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BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 23/9
Viettel
provides network service in East Timor
Telemor, a brand of
the telecom group Viettel, now provides network service to remote
A total of 320 2G
and 3G base transceiver stations and 1,600km of fibre optic cable now link up
96 per cent of the local population. Telemor has developed an equipment
distribution system with 2,500 outlets. The company has 400,000 customers,
leading the country's telecom market. It expects to generate US$17 million in
revenue and $4 million in net profit this year.
The association
cited figures from the Viet Nam General Department of Customs showing that
tra fish export turnover reached US$27.98 million, representing a 40-per cent
increase over that of the same period last year.
VASEP also cited
figures from the International Trade Centre showing
According to VASEP,
As of mid-August
2014, Vietnamese tra fish exports to ASEAN countries was estimated to reach
$87.5 million, representing a 13.3-per cent increase over that of the same
period last year.
While tra fish
exports to ASEAN, the third largest importer after the Europe Union (EU) and
the United States (US), posted growth, exports to the EU dropped by 7.3 per
cent over that of the same period last year to $220 million.
The EU was
currently the country's biggest tra fish importer, accounting for 21 per cent
of total tra fish export turnover.
FPT Trading
becomes sole Symantec distributor
American technology
company Symantec Corporation announced this week that FPT Trading would be
its sole distributor in
Under the
agreement, FPT Trading, a subsidiary of Vietnamese software giant FPT, will
be solely responsible for distributing Symantec products in
"This is an
important turning point in the relationship between FPT Trading and Symantec
after 10 years of successful co-operation. We believe that our experience and
Symantec's leading technology will bring success for both companies to
deliver data protection solutions for businesses efficiently," said Tran
Quoc Hoai, FPT Trading general director.
"With the
support of FPT Trading, we are confident that we can make a stronger
impression on the
Seagate
sees rising demand for SSHDs
Storage solutions
provider Seagate Technology said it has shipped its 10-millionth solid-state
hybrid hard drive (SSHD) as a result of rising demand for this product in the
last two years.
According to the
United States-based company, SSHDs typically deliver three to four times the
performance of traditional hard drives in typical PC workloads, a key factor
driving demand among PC vendors and buyers.
Explosive data
growth from mobile applications, cloud infrastructures, social media and
business
applications, as well as a wide variety of consumer markets, are fuelling the
demand for systems integrating SSHDs.
New rolling
door technology debuts in Ha Noi
Austdoor Group has
introduced its latest Austmatic Rolling Code (ARC) technology that prevents
theft by generating a variety of authentication codes at fixed intervals to
open electric rolling doors.
The debut of the
new technology in the capital city on Monday made the company the first
rolling door producer to use this kind of technology in
ARC technology
makes use of a built-in clock and factory-encoded random key, and is capable
of generating billions of unrepeated codes. Each code is generated when a
user presses the remote control to operate the door. After this, the code is
automatically deleted and replaced by another random code.
Price of
gasoline cut for fifth time since August
The Viet Nam
National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) slashed the selling price of gasoline
yesterday.
The price of diesel
was cut to VND21,500 per litre and that of kerosene was reduced to VND21,670.
Mazut now costs VND18,100 per kilogramme.
The price of RON 92
gasoline will remain VND12 lower than the base price per litre, according to
the Ministry of Finance.
This is the fifth time
that retail prices have been cut since August. The latest price cut was on
September 9.
VN to
export rice to Philippines
The National Food
Authority (NFA) of the
Thai suppliers
offered the best price for 300,000 tonnes, so the NFA Auction Board announced
it would buy the amount from
The rice is
scheduled to be delivered between October 15 and December 15.
Can Tho
eyes Russian market
The Mekong Delta
city of
At present, Can
Tho's agricultural and aquatic products amount to only 1.6 per cent of
At Wednesday's
meeting on commodity exports, vice-chairman of the municipal People's
Committee, Truong Quang Hoai
The surveys will
seek information on taxes and quality requirements for goods eyeing the
Russian market.
He suggested that
businesses should diversify export products and promote their goods on
Russian websites.
Director of the
Department of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Minh Toai, said Can Tho's main
exports to
In the first nine
months of this year,
PAN to
raise funds via share sale
Retailer Pan
Pacific (PAN) expects to raise VND752.5 billion (US$35.3 million) from
strategic shareholders to finance investment projects and the acquisition of
other companies in the sector.
Exactly 25 million
shares will be issued for a maximum of 100 investors at VND30,000 per share.
PAN concluded trading yesterday at VND46,000, representing a 1.1-per cent
slide.
CEO Group
to list 34m shares
Property and
education services developer CEO Group will list 34.31 million shares at the
Ha Noi Stock Exchange on September 29.
In the first six
months of this year, the company earned a revenue of VND101 billion (4.7
million), representing a 125-per cent increase compared with that of the same
period last year, and its profits reached VND20.8 billion, representing a
140-per cent increase compared with that of the same period last year.
Construction
firm plans divestitures
PetroVietnam
Construction (PVX) is totally divesting from 13 companies, mainly in the
construction and real estate business.
Offloading of
shares will be done through order matching on the stock market until the end
of next year. The transaction prices will be market prices at the time of the
sale but will not be lower than the price during PVX's initial investment.
The company ended yesterday's session higher by five per cent at VND6,300.
Business community
supports the Government to build independent economy
The Vietnam Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and business associations signed a joint
statement on an action programme for
The aim of the
joint statement is to connect Vietnamese businesses, coordinate with the
Government and international businesses, and build an independent and
competitive economy.
Chairman of VCCI Vu
Tien Loc said the programme focuses on four main groups of actions, namely
joining hands with governmental agencies to reform institutions, to create a
favourable and transparent business environment and to restructure the
economy; designing and implementing programmes to enhance enterprises’
competitive capacity; boosting connectivity and building a strong network of
business associations; and nurturing a business culture that is deeply imbued
with national identity.
Speaking at the
event, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan spoke highly of VCCI’s effective
cooperation with governmental agencies to foster constructive dialogues
between the business community and governmental agencies as well as local
authorities. The VCCI also plays an important role in encouraging the
business community to make feedback and recommendations to the Government on
policies and laws, aiming to improving the business and investment
environment.
According to the
VCCI, the country now has more than 300 business associations, with one third
of them operating on a national scale.
Corporations
urged to improve social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility
(CSR) is an international norm and an important factor for inclusive and
sustainable industrial development (ISID) in
Sharing this point
of view, Chairwoman of the Association of Vietnam Retailers (AVR) Dinh Thi My
Loan stated that Vietnamese businesses face substantial challenges in terms
of competitiveness with international retailers such as Lotte, E-Mart (RoK),
AEON, Takashimaya (Japan), and Aucham (France), thus requiring them to
innovate their business strategies, in which consumer confidence plays a key
role.
According to
Florian Beranek, Chief Technical Advisor of the UNIDO-Vietnam Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (VCCI) CSR project, multilateral dialogues are
effective tools that help businesses understand the demands, challenges and
opportunities of CSR. Improving a business’ social activities would boost its
competitiveness and provide opportunities for production units, as well as
reduce the negative impacts on the environment and resources and establish a
positive relationship with relevant stakeholders, he said.
Currently, UNIDO is
working to help Vietnamese corporations improve their CSR on consumer
confidence via standardisation. This includes the implementation of joint
projects with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the social enterprise
SECO on enhancing measurement capabilities, ensuring food safety and
developing a system to trace food to its origins. The UN agency has also
coordinated with the Ministry of Health and WHO to encourage pharmaceutical
production in
During the forum,
an official from the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) revealed that a
draft national action plan for sustainable production and consumption 2020 is
on the pipeline, in line with the UN’s next 10-year programme, along with
plans to implement the green growth strategy and environmental protection
strategy.
Hai Phong
city boosts marine-based economy
The northern city
of
Head of Hai Phong
Port Authority Bui Van Minh said in the first seven months of 2014, Hai Phong
seaport had received 10,430 domestic and foreign ships, a 12 percent year on
year increase and the volume of goods via the seaport had reached 37.2
million, up 17 percent over the same period last year.
Hai Phong is a
centrally-governed coastal city about 102 km from
After more than 100
years of establishment and development, Hai Phong seaport has an important
role in the domestic and foreign trade activities. The seaport system has
always played a key role in the city’s economy through shipping services,
storage and a large number of other support services.
To promote the
development of the seaport system, the city has created favourable mechanisms
for Dinh Vu seaport area. The city has planned to move businesses along the
According to
marine-based economy experts, the limitation of the Hai Phong seaport system
has revealed in its scattered investment. The data of Hai Phong Port
Authority showed that the city has 42 wharves with quay length of over 10km.
The average loading and unloading capacity of the whole seaport system is
only 50-60 percent of advanced seaports in the
The experts also
said that to make the most of the advantages offered by maritime trade, Hai
Phong needs to develop a sustainable and efficient marine-based economy;
invest in marine science; set up mechanism of cross-sectoral coordination in
sea management; and boost multilateral cooperation on marine-based economic
development.
Suspension
of sugar-cane mills threatens farmers
Thousands of
farmers in the Mekong Delta have been worried about their livelihoods since
the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment proposed to halt the
operation of two sugar-cane mills.
Two sugar-cane mills
in Ca Mau and Tra Vinh provinces have been repeatedly ordered to deal with
pollution problems caused by those facilities since 2003, but those problem
have remained unsolved. In 2013, there was a resolution on industrial
pollution which demanded the two mills, Tra
Vinh Sugar Plant
and Thoi Binh Sugar Plant, to take effective measures to deal with their
pollution by the end of June, 2014.
An inspection
carried out by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment revealed
that the factories had ignored the warnings. The ministry then fined each
factory VND230 million (USD10,950) and proposed a nine-month suspension. In
August, Ca Mau and Tra Vinh provincial authorities expressed agreement with
ministry's determination to strictly deal with environment pollution.
However, the
authorities asked the ministry to wait until the two factories finish sugar
production for this year's crop before enforcing the suspension, which would
be delayed until May 2015 for Tra Vinh Plant and until July 2015 for Thoi Binh
Plant.
According to
provincial authorities, suspending the plants' operations at this particular
time would adversely affect the lives of over 3,000 farmers, who have grown
8,000 hectares of sugar-cane. In addition, the provinces would have to bear a
huge burden as a result of increased unemployment.
In this season, the
price of sugar-cane is too low to profit the farmers. Luu Nghiep Anh, a
farmer in Tra Vinh, said, "If the plant stopped working, the prices
would plummet. Traders would reduce what they are willing to pay because of
the increased transport fees needed to take the sugar cane to sugar mills
farther away."
Nguyen Thanh Long,
chairman of the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association, said, "We can
only ask other plants in the Mekong Delta to adjust their schedules in order
to help the farmers in Ca Mau and Tra Vinh in case the two factories there
are shut down." However, few factories are enthusiastic about the idea
because the profit would low and it would be inconvenient for them to change
their schedules.
Anti-dumping
measures encouraged
As the country
integrates into the global economy, anti-dumping tariffs will be one of the
most effective tools for domestic enterprises to protect their market share,
experts said at a conference on Thursday in Ha Noi.
The conference
followed the Ministry of Industry and Trade's decision to impose tariffs on
steel imports from mainland
Anti-dumping
tariffs are a legal measure allowed by the WTO to deal with dumped imports.
In other countries, enterprises use them as a business strategy when they
face unfair competition from foreign firms, explained Trang.
Nguyen Van Sua,
vice chairman of the Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA), said at the conference
that many Vietnamese exports, primarily steel, were the target of
anti-dumping tariffs. Thus, the recent move was a sign that Vietnamese firms
had started to use the measure proactively to protect the domestic industry
from the fierce competitiveness of foreign companies.
The tariff
imposition also created confidence among domestic enterprises and encouraged
them to follow suit, Sua added.
In the ten years
since the Standing Committee of Viet Nam National Assembly's ordination on
anti-dumping against imports to
This revealed that
many domestic enterprises remained unconcerned with the measures. Relevant
enterprises were not well-prepared and faced difficulties such as a lack of
human resources and language barriers, according to Pham Chau Giang from the
VCA.
"When we
informed relevant agencies and enterprises to register to access documents,
many did not do. They only asked about the documents when the tariff
imposition was decided, but it was too late," she said.
Dam Quang Hung,
deputy director of the Son Ha International Joint Stock Company, expressed
worry that the tariff imposition could cause disadvantages for
steel-importing firms and buyers, as many domestic steel producers had
started to increase prices.
In response, Dau
Anh Tuan, head of the VCCI legislation board, said the tariff would benefit
the economy and consumers in the long term. Foreign enterprises might have
low prices now, but they could increase them later after wiping out domestic
producers.
Withdrawal
of Japanese investor stalls steel project
JPE came to the
decision after two years of assessing the Quang Lien steel project, which is
designed to have an annual capacity of five million tonnes.
This is considered
a bad news, not only for this particular project, but also for the province's
prospects of attracting further foreign investment.
Eight years after
the USD4.5-billion project was initiated, only offices and the factory fences
have been built.
Pham Chi Cuong,
former chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association, said the investor of the
project is a Taiwanese company called Tycoons.
“In 2006, Tycoons
pledged to invest USD1 billion in the project, quite a significant investment
for Quang Ngai. One year later, it set up a joint venture with E-United
Group. Tycoons divested to only a 10% stake and soon completely pulled out,”
Cuong said.
A short time later,
the investor pledged to increase its investment to USD3 billion, but several
years after work began, there is not much to show for it. Surprisingly, the
investors again raised their pledged investment to USD4.5 billion, but with
the same results.
“These regular
increases in pledged investment are just moves to avoid pressure from the
authorities amid in light of stagnant construction. Relevant authorities have
had doubts about the investor’s financial capacity since 2010,” Cuong noted.
When JPE showed
interest in the project, it was expected that construction may be resumed.
However, JPE's withdrawal means uncertain future for the project.
In 2012, Quang Ngai
provincial authorities threatened to revoke the company's investment license
unless the situation improved but it's hard to understand why it had not
already been cancelled.
“In response to
prompts by authorities, in early 2012, E-United proposed to raise the
project’s capacity to seven million tonnes per year. The proposal was turned
down because it was so unrealistic,” he said.
Vo Tien Dung,
deputy chief of Dung Quat Economic Zone’s Management Board, said E-United
plans to meet with provincial authorities on September 19 in order to discuss
plans for implementation.
If the investor
wants to continue the project, they will have to work out a detailed plan for
construction, which they would be required to strictly comply with, under
threat of their license being revoked. If the project is cancelled, they
investor would be refunded their investment, estimated at between USD40
million and USD50 million so far, Dung added.
Experts
raise concerns over
At a recent
conference,
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
“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
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
Dr. Dao Ngoc Nghiem
suggested that traditional markets be restored to become cleaner,
particularly in terms of food safety.
Prime Minister,
Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a plan to build
PM Dung asked the
Binh Thuan Provincial People’s Committee, the State agency in charge of the
project, to work with the Rang Dong Corporation and relevant agencies to
develop the project’s feasibility study report.
The Committee was
also required to co-ordinate with Ministries of Planning and Investment,
Transportation and Defence and relevant agencies to evaluate and approve the
report, while selecting investors for the project in accordance with legal
regulations and conducting the project appropriately.
In accordance with
the Aviation Transportation Development Plan to 2020 and towards 2030, which
was approved by PM Dung, the Ministry of Transportation planned to develop
the airport into a joint civilian/military airport in Thien Nghiep commune,
Phan Thiet city.
PetroVietnam
revenue hits $23b
Viet Nam National
Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) achieved 74 per cent of its annual target by
earning VND492 trillion (US$23.4 billion) in revenues in the first eight
months of 2014.
The company also
reported on its website that in August alone, its total production output
reached 2.16 million tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE), bringing the total in
the first eight months of the year to 18.25 million TOE, or 71 per cent of
its target for the year.
The company said
petroleum production in August was estimated to be 3.46 million tonnes, or 75
per cent of its target for the year.
Of these,
PetroVietnam's Phu My Condensate Processing Plant contributed 240,000 tonnes,
and its Dung Quat Oil Refinery contributed 3.21 million tones.
PetroVietnam
reported that its electricity production in August reached 0.99 billion kWh,
bringing the total to 10.54 billion kWh in the first eight months of the
year.
Nitrogenous
fertiliser production was reported to reach 149,100 tonnes in August alone,
bringing the total volume to more than one million tonnes in the first eight
months of the year. Of this figure, Phu My Fertiliser Plant produced 573,700
tonneser Plant generated 503,800 tonnes.
The group's fiber
production was also reported to reach 7,390 tonnes, bringing the total volume
to 22,000 tonnes. By end-August, PetroVietnam also conducted trial drilling
on 21 oil wells.
Sasco
shares sold out at IPO
Tan Son Nhat
Airport Services Company (Sasco), a subsidiary of Airports Corporation of
Some 12 investors
bought the shares at the average winning price of around VND19,330 each. The
firm raised over VND601 billion from the auction.
Sasco has total
chartered capital of over VND1.3 trillion. It put up 31.1 million shares
(23.65%) for the public auction at the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE) on
September 18 at the starting price of VND10,000 each.
According to
Sasco’s equitization plan approved by the Ministry of Transport, the State
owns 67.06 million shares, equivalent to 51% of the company’s chartered
capital. The company will sell over 2.3 million (1.75%) shares to its
employees and 31 million shares (23.6%) to strategic investors.
The company sells
duty-free goods, handicrafts, gold, silver, precious stones and books, and
provides catering and tourist transport services.
Sasco, Noi Bai
Airport Services Company (Nasco) and Danang Airport Services Company (Masco)
are the three big service providers at airports in
Local rice
trader seeks huge compensation from shipping line
An Giang
Province-based rice trader Hung Lam Joint Stock Company has sued
Both parties are
now in the process of out-of-court settlement of the dispute, but the local
rice trader said it would press the lawsuit ahead in case the conciliatory
settlement fails to yield satisfactory results.
As stated in its
lawsuit, the local firm accused that an employee of Hanjin had colluded with
a rice buyer in
Hung Lam said that
an employee of Hanjin in
At the
reconciliation meeting on Tuesday, both sides retained their viewpoints as at
the first meeting of settlement.
According to Hoang
Lam, director of Hung Lam Company, his company will invite a lawyer to
protect its interests. The economic court in HCMC will organize a final
conciliation meeting for both sides this November.
At the first
mediation on August 27, Hanjin said it was not wrong and Hung Lam needed to
sue HCMC-based Cat Truong Giang Co., Ltd, the company Hung Lam hired to
transport 80 containers of rice, equivalent to 2,000 tons, from HCMC to Tema
port.
After signing the
transport contract, Cat Truong Giang hired Hanjin to transport the rice
volume.
In accordance with
international trade practices, Hung Lam opened a letter of credit at Standard
Chartered (SCB) and Yuletech had to make payments at SCB in order to receive
80 containers of rice. Nevertheless, Yuletech did not pay money to SCB but
colluded with a Hanjin employee to take rice from Hung Lam.
The case was
detected in March 2013 after 11 containers had been stolen and the remaining
69 containers were sealed and kept at
After that, with
the intervention from the Ministry of Industry and
Meanwhile, under
the purchase contract, the buyer had to cover such expenses and Hung Lam was
exempted from such duties when goods arrived in Tema port.
According to Hoang
Lam, due to the huge costs incurred, Hung Lam has petitioned the economic
court in HCMC to ask for US$1.3 million in compensation.
Nguyen Hung Linh,
chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, said Hung Lam has not informed the
association of the case and thus it has yet to offer supports.
“I think both sides
need an economic arbitrator for conciliation first before taking it to the
court,” he added.
Rice prices
fall despite new G2G rice export contract
Rice prices in the
Mekong Delta have abruptly fallen although
Lam Anh Tuan,
director of Thinh Phat Company, a member of the Vietnam Food Association
(VFA), attributed the falling domestic rice price to
Nguyen Dinh Bich,
an expert in the rice industry in
Between now and the
end of this year, Thailand will still be the key player in determining the
world’s rice prices while India is also emerging again as a major rice
exporter, Bich noted. The expert predicts the local rice market will not
experience a price plunge despite the downward trend in prices.
Duong Van Men, a
rice trader in
It was earlier believed
that
“However, local
exporters in fact can fulfill the contract to provide 200,000 tons of rice to
the
Price of IR 50404
paddy also fell to VND4,800-4,900 from the previous level of VND5,000.
According to the
VFA, the association’s members shipped abroad nearly 4.4 million tons of rice
with the free-on-board value of nearly US$1.9 billion this year to September
11.
Statistics of the
Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development showed the productivity and paddy output were 5.5-5.6 tons per
hectare and 8.3 million tons respectively as of September 11.
SBV wants
stricter rules on consumer credits
The State Bank of
According to the
draft regulating consumer lending activities in the country, a finance
company can provide consumer credits to individual clients via installment
loans, loans on overdraft and issuance of shopping cards.
Finance firms are
banned from giving real estate loans due to high risks. According to the
board tasked with drafting the circular, finance companies still have many
limitations such as low charter capital, poor capability in finance
governance and risk control.
Notably, the draft
regulates that commercial banks wanting to provide consumer credits to
individual clients must set up finance companies. By referring to
international standards and the reality of consumer lending activities in
In the country,
there is no clear line between consumer lending by commercial banks and
finance firms. Banks give consumer credits to ineligible individuals to buy
vehicles and home appliances in a similar model as finance companies do.
Meanwhile,
international practices require that bank customers must earn high incomes
and good credit records while finance firms aim at customers from all walks
of life, in which many are middle or low-income earners, have no credit
records or rack up low credit ratings. Those customers often find it
difficult to access bank services.
To secure
professionalism and reduce risks in extending consumer loans, some banks have
lately rushed to set up finance companies. For instance, HDBank has acquired
100% equity of Société Générale Viet Finance Company and VPBank has acquired
Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Finance Company to focus on the consumer loan
market.
In addition, some
international groups also have plans to set up finance firms in
The draft also
includes rules on advertising and information provision before credit
contract are signed to protect consumers.
Consumer lending is
one of key products of local banks. Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the
central bank’s HCMC branch, said that consumer and securities credits now
account for around 8% of the city’s total outstanding loans, or around VND80
trillion. Of this, securities loans are insignificant.
The consumer loan
segment reported a bad debt ratio of around 2% as of the end of August, lower
than the ratio of 4.5% of the entire banking system.
The city’s credit
grew 5% as of end-August against late 2013. Local banks are expected to
report credit growth rate of 9-10% at the end of this year, Minh said.
New
circular on foreign loan borrowers
The central bank
has released a circular requiring enterprises taking out medium- and
long-term loans from overseas lenders to register at the administering agency
if the loans are not guaranteed by the Government.
According to
Circular 25/2014/TT-NHNN, enterprises must register such loans, extended
short-term loans with the total tenor of over one year, short-term loans that
are not extended but the outstanding credit remains after one year from the
first date of capital withdrawal except that borrowers can settle the loans
within 10 days from the time of one year since the first capital withdrawal
date.
Besides, corporate
borrowers will have to report to the central bank any revisions to their
registration documents as clarified in the circular, which will take effect
from November 1.
If enterprises
adjust capital withdrawal and debt payment plans within 10 days from those
registered at the central bank earlier, they have to inform the new plans to
banks and do not need to make registration at the central bank.
The central bank’s
foreign exchange management department will verify applications and revisions
for registration of foreign loans from US$10 million (or other foreign
currencies with equivalent value) and foreign credit in
The central bank’s
branches in localities will control applications and revisions for
registration of foreign loans of US$10 million or lower.
In addition,
corporate borrowers must obtain approval of the central bank’s governor for
any foreign loans in dong.
Southern
Power, Siemens ink $15m contract
Electricity of
"The system
will help our company improve the efficiency and reliability of the
distribution network in 21 provinces and cities in the southern region of the
nation, thus contributing to regional economic development," said EVNSPC
president Nguyen Thanh Duy. "The unmanned substations will help us save
costs by using labour more efficiently."
Siemens Vietnam
president Pham Thai Lai said the project would pave the way for four similar
projects that will be implemented in the near future.
The Siemens
Consortium includes Siemens AG, Power Automation (a joint venture between
Siemens and Power Singapore) and Siemens Limited Viet Nam. The contract was
awarded in connection with the World Bank-funded Distribution Efficiency
Project.
Seafood
firm to build factory in Russia
The Hung Vuong
Joint Stock Company plans to build a US$30-million seafood processing plant
in Russia, beginning early next year, reported Dien dan Doanh nghiep (The
Business Forum) online.
Company General
Director Duong Ngoc Minh announced the plan after attending a seafood trade
fair in
The scheme to build
the plant is based on an agreement for co-operation on industrial zones,
signed between
He pointed out that
enhancing the quality of Vietnamese packaged seafood exports and utilising
the diversified seafood material in Russian waters will help the plant to
meet the Russian consumer demand.
The company is
based in the Mekong Delta
SSTI to manufacture
integrated circuits
Saigon
Semiconductor Technology Inc (SSTI) is the first local company to make 100
per cent investment in an integrated circuit manufacturing and production
factory at the Saigon Hi-tech Park.
The
US$257.5-million factory which covers an area of two hectares, will also have
a research and development centre and an experimental research centre for
developing multi-purpose products such as light-emitting diodes and solar
cells.
The products of the
factory are expected to replace imported goods, and connect with companies
engaged in the provision and delivery of materials for setting up a compound
semiconductor industry in
Meanwhile, the
Saigon Industry Corporation - One Member Limited plans to invest
approximately VND6.6 trillion ($314.2 million) in constructing an integrated
circuit production factory at the hi-tech park. However, it has not been
granted an investment certificate so far.
In mid-2012,
Wood sector
confronts hard situation
Although
A customer from
"Foreign wood
products are diversified, have eye-catching designs, and are updated to
follow global trends, but local products are uncompetitively priced, and the
styles are all the same," the woman said.
Larger enterprises,
which have better technology and more capital, focus on exports and the
requirements of international buyers such as US and
Phan Chi Dung, head
of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Light Industrial Department, said
multinationals and foreign-invested enterprises had grabbed 80 per cent of
market share of wood and furniture products.
Many of the local
companies are not competitive because of the lack of capital and small-scale
production. Moreover, it is difficult for them to quickly adapt to changing
consumer tastes.
In addition, the
production of raw materials is heavily dependent on foreign imports, leading
to higher selling prices. And promotional activities and designs are still
limited.
Nguyen Huu Toan,
director of Toan Thien An Interior Ltd Co, said businesses should have
professional design teams and distribution channels, and recognisable
trademarks.
"Exploiting
the domestic market has many advantages, such as stable demand and stable production
plans. Companies can adjust samples and designs according to market
demand," he added.
At the seminar
"Viet Nam Economy 2014 and business prospects in the furniture
sector" held recently in
According to Nguyen
Quoc Khanh, chairman of the HCM City Handicraft and Wood Industry
Association, a Vietnamese household spends about VND6 million (US$285.7) for
furniture products per year.
With a growing
economic recovery, domestic consumption this year is expected to reach more
than $2 billion and will increase in coming years.
According to
economists, the State needs to issue support policies for local businesses
soon, such as preferential tax policies to encourage investment and
preferential credit policies. It also should create wood-processing
industrial clusters, they said.
Creating linkages
between local and foreign businesses would help them learn from more
experienced manufacturers.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Hai, 22 tháng 9, 2014
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