|
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 8/12
Yanmar
launched joint venture on agricultural machinery
Yanmar
Licensed
in August this year, the joint venture has the total investment capital of
VND294 billion ($14 million). Following this, Yanmar
According
to Naoki Kobayashi, member of the Board and managing director of Agricultural
Machineries & Equipment of Yanmar Group, the company will introduce to
“Yanmar’s
agricultural machinery products will contribute to the implementation of
Yanmar
Group was founded in 1912 and its headquarter is in
Internet
Day celebrates growth of online activity
Officials
recognised the importance of the internet to daily life but stressed the
importance of data security and other precautionary measures during the Viet
Nam Internet Association's Internet Day event held yesterday in
"The
Viet Nam Internet Association would like to create an annual internet day or
event for users, enterprises, organisations and State offices to prepare for
co-operation among international partners and the community," Vu Hoang
Lien, chairman of the association, said yesterday at a conference and
exhibition held in the city.
Lien
said that internet infrastructure had developed well in the country, with
fiber optical cables linked to many cities.
"Cloud
computing and content distribution network applications have also promoted
efficiency in internet-based IT application and development," Lien said.
Mobile
devices connected through 3G have enhanced the usage of internet applications
in daily life as well, and the average internet access speed along with cheap
prices for internet service, especially for 3G, have attracted more internet
users.
"The
online community and over-the-top (OTT) services have changed communication
and it has seriously affected real life," the chairman said.
In
addition, online marketing, internet banking and e-commerce have developed
well and brought huge benefits to internet users as well as enterprises.
However,
he noted that information security on the internet "is still a problem,
and there are concerns from internet users, enterprises and
governments."
To
create a healthy internet environment, the VIA chairman suggested that
According
to Business Monitor International, 34 per cent of
Thanks
to the growth, related internet services like added services, e-commerce,
digital content and online applications – especially for mobile applications
– increased significantly this year.
In
e-commerce, 39 per cent of internet users were buying products or services
online.
Sixty
per cent of them notice adverts on online newspapers, and the over-the-top
services have expanded greatly. For instance, 20 million people use Zalo
services and send 250 million messages a day.
Korean
firms come hiring at
Forty
five South Korean firms in industries like manufacturing, construction,
logistics, services, and finance are taking part in a Korea-Viet Nam job fair
that opened on Friday at
Organised
by the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency and the South Korean
consulate in the city, the fair seeks to connect Korean companies with young
Vietnamese talent.
The
participating firms include Hyosung, STX, Lotte Mart, Daewoo International,
and Korea United Pharmaceutical. They hope to recruit people for jobs in
marketing and sales, taxation and accounting, quality control, design,
merchandise, legal, and mechanical engineering.
The
retail prices of petrol have been reduced for the eleventh consecutive time
this year, falling by VND320 per litre on Saturday, the Viet Nam National
Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) said.
The
adjustment pushed down the price of a litre of RON 92 and RON 95 to VND19,930
and VND20,530, respectively. After eleven rounds of cuts, petrol prices have
been reduced by VND4,180 per litre. A litre of diesel and kerosene was also
reduced by VND240 and VND280, respectively, while mazut saw a reduction of
VND320 per kilogram.
According
to the Petrolimex, the decrease was in line with principles for determining
the sales price, as stated in Government Decree 83/2014/ND-CP on petroleum
business, as well as a joint order by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and
Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), which asked fuel dealers to reduce
retail prices.
On the
same day, the MoF told fuel wholesalers to reduce their use of the fuel price
stabilisation fund from VND600 to VND300 per litre to offset their losses.
Dak
Nong hosts two Vietnamese goods fairs
The HCM
City-based Business Studies and Assistance Centre in collaboration with the
The
first fair will take place in Krong No District from December 8-10 and the
second one from December 12-14 in Cu Jut District, promising to offer more
shopping choices for local consumers, many of them ethnic minority people.
The fair
has attracted the participation of 33 companies in various sectors, including
food, confectioneries, household utensils, cosmetics, fashion and
pharmaceuticals.
Along
with attractive promotions, firms together with the organisers will present
60 gifts to needy students and poor households in the districts.
The
events also include programmes to connect small traders in traditional
markets with businesses, and roundtable meetings to provide farmers with
pepper-growing techniques as well as instruct in Vietgap standards for
coffee, rice and pepper production.
Korean
firms come hiring at
Forty
five South Korean firms in industries like manufacturing, construction,
logistics, services, and finance are taking part in a Korea-Viet Nam job fair
that opened on Friday at
Organised
by the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency and the South Korean
consulate in the city, the fair seeks to connect Korean companies with young
Vietnamese talent.
The
participating firms include Hyosung, STX, Lotte Mart, Daewoo International,
and Korea United Pharmaceutical. They hope to recruit people for jobs in
marketing and sales, taxation and accounting, quality control, design,
merchandise, legal, and mechanical engineering.
Shares
up despite investor caution
Overall,
shares rose last week, though investor sentiment remained cautious.
On the
HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index finished at 578.76 points, up 2.16 per
cent over the previous week.
The
HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange also improved by 1.37 per cent to
reach 88.63 points.
Meanwhile,
the average market value on both exchanges declined to VND1.96 trillion
(US$92 million) in
The
declines in the preceding week lured investors back to help indexes gain
value. However, the caution prevailed, hampering the rising momentum of the
two bourses and causing liquidity to decrease throughout the sessions.
Further,
blue chips continued to lead the market rally, though transactions were
erratic.
Cash
flow shifted quickly between sectors, as it focused on logistics shares
during the first two days of the week, then concentrated on purchasing
securities stocks on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in the final three sessions,
banking stocks were favoured.
Construction
and real estate shares also outperformed several other sectors, though the
momentum weakened.
Trading
on some specific shares was also affected by activities of foreign funds last
week. Typically, Sai Gon Securities Inc (SSI) was added to the FTSE Viet Nam
Index, while Sacombank (STB), Da Nang Rubber (DRC) and Vinh Son – Song Hinh
(VSH) were excluded.
At the
same time, FTSE Viet Nam All-Share Index added construction firm Sudico
(SJS), beverage company Vinh Hoan (VHC) and Viet Nhat Medical Instrument
(JVC) to its portfolio, while removing Eximbank (EIB) and Binh Minh Plastic
(BMP).
Although
foreign investors reversed their status to buy shares on Thursday and Friday,
they still concluded the week as net sellers by a margin of nearly VND78.7
billion ($3.7 million). Also, property developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) rose
as a notable listed code when foreign investors sold it at a net VND242
billion ($11.3 million).
Of note,
Sai Gon Securities Inc's director of retail research and investment advisory
predicted last week's trend would continue for several additional sessions to
accumulate in a rally.
Plan
aims to improve pharmaceutical industry
The
Health Ministry launched a development plan for the pharmaceutical sector on
Saturday in co-operation with the World Health Organisation.
Under
the plan, Vietnamese companies will produce 20 per cent of materials for drug
production and 80 per cent of drugs used in healthcare by 2020.
Additionally,
there will be one pharmacist for every 4,000 people. All drug stores,
vaccines and biological products verification centres and 50 per cent of
testing centres will meet Good Pharmacy Practices standards.
Deputy
Minister of Health Pham Le Tuan said at the conference that
However,
patients were often given the wrong prescriptions and clinical pharmacists
were incompetent at providing correct usage information.
Moreover,
drug producers could only produce simple generic drugs, as they spent little
on research and development and operated without macroeconomic direction.
As of
November, 39,000 drug retailers, 133 drug producers and 10,000 drug stores
met Good Pharmacy Practices standards. Vietnamese companies were also able to
produce vaccines to prevent 10 of the 12 diseases listed in its vaccination
programme.
Tuan
urged companies to work with suppliers to utilise Vietnamese raw materials
and improve control over their origin and quality.
Customs
budget revenue exceeds annual target
The
General Department of Customs' budget revenue as of November 26 reached
VND225.4 trillion (US$10.6 billion) or 100.6 per cent of the 2014 target.
Collections
of the export-import, special consumption and environmental protection taxes
reached VND84.9 trillion ($3.9 billion) while those of the value added tax
reached VND140.2 trillion ($6.6 billion).
The
department's total budget for this year is expected to reach VND248.5
trillion ($11.6 billion), a 12.2-per cent year-on-year increase and 110.9 per
cent of the forecast for this year.
The
department attributed the high revenue to the 12.8-per cent year-on-year
increase in collections in the first 11 months of this year.
The
The
customs department also increased the implementation of post-customs
clearance and inter-sectoral co-operation to prevent and detect trade fraud.
In turn,
the local departments proposed measures to prevent losses and increase
management by price consultation and price and tax code assessment.
The high
revenue was also attributed to the effective instruction of the Viet Nam
Communist Party, National Assembly and Government and provincial
implementation of plans to achieve annual national socio-economic development
goals.
Store
brands gain in popularity
Attitudes
toward retailers' private labels or store-branded products are improving
throughout
Most
consumers in the region said their perception of private label brands had
improved over time and the majority viewed private label brands as a viable
alternative to named brands, according to the 2014 Nielsen Global Private
Label Report.
Eighty-four
per cent of consumers in
Sentiment
is particularly high in the
Sentiment
toward private label offerings is also high in
Fifty-five
per cent of Thais and 52 per cent of Malaysians feel the quality of private
label brands is on par with named brands, while 61 per cent of Thais and 46
per cent of Malaysians believe some private label offerings are as good or
better than brand name products.
"Improving
perceptions, however, have yet to convert to any kind of significant lift in
sales at the check-out, and private label share in the region has increased
only slightly over the last decade as named brand promotional activity
increases," said Pete Gale, head of Retailer Services for Nielsen in
Asia Pacific.
While 66
per cent of Singaporean shoppers and 28 per cent of Thai shoppers are regular
private label buyers, in both markets less than 10 per cent of baskets
contain a private label product. Overall share of private labels in the
region remains low: in
Perceptions
around the value for money offered by private labels are less positive in all
Just 46
per cent of Indonesians believe private label brands offer good value for
money, the lowest in the region, and sixth lowest globally, followed by 55
per cent in Viet Nam, 57 per cent in Singapore, 58 per cent in Malaysia, 59
per cent in Thailand and 66 per cent in the Philippines, compared to 67 per
cent of consumers globally.
Conversely,
as sentiment around private label quality lifts, an increasing number of
consumers say they are prepared to pay extra for private label products they
like.
Filipinos
rank highest globally, with 72 per cent saying they are willing to pay the
same or more for a private label product they like, along with 69 per cent of
Vietnamese, the fifth highest globally, and 64 per cent of Thais, the ninth
highest globally.
Local
banks continue to cut interest rates
The
total outstanding loans of Viet Nam-based credit institutions increased by
10.22 per cent in the first 11 months of 2014 over that of end-2013.
The
State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) also revealed on Friday that lenders had
actively reduced interest rates for existing dong loans.
Last
November 16, loans with annual interest rates of more than 15 per cent accounted
for 3.95 per cent of all loans, which was less than the 6.3 per cent recorded
at the end of last year.
The
ratio of loans with interest rates of more than 13 per cent likewise fell
from 19.72 per cent to 11.1 per cent.
The SBV
said it would continue to ask commercial banks to slash lending rates further
to below 13 per cent. Interest rates declined by up to two per cent this year
and were backing production and business activities while assuring national
goals of controlling inflation and stabilising the monetary market.
Loans
were focused on Government-prioritised areas and banking system liquidity
remained healthy, with deposits at credit institutions expanding by 13.33 per
cent in 2014 over that of end-2013, it added.
Between
now and year-end, the SBV will closely monitor the market and ensure
comprehensive policies for monetary stability, especially on foreign
currencies and exchange rates.
It will
also provide further support for businesses and speed up credit institution
restructuring and bad debt resolution to ensure systematic security and
enable an overall lending growth of 12 to 14 per cent for 2014.
Firms
complain labour laws in need of clarity
The
Labour Code and Trade Union Law are vague, making it hard for businesses to
comply with them, a seminar held in
Miki
Yasufumi, a lawyer at VILAF International Law firm and Anderson More and
Tomotsune Japan Law Firm, said a company with a workers' union had to
contribute 2 per cent of salaries to the Trade Union Fund.
Companies
without one have to pay to the "Upper Trade Union" but "we do
not know how, where, and when to pay," he said.
Business
executives complained that provisions on overtime wages for night shifts were
unclear, resulting in various interpretations and uneven implementation.
The
Labour Code states that a "worker who works at night shall receive a
wage as per regulations on overtime pay and wages for night shift plus 20 per
cent of the wage as per wage unit or of the wages for daytime job."
But the
rationale for adding the 20 per cent was unclear, they said.
Ho Xuan
Dung, deputy general director, legal, at Windsor Management Corporation, said
the law stipulated that if someone works overtime many days in a month,
"the employer must arrange for compensatory leave for the
employee."
"Businesses
want to know clearly about the overtime rate if compensatory leave is given
and if it is not, and if compensatory leave is mandatory even if overtime
payment is made," he said.
Some
delegates complained about the inconsistencies in regulations on foreign
employees and the cumbersome procedures in applying for work permits.
They
asked why the validity of work permits for foreign workers is reduced to two
years from three while their labour contracts have the maximum term of 36
months.
Veera
Maenpaa, a lawyer and senior associate at PwC Legal, said regulations changed
too quickly, making it very hard for foreign companies to keep track.
They
needed to be more stable as well as transparent, she said.
Nguyen
Thi Dan, head of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA)
office in
The
Labour Code requires employers to discuss workers' salary scales with the
trade union and publicise them at the workplace.
"But
there are no unions at many companies, making it difficult for employers to
comply with this provision, while disclosing wage levels causes
resentment," she explained.
Mai Duc
Chinh, vice president of the
Citi
finalises 245m USD financing deal for power transmission corporation
Citi
The 245
USD million financing package has two term loan facilities with a tenor of 13
years.
The term
loan facilities are guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance of
The
loan, which follows another 200 million USD term loan in 2011, will finance
the construction of four power transmission projects: the Duyen Hai – My Tho
500kV transmission line, the Long Phu – Soc Trang 220kV transmission line,
the Long Phu – Can Tho – Tra Noc 220kV transmission line, and the Can Tho
220kV sub-station. This system will transmit electricity generated in Long
Phu and Duyen Hai power centres to industrial zones in Soc Trang and Hau
Giang provinces, as well as Can Tho and
"With
annual investments ranging from 15 to 18 trillion VND in the 2014-2020
period, EVN NPT is proactively diversifying capital sources from ODA, export
credit and domestic trade in order to meet the demand of developing the
national power grid system," said NPT Chairman Dang Phan Tuong.
Dennis
Hussey, Managing Director and Citi Country Officer for
Vietnam
sees prospect for fruit, vegetable exports to UAE
The
Southeast Asian nation mainly exported dried coconut pulp and fresh fruit and
vegetable to this market, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s
Africa,
The
launch of direct air routes between the two countries by Emirates and Etihad
has offered a good chance for
Last
year, the country shipped abroad more than 1 billion USD worth of fruit and
vegetables, compared to 827 million USD in 2012.
Vinamilk
to implement cow-breeding project in
The
Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) will start a project to
raise 8,000 dairy cows in southern
To carry
out the project, the company will import 2,500 cows in early 2015 and the
rest by the end of 2016.
According
to Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, the
project, covering 685 ha of land in Long Khanh commune, Ben Cau district, was
licensed in 2012 with a total investment of 700 billion VND (33 million USD).
Its aim
is to produce 35 million litres of milk per year.
Vinamilk
will build a milk processing factory here to reduce costs and provide more
jobs for locals, she added.
Soc
Trang’s export turnover hits all-time high
The
southern
The
growth was buoyed by solid performance of the fisheries sector which brought
home 610 million USD, up 23.1 percent year-on-year and 41.8 percent from its
set target.
Other
commodities, including rice, salted mushroom and duck eggs, fruits and
machinery, raked in over 40 million USD.
The
province set the goal of earning 700 million USD from exports next year, with
640 million USD contributed by seafood sector.
Central
Highland province promotes B’Lao tea brand
The
Central Highland
As part
of the 2014 Central Highlands – Da Lat National Tourism Year, the event means
to introduce tea cultivated in Lam Dong Plateau to visitors.
Lam Dong
is one of the major tea growing provinces in the country with around 22,000
ha, producing over 200,000 tonnes of tea each year.
Bao Loc
city is famous for the B’Lao tea brand – recognised by the Vietnam Record
Organisation as one of the top five tea specialities in the country.
A wide
range of activities will be held during the culture week, such as tours to
tea planting farms and processing facilities, a workshop on solutions for the
sustainable development of the tea sector, and an exhibition on tea products.
Participants
will also have opportunities to join a tea-picking contest at Tam Chau tea
farm.
Oil
import tax raised as global prices fall
The
Finance Ministry on December 4 increased the maximum preferential import duty
on oil and petrol by 10 to 15 percent to touch 40 percent.
This is
to compensate for the State budget's loss in the wake of a sharp drop in oil
prices in the global market.
Under
directive 17728/BTC-CST, the highest import duty will be imposed if the
petrol, kerosene, diesel and mazut prices listed by Platt in the
When
Platt's price is between 60 USD and 75 USD per barrel, the maximum import
duty will be 35 percent on petrol and kerosene, and 30 percent on diesel and
mazut.
The
import duty will be reduced to 25 percent for petrol and kerosene, and by 20
percent for diesel and mazut, if Platt's prices fluctuate around 75 USD to 95
USD per barrel.
The
lowest import duty of 15 to 20 percent will be imposed when a barrel of fuel
costs more than 95 USD.
According
to the previous regulations, the maximum preferential import duty on petrol
and gasoline was only 30 percent if the product's price in the
According
to the ministry, the maximum preferential import duty is among the references
for the ministry to consider issuing guidelines on the detailed import duties
on petrol and oil products.
Domestic
petrol and oil importers often depend on the duty to build their business
plans.
The oil
price in the global market has dropped sharply from 105 USD per barrel in
late July to 68.53 USD late last month, the lowest in the past four to five
years.
Minister
of Government Office Nguyen Van Nen said at a recent press conference that
the State budget will lose 1 trillion VND (46.948 million USD) if the global
oil price is reduced by 1 USD.
ASEAN
Extractive Industries Governance Framework introduced
How to
apply the ASEAN Framework for Extractive Industries Governance in
Speaking
at the event, PanNature Director Nguyen Viet Dung said that the governance
framework serves as a tool to help ASEAN member countries develop extractive
industries responsibly and transparently, thus contributing to promoting
sustainable economic growth at regional, national and local levels.
It
provides principles and prescriptions to harmonise policies related to this
field as well as guidance to set up tools supervising resources exploitation
in each member state, he stated.
Extractive
industries play an important role in attracting investments and providing
input materials for industrial production as well as greatly contribute to
economic growth in many ASEAN nations.
Especially,
oil, gas and mineral exploitation is considered a key field to realise common
goals of the ASEAN Economic Community, scheduled to be established by 2015.
Most
ASEAN countries with rich natural resources are facing challenges in
governing its extractive industries. Bad governance has lead to slow economic
growth, environmental degradation, and social conflicts.
Seafood
export enjoys trade surplus of 5 billion USD
Seafood
export contributed 5 billion USD to a trade surplus of 8.2 billion USD run by
the agriculture sector in the first 11 months of 2014.
During
the period, seafood brought home 7.2 billion USD and is to earn 7.8 billion
USD by the end of the year, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development Vu Van Tam reported at the first meeting of the aquatic disease
prevention and control steering committee in Hanoi on December 4.
He was
optimistic that the maintenance of the trend would make the export target of
8 billion USD set for 2015, which was stated in the sector’s strategy by
2020, reachable.
To ease
farmers’ and exporters’ worries about common parasites and diseases that
could affect aquatic animal health and export, the aquatic disease prevention
and control steering committee was set up and started operation.
The
committee will work with localities on the supply of breeds and the planning
work in order to go in line with market demands.
Vietnam
preps first shipment of longan for US
Anh
Duong Sao Co., Ltd, a leading exporter of tropical fresh produce
headquartered in
The
company is now double checking to insure all import requirements have been
complied with and making last minute preparations for shipment December 8 via
air cargo.
Following
the first shipment, several other exporters are expected to join suit and
ship fresh longan to the
Deputy
Minister of Finance Nguyen Huu Chi and other ministry officials visited
The
Vietnamese officials paid a courtesy visit to Minister of Finance and Prices
Lina Pedraza Rodriguez and had a working session with Deputy Minister Felix
Martinez.
They
shared experience in state budget and public debt management, government bond
issuance, inflation control and market development, which could serve as a
reference for
Minister
Pedraza said the delegation’s visit will greatly contribute to the
development of traditional ties between the two nations.
During
the visit, the Vietnamese officials handed over 5,000 tonnes of rice as gifts
from the Vietnamese Party, State and people to the Cuban government and
people.
Cuban
Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade Odalis Victoria Escandell described “the
gift” as a gesture of solidarity between the two countries and thanked the
Vietnamese Party, Government and people for their unswerving support for
Vietnam-Japan
technological park operational in HCM City
The
first phase of the
Construction
of the park, which covers 13 hectares of land in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone,
started in February this year with a total investment of US$31 million, with
the aim to serve Japanese small- and medium-sized enterprises investing in
the city.
The
first phase has built more than 14,100 sq.m of workshops and offices for rent
on 3 ha at an investment of US$7.6 million.
According
to the Board of Management of Export Processing Zones – HCMC (Hepza), eight
Japanese enterprises have registered their projects in the Industrial Park.
Two of them have been granted licence.
Vice
Chairman of HCM City People’s Committee Tat Thanh Cang emphasised the
importance of the project, adding that it will create a premise for
developing the supporting industry in the city.
Also on
the occasion, a Kansai Desk was set up to serve as a bridge between the
city’s agencies and the Kinki industrial zone in
Vietnam-EU
Free Trade Agreement: Challenges and Solutions
A
seminar on challenges and solutions in the implementation of Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) between
The
event was co-organised by the Party Central Committee's Commission for
External Relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and German Konrad
Adenauer Institute.
Participants
told the seminar that since
Key
export items to EU include textiles, leather and footwear, tropical
agricultural products, and wooden furniture.
Particularly,
However,
there remains a number of challenges to the negotiation process such as the
final terms to ensure the compatibility of the agreement with domestic law,
and issues relating to adjustment scale, dispute settlement and lawsuits
after the agreement is signed.
To solve
these issues, participants suggested that the two sides should exchange
experiences and update information on the negotiation progress.
They
should review the legal documents enforce at present and propose amendments,
especially in issues relating to economic institutional reform, government
procurement, State-owned enterprises, environment, and competition policy.
Trade
cooperation has become a crucial pillar in the relations between
Vietnamese
Ambassador to Australia Luong Thanh Nghi hailed the Australian business
community for taking part in boosting two-way trade between the two countries
with
The
number of Vietnamese businesses interested in establishing partnerships in
In the
meantime, the two nations are working closely to introduce a new action plan
for 2015-2017 with a view to promoting the bilateral economic collaboration
in line with
He
highlighted that
For his
part, AVBC President Laurence Stranov expressed his pleasure to see the
developing partnership between
He
stressed that
AVBC is
a forum to connect Vietnamese and Australian enterprises to the goal of
broadening investments and trade between two countries.
Higher
sales of cement, steel expected this year
The local
cement and steel sectors are looking to achieve higher-than-expected sales
growth this year on improving January-November demand.
The
Building Material Department of the Ministry of Construction estimated cement
sales would rise 11.5% this year over last year to 68 million tons owning to
a strong rise in cement consumption in January-November.
Of the
total volume, 49 million tons is sold to the domestic market and 19 million
tons exported, according to the department.
The
department said the sector has realized the target it set earlier for the
entire year in the eleven-month period.
Le Van
Toi, head of the department, told the Daily on December 3 that cement
consumption in the period had increased by 16% year-on-year to 64.5 million
tons.
The
total volume included 46.2 million tons sold on the domestic market and 18.3
million tons shipped abroad, up 8% and nearly 40% respectively compared to
the same period last year.
Strong
sales growth on both home and foreign markets helped many cement firms post
profit in the third quarter of this year after suffering losses in previous
years.
Ha Tien
1 Cement Joint Stock Company reported profit of VND99 billion in the third
quarter compared to losses of VND72 billion a year ago.
VICEM
But Son Cement Joint Stock Co. earned net profit of 24.5 billion while Bim
Son Cement Joint Stock Co. gained VND16.5 billion in profit in the third
quarter. VICEM and Bim Son incurring losses of VND177 billion and 51.6
billion respectively in the final quarter of last year.
Nearly
70 operational cement plants in
Industry
insiders forecast domestic cement sales will grow strongly next year.
Construction
steel also saw robust sales growth of 12.3% year-on-year to 4.73 million tons
in the January-November period.
Nguyen
Van Sua, vice chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), told the Daily
that the steel sector targeted a consumption rise of 5% this year over last
year but the rate could be 10%, backed by stronger demand in recent months.
VSA said
4.95 million tons of steel was consumed last year, falling 9.43% against
2012.
Private
firm invests in huge dormitory project
Binh Tan
Investment JSC (Bita’s.IC), the developer of Ham Kiem 2 Industrial Park in
the south-central province of Binh Thuan, has broken ground for a project to
develop housing for 18,000 workers in the park.
The
project covering 31.2 hectares in the industrial park (IP) is projected to
cost VND4 trillion, or some US$187.5 million, and complete in the end of
2019. Part of the investment will come from secondary investors, said Lai
Kim, general director of Bita’s.IC.
Twenty
blocks each with 245 apartments will be built for workers, and other 70
luxury villas will be constructed for experts working in the 433-hectare IP.
Kim told
the Daily that though Ham Kiem 2 IP was part of a connectivity program
between HCMC and Binh Thuan launched in 2008, the IP has still faced many
difficulties in attracting investments due to the local economic woes since
2008 and the lack of labor.
Therefore,
Kim expected the housing project will lure more workers, thus making it more
attractive to investors.
On the
same day, Bita’s.IC opened an operating center for the IP, including two
buildings with a total floor area of nearly 2,000 square meters. The center
will support enterprises’ operations in banking, customs, and post office,
among others.
The
developer of the IP also signed land lease contracts with five companies
operating in the sectors of textile-garment, foods, footwear and
pharmaceuticals. These companies have investment projects worth US$400
million in the IP.
According
to a master plan for developing IPs until 2020 approved by the Prime
Minister, Binh Thuan will develop nine IPs covering more than 3,000 hectares.
Agro-forestry-fisheries
exports exceed US$28 billion
Of the
total figure, farm produce, seafood and forestry products contributed
US$13.19 billion, US$7.22 billion and US$5.88 billion, up 10.5%, 19.3% and
12.9% respectively.
The
country exported US$2.66 billion worth of agro-forestry-fisheries last month
with strong year-on-year increases in coffee, cashew nut, pepper, seafood,
and wooden products.
Rice
exports in the January-November period reached 6.03 million tons worth
US$2.79 billion, down 2.7% in volume but up 1.9% in value compared to the
year-earlier period.
Coffee
exports of 1.56 million tons in the period fetched US$3.26 billion, surging
by 33.4% in volume and 32.2% in value respectively against the same period
last year. Seafood consignment rose by 19.3% year-on-year to US$7.22 billion.
Consumers
in city accept bio-fuel
Filling
stations in HCMC have sold tens of thousands of bio-gasoline with 5% ethanol,
known as E5, in the first few days of putting it on sale on a pilot basis,
which is an encouraging sign despite earlier worries that the product may not
attract buyers.
On
average, each of the filling stations in crowded areas has sold more than
1,000 liters of E5 petrol a day, and several enterprises are adding more
stations to the list of those selling the petrol this month.
Bui Xuan
Vu, business director of Saigon Fuel Co. (SFC), said the company has sold the
bio- petrol at two stations and around 3,000 liters has been consumed each
day. SFC has plans to sell E5 petrol at one more station late this month and
expects to have 90,000 liters consumed every month at three stations.
Meanwhile,
Petrolimex Saigon of Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) has
started selling E5 petrol at five stations from November 26. As of November
30, it had sold 26,000 liters of the petrol and on December 1 only, nearly
5,000 liters was consumed at the five stations, according to its business
department.
Nguyen
Quoc Cuong, director of PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil)
The
total sale of bio-petrol can exceed 60,000 liters if counting the amount sold
to wholesalers such as Materials Petroleum Joint Stock Company (COMECO) and
Thu Duc Trading & Import Export Joint Stock Company (Timexco), he said.
Wholesalers
and dealers earlier predicted that bio-fuel as a brand new product and
consumers would be hesitant to use it. Therefore, it is necessary to have
promotion activities for the product so that consumers will be aware of the
benefit of this environmentally friendly petrol.
Sugar
exports to
Sugar
enterprises cannot ship their products to
Sugar
wholesale prices inclusive of value added tax range between VND11,163 and
VND12,385 per kilo in
The glut
on the domestic market is further aggravated as many local firms are
importing sugar due to low prices of the product on the global market.
An
official from the agriculture ministry said that due to the steady fall of
global sugar prices, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has granted quotas
for local enterprises to import sugar.
Among
77,200 tons imported under the commitment with the World Trade Organization
(WTO) is 40,000 tons of raw sugar imported for refining and the rest is white
sugar.
Prices
of sugar for March 2015 deliveries on London Commodity Exchange stand at
US$407 per ton, falling by US$65 per ton compared to a couple of months ago.
Data of
VSSA showed that sugar inventories as of November 21 had climbed to nearly
120,000 tons at factories and to 9,100 tons at member enterprises of the
association.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
|
Chủ Nhật, 7 tháng 12, 2014
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét