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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 2/1
CBU imports hit US$1.57 billion
Data of the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed that
The volume of CBU autos imported into the country in December
alone has reached 10,000, the highest level in five years. December is also
the second consecutive month with CBU imports standing at 10,000 units.
Although the General Department of Customs has yet to report
on CBU imports this month, its figures unveiled higher CBU imports in the
January-November period than those announced by the GSO.
According to the GSO,
The 72,000 autos imported into Vietnam this year as calculated
by the GSO accounts for half of this year’s auto sales projected earlier by
the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA). This reflects rising
CBU imports by auto distributors and assemblers in
Currently, almost all automobile joint ventures with foreign
investments in the country sell at least one imported CBU model. For
instance,
Although Yaris is a competitive product on the local market,
Vinastar, an automobile joint venture with Japanese automaker
Mitsubishi, is one of the auto firms which have increased CBU imports.
Vinastar used to be one of the auto joint ventures dominating the
locally-assembled auto segment but has recently announced its plan to import
CBU autos because the tariffs imposed on these products will gradually fall
until 2018.
The company showcased a number of imported CBU autos including
Attrage, Outlander, Sport and Pajero at the Vietnam Motorshow 2014 exhibition
in HCMC last month. The enterprise now only manufactures and assembles two of
the six models that it distributes in
Vinastar general director Kazuhiro Yamana said the enterprise
has decided to focus on importing CBUs rather than buying auto parts for
local assembly because it is not sure how Vietnam’s policy for the auto
sector could change between now and 2018.
A leader of a Japanese auto manufacturer said the localization
rate of
Foreign auto manufacturers and assemblers in
Vietcombank mulls merger with other bank
The Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), one of
the five biggest commercial joint stock banks in the country, held an extraordinary
general meeting last week to discuss a plan to merge with another local
institution.
Stock market experts said Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB) has
emerged as the strongest candidate because when the former chairman, general
director and some other senior executives of VNCB were detained in August
this year by police over alleged wrongdoing, Vietcombank said it would
support this troubled bank.
But a source close to the situation told the Daily that
Vietcombank is eyeing a small bank in HCMC and that Vietcombank has sent its
executives to help improve VNCB’s operations only.
Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen
Phuoc Thanh told reporters earlier this year that he was uncertain whether
VNCB would be merged with Vietcombank or not. However, as the two banks are
shareholder-owned, their merger, if any, would be conducted in accordance
with the current regulations.
The source also told the Daily that Vietcombank also plans to
ink a merger deal with Saigon Bank for Industry and Trade (SaigonBank). An
official of the SBV has confirmed the plan, saying the central bank has given
approval in principle of the plan.
The official said the two banks will submit their merger plan
to the SBV for approval after their shareholders have agreed on this. The two
can only proceed with the plan when they get approval from the central bank.
Share pricing is one of the key issues of negotiations between the two banks.
The news about SaigonBank’s merger with Vietcombank is
surprising as the former is not in the SBV’s list of weak institutions that
should be restructured. So the official said this merger scheme is just a
matter between Vietcombank and SaigonBank.
SaigonBank has total chartered capital of VND3.08 trillion
(US$144 million), which is very low compared to other banks in the system.
Nonetheless, it has not incurred losses despite falling profits in the first
months of this year.
In January-September, SaigonBank obtained pre-tax profit of
VND203 billion (US$9.5 million), a drop of 47.8% against the same period last
year.
Vietcombank currently holds a stake of less than 5% at
SaigonBank whose bad debt accounted for 2.69% of total outstanding loans as
of September 30, up from the 2.24% at the beginning of this year.
Cashew sector still relies on material imports
According to the plan on development of the cashew industry
until 2020 approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the
country will have 300,000 hectares under cashew farming with an annual
unprocessed cashew output of 400,000 tons. This figure is not higher than the
current output, suggesting that local enterprises will still have to depend
on imports in the coming years.
According to the agriculture ministry, domestic enterprises
need almost one million tons of crude cashew for processing a year, but local
suppliers meet 30-40% of that volume. So, they have to buy crude cashew from
The crude cashew shipments have increased strongly over the
past years, from 328,000 tons in 2012 to 600,000 tons this year. The
year-on-year rise is attributable to the fact that the national acreage under
cashew farming is in decline while yields do not improve.
The respective average yield and prices of raw cashew are
around one ton per hectare and VND25,000 (over US$1) per kilo at the moment.
Statistics from the Cultivation Department under the ministry
indicated that the earnings by cashew farmers are equivalent to only 20% of
coffee growers and a mere 7% of pepper. This has led cashew farmers to turn
to other high-yield plants and the area under cashew farming to shrink by
15,000 hectares a year.
According to the master plan, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Ba
Ria-Vung Tau and Binh Thuan are chosen as the country’s major cashew
producing provinces with a combined area of 200,000 hectares. The remaining
100,000 hectares will be developed in other localities such as Dak Nong,
Daklak, Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Ninh Thuan.
In addition, the agriculture ministry encourages provinces to
plant cacao in cashew farms and find new seedlings to improve cashew output
and value.
HCMC, localities join hands to develop hi-tech agriculture
The HCMC Agricultural High-Tech Park (AHTP) on December 29
signed cooperation agreements with Phu Yen, An Giang and Vinh Long provinces
to develop hi-tech agriculture there.
The signatories of the deals are AHTP, the Phu Yen
Agricultural Zone of High Technology Application, the An Giang Biotechnology
Center and the Vinh Long Department of Agricultural and Rural Development.
These agencies will together carry out promotional programs to
attract local and foreign investors to hi-tech agricultural projects in the
localities as well as develop supply chains for certain agro-fishery
products.
Tu Minh Thien, deputy head of AHTP, said many foreign
investors are exploring opportunities in
Thien said some foreign firms have asked AHTP to help look for
local suppliers of farm produce in large quantity. However, AHTP will not be
able to meet their request if it cannot cooperate with partners in other
localities.
Dinh Minh Hiep, head of AHTP, said not only foreign investors
but also local enterprises in HCMC want to execute large-scale projects but
the park cannot meet their demand for large areas to deploy such projects but
the provinces can.
Hiep added AHTP and provinces will join forces to develop
quality and high value-added products for sale in HCMC and export in order to
help increase incomes for farmers.
AHTP will aid the provinces in implementing projects applying
hi-tech to cultivation, breeding and seafood production as well as
establishing hi-tech agriculture enterprises.
AHTP was established in 2004 on an area of 88 hectares but
officially came into operation in 2010. The first agricultural high-tech park
in
So far, AHTP has carried out 14 projects with a total
investment of VND190 billion. It has provided nearly 60 tons of F1 seedlings,
over 8,000 tons of farm produce and more than 11,000 liters of bioproducts,
among others for farmers and enterprises.
NFSC: Banking system fares better
Many indicators have showed the financial and banking sector
is changing for the better, according to the National Financial Supervisory
Commission (NFSC).
In a report sent to a Government meeting on December 29, the
commission said the financial market has gone through a lot of positive
changes and that risks in the banking system have eased.
Liquidity is growing strong and deposits by both individuals
and corporations are still surging despite lower interest rates. The
loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) of the banking system stayed at 83.43% on October
31, the lowest level in recent years.
The borrowing, lending and inter-bank rates have fallen to the
2006 levels. The lending rates have dropped by 0.5-1.5 percentage point from
early this year, thus fueling credit growth.
The assets quality of credit institutions has also improved.
The net interest margin (NIM) is now quite stable after
declining strongly in the 2011-2013 period. NIM slid from 3.5% in 2011 to
3.2% in 2012, 2.8% last year and has stabilized this year.
Regarding the stock market, according to NFSC, market
capitalization has climbed to 31.5% of GDP this year. Capital mobilized via
share sales and equitization has amounted to VND25.1 trillion, up 22% against
last year.
Total assets of securities firms and fund management firms
have risen for the first time since 2011 to approximately VND75.5 trillion,
with a growth rate of 20%. The capital adequacy ratio is 350%, much higher
than the safety level of 180%.
The assets quality of these firms has significantly increased
as they have restructured investments and the stock index has improved.
In addition, the woes suffered by enterprises and households
have become less intense.
NFSC quoted statistics of the Ministry of Planning and
Investment as saying that though the number of newly established enterprises
has gone down by 2.7% this year, average registered capital has picked up
11.5% from last year.
Over 15,400 enterprises have resumed operations this year, up
7.1% compared to last year.
Meanwhile, enterprises have seen an improvement in
profitability. After a long period of decline, the return on assets (ROA) and
the return on equity (ROE) of firms listed in the year’s first three quarters
are 3.8% and 9.4% respectively, rising 0.5 and 1.1 percentage points from a
year earlier.
The current and quick ratios have edged up slightly to 1.5 and
0.9 respectively. The interest coverage ratio of non-finance firms has
improved compared to last year, at 5.4 in September.
Total retail sales of goods and services, with the price hike
factor excluded, have inched up 6.3% compared to 5.6% of last year.
According to NFSC’s survey conducted in the 2012-2014 period,
households tend to increase investments in production to seize investment
opportunities when the economy is on the way to recovery.
In August this year, around 24% of respondents said they
intend to invest in production while the figures in February of the same year
and in July last year are 17% and 6% respectively.
Exports to
The plunge of the ruble is becoming a challenge to Vietnamese
exporters dealing with the Russian market.
Key export products of
The plunge of the ruble against the dollar and euro will raise
the price of Vietnamese products imported to the Russian market.
The Russians will likely reduce imports from foreign countries
to decrease their spending.
Trade Counsellor to Russia Pham Quang Niem said that the slide
of the ruble would limit the imports of the country.
A representative of the An Dinh Technology Investment and
Development Co Ltd told Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review) that its Russian
partner had stopped signing new contracts for 2015. Next year will be a tough
year for Vietnamese exporters to the Russian market.
The company, located in My Hao District in the
Statistics from the General Department of Customs showed that
the rice export of
Than Duc Viet, management director of Garment 10, remarked
that Russians will have to pay more for products when the ruble weakens.
Therefore, customers will have to adjust their spending and may choose to buy
lower-quality products. These are factors that Vietnamese exporters should
take into consideration.
* Slow payments
Apart from worrying about the decline in export turnover,
enterprises are also anxious about the increasing risks associated with
payment. Russian partners may have difficulty buying dollars to pay for
import contracts from
However, a number of enterprises expressed optimism that the
market will still need to import products with lower prices. This would
create opportunities for Vietnamese products with reasonable prices since
Russian customers are expected to limit their purchases of high-quality
products as the ruble weakens.
The Russian market will still be a potential consumption
market for Vietnamese exporters, especially for seafood and garments and
textiles, said the Vietnam Enterprises Association in
Business development policies to be prioritised in 2015
The Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission will focus
on researching institutions and polices for the development of all types of
businesses in 2015, said commission head Vuong Dinh Hue.
As 2015 is considered a business year, the commission plans to
conduct in-depth studies on the organisation model of management agencies
representing the State ownership of enterprises as well as institutions and
policies supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises, he said in an
interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the threshold of the New Year
2015.
It will also focus on building policies for social businesses,
mechanisms for the operation of non-productive public units, as well as
policies to develop and improve the efficiency of the collective and
cooperative economic sectors, especially in the field of agriculture.
Orientations and policies for the attraction, management and
use of official development assistance (ODA) in the time ahead will be
scrutinised along with those on developing industry and industrial trademark,
he said.
In addition, the agency will research economic development
strategies and border trade policies as well as those to develop tourism as a
key economic sector, he added.
The Party official emphasized the importance of 2015 as the
last year in the Party’s five-year tenure with the entire political system
striving to fulfil the set targets.
He noted that the year is expected to see the signing of
several free trade agreements, creating an important momentum for the
country’s trade and investment growth.
At the same time, the enforcement of many laws related to the
business and investment environment and the market economy institution,
including the revised Enterprise Law, the revised Investment Law, the Real
Estate Business Law and the Housing Law, is expected to bring new vitality to
the economy.
Looking back at the country’s 2014 socio-economic situation,
the commission head highlighted the more stable macro economy,
lower-than-target inflation rate, better-than-expected GDP growth rate, more
stable monetary and financial market, and remarkable progress in economic
restructuring as the bright spots in the national economic picture.
However, he noted that the economy will still face a lot of
difficulties next year as its growth rate is yet to match potential, business
and production activities still meet obstacles, and public and bad debts remain
high.-
Lao Cai’s DAP fertilizer plant starts operating
The 234 million USD Lao Cai diammonium phosphate (DAP) plant
started operating on December 28 in northern Lao Cai province, providing high
quality fertilizer particularly for the northern mountainous areas.
The plant covers an area of 72ha in Tang Loong Industrial
Park, designed to produce 330,000 tonnes of DAP from Apatite ores a year,
using technologies of the EU, the US, Belgium, and Spain.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Industry and
Trade Vu Huy Hoang praised the effort of local authority and constructors to
keep the construction progress on schedule and ensure its safety and quality
at the same time.
He asked the plant’s managers to rigorously guarantee
environmental protection and output quality.
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Doan Van Huong
regarded the plant as a key project marking the province’s XIV Party Congress
(2015 – 2020).
He pledged that the authority continues creating all possible
conditions for the constructors to finish remaining works.
Ministry works on new regulations for supporting industry
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is drafting a new
decree on developing the supporting industry with more attractive incentives
and transparent stipulations with the aim of creating a breakthrough for the
sector, according to a senior official.
Truong Thanh Hoai, Head of the MoIT’s Heavy Industry
Department disclosed this during a recent interview granted to the Vietnam
News Agency.
He said the new decree will focus on policies for industrial
parks and clusters, technical and technological research, application and
transfer, human resource training, development funds and foreign investment
attraction in the field of supporting industry.
The official added that there will be a national programme
designed specifically to help domestic supporting enterprises connect with
potential customers.
He noted that as most domestic supporting enterprises have a
low starting point, the State will continue to furnish the sector with
assistance in terms of capital, infrastructure, production technology,
workforce training and market development, so as to help them to make a
breakthrough in the time ahead.
Hoai underlined that at present, only a small number of local
makers are able to meet multi-national corporations’ requirements of stable
quality, on-schedule delivery and reasonable price.
He stressed that beside the State’s support, the business
community should make stronger efforts to enhance their capacity.
Vietnam had to import a wide range of components and
accessories worth 53.1 billion USD last year, and that number is expected to
jump to 67.6 billion USD this year.-
Restructuring on right track, securities commission says
The State Securities Commission (SSC) said the restructuring
of securities companies is keeping in the right direction, taking in cautious
steps with respect for market rules.
The move reduced the rate of loss-suffering companies from 60
percent to 20 percent with loss slashed remarkably from 4,200 billion VND to
200 billion VND.
Meanwhile, the profitability rate increased 1.5 times and the
average index of the financial safety expanded by 15 percent, the SSC said.
As of the end of the third quarter, 43 fund management
companies were in operation, of which 23 companies ran profitably with a
joint sum of 132 billion VND while 20 others suffered a combined loss of 64
billion VND.
The companies took responsibility for a total asset of 109
trillion VND.
According to the commission, the open-end funds, which
replaced the closed-end funds, are operating in a more flexible and
transparent manner with mechanisms to better protect investors.
As of December, 2014, the market saw the presence of 25 mutual
funds with two of them being Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), 15 open-end funds
and eight member funds. Their total mobilisation value is over 7 trillion
VND.
The SSC said that it has to date issued all mechanisms and
policies related to the organisation and operation of securities businesses
in line with international practices, especially using BASEL II financial
safety criteria, CAMEL early warning criteria and international-standard risk
management system.
In 2015, the SSC said it would work with other relevant
agencies to develop standard accountancy criteria applied to organisations
which trade securities, and an accountancy system used by securities
companies.
The SSC will also amend circular 210 on organising the
operation of securities companies and take measures to keep the securities
market operating stably, safely, and effectively.
Central bank's flexible monetary policy brings in positive
results
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has seen positive outcomes
while implementing monetary policy in a flexible and synchronous manner in
2014, in line with the targets set by the National Assembly and Government,
making significant contributions to national economic achievements.
The SBV has carried out an active interest rate policy in an
effort to reduce interest rates and ease difficulties for the domestic
economy. The average interest rate on deposits is currently 1.5%-2% per year
lower than 2013 while the lending interest rate is about 2% lower than 2013.
The move helped enterprises have easier access to banking loans and create a
more efficient allocation of capital in the economy.
In addition, commercial banks have proactively lowered the
interest rates of old loans. Loans with annual interest rates higher than 15%
account for only 3.9% of the total loans in Vietnamese dong, compared with
6.3% in 2013, while loans with annual rates of over 13% account for 10.65% of
the total loans in Vietnamese dong, much lower than 19.72% in 2013.
Along with lowered interest rates, the SBV also implemented
many other measures to support enterprises including focusing loans on
prioritised sectors, restructuring debts, reassessing the repayment capacity
of customers among others. Credit lent to small-and medium-sized enterprises
grew 13.5% in 2014 while credit to high-tech enterprises and rural
agriculture rose 14.8% and 12.8% respectively.
In the meantime, the national credit growth in 2014 met the
whole year target of 12%-14% with improved credit quality, creating positive
changes for the macroeconomy.
The year 2014 also witnessed a stable exchange rate and
foreign exchange market. There were times the exchange rate increased, but
quickly calmed down thanks to measures from the central bank.
In 2014, the system of credit institutions could meet demands
for foreign currencies serving investment and international trade
transaction. The country's foreign exchange reserves surged sharply and
reached a record high, contributing to boosting the confidence of foreign
investors in the macroeconomic stability in
Despite gaining positive results in 2014, the monetary policy
regulation in 2015 is forecast to deal with challenges.
The fluctuations of the world economy, the sharp decrease in
prices of crude oil, the fall of the Russian rouble and the possibility of
rising interest rates from the Federal Reserve System (Fed), may create
adverse impacts and pressure on the management of foreign exchange and the
exchange rate. The upcoming signing of bilateral and multilateral trade
agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, will also lead
to changes in regulating economic policies.
Non-performing loans, cross-ownership and others are also big
challenges to the SBV in regulating monetary policy in 2015 which requires
the SBV to be consistent with its targets and increase co-ordination with
other ministries and agencies.
Monetary policy in 2015 should come in line with the target of
maintaining an inflation rate under 5%, stabilising the macroeconomy and
contributing to an economic growth rate of around 6.2%, as set by the NA at
the recently concluded session in November.
The monetary policy must be implemented proactively and
flexibly in parallel with fiscal policy in order to control inflation as set
targets, ensure macroeconomic stability as well as ensure the liquidity of
credit institutions.
The SBV needs to regulate instruments of monetary policy, such
as interest rates and exchange rates, in a synchronous manner to stabilise
the monetary market, ensure the stable value of Vietnamese dong and increase
the nation's foreign currency reserves. It is also necessary for the SBV to
focus its policies on settling non-performing loans, restructuring credit
institutions and improving the quality of credit.
Vietnamese pharmaceutical sector has produced more than 12,000
various medicines; however, local drugs just take up half of market share and
most are simple kind, not bringing much profit.
A Vietnamese resident has an average spent of US$31 a year on
medications and half of them are foreign-made drugs. Accordingly, the home
pharmaceutical sector must work out a national development strategy with the
vision to 2020.
According to the Ministry of Health’s Vietnam Administration
of Drug, as of December, 2014, there are around 130 GMP-standard
pharmaceutical factories including 104 producing modern drugs, 25
manufacturing herbal drugs and four making vaccine.
Domestic enterprises have made 12,000 drugs and 520 active
ingredients while there are 1,000 abroad-made active ingredients and specific
drugs with high value.
In addition, though there have been more Vietnamese-made drugs
which are available in market but it has just satisfied half of local demand.
Moreover, to produce some drugs, most materials are imported
leading to a higher price. Therefore, local enterprises just produce simple
drugs with low value rather than specific ones.
Head of the Drug Administration of Vietnam Truong Quoc Cuong
said that to achieve the target to help Vietnamese –made medications replace
gradually their foreign counterparts, the sector should invest more to
produce cheaper generic versions. Furthermore, the sector should pay more
attention to herbal drugs.
As per the government, the health sector is focusing on
building the national brand name which the sector must implement 62 good
drugs and 30 excellent manufacturers to select the best ones, the ministry
will have measures to support them in a bid to spread information of local
drugs to consumers to help increase turnover.
Medical workers should use Vietnamese-made medications in
their prescription, Mr. Cuong noted.
The Ministry of Health ordered all hospitals nationwide must
name Vietnamese drugs into drug index.
The national strategy with the vision to 2030 points out that
US$15 million collected from stake transfers
The HCMC Department of Taxation said it had collected VND322
billion (US$15 million) in tax arrears and fines from 632 stake transfers of
which individuals and firms had not make sufficient tax declarations and
payments as of November.
The tax and fine collections were credited to the department’s
close coordination with the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment since
the end of 2013 to inspect stake transfers and changes to business
certificates of enterprises in the city.
The department said the inspected firms usually delayed
submitting documents and explaining their stake transfer deals. However,
inspection teams took measures to deal with these cases.
According to the department, the amount of tax arrears and
fines in HCMC is higher than other localities despite the smaller number of
companies inspected here in the city.
Figures of the General Department of Taxation showed that
local tax agencies have probed over 2,800 loss-making enterprises and those
with signs of transfer pricing this year.
Local tax agencies have reduced tax deductions by over VND5.8
trillion (US$272.3 million), including VND1.6 trillion from foreign-invested
enterprises (FIEs). They have collected tax arrears and fines worth over
VND1.7 trillion with VND600 billion (US$28 million) from FIEs.
The General Department of Taxation said it will monitor and
inspect companies likely to commit tax violations and those enterprises which
incur losses but still expand operations.
* Tax arrears in
By the end of this year, the tax arrears have exceeded VND21.5
trillion (around US$1 billion) in
Notably, the irrecoverable tax debts are VND1.8 trillion in the
capital city and VND2.8 trillion in HCMC.
To recover tax debts, the Ministry of Finance has told local
tax agencies to inspect FIEs which import materials to produce items for
export, companies with large amounts of unpaid tax, and firms which change
offices frequently.
Saigontourist begins work on
Saigontourist Holding Company and Saigon-Cam Ranh JSC broke
ground for a luxury tourism complex on
The 20-hectare Saigon-Cam Ranh complex in the north of
Tran Hung Viet, general director of Saigontourist, told the
Daily that the first phase of the tourism project will require some VND100
billion (around US$4.7 million). Hotel rooms, villas and restaurants of the
first phase could be put into service in 2016.
The project site is around six kilometers from Cam Ranh
airport and 30 kilometers from the beach city of
Saigontourist has developed many tourism projects in some 30
of the country’s 63 provinces and cities. The company is also one of the
shareholders of Saigon-Cam Ranh JSC, Thanh Phong Investment Consulting Co.
Ltd., HCMC Housing Trading and Development JSC, and Thoi Dai Housing
Development and Investment Co.
Experts: Local currency fall of 2% next year realistic
Banking and securities experts have said that the central bank
could realize its target of keeping the fall of Vietnam dong currency against
the U.S. dollar at a slight 2% next year thanks to positive signs of the
economy.
Ngo Dang Khoa, head of trading at HSBC Vietnam, said the
target is achievable because of more supporting factors for stabilizing the
exchange rate.
Khoa said this year Vietnam has posted a balance of payments
surplus of US$11-12 billion owing to strong foreign direct and indirect
investment inflows, a trade surplus of over US$2.5 billon (as of November)
and incoming remittances of around US$10 billion.
Next year, the country’s balance of payments is expected to
run a surplus of US$8-9 billion next year, so supply and demand for the U.S.
dollar is not a major concern. If strong volatility occurs, the State Bank of
Vietnam (SBV) will adopt timely and effective measures to stabilize the local
market.
Sharing Khoa’s view, deputy general director of Hochiminh City
Securities Company (HSC) Trinh Hoai Giang said in addition to the balance of
payment surplus, inflation next year is estimated to stay low and the local
currency stable.
Asked whether
Khoa noted that as
It is certain that
Khoa projected the exchange rate would be stable in the short
term. The dollar appreciation in the last months of 2014 is normal as
exporters have to pay loans, FDI firms repatriate their profits to their home
countries, and importers buy the greenback to pay their bills. Increasing
demand for the dollar will pile pressure on the exchange rate.
Khoa predicted the foreign exchange rate and the market will
return to a stable status after the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet), which falls
on February 19 next year.
Giang of HSC noted that as the dollar is firmer against other
currencies, especially euro, foreign investors tend to sell assets, including
stocks and bonds in emerging countries to get the U.S. dollar for
repatriation to their countries, and this could affect capital markets and the
exchange rate in
However, the possibility of offloading large volumes of shares
and bonds by foreign investors to withdraw capital is not high as local bonds
have turned attractive since
Foreign investors net sold around VND4 trillion (US$187
million) in the fourth quarter of this year, which is equivalent to the
amount of money they net bought in the first three quarters of the year. This
has impacted the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and
Last month, the SBV issued Circular 36/2014/TT-NHNN limiting
the percentages of bond holding by foreign bank branches and banks from
February next year, which has led them to sell bonds. However, the local bond
market is seen stable, Giang said.
Prosecutors insist VietinBank return lost deposits
The Supreme People’s Procuracy in HCMC reiterated that the
Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) should take responsibility
for over VND1 trillion (US$46.9 million) deposited at the bank by five firms
but expropriated by its former executive Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu.
The prosecution said it did not agree with the arguments of
five lawyers defending VietinBank that the expropriation of cash from the
five companies by Nhu, former deputy chief of the risk management department
at VietinBank, happened outside the bank.
At the appeals hearing on December 29, the prosecution said VietinBank
had caused losses of VND1 trillion deposited by Hung Yen Trading and
Investment Joint Stock Company, Saigon Bank Berjaya Securities Joint Stock
Company, An Loc Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company, Global Insurance
Corporation and Orient Securitites Corporation.
“The deposits in the payment accounts of the five firms were
mobilized capital of VietinBank as the bank had paid the interest for those
corporate depositors. Therefore, if VietinBank had conducted its banking
operations correctly, no one could take away the deposits but the
depositors,” he said.
The prosecution also objected to the arguments of VietinBank’s
defense attorneys who said the agreements which Nhu and the five companies
reached before they opened payment accounts at VietinBank were against law,
and that the procedures to open their accounts at the bank were not correct.
They placed their deposits at VietinBank and the bank accepted
their deposits, the prosecution noted.
Defense attorneys for the five companies shared the same view
with the prosecution, blaming VietinBank for irresponsibility.
They said it is contradictory when VietinBank said the
procedures to open their accounts at the bank are against law but had still
allowed them to deposit their money and paid them the interest.
Regarding ACB and Navibank, the prosecution rejected the
appeals by Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) and Nam Viet Commercial
Joint Stock Bank (Navibank), saying the two banks had violated regulations.
According to the prosecution, ACB and Navibank have to take
responsibility for their lost deposits worth a combined VND900 billion (US$42
million).
However, lawyers defending the two banks said Navibank and ACB
officers had opened accounts at VietinBank under the agreement of the bank,
and their deposits are legal and put under management of VietinBank but had
been stolen by Nhu.
The lawyers admitted ACB and Navibank officers committed
wrongdoing when depositing money at VietinBank but said the cases of ACB and
Navibank are similar to the above five companies. Therefore, the
prosecution’s decision to turn down their appeals is unfair.
Catalogue Shopping to boost sales by mail
Catalogue Shopping Company is proceeding with plans to speed
up sales by mail and its target customers include middle-aged buyers,
especially those living in rural areas.
Pierre Faucher, general director of Blue Fox Group which
operates Catalogue Shopping, told the Daily last week that shopping via the
post office channel is popular in foreign nations but still new in
The channel allows customers to place orders with Catalogue
Shopping by telephoning or mail, and they will receive the goods by mail.
“Customers in rural areas do not have many options for
shopping due to the lack of big supermarkets and shopping malls and difficult
access to the Internet,” Faucher said.
Faucher said 60% of Catalogue Shopping’s customers are in
rural areas and the target for the coming years is 70%. Among the target
customers are housewives.
The company will also increase from three catalogues
consisting of 50 items, mostly home appliances, to four catalogues with 60
different products next year for customers to see and buy. Nearly 30% of the
items in the catalogues are made in
Faucher admitted that as Catalogue Shopping is a new brand in
Catalogue Shopping has plans to step up sales via telephone
and e-commerce channels in the future.
Catalogue Shopping carried out a sales campaign between
September 22 and December 22 this year by sending out 60,000 letters and
catalogues. Of the 24,000 customers responding to the campaign, 2,000 ordered
products from the company.
Cargo throughput at HCMC ports soars
Total cargo throughput at HCMC ports has been estimated at 109
million tons in the year to date, 28 million tons more than last year and
nine million tons above the year’s target, heard a conference in the city on
the weekend.
HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan told a review conference on the
city’s socio-economic performance in 2014 that the strong increase has
resulted from the upgrade of transport and port infrastructure, investments
innew roads, and the dredging of Soai Rap River to allow ports along
this waterway to handle larger vessels.
The rise in cargo throughput at ports has contributed to
quarter-on-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the city, exports
and development of key sectors, including services, manufacturing and
agriculture.
The city’s GDP has expanded 9.6% to VND852.5 trillion (US$39.8
billion) this year against last year. Exports have increased by 8.8%
year-on-year to US$32 billion while imports have edged down 2.24% to US$25.4
billion.
Thai Van Re, director of the HCMC Department of Planning and
Investment, said the city’s GDP per capita this year is put at US$5,131, 1.6
times higher than the national average. Earlier, the city targeted the GDP
per capita of US$4,800 for next year.
Development investments in the city this year total VND250
trillion (US$11.69 billion), accounting for 28.5% of the GDP.
Next year, the city targets GDP growth of 9.5% or higher,
total development investments up to 30% of GDP, export growth of 8-10% and
tax collections picking up 8.08% year-on-year to VND265.7 trillion (US$12.4
billion), according to Re.
Quan said many production enterprises have recovered and been
back to strong growth this year.
Dao Thi Huong Lan, director of the HCMC Department of Finance,
gave figures to support what Quan said that tax collections have grown 10.29%
year-on-year to VND249.86 trillion (US$11.68 billion) this year, making up
30% of the nation’s budget revenues.
The city has collected more than VND16 trillion in tax arrears
from last year and this.
Data from the finance department showed that around 50,000 out
of 230,000 firms operating in the city have taken out bank loans. City banks
have inked deals to provide combined loans of VND40 trillion (US$1.87
billion) for enterprises under the bank-business matching program for this
year, doubling the initial estimate.
Lan said the city government will continue support policy for
local enterprises and boosting investments in infrastructure and education
next year.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Năm, 1 tháng 1, 2015
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