billion (USD1.41
million) by Syngenta Group. This is the first modern rice research centre
built and operated by an international group in
It is equipped with
the most modern facilities to serve scientific research on rice
hybridisation.
Dr. Nguyen Thi
Thanh Thuy, deputy director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development (MARD) Department of Science, Technology and Environment, said
that currently
“Despite being a
major rice exporter,
She added that
hybrid rice varieties are expected to play an important role in world
agriculture in the near future because of their higher productivity, better
quality and resistance to climate change. As a result, according to her, it
will be necessary to improve the capacity to produce hybrid rice in order to
create stable domestic supply as well as improve rice output and quality.
“The establishment
of the centre will help Vietnamese researchers and scientists cooperate and
gain access to gene sources from around the world, as well as apply modern
technologies in agriculture. We expect that
Gloverson Moro,
head of R&D Asia-Pacific at Syngenta said, “We decided to build the
centre in Nam Dinh because the province holds certain advantages for rice
production, and is a heart of rice production in northern
Phase one of the
project involves importing rice varieties from centres operated by Syngenta
from around the world. To date, two hybrid rice varieties are under development,
and the centre is expected to produce two to three high-quality hybrids by
2017.
The second phase is
expected to be realised in 2017.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
|
Thứ Bảy, 23 tháng 8, 2014
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét