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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 14/4
Over 16,000 vehicles sold in March
Of the figure, 9,416 were cars, representing a 6 percent
month-on-month increase, while trucks made up 6,983 units, 104 percent higher
than the sales recorded in February.
Thaco, a domestic car manufacturer, retained its market
leadership with 5,973 sales, or a 101 percent increase from last month and a
79 percent increase from March 2014.
Japanese manufacturer
With 529 sold vehicles in March, GM Vietnam superseded
Statistics from VAMA also showed 12,877 domestically-assembled
vehicles in March, up 63 percent from the previous month. Correspondingly,
the number of imported vehicles was 3,522 units, down 20 percent from
February.
Work starts on Vietnamese-invested complex in
Construction on the Nongtha Complex funded by the Laos-Viet
Bank (LVB) began in the Lao capital city of
Covering 4 hectares, the project has a total first-phase
investment of 15 million USD.
The complex, designed in a harmonious combination of Lao and
Vietnamese architectures, will comprise office zones, training centres,
houses and apartments for the bank’s staff.
Part of the 80 million-USD Nongtha
The LVB, founded on June 22, 1999, is a joint venture between
the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and its Lao
partners. It is the second largest bank in
Supply of villas, attached houses abundant
Supply of villas and attached houses is abundant but the
segment is suffering from the fierce competition of cheaper apartment and
housing land, real estate experts said.
According to Do Thu Hang, Head of Savills Hanoi’s Research and
Consultancy, many developers are delaying putting their projects on the
market.
The company’s statistics showed a total 30,040 villas and
attached houses from 107 projects were being offered on the market as of the
end of the first quarter, while 109 more units in 16 projects are expected to
be launched from now to 2016.
Average asking prices of villas will reduce slightly while a
slight rise is expected for attached houses, Hang said, adding that higher
numbers of transactions were recorded in the first quarter compared to the
previous periods.
Experts said the high-end segment will gain a boost when the
housing law allowing foreigners to own properties in
Deposit growth rate slows as credit continues to rise
The deposit growth rate is currently slower than that of
credit growth; however, savings in banks are still considered a good choice
due to low inflation.
Statistics from the General Statistics Office showed that as
of March 20, deposits at credit institutions rose 0.94 percent from December
2014, while credit increased 1.25 percent.
Nguyen Hoang Minh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of
Vietnam (SBV)'s
Experts attributed the slowdown mainly to a recent significant
reduction in deposit interest rates.
According to the SBV, the VND deposit rates have reduced
significantly to commonly 0.8-1 percent per year for on-demand and below 1
month terms, 4.5-5.4 percent per year for 1-6 month terms, 5.4-6.5 percent
per year for 6-12 month terms; and 6.4-7.2 percent per year for 12 month plus
terms.
Meanwhile, the residential real estate market is warming up,
so many depositors have withdrawn their savings to buy houses.
Nguyen Thanh Nhung, VietBank General Director, said that
although savings at banks had increased in the first quarter, a number of
individual customers had withdrawn their deposits and even borrowed money
from banks to purchase a house as the lending rate for home mortgages had
fallen to reasonable rates.
A representative from a small bank, which declined to be
named, admitted that although liquidity in the banking system was good, banks
still had to compete to increase their deposit market shares when deposit
interest rates were low and were kept at the same rate at both large and
small banks.
Besides interest rates, the representative said, banks also
had to utilise more promotions to lure depositors.
Despite the decline in deposit sources, experts agreed that
due to low inflation, the current deposit rates still ensure positive
effective rates, so savings are still a good choice for investment.
Tran Du Lich, member of the Monetary and Financial Policies
Advisory Council, said the rate cap of 5.5 percent per year for term deposits
of under six months still ensure positive effective rates. Depositors could
even get higher rates if they chose longer terms, he said.
However, Lich said, the flow of savings to other channels was
also a good sign as it proved the potential for an economic rebound.
Firms lack awareness of legal rights
Though the Laws on Competition and Consumer Rights Protection
took effect many years ago, a majority of Vietnamese businesses and consumers
do not understand their legal rights, a seminar heard on April 10 in
According to Tran Phuong Lan, head of the Vietnam Competition
Administration Department's Competition Supervision and Management Division,
the competition law was written to preserve the rights of enterprises to
compete freely and lawfully with each other. It took effect about 10 years
ago, but only about 25 percent of Vietnamese firms understand the law.
"About 78 percent of FDI firms know how to use the law to
protect their rights," she said.
Under the law, unfair competitive practices include misleading
instructions (misleading consumers in their understanding of the goods and
services); infringement of business secrets; coercion in business; defamation
of other enterprises; causing disruption to business activities of other
enterprises; advertisements or promotions aimed at unfair competition;
discrimination by association; and illegal multi-level selling.
Advertisements or promotions aimed at unfair competition and
illegal multi-level selling were two common violations.
"When enterprises discover unfair competitive practices
of their rivals, they need to submit their complaints to the VCAD for
investigation," she said.
But she said sanctions applied to unfair competitive practices
were not strong enough to prevent people from repeating the offence.
Phan The Thang, deputy head of the Division of Consumer Rights
Protection under the department, said awareness of consumers about the law
had increased, but they were still afraid to file complaints or lawsuits when
their rights were violated.
The number of violations of consumer rights was increasing,
especially the selling of poor quality products and fake goods, and dubious
promotion programmes. Exaggerated advertising and trade fraud were also more
common.
He suggested that consumers carefully check information about
products they want to buy, keep all bills, warranties and other relevant
documents and inform authorised agencies when their rights are violated.
Businesses needed to focus more on improving their customer
services and product quality and design, he said.
Nguyen Phuong
If a company faces an anti-dumping investigation, or
anti-subsidies and safeguards, it must closely co-operate with relevant
agencies of that country to solve the problem. Otherwise, it would have to
pay very high duties when exporting its products to that market.
The seminar was organised by the department, the Vietnam
Association of Women Entrepreneurs, the Vietnam Association of Consumer Goods
Development, and the Business Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Goods.
HCM City Expo 2015 to be held in Myanmar
The Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre
(ITPC) will hold the 2015
The exhibition aims to help Vietnamese businesses and
investors increase their presence in
Thirty-five Vietnamese enterprises have set up companies and
representative offices in
Vietcombank lends money to Chinese-invested business
The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam’s
( Vietcombank) chapter in northern Nam Dinh province formalised a deal to
provide 128 billion VND (5.9 million USD) for Chinese-invested Yulun company
to build its yarn-producing factory in the locality.
Capable of generating 7,800 tonnes of yarn per year, the
factory’s construction is expected to cost 324 billion VND (14.9 million
USD).
A Yulun representative said cheap building service prices and
low-cost labour in
Tran Manh Hung, Director of Vietcombank’s provincial chapter,
pledged the bank’s support to foreign investors with competitive services in
line with the Vietnamese Government’s orientation.
Licenses granted to 28 FDI projects in Binh Duong
Authorities in southern Binh Duong province hosted a ceremony
on April 10 to grant licenses to 28 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects
worth 304 million USD, including 20 new and 8 added capital projects.
These projects contributed to bringing the number of
foreign-invested projects in the locality in the last quarter to 85, valued
at 402 million USD.
A number of high-value projects are in the motorbike and
bicycle industries, sports equipment, electronic spare parts and beverages.
Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the provincial People’s
Committee Tran Van Nam highlighted the important role played by businesses in
promoting the locality’s socio-economic development.
He stated that local authorities will design measures to
improve the investment climate and reform administrative procedures, thus
facilitating investment project operations and drawing more foreign investors.
They will also pay attention to investing in the construction
of infrastructure systems to meet investor demand while intensifying
investment promotion activities, targeting projects using advanced technology
and manufacturing high added-value products.
So far, as many as 2,440 FDI projects with a combined capital
of 20.8 billion USD have operated in Binh Duong. The province aims to attract
one billion USD in FDI in 2015.
SMEs improve competitive edge to benefit from AEC
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have been urged to
sharpen their productivity in the lead up to the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC) formation later this year, economic experts at a recent
seminar in
“
I am concerned that far too many SMEs seem to be taking a
lackadaisical attitude towards its creation and are not adequately preparing
for the fierce competition they will be facing, Lan added.
As the nation enters a new era of regional and global
integration, businesses have no options but be more productive, innovative,
and competitive, other economists said at the seminar, and business
need to grasp the three dimensional aspects of competition.
SMEs should strive and push to become competitive in producing
a high-quality product and delivering it to the customer in a timely manner
at a fair and profitable price if they are to be competitive in the
AEC.
For enterprises to be able to compete and sustain their place
or improve their positioning in the market, they will also have to
continually aspire
for enhanced productivity by streamlining business operations.
In addition, improving labour productivity, adopting new
technologies and techniques, and developing new designs and products will
also be pivotal to an effective competitive strategy.
This all must be done without losing sight of the need to optimize
resources and increase gains without sacrificing quality and excellence,
they said.
Hand in hand with the opportunity to succeed in the new
regional marketplace goes the opportunity to fail and what will tilt the
scales between winning and losing is productivity and innovation.
Meanwhile, they urged SMEs to participate in upcoming trade
fairs and expositions for them to showcase their good practices and engage
with other SMEs in the region.
Tariffs to go on hundreds of
Under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), 1,434 of
1,539 tariffs will be reduced to zero this year.
By 2018, most of the 149 tariffs on wood and wood products
will go.
Tariffs will be removed under a range of trade agreements,
including the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), the ASEAN-Australia-New
Zealand Free Trade Agreement, the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) and the
Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA).
Tran Kim Long, director of the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development (MARD) department of international cooperation, said
integration helps foster exports of farm produce, push up science and
technology application and improves food safety and hygiene and product
quality.
Long said the integration has resulted in several challenges,
including fierce competition and narrowed production of some industries.
Luong Hoang Thai, director of the Ministry of Industry and
Trade’s multi-lateral trade policies department, said that this year the
government of Vietnam is focusing on negotiations for three major trade
agreements , including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Vietnam-EU Free
Trade Agreement and a free-trade agreement with the Custom Union of Russia,
Belarus and Kazakhstan (VCUFTA).
“After the WTO accession, we’ve realised a changing
integration trend in the world -- switching from multi-lateral integration
into regional and bilateral integration,” Thai said. “
Japanese businesses study investment opportunities in ASEAN
ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh has called on Japanese
businessmen to study possible investments in infrastructure across
telecommunications, transportation, electricity, water supply, and
environmental sanitation, to facilitate broader ASEAN connectivity.
Capital for those construction projects is estimated at US$60
billion per year between now and 2020, Secretary General Minh told his
guests, who were executives from 20 big Japanese companies.
The executive visited
Minh said an ASEAN Economic Community that is ultimately
shaped by the end of this year will provide a potential market of 3.3 billion
people and a goods flow accounting for one-third of the global value.
Trade between
Japanese investment poured into the bloc increased tenfold to
US$23 billion during 2003-2013, or 19% of the total foreign direct investment
into ASEAN.
Morocco – a new land of opportunity for Vietnam
Though trade between
In 2014 exports of businesses operating in
The country’s imports remained modest, reaching just US$8.7
million resulting in a US$139.3 million trade surplus. Imports consisted
principally of computers, pharmaceuticals, DAP fertiliser, and raw materials
for the garment and footwear industry.
Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry
Tran Tuan Anh said the surplus is the result of domestic businesses being
more proactive in their efforts to engage in business in
The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has led
the way in advancing the nation’s marketing efforts and should be applauded
for their hard work, Anh said.
In addition, the composition of exports has changed for the
better. The country shipped fewer unprocessed commodities such as coffee,
pepper, and coconut rice and turned to exporting higher value added items
such as computers, telephones, garment and footwear.
In addition, Vietnamese rice has become a staple of Moroccan
households.
The Africa,
For his part, Mohamed Abbou, minister delegate to the Minister
of Industry, Trade, Investment and the Digital Economy of Morocco said
Moroccan businesses are fixated on boosting cooperation with
Vietnamese partners in the fields of agriculture, seafood, metallurgy,
engineering, and construction materials, among other fields, Abbou said.
However, businesses still face a number of hurdles to overcome
such as the far geographic distance, lack of market information, and
differences in business customs, and languages, said the Vietnam Trade Office
in
A representative from the Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro) – an
exporter to
Mohamed Abbou revealed that there are plenty of opportunities
for the two countries’ businesses to foster much higher levels of expanded
cooperation.
They would allow for businesses to invest in industrial zones
or free trade areas and better access neighbouring markets, Abbou added.
The Moroccan Government has pledged to create a favourable
business climate conducive to both sides’ business communities, Abbou said.
To boost exports to
Moreover, the ministry will assist businesses in setting up
subsidiaries and rice storage warehouses in key markets like
A cooperation memorandum of understanding (MoU signed by the
Morocco’s export promotion agency and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency
(Vietrade) evidences the strong determination of both sides to elevate
bilateral trade value in the time ahead, Anh underscored.
Few Vietnamese firms seek patent protection
Only 10 percent of 4,400 patent registration applications came
from Vietnam in 2014 due to the poor quality of Vietnamese applications, said
an official.
Nguyen Van Bay, Director of the National Office of
Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP)'s Centre for Research and Training,
said during a recent press conference in Hanoi that the yearly number of
patent registration applications has risen 10 percent in recent years, as the
number of applications for trademark protection registration in 2014 reached
some 33,000.
HCM City took the lead in the number of trademark
registrations, with 12,000 applications, followed by Hanoi with 7,600.
Northern Lai Chau province, however, had the lowest application numbers, with
only 2. This was followed by Bac Kan and Dien Bien provinces, with 5 and 9
applications.
Bay said the reason for the low number of applications was
that the number of businesses in these localities, and knowledge about
intellectual property, remains modest.
Meanwhile, the US had the highest number of trademark registration
applications in Vietnam last year, with 1,713. Japan took second place with
1,295 applications, China 904, the Republic of Korea 785, and Thailand 519.
The director noted that up to 3,000 patent and trademark
registrations remain unresolved due to the poor quality of the applications,
complicated issues and lack of office staff.
He added that there was no university in Vietnam providing
training on completing intellectual property applications.
The application office currently has to train their staff or
seek international support.
NOIP is expecting to hire 70 more employees, while promoting
information and the use of technology to resolve the application problem.
Le Ngoc Lam, NOIP's deputy head, said Vietnam lacks judges
with special knowledge about intellectual property rights, which is the
reason that disputes on intellectual property rights take time to resolve.
Further, Lam said officials had been considering creating a
court to rule on intellectual property conflicts, as similar courts had been
set up in advanced countries.
"We expect that Vietnam would have such courts in the
future," he added.
HCM City seeks cooperation with Japan in agriculture
HCM City hopes to increase cooperation with Japan in
agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors, especially hi-tech agriculture,
according to Le Thanh Hai, Secretary of the city’s Party Committee.
At a meeting with Hiroshige Seko, Deputy Chief Cabinet
Secretary of Japan, on April 12, Hai said his city has built the Agricultural
Hi-Tech Agriculture Park (AHTP) and the Bio-tech Centre in order to welcome
Japanese investors.
He took the occasion to thank the Japanese Government for
providing official development assistance (ODA) loans for development
projects in Vietnam in general and in HCM City in particular.
Being impressive with the development the city has achieved,
Hiroshige Seko said that projects funded by Japanese ODA in HCM City produced
certain effects, proving the effective cooperation between the two sides.
The city, Seko suggested, should continue cooperation with
Japanese partners to deepen the ties.
HCM City is not only a production base but also a big market
for Japanese commodities, he said, adding that the relationship will benefit
both sides.
Central province takes advantage of investment momentum
The central province of Quang Binh currently houses 320
registered projects worth more than 5 billion USD, including 158 projects
worth nearly 4 billion USD that are already under construction.
According to the provincial People’s Committee, a number of
these projects could add momentum for the local economy, including the 3,600
MW Quang Trach 1 thermal power plant, which has received an investment of
over 1.6 billion USD by the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, and the Lao
Government-invested construction of a 200 million USD oil pipeline system to
the country.
Many foreign investors, including those from Taiwan (China),
the Republic of Korea and Russia have also come to Quang Binh to explore
investment opportunities recently, it said.
Russia’s Inter RAO Group has signed a memorandum of
understanding with local authorities on building the Quang Trach 2 thermal
power plant under the BOT (built-operate-transfer) model.
The plant is expected to be located at the Quang Binh Power
Centre in Quang Dong commune, Quang Trach district. It will have two turbines
with a total power capacity of 1,200-1,320 MW.
In addition to offering attractive investor incentives, the
People’s Committee has also listed 49 projects in need of investments. Four
operate in infrastructure; seven in industrial production; six in health
care, culture and education; and 32 in trade and tourism.
Local uniqueness key to sustainable tourism
The local uniqueness should be considered as one of keys to
sustainable tourism development, experts said at a conference on sustainable
tourism held in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre on April 11.
According to Prof. Dr. Jean-Marie Breton from Les Antilles
University, France, the tourism sector is not developing sustainably if the
local characteristics are lost during the process.
Discovering the local uniqueness needs an extensive research
into every corner of life, Jean-Marie said.
The professor also suggested that Ben Tre should introduce
tourism products that are typical of the province while conducting surveys to
find out tourists’ tastes and requirements to improve products and services
accordingly.
Dr.Joost C.L. van Buuren Wageningen from Holland said that it
is necessary to make stakeholders in the tourism sector understand their
tasks and responsibilities on sustainable tourism.
The income from tourism should be distributed reasonably to
encourage people and enterprises to develop tourism sector.
The conference aims to seek solutions to develop Ben Tre’s
hospitality industry sustainably with the goal of attracting the
participation of local community and increasing the community’s income, and
exploiting and preserving local natural resources and culture.
Ben Tre’s tourism sector posts an annual growth of 23 percent
over recent years. The province plans to draw 1 million visitors and a
revenue of 700 billion VND (32.4 million USD).
Vietnam imports more cattle feed
Vietnam imported 27.8 percent more cattle feed and materials
in the first two months of the year than the same period in 2014, according
to the Vietnam Trade Information Center (VTIC).
Argentina and the US are the country's main cattle feed
providers, accounting for 61.6 percent of the product's total import
turnover.
Vietnam imported a total of 561.7 million USD in cattle feed,
including 189.8 million USD from Argentina and 156.2 million USD from the US.
Vietnam also imported cattle feed from China, Italia, India,
and Thailand as well.
Vietnam has 239 cattle-feed processing factories. Of these,
the state owns 180 and 59 are joint-venture or foreign direct investment
enterprises.
Agriculture sector told to reform
Change your way of thinking and doing business. Form production
chains to become more competitive.
This was the key message that Agriculture and Rural
Development Minister Cao Duc Phat conveyed to stakeholders at an online
conference held on Thursday to discuss opportunities and challenges presented
by international integration of the agriculture sector.
Viet Nam's expected signing of several bilateral and
multi-lateral free trade agreements this year would provide major export
opportunities, especially for farm produce, he said.
At the same time, the dissolution of tariff barriers would
pose stiff challenges, he added.
Since it joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007,
Viet Nam has signed seven free trade agreements (FTA) and maintained stable
relationships with 160 countries and territories, according to Tran Kim Long,
head of the ministry's Department for International Co-operation.
"Commitments to bilateral and regional trade agreements
can contribute to expanding export markets, diversifying export commodities
and markets, boosting production, creating jobs and incomes for farmers,
promoting technological applications, changing production mechanisms and
bringing into full play the advantages of (all) sectors," Long said.
Statistics presented at the conference showed the progress
that Viet Nam has made in farm produce exports, which account for between 26
and 27 per cent of the export of all goods every year.
Agriculture is the only sector that has recorded a trade
surplus, with US$8.5 billion in 2013 and $9.5 billion in 2014.
Phat said "numerous" agricultural products,
especially in animal husbandry, have managed to enter and maintain a
"firm standing" in picky markets.
He also said that in the past, "we had successfully
protected home-produced goods through taxes. However, in the future, only
chicken from ASEAN will carry five per cent import duty. On other products,
the tariff will be zero.
"Thus, without proper measures, Viet Nam might become a
consumption market for farm produce from other countries. That will shrink
local production and farmers will lose chances to increase production and
incomes," Phat said.
Another senior official underscored the minister's warning.
"The majority of countries that Viet Nam is set to sign
trade agreements with have strong advantages in agriculture. For instance, EU
countries are good at husbandry, Australia and New Zealand have advantages in
producing beef and fruits and the US is strong in exporting chicken, pork and
beef. So there is certainly great competitive pressure on Vietnamese
commodities," said Luong Hoang Thai, head of the Ministry of Industry
and Trade's Multilateral Trade Policy Department.
Conference participants agreed that Viet Nam had been slow to
readjust its production mechanisms to make full use of opportunities and
establish comparative advantages.
Viet Nam also lacked appropriate planning and investment
policies for specific products or industries with high demand in domestic and
world markets. Moreover, production remained fragmented and commodities were
not produced in large quantities while the quality of goods had not been
constant, they said.
Le Dinh Son, Vice Chairman of the Ha Tinh People's Committee,
said the central province had recently reorganised its production chain and
enjoyed "initial" results from deploying new models in producing
vegetables, fruits and pigs using new technologies.
"The biggest challenge we face in international
integration is maintaining and expanding export markets," Son said.
"Vietnamese produce usually find it hard to compete with
foreign ones. In addition, many Vietnamese are fond of imported goods.
Therefore, if we do not reorganise farming production, we could even lose out
at home."
Son said middlemen had considerably increased production
costs.
For example, farmers had to pay VND33,000 (US$1.5) per
kilogram of feed for prawns when they bought it from an agent, VND5,000
higher than if they bought it directly from the first seller/supplier or from
producers, he said.
"The cutting of tariffs would not be a major issue if we
manage the distribution phase well and reduce intermediate costs, which can
help reduce production costs," said Son.
Son also called for the central and local governments to
"make the local market healthier and annul benefits of certain groups.
"Ha Tinh has examined and inspected 996 establishments
trading in agricultural materials. As a result, we completely shut down 662
establishments which were operating without licences, sold goods of low
quality at high prices."
Tran Kim Long, head of the MARD's Department for International
Co-operation, said the agriculture sector should map out specific strategies
and increase approaches to key market of farm produce while establishing
co-operation with potential partners.
"It is important to study and assess potential impacts of
integration, enhance competitiveness of farm produce, develop human resources
for international alliances, reform institutions and improve the capacity of
State management bodies," he said.
Other participants mentioned the need for enterprises to
increase their competitiveness by being aware of risks and other influences
of FTAs on their operations. They should also be helped in coming up with
their own strategies and solutions, the delegates said.
PetroVietnam, Lilama to build new plant
The Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and the Viet Nam
Machinery Installation Corporation (Lilama) signed a contract last Friday to
develop the Song Hau 1 thermoelectric plant in the southern province of Hau
Giang.
PetroVietnam is to be the investor. With this "EPC"
contract, Lilama is committed to carrying out the engineering, procurement
and construction phases.
The factory has a total investment capital of more than VND43
trillion (US$2.05 billion) and will cover an area of some 115 hectares in the
Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province's Chau Thanh District.
The facility belongs to the Song Hau Electricity Centre, and
will generate a total capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW) with two turbines. It
is expected to come into operation in 2019 and supply about 7.8 billion
kilowatt-hours per year for the national grid.
The project is among the key works outlined in a master plan
adopted by the Government for national electricity development during the
2011-20 period, with a vision to 2030. It will help drive economic
development of the delta and ensure the country's energy security.
On Friday, Lilama also inked a contract with South Korean's
Doosan Group, which will provide the major equipment for the project.
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked the investor and
contractors to guarantee close collaboration for the efficiency of the plant.
PetroVietnam Nguyen Quoc Khanh undertook to protect the environment to
achieve optimal socio-economic effects while carrying out the project.
Song Hau 1 will be among three thermoelectric factories of the
Song Hau Electricity Centre, which are projected to have a combined
generating capacity of 5,200 MW.
Ha Noi real estate posts Q1 growth
The real estate market in Ha Noi has seen a strong recovery,
especially the luxury apartment segment, the CBRE Viet Nam announced recently
in Ha Noi.
In Q1 2015, the market continued its recovery with the
comeback of high-end apartments. Construction of some 4,879 new units has
begun among 18 projects, an 82 per cent against the same period in 2014, said
Nguyen Hoai An, senior manager at CBRE Viet Nam's Ha Noi branch.
"Notably, five out of 18 projects are for the high-end
segment, more than in any single quarter during 2012-14," she said.
"The number of new projects for high-end units went up 60 per cent
quarter-on-quarter and 30 per cent year-on-year".
Despite a long Tet (Lunar New Year) break, sales remained
strong during this quarter, An said. An estimated 3,079 units were purchased
during the quarter, which was double the number of sales from Q1 2014.
"The share of transactions for high-end apartments
increased to 26 per cent of total sales, as compared to 14 per cent in the
previous quarter. The mid-end segment remained the highest share of total
units sold, while the low-end segment saw a dip in the share of total sales,
as compared to last quarter," she said.
In terms of pricing, some projects in good locations near city
centres have increased their asking prices. On average, primary prices in
high-end and low-end segments increased by 7 per cent and 5 per cent
year-on-year, respectively, An said.
"These are mostly projects near city centres and
displaying good construction or offered by reputable developers. This price
rise is attributed to the scarcity of land in city centres, and hence,
projects in or near city centres become highly sought after."
In the near future, the market is expected to welcome a supply
of some 13,000 new units for the remainder of 2015, An said. The West and
Southwest will see the most number of units, accounting for 64 per cent of
the total supply. However, the East and Southeast is seeing construction of
attractive residential clusters.
Additionally, sales performance is expected to remain positive
for the remainder of the year, with the resurgence of top-tier developers and
projects, she said.
Hai Phong plans to attract $1.5b in FDI this year
The northern port city of Hai Phong is improving its
investment climate to attract US$1.5 billion in foreign direct investment
(FDI) in 2015.
To achieve this goal, the city will focus on expediting
administrative reforms, accelerating land clearance and improving the quality
of personnel.
According to the municipal Department of Planning and
Investment, top priority will also be given to fostering the implementation
of key infrastructure development projects, such as the Ha Noi-Hai Phong
Highway, expansion of the Cat Bi International Airport and construction of
the Tan Vu-Lach Huyen Sea Bridge.
Hai Phong People's Committee member Dan Duc Hiep told
vietnamplus.vn that in the future, the city also needed to step up its
international economic co-operation and expand the city's economic space,
along with broadening relations with strategic partners, including Japan,
South Korea, Russia, and the United States, as well as the EU and various
other regional countries, international organisations and multi-national
groups.
According to the department, the city granted licences to 11
new foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of more than
$38.92 million, while allowing 10 existing ones to raise their capital by
$197.74 million in the first quarter of this year.
The latest addition has brought the total number of
foreign-invested projects in the city to 425, capitalised at more than $10.29
billion, it said, adding that encouraging figures have proved that the city
remains one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investors.
HCM City stimulus plan out of reach
Noticing signs of an economic recovery, the HCM City-based Duy
Khanh Mechanical Engineering Company decided to expand production with loans
under the city's demand stimulus programme.
But the plans remain on paper due to the cumbersome
administrative procedures for borrowing.
"Under the stimulus programme, it should take no more
than 33 days for enterprises to complete necessary procedures and get
preferential loans if their projects meet all requirements," the
company's director, Do Duy Tong, said.
"However, we have been waiting for four months without a
reply from relevant agencies.
"This delay has disheartened many enterprises that they
have opted out of the stimulus programme."
Minh Duc Company has a similar tale of woe.
Its director, Nguyen Quoc Anh, said the company had submitted
all necessary documents required under the stimulus programme several months
ago but was yet to get a reply.
The city People's Committee launched the Demand Stimulation
Programme in 2000 to encourage investment, develop infrastructure and speed
up restructuring of the economy.
Businesses willing to invest in certain priority sectors can
get loans at low interest rates, which is expected to boost the competitiveness
of local products.
But not as many firms as expected have been able to borrow.
According to the Department of Planning and Investment, since
May 2011 – when the programme saw a major revamp to improve it – only 85
projects have been approved with a total investment of VND6.8 trillion
(US$320 million) and loans of VND3.2 trillion ($150.6 million) at low
interest rates.
The programme has a funding of only VND27 trillion ($1.27
billion), and the city plans to augment it in the coming years.
Economists have said the amount is too modest since the
programme is meant to benefit a multitude of sectors like industry,
agriculture, infrastructure, environment, healthcare, education, professional
training, and culture.
At a meeting with the city Department of Industry and Trade in
late March, many business executives said the programme's regulations should
be further simplified so that more firms could get preferential loans to take
advantage of the economic recovery and the country's international integration.
The loan periods should be more flexible and be based on the
needs of each project to ensure sufficient supply of funds for the project,
they said.
Businesses in sectors identified as priority – such as
supporting industries, waste treatment, and environmental protection – should
have interest subsidised by 50 per cent or even fully, they said.
The time needed for authorised agencies to clear the documents
required to apply for loans should be made very clear to enable applicants to
regulate their production and trading activities, they added.
Source :
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Ba, 14 tháng 4, 2015
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