|
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 8/5
European pork, beef heading to
More European pork and beef exporters have been licensed by
Vietnamese authorities to sell their products in the 90 million-strong market
in
A consumer buys Australian beef at a store in
These firms want to establish a strong foothold and expand
their market share in
The licenses allowing French beef to be sold in
There are 106 French enterprises specializing in processing
unit terrestrial animal products, including beef, pork, chicken, and duck,
which are eligible to export their products to Vietnam.
Since early this year, the ministry has also granted
certification to 16 countries and territories so that they can ship meat to
Thirteen out of 19 Eurozone countries are included in that
figure, according to the ministry.
On April 20, the European Livestock and Meat Trades Union and
the Polish Union of Producers and Employers of the Meat Industry co-organized
a press conference in
They also drew up a complete promotion plan on the quality and
taste of meat for
Mariusz Boguzewski, Counselor for Economic Affairs at the
Polish Embassy in Hanoi, said over 100 European enterprises, including 40
Polish companies, were licensed to export meat to Vietnam in an effort to
raise European shipments by five percent in 2015.
According to EU meat exporters, the 2015 goal is within reach,
considering that in 2014,
Last year, those nations also sent 1,720 tons of beef to
European producers have shifted their attention to the
high-end market of hotels and restaurants and domestic processing businesses,
Phap Luat TPHCM quoted Boguzewski as saying.
They found that they could not compete with Australian and
American meat in prices, he added.
In March, a Canadian delegation led by Minister of Agriculture
and Agrifood Gerry Ritz also visited
Domestic cow production, which meets only 75 percent of local
demand, saw a 23 percent year-on-year drop in the number of cows raised
locally last year with 5.23 million, according to the Animal Husbandry
Association of Vietnam.
Meanwhile,
According to statistics from the Vietnam Customs,
Frozen chicken imports also grew rapidly to over 34,000 tons
in the first three months, up over 45 percent year on year in quantity.
Many local food trading companies told Tuoi Tre (Youth)
newspaper that the imports of live animal and frozen meat of
In particular, the biggest gain was the number of imported
live cattle for slaughtering locally.
The country imports over 30,000 live cattle from
VNPayTV wants floor charges for pay TV
The Vietnam Pay Television Association (VNPayTV) has suggested
floor fees for pay TV services in the country in a plan submitted to the
Ministry of Information and Communications.
The services are now available in different formats such as
cable TV, digital terrestrial TV, digital satellite TV and Internet protocol
TV (IPTV).
VNPayTV proposed the ministry apply monthly charges of
VND60,000 (US$2.79) to VND90,000 for the analog cable TV service with 40-72
channels, VND180,000-220,000 for high-definition (HD) cable TV service with
110-120 channels, VND65,000-80,000 for digital terrestrial TV service with
75-85 channels, VND90,000-250,000 for digital satellite TV service and
VND85,000-90,000 for IPTV.
Many pay TV service providers currently offer charges much
lower than the suggested floor fees. For instance, An Vien Group (AVG) quotes
the digital satellite TV service with 70 channels at VND33,000 per month
while Vietnam Television Corporation (VTC) charges the digital
terrestrial TV service at VND60,000.
Le Dinh Cuong, vice chairman and general secretary of VNPayTV,
said floor charges are necessary to ensure healthy competition as some
providers have undercut charges to woo customers.
As more telecom corporations will join the pay TV market in
the coming time, competent agencies need to improve their management capacity
to restore order in the market.
Earlier, VTV and VASC called for the ministry to have
effective measures to head off a fee undercutting race among pay TV service
providers.
The ministry is drafting a decree on management and charges
for TV and radio services in which service providers with market share of
more than 30% would be required to register new service fees with authorities.
New CEO appointed for BASF Asia Pacific
BASF Asia Pacific is now led by Sanjeev Gandhi, a senior
executive with 22 years of work experience at the German firm.
Since May 1, Gandhi has officially been in charge of BASF’s
operations in the Asia Pacific region. For this role, he is currently based
in
Gandhi began his career with BASF in a sales role in
From 2010 to 2014, Gandhi was the president of BASF’s
Intermediates division, based in
Gandhi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (Chemical
Engineering) and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Marketing)
from the University of
Established 150 years ago in
The firm strives to create chemical products for a sustanable
future, demonstrated through its contributions to ensuring nutrition,
conserving resources, and improving quality of life.
For 2014, BASF had sales of over €74 billion ($82.8 billion)
and 113,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on
stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and
Shoppers prefer modern retail formats
One-third of the Vietnamese consumers (34 per cent) love
shopping at hypermarkets, supermarkets, and other modern channels, according
to the latest Future of Grocery Report prepared by Nielsen.
The report is based on an online survey of more than 30,000
respondents across 60 countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the
Middle East, as well as Africa and
According to the report, 42 per cent consumers in the
The report also highlights the growing importance of
convenience stores as another modern retail format for consumers to buy foods
and groceries. More than one-fourth of the consumers in the
Kaushal Upadhyay, Nielsen's executive director of client
service in Southeast Asia, North Asia, and Pacific, said supermarkets and
hypermarkets have already been dominant in developed countries and will
attract more consumers in developing countries in
He added that it means producers should understand where and
what consumers are shopping. Producers should consider goods distribution
based on the combination of both channels.
In addition, the report also revealed that online shopping has
been an important way for retailers to integrate digital channels with
shopping experience. Some 28 per cent of the Vietnamese consumers shopped
online, while the global figure for the same was 25 per cent.
Products such as body wash, shampoos, and conditioners were
popular items shopped online by Vietnamese consumers, according to the survey
that was conducted between August 13 and September 5 last year.
Vu Vinh Phu, chairman of Ha Noi's Supermarket Association,
told online newspaper vnexpress that smaller stores still have their
advantages as customers can make a quick buy because of their proximity.
Phu remarked that these stores can compete with modern
shopping channels by offering professional services and good quality products
at competitive prices.
Some 80 per cent of the time, the future of these stores
depends on their owners, who must develop their own brand names and services.
Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that
by the middle of 2014, the country had 724 supermarkets, 132 commercial
centres, more than 400 convenience stores and 1 million small shops. Modern
retail channels accounted for 25 per cent of the market share, much lower
than that in other countries in the region.
The country is expected to have 1,200 to 1,300 supermarkets
and 337 commercial centres by 2020.
ATM fees may rise after VAT refund denied
Users of automated teller machines (ATMs) may have to pay
increased fees, according to Phap luat Thanh pho HCM (HCM City Law)
newspaper.
Previously, banks believed that all input costs related to
ATMs qualified for VAT refunds. However, tax authorities recently said that
ATM services will not receive VAT refunds and will fine banks for
non-payment.
The move has raised concerns that costs related to ATMs will
rise, causing banks to increase ATM users' fees to offset the jump in costs.
Banks said that ATM operations provide payment services for
clients, and funds on deposit have already been assessed for the VAT. ATM
machines do not provide credit services, said bank officials.
However, tax agencies believe that ATM machines are also used
to obtain credit, through the use of credit cards, which constitutes a loan
from the bank and, therefore, requires the payment of the VAT.
Banking experts Nguyen Tri Hieu said that levying VAT taxes on
ATM operations will drive up service fees, which might be in conflict with
the Government's policy to encourage citizens to use non-cash transactions.
Therefore, he said, it would be more consistent for tax
agencies to levy VAT taxes only on credit card transactions, rather than all
ATM transactions.
In recent years, the Government and the State Bank of
According to the Department of Payment under the State Bank of
The collection haul satisifed 36.93 per cent of the city's
yearly target, according to the City's Finance Department.
Domestic collection amounted to VND57,946.8 billion ($2.66
billion), collection from crude oil was VND8,700 billion ($400.2 million),
and collection from import - export activities was VND31,500 billion ($1.44
billion).
The city's budgetary expenses for the first four months was
VND11,716 ($539 million).
Singapore-based supplier of sustainable dyes and chemicals,
Huntsman Textile Effects, announced it will expand its operations in
"We are pleased to announce the opening, later this
month, of a new bonded warehouse near
The warehouse, with an expandable capacity of 250 tonnes, will
help the company cut down on delivery time.
Farmers reap gains from new model
Tran Van Quang, a farmer in
Some 88 farmers in Vi Thanh Commune, Vi Thuy District, had
adopted the "3 down-3 up" model to increase productivity, quality,
and economic effectiveness and reduce the use of fertilisers and pesticides,
he said.
The model, developed by the province's Agriculture and
Fisheries Extension Centre, had enabled farmers like him to reduce seed usage
by 30-40kg per hectare and nitrogenous fertilisers by 50-70kg and save 30 per
cent on pesticides compared to traditional farming methods, he said.
On the other hand, productivity had reached "an average
of 6.1 tonnes per hectare compared with 5.8 tonnes in nearby fields that did
not adopt in the model," he added.
In Thanh Dong A Commune,
Do Ngoc Kim, one of them, said that the new farming method had
helped his family reduce fertiliser and pesticide use while increasing rice
yields by 10 per cent and profits significantly.
At his co-operative, where members had applied the new farming
method on 270ha a year ago, the figure had increased to 500ha now, he said.
Phan Huy Thong, director of the National Agriculture Extension
Centre, said with its more than 1.8 million hectares under rice, the delta
contributed more than half of the country's rice output and 92 per cent of
exports.
But farmers' incomes were very low due to high costs and
unstable prices, he told a forum titled "Improving economic efficiency
and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in rice production in the Cuu Long
(Mekong) Delta" in Hau Giang on May 5.
The overuse of chemical fertilisers and burning straw after
harvest following traditional farming methods caused greenhouse gas
emissions, he said.
In 2000, CO2 emissions in
To reduce the emissions and improve economic efficiency in
rice production, many new and advanced farming models have been adopted in
the country, especially the delta.
They include the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), "3
down-3 up", AWD, and the "1 must-5 decrease" (Must use
certified seeds, reduce sowed seeds, crop protection chemicals, nitrogenous
fertilisers, water use, and post-harvest losses).
Huynh Quang Tin of the Mekong Delta Research Development
Institute said after four years of piloting the AWD model in five places in
the delta, productivity had increased by 10 per cent and profits by 17 per
cent compared to traditional methods.
Furthermore, efficient irrigation methods helped effectively
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he said.
Hoang Van Hong of the National Agriculture Extension Centre
said last year the centre had implemented the "3 down-3 up" and SRI
models in 13 places in the delta.
This models helped farmers not only save seeds, agricultural
inputs, and irrigation costs, but also make optimal profits, improve soil
quality and reduce green house gas emissions, he added.
Thong said despite their benefits, the new farming models were
expanding very slowly since farmers were not provided with sufficient
information, and this should be improved.
The agricultural sector would consider expanding the
low-carbon farming model to produce high-quality rice to meet consumer
demands and make agriculture sustainable, he said.
Local authorities and farmers should consider their land
conditions to adopt a suitable new farming method, he added.
Organised by the centre and the Hau Giang Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development, the forum attracted more than 400
delegates, including 250 farmers from the delta.
One-door customs mechanism launched
The national one-door customs mechanism was officially
launched at ports in five localities, namely Quang Ninh, Hai Phong,
Under the mechanism, all businesses operating in the field of
sea transport will complete procedures relating to exit and entry activities
and sea vessels in transit as well as freight information at the national
one-door portal https://www.vnsw.gov.vn.
The Quang Ninh Customs Department said it has prepared
computers with Internet-connection at all ports and has assigned officials on
duty to assist businesses in utilising the system.
The department got relevant state management agencies at ports
in the five localities to assign officials on duty around the clock to help
deal with information on the portal.
The system was launched on a trial basis in the northern port
city of
The national one-door customs mechanism has been launched with
the aim of reducing customs clearance time from 21 days to 14 days for
exports and 13 days for imports, and bringing down costs by 10-20 per cent as
well as reducing customs clearance time for businesses by 30 per cent.
With the convenient national one-door customs mechanism,
businesses can now save costs and time. In addition, export-import procedures
and records will become more clear and simple.
The mechanism can be useful for e-customs processes as well as
procedures for granting commodity origin certificates for export goods,
following an agreement among ASEAN member states on preferential tariffs on
imports and exports.
To implement the mechanism, participating countries must have
their own system, that is, the national one-door customs mechanism. All the
export-import documents and papers of businesses will be posted on this
system. Management agencies related to export-import activities, such as the
Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, can also exchange
information through the system.
Offices in downtown
Office tenants are eyeing downtown
The impending Trans-Pacific Partnership and the
Vietnam-European Union free trade agreement are likely to boost office rental
demand, said Director of CBRE Vietnam Office Services Greg Ohan.
Some foreign companies have even set aside budgets to rent
office spaces over a 5-10 year span at stable prices, which they believe will
be profitable once a wave of foreign investment returns.
Nigel Smith, Managing Director of Landlord Office Agency,
Asia, said offices in prime locations are well-rented thanks to its proximity
to urban infrastructure, and that the trend is also seen in Hong Kong and
In major metropolises, office towers around 500-800 metres
from subways and shopping outlets also have an advantage.
Report outlines forecasts for 2015 economic performance
Inflation this year will fluctuate at about 3 percent due to
adjustments in public services, taxes and fees, the Vietnam Institute for
Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) has forecast.
If no price hike is seen in public services, such as health
care and education, environment protection taxes and road fees, the inflation
rate will be about 1 percent, the institute says in its latest report.
The report further says that prices of basic commodities are
likely to continue to decrease from now until the end of the year, however, a
significant change in oil prices will put pressure on inflation.
As for foreign exchange rates, the report forecasts that the
central bank could adjust the dollar/dong exchange rate up 2 percent, as
planned this year. The adjustment, if it is taken, will be in the final
quarter of this year. In January 2015, the State Bank of
The report projects that
Lower oil prices, however, may cause a State budget deficit
higher than expected, the report says, estimating that this year's budget
deficit will be roughly 45 trillion VND (2.08 billion USD), or roughly 6-6.5
percent of GDP if oil prices average 60 USD per barrel.
Such a deficit will force the Government to cut investment
spending this year, the same as in 2014, VEPR warns.
It also forecasts that the country will have a trade deficit
this year, after three consecutive years of trade surpluses, however, the
overall balance will remain as a surplus thanks to an offset from foreign
direct investment (FDI) capital and overseas remittance flows.
Also in the report, the institute has recommended the
Government make a breakthrough in its policy reforms and actively create
favourable conditions for private enterprises.
New policies should be mapped out to create a fair investment
environment for all economic sectors, it says.
Foreign countries turn to
In the four months leading up to May, foreign countries have
been increasing the number of Vietnamese guest workers opening the door to
broader job opportunities, according to the Overseas Labour Management Department.
The latest figures from the department show that for the
January-April period, the number of workers jumped 4% on-year to almost
36,000 workers with Taiwan (China) employing the most followed by Japan,
Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea (RoK).
“
“In particular,
In addition,
Most notably,
Earlier on April 10,
Major FDI projects aimed for Vietnam
AJU Business Daily reported Samsung may choose
The Bac Ninh provincial People’s Committee is considering
granting power to the Bac Ninh industrial park management board to directly
sign an agreement for the Samsung Display’s project.
Meanwhile, the Binh Dinh provincial government held two
meetings last week to discuss implementation of the Victory Nhon Hoi oil
refinery project.
It is expected to complete procedures to grant an investment
license to the USD22bn project in the second quarter of this year.
And a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract for the Van Phong
1 thermal power project may be signed in the third quarter of 2015, allowing
an investment license for the USD2bn project to be grated this year.
In March, the EUNSAN and OUE Groups from
The project is expected to be launched September 2, but must
first get government approval as the area earmarked for the project is under
the management of the Ministry of National Defense.
Several other foreign investors are seeking approval for BOT
investments in
Economists urged caution, saying more attention should be paid
to the effects of major FDI projects to
“We should assess how FDI projects have changed the status of
NFSC: Back to high growth path
The local economy has started returning to its high growth
path, which is evident in more positive macroeconomic indicators, according
to the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC).
The commission said in a recent report that development
investments in the first quarter inched up 9.1% year-on-year and was well
above the 3.8% growth in quarter one of last year.
As of April 20, credit had grown 2.78% compared to the modest
rise of 0.53% in the same period last year. January-April FDI disbursements
rose 5% to US$4.2 billion, while investments from the State budget edged up
by 2.4%.
In addition, aggregate demand has recovered in the first
months of this year.
Total retail sales of goods and services in the year’s first
four months increased nearly 8% (if the price factor is excluded). This was
higher than the respective rises of 6.1%, 4.6% and 5.5% in the same period of
three previous years.
The strong recovery of manufacturing and construction is one
of the main factors for high economic growth.
Between January and April, the index of industrial production
increased 9.4% against a year earlier, with the manufacturing-processing
industry climbing 10.1%.
The growth of construction in the first quarter was 4.4%, one
percentage point higher than in last year’s quarter one. Real estate surged
2.55% from 2.43% a year ago.
Last year average revenues, assets and equity of enterprises
went up 19.61%, 19.51% and 18.9% respectively compared to 2013.
Business confidence is recovering though there are many
challenges out there in the market. Enterprises are re-investing in
production.
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) posted positive
growth last year after experiencing negative growth in 2013. Last year’s
revenues, assets and equity of this sector jumped 28.31%, 25.58% and 19.2%
respectively compared to the falls of 29.37%, 13.64% and 3.17% in 2013. Such
growth rates are the highest since 2009.
Regarding business efficiency, the return on assets (ROA) and
the return on equity (ROE) ratios soared last year after sharp declines in
the 2009-2012 period with 7.34% and 17.87% respectively, up 1.03 and 2.01
percentage points against 2013 and up 3.27 and 7.16 percentage points against
2012.
Nielsen: More consumers favor hypermarkets
More Vietnamese consumers like shopping at hypermarkets,
supermarkets and other modern channels as found in the latest Future of
Grocery Report of Nielsen.
The report showed more than one-third of Vietnamese consumers
(34%) have shopped at hypermarkets and 29% have gone to supermarkets more
often than they did 12 months ago.
The market research firm did the report based on an online
survey of more than 30,000 respondents in 60 countries in Asia-Pacific,
Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and
According to the report, 42% of Philippine consumers have made
purchases at supermarkets more often in the past 12 months.
The report also highlighted the growing importance of
convenience stores as another modern retail format for consumers to buy foods
and groceries. More than one-fourth of Philippine consumers (27%) have
shopped for foods and groceries at convenience stores more often in the past
12 months. The figures are 22% in
Kaushal Upadhyay, Nielsen’s executive director of client
service in Southeast Asia, North Asia and Pacific, said supermarkets and
hypermarkets which are already dominant in developed countries will attract
more consumers in
“Understanding where consumers are shopping and what product
categories is critical to market-by-market distribution strategies,” he said.
The survey also looked into the importance of online shopping
and how retailers were integrating digital channels into the shopping
experience. There were 28% of Vietnamese consumers shopping online with home
delivery while the global figure was 25%.
Items like body wash, shampoo and conditioner were popular
items shopped online by Vietnamese consumers as shown in the survey, which
was conducted from August 13 to September 5 last year.
HSBC: PMI marks record rise in April
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 53.5 in April
from 50.7 in the previous month, signaling a solid strengthening of operating
conditions as improving client demand led to stronger rises in output and new
orders.
In a report released on May 4, HSBC Bank said the improvement
was the strongest since the series began in April 2011. Business conditions
have now strengthened in each of the past 20 months.
Higher production requirements supported increases in both
employment and purchasing activity. Meanwhile, further falls in both input
costs and output prices were recorded, although in each case rates of
reduction eased.
Andrew Harker, senior economist at Markit which cooperates
with HSBC in the PMI report, said growth of the Vietnamese manufacturing
sector stepped up a gear last month, with the latest set of numbers the most
impressive in the four-year survey history.
He said in the report that central to the improvement was
success for firms in securing new clients, helped by a continued lack of
inflationary pressure.
Manufacturers took on extra staff in order to help meet
production requirements in April and a modest rise in employment followed a
decrease in the previous month.
Besides, higher new orders led to the 19th successive monthly
increase in manufacturing, with the rate of expansion quickening to the fastest
since April 2011.
Output growth resulted in a further reduction in backlogs of
work as firms reported efforts to complete orders quickly. That said the rate
of depletion was the weakest in the current four-month sequence of falling
outstanding business.
As has been the case in each month since last November, input
costs decreased. Panelists reported lower costs for materials including oil,
iron and steel, while some respondents had requested price reductions from
suppliers.
The latest fall in input costs was the slowest in five months.
Dropping input prices was the main factor behind a further reduction in
charges at Vietnamese manufacturing firms. The rate of decline eased for the
third month running.
However, suppliers’ delivery times lengthened for the second
month in a row amid reports of material shortages at vendors. The rate of
deterioration in lead times was only marginal as prompt payments led some
suppliers to quicken their deliveries.
Increases in new business led to a sharp rise in purchasing activity
during April. Input buying has now risen in each of the past 20 months, with
the latest expansion the strongest since April last year. This rise in
purchasing led to an accumulation of pre-production inventories, the first in
four months.
Stocks of finished goods also increased, following a decline
in the previous month. Some panelists reported that finished products were
awaiting delivery to clients.
Vinpearl Golf Club Phu Quoc tournament will tee off on May 16
on Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province with total prize money amounting
to VND2 billion.
The event aims to mark the opening of the Vinpearl Golf Club
Phu Quoc, the first international standard 27-hole golf course on the island.
It is expected that 80 golfers who are new members of the
Vinpearl Golf Club and invited guests will join the tournament.
Two grand prizes of A Ducati Scrambler worth VND300 million
and a Mercedes-Benz C200 worth VND1.3 billion will be granted to the par-3
hole winners.
Par 3 is one of the most challenging and appealing hole as it
requires techniques of golfers to overcome lots of challenges of trees, sand
and water.
The organizers will also offer special prizes to golfers at a
lucky draw in the award ceremony and gala dinner the same day.
Vinpearl Phu Quoc golf course covers an area of 100ha and is
the second largest island golf course in
The golf course is located in the luxury Vinpearl Phu Quoc
Resort featuring five-star hotels, villas, swimming pools and a system of
Vincharm spas and the
Developed by Vingroup Joint Stock Company (Vingroup) the
resort came into service last November.
Gold trading firms want more import quotas
Many enterprises have petitioned the State Bank of
A senior executive of Saigon Jewelry Holding Co. (SJC) said
his company imported over two tons of the yellow metal this month, but the
volume was almost consumed in times of strong trading last week.
Last week, for instance, trading volume at SJC reached an
average of some 10,000 taels every day, equivalent to 375 kilos of gold, the
executive added.
He said that the company has been seeking more import quotas
to increase the supply, which help narrow down the gap between local and world
prices in line with the target set by the central bank.
On Monday, the gold trading volume was not as strong as in
previous days, showing a sign of slowdown in the demand for gold. SJC, thus,
would choose the right time to buy gold from the global market, instead of
importing the precious metal at any cost as seen during the gold fever
earlier.
Similarly, Nguyen Thi Cuc, deputy general director of Phu
Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Co., (PNJ), said that her firm had already
submitted the suggestion last week, but had not received any feedback from
the central bank.
However, Cuc observed that at present enterprises found it
easier to ask for more quotas, since the central bank wanted to bring local
and global prices on parity.
During last week alone, the selling volume of PNJ reached over
3,000 taels of gold every day, which doubled the previous week’s figure.
Sometimes, the company could not have the imported one arriving on time,
prompting it to halt bullion trade at times.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Ngoc Que, general director of Sacombank
Jewelry Co., (SBJ), noted that in previous days the selling volume far
exceeded the buying amount, leading to the need to complement the supply.
Sacombank, the parent company of SBJ, also sent the same
petition to the central bank, and SBJ has just been granted with a quota of
one ton of gold.
Overall, the whole system of Sacombank had sold around 20,000
taels per day during last week, but the demand is now seen taking on the
downtrend to about 6,000 taels on Monday.
Despite the lower demand these days, the differential between
local and global prices still remains due to the time needed for the imported
gold to arrive in the country, said a leader of a big gold trading company.
For example, the price at home on Monday was still VND1.2 million
per tael higher than the global price. A tael equals 1.2 troy ounces.
Importing gold requires a big volume of foreign currencies, so
the central bank has to take gold import into careful consideration for
macroeconomic stability. A gold trader said efforts must be taken on the part
of the central bank to strengthen public confidence in Vietnam dong and thus
minimize the demand for holding gold.
Luxury cars still sell well despite tough times
Luxury Audi car sales in Vietnam have strongly increased this
year compared to that in regional markets, according to Audi AG in a press
release introducing its new car model.
The total amount of Audi cars sold in the first seven months
had a year-on-year increase of 169%, equivalent to last year’s whole sales. Audi
Q7, A8 and Q5 were among the top-selling models, contributing to Audi’s high
sales in the period.
General director Tran Tan Trung of Lien A International Co.,
the official Audi dealer in Vietnam, said Audi had 223 cars sold in Vietnam
last year and hoped car sales to double until the year-end. The company had
completed 53% of this year’s plan so far.
The first Audi A7 Sportback 3.0 TFSI Quattro was introduced in
Vietnam on Monday with a suggested price of VND3.427 billion. Orders of this
model in Vietnam have reached 30% of the company’s expected sales.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Circular 20 on
restricting car import did not have much effect on Lien A Co. but slowed down
importing progress due to extensive procedures, Trung added.
The General Statistics Office recorded that some 42,000
completely built-up cars were imported worth US$782 million in the first
eight months, up 30% and 31.8% in number and value respectively.
Foreign arrivals see slowdown in eight months
The tourism sector welcomed over 3.96 million foreign visitors
in the January-August period, rising by 18.4% year on year, but the growth
rate is lower than that of 35.2% in the same period last year.
According to the General Statistics Office, arrivals from
China saw a year-on-year growth rate of 47.8%. The growth rate for arrivals
from South Korea was 4.5%, the U.S. some 7.1%, Japan 10.5% and Cambodia
67.3%.
Cambodia has recently surpassed Taiwan and Australia to become
the fifth largest visitor-generating market for Vietnam’s tourism.
The neighboring countries China and Cambodia are responsible
for one-third of the total number of international visitors at the moment
with 1.16 million arrivals.
HCMC, the biggest tourism center of the nation, recorded a lower
growth in foreign tourists compared to the whole country. According to the
city’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, HCMC has welcomed 2.12
million international visitors as of August, increasing by 10% against the
same period in 2010.
Experts say ‘Thu Thiem 2 Bridge project should wait’
Experts at a seminar last Friday suggested that HCMC postpone
construction of Thu Thiem 2 Bridge as the traffic demand between downtown
areas and the new urban center had yet to flourish at the time.
Most experts reasoned that the bridge project, scheduled to
get off the ground next year for completion in 2015 as presented by the HCMC
Department of Transport, would not help ease the overall traffic congestion
in the city.
The huge cost for the project, at VND1.6 trillion or some
US$770 million, should be used for other infrastructure projects of greater
urgency, they said at the seminar titled “Suggestions on Building the Thu
Thiem 2 Bridge.”
Dong Van Khiem, vice chairman of the HCMC Ornamental Creatures
Association, pointed to the scant demand for transport between the city
center and the new urban area to call for a postponement. It is necessary to
give careful consideration to the construction to avoid the sporadic traffic
after completion as seen at the Thu Thiem 1 Bridge at present, he said.
“We do not object to the construction of the bridge but the
project owner must clarify its efficiency and should take into consideration
whether the bridge should be built now or not based on the current
conditions,” Khiem said.
So far, the Thu Thiem 2 project owner has yet to make reports
on the project’s cost-effectiveness, such as the impact of the bridge on
addressing traffic woes in the city, or the amount of vehicles passing
through it after the bridge completion.
Seconding Khiem’s view, Nguyen Ngoc Giao, chairman of the HCMC
Union of Science and Technology Associations, was concerned that currently
the Thu Thiem 1 and Phu My Bridges failed to show their efficiency as they
were quite deserted.
“As the Thu Thiem Tunnel crossing the Saigon River is about to
open to traffic in November, could it be efficient to build another bridge?”
Giao wondered.
Therefore, the city should prioritize building those works of
greater urgency first, experts said.
After listening to the feedback, deputy director of the HCMC
Department of Transport Bui Xuan Cuong said that the department considered
the construction of the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge as a basis for developing the
infrastructure in Thu Thiem.
“The Thu Thiem new urban area is forecast to have some 120,000
residents with 350,000 daily commuters in 2030. As mentioned in its master
plan, HCMC until 2030 should have four bridges spanning the Saigon River to
Thu Thiem, plus a pedestrian bridge and a new tunnel,” Cuong continued.
He explained further that bridges and roads should be built
first while infrastructure would be developed later.
Vietnam Construction and Import – Export Joint Stock
Corporation (Vinaconex) has been appointed as the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge project
owner under the form of build-transfer by the HCMC government.
The bridge is expected to have four lanes, a 2-meter-long
divider for planting flowers, and pedestrian lanes on the two sides of the
bridge. The length of the whole bridge and its approach roads was around 1.2
km.
Source :
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
|
Thứ Sáu, 8 tháng 5, 2015
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét