BUSINESS IN BRIEF 22/9 Thailand becomes top importer of Vietnamese tra fish Vietnamese exports to Thailand of Vietnamese tra fish in the first seven months of the year skyrocketed up 40% on-year to US$27.98 million, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). As of late July, Thailand became the leading nation to import Vietnamese tra fish in the ASEAN bloc. According to statistics from the International Trade Centre (ITC), Thailand imported 10,070 tonnes of tra fish and frozen fish fillets in the seven month period, of which 99.8% (equivalent to 10,047 tonnes) came from Vietnam. Steel tariffs imposed to protect domestic market The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has issued an order imposing anti-dumping tariffs on stainless steel to protect the domestic market and create a level playing field between imported and local products. This is the first time Vietnam has levied anti-dumping tariffs on imports from other nations to the local market following its integration into the global economy. However, there remain differing opinions on the question as to the actual impact of the tariffs on domestic consumption and production. The MoIT said it is levying tariffs ranging from 3.07% to 37%  specifically on cold-rolled stainless steel products imported from China, Indonesia, Taiwan (China) and Malaysia. Earlier, in 2013, two businesses including Posco VST and Hoa Binh Inox asked the Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA) to initiate an anti-dumping investigation on stainless steel imports from the four countries. Before imposing the anti-dumping tariffs, the VCA investigated the case for over one year. The results showed businesses from these nations had dumped their products in the domestic market, causing unfair competitiveness for local businesses. Ho Nghia Dung, President of the Vietnam Steel Association said the MoIT’s decision is accurate and prudent. When foreign businesses dump their products in the local market, Vietnamese businesses should request an anti-dumping investigation to protect themselves in accordance with international norms. However, many import businesses do not agree with the decision. They suggest that if the anti-dumping tariffs are imposed, steel prices might escalate, resulting in further damages for both Vietnamese consumers and businesses. SunHouse Group President Nguyen Xuan Phu suggests the anti-dumping tariffs levied on businesses’ input materials probably will increase the product final price by at least 5%, leading to lower competitiveness. The simple fact is, no local businesses can produce cold-rolled stainless steel and they must of necessity import steel rolls for outsourcing activities. If anti-dumping tariffs are imposed on these companies they will pass the tariffs back on to the Vietnamese businesses in the form of higher prices. It’s a circular argument Phu said and the issue is not reasonable.   Mr Phu said if anti-dumping tariffs are imposed on steel imports, then Vietnamese businesses either cannot import these products or must pay higher prices. In the future when Vietnam joins the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the situation will change, but right now imposing the tariffs only hurts Vietnamese businesses. Pham Chau Giang, a representative from the VCA under the MoIT said in her view the imposition of anti-dumping tariffs not only aims to protect local production but also creates fairness between imports and local goods. Many businesses are concerned the tariffs may raise input costs across the board for finished products, resulting in increased sales prices with the final consumer ultimately paying them through increased sales prices. Ms Giang explained the dumping tariffs only apply in the situation when foreign businesses deliberately sell their products in Vietnam at a lower price than in their own country’s market, so these concerns are unwarranted. At present, many nations have exported steel into Vietnam. However, anti-dumping tariffs have been imposed only on the mentioned above four nations. Therefore, there is no need for alarm as local businesses can import steel from other nations. The decision on imposition of the anti-dumping measures takes effect on October 5. To avoid affecting enterprises’ production activities, the VCA has informed local producers, foreign export businesses and local import companies about the decision. 2014 rice exports to Russia decline in volume, sales In the first nine months of the year, official statistics show Vietnam exports of rice to Russia dipped 12.6% in volume and 5.3% in sales to 485,000 tonnes compared to the corresponding period last year. During the nine month period the average sales price of rice was down, hovering only around VND6,000 per kilogramme. Speaking at a recent conference reviewing year-to-date rice exports, Vice Chairman of Can Tho Municipal People’s Committee Truong Quang Hoang Nam acknowledged the rice exports to Russia were not great, comprising only 1.6% of total market share. The Mekong Delta province of Can Tho should target to improve agriculture technologies and exports to Russia in order to improve the livelihood of Vietnamese farmers in the province, Nam said. The province’s Department of Industry and Trade should co-ordinate with Can Tho city’s Investment and Trade Promotion Centre to effectively exploit the Russian market, update information on import tariffs and advertise trade names on Russian websites. Can Tho seeks to boost exports to Russian market The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho needs to promote the export of agricultural products and seafood to the Russian market in a bid to improve living standards for local farmers, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Truong Quang Hoai Nam has said. At a September 18 meeting with local agencies on commodity exports, Nam stated that Russia is a potential market for agricultural and aquatic products – a strength of Can Tho. He asked the municipal Department of Industry and Trade to work with the city’s Trade and Investment Promotion Centre to make market surveys, thus providing timely information on taxes and requirements on quality standards for local businesses. Enterprises eyeing the Russian market should pay more attention to diversifying export products, renewing patterns and promoting their goods on Russian language websites, he added. According to Nguyen Minh Toai, Director of the department, Can Tho’s main exports to Russia include rice, frozen, dried and salted fish, tra fish fillet, and mollusc. The shipment of agricultural and aquatic products now accounts only 1.6 percent of the country’s total exports to the Russian market, said the department. In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam shipped 485,000 tonnes of rice and 75,000 tonnes of seafood to Russia, representing year-on-year decreases of 12.6 percent and 38 percent, respectively. Northern localities seek to boost industry and trade A conference was held in the northern province of Lao Cai on September 17 to discuss how to bolster links between the 28 provinces and cities in the North. Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh asked the departments of industry and trade in the localities to promote administrative procedural reform in a bid to create favourable conditions for enterprises to operate. The industrial production value in the north is expected to reach 2.174 trillion VND (over 102 billion USD) this year, up 22.5 percent compared to 2013. The total value of goods sold totals 1,026 trillion VND (48 billion USD), a year-on-year increase of 16 percent. The localities have planned to increase their combined export turnover to 74 billion USD, 21.58 percent higher than originally planned for this year. To realise this goal, measures were proposed, focussing on the acceleration of infrastructure construction projects in industrial zones and parks, as well as the implementation of approved industrial and trade promotion schemes. Participants also highlighted the necessity to apply information technology to facilitate administrative procedures, improve the efficiency of state management and boost regional linkages. Industrial production and trade in the 28 northern provinces and cities saw a remarkable growth in the last two years, thus contributing significantly to national socio-economic development. In the first nine months of this year, the regional industrial production value reached 1,429 trillion VND (67 billion USD), up 8.9 percent from the same period last year. Meanwhile, the value of goods and services, and export turnover during the same period totalled more than 704 trillion VND (33 billion USD) and 45.87 billion USD, respectively, representing year-on-year rises of 12 percent and 21 percent. Viettel brand brings services to Timor Leste’s villages Telemor, a brand of the military-run telecom group Viettel in Timor Leste, has set up its network in the country’s villages and hamlets only after one year of infrastructure construction. It has installed 320 2G and 3G base transceiver stations and 1,600 km fiber optic covering 96 percent of the local population. It now boasts a widespread telecom equipment distribution system with 2,500 outlets. Telemor is leading the telecom market in Timor Leste with 400,000 customers. It expects to generate 17 million USD in revenue and 4 million USD in profit since the beginning of this year. Set up in 2012 with an initial investment of 15 million USD, Telemor has become the sixth overseas brand of Viettel, providing telecom services and equipment such as mobile phones, wire and wireless fixed phones and the Internet. Besides business operations, it has also paid much attention to community activities in the host country. Experts raise concerns over Hanoi’s massive supermarket plan Hanoi municipal authorities plan to build around 1,000 markets and trade centres of different kinds, but this has raised concerns among experts. At a recent conference, Hanoi's authorities announced a plan to build a network of wholesale and retail markets in the capital city by 2020 with a vision toward 2030. According to the Hanoi People’s Committee, the city will build 23 large supermarkets; 42 trade centres and 595 markets. However, economists have voiced concerns over issues such as the land fund, capital and infrastructure systems as well whether there is enough demand to support such a plan. Dr. Dang Dinh Dao, former head of the Institute of Economic Research and Development, under National Economics University, said that raising the number of supermarkets from 100 now to 1,000 in the next five years is too ambitious considering the city's current limited infrastructure condition. “For instance, supermarkets will have impact on traffic, road upkeep and parking lot constructions. Besides, it is important to have logistics plan distribution,” Dao added. Dao noted that it would be very difficult to arrange a large land fund for building so many markets in the inner-city areas of Hanoi. Dr. Dao Ngoc Nghiem, deputy chairman of Hanoi Urban Planning and Development Association, said that other infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and public works should be prioritised for land allotments. According to Vu Vinh Phu, chairman of the Hanoi Supermarket Association, 87% of people in Hanoi buy goods from more traditional temporary markets. Phu suggested that the planned number of markets to be cut by two thirds, adding that they should focus on improving product quality and service, instead of just expanding the scale of operations. Dr. Dao Ngoc Nghiem suggested that traditional markets be restored to become cleaner, particularly in terms of food safety. HSBC: Apparel, ICT equipment to spur Vietnam’s exports HSBC Bank in a report released on September 17 pointed out apparel and information and communications technology (ICT) equipment as important pillars supporting Vietnam to maintain strong export growth in years to come. In the Trade Connections report, HSBC said Vietnam has built a strong foothold on global markets for textile and garment products, backed by comparatively low wages and its central location in Asia. ICT equipment has emerged as among the top export earners in the country. “Led by these two industries, we expect exports to grow by more than 11% per year from 2014 to 2020,” the bank said in the report. HSBC also said the short-term outlook for Vietnam is positive with the Trade Confidence Index rising to 120 in the first half of this year, the highest in three and a half years. Last year, Vietnam’s exports expanded by almost 17% with shipments of Vietnam’s two biggest export products - clothing and apparel and ICT equipment growing by around 25%. Supported by strong exports, Vietnam has run a substantial trade surplus since 2012 and this has helped to stabilize the currency. The bank said garment and textile products are the spotlight of trade as Vietnam is located centrally in Asia and wages are lower than in China, which is also a major apparel exporter of the world. Education is improving among the large population and the technological infrastructure is good. These factors have supported the growth of low cost manufacturing sectors such as garments. The key markets for Vietnamese garments have gradually shifted eastwards. Indeed, in 2013 around 6% of textile and garment exports went to China and 12% to the rest of Asia excluding Japan. By 2020, the share going to China is forecast to double, reflecting greater demand for consumer products from the emerging middle class. According to a survey of HSBC, almost half of respondents expect trade flows to increase over the next six months, with a third of respondents citing higher demand from key markets as the main reason. Vietnam dong has stabilized since 2012, helped by the move into external surplus, but high import needs mean the surplus will narrow in coming years and 22% of respondents are still concerned about currency volatility. The trade confidence index rose to 120 in the first six months of this year, the highest in three and a half years but still down on the record level of 132 in the first half of 2010. Besides, 54% of respondents ticked high costs of logistics, shipping and storage as a barrier to trade growth. Vietnam has made significant progress in improving its business environment over the last decade, but it is crucial that these efforts continue, the bank said. Home loans abound Many banks are rushing to offer preferential home loan packages to customers as housing developers are launching multiple sales programs. There are many loan packages with preferential interest rates for home buyers but most of them are attached to housing products of developers that have signed cooperation agreements with the lenders. VietinBank, for instance, is providing preferential loans at a rate of 7.99% per year in 12 months for individuals who want financial support to buy apartments at the Sunrise City developed by Novaland in District 7. Similarly, potential homebuyers of The Park Residence project in Nha Be District can take out loans at VPBank at an interest rate of 4.9% per year. Meanwhile, Hong Leong Bank is offering a zero rate in the first three months and rates of 6.99-9.5% in the first year to buyers of projects like Thao Dien Pearl, The Vista, Hoa Binh Green and Dai Phuoc Lotus. HDBank is offering a zero rate to buyers of section A at the EHome 5 project invested by Nam Long Investment Corporation in District 7 until the end of 2015 or until the investor hands over the apartments. Besides, the bank is providing loans at a fixed rate of 6% per year in the first two years with loans smaller than 75% of the value of an apartment, from now until August 31, 2016 to give its clients more options. Nam Long Investment is in partnership with VPBank and Vietcombank to financially assist those buying apartments in the EHome 4 project in Binh Duong Province. The price of EHome 4 apartments starts from VND450 million per unit. Nguyen Vinh Tran, general director of Nam Long Investment, said the company’s recent survey revealed that around 90% of buyers bought homes to live while the rest bought homes as an investment vehicle. Around 75% of those purchasing houses to live are not financially capable. Therefore, the cooperation between banks and developers not only assists buyers but also helps project developers sell houses, according to Tran. A banker in HCMC said home buyers feel more secure to buy apartments at projects with financial assistance from banks. Currently, interest rates for home loans are over 10% per year. However, banks are racing to offer lower rates and longer tenors. VIB has recently kicked off a lending program with an interest rate of 7.99% per year in the first six months and terms lasting up to 240 months. The bank has also launched an online loan counseling channel at vaychinhdang.vib.com.vn, enabling clients to manage their loans and loan payments. At BIDV, home buyers can gain access to the VND3.5-trillion loan package until February 13, 2015 at an interest rate of 7.8% in the first 12 months. There is also a preferential lending program at ACB with an interest rate of 8.9% in the first years. Besides, to attract clients, banks have extended home loan terms to 15-20 years. The terms can also last up to 25 years at some banks like Techcombank and VietBank. Securities tickers attract investors Stocks of leading securities companies soared on September 17 and attracted most of speculative money inflows as investors were expecting their good business results towards the end of the year. Viet Capital Securities Company (VCSC) in its on September 17’s comment said the market’s average daily turnover in the third quarter of this year has been 38% higher than that of the second quarter, and stock investors want to cash in on this. The HCMC market saw huge gains in nearly all listed securities companies such as SSI, KLS, HCM, BVS and VND. Most these stocks were traded at volumes two or three times higher than the average levels. FPT Securities Company noticed that oil and gas tickers were heavily sold after moving up strongly in recent days. The VN-Index lost two points, or 0.32%, against the previous session to close at 625.66. GAS, VNM and PVD together took away 2.16 points out of the main index while strong advances from BVH and SSI prevented it from a steep decline. However, trading volume of the HCMC market was still high with around 190 million shares worth a total VND3.6 trillion changing hands. There were 116 gainers while the number of laggards was 119. Saigon - Hanoi Securities Company said macroeconomic factors such as credit growth rate at 5.83% at the end of June, low interest rates and Vietnam’s credit rating upgrade by Fitch will help maintain optimism among investors. Therefore, the market downtrend will end soon. Foreign investors sold a total of VND377 billion on the southern bourse with GMD and HAG being divested heavily. Meanwhile, the Hanoi market was unchanged compared to the previous session to close at 90.16 with 145 million shares changing hands, up nearly 59.8%, while its value also expanded by 55.9% at VND2 trillion. Notably, there were 23 tickers jumping to the ceiling prices such as S55, SDC, VIX, BSC and CVT. Foreign investors continued staying on the selling side on the northern bourse, divesting 5.22 millions shares worth VND99.4 billion, while they bought only one million shares worth nearly VND30.5 billion. ANZ partners with Phu My Hung for mortgage services ANZ Vietnam Bank on September 17 announced its partnership with Phu My Hung Development Corporation to help customers get access to ANZ banking services when buying properties from the developer. Under the partnership, customers purchasing Phu My Hung properties will be given more options to choose a financial solution with ANZ’s mortgage services. ANZ currently offers interest rates of 7.5% for new loans, 1% discount for ANZ Signature Priority Banking customers and special ANZ Home Assist services with benefits on interior design services, packers & movers and home furnishings. Duong Duc Hung, ANZ head of Retail Banking in Vietnam, said this partnership aims at helping customers with demand for high-quality residential products. The bank offers competitive interest rates based on reducing loan balances for home loans, home investment loans, home construction loans and home equity loans. With loan tenors up to 20 years, customers can borrow up to 75% of the property value. Flexible interest rate re-pricing tenors of one, three, six months, one year and two years and redraw features are also offered to help customers manage interest rate risks. The lender now extends its mortgage lending service in Binh Duong Province. Currently, ANZ Vietnam has nine transaction outlets in the major cities of Hanoi and HCMC and representative offices in Binh Duong Province and Can Tho City. Travel site makes debut The travel site Gotadi.com will make its debut on September 18 in HCMC after years of preparations and database building to offer travelers with information about tours, air tickets and hotels to organize trips for themselves. Gotadi.com, an online travel agent, has integrated air tickets of over 900 airlines, 2,000 hotels in Vietnam and over 400,000 hotels worldwide, enabling travelers to easily search for information and compare airfares and hotel room rates. On this occasion, Gotadi.com is offering a 10% discount on domestic and outbound tours to those making bookings online at www.gotadi.com or at its office at 55 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in HCMC’s District 1 until Saturday. In addition to supplying services for individual customers, Gotadi.com also offers services to agents and corporate customers. They can book tickets and hotel rooms with their accounts opened at the site. On Gotadi.com, travelers can also share information, photos and feelings about their trips, and even mark places they have arrived or wish to visit on the map. To make it easy for customers, Gotadi.com has deployed many sales channels, including the online channel at www.gotadi.com, Gotadi.com’s office, the call center 1900 9002 and the agent system of Gotadi.com. It is also implementing the project’s second phase to upgrade the site and connect with more agents and partners in order to provide customers with better experience and more choices. Gov’t urges SOEs to get listed on stock market The local stock market is expected to have many new products in the coming time as the Government has issued a decision urging State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to carry out their equitization and listing plans soon. According to Decision 51/2014/QD-TTg, within 90 days from getting registration certificates, enterprises must finish procedures for registration of public firm status, stock custody and application for listing on the UPCoM, the market for unlisted public companies. Besides, SOE candidates are required to get listed on the stock market within a maximum of one year if they meet listing conditions in accordance with the decision, which takes effect on November 1. If SOEs have turned into joint stock companies before the effective date of the decision, they have to register and list on the market within a maximum of one year starting November 1. Under Government Decree 58/2012/ND-CP, enterprises wanting to get listed on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE) are required to have minimum chartered capital of over VND120 billion. Enterprises must have at least two years operating as joint stock companies by the time they apply for listing on HOSE. Besides, they should have a return on equity (ROE) ratio of at least 5% in the latest year and have been profitable in the two preceeding years. Overdue debts over one year and accumulated debts are disqualifiers for listing. In addition, at least 20% of shares with voting rights in a company must be held by at least 300 shareholders who are not majority shareholders, except for State-owned enterprises transformed into joint-stock firms given the Government’s direction. Meanwhile, the minimum chartered capital of listed firms on the Hanoi Stock Exchange will be VND30 billion. Qualified enterprises on this exchange are joint stock companies having been active for one year while at least 15% of shares with voting rights must be held by 100 shareholders. Tran Anh Dao, deputy general director of HOSE, said many public companies fail to meet the condition of ROE from 5%, especially in a time of economic hardship. At a conference introducing Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) initial public offering (IPO) in July, the group announced to list on the market three years after the IPO. Besides, according to its financial statement, Vinatex reached ROE of only 4.73% and 4.94% in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The decision also stipulates that State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) can consider acquiring SOE stakes if the firms fail to withdraw from banks, financial and insurance companies. Thai firms want to join hands with Vietnam in agriculture Enterprises from Thailand’s Chachoengsao Province have expressed their keen interest in cooperating with Vietnamese firms to grow and process agricultural products, as well as to distribute their products in Vietnam’s market. Deputy Governor of Chachoengsao Province Paisan Wimonsut said enterprises of the province wanted to present their typical agricultural products and expected to join hands with Vietnamese firms in agriculture. Chachoengsao is known for growing rice, coffee and mango, and processing mango products, as well as fishery, he told the meeting on trade exchange and cooperation between enterprises of the Thai province and Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, held on Tuesday in Can Tho City. Chairat Sothornopabutra, director of a firm processing mango products in the province, said the dried mango product of his firm is now favored in the region and has been exported to Cambodia and several ASEAN countries. “I hope the product will be exported to Vietnam thanks to our cooperation with Vietnamese firms,” he said. At the meeting, the Thai delegation, enterprises in the delta and An Giang Fisheries Association signed two memoranda of understanding to cooperate in farming the freshwater fish barramundi and processing mango products. Vo Hung Dung, director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Can Tho City, suggested that Chachoengsao Province pay more attention to other agriculture fields in Vietnam apart from the two sectors in the memoranda, saying that both Vietnam and Thailand have many similarities in agriculture production. Thailand’s agriculture is more developed than Vietnam’s, especially in farm produce processing, and Thailand has exported many products of popular brandnames, Dung said, and called for Thailand’s support in the field. He also urged the Thai partners to share experiences in tourism development so that Vietnam can develop the model of associating tourism with agricultural production in the Mekong Delta. Vietnam needs good strategy to boost fruit exports stateside Vietnam needs a good strategy to boost exports of litchi and longan to the U.S., said economic experts following the latter’s decision to open its market for these fruits. If Vietnam does not have well-prepared plans, the fruit export volume will be as low as the shipments of dragon fruit and rambutan to the U.S. at present. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that Vietnamese logan and litchi can enter the U.S. after undergoing irradiation from October 10 this year, according to the Plant Protection Department under the agriculture ministry. However, experts said that local exporters must take great pains to grasp this opportunity, and learn from the past lessons of dragon fruit and rambutan exports seriously. In 2008, following the U.S. permission to allow for dragon fruit exports to this market, Vietnam shipped around 100 tons of this fruit, and the figure jumped to 1,200 tons in 2013. However, despite the sizeable market stateside, dragon fruit export to this market will barely inch up this year. Similarly, rambutan export volume has stood at only 300 tons a year over the past three years due to the lack of a good marketing strategy and the low quality of products, specialists said. Nguyen Huu Dat, director of the Post-Import Plant Quarantine Center II, said that there must be a well-prepared plan for export of each type of fruit, and to do this, local enterprises must comprehend demands in the U.S. market and challenges from other foreign competitors on that market. Other experts said that the opening of the U.S. market for Vietnamese fruits is just the beginning, and domestic companies have to find American partners to import and deliver Vietnamese fruits to the market. Professor Vo Tong Xuan, rector of Can Tho University, said several other conditions must be met to win contracts to ship logan and litchi to the U.S. “Export enterprises should coordinate with farmers to turn out products that meet importer’s demands in terms of quality,” Xuan said. The Mekong Delta currently has over 40,000 hectares under longan cultivation, mainly in Tien Giang, Dong Thap, Ben Tre and Vinh Long provinces, with an annual output of around 615,000 tons of longan supplied to the domestic market, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture. Meanwhile, farming areas for litchi are all in the north, with an annual yield of some 200,000 tons. SMC in deal to set up new joint venture SMC Trading Investment JSC has struck a deal with its partners Toami Corp. and Hanwa Co. Ltd. to establish a joint venture called SMC Toami Co. Ltd. SMC said in a statement that the partnership will enable it to further enhance its competitiveness via improved product quality and material supply stability. Located in Phu My 1 Industrial Park in Tan Thanh District in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, SMC Toami has chartered capital of US$3 million with each of SMC and Hanwa contributing 25% and the rest made by Toami. The joint venture will manufacture and process welded wire mesh at its plant in the industrial park as well as import, export and distribute steel products. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, chairman and general director of SMC, said Hanwa has been a major shareholder of SMC since 2012 and currently aids SMC in management, production technology and business partnership programs. Via Hanwa, SMC has been able to partner with Toami and establish the joint venture company. “Toami is among Japan’s leading manufacturers of various kinds of welded wire mesh with modern technology,” Anh said. “This partner is committed to transferring its latest production technology to the joint venture.” Hanwa will help SMC Toami with stable and reasonably-priced material supply. In addition, projects of Japanese companies will be recommended to SMC Toami by Hanwa so that the joint venture can have more chances of winning product supply contracts. Iron and steel producer SMC posted growth of around 10% in recent years. SMC has four plants processing different kinds of hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel products, and galvanized steel with a combined capacity of 300,000 tons per year, along with six member companies and a joint venture with Japan’s Sumitomo. This year, the company aims for a sales volume of about 800,000 tons, including construction steel, hot rolled steel, cold rolled steel, galvanized steel and steel structures. Its total production reached 414,500 tons and sales stood at some VND5.5 trillion in the first six months of this year. Audi Vietnam opens car showroom in Cambodia Automotive Asia Ltd., better known as Audi Vietnam, an official importer of Audi vehicles in Vietnam, opened its first showroom in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh on Monday after two years of preparation. Audi Phnom Penh showroom located on Monivong Boulevard is designed according to the latest concept of Audi Terminal, including a display area, a spare parts warehouse, a repair workshop and staff trained by Audi AG. All equipment for the showroom is imported from Germany-based Audi AG. This showroom is also equipped with a computerized diagnostic system directly connected to Audi AG at the reception, seven cabins and four lifting bridges for maintenance and repair. Audi Phnom Penh covers 2,200 square meters with total investment of up to US$2 million. At the opening ceremony, Audi Vietnam introduced luxury sedans A8 and SUV Q7 with V6 TFSI 3.0 engine to customers in Cambodia. Audi Vietnam has maintained its two-digit growth from the beginning of this year. Customers in both Vietnam and Cambodia now can use Audi’s services in Hanoi, HCMC and Phnom Penh. Binh Duong approves 42 new investment projects Authorities of Binh Duong Province on September 16 awarded certificates to 37 fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) and operational projects with total pledges of nearly US$380 million, and five locally invested projects worth a combined VND5 trillion. Of all the projects, most in the manufacturing industry, two are more notable for their scales. These are Kingtec Vietnam, which manufactures medical equipment, and Nam Phuong Textile Company. Marcus IP, CEO of Nam Phuong Textile Company, said his company is a US$120-million joint venture between Hong Kong’s Haputex Development Limited and Viet Huong Investment Development Joint Stock Company on a 64-36 footing, aiming to build a textile factory. Located at Viet Huong 2 Industrial Park in Binh Duong’s Ben Cat District, the factory will cover 12 hectares with a capacity of producing 36 million meters of fabric a year in the first phase. The capacity is likely to double in the second phase. Work on the factory will begin in November this year for completion after about one year. All textile products will most likely be exported to the U.S. and Japan, he added. The company decided to put its money into Vietnam because it will enjoy zero import tariffs once Vietnam signs the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. For the other project approved on September 16, Han Chiao International Co., Ltd established Kingtec Vietnam to build a medical equipment factory at My Phuoc 3 Industrial Park in Binh Duong’s Ben Cat District. The first phase of this project costs US$50 million. The factory will be constructed on an area of 10 hectares with a capacity of as many as 100,000 products a year. Stanley Huang, a representative of Kingtec Vietnam, said the company has some manufacturing facilities in China and Taiwan. Due to the high labor cost in China, the company decided to turn to Vietnam because the country offers low labor cost and many supportive incentives as well. Apart from fresh FDI projects, operational ones have also pledged more capital in the province. Esquel Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd, which is active in apparel, printed fabric and plastic bag production at Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park, has decided to raise its investment capital to US$60 million from US$25 million. General Director Kent Teh said although the company was hit by the worker protests in May, the Government and local authorities have offered financial support. As such, it doubled its investment capital in an effort to expand its business. As for the locally invested projects, An Binh Company was allowed to build a VND3.6-trillion factory that is capable of manufacturing 100,000 tons of paper products a year in the first phase of the project at Bau Bang Industrial Park. Binh Duong Province’s chairman Le Thanh Cung said at the certificate award function on September 16 that the Government and provincial authorities would make more efforts to restore the investors’ confidence in the business environment in the province. The province will also order relevant agencies to support the investors so that they can have peace of mind to do long-term business, Cung added. There have been 1,412 newly-registered companies approved in Binh Duong and 254 operational firms injecting more capital in the year to date, with a total sum of nearly VND7.5 trillion. As for foreign investments, the province has attracted US$1.4 billion in FDI in the year to date, a year-on-year rise of 26%. Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR