|
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 3/4
The GSO said the report by the ASEAN Statistics agency (ASEAN
Stats) about Vietnam’s economic growth in 2013 showed that by 2013, Vietnam’s
per capital GDP was higher than Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar and the gap with
regional countries has been considerably narrowed.
The service sector contributed most to
The construction and industrial sectors continued to see a
fall since 2010, contributing 38.3 percent to GDP in 2013, compared with 38.6
percent in 2012.
Even though the agro-forestry-fisheries sector was considered
a “buffer” of the national economy in economic downturns in the past, the
sector also reported a fall in recent years, contributing only 18.4 percent
to GDP, the lowest rate so far.
BIDV to extend $176 million loan to
The Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV)
will lend over US$176 million to
The State Bank of
BIDV will also be responsible for arranging finances so as to
be in accordance with foreign exchange and foreign debt management
regulations of both countries, the bank said.
Japanese economic troubles hurt country's investment in Viet
Nam
Japanese investment has temporarily fallen in the first
quarter due to difficulties in the Japanese economy, said an official of the
Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).
The agency, under the Ministry of Planning and Investment,
said total Japanese investment capital in the first three months reached some
US$295 million for 81 existing and new projects.
Overall investments saw a year-on-year increase of 13
projects, but also a decrease of 30 per cent in total registered capital
during the same period.
Dang Xuan Quang, deputy head of FIA, noted that the reduction
in investment capital to
Further, Fuji Xerox President Tadahito Yamamoto said their
factory in
Investors remain attracted to
Meanwhile,
Therefore, a representative of FIA said
The FIA reported in the first quarter of this year, that of 33
countries the Japanese were the third largest investors in
During the first three months of 2015,
Support industry needed to amp up production
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, domestic
firms in support industries currently meet only 10-15 per cent of the local
procurement demand with mostly simple and low-value components and materials,
even though incentive policies for developing support industries were raised
three years ago.
There remains a large gap between the demand of multinational
corporations and the manufacturing capacity of domestic firms, the ministry
said, adding that
A report by the Industrial Strategy and Strategy Institute
revealed that the support industries of
Specifically, the automobile industry aimed to reach a local
procurement rate of 60 per cent by 2020, but the current rate is a mere 7-8
per cent. The local procurement rate of the garments and textiles industry
was expected to reach 60 per cent by 2015 and 70 per cent by 2020. However,
in 2013, the sector imported 99 per cent of its cotton, 60 per cent of its
fibre and 70 per cent of its cloth.
Domestic firms were urged to pay attention to intensive
investment in technology and equipment rather than production scale expansion
and were tasked with ensuring three factors were maintained: stable quality,
on-time delivery and reasonable prices for the production chain.
An expert from the institute said incentives of tax, credit,
land and infrastructure for domestic firms to invest in support industries
must be clarified.
The national programme to develop the support industries aims
to see these industries meet some 45 per cent of local procurement demand by
2020 and 60 per cent by 2025.
E-commerce critical for global integration
Vietnamese companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises,
need to use e-commerce more to strengthen their competitiveness in foreign
trade, Le Dang Doanh, an economist and former member of the Government
Advisory Council, has said.
Speaking at the 4th annual Supplier Day event organised in
This year
Many free trade agreements would possibly be signed this year
– like the Trans Pacific Partnership, EU-Viet Nam FTA, South Korea-Viet Nam
FTA,
The low tax rates as part of these FTAs would expand
The Viet Nam Textile and Garment Association expected the TPP
to yield an additional US$30 billion in textile exports by 2020 and $55
billion by 2030.
"Domestic businesses at that time will become global
businesses with easy access to partners around the world".
E-commerce would be a key in helping businesses reduce
marketing expenses, eliminating distances and do 24/24 online transactions
with customers in various forms like B2B, B2C, and B2E.
Timothy Leung, head of global business development at
Alibaba.com - one of the B2B websites with the greatest participation by
Vietnamese exporters – said, "We see significant growth in the number of
registered members from Viet Nam (129 per cent) providing valuable products
to buyers in different countries including the US, India, and China."
On average, 6,600 new members registered per month, he said.
Alibaba.com is an English-language global wholesale platform
with registered users in over 240 countries and regions and thousands of
product categories in more than 40 industries.
Leung added that in the near future new tools such as
AliSourcePro to help suppliers identify quality buyers and
Doanh said e-commerce revenues in
Tran Dinh Toan, deputy director of OSB Co., said e-commerce
was a useful tool for businesses to explore and expand markets and take
advantage of untapped opportunities for global trade in the context of a
fast-changing global economy.
As of the end of last year
According to the Internet World Stats, by June last year 43.9
per cent of the country's population, or 41 million people, had access to the
internet.
Supplier Day brought together over 300 businesses and experts
who discussed how to grow their businesses globally.
Banks to speed up sales of non-performing loans
Banks plan to speed up the sale of non-performing loans (NPLs)
to the Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC) to meet the central bank's
deadlines, Voice of Viet Nam reported.
Eximbank will sell VND1 trillion (US$46.7 million) of NPLs to
the national debt dealer, while OCB, HD Bank and Nam A Bank will sell NPLs
worth roughly VND100 billion ($4.67 million) each.
In mid-March, the central bank sent an instruction to credit
institutions, saying that credit institutions will have to sell at least 75
per cent of the NPLs they had registered for sale to VAMC by June 30.
The deadline for selling all NPLs is September 30.
The central bank noted that the sales of NPLs to VAMC was
compulsory and that all credit institutions must meet the regulated
deadlines.
General Director of Kien Long Bank Vo Van Chau said the
central bank's requirement to speed up the sales of NPLs was necessary to
help the banking industry bring down NPLs to below three per cent by the end
of 2015, from the 4.7 per cent recorded at the end of the third quarter last
year.
Despite admitting VAMC had not so far handled all NPLs it had
bought from credit institutions, a deputy general director of another bank,
who declined to be named, also said the handling of NPLs would face certain
difficulties. So it will be hard for banks, especially those that have just
acquired or merged, to reduce NPLs without selling them to VAMC.
In SCB, for example, the bank's NPLs at the end of last year
was slightly more than one per cent, thanks to its NPL sale, worth VND12
trillion ($560.7 million), to VAMC.
HD Bank's NPLs are currently about 1.4 per cent, though its
bad debts increased significantly after a merger with DaiA Bank in 2013.
National Advisory Council for Financial and Monetary Policy
member Tran Du Lich said VAMC would have better opportunities to handle NPLs
thoroughly from this year, when the economy rebounds and the regulation to
open the property market to foreigners takes effect from July.
Investors would also have more choice to buy NPLs from VAMC as
it had bought a significant amount of NPLs, Lich said.
VAMC plans to buy NPLs worth VND100 trillion ($4.76 billion),
or 2.5 per cent of banks' total outstanding loans, this year.
Last year, VAMC bought NPLs worth about VND96 trillion ($4.57
billion), raising the total bad debts it had purchased from credit
institutions to VND135 trillion ($6.43 billion), or 3.4 per cent of the total
outstanding loans.
PM supports $840m for
PM has approved of technical specifications for "HCM City
Urban Railway line 5"project from Thu Thiem, (District 2) to Can Giuoc
(District 8) and Phu Lam (District 6) with total investment US$840m.
The People's Committee of HCM City will manage the project.
The establishment of the railway project aims to reduce the
heavy traffic congestion.
The Asian Development Bank and the Vietnamese government
approved the feasibility of the project.
The first phase of the Metro 5 route between Sai Gon bridge
and Can Giuoc station would stretch 17km with a 25ha – area for railway
maintenance.
The metro route between Bay Hien intersection and Sai Gon
bridge will be constructed with total investment $857m in stage one.
PM urges speeding up SOEs' equitisation
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged State-owned
enterprises (SOEs) to speed up their equitisation after reviewing the process
in the first quarter of this year.
Only 29 out of the 289 enterprises, which were expected to be
equitised this year, have reportedly completed the process. The enterprises
sold State-owned stakes worth nearly VND7 trillion (US$324.59 million).
At present, SOEs have assets worth VND3,000 trillion ($139.11
billion), including about VND 1,200 trillion ($55.64 billion) State owned stakes.
During their equitisation process in the last five years, VND100 trillion
($4.64 billion) worth of State-owned stakes were sold.
Prime Minister Dung said this result was too modest.
"The SOEs' equitisation needs to be sped up to generate
funds for more important fields and to improve enterprises' efficiency,"
he said.
Japanese
printer makers to turn
Fuji Xerox, Kyocera, and Canon are strengthening the role of
their Vietnamese production facilities so as to cater to the growing global
demand.
Fuji Xerox is planning to raise the utilisation of its only
plant in the northern port city of
Fuji Xerox’s president Tadahito Yamamoto cited the approaching
ASEAN Economic Community and Trans-Pacific Partnership as contributing to the
firm’s decision to expand the plant.
Moreover, “labour costs in
Another Japanese printer manufacturer, Kyocera recently
announced that it intended to invest an additional $57.8 million in its
operations in
At present, Kyocera globally makes more than two million
multifunctional printers annually, primarily in
Meanwhile, Japanese laser printer and camera manufacturer
Canon has already set a strong foothold with four operating factories and
employing 25,000 workers in
Most recently, in 2014 Canon invested an additional $27
million fund in its Tien Son printer plant to bring the output up to 10.8
million products a year and the factory’s total workforce to 5,400 employees
by 2016.
While increasing production, the Japanese manufacturers also
hope to increase local content in their products. Fuji Xerox Haiphong hopes
its domestically produced parts will contribute over 90 per cent of the
product value generated in its first Vietnam-based plant, increasing upon the
current 50 per cent. However, Fuji Xerox Haiphong’s current suppliers are not
Vietnamese firms. Instead, the company uses Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese
firms located in
Japan’s Lixil to increase investment in Vietnam
Building materials and housing equipment producer Lixil Global
Manufacturing Vietnam, a subsidiary of
The firm intends to raise its localisation rate of components
up from the current 85 per cent. Lixil Vietnam currently produces sanitary
ware brands American Standard and Inax and aluminium doors and windows under
the Tostem trademark. The company currently has plants in Hanoi, Hung Yen,
Quang Nam, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Binh Duong with the total investment capital
of $222 million.
Real estate company to double its charter capital
Shareholders of Hoang Quan Consulting, Trading and Real Estate
Services Joint-Stock Co's agreed last Saturday (March 28) on a plan to double
the company's charter capital to VND4 trillion (US$190.4 million) this year.
Truong Anh Tuan, chairman and general director of Hoang Quan
Consulting, Trading and Real Estate Services Joint-Stock Co said the company
will double its charter capital to VND4 trillion in this year/Photo Courtesy
of Hoang Quan Co. VNS Photo
This year's revenue and after-tax profits are expected to see
an increase of 10 times compared to the results in 2014.
Truong Anh Tuan, chairman and general director of HQC, said
his company's profit in 2015 would come from many large projects, and these
targets were viable.
This year, the company will implement 15 projects in 12
provinces and cities and put large key projects into use, such as HQC Plaza,
HQC Hoc Mon, Can Tho City's Tuong Thach residential area, and HQC Royal
Tower. It would complete building phase 1 of Mekong Delta University.
The company will also strengthen investment in social housing
projects this year. Fifty per cent of this year's revenue and profits will
come from social housing projects.
For instance, the HQC Plaza project is of the biggest social
housing projects that have received a loan from the Government's VND30,000
billion ($1.42 billion) loan package.
HQC Royal Tower is expected to bring VND100 billion ($4.7
million) in profits every year and HQC Hoc Mon over VND400 billion ($19.04
million) in profits when these projects are put into use.
Hoang Quan plans to complete infrastructure and build more
workshops for lease to attract more investors to two industrial parks, Binh
Minh-Vinh Long and Ham Kiem-Binh Thuan. They aim for an occupancy rate of 50
per cent at the two parks.
The company will implement many mergers and acquisition
transactions this year in the property, financial and education sectors.
At the meeting, the company said it would offer VND630 billion
($30 million) of shares to existing shareholders at a face value of VND10,000
per share to raise capital to implement its projects, including Binh Minh
industrial park, Mekong Delta University's phase 1 project and HQC Hoc Mon.
Sacomreal unveils social housing project
Sacomreal launched on Sunday its Jamona Apartment social
housing project in HCM City's District 7, which is eligible for support from
the Government's VND30 trillion (US$1.42 billion) credit programme for
low-income and certain other categories of people.
Lenders like OCB and Vietin Bank will offer a loan of 80 per
cent rate of the apartment value for 15 years at 5 per cent interest.
It has two towers consisting of 1,290 units of 46-69sq.m,
which cost a minimum of VND636 million ($30,285). It will have a 7,500sq.m
swan-shaped lake.
It will have a mall, gymnasium, restaurants, clinics, and a
kindergarten.
On the occasion, Sacomreal launched a fund to help
disadvantaged people like orphans and poor patients to which it will donate
VND1 million ($47.6) for every unit it sells in any of its projects.
Rice stockpiling likely to reach target in Mekong Delta
Businesses have bought about 760,000 tons out of one million
tons under the Government’s rice stockpiling program this year as of March
29, reported the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).
This is considered to be a great effort by the businesses
because the purchase was very slow early March. With this momentum, they have
to plan to buy all one million tons by April 15 when the program ends.
VFA is said to have assisted some companies to access bank
loans to purchase rice for stockpiling.
Vietnamese businesses have signed contracts to export two
million tons of rice this year. Of this number, they have delivered 540,000
tons.
Vietnam’s public debt on track to unhealthy high levels
Vietnam’s public debt rate may climb to 60 percent of the
country GDP in 2016 and economists say the rate may be much higher than the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecast.
ADB economist Dominic Mellor said Vietnam may face public debt
risks as the country may experience widening state budget deficit.
“If Vietnam’s state budget revenues are lower that the set
target, the government will prefer state budget deficit rather than expense
cut. So, the country’s public debt rate may account to 60 percent of its GDP
in 2016,” he said.
The statement comes as corporate income tax cuts and
exemptions, the removal of the tariffs and lower oil prices are expected to
seriously affect Vietnam’s state budget revenues as state spending continues
to rise, by between 5 percent and 20 percent depending on sectors.
Vietnamese economist Le Dang Doanh, former director of the
Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said the country’s current
method of calculating public debt is inappropriate and its real public debt
rate may be much higher than the current rate, surpassing the acceptable rate
of 65 percent of GDP.
“I’ve warned for several times that the country’s public debts
are sharply increasing," Doanh said. "The state budget must spend
around VND282trn, or 31 percent of state budget revenues, on paying public
debts in 2015, while its regular expenses account for 72 percent of the state
budget revenues. This means that that country has no money for investment and
this is really dangerous."
Apart from measures to strictly manage public debts and
prevent budget wastefulness, the government should work out a specific
strategy for public debt payment, Doanh said.
HCMC wants impacts of power, fuel price hikes assessed
The government of HCMC has asked local agencies and
enterprises to assess the impacts of electricity and retail fuel price spikes
on their production and business plans as these increases will certainly make
inroads into their operations.
Speaking at a review meeting on socio-economic performance in
the first quarter of 2015 last Friday, HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan requested
relevant agencies to review how the price hikes would affect the operations
of local production and trading enterprises in April and charges of passenger
and cargo transport.
The first quarter has seen the city’s economy performing
better than in the same period last year. However, Quan warned that
enterprises should be prepared well as electricity and fuel price increases
might be major challenges for them in the coming time.
Thai Van Re, director of the HCMC Department of Planning and
Investment, said the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) in January-March has
reached VND202 trillion (US$9.38 billion), up 8% versus a year ago. The city
has enjoyed a trade surplus of US$700 million.
The city’s economy has regained high-growth momentum with the
first quarter’s GDP steadily growing over the past three years, from 7.4% in
2012 to 7.6% in 2013 and 7.7% in 2014. Each percentage point in the economic
growth is equivalent to more than VND60 trillion.
The consumer price index (CPI) in March inched up 0.16% from
the previous month and commodity prices have seen mild volatility after the
Lunar New Year holiday (Tet), which ended late February.
The city’s exports in the first three months of this year have
dropped by 1.9% year-on-year to US$7 billion, while its imports have edged
down 0.2% to US$6.3 billion. Japan, the United States. and China make up 41%
in the city’s imports.
Notably, the city has got US$1.2 billion in incoming
remittances in the period.
Regarding foreign direct investment (FDI), Re said the city
has seen nearly US$735 million registered for fresh and operational 100
projects in the period, down 2% year-on-year. But the total investment
pledges by domestic firms have jumped 10% to VND58 trillion (US$2.69
billion).
Budget collections in the January-March period have increased
by nearly 12% compared to the first quarter of last year, with tax and fee
revenues from exports and imports up nearly 3.3%.
Dao Thi Huong Lan, director of the HCMC Department of Finance,
said the city’s total State budget revenue has neared VND68.3 trillion, up 5%
against the same period last year. Of which, collections from domestic
sources have increased by 14% year-on-year.
The city’s budget collections in one quarter exceed VND64
trillion in all of 2006.
Cong Ly to expand wind farm in Bac Lieu
Cong Ly Construction, Trade and Tourism Company Limited will
build 150 more wind turbines with a combined capacity of 300 megawatts (MW)
in its wind farm in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu after the
successful implementation of the first and second phases of the project.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) last week inked
an agreement to award a grant of US$1 million for Cong Ly to conduct a feasibility
study for the third phase.
The feasibility study will help Cong Ly expand the wind farm
through the examination of technical challenges that may arise from an
offshore location. “The study will include a wind resource and energy
assessment, a review of permitting and land control issues, an electrical
grid interconnection and foundation design, construction cost estimates, and
a financing plan,” USTDA said in a statement on its website.
Sarah Randolph, USTDA country manager for Southeast Asia, said
the agency wanted to support the increase of renewable energy production in
Vietnam through the expansion of the Bac Lieu wind farm.
“This grant represents the next step in a series of successful
partnerships with Vietnam’s wind power sector,” said Randolph, who signed the
grant on behalf of USTDA.
This project is a key deliverable of the U.S.-Asia Pacific
Comprehensive Energy Partnership (USACEP), a whole-of-government initiative
aimed to build U.S. business engagement in the region’s clean energy development,
while stimulating infrastructure and grid improvements, according to USTDA.
To Hoai Dan, general director of Cong Ly, told the signing
ceremony that 10 wind turbines with 16MW of the first phase have generated
around 60 million kWh of electricity since its operation in May 2013. The
company now sells one kWh of electricity at 9.8 U.S. cents and has its first
phase connected to the national power grid.
Cong Ly expected 52 wind turbines with a total capacity of
83MW of the second phase will start commercial generation on May 29 this
year.
The Bac Lieu wind farm has a total designed capacity of 480MW
and is the first coastal wind power project in Vietnam. The investment of the
project includes US$1 billion financed by the Export-Import Bank of the
United States.
Under the renewable energy development plan approved by the
Government, Vietnam will have a total wind power capacity of 1,000 MW in 2020
and 6,200 MW in 2030. The combined capacity of operational wind farms
nationwide is estimated at 54 MW.
Total compensation for protest-hit firms at VND430 billion
Non-life insurance companies paid out a total of VND430
billion (US$20 million) for 370 enterprises in different provinces over the
damage caused during the worker protests against China’s illegal placement of
a giant oil rig in Vietnamese waters in May 2014.
The compensation figure was announced at a conference on life
insurance, non-life insurance, reinsurance and insurance brokerage held by
the Insurance Supervisory Authority under the Ministry of Finance last week.
In mid-May last year, many workers at industrial parks in
HCMC, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ha Tinh took part in protests against China’s
illegal deployment of Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig well within Vietnam’s
exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, and some of them were incited
by ill-intentioned elements to storm foreign-invested firms. However, the
central and local governments swiftly took actions to restore order at the
affected industrial parks.
The authority reported at the conference that non-life
insurers had paid a combined VND10.85 trillion in compensation last year and
VND38.94 trillion in the 2011-2014 period.
Non-life insurance and reinsurance companies posted stable
growth despite economic difficulties in the period. Insurance premiums
increased by an average of 11% per year and neared VND27.31 trillion last
year.
Meanwhile, the life insurance sector maintained an annual
growth rate of 21% in the four-year period and mobilized over VND85 trillion
in idle capital from the economy via insurance premiums payment and long-term
contracts.
However, the local insurance sector is still underdeveloped.
Many firms focus more resources on market share expansion than business
efficiency, triggering unhealthy competition.
Corporate representatives at the conference proposed setting
up a common database for authorities and insurers to better supervise
individuals and organizations with signs of money laundering and insurance
frauds, and establish competent agencies for solving insurance disputes.
HCM City to invest heavily in hi-tech agriculture parks
The government of HCMC will spend big on hi-tech agricultural
parks to attract more domestic and foreign investments, said Do Viet Ha,
deputy head of the park’s management board.
Ha told the Daily that the city government has approved a
budget of at least VND1.1 trillion (US$51 million) for developing the
high-tech agriculture sector, including VND400 billion for the 98-hectare
hi-tech agricultural park in Can Gio District and VND700 billion for
expanding another hi-tech agricultural park in Cu Chi District by 200
hectares.
Ha said an agricultural hi-tech park covering 100 hectares is
under way in Binh Chanh District.
The reason for expanding such parks is that some 70 investors
have expressed interest in implementing their projects in the park. Ha,
however, said the city will transfer the projects which are not suitable for
hi-tech agricultural parks to other localities.
The park in Cu Chi District will be used for cultivation,
freshwater fish and aquatic plants, while the park in Binh Chanh District is
for breeding and producing breeder dairy cows, pigs and chicken, among
others. Can Gio District will be home to fisheries and bio-products for the
aquaculture sector.
Banking, realty stocks forecast to attract investors
Aside from petroleum tickers, investors may rush to acquire
banking and real estate stocks this week as their prices tumbled in previous
sessions, securities firms predicted.
Nguyen Vu Phong, deputy director of SEABANK Securities
Company, was quoted by Dau tu Chung khoan newspaper as saying that shares of
the realty and banking sectors made milder increases than other groups during
the market’s uptrend before the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.
However, they performed better than other stocks despite a
steep decline of the market last week.
On the other hand, the domestic real estate sector is expected
to grow this year while many banks are preparing for merger deals in the
coming time. Therefore, the banking and real estate groups would be
attractive to stock traders this week, Phong expected.
With five sessions falling last week, the VN-Index shed nearly
20 points, or around 4%, against the week earlier to end at 551.42 while the
HNX-Index also tumbled 3.21% at 82.4.
Liquidity contracted as matching volume on the Hochiminh Stock
Exchange shrank 15.7% at around 422.7 million shares and 10% on the Hanoi
market at 182.1 million shares.
Large-caps namely VIC, MSN, VCB and VNM dragged the market
down while blue-chip GAS plunged to the floor prices several times last week.
According to Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC), portfolio rebalancing by
exchange traded funds (ETFs) and foreign selling also fueled the market’s
downtrend.
Foreigners net sold a hefty VND613 billion worth of shares on
the southern bourse, mainly PVD, GAS and MSN, while picking DXG and BID worth
VND64.4 billion and VND35.6 billion respectively.
Excluding the net selling value during the week, foreign
investors had net bought just VND226.7 billion worth of shares this year,
said VDSC.
The Hanoi Stock Exchange reported foreign net selling of
VND97.6 billion with PVS, VCG and TIG being sold mainly.
Cash flowed into HAI, FLC, HAG and ITA of the construction and
realty sectors but they rarely closed in the green. The securities and mining
groups also turned volatile although they attracted much speculative money.
Banking and petroleum stocks bounced back at the last session
of the week but could not support the indexes. The positive sign for the
market now is that bottom fishers have actively acquired shares at low prices
in recent sessions.
HCM City records strong growth in first quarter
The high growth in retail sales and services and a taming of
inflation in the first three months of the year indicate the HCM City
economy's "robust" growth, People's Committee members heard at a
meeting last Friday.
According to figures released at the meeting held to review
the city's socio-economic performance, the city's economy grew by 8 per cent
year-on-year to over VND202 trillion (nearly US$9.4 billion).
The rate is higher than in the comparable period of the
previous three years when it was well below 8 per cent.
Retail sales and services topped VND159.37 trillion, an
increase of 11.5 per cent.
The real estate sector saw a turnover of over VND23.5
trillion, up 20 per cent.
Thai Van Re, director of the Department of Planning and
Investment, said the city focused on easing the difficulties faced by the
corporate sector and creating a favourable environment for production and
business by speeding up reform in taxation, customs, social insurance, land
and house management, construction and company establishment and bankruptcy.
Loans to enterprises in the five priority sectors of
agriculture, rural development, small and medium-sized enterprises,
supporting industries, and enterprises using technologies were worth VND137.6
trillion for a marginal rise.
Loans to small and medium-sized firms accounted for 65 per
cent of this.
Industrial output grew by 5.6 per cent.
Authorities said industrial production had been promoted with
a focus on the processing and manufacturing sectors and a decrease in mining.
Le Hoang Quan, Chairman the People's Committee, said the
growth in the first quarter would pave the way for growth in the second
quarter as well as the whole year.
The city has taken measures to fulfill its targets for the
year and mobilised resources to boost the economy by improving the investment
environment and promoting production and business.
It has also boosted its programme to restructure the economy,
changing the model and improving the quality of growth by boosting nine kinds
of services and four major industrial sectors that use high technology and
offer value addition.
The city plans to strengthen the programme to link banks with
businesses, farmers and rural areas to encourage credit growth and create
conditions for businesses to get access to funds.
Conditions have been ushered in to support businesses for the
time when Viet Nam signs the Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement and joins the
ASEAN Economic Community.
Quan urged the Departments of Transport and Natural Resources
and Environment to speed up work on major infrastructure and find ways to
improve the infrastructure to save fuel and transport costs involved in goods
transport and boost economic development.
He also called on them to look for measures to revive delayed
projects that were a drain on the economy.
Japanese firms partner with Nam Long
Japanese companies Hankyu Realty and Nishi-Nippon Railroad
have decided to invest into an affordable apartment project developed by the
Ho Chi Minh City-listed Nam Long Investment Company (HOSE: NLG).
The Flora Anh Dao is Nam Long’s first Flora branded-product
targeted at middle and upper class earners. The total investment for the
project is estimated at VND500 billion ($23.8 million).
According to Toshihiro Matsuo, executive officer of
Nishi-Nippon’s housing division, the Japanese partners appreciate Nam Long’s
commitment to providing value and lifestyle.
“Both of us are railway companies, and the role of railway
companies in Japan is to establish connections between the city centre and
suburbs, helping expand economic zones from the centre of the city to the
suburbs as a way of providing life-related facilities, including homes,
offices, hotels, shopping centres, and entertainment facilities. That is why
we feel Nam Long’s motto ‘about enjoying yourself through a new lifestyle in
the suburbs’ matches our aspirations,” Matsuo said.
Matsuo added that Vietnam’s property market was extremely
attractive as it offered huge growing demand in the future, which was an
added consideration for the Japanese firms deciding to invest in Vietnam.
He said demand for housing was rapidly growing in Ho Chi Minh
City and the first metro line would also add to the attractiveness of more
further-flung projects in the city’s suburbs.
“We believe that with the further development of Ho Chi Minh
City and the high growth in demand for housing in the city, we are sure that
this project will prove very successful,” he said.
Apart from contributing investment, the Japanese companies
will also share their ample development experience, as well as providing
products based on a 3G concept: gettable, green and greater.
Nam Long chairman Nguyen Xuan Quang said that Flora was an
upscale brand of the company’s existing EHome concept which leads the
affordable housing segment in Vietnam.
“Flora Anh Dao is the first product targeted at mid and higher
level income earners,” Quang said.
Quang also said that the Flora product would provide profits
of 12 to 15 per cent and account for about 15 per cent of Nam Long’s total
turnover in 2015.
Located at Nam Long – Phuoc Long B residential area in
District 9, Flora Anh Dao has good transport links.
Set for completion in 2016, the 16-floor Flora Anh Dao block
will offer 500 units, a Japanese-style garden, community club, children's
playground and other amenities. Ranging from 54 to 67 square metres, Flora
Anh Dao apartments will cost around VND18.9 million ($900) per square metre.
According to CBRE Vietnam managing director Marc Townsend, Nam
Long’s ‘affordable premium’ product was unique.
“The concept is very new and it combines all necessary
requirements for apartments. They are affordable, green, beautiful, and high
quality,” said Townsend.
‘It should be a popular project, particularly with its
Japanese investors,’ he added.
Nam Long is one of the pioneering township developers in
Vietnam. With 23 years of development experience, it is well-known for
projects in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Can Tho, Long An, Ba Ria-Vung Tau,
and Dong Nai, currently holding 572 hectares of land for development.
Having supplied more than 3,300 units since 2008, Nam Long’s
EHome brand is known in Vietnam for its affordable flats.
The company intends to develop 6,000 Flora apartments in the
next three to five years in Ho Chi Minh City and is keen to acquire suitable
land plots to develop this product.
Footwear exports surge high
Footwear exports in the first quarter of this year jumped
19.5% to an estimated value of US$2.5 billion, the highest growth over the
last two years, according to the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag
Association (Lefaso).
A series of free trade agreements (FTAs), including the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the EU - Vietnam FTA, which soon come
into effect will create a motive to attract more investment from foreign and
domestic businesses.
Lefaso Vice President Diep Thanh Kiet revealed that many
footwear businesses have concluded export contracts for the third quarter, even
for the fourth quarter of this year. Exports prices to major markets like the
US, Japan, Australia, and South America remain stable. However, prices of
some renowned brand names have surged slightly as importers took account of
recent minimum wage hike in Vietnam.
Export businesses are facing difficulties in the EU market due
to the devaluation of the Euro. Importers have asked them to lower the price
in case they signed a contract in US dollar.
Campaign to lift intellectual property rights
The Ministry of Science and Technology launched a month-long
campaign yesterday to commemorate the World Intellectual Property Day (April
26) with the support of the Software Alliance (BSA).
The campaign is aimed at improving public understanding of
intellectual property laws to enhance the recognition, application,
development and protection of intellectual property rights; promote research
and innovation, apply science and technology for greater productivity and
socioeconomic development in Vietnam, and help the society be well-prepared
for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) accession.
From March 31 to April 30, the ministry will organise a series
of activities to enhance public awareness about intellectual property, such
as contests for university students and conferences for businesses.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Deputy Minister Tran Viet
Thanh, said educational and training activities will be held during the next
one month, and an inspection of the implementation on legal regulations will
also continue to be carried out in May and the ensuing months.
Attending the ceremony, Roland Chan, senior director of BSA's
Compliance Program in Asia Pacific, said the Alliance appreciated the strong
efforts and remarkable initial progress made by Vietnamese governmental agencies
in intellectual property right protection over the recent years, especially
in relation to computer software.
"There is no doubt that software has changed the world.
Vietnam is one of the greatest beneficiaries and a global symbol for what an
economy can achieve through technology. I am confident that the one-month
campaign will advance further awareness of intellectual property. This is a
time for Vietnamese businesses to pay for what they use and manage what they
have," Chan said.
During the 2013 to 2014 period, inspectors and monitors at
ministries, and for local authorities imposed fines in more than 32,000
cases, worth VND139 billion (US$6.61 million) for counterfeit, sub-standard
goods, and intellectual property infringements.
Last year, inspectors from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Tourism had conducted checks at 82 enterprises for compliance with current
computer software ownership laws and fined violating companies a total of
VND1.57 billion (more than US$74,000).
Green, energy-saving solutions on display in Hanoi
The International Exhibition Fair for Environment and Energy
Technology (ENTECH HANOI 2015) will convene from May 20 to 22 at the Hanoi
International Exhibition Centre in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi.
The 6,000 square metre fair features between 160 and 200
booths run by 150 domestic and foreign organisations and enterprises in the
field.
Energy saving equipment and solutions are on display at the
event as will green energy products in the industrial production,
transportation and construction industry.
A series of seminars will be organised on improving the
efficiency of energy use in industrial production and commercial offices
alongside presenting energy saving solutions for small- and medium-sized
enterprises.
Other side events include a trade forum between Vietnam and
the Republic of Korea and a public contest on energy-saving and environmental
protection.
The fair also provides a platform for business partnership
development and technological transfer.
Hosted by the Hanoi Industry and Trade Department, ENTECH
HANOI 2015 has been held annually since 2009. It is intended to help
businesses seek and employ advanced, energy-saving and green technologies
towards cost reduction and improved competiveness.
RoK province seeks medical engagement with Binh Duong
The Republic of Korea (RoK) province of Deagu is working to
expand its medical collaboration with the southern Vietnamese province of
Binh Duong, said Kim Yon-Chang, Deputy Mayor of Deagu during a meeting with
Vice Chairman of the Binh Duong People’s Committee Tran Thanh Liem on March
31.
Kim Yon-Chang pledged to promote investment in Vietnam among
the Korean business community.
Liem said Binh Duong welcomed Korean enterprises to engage in
the local economy and spoke highly of the healthcare services available to
residents as provided by a medical delegation from Deagu.
From March 30 to April 1, My Phuoc General Hospital and the
Deagu delegation of 52 medical personnel and 30 volunteers have offered free
medical checkups and medicines for an estimated 2,500 disadvantaged people.
With a recent annual growth of 14.5%, Binh Duong is among the
top four localities with highest amount of foreign capital in Vietnam, and a
total of US$9 billion from the Republic of Korea makes it the third largest
foreign investor in the southern province.
Deagu has a reputation for its strong development in the
medical, electricity and electronic product sectors.
Source :
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
|
Thứ Sáu, 3 tháng 4, 2015
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét