|
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 22/5
Ho
Chi Minh Expo kicks off in Myanmar
The HCM
City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) in collaboration with
officials from
The
four-day exhibition is part of a series of events aimed at promoting trade
and investment in
Municipal
leaders are leading a delegation conducting a market survey in Myanmar that
are also providing financial support to domestic enterprises in covering the
VND14.5 million cost of leasing their pavilions at the event.
Reportedly,
last year, the HCM City Expo in
A
Vietnam delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ho Xuan Son on May 20
attended the third deputy foreign ministerial conference on East-West
economic corridor (EWEC) development taking place Bangkok, Thailand, with the
participation of four countries- Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam- and
Asian Development Bank (ADB) representatives.
The
meeting reviewed the implementation of decisions adopted at the previous
conferences and devised solutions for overcoming difficulties and obstacles
so as to promote the efficient development of the EWEC.
It also
adopted a joint declaration, hailing the EWEC development achievements
especially in improving infrastructure along the corridor, fine-tuning the
legal framework for cross-border transport cooperation.
Delegates
lauded
The
delegates consented to add road No 12 to the Cross-Border Transport Agreement
(CBTA) and set up a fixed bus route between the three countries as well as
seeking funds for road accidents and maintenance.
The
conference agreed to hold a joint meeting of
Participants
asked the ADB to support urban development on the border and along the EWEC.
Green,
energy-saving solutions on display at
As many
as 150 domestic and foreign businesses took part in an international fair to
introduce their energy conservation, environmental protection and sustainable
development solutions.
The
three-day International Exhibition Fair for Environment and Energy Technology
(Entech Hanoi -2015), which opened on May 20 in
More
than 60 businesses from the
Most of
the exhibits are related to engineering; renewable and alternative energy;
traffic and transportation; petrol, gas and coal; and industrial waste
treatment technology.
Speaking
at the opening ceremony, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade Le
Hong Thang said that the annual fair, launched in 2009, has over the years
drawn more than 800 domestic and foreign exhibitors.
On the
occasion, several Vietnamese firms were honored for their outstanding green
solutions in energy saving and environmental protection.
Last
year, the event led to 640 transactions and 160 signed technology transfer
contracts worth 9.5 million USD.
Seminar
promotes German investment in Vietnam
Authorities
and businesses from
Speaking
at the opening of the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Thi
Hoang Anh attached significance to the event amid the 40th founding
anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
She
highlighted the space for the two nations to strengthen their cooperation and
to fully tap the potential of the strategic partnership established in 2011.
The
Vietnamese Embassy in
Meanwhile,
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, who led the Vietnamese
delegation to the ongoing “Asia-Pacific Week” in
He
highlighted
He also
expressed his expectation for strong development in cooperation between
More
than 300 German businesses have been licensed to operate in
Vietnam-EU
trade deal broadens opportunities for enterprises
The
EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will create ample opportunities for
enterprises from both sides, heard a talk on the deal held in Flamand,
Belgium on May 19.
He said
that during negotiations,
For his
part, Vietnamese Ambassador to
He
underscored that the trade deal will help the EU balance its trade deficit
with
However,
the Ambassador pointed to challenges faced by the Vietnamese economy such as low
competitiveness compared to European businesses across capital, technology,
experience and labour quality.
On May
18, the Belgium-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIBV) also held a
conference on Vietnam-EU trade relations.
The EU
is one of the large import markets for Vietnamese commodities, particularly
leather shoes, garments, farm produce and aquaculture.
In 2014,
the EU became the biggest importer of Vietnamese leather shoes when over 2
billion USD worth of goods were shipped to European countries, followed by
garments with 1.98 billion USD and aquatic products with 950 million USD.
After
signing the trade deal, 90 percent of Vietnamese goods being exported to
European markets will go enjoy tariff of zero percent.
Business
operation will be facilitated in
After
the agreement was signed in late 2012 in
The
updated agreement will make great contributions to bilateral trade relations
towards enhancing multifaceted cooperation between the two sides.
In the
first eight months of 2014,
After
signing the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) in 2010, a
number of Vietnamese export businesses have effectively taken advantage of
preferential tariffs to boost exports to the Japanese market.-
Italian
enterprises hail
A
meeting was held by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development on May 19 in
Executives
from brands including Piaggio, Roberto Colannino, Aniston and Francesco
Merloni encouraged other Italian firms to follow their lead by investing in
Speaking
at the opening ceremony, Italian Deputy Minister Carlo Calenda expressed his pleasure
at the the Italian import value from
He also
highlighted the huge potential of the Vietnamese market and the regional
market felt by Italian firms, especially with free trade agreements to be
signed soon with the European Union (EU) and the
Meanwhile,
ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh underlined the roles of the bloc in the
global economy as the world‘s seventh largest econo,y. The bloc has always
welcomed investors across the world, including those from
In 2014,
the EU invested 29 billion USD in ASEAN, making up of 29 percent of the
bloc’s total foreign investment. Two-way trade hit 40 billion EUR, making the
EU the second biggest partner of the bloc, according to Minh.
The
bloc’s chief expressed his hope of seeing more Italian businesses in regional
nations, to promote technology transfers to ASEAN while contributing to
Romeo
Orlandi from
According
to the agency, the bloc is home to as many as 421 Italian firms, with 118
operating in Singapore, 76 in Vietnam, 73 in Indonesia, and 72 in Malaysia.
Two-way
trade between
Deputy
PM asks for stronger agriculture reform
Deputy
Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has urged ministries, agencies and localities
to accelerate the restructuring of the agricultural sector, saying that this
is an urgent task.
During
the first meeting of the interdisciplinary steering committee for agriculture
restructuring in Hanoi on May 19, the Deputy PM stressed the need to raise
public awareness of legal regulations, especially Vietnamese and
international commercial laws.
He asked
for stronger communication campaigns at all levels in the coming time, mainly
targeting farmers.
Speaking
at the event, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat
reported that 17 national and 7 regional plans have been established to
restructure the agriculture sector.
He said
that these projects have contributed remarkably to the sector’s production
and business activities. In 2014, the sector’s production value increased 3.9
percent and its GDP growth rate reached 3.49 percent, 0,22 percent higher
than the set target.
However,
some localities have still neglected to implement the project, with 27
provinces and cities yet to approve action plans for agricultural
restructuring.
Concluding
the meeting, Deputy PM Hai asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to
enhance closer links with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
to make the project more effective, adding that it should focus on
large-scale agricultural production and the development of key products.
Dong
Nai holds dialogue with Taiwanese businesses
The
People’s Committee of the southern
At the
event, participants discussed policies and issues related to investment,
export-import, anti-dumping taxes and foreign resident and labour registration.
The
provincial Customs Department and the Taiwanese Business Association also
used the opportunity to sign a partnership agreement, which will see the two
sides share information about policies related to export-import and customs
activities.
Currently,
Third
East-West Economic Corridor seeks solutions for development
The
third East-West Economic Corridor Conference took place in
The
deputy foreign minister-level conference passed a joint statement hailing the
achievements made so far, especially in improving infrastructure along the
corridor and completing a legal framework for trans-border transport.
It also
appreciated
Countries
agreed to soon hold a meeting among
The
delegates agreed to add road No 12 to the CBTA and set up a fixed bus route
between the three countries as well as seek funds for road accidents and
maintenance.
The
conference called for increasing investment, industrial and service
activities along the corridor to create economic and social benefits for
transit countries.
The
participating nations called on the Asian Development Bank to help develop
residential areas along the corridor and its extended roads.
The next
conference will be held in
Food
ingredients exhibition launched in HCM City
The 2015
Food Ingredients Vietnam (Fi
More
than 150 Vietnamese and international suppliers of food and beverage
ingredients are exhibiting at the three-day show.
The
event is expected to provide opportunities for businesses to learn of
industry developments, food safety requirements and key market trends.
On the
same day, the municipal Department of Trade and Industry held a conference to
introduce the 2015 Sales Promotion Fair and 2015 Consumption Promotion Fair.
Each
fair is expected to attract 350-400 businesses showcasing their products in
more than 400 booths.
As
scheduled, the Sales Promotion Fair will be held from August 28 to September
3 while the Consumption Promotion Fair will open on December 27 at the Phu
Tho Indoor Stadium in District 11.
Agriculture
sector to enhance effectiveness of cooperatives
A
conference on cooperatives in the agriculture sector was held on May 20 in
The
event was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD), the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) and the World Bank.
Addressing
the conference, MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat said that the key solution to
develop business cooperatives in the sector is not to increase their number,
but to find ways to efficiently manage them depending on their areas of
production - for example, cultivation, breeding, aquaculture or forestry -
and to provide them with necessary support.
Proper
solutions are also needed to engage farmers in value chain production which
facilitates more competitive agriculture, the minister added, stressing that
businesses should not work independently of thousands of farmers.
He hoped
that experience from other countries would help create a better linkage
between businesses and farmers.
Ethel
Sennhauser, Director of Agriculture Global Practice at the World Bank,
underscored the importance of cooperative business in agriculture believed to
help farmers access lowered priced supplies of input materials, work in
larger scale production and distribute farming products.
During
ten sessions of the conference, experts from
Restructuring
agricultural production was determined by the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
as one of two pillars of key agricultural reform, which focuses on enhancing
the effectiveness of cooperatives and other forms of cooperative businesses.
Dong
Nai inks cooperative agreement with Japanese region
Southern
Dong Nai province and the Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan’s
Kansai region on May 20 signed an economic cooperation framework agreement,
with a focus on links in support industry.
Under
the document, the two sides agreed to create favourable conditions for Kansai
enterprises operating in support industry to invest in Dong Nai, while
working together in training human resources for the sector.
Dong Nai
will improve the work of its Kansai Desk to assist investors from the
Japanese region in operating or seeking opportunities in the province.
Speaking
at the signing ceremony, Director of the Bureau Seki Soichiro said that an
increasing number of Japanese firms decided to invest into Dong Nai due to
the locality’s favourable investment environment.
He noted
that the Long Duc Industrial Park (IP) in Long Thanh district is being
developed into a model IP for the partnership between Dong Nai and Kansai
region. The IP is currently home to 18 Japanese investors, including eight
from Kansai.
The
Japanese business leader said he hopes the provincial authorities will
continue facilitating investment activities of Kansai firms in Dong Nai in
the coming time.
According
to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dinh Quoc Thai, the locality
attracted over 1,000 foreign investors, including 190 from Japan with a total
investment of 3.4 billion USD, mainly in support industry, high-technology
and environmentally-friendly sectors.
RoK
approves 77 million USD loan for Vietnam
The
Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance on May 19 approved
a 77 million USD loan for irrigational system upgrade projects in Vietnam’s
central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An.
The loan
will be provided through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).
The two
projects will construct dyke and canals to bring water from Thanh Hoa’s Len
river and Nghe An province’s Hoang Mai river to water local fields, while contributing
to improving ecological environment, coping with climate change and rising
seawater level.
Earlier,
a working delegation from EDCF and the RoK’s Bank of Export- Import
(EximBank) conducted a field research in the two provinces in late 2014.
EDCF is
founded by the RoK government since 1987 and currently run by the EximBank.
The fund aims to provide preferential loans for poor and under-developed
countries to help them build infrastructure and contribute to bolster
economic relations between RoK and other countries.
According
to the RoK’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance, which decides the provision of
EDCF loans, the country has lent 11 trillion KRW (10 billion USD) via EDCF
funding by the end of 2014, and plans to lend another 1.4 trillion KRW this
year.
Vietnam,
Russia asked to expand trade, investment
The
Chief Representative of the Russian Trade Office in
Speaking
at a press conference on Russia-Vietnam investment prospects in
He also
told the media that investment attraction was one of the main issues
mentioned at Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s working sessions with
Vietnamese leaders during his official visit to
To
achieve investment cooperation targets, the two countries have introduced new
mechanisms, including the inter-governmental working group on prioritised
investment projects. Additionally, the free trade agreement between
According
to the official, economic-trade-investment ties between
Deputy
PM: Foundation in place to achieve 6.2 percent growth target
The
Government’s supplementary report on the implementation of socio-economic
development and State budget plans was presented by Deputy Prime Minister
Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who said 13 out of the 14 key targets for 2014 were
fulfilled or exceeded. The one target missed was for the rate of trained
workers.
The GDP
growth of 5.98 percent last year, the highest since 2011, surpassed the set
target while the CPI expansion was at a record low of 1.84 percent.
Export turnover
rose by 13.7 percent, helping the country see a trade surplus of 2.1 billion
USD in 2014, the third year of surplus in a row, the official said, adding
that
The
household poverty rate was cut down by 1.83 percent nationwide and 5.61
percent in deprived districts during the year, he noted.
Phuc
also underscored socio-economic highlights in the first four months of 2015,
with a low consumer price index. Notably, GDP in the first quarter grew at
6.03 percent – a five-year high - of which the industry and construction
sectors hiked 8.35 percent.
Meanwhile,
an array of difficulties faced the agriculture sector, which expanded at a
slower pace than the same period last year, the Deputy PM said. He pointed to
acute droughts across
He also
noted problems facing the country. He criticised the sluggishness of several
ministries and localities in improving local business environments, bemoaned
the national economy’s low competitiveness, and warned about the slow
recovery of the stock and property markets. He also revealed that the number
of companies that were dissolved or suspended their operations in 2014
increased by 4.5 percent from the year before.
At the
opening session, Chairman of the NA Committee for Economic Affairs, Nguyen
Van Giau, asked the Government to make drastic improvements to scientific and
technological application in production and business activities and the
training of skilled labourers.
More
efforts are also needed to implement the new-style rural area building
programme, create a fair competition environment, ensure the budget for
social welfare and increase the State management of national security and
social order issues, he added.
Timber
furniture industry facing tougher market
Exports
of timber and timber products rose 5.5 percent in the first quarter on a year
earlier to USD1.52bn. But locally made furniture accounts for just 20 percent
of sales in
Vo Van
Quyen, in charge of domestic trade affairs at the Ministry of Industry and
Trade, said
The
Handicraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA) of
Huynh
Van Hanh, deputy head of HAWA, said, "This is a warning bell. Companies
should make plans and find ways to make a strong impression in the
marketplace with brand recognition for customers or they'll lose in this
integration era."
He said
there was a lot of potential in domestic markets, but companies lacked
professional distribution, product diversity and brand recognition.
The
Vietnam Wood and Wood Product Association said 26 countries are planning, or
have made moves, to invest in the timber furniture industry, including
Nine
enterprises sued for social insurance evasion
HCMC
Social Insurance agency has taken legal proceedings against nine enterprises
in the city for evasion of social insurance premiums. The HCMC People’s Court
will hear the lawsuit.
The
enterprises owe nearly VND1 billion each in social insurance premiums despite
several warnings from the agency, said Cao Van Sang, director of the agency.
Such violations result in many disadvantages for laborers.
Punitive
measures amount to a slight VND20 million fine for each enterprise. “The
companies may pay the fine and continue to evade social insurance premiums,”
Sang said.
Ailing
companies were advised by the agency to ask for interest free loans from
Vietnam Development Bank to pay the premiums and worker salaries following
the Government’s support policies.
The
agency asked relevant district level departments to sue companies that owe
social insurance premiums amounting to over VND100 million. It also asked the
courts to dispose of the case within two months.
“Some
enterprises hire a lawyer to prolong the case and insurance payment, which
will worsen the disadvantages of laborers,” Sang explained.
The nine
enterprises, seven from
The
agency took similar legal action against eight companies last year. Four of
them have yet to pay their debts but their leaders have disappeared.
Metropolitan
building seen becoming all foreign-owned
The
City
chairman Le Hoang Quan last week approved in principle to allow Saigon
Construction Corporation, a local partner of the building’s joint-venture
developer, to transfer its stake to the foreign partner, according to the
city’s website. It is said the city authorities will meet with the foreign
partner to negotiate conditions, including pricing.
The
building has been invested by Saigon Metropolitan Tower Limited, a 40-year
joint venture between Binh Minh Construction One-Member Co. under Saigon
Construction Corporation and Saigon Metropolitan Limited of the
When established
in 1995 with registered capital of US$29 million, the local partner was
Construction and Building Materials Co. After several changes, the project
now has registered capital of US$49.7 million and its local partner is Binh
Minh Co. with a 30% stake.
Located
at
* Broker
and consultant Vietnam Finance Investment Co. (known as TigerInvest) has
announced it successfully transferred an office building in HCMC owned by
Viet Technology Joint Stock Company, VITEK, to another local company.
Accordingly,
VITEK has signed a contract to transfer the 10-story building covering 4,350
square meters at 63A
TigerInvest
specializes in supplying M&A package services, especially in real estate.
Last
month, TigerInvest successfully transferred the Hoa Binh Tower of Hoa Binh
Real Estate Construction and Trading Joint Stock Co. (HBC) to another local
company.
The
transfer contract for
SAPro to
apply new model for tourism property
Saigon
Phuong Nam Property Corporation (SAPro) says it will apply a new method
called Vacation Ownership to the property complex Sea Links Golf Resort in
the coastal resort town of
Le Minh
Tri, general director of SAPro, a member of the Rang Dong Corporation which
is the complex project owner, told the Daily that the company would issue
Vacation Ownership cards next month, targeting local travelers and
expatriates who plan to travel every year.
Tri said
the company would issue 500 to 1,000 cards whose values range from US$12,000
to US$15,000 each. Card holders are entitled to spend a week in a 300-square
meter villa of the resort each year for the next 20 years and may choose any
week of the year.
Tri said
Sea Links Golf Resort would be linked to other resorts around the world
through the Resort Condominium International (RCI) which is an organization
for room exchange. RCI will function as a bridge to help holiday-makers take
their week-holiday trips to other countries for free.
According
to RCI, there are some three million members and 4,000 resorts worldwide in
the system. Among Asian countries,
Tri
noted that regulations permitted a card holder to bring five family members
on each trip. For example, with a US$12,000 card, the holder would spend
US$600 a week for his holidays over 20 years. But a three-bedroom villa for
six holiday-makers would come to only US$86 per night, or about US$14 per
person.
SAPro
said card holders could resell, rent or give away their cards.
The
company also said Vacation Ownership is a solution for tourism property
projects which face a dim outlook due to the global economic downturn.
Most
tourism projects on the coast are finding it hard to sell luxury villas which
are worth tens of thousands, even millions, of U.S. dollars each.
Small-cap
firms to move to northern bourse
Up to 21
firms listed on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange will move to the
Nguyen
Son, head of the securities market development department under the State
Securities Commission, confirmed the number at a conference in Hanoi last
week, saying that those listed firms failed to raise capital to over VND80
billion as required in Decree 14/2007/ND-CP guiding the implementation of the
Securities Law.
Under
the decree, two years after the Securities Law took effect or from February
this year, listed firms trading shares on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange must
have at least VND80 billion in registered capital, while the level for firms
on Hanoi’s bourse is VND10 billion. However, SSC early this year gave six
months to enterprises to either spur capital or change bourse.
There
are 30 firms on the southern bourse and about five on
As UPCOM
has yet to be launched, those firms will temporarily continue trading shares
on the northern bourse, Dung said.
Banks
race to mobilize money
Commercial
banks in the country have pushed up issuing valuable papers with high
interest rates to mobilize medium and long-term funds as demand for credits
is soaring under the Government’s subsidized lending policies.
While
large credit institutions are well-prepared for their issues and have
launched many products to draw medium and long-term capital, smaller banks
are hesitant about the lending program as they often mobilize 80% to 90%
short-term capital.
Vietnam
Bank for Industry and Trade, or VietinBank, on Wednesday issued certificates
of deposit with interest from 7.9% to 9%, one percentage point higher than
other banks. The total value of the issue is VND6 trillion for five terms of
six, nine, 12, 24 and 36 months.
However,
the bank has regulated certificate bearers not to withdraw money before
maturity. The central bank has approved VietinBank to issue VND10 trillion of
debt in 2009.
Bank for
Investment and Development of Vietnam has issued deposit certificates for
one, two, three, and five year terms with this year’s interest rates of
8.2%-8.6%. Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank, or Sacombank, also
plans to issue convertible bonds to mobilize medium-term capital.
Do Minh
Toan, deputy director of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), said ACB would set aside
around VND10 trillion for long-term credits for big enterprises but may
provide VND6 trillion more from funds that were earlier used for loans to
small and medium enterprises, for medium-term credits. ACB was recently allowed
to issue VND11 trillion of debt this year.
Nevertheless,
the smaller DongA Bank has only secured 40% of its short-term capital need to
serve medium and long-term credits following central bank regulations. “Issue
of valuable papers must offer high interest, thus there are risks,” said the
bank’s deputy general director Nguyen Thi Kim Xuyen.
If the
Government continues to slash interest rates, banks will incur losses with
medium or long-term loans as capital is mobilized at high rates, Xuyen
explained. In addition, it is hard for commercial banks to find projects
which are feasible enough for medium and long-term loans.
Nguyen
Thi Tam, deputy general director of Vietnam Technological and Commercial
Joint Stock Bank, said only 30% of the bank’s short-term capital would be
used for medium and long-term credits. Though demand for long-term credits
increased after the real estate market recovered, Techcombank has yet to
prepare for the lending program, Tam said.
PVEP
starts 2D seismic survey of central coast
The HCMC
branch of PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation, or PVEP, has
opened a 2D (two-dimensional) seismic survey of the central costal region to
serve oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
PVEP has
sent in the Panama-flagged 2D seismic investigation ship, named Seabird
Aquila Explorer, and four escort ships to carry out the project off Binh
Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan provinces. The Seabird measures 70
meters in length and 17 meters in width and will carry a six-kilometer seism
cable through the sea from April 15 to May 31.
Furniture
producers lack orders
Many
local wooden furniture producers are scaling down production due to a sharp
fall in orders from customers, said the Handicraft and Wood Industry
Association of HCMC (Hawa).
Some are
almost out of business while many lack orders for the second haft of the
year, said Hawa vice chairman Tran Quoc Manh at a seminar in HCMC on Thursday
on how to cope with difficulties in the furniture sector.
Manh
said Hawa members had been hit hard as world demand was dwindling as a result
of economic recession.
He told
the seminar, which was organized by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency
(VietTrade) and Hawa, that most producers were still using outdated
technologies, or lacking coordination to create a supply chain in foreign
markets.
Hawa
figures put
At the
seminar, wood processors catalogued their difficulties and called for the
authorities to help them out of the situation.
Some
small and medium wood processors complained that they were finding it hard to
access bank loans with four-percentage-point interest rate support from the
Government.
Others
said foreign importers required them to document the origin of their
materials by producing certificates of forest protection from the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC), a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging
the responsible management of the world’s forests.
They
said it was expensive to apply for such a certificate from FSC while
It is
harder for producers to prove this because 80% of materials are imported from
other countries, the vice chairman of Hawa told the Daily.
“Since
early this year, most of my clients who are the U.S. wooden furniture
importers have asked me to show the certificate of forest protection to prove
the origin of our products, but I could not meet this requirement,” said
Nguyen Xuan Vinh, general director of Nguyen Gia Wood Furniture.
Manh
said Hawa had proposed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and
the Ministry of Industry and Trade set standards for issuing this
certification for
Aussie
business leaders gauge
Australian
business leaders from the
The
video conference was held between
As many
questions were raised about electricity issues in
Pham Thi
Loan, chief executive officer of Viet A, pointed out electricity was a major
concern of companies operating in
Due to
the shortage of electricity in
She
explained
However,
Loan said the Government recently allowed an increase in electricity retail
prices as one of the moves to make
“The
market is still open and the growing demand is a good opportunity for foreign
investors,” Loan said.
Nguyen
Chi Dung from Hung Viet Co. said in support of Loan and estimated that the
demand for energy increased around 10-15% every year in the past years.
Sources
said as
Dang
Dung, chairman of Hung Viet Co., said that opportunities were waiting for
Australian and Vietnamese companies to cooperate on education, banking and
finance, mining and other business spheres.
Charles
Goode, chairman of ANZ Bank, said retail banking, foreign exchange and
distribution were among the areas in
Australian
and Vietnamese business executives also spent time discussing the potential
for cooperation on human resource development, environmental issues in
The
Australian delegation arrived in
KBC
builds budget homes for workers
Kinh Bac
City Development Shareholding Corporation (KBC) on Thursday broke ground for
a large-scale residential area with an aim to develop low-cost housing for
lease and sale to workers and low-income people in
The
project site is located along Road No.18 at Phuong Lieu Commune near Que Vo
Industrial Park in the
The
construction density is 50% on the project site of six hectares. KBC will
spend VND1.5 trillion, or some US$85 million, developing buildings with an
average height of ten floors, supplying 300,000 square meters of floor space
equivalent to some 8,000 apartments.
Tam said
the budget homes of different types and sizes would either be leased to
managerial officers or workers, or sold to them by installments, which he
said would be affordable to low-income workers.
Although
branded housing for low-income earners, the develop still sets up auxiliary
works and standardized supportive areas to meet the buyer’s demand. Included
in the project will be supermarkets, clinics, kindergartens, and
entertainment centers, he said, adding the project targets workers in Que Vo
IP.
Apart
from meeting the demand of local and immigrant workers, the project will also
address potential social issues that may be triggered by the shortage of
accommodations, especially for provinces where investment is increasing
strongly like Bac Ninh, he said.
“If
there timely measures are not taken, social issues will arise, which will
cause problems not only to the employees but also to the local authorities,
especially to those provinces that attract a lot of industrial park
developers like Bac Ninh,” Tam told the Daily.
According
to the developer’s surveys, most immigrants working for the IP have to rent
houses in the surrounding areas that are usually below the minimum standards,
causing environmental sanitary problems for the surrounding areas and their
health. Moreover, with such low income and tough living conditions, employees
have no chance for entertainment, relaxation, exchange and study.
KBC has
set forth reasonable rents so that employees can buy the apartment by
installments, Tam added. A 40-square meter flat will be priced at some VND200
million.
At the
ceremony, KBC also signed a contract on leasing apartments to Yamato Industry
Vietnam Co., Ltd, a Japanese enterprise investing in Que Vo IP. The
enterprise rents the houses for its employees to help them have stable,
qualified housing suitable with their income, said Tam.
Yamato
has invested US$10 million to build a factory producing cables for the
automobile assembling industry. It has plans to put the factory into
operation in the middle of this year with 500 officers and workers.
KBC
expects to finish the infrastructure system for the residential project within
five years.
Currently,
Que Vo IP has nearly 60,000 workers employed by some 60 enterprises.
Source : VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
|
Thứ Sáu, 22 tháng 5, 2015
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét