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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 23/12
The Omani Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries recently
lifted the ban on importing live poultry, their non-processed meat, and
hatching eggs from
The same decision was also made on the import of live birds,
their products, derivatives and offal hailing from
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Fuad bin Ja’far Al
Sagwani issued the decisions basing on recommendations of
Meanwhile, this ministry also imposed another import ban on
live fowls and their products, derivatives, and offal from the
It said the ban, triggered by the abovementioned countries’
report of avian flu outbreaks, is necessary to prevent influenza viruses from
entering
Seafood exports reach $7.9b in 2014
Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers
(VASEP) general secretary Nguyen Hoai Nam said the world market had seen a
recovery, and sales of seafood products has risen more than other types of
food. Meanwhile,
Also, deputy minister of agriculture and rural development Vu
Van Tam said the nation could reach its target of $8 billion in total seafood
export value for next year due to the continuing high growth in value this
year.
The value of shrimp exports in 2014 was expected to reach 22
per cent year-on-year, surging to $3.8 billion, while the value of tra fish
exports would be $1.8 billion, he said.
Of note,
Pham Anh Tuan, deputy head of Fisheries Department under the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said tilapia had great appeal
in foreign markets.
Over the past five years, tilapia has reached an average
growth rate at 30 per cent each year in the world market.
For instance, the
Also,
Thus tilapia, said
Tuan added that the fisheries industry would promote the
production of tilapia. Also, systems for raising tilapia along with shrimp
would improve the environment, control disease and produce quality seafood
products, officials noted.
Nguyen Huu Dung, VASEP deputy chairman, said many enterprises
now raising tra fish and shrimp had planned investments for rearing tilapia.
VN firms need to seize IT innovations
More than 130 ICT foreign and local specialists gathered for a
seminar late last week at Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park to discuss IT innovations in
computing issues on quality and service based on the SMAC.
The IT industry witnesses new innovations in computing every
15 years or so. These innovations change the way IT services are delivered to
businesses and end users. After the eras of mainframe, mini-computing,
personal computers and client servers, as well as the Internet, or more
correctly called "Web" era, the industry is currently in what many
call the fifth wave of corporate IT. This fifth wave is characterised by a
new master IT architecture comprising social, mobile, analytics and cloud
technologies collectively known as SMAC.
During the SMAC Quality Conference 2014, specialists and participants
focused on the main topics to test solutions on quality and services based on
cloud and mobile computing.
At the seminar, chairman Hoang Nam Tien stated that seizing
the new tendency of SMAC would create value and strong growth for businesses.
This was a global trend that ICT businesses must learn, since they cannot
operate outside the "game."
Tien said the Viet Nam ICT market had seen development and
strong integration. In particular, SMAC had been given special attention.
Between 2014 and 2016, mobile tendencies and the number of 3G
users was expected to continue to rise rapidly, he said. Services, such as
OTT (over-the-top) and social, would contribute 80 per cent to online
communications, online video and mobile content. These would help enhance
multimedia communications via personal computers, smartphones, tablets and
smart TV. Therefore, people would witness a real boom in multimedia
communications, with coverage of more than 50 per cent of the Vietnamese
population.
Neopost Software Community Director Jerome Modolo, one of the
main speakers during the seminar, said SMAC and SMACT (Social,
However, testing activities of SMAC technology were still in
the early development stages. Vendors continued using their available
resources, but they were gradually adjusting their products or services to
meet the new trends and customer needs. He added that very few companies had
made a breakthrough in the field of SMAC testing.
He added that this was an opportunity for young Vietnamese
companies and IT workers to participate in solving the problem through
knowledge and creativity.
The new trend of IT technology also entailed a great demand
for IT workers. He called this a "big space" for local training and
the human resource market.
FPT Software will need at least 600 IT workers next year. Of
this number, 100 will comprise engineers with expert understandings of SMAC
testing.
According to reports of IDG and Gartner there will be 2.18
million users of "Social" by 2015, bringing in revenues of US$34
billion. Further, the number of "Mobility" users is expected to
increase to 1.3 billion, bringing in revenues of $735 billion.
Mobile devices market set for holiday pickings
Most mobile device agents and stores in
The prediction was based on business results that the
companies have achieved in recent weeks, particularly after Apple's new
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets were put on sale in mid-November in the
country.
In November, at FPT's shops, the two iPhones 6 brought the
highest turnover, followed by iphone 5s, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Samsung
Galaxy Note 3.
Other popular smartphones include Asus, Sony, Oppo and Nokia.
Turnover for Thegioididong.com and dienmay.com increased by 10
per cent and 15 per cents compared to October and 2013 figures, respectively.
A representative of thegioididong.com, who declined to be
named, said that his company's turnover rose because of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Gold sold well as sales from promotions (12-24 per
cent discounts) on many smartphones such as Samsung Grand 2, Nokia Lumia 1520
and HTC Butterfly S.
In addition to the products, some products such as the new
Nokia 535 and Oppo R5 have also attracted customers because of their
convenient features and reasonable prices.
As for the PC tablet market, Nguyen Hong Linh from FPT said
the Asus Fonepad FE170 with full 3G telephony functionality was one of the
bestsellers last month among PC tablets selling for less than VND3 million.
Five out of 10 kinds of Samsung's tablets, three types of
Apple iPads, and several kinds of Asus tablet PCs were also big earners.
Because of the PC tablet market's rapid growth, many mobile
device companies such as Asus, HP and Lenovo have increased investment in
production of low-cost tablet PCs to fully tap the market segment that Apple
and Samsung have not yet occupied.
Analysts say mobile devices are continuing to sell well in
December, and are expected to do so over the next several months.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into
The figure includes registered capital of $2.84 billion for
414 new FDI projects, nearly triple last year's figure. Most of the
investment was in the manufacturing and real estate sectors.
In addition, 133 operational projects have received added
capital totalling $371.2 million, 53.5 per cent of the figure in 2013.
BIDV, Hiroshima Shinkin ink MoU
The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam has signed
a Memorandum of Understanding with
The local bank will be the first partner in
They will include payment accounts, credit, wage payments,
consultancy on the trade and investment environment in
Service industry lures Japanese firms
There is a growing tendency to seek investment opportunities
in the service industries in
The workshop, held by the Japanese External Trade Organisation
(JETRO), hosted some 60 Vietnamese businesses and 17 Japanese enterprises.
According to the organising board, Japanese businesses are
interested in estate-related information and seeking spaces for restaurants
and beauty care services in major commercial centres and shopping malls in
They also seek partners, in a bid to expand
Ho Xuan Lam, Vice Director of the Municipal Investment and
Trade Promotion Centre, said that
Experts, architects suggest ideas for
Experts and architects put ideas forwards to develop the
Tran Ngoc Chinh, president of Vietnam Urban Planning and
Development Association (VUPDA), said that the
The metropolitan expansion should head towards the sea as well
as establishing a network of towns connecting to the nuclear city and in
return, those towns got benefits from the nuclear city, Chinh added.
The HCM City metropolitan area with HCM City as the nuclear
city is planned to encompass the borders of the current HCM City and seven
surrounding provinces – Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Long An, Tay Ninh,
Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Tien Giang.
The natural area of the zone is around 30,404 sq. km and has a
population of 18 million. It is to contribute 60% of the State budget revenue
and over 70% of the entire country’s export volume, according to architect
Ngo Quang Hung from the Southern Construction Planning Institute.
The participants agreed that the planning adjustment is
necessary to improve the metropolitan zone’s role and position in the world
as well as boosting the connection with large metropolitan zones in Southeast
Asia and
The adjustment also helps overcome shortcomings in the
development of the zone’s space, increasing the regional connection and
integration with the overall planning on socio-economic development as well
as meeting challenges from climate change.
Hung also suggested the layout for economic areas in the
metropolitan zone with
The Northeast region, composed of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba
Ria - Vung Tau, will develop logistics service, ecological and resort tourism
and the Southwest region, including Long An and Tien Giang, will be the area
specialising in growing rice, fruit trees, and raising seafood.
Professor Charles Gore, an economic expert from the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development, underscored the role of the
Meanwhile, Professor Frank Schwartze from
Architect Ngo Viet Nam Son, a specialist on urban planning,
put an emphasis on two challenges the city is facing: the uncontrolled and
unsustainable urbanisation and risks of climate change and rising sea levels.
According to Son, the metropolitan area should prioritize
developing a network of roads and highways as well as multi-sector and inter-regional
cooperation mechanisms.
Huynh The Du, lecturer of the Fulbright Economics Teaching
Programme, said it was necessary to share responsibilities and gains among
provinces and cities within the metropolitan region.
The conference was held in the City on December 19.
An international tourism complex including five-star hotels,
convention centres and casinos will be built on
At a recent meeting between the provincial administration and
a working team led by Deputy Minister for Planning and Investment Dang Huy
Dong, the Deputy Chairman of the Kien Giang People's Committee, Dang Cong
Huan, said the tourism complex will be built on 135ha in
Huan said the casinos will be located on a 30,000-sq.m area
adjacent to five-star hotels and resorts with a total of 2,500 to 3,000
rooms.
The complex will be a 100% foreign-invested project with a maximum
duration of 70 years, with the casino licence valid for a maximum term of 30
years.
The investor in the tourism complex must be a company
specialing in casino services, and must commit to an investment of over US$4
billion, said Huan.
International consultants at the meeting said other
entertainment services should be added to the complex.
They also said strong commitment from the Vietnamese
Government would be needed for such a huge project.
Under the master plan for socio-economic development of Kien
Giang province by 2020 approved by the Prime Minister on July 26,
Under a 10-year-development plan, the province, situated 250km
south of
By 2020, Kien Giang will establish the Kien Luong town and the
Ha Tien city, as well as two new districts – Thanh Hung district from Giong
Rieng town, and Soc Xoai from Hon Dat town.
The office buildings market in
The Government's success in reducing inflation (and lending
rates), cutting back spending, attracting foreign direct investment and
achieving reasonable GDP growth of 5.6 percent have improved market conditions,
which in turn have improved the confidence and outlook of both established
businesses and new investors.
This demand in the market combined with limited supply has
helped stabilise rents and reduce vacancy rates. In the fourth quarter rents
for both grades A and B have been quite stable (0.1 percentage points down
from the previous quarter).
In terms of vacancy rates, grade B performed slightly better
than grade A as they declined by 3 and 1.8 percentage points from a year
earlier.
Net absorption in the quarter improved significantly for both
grades A and B – by 59.8 pps and 31.7 pps – which the latter continuing to
perform better than the former.
The five most active sectors were banking, finance, insurance,
drugs, manufacturing and IT/technology even as relocation for cost reasons
ceased to be a major driver.
Expansion and new leasing are expected to drive the office
market next year given the economy is improving and
For small- to average-sized occupiers, the market does still
provide some viable options, but for occupiers seeking quality, international
standard, and managed buildings in the central business districts, limited
new supply will come from large scale, mixed-use projects and from those developed
partly for owner occupation.
The notable projects coming online in 2015 include
Vietcombank, Viettel, and SSG .
So while construction can be seen across the central business
district, the reality is that for large tenants planning an occupancy
solution, the market will remain tight until the end of 2014.
As a result rent levels will remain stable at least until Q1 2015
when the next wave of supply comes online.
Local businesses received ASEAN awards
The Industry and Trade Information Centre under the Ministry
of Industry and Trade on December 20 presented ASEAN awards to local
businesses.
Among more than 500 entries, 41 businesses were presented with
famous ASEAN brand name awards, 65 with ASEAN outstanding business awards, 65
with ASEAN product & service quality awards and 6 with ASEAN favourite
destination awards.
The organising board conferred ASEAN golden cups and
certificates to these 153 businesses.
The awards presentation aims to realise the Government’s
renewal, open-door and international economic integration policies and to
strengthen friendship towards forming the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in
2015.
The awards also constituted a motive force for the business
community to develop reputable brand names and high quality products and
services, contributing to a healthy business environment, and enhancing
sustainable economic development and cooperation and trade promotion.
Two more foreign banks to open branches in Vietnam
E.SUN Commercial Bank, Ltd of Taiwan and BNP Paribas bank of
France have been granted permission to establish branch banks in Vietnam,
Nguyen Van Binh, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) recently
revealed.
Binh said he also approved the appointment of Ho Fa-Chen as
E.SUN Bank Director of its branch in Dong Nai and Nguyen Thi Duc Hanh as BNP
Paribas bank Director of its branch in
However, the two banks must submit a few perfunctory
compliance documents as required by State bank’s guidelines and regulations
before licences would be issued, Binh said.
Stable material areas needed for cashew sector’s growth
Stable cashew material supply areas, suitable support
policies, and the application of science and technology are crucial for the
cashew sector when it comes to securing sustainable development, said
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Cao Duc Phat.
Though being the world’s top cashew exporter,
Binh Phuoc is the largest cashew tree grower in
Selecting saplings that could produce high-quality nuts and
good yield for multiplication is a must, the minister said, asking research
institutes and the MARD’s Cultivation Department to issue related criteria by
the end of the first quarter of 2015.
Nguyen Van Hoa, Deputy Head of the MARD’s Cultivation
Department, said the connectivity among cashew producers, processor and
exporters in the development of cashew material supply areas is significant
and should be strengthened.
He also pointed to the need for reviewing the planning of
cashew production and boosting technology transfer.
Hoa suggested that the government allocate more budget to the
building and upgrading of infrastructure systems in key cashew farming areas,
while providing farmers with preferential loans for intensive cultivation.
According to the department,
Average productivity was raised to 950kg per hectare in the
2006-2013 period from only about 500kg per hectare in the 1995-2000 period.
In 2014, the figure is estimated at 1.172 kg per hectare, a
rise of 24 percent compared to that of 2013, said the department.
The country’s total yearly cashew yield rose nearly 233 times
in the 1982-2014 period, reaching nearly 350,000 tonnes in 2014 from only
1,500 tonnes. However, the output has satisfied only 35 percent of processing
demand, added the department.
Low inflation leaves room for interest rate cuts
Inflation is expected to dip lower in 2015, which could give
the central bank room to cut back loan interest rates, according to the
Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Initially, the inflation rate was projected to be 4 percent in
2015, as revealed in a meeting on December 17, Vneconomy reported.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment said any price
adjustments, whether in case of products or services in domains such as
healthcare, education, power and petrol, must be carefully considered to
prevent any significant impact. Similarly, any decision to adjust the price
of oil should be critically deliberated upon, as well.
This followed the Electricity of Vietnam's proposal to raise
power tariffs by an average of 9.5 percent, beginning this month.
According to the ministry, the input-output analysis (I/O)
revealed that a 9.5 percent increase in power price would raise the
production cost by 0.55 percent. It would also cause the end-consumption of
households to decline by 0.58 percent and the gross domestic product (GDP)
growth rate to decrease by 0.45 percent.
In addition, cutting the loan interest rate by one percent
would increase the GDP growth rate by 0.45 percent and cause the inflation
rate to decline by 0.76 percent.
An expert said that the loan interest rates of
The Government has prioritised macroeconomic stability and
inflation reduction in the past.
In November, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had said
System offers painless investment procedures
Foreign investors who apply online for permission to invest in
The move is part of the national foreign investment
information system, and is part of the plan to create more favourable
conditions for foreign investors. If this plan is enacted next year, foreign
investors may finally be able to dispense with complicated
administrative procedures when deciding to invest in
The procedure to obtain an investment certificate where a
foreign party wants to invest or buy into a company in
For example, investors may be required to explain the origin of
funding, business plans and track records. The licensing time is also
lengthened with cross-consultations between the municipal and provincial
departments of Planning and Investment and the municipal and provincial
People’s Committees or relevant governmental agencies. Sometimes, a local
department may put an application on hold for two to three months while it
awaits feedback from relevant governmental agencies.
Turkey begins antidumping probe into Vietnam,
The import department under the Turkish Ministry of Economy
has launched an antidumping probe into steel imports from
The Turkish side unveiled the investigation into Vietnam’s
cold rolled stainless steel welded tubes in an announcement on December 12,
the VCA, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said on its website,
citing the Vietnamese trade office in Turkey.
The investigation will review the steel imports from
The plaintiff has said that some Chinese and Taiwanese
exporters shipped their products to
On March 15, 2013,
Chinese and Taiwanese steel shipments to
The Southeast Asian country is
Turkish merchandise exports to
FIA organised training courses for officials
In order to run the national foreign investment information
system smoothly next year, the Foreign Investment Agency has organised a
series of training courses for municipal and provincial authorities in charge
of foreign direct investment management at local levels.
Such training courses were organised firstly in cities and
provinces with the largest number of foreign invested projects such as
According to the Foreign Investment Agency, the training
courses are the first step to introduce the national foreign investment
information system to municipal and provincial officials who will work
directly with the system to ensure a comprehensive database of foreign direct
investment in the country.
At the training courses, local officials learnt how to use the
system to make reports and manage information related to foreign
invested projects.
Many richest Vietnamese people on the stock market have
suffered severely from the free fall of the local stock market, a knock-on
effect from the recent slump of the world’s oil prices.
After the Wednesday session alone, VN-Index fell 16.92 points,
or 3.16 percent and stood at 518.22 points. During the session, the VN-Index
lost more than 20 points before recovering. Many stocks were sold at a floor
prices with many blue-chips, though not hitting the floor, closing in red.
Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, saw a
loss of about VND374 billion (US$1.76 million) by the end of the day after
HAG shares of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group lost VND1,200 per share to VND21,100
per share ($1).
Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Dinh Long, Chairman of the Board of
Directors of Hoa Phat Group, continued to lose hundreds of billions of dong
when HPG shares of the company fell VND2,000 per share to VND47,800 per
share. Long lost VND202.12 billion ($9.5 million) on that day, and if the
number of HPG shares owned by Vu Thi Hien, Long's wife, is taken into
account, the family lost an extra VND37.14 billion more ($1.75 million).
The big bosses of Masan Group were also in the same boat as
MSN shares dropped VND2,000 per share to VND79,000 per share. After the
trading session, Nguyen Hoang Yen, member of the Board of directors of the
company, lost VND43.56 billion ($2 million), while Ho Hung Anh, Deputy
Chairman of the Board of Directors, witnessed VND31.54 billion ($1.5 million)
values of MSN share fading away.
Fishery stocks are even more tragic.
HVG shares of seafood exporter Hung Vuong Group plunged
VND2,000 per share to VND26,700 per share, bringing the total value of HVG
shares owned by Duong Ngoc Minh, CEO and chairman of the Board of Directors
of the company down sharply by VND87.28 billion ($4.1 million).
Pham family, owners of property developer Vingroup, could not
stand aside when suffering a big loss worth some VND732.96 billion ($34.5
million) when their VIC shares declined VND2,000 per share to VND45,000 per
share.
Banking shares also fell victim to the bearish market,
including STB shares of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank. STB
shares of the bank retreated by VND1,000 per share, which caused a loss of
VND54.86 billion ($2.6 million) for Tran Phat Minh, the largest individual
shareholder of the bank.
Meanwhile, as a shareholder of Sacombank, Vice President of
Southern Bank, Tram Trong Ngan also saw a VND54.86 billion loss, while Ngan’s
younger brother Tram Khai Hoa, who holds the position of a member of the
board of directors of Sacombank, lost VND23.72 billion ($1.1 million).
The ones suffering the biggest loss are oil companies, in
which PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas) suffered the most
severely when seeing the total value of its shares losing VND4.74 trillion
($222.78 billion) as its GAS share fell by VND2,500 per share to VND62,000
per share.
The loss of GAS share was followed by PVD, PVS and PVT. The
market capitalization of the PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corp
decreased by VND757.68 billion ($35.6 million) after the Wednesday session.
PVT shares of Petrovietnam Transportation Corp fell to the
floor, losing VND1,000 per share to close at VND14,700 per share, suffering a
VND255.86 billion ($12 million) loss in market capitalization.
Currently, the price of oil is at the center of the world
economy’s attention, as oil price tends to fall to a new bottom, leaving many
economies severely affected.
Source :
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Hai, 22 tháng 12, 2014
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