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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 12/5
Concerns raised over airport rights
The Ministry of Finance agrees with the transport ministry's
plan for socialisation of investment for airline infrastructure.
However, it is concerned about the other ministry's pilot sale
of operational rights to airlines, which could lead to unhealthy competition,
according to the online VnExpress.net.
In a document sent to the government recently, the finance
ministry mentioned the sale of operational rights to domestic investors at
The finance ministry said the transport ministry's report
showed that as
Earlier, the transport leaders affirmed that the money
collected from the sale of operational rights at
The finance ministry said ACV has completed its corporate
value assessment and has been implementing steps for equitisation. Its
valuation included 22 international and domestic airports, including
ACV's value is estimated to be VND38 trillion (US$1.75
billion).
The State budget management body also said Phu Quoc Airport
was not on the list of businesses that would follow the Government decree
128/2014/ND-CP, dated December 31, 2014, on sale and transfer of 100 per cent
of state-owned capital in enterprises, as well as the form of transfer under
an operate–manage (O&M) basis of the Government decree 15/2015/ND-CP on
public-private partnership (PPP) investment, as proposed by the transport
ministry.
"Therefore, the transport ministry needs to clarify whether
it would separate Phu Quoc Airport from the ACV's valuation, when it summits
the ACV equitisation plan for approval to the Prime Minister," the
finance ministry said.
Two non-airlines sector businesses — T&T Group and Lien
Thai Duong Group – are in the race to get operational rights of
In March this year, the transport ministry requested the Prime
Minister to allow the sale of operational rights of
Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air are competing for
the northern
All businesses want to auctions to be held, but the ACV is
being cautious and is studying to find the best way to resolve this issue.
SBV seeks fresh impetus for green credit growth
The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) issued a rule that would push
up green credit and environmental risk management in the credit-granting
process so it could implement the National Action Plan on Green Growth.
Experts and commercial banks said SBV's decision helped create
a level playing field for green credit growth. Green banking is controlled by
the same authorities as regular banking, but takes more care to assure its
actions benefit the country's environment, society and natural resources.
In a recent seminar on green credit and banking, Nguyen Thi
Kim Thanh, head of SBV's Banking Strategy Institute, said the banking sector
had contributed to the country's socio-economic development by playing the
role of financial broker and promoting growth.
Therefore, green credit policies could lead the economy to
green growth, Thanh said. Green credit would also improve people's living
standards and protect the environment, she added.
"Green banking and credit are used in many countries at
the moment," Thanh told the Thoi Bao Kinh Te (Economic Times) newspaper.
"However, it is still new in
Nguyen Tri Hieu, a banking expert, said green credit could
help banks fulfill their obligations to society, in addition to boosting
profit.
So far, though, Vietnamese banks haven't shown much interest
in the trend. Hieu said most of them have been preoccupied struggling with
debt. Many don't see how the issue of the environment is related to their
businesses.
An expert from the International Financial Corporation (IFC)
suggested Vietnamese commercial banks consider environment and society an
indispensable part of their risk management structures. Besides, banks should
develop green credit to give their businesses an edge and a new growth tool.
The experts also advised that commercial banks reform their
investment portfolios by systematically assessing investment risks and credit
evaluation processes. This would help financial institutions and banks reduce
bad loans and increase their financial stability, they said.
According to an official from the Ministry of Planning and
Investment, Viet Nam needs about US$30 billion to implement its 2020 green
growth plan, 30 per cent of which from the State budget. The rest would be
mobilised from the private economic sector.
At present, climate change and green growth account for more
than 10 per cent of the Government's budget.
Banks play a very important role in reaching green growth
targets, the official said, as private enterprises must mobilise capital from
banks when investing in green growth projects.
To effectively assist green growth, banks should offer
enterprises special credits, because green growth projects take more time to
bring in profit than others do.
Hieu suggested banks offer incentives such as relocating loans
with lower interest or tax priority.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Duc Viet, deputy director of the Risk
Management Section of ABBank, said his bank was interested in comprehensive,
sustainable development.
So far, the bank had completed a system of social and environment
risk management, which is integrated into the bank's current risk management,
Duc said.
To create a level playing field for all banks, Duc asked
management agencies to issue more policies supporting sustainable growth.
Gov't approves hi-tech agricultural zones plan
The Government has approved a plan to set up high-tech
agricultural zones and areas around the country that aims to have 10 such
zones by 2020.
The 10 have been or are being set up in Thai Nguyen, Quang
Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Binh Duong and Hau Giang
provinces and Can Tho and
To measure between 65ha and 460ha, each zone will have,
besides an administrative centre, areas for research and experiments in new
high-tech agricultural production, technology transfer, farming, and waste
treatment.
The Can Tho high-tech agriculture zone, for instance, will
spread over 244ha in Co Do District and focus on vegetables, flowers, rice,
speciality fruits, pig, poultry, and aquatic species. The zone will also
process agricultural produce using advanced technologies.
The Cuu Long (
Besides the zones, the plan also envisages development of
high-tech agricultural areas focusing on local specialities. Thus, there will
be areas for growing coffee in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands),
north-western and north-central regions, for dragon fruit in
There will also be high-tech agricultural areas for dairy
farming in Son La, Nghe An and Lam Dong provinces and Ha Noi, raising pigs in
the Hong (Red) Delta and south-eastern regions and poultry in the Red River
Delta and central and southern regions.
Places in the Red River Delta, northern-central and central
coastal regions and the south will focus on breeding saline and brackish
water shrimp.
By 2030 the country will set up at least 10 more high-tech
agricultural zones, including in Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Son La, Nam Dinh and Nghe
An provinces and Ha Noi.
Developers of high-tech agricultural zones and investors in
the zones will be offered various incentives.
Fish farms fail to thrive in Lam Dong
The farming of coldwater fish has failed to develop as
expected in the Central Highlands
Tran Van Hao, Chairman of the Lam Dong Coldwater Fish Farming
Association, said just 11 of 40 planned projects were launched in 2014,
forming just 30 hectares of fish farms as against the targeted 350 hectares.
These farms produced 200 tonnes of sturgeon, far below expectations.
Farming of coldwater fish, in particular sturgeon, is
relatively recent venture in the country, beginning to develop five years ago
in the provinces of Lam Dong and Lao Cai. Sturgeons are being bred with
production reaching 700 tonnes in 2013, of which
A national plan envisaged harvests of 1,500 tonnes of
coldwater fish by 2015 – 1,000 tonnes of sturgeon and 500 tonnes of salmon.
However total production in 2014 was just 550 tonnes.
Hao said many enterprises that had initially invested in
breeding coldwater fish had quit, and others had scaled back their
operations.
Meanwhile, raising salmon requires large investments and
meticulous care, forcing many firms to abandon it or shift to breeding for
research purposes.
Hao admitted that the challenges in breeding coldwater fish
had been underestimated. Several enterprises that have entered the business
were learning on the job, and were not fully conversant with best breeding
conditions and methods, he said.
Vu Ba Lien, farm manager with the Ngoc Mai Trang Company, said
expensive imported feed, contaminated water and unusual rains had killed much
of his salmon stock, and they had to switch to sturgeon and black carp.
Local farmers were excessively dependent on imported feed,
with around 350 tonnes shipped in last year, he said.
Another problem was the illegal import of cheap sturgeon and
salmon from
It is estimated that around 2-3 tonnes of fresh sturgeon is
illegally brought in from
Hao said that locally, sturgeon are bred in near natural
conditions and harvested after 12-14 months when they reach a weight of
around two kilograms. Chinese sturgeon, on the other hand, use growth
stimulants and can be harvested after 4-6 months, making them much cheaper.
Several firms had recently begun importing Chinese sturgeon
and putting them into fish farms in
This meant that the local industry was likely to fall well
short of the 2020 target of 100 hectares of farms producing 3,000 tonnes of
coldwater fish, he added.
Vietnam-India trade cooperation highlighted
Crowds of domestic and Indian scientists, managers and
businessmen gathered at a workshop in
At the event, Director of the Academy Ta Ngoc Tan highlighted
the long- lasting relationship between
In the most recent communiqué from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung’s visit to
Their cooperation commitment consists of five pillars:
politics, economics, energy, security and national defence.
Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Preeti Saran said the
Vietnam-India strategic partnership has seen exceptional development with
comprehensive cooperation in various fields, including politics, national
defence, trade and investment, education, science and technology, culture and
people-to-people diplomacy.
Participants discussed the role of the relations, reviewed
current economic cooperation and highlighted challenges and potential for the
respective nations.
They also offered approaches to bring Vietnam-India economic
cooperation to new heights, with businesses from both nations playing an
active role in the process.
On the occasion, the Academy launched a website of the Indian
research centre, updating the Vietnam-India relations and facilitating the
teaching and understanding of the landscapes, peoples and socio-economic
development of the two nations.
Trade between
They have targeted a trade revenue of 7 billion USD in 2015,
increasing to 15 billion USD by 2020.
Rice exports to
Of the figure, 94.1 percent was generated through exports to
African markets, forecasting a strong recovery after a recent downturn in the
market.
Vietnamese rice shipped to African markets has seen strong
growth since 2011.
In 2013, the country exported 2 million tonnes of rice to
Africa, accounting for nearly 30 percent of
However, the country’s rice export turnover to
To support Vietnamese rice exporters, the Ministry of Industry
and Trade’s Department of Africa,
As stipulated, promotion activities will be intensified to
help rice exporters’ access to new markets.
The ministry advised Vietnamese exporters to provide
high-quality rice products besides traditional rice, given their increasing
demand in
The year 2015 is providing a golden opportunity for
The forecast is based predominantly on the shrinking market share
of
In addition to this, a number of wood factories in the main
exporting countries have been closed down due to the ripple effects of the
economic recession in Europe, providing an opportunity for
The formation of the ASEAN Community, which is scheduled to
take place by the end of the year, will also offer excellent opportunities,
as wood will be one of the 12 prioritised industrial sectors.
Currently,
Can Tho industrial zones attract 5.6 million USD
Industrial zones in the Mekong Delta city of
The figure, which comes from four new projects and capital
increases of three existing projects, represents a 6 percent increase from
the same period last year.
Currently, the city's industrial zones have 214 valid projects
with a combined investment capital of 1.91 billion USD, 192 of which are
operational and 22 are under implementation.
The board said industrial zones in Can Tho plan to produce an
industrial and commercial value of 1.5 billion USD with an export value of
620 million USD in 2015.
The zones are expected to generate 3,500 new jobs and
contribute 2 trillion VND (92 million USD) in tax. In the first four months,
the industrial value produced by the industrial zones reached 400 million
USD, up 10.9 percent against the same period.
Kien Giang to build new fishing vessels
The People’s Committee of the southern coastal
The financial support, based on Government Decree 67 on
policies to boost fishery development , will be allocated to fishermen in the
Chau Thanh, An Minh, An Bien, Kien Hai, Hon Dat, Phu Quoc districts and Rach
Gia city.
Each new vessel, with capacity of 400 to 1,000 CV, will
receive an average investment of 10 billion VND (462,000 USD) while owners of
old vessels will be given (185,000 USD) each for upgrade.
The provincial authorities also plan to provide insurance
premium support for 921 fishing vessels and 8,349 fishermen.
By 2016, Kien Giang hopes to build 95 fishing boats and 10
vessels for logistic services with capacities of 400 CV and over in line with
Government Decree 67.
The building of high-capacity boats for deep sea fishing is
one of the programmes introduced under Government Decree 67/2014/ND-CP to
boost fishery development.
The move is expected to increase the volume of fish caught and
lift fishermen incomes.
To be eligible for the programme, fishermen must be approved
by local People’s Committees.
As many as 2,079 new off-shore fishing ships and 205 logistics
ships will be built under this decree, according to the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development.
Bac Ninh strives to enhance competitiveness index in 2015
Measures to maintain the provincial competitiveness index’s (PCI)
momentum in northern Bac Ninh province were debated during a workshop on May
11.
In 2014, the locality ranked tenth nationwide with 60.92 PCI
points. Its transparency, timing cost, business support and equal competition
sub-indexes increased from 2013 while land access, unofficial cost and
dynamic criteria reduced.
Bac Ninh’s PCI has ranked among the top ten provinces for six
consecutive years thanks to local authority’s efforts to build an attractive
business climate, said Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen
Nhan Chien.
He suggested drastic measures to address the dropping indexes
and remove barriers to enterprise growth, including cutting red tape and
boosting equality among different economic sectors.
In a bid to promote the responsibility of individual
personnel, provincial awards will be presented to those with outstanding
performance contributing to the local PCI by the end of 2015, noted Chairman
of Bac Ninh People’s Committee Nguyen Tu Quynh.
The PCI report considers a range of criteria, including land
access for businesses, land use stability, transparency, an equal and
competitive environment and legal support for firms.
Since 2005, the PCI survey has included nearly 80,600 private
owned enterprises and 7,800 foreign enterprises.-
Vietnam attractive destination for investment, tourism
The event, which was organised by the Chambers of Commerce and
Industry from
Addressing an audience of 500 companies from Vietnam, the
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ba Lan and Hungary, President Sang said a number of
bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, including the European
Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement ( EVFTA), are expected to be signed
between Vietnam and other nations in the near future, which will lay the
foundation for promoting trade-investment-tourism activities between Vietnam
and other countries in the region and the world.
With a population of 90 million and a significant share of the
500-million-strong Southeast Asian market,
President Sang also believed that a large number amounting to
tens of thousands of Vietnamese who used to study in the
Czech President Milos Zeman said strengthening the traditional
relationship between the two countries is the basis for boosting cooperation
in economics, trade, investment and tourism.
He also highlighted the successful integration of Vietnamese
community into the Czech society where they are recognised as the 14th ethnic
minority.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh
recommended measures to increase the number of tourists and promote tourism
investment and business between
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic
Jiri Havlicek said the economic relationship between Vietnam and the Czech
Republic has developed strongly over the past years with the trade volume
surpassing the 500 million USD mark in 2013.
As of the end of 2014, the
Havlicek also highlighted cooperation prospects between the
two countries in a number of sectors such as energy, infrastructure,
transport vehicles and defence industry and health equipment.
On the occasion, the Vietnamese and Czech Presidents witnessed
the signing of documents on cooperation between the Vietnam Chamber of
Commerce and Industry and two Czech partners and between the Bank for
Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and the bank Eximbanka of
Slovakia and CEB of the
In 2012, the
The Eastern European country has continually provided official
development assistance to
Japanese insurer signs deal with HDBank
For 10 years starting in July Dai-ichi Life
It will in turn offer HDBank's products and services to its
own customers.
Besides, when paying their insurance premiums, Dai-ichi Life
Vietnam customers can use HDBank's bill-payment service at more than 220
transaction points nationwide and through e-banking to be set up soon.
HDBank and Dai-ichi Life Vietnam pledged to help each other
develop sustainable strategic cooperation between the banking and insurance
sectors.
Vietnam wants Japan’s ODA for Khanh Hoa fishery centre
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat has
sought Japan’s official development assistance for a fishery centre catering
to the coastal south central based in Khanh Hoa province.
Scheduled as one of the five fishery centres nationwide, the
Khanh Hoa-based facility will be located in Da Bac fishing port, Cam Ranh
city and stretches over an area of 46ha.
Its construction will begin this year at a total cost of
nearly 1.6 trillion VND (74.5 million USD).
The ministry proposed using nearly 10 million USD in
non-refundable aid from the Japanese government to upgrade and expand Da Bac
fishing port.
The provincial People’s Committee wants the Japanese firms to
invest in functional areas such as cold storage, gasoline and petroleum
service facilities, Phat told Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Fukada Hiroshi
during their working session in Khanh Hoa on May 11.
Hiroshi said Japan will consider whether to provide
non-refundable aid or loans for the project during the upcoming Vietnam-Japan
dialogue on agriculture.
Phat said Vietnam wants to acquire Japan ’s innovations
through technical transfer or direct support programmes in order to empower
its aquaculture sector.
Vietnam, India boost cooperation in automobile industry
The Vietnam's TMT Motor Corporation will become the
distributor of TATA Motors Limited—the largest manufacturer in the Indian
automobile industry, as stipulated in an agreement on car distribution and
supply and technology transfer signed in Hanoi on May 11.
According to the agreement, TATA Motor will provide TMT with
spares parts and completely-built-up automobiles for distribution in the
Vietnamese market. This will help TMT enlarge its operations, affirm its
position in the domestic automobile industry and broaden exports to ASEAN
countries.
Bui Van Huu, Chairman of the TMT Motor Corporation,
highlighted that the company aims to build the TATA trademark while
delivering global-standard TATA products and services to Vietnamese
customers.
RT Wasan, TATA Motors’ Head of Commercial Vehicle
International Business, underscored that the nexus between the company and
the Vietnamese automobile sector was created by the penetration of TATA
automobiles into the Southeast Asian country.
He pledged to bring highly-competitive products with TATA
quality certification to Vietnamese consumers.
TMT Motor Corporation is a leading unit in assembling and
distributing automobiles in Vietnam. TATA Motors is the biggest automobile
manufacturer in India, recording a total revenue of 38.9 billion USD in
2013-2014.
The strategic partnership between the two companies is
expected to benefit both sides.
Hundred of businesses partake in Entech Hanoi 2015
More than 110 domestic and foreign businesses are expected to
take part in the 2015 International Exhibition Fair for Environment and
Energy Technology (Entech Hanoi) which aims to promote energy conservation
and environmental protection.
The five-day event will open at the Hanoi International
Exhibition Centre at 91 Tran Hung Dao Street on May 20, featuring 165 booths
and expecting to draw 4,000 visitors, announced Deputy Director of the Hanoi
Centre for Energy Conservation under the municipal Department of Industry and
Trade at a press conference on May 11.
Businesses from the Republic of Korea—which recently signed a
free trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam—brought a wide range of new-cutting
edge products to the event, such as buildings, solar accumulators and oil and
gas processing equipment.
Enterprises from the Czech Republic introduced gas and dust
treatment technology, and those from Sweden and Japan introduced
energy-saving and environmental protection technologies.
The Vietnamese pavilion showcased electronic bikes and
energy-saving equipment in garment-textiles, footwear and construction.
Last year, the event led to 640 transactions and 160 signed
technology transfer contracts worth 9.5 million USD.
Trade fair to promote Vietnamese exports to RoK
A trade fair to select outstanding Vietnamese products
destined for the Republic of Korea (RoK) will take place in Ho Chi Minh City
on June 24-28.
The event is also to promote trade activities between the two
countries, according to the municipal Centre of Promoting Trade and
Investment and the Industry and Trade newspaper under the Ministry of
Industry and Trade on May 11.
Pham Le Cuong, Director of the HCM City Centre for Supporting
and Developing Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises, said the programme helps
businesses update information on the market’s import-export regulations.
He added that the signed free trade agreement (FTA) between
the two countries has opened opportunities for Vietnam to boost farm produce
exports to the market, such as garlic, ginger and sweet potato.
Tran Thi Nghia, a representative from the RoK’s Lotte Mart,
said the company will open three additional supermarkets in Vietnam in 2015
and support capable small- and medium-sized enterprises in farm produce, seafood
and forestry products to enter foreign markets.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the RoK
liberalised 97.2 percent of import values, accounting for 95.4 percent of all
tariff lines on many of Vietnam’s key agricultural commodities and aquatic
products such as shrimp, crab, fish, tropical fruits and industrial goods
like garment-textiles, timber and engineering products.
Vietnam to promote peppercorn industry
The Government and the agricultural sector need to work
together to overcome difficulties facing Vietnam’s peppercorn industry, which
is forecast to show unsustainable development, as heard at a recent
conference in Ho Chi Minh City.
The instablility was attributed to rapid plantation expansion
and intensive farming.
Vietnam’s total peppercorn area was estimated to exceed 80,000
hectares by the end of the first quarter of this year, nearly doubling the
figure set in the sector’s development plan, with key farming zones
concentrating in Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Dak Lak, Gia Lai and
Dak Nong provinces.
Hoang Phuoc Binh, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the
Chu Se Pepper Association in the Central province of Gia Lai, warned that the
increasing plantation expansion will lead to high output but low price,
challenging the industry.
Pepper growers will also cope with other difficulties in 2015
with increasingly destructive insects and climate change, especially in
newly-cultivated zones.
On the other hand, Vietnamese peppercorn has not met quality
and food safety standards strictly required by many foreign importers, said
Do Ha Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Pepper Association.
Nam added that his agency has put forward a plan to set up
sustainable production areas along with trademark generation in order to
increase the quality of peppercorn and meet global food safety standards.
Vietnam has been one of the leading countries in exporting
peppercorn in the world in recent years. Its peppercorn is sold to over 90
countries and territories, accounting for 30 percent of the total global
production and 50 percent of the total global exports respectively.
Currently, the Vietnamese peppercorn sector produces 2.16
tonnes of dried berries per hectare, one of the world’s highest yields.
In 2014, the country exported over 156,000 tonnes of
peppercorn, up 16.4 percent from 2013 and equivalent to 58 percent of the
global market share of peppercorn. The sector’s export turnover reached 1.2
billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 34.7 percent.-
Savills Vietnam scoops up two property awards
Savills Vietnam, the largest property company in the country,
went up against a number of real estate agents and won two awards at the Asia
Pacific Property Awards 2015.
The awards were the Best Real Estate Agency in Vietnam and the
Best Property Consultancy in Vietnam. The decoration continues to assert
Savills’s real estate professionalism, especially in a highly-competitive
environment like the Asia Pacific region.
Managing Director at Savills Vietnam Neil MacGregor
highlighted that this is the 6 th consecutive year Savills has won the
prestigious prizes, saying that the results have been underpinned by
experienced staff with outstanding abilities.
He added that the awards were announced when Savills
celebrated its 20 th anniversary of operating in Vietnamese market, focusing
on delivering the best quality and services to the customers.
Over 70 specialists worldwide judged this year’s competition.
Companies with the highest scores will compete with winners from the EU,
Africa, Canada, the US, Central and Southern America, Caribbean region and
the United Arab Emirates for global titles.
President of the International Property Awards Stuart Shield
underscored that this year saw a significant increase in the number of
candidates from 25 countries in the Asia Pacific region. He said that prizes
for each category will be announced shortly.
Earlier, the Vingroup-run Times City urban area and Vincom
Mega Mall Times City trade centre were honoured with Vietnam’s “Best
Mixed-used Development” and “Best Retail Development” awards.
The Asia Pacific Property Awards are part of the 20-year-old
International Property Awards, widely considered one of the most prestigious
awards in the world.
Footwear makers told to improve quality, design
Local footwear manufacturers should improve the design and
quality of their products to attract local customers after bringing the local
footwear market under free trade agreements, said experts.
According to the Vietnam Leather Footwear and Bag Association
(Lefaso), local demand for footwear reaches 150 million pairs per year and
local producers have met only 40 percent of the demand, reported Dien dan
Doanh nghiep newspaper.
Local footwear mainly caters to rural and remote areas that
have people with low incomes. Therefore, large footwear manufacturers often
make footwear products for exports and have left the domestic market to small
and medium enterprises, the association noted.
Meanwhile, the domestic leather and footwear industry does not
have any standard for the use of chemical residues in products. It does not
have quality verification centres to ensure the quality of raw materials or
finished products.
Nguyen Van Khanh, general secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City
Leather Footwear Association, said Vietnamese footwear producers should pay
more attention to the design of their products to attract more local
customers.
They should build a trade mark and distribution system as well
as take flexible marketing measures, Khanh said.
Tran Van Tac, General Director of the Tuan Viet Co. Ltd. and
the owner of Tuvi's footwear brand, said some of the major factors for
developing the domestic footwear market were quality, design, and price.
The Lefaso, along with the Vietnam Leather Footwear Institute
and other related agencies, will build a system to ensure product quality
standards for protecting the domestic footwear industry and market and to
help them compete with imported footwear.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also submitted to the
government a decree to help the support industry in various sectors,
including leather and footwear. Support industries are expected to ensure the
sustainable development of sectors in the domestic market.-
Industrial, economic zones help fuel economy
Sustainably developing industrial and economic zones is one of
the modern day pressing issues, since they are vital to the country’s
socio-economic development as well as national defence and security.
To do this, long-term planning should be mapped out in a
strategic fashion, experts suggested.
Le Van Khoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of
Industry and Trade, said the city is implementing economy restructuring
projects between 2013 and 2020, focusing on building specialised industrial
parks.
It recently began construction on a Vietnam-Japan hi-tech
industrial park in Nha Be district to serve only Japanese businesses, he
noted.
Infrastructure improvements at industrial and economic parks
are set a major orientation in Resolution 13-NQ/TW of the 11th Central
Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Localities have been advised to build infrastructure
efficiently and on schedule while seeking ways to mobilise investment capital
in the field.
At a recent meeting of the Steering Committee on developing
industrial and economic parks, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked
localities and sectors to eliminate poorly performing industrial and economic
parks, while speeding up the rate of occupancy and improving the operational
efficiency of the parks.
He also requested policy revisions on developing industrial
and economic zones at the local level and measures to deal with land use
issues while increasing investigations on environmental protection at the
parks.
According to experts, administrative reform is necessary to
develop industrial and economic parks sustainably; they suggested fully
implementing the one-stop-shop model.
So far, Vietnam is home to over 300 industrial parks, with the
first established in 1991.
In 2014, industrial and economic parks attracted additional
752 projects and witnessed increased capital for 515 projects worth 14.7
billion USD.
The foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing alone
made up over 90 percent of the country’s total FDI.
By 2014, industrial parks nationwide have housed 5,573 FDI
projects with a total registered capital of 85.5 billion USD with as much as
49 billion USD disbursed.
Meanwhile, coastal and border economic zones lured 70 FDI
projects worth over 700 million USD.
In 2014, industrial and economic parks raked in over 118
billion USD in revenue, an annual increase of 18 percent, while export
turnover stood at over 73.4 billion USD, up 43 percent.
Businesses in industrial and economic zones posted a trade
surplus of 5.8 billion USD, a yearly increase of 24 percent, contributing 87
trillion VND (4 billion USD) to the State budget (up 31 percent) and
generating jobs for 2.4 million workers (up 14.2 percent).
Opportunities for Vietnam’s farm produce to penetrate RoK
A workshop discussing opportunities for Vietnam’s farm produce
to penetrate the Republic of Korea (RoK) will be held in Ho Chi Minh city on
May 13.
It is co-organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) and the
Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
According to AKC, the workshop aims to help Vietnam’s small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) be more competitive in marketing their
farm produce. It expects to attract the participation of about 100 SMEs
operating in farming, processing and exporting agri and aqua products.
The workshop coincides with the Vietnam International Food
Industry Exhibition (Vietnam Foodexpo 2015) - the first and largest of its
kind in Vietnam. This will provide a good opportunity for AKC to establish a
cooperative network with all businesses in the food industry.
AKC’s marketing experts will attend the workshop and talk
about new trends on the purchase and supply of products, tender procedures,
and product quality control.
AKC plans to organise similar workshops in Cambodia, Brunei,
Laos and Myanmar this year. The event will contribute to strengthen bilateral
economic ties between ASEAN and the RoK in general and Vietnam and the RoK in
particular.
Flat owners seek PM’s help over possible fund loss
Apartment owners at the Keangnam Landmark 72 Tower are so
afraid of losing a hefty maintenance fund when Vietnam’s highest building is
sold to a new owner that they have even looked to the prime minister for
help.
The administrative board, which represents the flat owners, of
the 72-story building has submitted a complaint to the premier, expressing
their concern that a fund worth VND160 billion (US$7.46 million) would be
gone with the skyscraper’s owner, the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s
Keangnam Enterprises, once it is acquired by a new investor.
Every flat owner is required to pay a fee worth 2% of the
purchase contract value to add to the fund, which is meant for maintenance
work on the whole building.
Keangnam Enterprises is supposed to transfer the fund to the
administrative board once the building is acquired by a new owner.
But the flat owners are worried that the RoK firm, which is on
the brink of bankruptcy over a corruption scandal, will fail to do so.
They thus called on the prime minister to task the Hanoi
administration or relevant agencies with urging Keangnam Enterprises to
return the maintenance fund to them as soon as possible, according to the
complaint obtained by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
Keangnam should only be allowed to transfer the Keangnam
Landmark 72 Tower, which is the highest building in Vietnam, to the new owner
when it has already refunded the flat owners, they said.
A representative of Keangnam Enterprises said the maintenance
fund is worth only VND125 billion (US$5.83 million), and suggested annually
refunding flat owners VND5 billion (US$233,013) over five years.
The suggestion was turned down by the administrative board.
Keangnam Landmark 72, consisting of one 72-story office tower
at a height of 350 meters and two 48-story residence towers, was developed at
a cost of US$1.05 billion.
The complex opened in October 2011 and its developer is now in
troubled waters at home.
The former head of Keangnam Enterprises, Sung Wan-jong, killed
himself in mid-April over a corruption scandal involving many top RoK
politicians.
Keangnam Vina, which operates the Hanoi skyscraper, was
allegedly involved in window dressing of the accounting books to hide
mounting debts during its construction, according to The Korea Economic
Daily.
Goldman Sachs and the Qatar Investment Authority have sent
acquisition offers to Colliers International, the New York-based real estate
consultancy in charge of the sale of the complex, The Korea Economic Daily
reported on April 20.
Keangnam Enterprises still owes bank loans totaling 530
billion won (US$48.62 million), according to Vietnam’s newswire VnExpress,
which cited RoK media.
Tax collections on the rise in first four months
Although tax revenues from crude oil declined following
plunging world prices, domestic tax collections rose in the first four months
of 2015, the General Department of Taxation's report showed.
During the period, domestic tax collections were estimated to
total VND269.7 trillion (US$12.49 billion), representing an increase of 10.2%
over the same period last year.
Taxes from crude oil, however, dropped by nearly 33% over the
same period and was equivalent to only 27.2% of the target for the full year.
The report said that State revenues from crude oil fell below
expectations.
In April alone, State revenues from crude oil only reached 56%
from the same month last year.
The tax sector planned to collect VND731.6 trillion (US$33.87
billion) this year, VND93 trillion (US$4.3 billion) of which would come from
crude oil.
The report also revealed that 55 out of 63 provinces and
cities in the country reported rises in tax revenues in the period.
According to Le Xuan Duong, Deputy Director of HCM City
Department of Taxation, online tax filings and electronic tax payments helped
boost tax collection this year.
He added that tax departments were also implementing other
measures to simplify tax procedures and reduce tax filing times for
companies. Meanwhile, Luu Thanh Thao from the accounting department of Sai
Gon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Joint Stock Corporation said that tax
simplification helped firms to reduce tax filing times, but more
improvements, especially the upgrading of online tax systems, were still
needed.
Source :
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Hai, 11 tháng 5, 2015
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