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BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 25/9
Seminar
discusses Vietnam-Japan economic cooperation
A Vietnamese
delegation led by Ambassador Doan Xuan Hung recently attended a seminar in
the Japanese
At a reception for
the delegation, Governor of Miyagi prefecture, Yoshihiro Murai expressed his
sincere appreciation to the Vietnamese Government and people for their
staunch support in reconstructing the locality in the wake of the 2011
devastating earthquake and tsunami.
For his part,
Ambassador Hung, spoke glowingly of the Japanese spirit and great efforts in
overcoming the consequences of the natural disaster and expressed his
optimism for continued economic cooperation between the two nations in the
reconstruction and development of Miyagi prefecture.
Under the framework
of the visit, Ambassador Hung held a working session with Toshitake Ando, the
President of the Council in the Miyagi prefecture.
President Ando said
over the years, the prefecture has conducted visits for a group of
parliamentarians and businesses to
Both President Ando
and Ambassador Hung were in agreement that a parliamentary association to
promote economic, culture and people-to-people exchange between the two
nations should be established.
During the seminar,
Ambassador Hung reviewed
Vietnamese youth
stand ready, willing and able to provide assistance to
Delegates at the
seminar also expressed a strong desire for enhanced cooperation between the
two nations.
Japan-Vietnam
support industry forum opens in HCM City
The Ho Chi Minh
City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) and the Japan
External Trade Organization (JETRO) held a Japan-Vietnam support industry
forum in
At the forum,
delegates gave opinions to a draft decree on the development of the support
industry which had been compiled by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Delegates
said foreign-invested businesses should pledge to transfer science and
technologies when they are operating in
In addition, the
Government should be responsible for ensuring human resources to take proper
support measures.
Le Hoai Quoc, head
of the management board of HEPZA recommended that to enforce the decrees,
there should be a liaison agency which can support businesses in a
transparent and open manner.
Trade
capacity building project launches in Vietnam
The Vietnam
Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises in coordination with the Vietnam
Small and Medium Enterprises (VINASME) in the Southern region on September 23
hosted a ceremony to kick off a trade capacity building project in
The EUR 525.000
European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-Mutrap) aims to
accelerate the integration of trade between
The principal
activities of the projects include trade and investment capacity building,
the establishment of a committee designed to promote national policy
consultation and trade and investment policy making and build a commercial
nuclear model.
Economic
restructuring brings opportunities to investors
Investment
opportunities from the equitisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the
acquisition of bad debts and investment in the consumer goods and retail
sectors are of great interest to experts and investors in the current
context, said the Vietnam Economic News.
The Vietnamese
securities market is said to offer great potential compared with other
Southeast Asian countries and the equitisation of SOEs has attracted great
attention from domestic and foreign investment funds.
So far,
Nguyen Trong Dung,
Director of the Government Office’s Department of Business Innovation, said
that by September 10, 2014, the Prime Minister, ministries and sectors have
approved the equitization plans of 65 SOEs including Vinatex and Vietnam
Airlines. Vietnam Airlines’ equitisation plan was approved on September 10
with chartered capital of 14 trillion VND, 75 percent of which will be held
by the state, 20 percent will be sold to strategic shareholders and five
percent made available to other shareholders.
The acceleration of
the equitization of SOEs will make the Vietnamese securities market more
attractive in the time to come.
Central Institute
for Economic Management Deputy Director Vo Tri Thanh said that the Government
had showed a strong will to accelerate the equitization of SOEs, but the
evaluation of SOEs had faced numerous difficulties related to land as well as
difficulties in looking for strategic partners. In the equitization process,
SOEs also have to cope with social problems related to employees and the
pressure to list their shares on the securities market.
Along with
accelerating SOE equitization, many investors have paid special attention to
dealing with bad debts. According to Dr. Tran Du Lich, member of the National
Assembly’s Economic Committee, by August 2014, about 210 trillion VND of bad
debts have been dealt with and 161 trillion VND remained unresolved (including
newly arisen bad debts). Bad debts have become a macroeconomic problem of
great concern to the government, he emphasized.
Therefore, the debt
acquisition market in
The Vietnamese economy
has shown clear signs of recovery. Foreign financial investors are seeking
opportunities to directly invest in different sectors of the Vietnamese
economy.
The Vietnam
Economic News quoted George Joseph Ghorra from the International Finance
Corporation (IFC) - a member of the World Bank Group, as saying that in the
recent period, IFC had invested in six different asset management company
funds in
Other sectors such
as consumer goods, retail, education, banking, hydropower and renewable
energy also offer investors big opportunities.
Saigon Co.op
Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, said that the Vietnamese modern retail sector
offered good prospects based on factors such as population and per-capita
income growth and increasing middle class. Despite a slowdown in its growth
in recent years, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has set a target to
increase the percentage of modern retail outlets from 22 percent to 45
percent of total retail sales by 2020.
Czech firms
treasure
The seminar aimed
to encourage trade and investment cooperation between Czech and Vietnamese
businesses.
Hoang Thuy Duong,
Minister Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in the
However, the
results do not match the two nations’ full potential, Duong said, adding the
Czech Republic has only a mere 30 projects in Vietnam with a modest
capitalisation, focusing on crystal glass and electrical equipment
manufacturing, beer brewing, food processing, construction materials and
mining.
Commercial
counsellor Nguyen Thang Long said
The country is
looking for Czech businesses to form joint ventures with Vietnamese partners
in producing and supplying products in
Long revealed the
two countries and governments have shown strong determination to boost trade
cooperation. The government of the
JW Marriott
JW Marriott Hanoi,
a leading five-star hotel, has received the prestigious award “The Best New
MICE Hotel in
At the awards
ceremony, the guide honoured 114 outstanding travel businesses chosen by its
editorial board and readers as the winners of the event.
JW Marriott Hanoi
hotel was inaugurated in the third quarter of 2013. It has total investment
capital of US$250 million.
With nine storeys
and 450 rooms, it is one of the largest hotels in the capital city.
The hotel offers
2,400 square meters for workshops, including two Ballrooms and a studio area
for big events, as well as spaces for outdoor activities, with a chain of
Europe-Asia restaurants, a fitness centre and other facilities meeting
five-star ratings.
Pepper
export value hits US$1bln for first time
Vietnamese pepper
exports in the first nine months of the year hit an all time record high of
136,000 tonnes valued at US$1.022 billion, according to Vietnam Customs
statistics.
In the first half
of September alone, pepper businesses shipped abroad 3,556 tonnes and earned
US$34 million in value.
By mid September,
the total amount and value of exported pepper exceeded the corresponding
figures of the whole of last year by nearly 4,000 tonnes, and over US$100
million.
The Vietnam Pepper
Association (VPA) reports last year
The US,
The average black
pepper price in key growing regions is currently hovering around VND200,000
per kg, VND60,000 higher than last year.
The black pepper
export price registers over US$8,000 per tonne while white pepper stands at
US$10,000 per tonne.
The humble increase
was blamed for decreases in the export turnover of some staples such as
steel, down 1.81 percent; petrol, 21.56 percent; fertilizer, 17.95 percent;
and electric wires, 58.22 percent.
Only several
commodity groups like machines and equipment, steel products, and ceramics
enjoyed export growths of 30.12 percent, 16.81 percent and 30.02 percent,
respectively.
In the eight-month
period,
Dong Nai
lures more FDI in support industry
Okatsune
The information was
revealed on September 19 by Mai Van Nhon, deputy head of the management board
of Dong Nai’s industrial zones.
With this event,
the zone has so far this year attracted 21 Japanese investors, he said,
adding that most FDI projects here were poured into the support industry.
Dong Nai has to
date lured 174 projects from
According to
Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Bo Ngoc Thu,
since the beginning of this year, the province has attracted nearly 1.2
billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI), exceeding its set target of
700-900 million USD.
Of the total, 420.6
million USD was poured into 59 new projects, while the remaining was added to
58 existing ones.
In the reviewed
period, the province revoked investment licenses of eight projects worth over
86.15 million USD due to their slow progress.
Since it began
attracting foreign investment, Dong Nai has licensed a total of 1,449 FDI
projects with a total investment of 25.52 billion USD, of which 1,124
projects worth 21.07 billion USD are valid.
Potentially
irrecoverable bank debts in
Non-performing
loans had accounted for 4.65 per cent of total outstanding loans as of late
July.
Even Vietcombank is
faced with an increase in potentially irrecoverable debts despite being a
major and highly experienced lender.
Dau Tu (Vietnam
Investment Review) newspaper reported that the bank's second quarter
financial statements reported total overdue debts of VND9.03 trillion
($425.07 million), or 3.09 per cent of the total outstanding loans. Of this,
potentially irrecoverable debts were estimated at VND4.765 trillion ($224.28
million), up 70.7 per cent from early this year.
Eximbank's
potentially irrecoverable debts made up 61.7 per cent of total bad debts,
equivalent to VND1.458 trillion ($69.43 million), up 36 per cent from six
months ago.
At Sacombank the
figure has risen by 31 per cent, and consequently the bank had to make
VND216.5 billion ($10.31 million) worth risk provisioning in the second
quarter, up 368 per cent from the same period last year.
Nguyen Hoang Minh,
deputy director of the SBV's HCM City Branch, attributed the rise in
"potentially irrecoverable debts" in the first seven months to
banks' classification of debts and risk provisioning in accordance with Circular
No 09/TT-NHNN.
Banks have already
sold or written off bad debts worth VND8 trillion ($380.95 million) but their
non-performing loans remain at high levels.
They have found it
very difficult to recover debts in cash or sell collateral, Minh explained.
They are resorting
to increasing risk provisioning and selling bad debts to the Viet Nam Asset
Management Company, he said.
In the first eight
months of this year banks sold over VND1 trillion ($47.08 million) worth of
bad debts to the VAMC, and are expected to sell more before the year is out,
he added.
Tran Du Lich, a
member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council, said
banks' bad debts amounted to 4.17 per cent of total outstanding loans as of
late August.
About VND210
trillion ($9.9 billion) worth of non-performing loans have been disposed of
one or the other, leaving VND161 trillion ($7.67 billion) worth of bad debts,
including newly arisen debts.
"Bad debts are
spreading through the economy and so the flow of capital is slower. Because
of this, we cannot expect to dispose of all bad debts within a certain
time," Lich said.
Ha Noi
seeks to attract more foreign, high-tech investment
The capital city is
exerting great efforts to diversify investment promotions to attract more capital,
especially foreign direct investment (FDI), according to the municipal
Department of Planning and Investment.
This city is aiming
at potential investors from
It is also aiming
at further improving the investment climate and creating the best conditions
for investors to implement their licensed projects, he said.
The Ministry of
Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency reported that in the
first half of this year, Ha Noi had attracted US$583 million in FDI. This
represents an increase of 30 per cent over that of the same period last year
but accounts for only 45 per cent of the city's total 2014 FDI target.
The department
attributed the result to the current difficult context, when businesses had
to face numerous challenges and the global market had become increasingly
competitive.
During the period
under review, the city had licensed 145 new foreign-invested projects worth
$116 million and allowed 50 licensed projects to increase their capital by
$467 million.
The manufacturing
and processing industry ranked first among industries that have attracted
more FDI at more than 40 per cent of the city's total while trade attracted
20 per cent and science and technology, 14 per cent.
Trade
shortfall hits nearly US$1 billion in two weeks
The two-week trade
turnover grossed US$11.8 billion, or 9% lower than the figure recorded in the
preceding last two weeks of August.
From January to
September 14, the country’s cumulative trade surplus hit US$2 billion, with
US$6.5 billion attributable to foreign invested enterprises.
Key export items
for the period included telephones and components, crude oil, seafood,
footwear, computers, electronic products and spare parts.
Import value in the
reviewed period saw a 6% increase to more than US$6.4 billion compared to
August’s second half, mostly reported in seafood, dairy products, fruits and
vegetables, and wheat.
Banks eye
growth in mobile banking
Commercial banks
are eyeing mobile banking as a potential way to harness growing demand for
online transactions, industry experts say.
Despite accounting
for only a small portion of total market transactions, mobile banking is fast
becoming a must-have product offered by Vietnamese banks.
"Mobile
banking has been and will be an indispensable product for the banking
sector," said Manager of Bac A Bank's Card and e-Banking department Pham
Dang Khoa.
Nguyen Chien Thang,
manager of internet banking at Sai Gon - Hanoi Bank (SHB), agreed that mobile
banking will be favoured by Vietnamese consumers.
A rapid increase in
the number of mobile subscribers, cheap smart phones, improving network
infrastructure and a young population are key factors driving the development
of mobile banking, he said.
Both
representatives from Bac A Bank and SHB agreed that mobile banking has
advantages over other products.
Thang said modern
technologies integrated into smart phones will allow customers to make
transactions whenever and wherever they need.
Banks need to
provide applications for customers and offer them technical support to
improve the quality of mobile banking, he added.
Meanwhile, Khoa
believed that young consumers will be the focus of banks given the ubiquitous
use of smart technology.
However, the
biggest challenge facing mobile banking is how to approach customers,
according to both managers.
"The banks
have to design the application in the simplest way and instruct their
customers to set it up on their phones," said Thang.
Khoa added that the
youth is not the ideal group for product segmentation since they are not the
ones with highest demand for banking products.
Additional
obstacles lie in maintenance and large investments are needed to integrate
current services with mobile banking, Khoa said.
However, the
opportunities to deliver mobile banking to customers are increasing,
according to Thang.
Around five years
ago, modern technologies like smart phones, 3G connections or online payments
were a rarity not trusted by customers.
Services requiring
non-cash payments were even avoided by customers because of lack of
confidence and credibility in online payment systems.
Thang said he
believes that the success of mobile banking could eclipse internet banking in
the near future. However, the Government has a role to play in creating
confidence by creating a transparent legal framework, he said.
The popularity of
mobile banking among consumers will also lie in the designing simple online
applications that are secure and customer-focused.
However, banks
should be patient and listen to their customers to improve the creditability
of their products, said he.
Retailers
urged to toss out outdated practices
The Vietnamese
retail market has huge potential, but local investors are frittering away the
advantage by failing to develop modern retail, a senior industry-trade
official has warned.
The industry is
dominated by traditional distribution channels and plagued by tiny
investments, and is a sitting target for foreign investors, Nguyen Loc An,
deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Domestic Market
Department, said.
According to
ministry statistics, the retail industry accounts for 13-15 percent of GDP
growth and provides over 6.3 million jobs.
With the national
population at over 90 million, a third of it living in urban areas and having
an average income of US$2,000 per year, the potential for modern retail is
huge.
Besides,
infrastructure has improved and expanded, creating favorable conditions for
the easy distribution of goods.
But traditional
delivery channels dominate. At the end of last year, there were 8,546
traditional markets of various kinds and around 1 million mom-and-pop
businesses.
In comparison,
there were only 724 supermarket outlets, 132 malls, and a few hundred
convenient stores in the country.
The market share of
modern retail is estimated at less than 25 percent, much lower than in
neighbouring countries like
Even in
"Most of our
traders are small or medium-sized, with 55 percent of retail enterprises
having a capital of under VND100 million (US$4,700)," a member of the
Vietnam Retailers Association revealed.
There are several
foreign investors in the modern retail sector — like Big C (France), Lotte,
Lock&Lock (the Republic of Korea), and Aeon (Japan) – who have speeded up
development.
"The modern
retail model will strongly develop in various forms," An was quoted as
saying in Sai Gon GiaiPhong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper.
Last year, Saigon
Co-op and Ocean Retail opened many new stores and plan to cover the whole
country.
Foreign retailers
are trying hard to complete the procedures required to enter the market.
"The
traditional will also improve. Traditional retail has upgraded quality under
competitive pressure," An said, adding that the former will continue be
popular until 2020, especially in rural areas.
"Rural
consumers are more and more important because they make up 70 percent of the
population and can now buy everything — like electronic products, furniture,
mobile phones, and motorbikes — not just essential goods like in the
past."
The rural market is
attractive to both manufacturers and retailers, he added.
According to the
Around 36 percent
of the population uses the Internet and 57 percent of that number often shops
online.
The Vietnamese
economy in general, and retail in particular, is expected to grow rapidly in
this high-technology era.
In what is a new
trend brought about by the economic downturn and high inflation, products
made by retailers – distributors themselves or together with manufacturers
are becoming more and more popular since their prices can be 10 – 30 percent
lower.
Analysts expect
this trend to sustain and forge ahead in the years to come when the economy
recovers.
Businesses
seek to gain consumer trust
Enhancing corporate
social responsibility (CSR) to build up consumer trust in line with the
vision of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is
vitally important for businesses in international integration.
The statement was
made by UNIDO Chief Representative Patrick Gilabert at a forum in
To this end, UNIDO
is providing conformance assurance solutions for Vietnamese businesses to
implement a number of projects on food and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Chairwoman of the
Vietnam Retailers' Association Dinh Thi My Loan in turn echoed Gilabert’s
view adding Vietnamese companies are facing tremendous future challenges of
competitiveness as foreign retailers actively penetrate the domestic market.
The distribution
and retail markets have already witnessed the arrival of retail giants such
as Lotte and E-Mart from the
Vietnam is opening
its markets in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) and free trade pact
commitments, bringing with it both opportunities and challenges.
Vietnamese
businesses need to revamp their business strategies to compete on two fronts.
They need to struggle to maintain or expand production in the domestic market
while simultaneously forging ahead and increasing outlets overseas.
It is no easy task,
and instilling customer confidence in the business and gaining their
trust plays a critically key role for sustainable development, Loan said.
For his part, Florian
Beranek, chief technical advisor of a project to help Vietnamese small and
medium sized businesses adopt CSR policies, said communication is an
effective tool for augmenting consumer trust.
Nguyen Thi Thien
Phuong, Deputy Head of the Department for International Cooperation and
Science Technology under the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA), said a
draft national action plan for enhancing consumer trust in Vietnamese
businesses is in the works.
A national program
on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) by 2020, focussing on
effectively harnessing green growth and environment protection strategies as
a means for elevating consumer trust in Vietnamese businesses, will help lay
a solid foundation for sustainable development.
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,
International Trade
Centre (ITC) statistics show
2014 rice
exports to
In the first nine
months of the year, official statistics show
During the nine
month period the average sales price of rice was down, hovering only around
VND6,000 per kilogram.
Speaking at a
recent conference reviewing year-to-date rice exports, Vice Chairman of Can
Tho Municipal People’s Committee Truong Quang Hoang
The Mekong Delta
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.
Green
building construction is a must, experts say
Developing more
green buildings and promoting green standards for construction works is a
necessary and urgent step to save energy and natural resources in the
country, the chair of the board of the Viet Nam Green Building Council has
said.
Speaking at the
seminar on "Green Building Development in
"The industry
must make changes to ensure sustainable development," he said.
According to the
Asia – Pacific Green Building Network,
Green building
creates structures and uses processes that are environmentally responsible
and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle, including stages
of design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and
deconstruction.
"The
development of green building in
"People"
includes: government; organisations, associations; consultants, designers,
and project management; construction contractors; suppliers; developers;
universities; and media and users.
"The
Government has released its Viet Nam Green Growth Strategy in 2012 along with
national technical building regulations for energy-efficient buildings. Lotus
green building rating tools have also been issued," Trung added.
Trung also noted
that many design consultants had started providing green building
consultancy, and several contractors have gained green construction
experience. In addition, more developers have begun selecting green solutions
for their projects.
"But as of
September,
In order to create
a green building market in
"We should
help people understand the value of green buildings, and increase demand for
green buildings, and create a market," he said.
"Local
government should be strict with the public in enforcing environmental
protection laws, and also with investors and projects that commit violations.
It should also provide more incentives for green projects and products,"
he said.
Associate Professor
Do Tu Lan said: "
Currently, the
United Nations Human Settlement Programme (HABITAT) is supporting several
towns and cities in
In addition, German
experts from the German Federal Enterprises for International Cooperation
(GIZ) are working with the Ministry of Construction and medium-sized cities
to help them adapt to climate change, limit natural calamities and prevent
flooding.
Sugar
company plans foreign listing
The shares of sugar
company Bourbon Tay Ninh (SBT) would be listed on a foreign stock exchange
after it merges with the Gia Lai Sugarcane Thermoelectricity (SEC) firm.
At an SBT
shareholder meeting, Pham Hong Duong, a member of the company's board, said,
"Our plans for listing are proceeding well, and SBT will be listed
abroad soon."
The shareholders
approved the company's merger with SEC. SBT would issue shares that can be
swapped with SEC shares at a 1:1.05 ratio.
According to Bao
Viet Securities Co, the consulting agency for the merger, the deal would be
completed this year.
SBT's total assets
after the merger are expected to be worth VND5.2 trillion (US$245.2 million)
by 2018, making it the largest firm in the sector.
It has a charter
capital of nearly VND1.5 trillion ($70.7 million), while SEC has VND390
billion ($18.3 million).
In the first six
months of this year, SBT's revenue and profits reached VND1 trillion ($47
million) and VND67 billion ($3.1 million) respectively. Between July 1, 2014
and June 30, 2015, the company hopes to increase the revenue and profits to
stand at VND2 trillion ($94 million) and VND175.6 billion ($8.2 million)
respectively.
Currently, the
domestic sugar industry encounters a number of challenges while competing
with imported products. Next year, as the ASEAN free-trade pact is finalised,
the Vietnamese sugar market will open fully and the import duty will be
reduced from 5 per cent to zero.
According to SBT
chairwoman Dang Huynh Uc My, the company's target of paying dividend at 10 to
12 per cent for the July 2014 – June 2015 period was a hard nut to crack due
to the context. However, during the first six months this year, the firm has
received some good news, with the export of several tonnes of sugar to
My expected her
company's dividends to increase in the new fiscal year.
As of August 31,
The investment by
Among Vietnamese
localities,
It was followed by
the southern provinces of Ninh Thuan and Dong Nai with two projects at $156.7
million and seven projects at $145.6 million, respectively.
The German
investment came to a wide range of sectors including manufacturing,
production, water, electric and gas distribution, retail and wholesale,
agro-forestry and fisheries, wastewater treatment, finance and banking,
insurance and science and technology.
Meanwhile,
Vietnamese businesses have to date invested $92 million in 17 projects in
A recent survey of
the German ASEAN Chamber Network showed that German businesses were positive
on
Seventy per cent of
the German companies in the country confirmed positive market development
over the past year and a good current situation leading to a more positive
outlook than in 2013 on the overall economy, capital expenditure, and private
and business consumption.
Around 50 per cent
of the firms have performed better compared to last year and expect to
continue this strong run, especially in sales where 56 per cent of the
respondents forecast an increase over the next 12 months.
Foreign
firms could see faster project buy-in times
Experts are
suggesting the government permit foreign companies to buy long-delayed real
estate projects without having to go through lengthy procedures to secure new
investment licenses.
According to Dr
Tran Du Lich, member of the National Assembly’s Economic Committee, skipping
the requirement for foreign firms to secure a new investment license for
already existing projects would help reduce time and slash unnecessary
procedures, while also providing an effective way to stimulate the market.
Many real estate
projects were still unlikely to be finished in the near future due to capital
shortages.
Many of those had
resolved their delays through selling projects or merging. Others were keen
to engage foreign partners, but they had been hindered by red tape that
insisted that the involvement of foreign firms would require developers to
restart all their investment applications.
“This is unreasonable
because it is a waste of time and creates concerns among the foreign partners
that there may be a hitch,” Lich said.
Nguyen Manh Ha,
head of the Ministry of Construction’s Housing and Real Estate Market
Management Department, said that according to the current regulations,
project owners who wanted to transfer their projects needed to have an
investment certificate, the project needed to be on undisputed land and the
investor needed the legal right to use the land.
In many cases, Ha
said, the dispute between project and land plot owners were the original
cause of the long delays in the first place.
New project
investment licence holders needed to prove their financial capacity.
Ha said the
Ministry of Construction was reviewing and resetting the whole system and
unreasonable procedures would be dumped.
In the Housing Law,
domestic developers were forbidden from directly selling their projects to
foreign partners without permission from local authorities. This transaction
currently has to be carried out by a third party – the local authorities –
and these procedures were also overly complicated, lengthy and subject to
abuse.
The lack of
investment and downturn in the real estate market in recent years has left
many developers unable to either complete their projects. However, positive
signs in the real estate market have encouraged developers to attempt to
finish their projects as demand increases. Prospective investors have been
searching for delayed projects to inject cash into. Others have pursued mergers
or acquisitions or entered partnerships. According to SohoVietnam, a
consultant focused on M&A real estate projects, hundreds of projects are
seeking new partners.
“Instead of long
delays and sitting on deteriorating half-built stock, firms should be seeking
new partners to agree joint ventures, or sell their projects in order to
recoup some capital,” said Phan Xuan Can, chairman of SohoVietnam, a
consultant specialised in real estate project transactions.
Experts:
Backup power supply needs improvement
Energy experts have
called for the electricity sector to carry out a host of measures to improve
backup power supply and ensure supply stability for the country.
The experts
mentioned the measures after Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) said the
national power system is capable of meeting demand and serving the country’s
socio-economic development this year, according to Vietnam News Agency.
Tran Viet Ngai,
chairman of the Vietnam Energy Association, said in the past three years,
electricity supply has been virtually met thanks to an additional 9,900 MW,
110 power works of 110, 220 and 500 kV in operation.
Of the country’s
power supply as of early this year, hydropower accounted for the highest
proportion of nearly 48.8%, followed by gas- and oil-fueled generators 24.29%
and coal-fueled generators 23.07%. Besides, stability of the power system in
many areas has been improved thanks to many overload reduction works put in
place.
EVN said it
generated and purchased an estimated 12.41 billion kWh last month, bringing
the total power volume in the January-August period to some 93.66 billion
kWh, up 10.41% year-on-year. Commercial power supply reached 83.977 billion
kWh in the eight-month period, rising by 10.43%.
According to EVN,
electricity supply for agriculture, industry, commerce-hotel-restaurant,
consumption management and others made up 1.5% (up 1.6%), 53.5% (up 13.14%),
4.7% (up 9.97%), 35.8% (7.76%) and 4.5% respectively.
Energy experts said
though the power transmission output has achieved two-digit growth in the
past three years, electricity consumption has also risen by 10.4%.
They were also
concerned that the backup power capacity has not been improved much.
Do Mong Hung, head
of technical and operational department at EVN, said overloads still occur in
some areas and reliability of power supply is not high.
In fact, since last
year, the 500kV power grid has always run at its full capacity, mainly to
transmit electricity from the north to central and southern regions of the
country. Meanwhile, due to difficulties concerning capital allocation, site
clearance and compensation, many power projects have fallen behind schedule
and therefore backup power transmission is not guaranteed, especially in the
north and the south.
The transmission of
electricity from the north to central and southern regions is projected to
continue in the next three years.
“With a total
length of over 1,500 kilometers stretching from the north to the south, it is
not easy to transmit a huge power volume continuously,” Hung said.
Besides, there are
many power lines operating at full steam and even higher than designed.
In the medium and
long terms, Hung said EVN is adopting solutions to increase reliability and
stability of transmission power lines in particular and the power system in
general.
In the next four
years, EVN targets to ensure the implementation process of power supply
projects currently under construction in southern provinces, especially Vinh
Tan 2, Duyen Hai 1, O Mon 1 and 2, Duyen Hai 3, extended Duyen Hai 3 and Vinh
Tan 4 to increase power supply for the southern region and ease transmission
overloads on 500kV lines.
South sees
new wave of real estate offers
Southern provinces
have witnessed a boom in property sales following the traditionally slow
‘Ghost Month’ that haunts buyers.
A lot of large
scale property corporations have continued pouring their finances into real
estate markets in
Novaland has
announced 15 property projects worth millions of dollars.
Projects included
the $500 million
The Hung Thinh
Group also announced its intention to invest in several major projects in the
near future.
According to Hung
Thinh Group chairman Nguyen Dinh Trung, the company had successfully
negotiated with the Binh Trieu Construction and Engineering JSC to develop
the $95 million Binh Trieu housing project, located at Binh Thanh district,
Similarly, the
National Housing Organisation Joint Stock Company (NHO JSC) announced the
development of 14 projects in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Quang Ngai, Binh Duong
and An Giang worth a total of VND20 trillion ($952 million).
So far, NHO JSC has
started the implementation of First Home project in District 12,
Vingroup – another
large-scale property investor - also kicked off work on the Vinhomes Tan Cang
project worth $1.4 billion.
According to the
plan, the 43ha project will be one of the most modern urban areas in
According to Luong
Tri Thin, chairman of Dat Xanh Corporation, his firm was focused on raising
capital for future projects.
Dong Nai and Binh
Duong provinces are also experiencing property market recoveries.
In Dong Nai,
This 753 ha area
will see $500 million in investment and will include 3 and 5-star hotels,
exhibition and conference centre, shopping centre, and education and health
care services.
Despite the gloomy
Dong Nai property market, Amata has underlined its faith in the province as
an investment destination.
Binh Duong has also
seen a range of new investments. This September, Kim Oanh Real Estate Company
signed an agreement with the Thanh Le Commercial Import Export Company and
officially launched the sale of the
Tac Dat Tac Vang
Real Estate Company has also co-operated with Becamex IJC to develop the
IJCcommercial urban area project based at the
Deputy Minister of
Construction Nguyen Tran
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Tư, 24 tháng 9, 2014
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