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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 3/6
European
media hails trade deal between Vietnam and EAEU
The free
trade agreement (FTA) signed between
The FTA
is the first deal the EAEU, including
The
trade deal will help the EAEU expand trade and investment ties with
Meanwhile,
In
return,
Two-way
trade is forecast to expand 18-20 percent each year to 10-12 billion USD in
2020, from 4 billion USD in 2014.
The
inked FTA covers programmes across goods trading, origin principles,
investment, intellectual property, legality and institutions, among others.
Speaking
to the media after the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said
the free trade deal is a part of the EAEU’s strategy for cooperation with the
Asia- Pacific region.
Turkey
probes tax evasion of plywood imports from Vietnam
VCA
cited an announcement of
According
to VCA,
According
to the Turkish Ministry of Economy, imports of plywood from
Many
export products of
This is
not the first time
Agribank,
Vinatech support agricultural firms
Vietnam
Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) and Vietnam Technology
Investment and Development Joint Stock Co. (Vinatech) have inked a cooperation
deal to support enterprises in the agricultural sector.
According
to a statement released by the lender, Agribank will provide payment and
banking services for Vinatech and its agents in the country. The lender will
also arrange credit for Vinatech and for its customers to buy fertilizer
distributed by the company.
Meanwhile,
Vinatech and its agents and customers will use Agribank services such as
deposit, money collection, wage payment and e-banking. Vinatech will also
prioritize using insurance services of Agriculture Bank Insurance Joint Stock
Corporation (ABIC).
Agribank
is the only commercial bank mandated by the central bank to support a coffee
replanting program in the Central Highlands. As of April 30, Agribank had put
its total outstanding loans for the coffee industry at over VND12.5 trillion,
40% of the total in the region.
From now
to 2020, the bank will set aside around VND10 trillion in medium and
long-term loans for coffee replanting enterprises with interest rates two
percentage points per annum lower than normal levels.
U.S.
firms eye stronger investment in Vietnam
Speaking
at a media briefing in HCMC last Friday, Rivkin said it was unclear when the
He met
branches of the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) in over 30 cities since
he took up the post of Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business
Affairs, said Rivkin, who paid his first visit to Vietnam since taking office
in February last year.
He said
the enthusiasm of Amcham chapters in
He noted
business opportunities in the Vietnamese market abound but
These
are reflected in the TPP, so when
“The
expectation that the TPP will be signed soon created a wave of investments in
He said
TPP negotiations made significant progress and are going to conclude. There
have appeared difficulties in the negotiation process but there is a roadmap
for the member countries to deal with these difficulties. In addition, the
President
Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry want to complete TPP
negotiations within their office terms, he said, and the TPA (Trade Promotion
Authority) was approved at the Senate with an overwhelming vote, which
indicates
Asked
about regulations for labor and the establishment of independent labor unions
within the TPP agreement framework on which the
He said
the labor program will be appropriate to regulations of international labor
organizations such as the minimum wage, no child labor and the establishment
of labor unions and that when
Factory
pollution kills livestock
Livestock
is dying and the lives of many people in Gio Quang Commune,
Locals
blame the Hong Duc Vuong Fish Meal Processing Factory.
"Since
the factory went into operation, our lives got worse," said Le Van Tien,
of
Locals
endure a constant stink from processing activities at the factory.
"We
use masks whenever we have to go out, and the waste water makes people itch and
it's ideal environment for fungus and bacteria," Tien said.
A lot of
livestock died from drinking the polluted water. Locals can no longer use
wells.
"My
well water was very clear before, but it turned a yellowish colour and has
scum on the surface, so we have to buy clean water for daily use," said
Phan Thi Hong, of Gio Quang Commune.
"My
family has a rice field, but the recent crop yield was so low there was
barely anything to harvest," Hong said.
Le Van
Thong, chairman of Gio Quang Commune, said that since the factory began
operations in May last year, pollution became a problem and has got worse
since February when the factory increased production.
Commune
authorities reported the problem, but it has yet to be resolved.
"We
don't have the authority to deal with it," Thong said. "The
factory's operation is managed by provincial authorities."
Inspectors
from the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the
management board of the industrial park found several instances of regulatory
wrongdoing at the factory, and that its treatment system was inadequate.
The
factory was asked to halt operations until the problems were addressed, but
locals say it has ignored the request and is discharging waste water at night
in an attempt to avoid detection.
Tran Van
Hoa, deputy head of the Quang Tri industrial parks management board, said new
tests needed to be conducted on local water supplies before any further
action can be taken.
Police
raid premises of illegal gold trading firm
Hai Phong
Police, working with the public security ministry's hi-tech crime prevention
department, raided BBG financial group's office on
The
police seized several documents related to illegal gold trading in the cities
of Hai Phong, Ha Noi,
Earlier,
the investigation agency quickly arrested the company's Chairman of the
management board and General Director Le Minh Quang.
The BBG
group reportedly operates an underground gold trading floor that has many
branches in cities and provinces across the country.
Police
say BBG group was established in 2010 in
It operates
like a virtual trading floor for gold, currency and precious metals and does
consultancy and gives credit, attracting hundreds of traders who use virtual
points that are paid for with real money.
BBG
offered several attractive incentives such as keeping gold with a monthly
interest rate of 1.8 to 11.5 per cent and higher interest rates, depending on
each term of sending.
The
group managed to collect VND600 billion (US$27.7 million).
At the
BBG branch in
To
attract traders, BBG was willing to give virtual money to investors, who
traded gold on the floor without paying money prior to the transaction. If
the investors failed in their trading, they had to pay real money to BBG.
The
police are continuing to investigate BBG's activities.
FPT
Group expands operations into the Philippines
FPT
Group, a multinational information technology company of
The new
centre, which celebrated its grand opening on May 29, 2015, will help the
company fulfill its global strategy of achieving annual revenue of US$1
billion and a commanding 30,000 strong IT workforce in the region by 2020.
The
FPT
Software has also unveiled plans to establish a new development centre in
Manufacturing
output expands
Manufacturing
growth gathered pace in May, with rising client demand leading to record
growth in output and new orders, HSBC Vietnam has said in a monthly report it
released on June 1.
The
Purchasing Managers' Index report said the rate of job creation also picked
up pace during the month.
Input
costs increased for the first time in seven months, but firms continued to
lower their output prices.
The
headline, seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a composite
indicator designed to provide a single-figure snapshot of operating
conditions in the manufacturing economy, rose for the second month running to
54.8 from 53.5 in April.
The
marked improvement in operating conditions signalled by the latest reading
was the strongest since the series began in April 2011.
Business
conditions have now improved in each of the past 21 months.
Central
to the marked strengthening of the sector's health was a record increase in
new business. Respondents indicated that the rise mainly reflected a greater
need for products among customers. New export orders also rose, albeit at a
much weaker pace than for total new business.
As
client demand increased, manufacturers raised production accordingly. As a
result, output increased for the 20th month in a row and at the strongest
pace in the series' history.
Firms were
able to increase output partly as a result of a second successive month of
job creation in May.
Employment
rose solidly and at the sharpest pace since January. There was still evidence
of pressure on capacity in the latest survey, however, as backlog of work
accumulated for the first time in five months. Panellists largely attributed
higher outstanding business to a sharp growth in new orders.
After
having fallen in each of the previous six months, input costs for
manufacturing firms rose. Higher oil and electricity prices, as well as a
weakening of the dong against the US dollar, were mentioned by respondents as
the reasons for the increase.
But that
said, the rate of inflation was relatively modest and firms continued to
lower their prices amid competitive pressures. Prices have now decreased in
each of the past eight months.
Rising
production requirements led manufacturers to increase their buying of inputs.
Purchasing
activity expanded sharply and at the fastest pace in the series history. This
contributed to a second successive monthly accumulation of stocks of
purchases, with the expansion also the fastest recorded in over four years of
data collection so far.
Suppliers'
delivery times lengthened marginally as panellists mentioned limited stock
holdings by vendors. This was despite some reports that quick payments had
led to faster deliveries. Delays in the dispatch of products to clients
contributed to an accumulation of stocks of finished goods in May, while
strong output growth was also cited as a factor leading to increased
post-production inventories.
Andrew
Harker, senior economist at Markit, which co-ordinates with the bank for the
survey, said, "The Vietnamese manufacturing sector gained further momentum
in May and growth rates are now the best we have seen in the four years of
data collection so far.
"Central
to the recent success of firms in Vietnam has been their ability to secure
new work in a competitive environment, and the recent 1% devaluation of the
dong against the US dollar by the State Bank of Vietnam should help efforts
to maintain international competitiveness.
"On
the other hand, some firms did report a rise in costs as a result of the
weaker currency, leading to a first rise in input prices in seven
months."
Real
estate inventory continues to fall in May
Vietnam’s
real estate inventory was estimated at 67.4 trillion VND (3.13 billion USD)
by the end of May this year, according to statistics recently announced
by the Ministry of Construction (MoC).
This
estimated value showed a reduction of over 1.3 trillion VND (62.2 million
USD) compared to April and a fall of 47.5 per cent compared with the
first quarter of 2013.
Statistics
indicated that property inventory in the apartment segment was at 12,908
units, worth 19.79 trillion VND (920 million USD), while that of houses
was 9,066 units, worth 16.13 trillion VND (750 million USD).
The
inventory of residential land was 8.4 million square metres, worth 26.97
trillion (1.25 billion USD), and commercial land - at 1.6 million
square metres, worth 4.5 trillion VND (209 million USD).
In the
first four months of 2015, there were 5,850 successful transactions, an
increase of two fold and a half compared to the same period of 2014.
Outstanding
real estate loans in the first quarter were valued at 333.7 trillion VND
(15.4 billion USD), up 2 percent compared to the same period last year.
The MoC
figures also indicated that housing prices were more stable compared to two
years ago.
In the
first quarter of this year, the price of nearly-completed projects increased
slightly, about 5-10 percent compared to the same period last year,
particularly those at convenient locations with complete technical and social
infrastructure.
The
market's structure also changed, with 60 projects converting from commercial
housing to social housing, with 38,897 apartments, and 74 others asking
to reduce the size of apartments to meet market demand.
Jetstar
Pacific runs first Hanoi-Da Lat flight
The
first flight of the budget carrier Jetstar Pacific linking capital Hanoi with
the resort city of Da Lat in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong
landed in Lien Khuong airport at 9:05 am, carrying nearly 180 passengers.
As
planned, the carrier will operate one round-trip flight daily with each
taking one hour and 50 minutes.
According
to the carrier, over 10,000 passengers have booked the new flight services so
far.
The same
flight route is currently being operated by the national flag carrier Vietnam
Airlines and the low-cost Vietjet Air.
This
summer, domestic carriers have increased the daily frequency of Hanoi-Da Lat
flight to six in order to meet travel demand, including three by
Vietjet Air, two by Vietnam Airlines and one by Jetstar Pacific.
Central
Highlands prospects to be made known worldwide
Newly-appointed
heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad will communicate the
potential of the Central Highlands to the world, thereby inviting
investment into the region for its sustainable development.
Deputy
Foreign Minister and Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong, who
led a delegation of the newly-appointed heads for the 2015-2018 tenure,
was speaking to a working session with the Steering Committee for the Central
Highlands in Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province on June 1.
Tran
Viet Hung, deputy head of the committee, briefed the delegation on the
regional socio-economic development prospects, saying that its 2014
total production climbed 8.74 percent annually and exports hit a record rise
of 49.3 percent to 2.5 billion USD.
The
total revenue to the State budget increased by 9.2 percent while the gross
domestic product (GDP) per capita reached 1,640 USD, up 13.6 percent
and equivalent to 81 percent of the country’s GDP per capita.
The
region is home to over 570,000ha of coffee that generates 1.2 million tonnes
of coffee beans per year, or 94 percent of the nation’s total, and more
than 60,000ha of pepper trees with a total yearly output of 80,000 tonnes.
The
corn, tea, cashew nut, rubber, sugar cane and cassava output account for
18-26 percent of those recorded by whole nation.
However,
its economy still falls behind others across the country due to failure to
tap its potential to the fullest and underdeveloped infrastructure,
especially in transport and irrigation.
Vietnam
consumer confidence unchanged in May: ANZ
The
Vietnam consumer confidence index is unchanged at 140.2 in May, well above
its long-term average of 135.2, according to research by the ANZ Bank.
In terms
of current personal finances, 36 percent (up 1 percentage point) of
Vietnamese said their families are ‘better off’ financially than this
time last year, compared to just 18 percent (down 1 percentage point)
who said their families are ‘worse off’ financially (the lowest for this
indicator since March 2014).
Of the
respondents surveyed, 56 percent (down 1ppt) expect their families to be
‘better off’ financially this time next year compared to only 5 percent
(down 1ppt) who expect to be ‘worse off’ financially.
Fifty-three
percent (down 2ppts) of Vietnamese expect the country to have ‘good times’
financially during the next 12 months and 12 percent (up 1ppt) expect
‘bad times’ financially.
In the
longer term, 61 percent (down 2ppts) of the respondents expect Vietnam to
have ‘good times’ economically over the next five years compared to just 5
percent (unchanged) who expect ‘bad times’.
Forty-seven
percent (unchanged) of Vietnamese say it is now a ‘good time to buy’ major
household items compared to 12 percent (down 3ppts) who believe now is
a ‘bad time to buy’ these items.
Glenn
Maguire, ANZ Chief Economist for South Asia, ASEAN & the Pacific, said he
foresees the Vietnamese economy enjoying an ongoing recovery for 2015
and 2016. This should create an environment where households become more
confident to spend, further strengthening the recovery in domestic
demand, he claimed.
HCM
City concerned about outdated industrial zones
Between
60 and 70 percent of equipment and technologies used at export processing and
industrial zones is outdated, resulting in products with low added
value, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has said.
The
committee has asked the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zone
Authority (HEPZA) to restructure business operations of industrial
zones, most of which have been operating for about 20 years.
The city
asked HEPZA to examine enterprises' capital, technology, products, land-use
efficiency, and employees' professional skills.
The city
said that Freetrend Company in Thu Duc District's Linh Trung Processing Zone,
for example, did not operate efficiently.
It has a
110,000 sq m plant and 21,000 workers to process footwear for many
international brand names. Its turnover is 1.4 trillion VND (67 million
USD) a year but the company only contributes 22 million VND (1,000 USD) in
tax.
At least
100 companies in the city are operating with a similar low economic
efficiency, the committee said.
According
to HEPZA's management board, most foreign projects are labour-intensive with
low added value, especially in electronic assembling, footwear, and
textiles and garments.
Seventy-three
percent of enterprises in HEPZAs are small enterprises with capital under 5
million USD.
Very few
of them produce high added value products. When the industrial zones first
opened, the focus was simply on creating new jobs. There were few
standards applied to technology, capital or management skills.
In 2013,
only 1 percent of enterprises had modern technology, while 51 percent used
outdated technology.
Links
between foreign and local enterprises were also poor as most foreign
companies imported equipment and raw materials.
To
implement business restructuring, the city plans to focus on technology
investment, shifting from processing to manufacturing technology to
increase value addition and enhance competitiveness.
The city
will invite only investors with high added value production and green
technology, and it will focus on support industry and services to
industry.
Labour-intensive
companies and low- and medium –level technology enterprises will receive
support to restructure their business.
Product
design and manufacturing capability and ISO quality management application
will also be speeded up.
"Four
key industries, including: engineering, electricity-electronics,
pharmaceutical chemistry and food processing have attracted workers
from intensive-labour industries," Vu Van Hoa, head of the HEPZA's
management board was quoted as saying in Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai
Gon) newspaper.
The
number of workers in the engineering industry has increased by 15.6 percent,
electricity-electronics 9 percent, pharmaceutical chemistry 14.6
percent and food processing 21.6 percent, compared to the same period last
year.
"There
are 7,000 excellent workers being sent to train in developed countries like
Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand," Hoa said.
He said
that seven low-technology and labour-intensive projects in Linh Trung
Processing Zone and eight others in Tan Thuan Processing Zone had moved
to the Mekong Delta provinces of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh.
"The
infrastructure on the empty land will be upgraded, and we'll look for
high-technology projects," he said.-
Foreign
firms pour almost 1 billion USD in Dong Nai
From the
beginning of 2015 to May 20, southern Dong Nai province recorded more than
998 million USD worth of foreign direct investment.
Accordingly,
there were 37 new projects valued at more than 812 million USD and 31
existing projects gaining additional funds. Most of them are built
inside industrial parks.
Future
incentives from the upcoming formation of ASEAN Economic Community and
sinning of free trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP) have stimulated the flow of overseas capital, revealed Bo Ngoc Thu,
Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment.
Long
Thanh international airport, which will soon be constructed in the locality,
also contributes to the FDI stimulus, she said.
This
year, businesses from Japan, Singapore, the US and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), among others have come to Dong Nai to seek investment
opportunities in the sectors of industry, services, agriculture, real estate
and tourism.
The
province has been in favour with those enterprises thanks to its preferential
policies, convenient transportation, and well-organised industrial
zones with completed infrastructure.
Director
of the Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan's Kansai region Seki
Soichiro unveiled that ten companies from his hometown have so far
operated effectively at Dong Nai’s Long Duc industrial park.
According
to Soichiro, local rapid registration and licensing procedures make more
Japanese firms have investment plans in the provincial support industry
in the coming time.
Edward
Kowalewski, Director of the New York State International Trade Programs,
shared that raring to grab a pie of the improved market once the TPP is
signed, New York enterprises have shown interest in Dong Nai’s potential for
the development of industry, agriculture and services.
Some
even made contact with local business organisations for cooperation and
direct export from the US, he added.
In a
recent meeting with the provincial authorities, Sultan Ali Rashed Lootah,
General Director of the UAE’s Vault Investment Fund, noted his country
wants to invest in some facilities in the Long Thanh international airport
project.-
Soc
Trang records fragrant rice success
The
cultivation of fragrant rice in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang has
shown good results, according to experts.
Soc
Trang, the main fragrant rice growing province in the delta, has around
148,000ha under rice, with 44 percent of it earmarked for speciality
varieties, mostly of the fragrant kind.
In
1992-2015, Soc Trang spent more than 9 billion VND (430,000 USD) on 20
programmes for creating and restoring speciality rice varieties.
One of
them, to create the ST fragrant rice strain, has ended with many varieties
ranging from ST 1 to ST 25. Many of them are exported at high prices.
ST 5,
for instance, has fetched over 600 USD a tonne for the past seven years.
Speaking
at a seminar held in the province in mid-May, Ho Quang Cua, deputy chairman
of the Soc Trang Union of Science and Technology Associations and also
one of the local scientists who researched and created the ST varieties, said
many farmers growing fragrant rice made profits of 50 -70 percent.
Cua and
his research group are planning to popularise ST varieties from 20 to 25, red
ST, and purple ST so that more of them are grown for export. The export
prices of these are as high as 800 USD a tonne.
Many
cooperatives in the province have tied up with companies to ensure there are
outlets for their fragrant rice.
Vo Tong
Xuan, rector of the Can Tho University, hailing Soc Trang's scientists for
creating the ST variety, said the province should look for investment
in rice drying, husking, polishing, and packaging facilities.
Seminar
participants said the profits from speciality rice strains are very high,
adding if the grain is grown using a proper model like the large-scale
rice fields and there is cooperation between farmers, scientists, companies,
and authorities, farmers could enjoy up to 84 percent of the profit
made through the chain until the rice reaches the consumer.
Le Thanh
Tri, Vice Chairman of the Soc Trang People's Committee, said to further
develop speciality rice farming, the province needs to dissuade
individual and small farming and strengthen cooperation between farmers,
scientists, companies, and the Government.
The
province should provide farmers with advanced technologies and create more
high-quality rice strains suitable for harsh weather conditions, he
added.
Binh
Thuan keen to develop agricultural farms
The
southern central province of Binh Thuan has taken a number of concrete
measures to facilitate the development of agricultural farms to fully
tap the local potential for agricultural production, a local official said.
These
efforts include providing incentives in land use rights, increasing access to
loans, and applying more technology in farming. The province has
planned training courses to improve understanding and skills among farm
owners.
According
to Pham Huu Thu from the provincial Department of Agricultural and Rural
Development, around 700 farms engaging in both cultivation and animal
breeding have been counted in the province as of May this year.
The
farms generated a combined more than 950 billion VND (44.4 million USD) in
revenues in 2014, creating jobs for thousands of local residents.
The
production model has contributed to restructuring agricultural production and
accelerating modern rural building in the province, Thu added.
Farmer
Lam Van Hien from northern Ham Thuan district earns hundreds of millions of
VND per year from his five-ha farm, which grows fruits including mango
and dragon fruit. He raises chickens in the garden and breeds fish in a
30,000 sq. metre pond.
Official
statistics show that Binh Thuan is enjoying average annual growth of 11.6
percent.
In 2014,
its per capita income reached 1,656 USD, a 12.7-fold increase from 1991.
Domestic budget revenue totalled 4,000 billion VND (184.3 million USD)
compared to 140 billion VND in 1993.
PM
sets target for socio-economic development in 2016
Vietnam
must stabilise the macro economy in 2016 while ensuring stellar economic
growth, according to instructions issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung on May 29 on the designing of socio-economic development plans and
budget estimates for next year.
The
instruction gave the overall target for economic growth in 2016 as over 6.5
percent, driven by economic restructuring and growth model reform.
The
agriculture sector will be shaken up with the continued building of new style
rural areas and the introduction of high-tech applications into
agriculture production. The country will push forward exports and control
imports of non-essential commodities.
The
investment climate should be greatly improved while administration procedures
and government management efficiency will be quickly improved,
especially across the fields of tax, customs and social insurance. The move
aims to create favourable conditions for both residents and enterprises.
Social
security diversification is also a key objective in 2016, with the focus on
enhancing labour quality, developing education-training and
science-technology, promoting health care socialisation and implementing
ethnic and religion policies.
Regarding
budget estimates planning, the instruction said budget revenue from
export-import activities is set to rise up by 6-8 percent while
revenues from tax and fees should be 18-19 percent of the GDP. Domestic
revenue estimate (excluding revenue from land use) should be at least
15 percent higher than the estimated figure for this year.
The PM’s
instruction also stated out that state budget expenditure estimate for 2016
must be in line with the socio-economic blueprints for 2016 and the
2016-2020 period.
Ministries,
branches and localities need to set up budget forecasts in accordance with
the government’s fund allocating norms, which priotise defence and
security as well as key sectors as defined in Party and National Assembly’s
resolutions.
Khanh
Hoa-based fishing centre to link seafood businesses
The
south-central fishing centre, which is to be built in the central coastal
province of Khanh Hoa, is expected to play a crucial role in
strengthening links among regional seafood businesses.
According
to the national strategy for fisheries development through to 2020, Vietnam
will set up five fishing centres in major areas, including the
south-central coastal region – covering Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Ninh
Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces.
The
centre will cover 46 hectares at Da Bac fishing port in Khanh Hoa’s Cam Ranh
city, serving the south-central and Truong Sa (Spartly) fishing
grounds.
From now
to 2018, the project, worth over 1.5 trillion VND (72 million USD), will
encompass infrastructure building, seaport expansion, route upgrades to
the centre and construction of a separate harbour for tuna fishing boats and
workshops to repair fishing vessels.
The
deep-water port at Da Bac is not the biggest and most modern of its kind in
Khanh Hoa province, but was chosen to house the fishing centre because
of its proximity to international trade ports.
Khanh
Hoa province in general has favourable geography and strong capacity to
attract human and financial resources, increase the added value of
aquatic products, and develop seafood along with national sea and island
defence and security, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development.
It is
vital to establish such a centre to forge links between provinces towards
sustainable fisheries development, experts said, illustrating the
planned joint tuna production project conducted by Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and
Khanh Hoa provinces.
Under
this project, the trio will set up a tuna trade centre in Khanh Hoa province,
which is expected to help fishermen sell their products to both
domestic and foreign businesses.
The
People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa province is calling on Japanese investors to
expand Da Bac fishing port.
Even
when the fishing centre takes shape, the province still wants Japanese firms
to invest more in the local markets, cold preservation storage, fuel
services, hi-tech shipbuilding factories and seafood sorting and processing
facilities, local authorities said.
Quality,
image focus urged for lychee exports
As the
first containers of Vietnam's lychees have been shipped to the US and
Australia, the country will continue expanding fruit exports to other
markets, such as the EU.
Deputy
Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh made this statement at a press
meeting in Hanoi on June 1.
Anh noted
that it almost took five to eight years to bring fruits and vegetable to
world markets. Lychee took 14 years to penetrate the two countries, which
have strict quality requirements.
"Vietnam's
markets will require further efforts from the country's exporters to build
their image and promote marketing activities," he said, adding that the
first cargo has also proved the efforts of businesses to seek markets, as
well as their struggle to enhance product quality.
However,
he said the main lychee consumption of around 200,000 tonnes this year would
still rely on the local market and export to China which accounted for 60% of
the total.
The
deputy minister forecast that this year's consumption will be similar or
slightly higher than that of last year.
"One
of the difficult tasks is to improve the quality of our lychee so that they
can surpass certain technical barriers in developed countries," he
noted.
The
ministry will continue taking measures to encourage lychee consumption by
connecting purchasing enterprises with farmers.
Recently,
the ministry tied up with northern Lang Son Province to build a 143-ha
transit area with a total investment of VND986 billion to ease the
accumulation of agricultural products at border gates. The area is also
expected to improve the export of agricultural products, especially seasonal
items.
Answering
questions on electricity shortage, the deputy minister confirmed there would
be no shortage in the hot season.
Supporting
the minister's view, Dinh The Phuc, deputy director of the Electricity
Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV), pointed out that the prolonged hot
weather earlier this year saw power consumption during the first five months
of the year surging by 13.56% over the same period last year.
While
average daily power consumption rose by 17%, Hanoi's daily consumption
increased by 28% compared with the previous month.
"It
was one of the reasons that led to overloading in some areas in the northern
region," Phuc said.
He added
that the ERAV is required to stop all repair works in the power sector if
temperature rises over 36 degree Celsius so that the people will not have to
suffer.
In
addition, he also urged the people to save power to avoid overloading and
ensure the safety of high-voltage power grids.
The
electricity output in the five months was estimated at 61.1 billion kWh,
posting an 11.3% year-on-year increase.
The
power consumption of the construction sector rose by 9.37%; hotels and
restaurants 12.79%; households 9.53%; and that of the agriculture, forestry,
and fisheries sector increased by 5.79%.
Total
production in the power sector in recent hot days reached 25,000MW.
Vo Van
Quyen, director of the ministry's Domestic Market Department, said they would
review the situation to reduce retail fuel prices or the utilisation of
petroleum price stabilisation fund in the next three days if prices in the
world market continue to decrease.
Source : VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Tư, 3 tháng 6, 2015
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