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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 16/7
Goods
transit to be accelerated in Lang Son, Cao Bang
The
establishment of facilities catering to goods transit has been given the
green light in northern border Lang Son province and at the Tra Linh border
gate in neighbouring Cao Bang province.
According
to Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, the move will address barriers to
exports at the border gate, accelerate customs clearance and mitigate damage
to local produce.
Local
authorities are considering demands and budgets to plan the transit
construction.
Vietnam’s
domestic steel consumption up in H1
The
domestic steel industry saw strong growth in consumption in the home market
in the first half of this year, according to the Vietnam Steel Association
(VSA).
The
association reported the purchase of building steel products gained a
year-on-year surge of 24.4 percent to reach three million tones in the first
half of this year.
Vietnam
Steel Corporation (VNSteel) had the largest consumption volume at 696,059
tonnes, accounting for 22.78 percent of the total domestic consumption in the
first six months.
The
second largest producer was Hoa Phat Steel Company with a volume of 675,710
tonnes, Pomina with 407,426 tonnes and Vinakyoei with 246,262 tonnes.
Meanwhile,
the consumption of steel pipes also saw a growth of 34.7 percent in the first
six months to 664,583 tonnes against the same period last year, the
association said.
The
Hoa Phat Steel Company had the largest consumption of steel pipes at 145,300
tonnes, holding 21.85 percent of the total steel tube consumption, followed
by Hoa Sen (130,528 tonnes).
Nguyen
Van Sua, VSA Vice Chairman, said the growth in the local steel industry
supported domestic steel producers in reducing inventories and increasing
their production, according to the Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade)
newspaper.
To
increase consumption, in recent years, companies have promoted exports, but
these countries have launched various safeguards, including anti-dumping
measures.
Of
note, in the first six months the VSA's member companies exported 175,543
tonnes of steel, 5 percent lower than in the same period last year.
Experts
said free trade agreements (FTAs) would bring more opportunities and also
challenges to local steel producers because the FTAs open more export markets,
but cause challenges to local consumption.
Nguyen
Van Phong, Deputy General Director of the NS BlueScope Steel Vietnam, said
the local galvanised steel industry would have more chances to export
galvanised steel products due to advantages from the FTAs, though local steel
exporters should be ready to face safeguards in countries participating in
the FTAs.
Tran
Tuan Duong, General Director of Hoa Phat Group, said the FTAs offer
opportunities and challenges, so local steel producers should reduce production
costs and selling prices, and improve production management during the
integration process into the world economy.
Sua
said to gain efficiencies in exports, the producers should study regulations
on taxes and schedules of cutting taxes under the FTAs at export markets to
avoid lawsuits for dumping Vietnamese steel products in export markets, the
Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper reported.
Meanwhile,
the producers should improve their competitive abilities, including quality,
price and services, to maintain their growth production and business after
the FTAs come into effect, Sua said.
To
assure continued sustainable development, local steel producers should update
technology and equipment, improve corporate management and reduce production
costs to reduce selling prices of products, he added. They should also
increase knowledge about safeguard measures to avoid commercial lawsuits.
Further,
domestic steel industry should develop large steel producers that have
financial and technological abilities and an annual capacity at 2-3 million
tonnes to compete with import products in the future, he noted.
The
People’s Committee of Hanoi has just announced its plan to issue bonds to
mobilise resources for the development of the capital city in 2015, according
to the Hanoi Moi newspaper.
The
bonds, scheduled to be issued by end of this August and worth a total of 2
trillion VND (93.45 million USD), will be invested in ongoing key projects.
The
subsequent resources will be allocated for 13 projects to be completed within
the year, three official development assistance (ODA), projects needing
government counterpart capital and another seven to be completed after 2015.
The
municipal Department of Finance has been requested to work closely with the
State Treasury to accelerate the effective and efficient implementation of
the plan.-
Apartments
for sale to stay in good shape
Despite
falling sales, the apartment for sale segment will be continue to be a bright
spot in the market thanks to rising supply, the effects of the amended Law on
Housing and the amended Law on Real Estate Business, and financial guarantees
from banks now being required for real estate projects.
“In
the first half of this year the supply of apartments for sale reached over
121,400, up 180 per cent compared to 2014 as a whole,” Ms. Do Thu Hang, Head
of Research at Savills Hanoi, told a press conference on July 10 on the real
estate market’s second quarter performance.
Despite
the strong increase in supply, the segment’s sales were down in the second
quarter. The latest report from Savills showed that some 4,630 units were
sold, 18 per cent less quarter-on-quarter, while the absorption rate fell to
34 per cent, down 9 percentage points quarter-on-quarter.
The
apartment for sale segment is still expected to be the most vibrant in
Savills
predicts that by the end of this year 26 projects supplying 12,600 units will
come online. The amended Law on Housing and the amended Law on Real Estate
Business, meanwhile, should increase demand. “Sales are expected to remain at
a high level in the remaining quarters of 2015, but there could be elements
of speculation distorting overall demand,” the report stated.
Office
space standing out in HCMC
By
2017 the office segment in Ho Chi Minh City will welcome approximately
504,000 square meters of new supply, an increase of 36 per cent compared with
2014, Savills Vietnam wrote in its latest report on the Ho Chi Minh City Real
Estate Market.
In the
second quarter one new Grade C project, in District 3, entered the market,
providing 3,200 square meters. There are now approximately 1.472 million
square meters in 224 projects. Total stock was relatively stable
quarter-on-quarter and increased 3 per cent year-on-year.
The
second quarter also saw increasing occupancy in the office segment, by an
impressive 93 per cent - the highest level in seven years. Average rent was
VND541,000 ($25) per square meter, which was stable both quarter-on-quarter
and year-on-year.
The
report said that demand for Grade C office space was higher than for other
grades, accounting for more than 68 per cent of total take-up in the second
quarter.
Factors
influencing demand, such as economic growth, foreign direct investment, and
newly-registered enterprises, have increased year-on-year and provide
positive prospects for office space demand.
Given
the market performance Savills was extremely positive about the prospects for
office segment this year and over the next few years.
This
year one new Grade A project, three new Grade B projects and five new Grade C
projects are expected to enter the market, supplying approximately 178,000
square meters.
Leadership
change at Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman
& Wakefield (C&W)
According
to Mr. Horton, its culture means retaining the best individuals in the
country in its Tenant Advisory Group (TAG), Retail, Project Management,
Capital Market and Valuation & Research business lines. “All continue to
be led by a stable group of exceptional professionals who have pushed us to
lead in the sectors within which we choose to operate,” he added.
Mr.
Crane said there is an extremely bright future ahead for C&W in
In
He
previously held the position as Director of TAG at C&W, where the team
achieved the highest share of significant office transactions and advised on
three of the six largest office transactions in
Sacomreal
introduces resort project in HCMC
The
Sai Gon Thuong Tin Real Estate JSC (Sacomreal) has introduced its first
resort project, Jamona Home Resort in Thu Duc district in
The
Jamona Home Resort project includes 238 villas with two sides adjacent to the
Thanks
to its convenient location in Thu Duc district, with easy access to two
important traffic routes, National Highway No. 13 and the
The
project has about 3,000 sq m of green space and single and duplex villas that
help residents feel they do indeed live in a resort. Pools, tennis courts, a
marina, an international-standard school, a mini supermarket and a central
park will also be built to meet the needs of residents.
Sacomreal
also revealed it will introduce 200 high-end apartments at Jamona Apartments,
its luxury project in District 7 that sold a record 500 apartments on the
first day of sales.
Two
months later 800 apartments have been sold at prices of VND20 million ($920)
per sq m, which is competitive compared with other high-end projects in
District 7.
Supermarket
branding take a foothold
It is
increasingly common to find products labelled under supermarket brands,
offering less expensive prices on shelves of supermarkets in major cities.
According
to Vu Vinh Phu, president of the Ha Noi Supermarket Association, selling
products under retailers' brands is popular throughout the world and has
begun to develop in
Private-label
products found in supermarkets are varied from beverages and foods, as well
as daily necessities such as tissue, toothpaste, shower cream and washing
powder.
Currently,
private-label products account for a modest percentage of store products,
often several hundred product types, as well as fast-moving consumer
products.
The
potential of developing private labels was large in
A
report by Nielsen, the global information and measurement company, released
at the end of last year revealed that 84 per cent of consumers in
In
addition, the price of private-label goods were less expensive, as
supermarkets impose fewer fees with lower distribution costs than the same
products with named brands, often from 5 per cent to 30 per cent lower.
A
representative from Ha Noi Co.op Mart said developing private label brands
was one of numerous development strategies of the supermarket. Currently,
private-label products accounted for a modest 3 per cent of goods on shelves
at the supermarket.
BigC
also developed several private label brands, offering more than 1,000
products, and the number was expected to continue increasing.
Phu
said that private label products were the result of co-operation between
producers and distributors, which could solve distribution problems,
especially for small-sized firms.
While
the development of private-label goods might affect market share and
consumption of existing branded products, Phu urged that supermarkets'
traditional suppliers improve their products' competitiveness to compete with
private label goods.
Nguyen
Thi Hoai, a consumer in Ha Noi, said that if the quality of private-label
products was not much different from branded products or merely
"acceptable", she opted to buy private-label products due to lower
prices.
According
to Dinh Thi My Loan, president of the Viet Nam Retailer Association,
consumers must pay attention to the quality of products when making
purchasing decision.
Quality
remains a decisive factor to draw buyers to come back to all products.
Agriculture
exports slow down
Export
growth in the first six months of this year was affected by a decline in
export turnover of the agricultural and aquatic sectors and fuel and
minerals, said Nguyen Tien Vy, head of the Department of Planning under the
Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The
turnover declined by nearly US$3.15 billion compared to the same period last
year, and
Minister
of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang has sent instructions to departments to
boost links between production and processing, domestic consumption and
export parties.
He
urged the development of domestic agricultural products, as well as measures
to control imports of farm produce.
To
keep this year's trade deficit under five per cent, Hoang said policies would
be issued to tightly control commodity groups which needed limiting or
controlling. The ministry plans to increase administrative reforms, reduce
redundant procedures for imports and exports and promote exports via the
internet to reduce costs.
Viet
Nam to gain from regional FTAs
Pham
Binh An, director of the HCM City WTO Affairs Consultation Centre, said that
10 ASEAN countries and six countries with which ASEAN has existing free trade
agreements (Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India and China) were
negotiating the content of the RCEP, which may be finalised by the end of
this year.
RCEP
would create the world's largest trading bloc, he said.
It
would be a comprehensive, high-quality economic cooperation model and would
remove barriers to establish a favourable environment for investment and
trade activities in the region, he said.
Unlike
the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), RCEP focuses primarily on trade,
including trade in goods, and trade in services and investment. TPP also
includes provisions on public purchases and intellectual property, for
example.
The
RCEP targets creating a broad and deep engagement with significant
improvements over the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs. It also seeks to achieve a
modern and comprehensive trade agreement among members.
An
said that more trade barriers would fall, helping
Dinh
Thu Hang from the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) said, like
other FTAs, RCEP would open new opportunities for
Vietnamese
firms would be able to participate in the region's value and production
chains and exchange technical expertise with other countries.
However,
competitive pressure from countries that have similar export structures to
An
increase in non-trade barriers with partner countries had caused difficulties
for local exporters, she said.
Vo Tri
Thanh, deputy director of the CIEM, said overall, the country would enjoy
more benefits than losses, noting that the level of benefits also depend on
commitments under the free trade agreement.
As the
FTA is still under negotiation, there is still no information about how the
16 parties of RCEP would open their markets.
He suggested
that businesses kept up to date about FTAs so they could capitalise on new
opportunities and prepare to cope with challenges.
They
should also understand the mechanisms for solving trade disputes to protect
their legitimate interests.
Firms
must focus on improving competitiveness of their products and be more active
in taking part in the region's value chain.
The
workshop was organised by the HCM City WTO Affairs Consultation Centre, in
collaboration with the EU-MUTRAP project and the Central Institute for
Economic Management.
Revised
The
revised Enterprise Law officially took effect on July 1st under which
timelines are slashed to 3 days instead of 5 to 10 days in the past.
Facilitating favorable conditions for individuals and enterprises to register
business licensing will boost
In the
first quarter of this year, Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment
granted more than 3,400 licenses for business establishment. Nguyen Tien Hoc,
the department’s deputy director, said
He
said the law has created the most favorable conditions for enterprises to
quickly complete required procedures and is one of measures to improve
Hoc
said
Over
the past 20 years,
The
business registration timelines were shortened from 15 days in 2008 to 5 days
in 2013 and 3 days by July 1st, 2015.
Nguyen
Van Giap from
The
Ministry of Planning and Investment is implementing a project to expand the
national business registration system under which businesses can declare
registration forms and expand types of trading through online services.
Phan
Duc Hieu, deputy director of the business environment and competitiveness
department, said each firm which uses online business registration via the
system will save about US$46. Every year, about 70,000 newly registered
companies and 200,000 others change their areas of business.
He
added the establishment of the database is one of successful models for
facilitating favorable conditions for trading activities and law
implementation. The system’s efficiency is that once an administrative
procedure is simplified for businesses, the rate of law obedience will be
naturally higher. This will create a major influence on trading activities
and state management.
More
than 95,000 HIV patients in
Vietnamese
shippers updated on RoK market demand
Vietnamese
exporters were provided with updated information on import trends and market
demand in the
Held
by the Department of Trade Promotion under the Ministry of Industry and Trade
(MoIT), the event was designed to introduce advantages from the Vietnam-Korea
Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), helping Vietnamese businesses maximise
opportunities resulting from the pact and boost exports to the RoK.
Bui
Kim Thuy, a representative from the Export and Import Department under the
MoIT, said the agreement brings great opportunities and tax incentives for
exporters but noted that Vietnamese import-export enterprises will need to
strictly abide by origin of goods regulations.
According
to Pham Khac Tuyen from MoIT’s Asia–Pacific Market Department, the RoK
committed to provide tax cuts, creating export opportunities for key farm and
aquatic products such as shrimp, crab, fish, tropical fruits and industrial
products such as textiles and wooden and mechanical products.
Participants
said
They
also stressed the need for Vietnamese shippers to improve the quality of
their products and keep to standards of food sanitation safety and origin in
order to join the distribution chain.
According
to statistics from the Department of Trade Promotion,
With
preferential taxes and transparency in technical barriers, the VKFTA will
help widen opportunities for Vietnamese exports to the RoK and increase
Vietnamese product competitiveness.
Shrimp
exports could drop 17 percent in 2015
Shrimp
exporters expect to gross 3.2 billion USD in revenue in 2015, an annual
decline of 17 percent, due to shrimp disease and export difficulties in the
first half of this year, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters
and Producers (VASEP).
According
to the General Department of Customs, the sector brought home only 1.2
billion USD from January-June, down 29 percent from a year earlier.
Frozen
white-leg and tiger shrimps as materials made up the majority of the revenue
with 741 million USD (down 30 percent) and 412 million USD (down 31) percent,
respectively.
The
decline has led to a considerable reduction in seafood exports, as shrimp is
a key aquatic export commodity.
Deputy
General Director of the General Fisheries Department Nguyen Huy Dien
attributed the decline to the increasing global shrimp supply and resultant
price reductions.
Technical,
tariff and non-tariff barriers along with foreign currency exchange rate
fluctuations also affected local shrimp exports, he said.
Despite
the gloomy situation, Secretary General of the VASEP Truong Dinh Hoe said
there are still positive signs.
Last
June, shrimp output of major competitors such as
Furthermore,
free trade agreements signed between
The
State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has recently increased the inter-bank average
exchange rate between VND and USD by one percent, a positive sign for the
sector’s recovery.
To tap
these opportunities, businesses should strictly implement regulations on food
safety and technical standards of foreign importers, he said, adding that the
State should enact policies on foreign exchange rate and interest rates to
help reduce domestic shrimp production costs and increase competitiveness.
Vietnam
attends fabric & textiles trade show in India
Eleven
local textile businesses are attending an international fabric & textiles
trade show from July 13-15 in
The
show, the 55th of its kind, features hundreds of businesses from around the
world, including the
Addressing
the opening ceremony on July 13, Minister of State for Textiles Santosh Kumar
Gangwar stressed the need to boost exports in the sector.
He
also highlighted the significant contributions of the sector to realising the
“Made in
Chairman
of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Virender Uppal said the show
has drawn 305 customers from across the world, 202 of which are from traditional
markets.
More
than 2,900 buyers have registered at the event.
Corporate
social responsibility discussed in Hanoi
Representatives
from Japanese enterprises shared their experience in carrying out social
responsibility during a workshop held in
According
to Yoshiro Kudo, Vice Chairman of the Japanese Council on Life-Innovation,
being socially responsible means making business decisions based on the
sustainable growth of other companies and people’s wellbeing; not for quick
profit. Hence, a healthy market economy will be built through
self-improvement of business ethics.
Japanese
firms are contributing to economic development in
A
representative from
He
continued to note that the duty ought to be part of business management, not
just humanitarian activities.
The
Central Institute for Economics Management (CIEM) organised the workshop.
THACO
leads auto sales in first half of 2015
With
6,666 cars sold, the Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO) topped the list of
Vietnamese auto traders in June.
Of the
figure, THACO business accounted for 38.6 percent of the Vietnam Automobile
Manufacturers Association (VAMA) sales in the month.
In the
first half of 2015, THACO also ranked first in the domestic market with
34,593 cars sold, equivalent to 37.7 percent of the total VAMA amount.
Kia's
trademark, including Kia Morning, K3, New Sorento and Kia Rio, remain the
main sales line of the company with 8,456 units, up 72 percent compared to
the same period last year, followed by Mazda with 8,175 units, up 125
percent.
In the
commercial automobile lines, THACO Ollin trucks, THACO Frontiers, THACO
Forlands and THACO Hyundai buses are among the most requested in the first
six months of this year with 17,735 units.
Based
on the positive business results so far this year, THACO targets selling
78,834 cars in 2015, accounting for 42 percent of VAMA’s share and
representing an annual growth of 86 percent.
Vietnamese
goods fair to be held in Moscow
A
high-quality Vietnamese goods fair will take place from November 11 to
December 12 at the Hanoi-Moscow Centre for Culture, Trade and Hotels in
According
to organisers at the news conference on July 14, the fair will bring together
Vietnamese companies, Vietnamese enterprises operating in Russia, Russian
companies, companies in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) that trade
Vietnamese goods, travel agencies, banks and food companies.
The
fair, whose exhibition space spreads across 15,000 square metres, will
provide an opportunity for Vietnamese companies to introduce their products,
promote their brands, approach partners, boost trade, expand markets and
develop a network of local outlets and distributors.
The
fair is a one of series of events to welcome the free trade agreement between
Ta
Hoang Linh, Deputy Director of the trade promotion agency under the Ministry
of Industry and Trade, said that
The
two governments hope to bring the figure to 10 billion USD by 2020, Linh
said.
Customs
sector asked to strive globally
The
customs sector should strive to establish itself as one of the advanced
agencies regionally and globally, said Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan
at a ceremony marking the sector’s 70 th founding anniversary on July 14.
She
underlined that the sector will encounter a number of challenges as
As the
guard of the economy, customs agencies are in charge of managing goods import
and export activities along with preventing smuggling, counterfeit
commodities and trade frauds, the Vice President noted, asking them to
continue improving their personnel capacity, applying up-to-date technologies
and streamlining procedures.
Meanwhile,
Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung demanded the General Department of Vietnam
Customs simplify and align the sector’s procedures and management methods
with international standards, setting 2020 as the completion deadline.
He
urged the sector to focus on enhancing e-customs, risk management, the
national single window mechanism and tax transparency.
Director
General of the department Nguyen Ngoc Tuc reported that the sector has been
implementing the Vietnam Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System/Vietnam
Customs Information System (VNACCS/VCIS), helping facilitate trading
activities.
It has
also fulfilled the mission of serving as the standing body of the National
Steering Committee for the ASEAN single window and the national single window
mechanisms, he added.
At the
ceremony in
Timber
brings 390-mln USD trade surplus to Dong Nai
Timber
product exports from southern Dong Nai province climbed 18.5 percent year on
year to reach approximately 550 million USD in the first half of 2015,
bringing a trade surplus of over 390 million USD for the sector, said the
provincial Bureau of Statistics.
The
province mainly shipped its timber products to the
Exports
to the RoK and
Experts
have bright forecasts for domestic timber exports by the end of this year,
particularly after
Vietnam-Laos
conference on socialism-oriented market economy
Politburo
member and Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication
and Education Dinh The Huynh and Head of the Lao People’s Revolutionary
Party’s Commission for Propaganda and Training Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune
co-chaired the event as the two Parties are holding Party Congresses at all
levels towards their National Party Congress in early 2016.
In his
speech, Huynh, who is also Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, said
the Communist Party of Vietnam is increasingly aware of the substance and
nature of a socialism-oriented market economy and is set to strengthen and
overhaul its leadership over the process.
The
conference affords both sides an opportunity to improve relevant perceptions
and share the realities of developing a socialism-oriented market economy in
each country, he added.
Khaykhamphithoune,
who is also President of the Lao National Council for Social Sciences,
briefly spoke of
On the
table were discussions about the relationship between the State and the
market and between the market and society, the market economy’s impacts on
Party building, social progress and fairness, among others.
On
July 15, the Lao delegation will travel to the
Bln-USD
power plant to be built in Nghe An
Construction
on a 1.8-billion-USD thermal power plant in central Nghe An province is
expected to commence before October 10, reported the Thoi bao Kinh te Viet
Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) newspaper.
The
building schedule was recently agreed on by the project’s investor – Vietnam
National Coal-Mineral Industries Group (VINACOMIN) – and the Nghe An People’s
Committee.
The
Quynh Lap 1 factory, located in the
VINACOMIN
will design a detailed construction plan at a 1:500 scale by mid-August to
submit to the People’s Committee for approval.
The
power plant is set to become operational in 2020.
The
According
to the Daily, in a plan issued last week, the city will reduce the time for
tax payment to no more than 121.5 hours per year, goods export to 13 days and
goods import to 14 days, business registration to three days, and business
closure from 60 months to 30 months.
These
reforms will be carried from now to the year-end.
Next
year the time needed for registering for rights to ownership and use of
assets will be brought down from 57 days to 14 days, settling trade disputes
from 400 days to 200 days, and processing a bankruptcy request from 60 months
to 24 months.
According
to the city government, the competitiveness of the city is still lower than a
lot of other provinces in the country.
Of the
10 sub-indexes in the Provincial Competitive Index (PCI), namely entry costs,
land access and security of tenure, transparency, time costs, informal
charges, proactivity of the provincial leadership, policy bias, business
support services, labour training policy and legal institutions, HCM City has
seven below average.
After
10 years in the PCI Survey,
Indian
businesses seek investment opportunities in HCM City
On
July 14, a delegation of more than 20 Indian firms paid a working visit to
The
business delegation includes companies involved in such industries as
equipment, industrial and agricultural machines, construction materials,
tourism, logistics, consultancy, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food.
Regarding
Vietnam-India economic links, Andhra Chamber of Commerce President V.L Indira
Dult described
In
recent years, both nations have demonstrated strong commitments to promoting
trade and investment with one another. However, they have not yet obtained
positive results as expected.
She
urged business communities to take full advantage of favourable conditions to
accelerate trade and investment between the two nations.
Vo Tan
Thanh,
Vietnamese
enterprises should seize this good opportunity to push up trade and
investment with the Indian market.
India
is now among the top ten trading partners of Vietnam, while Vietnam ranks
28th among trading partners of India, with two-way trade turnover increasing
from over US$1 billion in 2006 to US$8 billion in 2014.
Vietnam
lychees make presence in Dubai
Phu
Hung Trading & Service Joint Stock Company has teamed up with Choithrams
supermarket chain to bring
On the
occasion, the Vietnam Embassy in the UAE also promoted some of
Every
year, the trade office said Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations import
fruits and vegetables worth some US$6 billion, of which fruits make up the
largest proportion at 62%.
Shrimp
exports to
The
According
to Vietnam Customs, shrimp exports to the
The
increase is attributable to
In the
first four months,
According
to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP),
British consumers tend to consume aquatic products, especially warm-water
shrimp, thus driving shrimp exports the EU and the
Vehicle
users ignore E5 bio-fuel despite widespread availability
E5
grade bio-fuel has been largely ignored by users though it has been available
in seven cities and provinces since December 2014 and the Government is set
to sell it nation-wide starting this December.
It is
sold at many petrol stations in
But
most customers prefer the A95 and A92 grades of petrol because not many
understand the benefits of using a greener fuel.
"I
know that E5 bio-fuel can increase the efficiency of the engine and protect
the environment but I don't know where I can buy," Sai Gon Giai Phong
(Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper quoted Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, who lives in HCM
City's Go Vap District, as saying.
Tran
Minh Thien, who lives in Vung Tau, was quoted in the same story as saying,
"I know the Government encourages people to use E5 bio-fuel and it can
protect the environment, but I buy normal petrol because I am familiar with
it and the prices of the two fuels are the same."
Fuel
companies themselves have not focused much on the green fuel.
They
sold over 21,000 cubic metres in the first four months of this year, or a
mere 2.8 per cent of the total petrol sold.
According
to a city Department of Industry and Trade study, most consumers prefer
familiar fuels to the new E5 grade.
Petrol
stations do not want to stock the bio-fuel because of this and the high
storage costs and evaporation losses.
In the
southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau, for instance, only 58 out of the
total of 128 petrol stations sell E5, and their sales in the first four
months of this year was a negligible 5,500 cubic metres.
Provincial
authorities had issued instructions in January that all government vehicles
should use E5 bio-fuel. A few months later some departments sought permission
to revert to normal fuel, claiming the bio-fuel could damage engines. Strangely,
the administration agreed.
The
Government should offer incentives to companies to produce and distribute
this bio-fuel, experts have said.
E5 is
a mixture of 95 per cent petrol and 5 per cent bio-ethanol, produced mostly
from corn and cassava.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR
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Thứ Tư, 15 tháng 7, 2015
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