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BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 8/11
Petrol, oil
prices slashed dramatically
The Vietnam
National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) reduced the retail prices for a number
of fuel types on 11:00 on November 7.
Accordingly, three
petrol types saw a reduction of 950 VND per litre, including RON 95, which is
now priced at 21,990 VND, and RON 92 and E5 bio-petrol, which now both cost
21,390 VND.
Meanwhile, diesel
prices enjoyed a reduction of 520 VND per litre. 0.05S now costs 19,240 VND
per litre, while 0.02S diesel is priced at 19,190 VND.
Fuel oil (FO) now
stands at 15,570 VND to 16,040 VND per kilogramme, a reduction of 900 VND.
This is the 9 th
time Petrolimex has slashed its fuel prices since the end of July 2014.
On the same day,
the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced its Dispatch No. 11088/BCT-TTTN
on fuel price management, raising the limit for the use of the price
stabilisation fund from 300 VND to 600 VND per litre/kilogramme.
Can Tho
earns 44.4m USD from tourism in 10 months
The Mekong Delta
city of
During the period,
the city welcomed 1.2 million visitors or 89 percent of its yearly target,
according to the municipal People’s Committee.
Can Tho aims to
attract an additional 200,000 holidaymakers by the end of the year, in an
attempt to increase the sector’s total revenue by 16 percent against 2013.
Improvements in
tourism quality, products, services, and cuisine combined with diversified
ecological tourism have drawn an increasing number of tourists, said Director
of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Tran Viet Phuong.
The encouraging
results were also attributed to efforts to develop eco-tourism in Khuong and
Cai Khe islets, Phong Dien and Thot Not tourism complexes, he added.
The city has
created conditions for economic sectors to get involved in building tourism
infrastructure while taking advantage of its position as the hub of the
Mekong River Delta to develop tourism.
Can Tho has
cooperated with other localities to form a “tourism triangle” in a bid to
promote regional tourism.
Additionally, the
city has focused on training tour managers and guides, restore historical and
cultural relic sites as well as traditional festivals, and intensifying
tourism promotion activities in the country and abroad.
Roundtable
discussion seeks solutions for fisheries sector
A roundtable on
aquaculture was held in the Mekong Delta city of
Jointly organised
by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Steering
Committee for the Southwestern Region, and the German Agency for
International Cooperation (GIZ), the event took place as part of the Mekong
Delta Economic Cooperation Forum, which is currently being held in Soc Trang
province.
MARD Deputy
Minister Tran Thanh
To address these
difficulties,
Nguyen Van Trong,
Deputy Head of the Research Institute for Aquaculture No.2, suggested relevant
authorities run public awareness campaigns on the impact of climate change in
order to boost the sector’s resilience.
Hua Tran Hoang, an
aquaculture farmer in An Bien district in Kien Giang province, said the
biggest challenges for local farmers are the lack of technical knowledge and
the limited access to disease-resistant breeding stock.
He suggested
farmers be trained on farming techniques and provided access to
disease-resistant breeds in order to increase productivity.
Projects on
Ly Son island prioritised
The Prime Minister
decided to give State budget priority to key projects in Ly Son island
district in the central province of Quang Ngai, while encouraging local and
foreign investors to get involved in State-funded infrastructure projects
applying the build-transfer (BT), build-operate-transfer (BOT) and
public-private-partnership (PPP) mechanisms.
According to the
PM’s decisions on mechanisms and policies to support development in Ly Son
for the period 2015-2020, priority will be given to unfinished State-funded
projects and other key investment projects on the island. This includes the
Ly Son port (phase II), a road through the southeastern part of the island
(phase II), and water supply in the district’s centre.
The PM also
prioritised the provision of capital for new projects in line with the State
budget, including ring roads and embankments on large and small islands, sea
dyke systems, Ben Dinh port, hospitals and preventive medical centres, water
supply (phase II), a fisheries information centre, and main roads.
In addition,
investors operating on Ly Son island will be provided with the highest level
of support in accordance with legal regulations.
Furthermore,
projects in the fields of production and business will benefit from
preferential access to credit for investment and export, as stipulated by the
law.
Ly Son district
lies 18 nautical miles off the Vietnamese coast and covers an area of 10km2.
It includes three communes: An Hai, An Vinh and An Binh.
The island district
has a population of approximately 2,100. The majority of residents earn a
living from fishing and farming garlic and spring onions. Ly Son district is
striving to become a maritime economic centre by 2025, with a focus on
tourism and aquaculture.
Archaeologists
found relics of Sa Huynh culture on Ly Son Island dating back to 3,000 years
ago. Starting in the 16th century, a number of ethnic groups migrated to Ly
Son from the mainland and have inhabited the island ever since.
The island boasts
numerous forms of intangible cultural heritage, such as traditional boat
races and the Hoang Sa Soldier Feast and Commemoration Festival, which was
recognised as a national heritage in April, 2013.
Retail
petrol prices expected to fall further
The retail selling
price of petroleum will likely be reduced in the next few days, Deputy
Industry and Trade Minister Do Thang Hai announced at a press conference on
November 3.
The domestic petrol
price was previously reduced eight times this year by a cumulative amount of
3,300 VND (15 US cents) per litre. The latest decrease which took place on
October 23 brought down the price to 22,340 VND (1.1 USD) per litre.
Fuel traders are
allowed to unilaterally raise prices if the rate of increase is below three
percent of current prices, but they must report the increase to the
ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade.
If the increase is
between three to seven percent, petrol wholesalers are required to submit
documents on price fluctuations of elements which make up petrol prices, as
well as anticipated increases, to the two ministries for review and approval.
Fuel price
increases exceeding seven percent, or increases with a significant impact on
national socio-economic development and the people's living standards, must
be reported to the Prime Minister for review and approval.
The Ministry of
Industry and Trade (MoIT) is responsible for providing updates on world fuel
prices, including base and retail prices, and the use of the fuel price
valorisation fund on its website.
"Based on the
world petrol market, the two ministries will reduce the retail price as soon
as possible to ensure benefits to people and businesses," the deputy
minister said.
Petroleum traders
said they made profits of 1,087 VND per litre from the downward trend in the
world market.
The country so far
has 19 petrol traders, and the number will be increased to supplement petrol
supply and increase competitiveness.
Ukraine-based
Vietnamese enterprises seek to weather difficulties
Ukraine-based
Vietnamese enterprises should stay united and take new moves to adapt to the
situation in their crisis-hit host country, a Vietnamese diplomat said.
Vietnamese
Ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Minh Tri was speaking at a workshop in
Representatives
from 30 Vietnamese enterprises from
Ambassador Tri
highlighted the role of Vietnamese enterprises in connecting and boosting
bilateral trade ties and investment between
He called on them
to closely cooperate with local authorities and enterprises in the homeland
in order to overcome the current challenging time.
Some
representatives came up with the establishment of Vietnam-Ukraine joint
ventures in which the Ukrainian side is represented by Vietnamese businesses
located in
The projects mainly
operate in the fields of mining, agriculture, forestry and seafood,
electricity, and gas.
In the first nine
months of this year, Vietnamese firms invested in 83 projects worth over 1
million USD in 23 countries and territories.
The investments
were mainly poured in information and communications with 527.1 million USD,
and agro-forestry and seafood with 348.9 million USD.
Major destinations
for the Vietnamese investments included
Italian
firms explore opportunities in Vietnam
Seven leading
Italian business enterprises specializing in porcelain and ceramic machinery
and equipment attended a business-to-business (B2B) meeting on November 4 in
The event, which
attracted representatives from 80 local enterprises, was held by the Italian
Trade Commission (ICE) and aimed to create a good chance for porcelain and
ceramic machinery importers and exporters to seek cooperation partners.
Leading technical
enterprises of
Bruna Santarelli,
an ICE representative, expressed her strong belief that bilateral investment
cooperation in this field would be strengthened in the future.
At present,
ACIMAC is an
association of Italian companies producing plants, machines, equipment,
semi-finished products, raw materials and services for the ceramic sector.
For the two-year
period from 2011 to 2012,
Singapore
firm to construct textile plant in Vinh Phuc
TAL Apparel Limited
on November 4 received an investment certificate from local authorities of
the
Local officials
approved for the plant to be constructed at Ba Thien 2 Industrial Park in Binh
Xuyen commune.
It is the largest
foreign invested project that has received approval to date in the province
and, once completed, it is anticipated that it would generate 3,500 jobs and
contribute VND40 billion to the national budget annually.
Construction is
expected to be completed by September of next year.
As of November
2014, Vinh Phuc province attracted 38 foreign direct investment (FDI)
projects with total registered capital of nearly US$300 million.
Seminar
discusses TFA’s impacts on the custom sector
Fundamental
measures proposed in the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) have ensured
transparency of information, simplification of formalities and reduction of
time, which should bring practical benefits to businesses and state
management agencies in the customs field.
Deputy Director
General of Vietnam Customs Nguyen Cong Binh made the statement at a seminar
in
Mr Binh said
implementation of the TFA would help
Nestor Scherbay,
Director of CTRMS Vietnam said through the TFA, Vietnam should take full
advantage of technical support from the WTO’s donors and international
organisations to build a trade facilitation committee which would be
responsible for implementing the TFA and other agreements to enhance national
competitiveness.
At present,
TPBank
receives top honours for innovation
Global Financial
Market Review (GFM) has presented its prestigious 2014 Most Innovative
Digital Bank Vietnam Award to the Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank
(TPBank).
TPBank has a proven
track record for innovativeness in mobile banking and internet banking
solutions and for providing the best retail products and services, the
selection board announced.
Earlier, TPBank had
been selected as the first bank in
This is the first
time a Vietnam bank has received the prestigious GFM award, which has become
a benchmark for assessing the quality of a bank in the global financial
community.
Garment
industry faces shortage in skilled workers
The ambition forms
part of the city’s garment industry development plan with a vision towards
2030 that was made public by the municipal Department of Trade and Industry
at a conference on November 3.
However,
participants in the conference expressed concerns that a shortage in skilled
workers could harm the industry.
According to the
plan, the city’s industry will require an additional 19,500 workers by 2015
and 20,250 by 2020. Approximately 500-1000 skilled workers, such as
engineers, technical experts and designers, will be needed.
Bui Mai Huong, Head
of the Garment Technique Department under the Mechanical Engineering
Department of the Ho Chi Minh City (HUT)
Under the garment
industry development plan, the city aims to increase the industry’s
production value to more than VND37 trillion (US$1.7 billion) by 2015, more
than 1.5 times higher than in 2010.
The plan sets out an
average growth rate of 8.5% in 2015.
To implement the
plan, the city will continue to focus on creating value and supply chains for
the industry, with an emphasis on environmentally friendly products with
competitive designs, services, quality and prices while relocating failing
inner-city establishments to industrial clusters.
Investment capital
for the industry is estimated at more than VND10 trillion (US$470 million)
for 2015, with on-site investments accounting for more than VND2.7 trillion
(US$126 million).
SOE
equitisation falling behind schedule: ministry
The equitisation of
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) is lagging behind schedule as only 75 SOEs
were equitised during the first ten months of this year, the Ministry of
Finance said on November 3.
The equitised
businesses were among 96 firms that were reorganised during the reviewed
period, the ministry said, adding that it expects about 200 businesses will
be equitised this year. Meanwhile, the target is 432 companies in the
2014-2015 period.
The ministry
attributed the slowness of reform to a lack of determination and drastic
measures in some ministries, localities and companies, along with impacts of
the world’s financial crisis and domestic economic difficulties on the
financial and stock markets, thus affecting SOEs’ public offering plans.
To accelerate the
equitisation process, the ministry said it will continue perfecting
equitisation policies and mechanisms, enhance the supervision over
State-owned corporation and economic groups, and task businesses’ executives
with greater responsibility for ensuring restructuring outcomes and progress.
SOE equitisation is
part of economic restructuring stated in the National Assembly’s Resolution
No.10/2011/QH13 on the socio-economic development plan for 2011 to 2015. The
restructuring is also implemented in public investment and the banking
system.
Australia
sees grain opportunities in Vietnam
Australian market
analysts have seen opportunities for the local grain industry to boost
exports of the products in Asia, particularly in
“The local grain
industry should target markets with differentiated products to take advantage
of growing demand for grain exports in Asia, particularly in Vietnam,”
Australian market analysts was quoted by the Australian Financial Review as
saying.
Statistics of the
Australian Ministry of Agriculture showed that the demand for Australian
wheat has climbed sharply in
In 2014,
The market for
Vietnamese baguette represented a potential opportunity for local growers.
Strategic grains
market analyst at the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre, Peter
Elliott said
Meanwhile, Lloyd
George, market analyst at Ag Scientia Company, pointed to weather-related
issues for Australian growers in consistently producing the volume required
to meet the Asian and Vietnamese increasing demand.
Additionally, the
Australian grain sector also considered
Microsoft
and Bac Ninh committed to promote solid IT infrastructure
Today, the Bac Ninh
Provincial People’s Committee and Microsoft
The MoU will
reinforce the province’s ICT industry via Microsoft’s comprehensive
technology applications and solutions, which enables the provincial
socio-economic growth to bring better life for its people. It also outlines
the mutual collaboration to deploy in focal areas including ICT
infrastructure, IT infrastructure for smart city, information security, cloud
computing application development, IT human resource training, applications
for e-government management in social, economic areas, and IT and electronics
development in Bac Ninh.
“Despite its
ranking as the third position in IT-ready indication, Bac Ninh still has lots
of limitations such as under-standard infrastructure and only connecting to
districtal level, unability to connect to ward level, hence software
applications cannot be optimised on large scale. On the other hand,
IT-proficient human resources are still in shortage and weakness, information
security has not been properly invested,” said Nguyen Nhan Chien, chairman of
the Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee. “Furthermore, provincial leaders
must face high pressure of extremely fast urbanisation and corollary from
population growth. Thus, we truly care and consider solid IT infrastructure
fortification as crucial and vital mission that enables the province to face
with challenges as well as promote its competitiveness.”
Being considered an
important partner in global IT infrastructure building and development,
Microsoft’s aim in gradual approach and support cities’ authority is to
actualise the target to build smart city, firm e-government platform, ensure
maximum privacy and information security, cyber security, particularly the
cloud computing application. Microsoft’s optimal technology solutions assuredly
help solve
“The MOU
signed today with the Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee has significant
meaning to Microsoft
HCMC to
become top garment, textile service center
The Ho Chi Minh
City Department of Industry and Trade on November 3 hosted a seminar to
announce a plan to develop the city's garment and textile industry by 2020
with visions by 2030.
Under plan, it
targets that the city's garment & textile industry will become the
leading industrial sector, is able to supply the garment & textile
services in the southern region and a fashion center in the country.
Accordingly, by
2015, revenue in the garment and textile industry will reach VND37,850
billion, 1.5 time higher than that in 2010. This figure will continue
increasing 1.3 fold over 2015 to hit VND47,670 billion by 2020 and 1.33 fold
over 2020 to touch VND63,726 billion in the next five years.
HCMC will have six
fibre plants producing 150,000 tons by 2015 and seven plants making 200,000
tons by 2020.
The city will set
up three textile plants with capacity of 500 million meter fabric in 2015.
The number will increase to five plants with 22 million meter fabric in 2020.
Dying
establishments will be removed out of the inner city to relocate in the
industrial zones (IZs). Material production for the garment and textile
industry will move in IZs also.
Delegates at the
seminar said that the city should map out policies on training engineers,
technicians and designers for the industry development.’’
Tax cut
proposal to assist individuals, businesses
The Government today
will submit the National Assembly a draft tax law proposing a reduction of
VND5,600-5,700 billion taxes for businesses and individuals by next year.
The 17 clause draft
law proposes to remove the caps on advertising costs, give business income
tax incentives to those in priority fields, free tax payers from their debts
and propose measures on tax and customs procedure reform.
Enterprises
investing in agriculture and rural development fields will enjoy 20 percent
income tax rate in 2014 and 2015 &17 percent from 2016.
Businesses in
support industry and projects with capital totaling up to VND12 trillion
(US$565 million) will enjoy 10 percent tax rate in 15 years, tax exemption in
four years and 50 percent tax reduction in nine following years.
The Government
proposes not to impose business income tax to abroad investment projects.
The caps on
advertisement and marketing costs should be removed. Otherwise the 15 percent
cap should be applied on advertising only not marketing and brokerage.
Boat owners, crew
members and those winning lottery in casinos should be exempt from personal
income tax.
Those selling their
properties should be permitted to choose two tax payment methods including 25
percent of their income or 2 percent of selling price. Stock traders would be
able to pay 20 percent annual income in taxes or 0.1 percent of stock selling
prices.
Five percent value
added tax (VAT) on fertilizer and feed should be abolished. Input VAT should
be completely deducted for private investment in education, vocational
training, health, culture, sports, environment and shipbuilding.
The Government
proposes to remove excise tax regulation and not to charge natural resource
tax on natural waters used for agriculture, aquaculture and forestry.
The NA should lift
penalties to late payment of tax debts before July 1 last year for those
whose partners have gone bankruptcy and who have suffered high interest rate.
However, they must pay their debts before December this year to enjoy this
policy.
If the draft law is
passed, deducted taxes for individuals and businesses will total
VND5,600-5,700 billion (US$263.47-268.17 million) in 2015, according to
calculations by the Ministry of Finance. The Government will have to spend
VND1,300 billion (US$61.16 million) for VAT refund.
However, the
Government income source will be compensated with increasing special income
tax on cigarettes, wine, beer, casino business and online games. It is
estimated to raise VND896 billion in 2015, VND3,598 billion in 2016, VND5,341
billon in 2017, VND7,525 billion in 2018 and VND10,566 billion in 2019.
Budget
collection moves closer to set goal
State budget
collection fulfilled 91.1% of estimates in the first ten months, representing
a year-on-year increase of 15.2%, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
According to the
MoF's latest report, in the reviewed period, budget collection valued VND
719,490 billion.
In the first nine
months, the collection touched over VND 636 trillion, representing 81.3% of
estimates.
As of late October,
domestic collection met 90% of estimates; up 16.5% against the same period
last year. Tax collected from export activities accomplished 92.2% of
estimates, seeing a year-on-year surge of 14.4%.
Tax agencies sped
up measures to reclaim tax arrears; tighten management especially through the
classification of tax arrears and extension of tax payments.
In the
January-October period, budget spending valued VND 853,645 billion,
accounting for 84.8% of estimates. Disbursement of State budget investment
made up around 84.9% of estimates; and that of Government bonds 74.5%.
As of late
September, budget overspending was estimated at VND 134,155 billion,
representing 59.9% of this year’s estimates.
As of October 24,
the value of issued Government bonds reached VND221,240 trillion.
Guest
worker number surpasses target
In the first 10
months of 2014,
In October, 7,774
workers went abroad including 3,878 females.
As of late October,
Exports to
Last month alone,
The export
spike was credited to the strong rises of apparel, footwear, computer and
equipment, timber and wood product, and seafood exports. These products
registered average growth of over 10% compared to the same period last year.
Statistics of the
General Department of Customs reflected the strong growth of
There remain many
opportunities for local enterprises to boost their export of textile,
footwear, seafood and other key products to the
As for apparel, the
More foreign
corporations have plans to relocate their factories to
At present, the
facilities in
The
PVN told to
clarify oil refinery expansion
Deputy Prime
Minister Hoang Trung Hai has urged Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN)
to prepare a report on a project to upgrade and expand Dung Quat Oil Refinery
and give an explanation of why the expansion is urgent.
The Government
Office stressed the clarification request in an announcement released
recently to convey the Government’s instruction.
The Deputy Prime
Minister has also told PVN to evaluate and compare the efficiencies of
upgrade and expansion plans for the oil refinery located in the central
PVN should complete
an investment scheme for the expansion of Dung Quat Oil Refiner and report it
to the Ministry of Industry and Trade before November 15 this year.
The ministry has
been assigned to establish a council consisting of members from relevant agencies
and the Quang Ngai government to appraise the expansion project and submit
the result to the Government this month.
The ministry will
guide Quang Ngai authorities on plans to develop thermal power and oil and
gas projects in the province in accordance with investment regulations.
Quang Ngai should
be responsible for site clearance and compensation for the expansion project
as well as resettlement areas for affected families, if any.
Covering 810
hectares of land and water surface, the refinery now has a maximum processing
capacity of 6.5 million tons of crude oil a year. Its annual capacity would
be increased to 10 million tons if the expansion project is implemented,
according to Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited, which
operates the refinery.
An additional 108
hectares would be needed for the expansion project, which is estimated to
cost US$1.8-2 billion and will take around 60-78 months to complete.
VSSA wants
transparent allocation for sugar imports
The Vietnam Sugar
and Sugarcane Association has again urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade
to set up a transparent mechanism of allocating the allowable volume of sugar
imports to ensure health competition among importers.
Many industry
insiders described the current allocation as an ask-give mechanism and said
unfair treatment among importers is unavoidable.
VSSA chairman
Nguyen Thanh Long said
The sugar imports,
according to VSSA, will impact sugar mills in a year when sugar inventory is
high and domestic demand for this product is low.
Long said sugar
imports can be understandable but what matters most is the transparency of
the current allocation mechanism for sugar imports. Such a mechanism has
triggered unfair competition among domestic sugar firms as those granted with
import quotas can benefit much from the price difference between locally-made
and imported sugar products.
The association has
many times asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to pick up importers via
public auctions as a replacement for the sugar import allocation mechanism.
But the ministry said bidding cannot be applied for now as this is not
included in the contents
The ministry’s
explanation, according to Long, is not convincing.
According to VSSA,
domestic plants had produced 36,800 tons of sugar as of October 15, rising by
7,100 tons over the same period last year.
Higher
tariff sends fertilizer import down
Though provinces in
the Mekong Delta have begun their winter-spring rice crop, fertilizer import
in October fell versus September after the Ministry of Finance doubled the
import tariff on this product to 6%.
According to the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 356,000 tons of fertilizer
worth US$128 million was imported into Vietnam last month, down 61,000 tons
and US$20 million over the previous month.
Nguyen Minh Dang,
director of private firm Minh Dang which specialized in fertilizer and
agricultural materials in Can Tho City, pointed out the import tax spike as
one of the main reasons behind the fertilizer import slide.
He demonstrated
that urea fertilizer imported from
Fertilizer prices
in the Mekong Delta are seen stable this week. Fertilizer traders sell a
50-kilogram bag of urea at VND375,000-395,000 and Chinese-made DAP fertilizer
at VND590,000-615,000 per bag.
Fertilizer traders
forecast fertilizer prices in the Mekong Delta would increase by
VND10,000-20,000 per 50-kilo package in the coming time due to increasing
demand.
Ha
The
The Government’s
recent report on public investment, State-owned enterprises and the banking system
indicated the debt owed by the State to developers of basic construction
projects in localities has outnumbered that at ministries and agencies.
By the end of last
year, the debt in basic construction projects funded by the State budget and
government bond sales at around 23,400 projects exceeded VND57.9 trillion. Of
which, the debt by the State made up VND51.1 trillion and dropped to nearly
VND44.6 trillion by the end of June this year.
As of end-June, the
combined basic construction debt in 21 provinces was around VND35.5 trillion,
much higher than the VND5.1 trillion at ministries and agencies.
Ha
The debt was over
VND2.9 trillion in
The problem is that
budget collections in the localities are far below the amount of their basic
construction debt. For example, Ha
The debt in some of
the provinces was reportedly huge but they have not taken any effective
settlement measures, according to the report send to the ongoing session of
the National Assembly in
Property
experts warn of market stagnation
Experts have warned
that the local real estate market may turn volatile again as many property
developers are in a new race to invest in new projects, especially in the
high-class segment.
The property market
lacks a necessary supervision by administering agencies at a time when it is
showing clear signs of recovery, heard a conference held by the HCMC Real
Estate Association’s (HoREA) in HCMC over the weekend on the realty market in
January-September and the final three months of this year.
Experts said many
realty enterprises are preparing to carry out new projects to capitalize on
the market recovery.
Do Thi Loan, vice
chairwoman of HoREA, said there have been two big property projects
introduced in HCMC in recent months. Vingroup is developing Vinhomes Tan Cang
in Binh Thanh District with over 10,000 apartment units scheduled for
completion between 2017 and 2018, and Masteri Thao Dien in District 2 will
provide the market with more than 3,000 units.
Many other property
companies are rushing to develop new projects and this may lead to a huge
supply in the coming years.
A property expert
told the conference that if realty companies are not be informed well of the
market and are allowed to develop their projects as they want while demand
remains low, the property market would likely fall back into stagnation as
was seen years ago. Therefore, administering agencies should step in and
provide them with transparent information about the real situation.
The expert gave
painful lessons in the past years when developers have used all possible
means to try to sell 200-300 apartments of their projects but they have not
been able to find enough buyers.
Loan proposed the
HCMC departments of construction, natural resources-environment, and
planning-architecture strictly check and monitor new applications and provide
the market with updates.
Loan noted that
banks also lack pieces of advice as they lend to homebuyers with lax
conditions.
Nguyen Van Danh,
deputy director of the Department of Construction, said in support of Loan
that the agency will work out a scheme based on the comments of researchers
and realty enterprises in order to develop the property market sustainably.
Le Hoang Chau,
chairman of HoREA, told the conference that the association has plans to
organize a Vietconreal exhibition on real estate, construction, building
materials and interior decorations next year as well as set up a realty club
for members to exchange experiences and updates about the property market.
The HoREA now has
1,066 members, including 588 firms and 478 individuals.
HSBC: New
orders fuel job demand
HSBC Bank said
companies in
The bank in a
report released on November 3 said staffing levels rose for the second month
running during October. Moreover, the rate of job creation was solid, having
quickened from the previous month to the joint-sharpest in 2014 so far.
Anecdotal evidence
suggested that increased production requirements were the main factor leading
employment to rise. Close to 18% of panelists reported a rise in labor
demand, twice the proportion that lowered employment, the bank said.
The headline
seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 51 in October,
down slightly from 51.7 in September but it still signaled an overall
improvement in operating conditions in the sector. Business conditions have
strengthened in each of the past 14 months.
HSBC noted that
manufacturers in
Although input
prices continued to rise in October, the rate of inflation slowed for the
third consecutive month and was the weakest since June 2013. While some
panelists reported that suppliers had raised charges, others signaled falling
prices in world commodity markets.
Cost savings
enabled some firms to lower their output prices, leading to the first overall
reduction in charges in the sector since May.
In addition,
suppliers’ delivery times shortened in October, ending a seven-month sequence
of lengthening lead times. According to respondents, vendors had been able to
respond favorably to requests for faster deliveries as a result of sufficient
stock holdings.
Meanwhile, despite
higher input buying, stocks of purchases decreased as inputs were used in the
production process.
Stocks of finished
goods increased as items were held prior to delivery to clients.
Trinh Nguyen, Asia
Economist at HSBC, said
“The employment
index grew sharply, a positive sign of manufacturers’ outlook for future
demand. We expect the sector to continue to grow on better external demand.
What’s left is for domestic sectors to kick in, allowing
Impact of
WTO pact discussed
The potential
impact of the World Trade Organisation Trade Facilitation Agreement that
According to Nguyen
Toan, director of the Viet Nam Customs' International Cooperation Department,
the TFA was an agreement binding on all WTO members that seeks to simplify
customs procedures by reducing costs and improving their speed and
efficiency.
It also seeks to
balance facilitation and legal compliance, set an effective co-operation
mechanism for customs authorities and between customs and other agencies, and
promote the use of technology.
The agreement
covers many aspects like transparency and rights of businesses, goods in
transit, and procedures, fees and charges imposed on or in connection with
importation/exportation and transit.
It will provide
assistance to developing and least developed countries in updating their
infrastructure, training customs officials, and meeting other costs
associated with implementing the agreement.
Tran Huu Huynh,
chairman of the International Trade Advisory Committee, WTO Centre, at the
Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Viet Nam ranked 65th out of
180 nations in efficiently performing customs procedures.
One day's reduction
in the customs clearance time could save the country's businesses US$1.6
billion, he said.
The TFA was a
blueprint for reforming customs procedures and bringing practical benefits to
the economy, he said.
Domestic law had
already covered these issues, but had not been enforced effectively.
Talking about the
TFA's benefits, he said it would help businesses reduce the customs clearance
time and costs and strengthen their competitiveness to boost exports and
expand markets.
Herb Cochran,
executive director of Amcham Viet
As a result, small
and medium-sized enterprises in
Tran Ngoc Liem,
deputy director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry's
Businesses,
especially those involved in foreign trade, were awaiting the results of
these reforms, he said.
The workshop would
help businesses understand the country's TFA commitments and benefits, and
they could work together with customs to implement the agreement in the most
effective way, he said.
It was organised by
Viet Nam Customs, the VCCI, and USAID.
Dai-ichi
Life
Dai-ichi Life
Insurance in Viet Nam has announced strong sales results in the first nine
months of 2014, with new business premiums reaching over VND640 billion
(US$30.4 million), an increase of 33 per cent against the same period last
year.
Total premium
income reached nearly VND1.7 trillion ($80.5 million), an increase of 36 per
cent over the same period in 2013. Preliminary profits in the first three
quarters was estimated at VND160 billion ($7.6 million), according to the
company.
Quang Ngai to
develop $1m shipyard
The central
Built by Quang Minh
Ltd. Co., the shipyard will produce steel and wooden fishing vessels for local
fishermen and neighbouring provinces.
The province is
scheduled to get 189 new fishing ships in the 2014-16 period. It currently
has a fishing fleet of 5,500 vessels, of which 450 are offshore fishing
boats.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
|
Thứ Sáu, 7 tháng 11, 2014
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