BUSINESS IN BRIEF 12/9 Company in Can Tho fined for provocative advertising A company in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has been fined VND8m (USD381) for provocative advertising. Bigsun Co. Ltd. used 15 female staff on September 6 to walk the streets in Ninh Kieu District dressed in clothing revealing their underwear to promote a local coffee company. Local residents said the women's clothing might be acceptable on the beach, but not on a public street. Tran Dinh Hai, Chief Inspector of the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the method of advertising was not the same as had been submitted for department approval and was in violation of the government's Decree No. 158/2013/ND-CP. Bigsun was hired to promote coffee products for a firm in Can Tho from September 6-10. ONCE in HCMC on the rise The amount of Overseas National Currency Exchange (ONCE) in Ho Chi Minh City is expected to reach $5.5 billion this year, up by around 10 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the Government Portal. The figure in Ho Chi Minh City has increased constantly over recent years, from $4.1 billion in 2012 to the expected $5.5 billion this year. In the first eight months of this year overseas remittances to the city were $2.75 billion, an increase of a significant 14 per cent over the same period last year. The Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Branch, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Minh, told local media that a positive point is that the ONCE figure that people receive and sell to commercial banks has also increased steadily over the years. About 30 per cent of the total was sold to banks. The exchange rate was adjusted in August and the value of the USD against the VND has increased 5 per cent since the beginning of the year. Vietnam also receives a great deal of investment so foreign currencies from overseas are likely to increase in the remaining months of the year. BNP Paribas opens Hanoi branch BNP Paribas will officially open a branch in Hanoi on September 9 to expand its capacity in Vietnam and demonstrate its continued commitment to the country. The Hanoi Branch will carry out the activities of a commercial bank in accordance with State Bank of Vietnam laws and regulations, including capital mobilization, advisory, lending activities, payment and liquidity management, and treasury services. “We are delighted to open the Hanoi Branch and thank the State Bank of Vietnam in granting approval for a second branch license in the country,” said Mr. Pierre Veyres, Regional Head of South East Asia for BNP Paribas. “The upgrading of our Hanoi representative office to a full branch allows us to better serve the needs of our clients in Vietnam and fully participate in one of the most rapidly-growing economies in the region.” “Many of our key clientele, including State-owned enterprises and the head offices of multinationals, are based in Hanoi so it makes business sense to be where they are,” said Mr. Aymar de Liedekerke Beaufort, Head of Country for BNP Paribas in Vietnam. “With the branch license our clients can trade and book transactions directly in Hanoi without having to go through our Ho Chi Minh City branch, so business gets done faster and more conveniently.” The BNP Paribas Hanoi Branch will be headed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Duc Hanh, who will report to Mr. Beaufort. “BNP Paribas has been in Vietnam since 1989, where we have both local knowledge and global expertise,” Ms. Hanh said. “This, coupled with our experienced team and product capabilities, makes us a compelling choice for clients in Vietnam and the region.” BNP Paribas pursues its development in Vietnam with the conversion of its representative office in Hanoi into a full branch complementing its existing one in Ho Chi Minh City, established in 1992. The move is further evidence of BNP Paribas’ commitment to its development in Asia-Pacific and, in particular, to Vietnam, which is an important part of its regional set up. Construction starts on Thanh Hoa port The Nghi Son Iron and Steel Corporation started the construction of its VND5.85-trillion (US$260.26 million) international port yesterday in the central Thanh Hoa Province's Nghi Son Economic Zone. The port would be an important part of the Nghi Son Iron and Steel Complex, the company's chairman and General director Nguyen Bao Giang said. It will cover 71 ha and will have a storehouse and nine wharves with a total length of 2,250m. It is expected to receive ships carrying loads up to 50,000 tonnes and will handle 30 million tonnes of goods each year. The first three wharves are expected to become operational in October next year, the next two in 2017 and the construction of the whole complex will be completed by 2021. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said at the groundbreaking ceremony of the port yesterday that it was a key project of the Nghi Son Economic Zone, which is known as the engine for the development of the northern section of the central region. The project would help to connect the sea port with other transport modes to meet the transportation demand of industries and infrastructure development in the zone, he said. Deputy PM Hai said the investors and builders should strictly follow the project plan and ensure labour safety and quality of the work. He also asked the relevant agencies, including the provincial People's Committee and the transport ministry, to help investors address difficulties in project implementation. Former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu and former President Nguyen Minh Triet also attended the groundbreaking ceremony. Investors raise opinions on investment environment Japanese businesses in Da Nang have urged the central city to dismantle barriers and make the investment environment at the Industrial Parks (IP) and Industrial Zones (IZs) even more conducive to attract Japanese investors and send signals about its continued commitment to enhanced business links. The Japanese Business Association in Da Nang (JBAD), which focussed on the quality of infrastructure at the IPs and IZs, bus routes, administrative reform, supportive industries, environment and logistics, explained its concerns clearly during a dialogue between this central city's leadership and the JBAD. "The city has made many efforts to smoothen the way for Japanese businesses in the past. However, there are still certain barriers in investment policy and administrative procedures that require reforms," the chairman of the city's people's committee, Huynh Duc Tho, said at the dialogue on September 9. "It's an open and informal dialogue held in order to come up with quick solutions to any difficulties and barriers that the Japanese business community faces," Tho said. He said direct discussions were aimed at building Da Nang as an attractive and safe destination for investors, especially Japanese businesses. The chairman added that in the future, similar dialogues will be organised frequently to deal with any obstructions faced by the investors. Japan ranked fourth among top investors in Da Nang with 89 projects worth $378 million, of which 55 projects involve manufacturing, creating 30,000 jobs for the local people. Photo baodanang At the dialogue, the city's investment promotion centre also debuted its Japanese Desk Da Nang team, which will be available every Wednesday to support Japanese investors by explaining administrative procedure, investment licenses and priority policies or any other adjustments. Shinichi Iwama, vice chairman of the Japanese Business Association in Da Nang (JBAD), said the newly introduced direct flight between Narita and Da Nang had formed a bridge between Japan's cities and the central region. "Many Japanese tourists already know Da Nang as the direct route has been operating since earlier this year. They (Japanese) are also impressed with Da Nang, thanks to a daily television show in Japan," he said. Iwama, who is also the chairman of Daiwa Viet Nam, was still worried about the operation of shuttle bus routes connecting the city's centre and IPs and IZs. "We need a clear and detailed programme of bus routes as our workers should find it easy to commute between their living quarters and working place." Shibasaki Toru, president of Mabuchi Motor Da Nang, said environment and safe traffic continued to remain a concern at the IPs and IZs. "Local people still graze cows on the land around these IPs and leave behind waste, while traffic conditions remain unsafe. Many vendors continue to stay put along the roadside pathway in the industrial zones," Shibasaki said. "The unclean conditions at the IPs and IZs would cast a bad impression on our new investors and partners whenever they come to visit our factory," he added. Koichi Akiyama, the chairman of the JBAD and general director of Japan's Kane-M Da Nang company, said the city should rearrange land needed for Japanese small and medium-size enterprises. "I have seen many land lots left in the underdeveloped Hoa Khanh Industrial Zone (IZ). Our partners need land area ranging from 500sq.m to 1,000sq.m to set up their factories," Akiyama said. The city's chairman said the city has allocated a 10ha piece of land in the Hoa Khanh Industrial Zone as demanded by the Japanese enterprises currently here and new investors from that country. The city has developed an Information Park on 344ha of land in Hoa Vang district and an IT park on 55.6ha nearby, besides 10ha in Da Phuoc Urban near the city's centre, where space has been reserved for IT investors from Japan. The deputy director of the city's Investment Promotion Centre, Huynh Thi Lien Phuong, said the city has called for developing worker apartments at the IPs and IZs. She conceded that infrastructure at certain IPs and IZs was yet to lure Japanese investors. Kana Miyazaki, deputy chief representative of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Ha Noi, said a recent survey of JETRO pointed out that 66 per cent of the 458 Japanese firms based in Viet Nam planned to expand their business during the next one or two years. A recent survey of Shoko Chukin Bank from Japan showed that 40.7 per cent of 3,750 respondents from various Japanese businesses in Japan said they would invest in Viet Nam. Kana made a strong commitment that JETRO will co-operate with Da Nang in boosting investment from Japan to the city. According to the latest report, Da Nang has attracted 305 foreign investment projects worth $3.37 billion. Japan ranked fourth among top investors in Da Nang with 89 projects worth $378 million, of which 55 projects involve manufacturing, creating 30,000 jobs for the local people. The city planned to build an industrial park spread over 134ha for medium and small-size businesses from Japan. Prices of essential goods continue downward trend Prices of essential goods continued their downward trend this month, including those of petrol, oil and gas, according to the Ministry of Finance's Price Management Department. The department said the national consumer price index (CPI) in August declined 0.07 % against the previous month. This was the first time the August CPI had seen a reduction in the past decade. In September, the local goods and services market may witness an upward pressure on prices due to the impact of the increase in exchange rate and inter-banking rate between Vietnamese dong and US dollar, especially prices of imported goods. Moreover, the demand for certain goods and services also surged on occasions such as the National Day on September 2, the Mid-Autumn festival and the beginning of the new school year 2015-16, the department said. However, even this month, many factors should ease the pressure on prices, including the fact that prices of essential goods and materials in the world market may remain low, supplies may remain stable and there would be a balance in demand and supply of goods and services in the local market, it said. Other factors included the effect of falling petrol and oil prices in August on the prices of goods and services and the solutions that ministries and provinces/cities come up with to improve management of prices, control these and ensure stability in market and prices. Meanwhile, the deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam, Nguyen Thi Hong, also believed that the exchange rate fluctuation would not affect the inflation target of 5 % set for this year, according to HCM City Securities Company (HSC)'s report. Rice is one of the important commodities whose prices are expected to fall this month, the department said. In Viet Nam, the price of Vietnamese export rice in August came down compared to July because of the impact of global market prices and difficulties in exports. Therefore, sale price of rice also dropped in the domestic market. The world and local prices for rice would continue to fall this month and beyond. Gas, petrol and oil prices are also predicted to decline slightly in the coming time, the department said. In August, prices of petrol and oil kept plunging in keeping with the world market because of lower demand in Europe and higher supply in the US. The department said those prices may continue falling slightly against at present. It also said prices of milk products for children aged under six would remain stable in the local market in September. In the first eight months of this year, about 750 milk products for children aged under six saw price stabilisation, it said. The information about the maximum prices payable for milk products was published on its website as well as the websites of provincial financial departments. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health said prices of medicines have basically remained stable due to abundant supply, the Price Management Department reported. The Ministry of Health and its local departments of health worked to keep prices of medicines under control. Prices of certain kinds of medicines did increase slightly due to their high import prices or because the price of material used to process these medicines had increased. Vietnam’s shrimp exports to prosper The US Department of Commerce (DOC) on September 7 announced its final decision on the results of its ninth administrative review (POR9) for anti-dumping duties on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam between February 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). Accordingly, the average anti-dumping tariff rate plummeted from 6.37 percent in the POR8 to the current 0.91 percent. The anti-dumping duties on the products of three mandatory reviewed companies – Minh Phu, Thuoc Phuoc, and Fimex Vietnam – were 1.39 percent, 1.16 percent, and zero percent ,respectively. The general anti-dumping tariff rate applied to the country’s sector was 25.4 percent, dropping 0.36 percent from POR8’s rate. One of the key elements to help reduce the anti-dumping rate for Vietnamese products was the DOC took reasonable data from Bangladesh, India and Indonesia as benchmark countries in calculating the rate. The VASEP has predicted with the new results of the POR9, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the US in the last months of 2015 will prosper after experiencing a constant drop of over 50 percent in the first eight months of 2015. During the first eight months of this year, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the US earned 370 million USD. The US is also Vietnam’s biggest shrimp import market, accounting for over 20 percent of the sector’s density. In 2014, shrimp exports to the US exceeded 1 billion USD. 16 countries to attend development and integration festival in town The government of HCMC will organize a “HCMC - development and integration” festival at September 23 Park in District 1 from September 10 to 13 with the participation of 16 countries, the Vietnam News Agency reports. According to the Department of External Affairs of the city, the festival aims to create an opportunity for participating countries to introduce their culture and traditions to city citizens and foster their ties with Vietnam. The event will also feature an exhibition of traditional costumes of different parts of the country, of cuisine of participating countries, and cooking and fashion contests. There will be a cultural space where visitors can learn about the cultures of the16 countries. Ho Chi Minh City woos Italian businesses Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan pledged efforts to facilitate stable, long-term and effective operation of foreign businesses, particularly those from Italy. Speaking at a seminar on trade and investment promotion in Torino city on September 9, the municipal official called on businesses from Torino and Italy more broadly to step up their investments in HCM City’s prioritised areas, such as high-tech agriculture, support industry, urban and infrastructure development, finance-banking, waste treatment, education and healthcare. He took the occasion to brief the Italian firms on economic prospects and the investment potential of the southern Vietnamese economic hub. HCM City has, to date, attracted 5,330 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects valued at 36.6 billion USD, making up a quarter of the country’s total registered capital, Quan said. At the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thien highlighted the continuous developments in all-round cooperation between Vietnam and Italy over the past 40 years. The establishment of the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership in January 2013 has contributed to lifting the bilateral ties to new heights in various areas ranging from politics and economy to culture, social affairs and education, he said. Bilateral trade climbed from 1.13 billion USD in 2006 to nearly 4.1 billion USD in 2014, the diplomat noted, adding that Italy is now Vietnam’s third largest trade partner within the European Union and ranks 28 th among countries and territories investing in the country with 66 projects worth over 391 million USD. The ambassador informed that the second Vietnam-Italy Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation will commence in Italy next October. Italy will participate in the second Vietnam Food Expo scheduled to take place in HCM City in November 2016 as an honorary guest, Thien said. Torino’s Vice Mayor Enzo Lavolta said the cooperation agreement between his city and HCM City will lay the foundation for pragmatic collaboration between the two sides. He voiced his hope that the seminar would open up cooperation opportunities for the two cities’ businesses while enhancing affiliations between municipal authorities in culture, arts and administration. The seminar announced that the mayor will lead a delegation of businesses from Torino city and the Piemonte region to seek investment opportunities in HCM City. Vietnam, China strengthen postal cooperation The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and China’s national postal administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on postal cooperation in Hanoi on September 10. The MoU, reached following a meeting between MIC Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Hong and China’s national postal administration Vice Director Xing Xiaojang, allows both sides to increase delegation exchanges at all levels to learn from each other’s experience and update respective information. They will assist each other in training and capacity improvement while enhancing mutual support, encouraging and backing postal enterprises to meet and seek partnerships. During the meeting, the two sides also reviewed their postal collaboration in recent years. The Chinese official is on a working visit from September 9-12.- Amway Vietnam opens 25-mln-USD factory in Binh Duong Amway Vietnam Co. Ltd., a multi-level marketing enterprise, inaugurated its second factory in the southern province of Binh Duong on September 10. The 25-million-USD factory, spanning nearly 55,000 square metres in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park No. 2, is expected to produce 23 million products worth 200 million USD per year, including vitamins, supplements, functional food and body care items. It is expected to generate more than 170 jobs. Amway Vietnam’s first factory is based in Amata industrial park in Binh Duong’s neighbouring province of Dong Nai, covering over 8,000 square metres and turning out 30-million-USD worth of items annually. Amway Vietnam is working towards the production and supply base for the entire Southeast Asian region. International agencies help Thanh Hoa develop “luong” bamboo Opportunities to foster the sustainable development of “luong” bamboo (dendrocalamus barbatus) have opened for the central province of Thanh Hoa as the locality is receiving technical and market support from international organisations. “Luong” bamboo has benefitted the province, especially its remote and mountainous areas. However, provincial bamboo development has encountered a number of hindrances spurred by forest degradation, out-of-date processing technology, low-quality products and a small consumption market. Addressing a conference held in the province on September 9-10, Christopher Abrams, Director of the Environmental and Social Development Office of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) highlighted that Thanh Hoa is an important partner in the project to develop “luong” bamboo in Vietnam. USAID commits to working closely with the province to expand “luong” bamboo, contributing to protecting the environment and improving local livelihoods, he underscored, adding that Thanh Hoa needs to map out long-term strategies to integrate “luong” bamboo development into green growth and socio-economic development programmes. The Vietnam Forest and Deltas (VFD) programme will continue assisting Thanh Hoa while calling for additional investors to join in, said Mark Fenn, Country Representative of Winrock International in Vietnam and VFD Director. Vietnam is currently home to 1.4 million hectares of tropical Asian genus of giant bamboos, which are mainly planted in Thanh Hoa, Son La, Hoa Binh and Nghe An provinces. Thanh Hoa is the largest bamboo cultivated area in the country with over 204,000 hectares. According to a report from the Mekong Bamboo Programme, about 350 domestic enterprises generated 280 million USD from exporting bamboo products to 120 foreign countries worldwide. However, the sector is facing tremendous challenges with product structure, mixed investment capacity in supply chains, market identification and trademark establishment. Vietnam revises August FDI figures upwards The Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) has revised its figures to show that foreign invested companies registered US$13.33 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the eight months leading up to September 2015. Originally, the FIA had reported that FDI for the eight months January-August was US$10.23 billion, but subsequently discovered that it had overlooked a US$3 billion certificate issued to Samsung Display Co Ltd. The certificate was issued on August 6 for a manufacturing facility in Bac Ninh Province at the Yen Phong Industrial Park, which is expected to create 20,000 jobs for local residents. During the eight month period, the FIA issued certificates for 1,219 new investments listed at US$7.87 billion and US$5.46 billion for increased investment on projects existing as of the beginning of the year. It is important to note these figures represent in large part investments to construct manufacturing factories that will be built at some future date and do not represent capital or cash flows during the eight-month period. The numbers are simply the sum total of projects registered for which investment certificates have been issued, said the FIA. The FIA said its best estimate of actual disbursements made by foreign invested companies jumped 7.6% year-on-year for the period to US$8.5 billion, which indicates construction activities are picking up. No information was provided by the FIA as to where the actual cash disbursements were made. In other words, the US$8.5 billion was spent by companies on materials, machinery and equipment to construct plant and the actual cash flowed to the companies in countries that provided these materials and items. FDI is principally a measure of foreign manufacturers’ physical investment in factories located in Vietnam and to a more limited extent represents a foreign company’s ownership interest of 10% or more of any company or joint venture located in Vietnam. Vietnam has 18 business sectors and FDI certificates have been issued to companies operating in 17 of them with the lion’s share of FDI naturally being in manufacturing with more limited amounts in real estate and the retail sector. Out of 55 countries investing in Vietnam, the Republic of Korea (RoK) at US5.26 billion tops the list, registering 39.5% of the combined total of all countries. The UK ranked second at US$1.25 billion. The northern province of Bac Ninh led the country in FDI attraction at US$3.33 billion, followed by Ho Chi Minh City at US$2.42 billion and southern Dong Nai province at US$1.13 billion. CEOs to discuss ASEAN integration The opportunities and challenges arising from the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community, and what strategies Vietnamese firms should apply to stay afloat will be among the issues on the agenda at the Viet Nam CEO Forum to be held in HCM City on September 24. Titled CEO 3.0: Embarking on the New Mission – Mentality of 90 or 600?, the forum will bring together the CEOs of around 1,000 local and foreign firms and policy makers, who will share their practical experience in cross-border business and penetrating new markets. Tran Duc Huy, deputy chairman of the Young Businesspeople Association of HCM City (YBA), said the establishment of the AEC by the end of this year would create a single market with 600 million consumers. Countries like Thailand have prepared well for penetrating other ASEAN markets, but Vietnamese firms remain unmindful, he said. A survey by the Viet Nam National University found that 60 per cent of Vietnamese firms do not know about AEC and its likely effects on them. The forum is expected to enable CEOs to formulate business to cope with the fierce competition both in domestic and foreign markets, he said. The forum, organised by the YBA, the Leading Business Club, the 2030 Businessmen Club, and the Business Association of Vietnamese High Quality Goods, will be held at White Palace Convention Centre in Phu Nhuan District . Keynote speakers will include Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, Boston Consulting Group chairman Hans-Paul Burkner, Global Integration Business Consultants chairman Pham Phu Ngoc Trai, Vinamilk general director Mai Kieu Lien, and Microsoft Viet Nam CEO Vu Minh Tri. Vague law keeps firms, foreign investors apart A recent law designed to allow foreigners to own up to 100 percent of Vietnamese firms has failed to spur investment because of the vagueness of the regulation, companies said. In June, the Government issued Decree 60, which sought to boost foreign ownership of local companies. However, the lack of details, especially regarding rules for specific sectors, has put investment plans on hold. Telecommunications retailer FPT Corp told Viet Nam News that the company is waiting for the Government and its agencies to provide more specific instructions to clarify some issues with the Decree 60. So far, brokerage Sai Gon Securities Incorporation (SSI) is the only listed firm that has sought approval from the State Securities Commission (SSC) to raise foreign ownership to 100 per cent. HCM City Securities Corporation (HSC) has not yet made a decision whether to raise its foreign ownership level, Hoang Cong Tuan, HSC's Head of Communications said. Tuan said that new policies, including Decree 60 and the subsequent circulars issued by the SSC and the Ministry of Finance, seem not clear enough for HSC to make decisions. Some firms may be unwilling to raise their foreign ownership levels because they don't want to lose control of their companies, Viet Capital Securities Corporation (VCSC) wrote in its recent August report. Mobile World Investment Corporation, a retailer that competes with FPT, said that it currently has no plans to increase foreign stakes. Support industry has room to grow In Viet Nam's indust-rialisation and modernisation plan, support industry plays an important role that helps attract foreign direct investment and promotes business development in industrial sectors. Support industries also manufacture competitive and high added value export products. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong made this statement during the opening ceremony of three large-scale support industry expos yesterday in Ha Noi. The three-day events include the Viet Nam-Japan Support Industry Exhibition in Ha Noi, co-organised by Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and Trade Promotion Agency; Viet Nam Manufacturing Expo 2015 hosted by Thailand's Reed Tradex; and Industrial Components and Subcontracting Viet Nam 2015, organised by the Ha Noi Promotion Agency. "In recent years, Viet Nam's support industry has been trying to overcome weaknesses to meet the growing demand of domestic and foreign-invested firms operating in the country," Vuong said. The deputy minister added that he believed that the three events will be an effective bridge for Vietnamese and international enterprises to meet and then seek long-term business and investment co-operation. Katsuro Nagai from the Japanese Embassy in Viet Nam, said nearly half of 1,500 Japanese companies which are operating in Viet Nam are involved in the manufacturing sector. However, the ratio of local products that those Japanese firms procure is only 33 per cent, and most of these products are supplied by Japanese companies in Viet Nam, he said. "This tells us that business transactions between Vietnamese and Japanese firms are still very limited and there is much room to grow," he said. According to JETRO executive vice president Soichi Yoshimura, the ratio of local procurement by Japanese manufactures in Viet Nam is lower, compared with 66 per cent in China, 55 per cent in Thailand and 43 per cent in Indonesia. S. Korean SMEs talk trade Fourteen small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from South Korea were in Ha Noi to seek co-operation with Vietnamese companies through a trade promotion meeting in the capital city yesterday. The meeting, titled 2015 SMBA Marketing Promotion Day, was co-organised by the Agency for Enterprises Development (AED) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and Daegu-Gyeongbuk Regional Office of Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA). The 14 enterprises, from Daegu Metropolitan City and Gyeongbuk Province, introduced products of cosmetics, food, dial keypads, and machine manufacturing, apart from implants, entertainment, electric illuminations and 3D printers. The meeting is an opportunity for enterprises from the two countries to exchange and seek co-operation, Nguyen Hoa Cuong, deputy head of AED, said. Cuong also expressed the hope that enterprises from both sides would have effective trade relations as Viet Nam and South Korea have many similarities. Kim Heung Bin, director Daegu-Gyeongbuk Regional Office of SMBA, said that small and medium enterprises were the root of the country's economy as they accounted for 99 per cent of all South Korean enterprises and 88 per cent of labour force. The provincial SMEs have focussed on expanding their markets to foreign countries including Viet Nam, an emerging market which has been attracting quite a bit of attention recently, Kim said. Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and South Korea reached $20 billion in 2012 and is expected to hit $30 billion this year. Brad Jeon, general manager of GoodBrad E-trading Service Provider, told Viet Nam News that Viet Nam was a potential market and the country would play an important position in the ASEAN community. Therefore, he hoped his company would be able to seek Vietnamese partners, so that it could expand its market by promoting its products here. US cuts dumping tax on shrimp Cuts to anti-dumping tariffs are expected to accelerate shrimp exports to the US for the remaining part of the year after shrimp exports witnessed a hefty drop of more than 50 per cent. The US Department of Commerce (DOC) on Monday announced the final result of the 9th period of review (POR9) on anti-dumping tariffs imposed on Vietnamese frozen shrimp products exported to the US market from February 1, 2013 to January 31, 2014, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). VASEP reported on its website that average tariff has been reduced to 0.91 per cent from 0.93 per cent of the POR9's preliminary result released on March 3. Accordingly, Minh Phu Seafood Corporation would face an anti-dumping tax rate of 1.39 per cent, instead of the previous rate of 1.5 per cent, while the tariff imposed on Thuan Phuoc Seafood and Trading Corporation has been raised to 1.16 per cent from 1.06 per cent. Fimex Viet Nam would enjoy zero anti-dumping duty while 32 other Vietnamese exporters would have to pay 0.91 per cent duty. VASEP said that the DOC took the decision taking into account the data from three countries – Bangladesh, India and Indonesia – to arrive at decisions for POR9. The POR9's average tariff largely dropped from the POR8's average duty of 6.37 per cent. The tariff cut was expected to accelerate Vietnamese shrimp export to the US after a hefty slump in the first eight months of this year, according to VASEP. In the first eight months of this year, due to tough competition in prices and supply sources from other large exporters such as India and Indonesia, Viet Nam's shrimp export to the US fell by more than 50 per cent to US$370 million. The downward trend started from September last year when DOC had released its POR8's result. The US was the largest customer of Viet Nam shrimps with a turnover of $1 billion last year. In July, VASEP had forecast that Viet Nam's total shrimp export could reach $3.2 billion this year, dropping by almost 18 per cent compared to the previous year due to low export prices, exchange rate fluctuations and competition from other exporters like India, Thailand and Ecuador. BIDV off-loads $331 million of bad debt to VAMC The Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) has sold VND7 trillion (US$311 million) worth of bad debts to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) so far this year. The information was given in the bank's meeting of investors representing investment funds and securities companies, held to update its operating results and plan. The bank said the value of its bad debts has increased by another VND5 trillion ($222.2 million) since the beginning of this year, reaching 2.7 per cent of the total outstanding loans after re-checking its system and adding the additional bad debts inherited from the Mekong Housing Bank (MHB). In May, the BIDV was merged with the State-owned MHB which has total assets of around VND40 trillion ($1.77 billion) and 2.71 per cent of bad debts. Calculating the total outstanding loan at VND30.6 trillion($1.36 billion) by the end of 2014, the bad debts of MBH amounted to VND832.3 billion ($36.9 million). Following the merge, the bank's deputy general director, Tran Phuong, said its total assets increased by 11.5 per cent since the beginning of this year while the credit growth reached 16.3 per cent, reflecting an increase of 30.4 per cent from the same period of 2014. The bank added that its total deposits increased by 20.66 per cent over the same term last year. The loan-to-deposit ratio was 84 per cent, well below the 90 per cent allowed by the State Bank of Viet Nam. The bank estimated that it will achieve a pre-tax profit of VND6.5 trillion ($288.8 million), exceeding its plan. It also expected a growth rate of 20 per cent in the coming years. The BIDV said it planned to issue VND3.5 trillion ($155.5 million) in bonds, as well as release a further 30 per cent of stake to a foreign strategic partner. Samsung eyes role in Vietnam’s insurance, energy, fuel sectors South Korean conglomerate Samsung has plans to expand its footprint in Vietnam following the notable success of its electronics business, head of the company’s Vietnamese unit said Wednesday. Other subsidiaries of the Seoul-based firm want to join the Vietnamese energy, life insurance, and oil and gas sectors, Samsung Vietnam general director Han Myoung Sup said in a meeting with Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son in Hanoi. Those interested firms are working to turn such investment plans into reality, Han added. Samsung Electronics started its Vietnam operation in January 1995 and has since grown into the biggest foreign investor in the Southeast Asian country. In the meantime, Vietnam has also become the “biggest overseas production base” of Samsung, Dang Xuan Quang, deputy head of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told a conference in Hanoi on July 31. The South Korean electronics behemoth operates one major production complex each in Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh Provinces, both located in northern Vietnam and into which Samsung has channeled a total of US$7.5 billion worth of investment. There are now more than 110,000 employees at these two production bases, Han revealed at the meeting. The Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh complexes last year collectively exported $26.3 billion worth of mobile phones and parts, accounting for 17.5 percent of the country’s total export revenue. Samsung Vietnam also runs a research and development center in Hanoi with more than 1,400 employees and has plans to increase the workforce to 5,000 in the future, according to the general director. In Ho Chi Minh City, the South Korean firm is constructing a screen-making facility at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, which is expected to become operational, and generate around 20,000 jobs, by the first quarter of 2016. Samsung is planning to increase its total investment in Vietnam to $20 billion in 2017 from the current $13 billion. Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications Son hailed the impressive performance of Samsung in the country, adding the company has contributed greatly to Vietnam’s development. The official showed his support for further cooperation between Samsung and Vietnamese agencies and businesses, not only in the electronics sector but also the fields of aviation infrastructure, oil and gas, life insurance and energy. Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance are the insurance units of Samsung Group. The South Korean conglomerate operates in the energy and oil and gas sectors through the Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T arms. Hoa Phat posts increase in steel production, sale The recovery of the real estate market has boosted steel production and trading in the Hoa Phat Group in the first eight months of the year. The group produced 924,000 tonnes of steel during the period, an increase of 48 per cent over the first eight months of 2014. In particular, the Hoa Phat Steel Complex in Hai Duong produced more than 763,000 tonnes of steel billets and 671,000 tonnes of rolled steel products, up 32.6 per cent and 59.4 per cent, respectively, over the same period last year. The Hoa Phat steel factory in Hung Yen produced 253,000 tonnes, an increase of 28 per cent over last year, and the highest level in the last four years, Vice-Director of Hoa Phat Steel Limited Company Tran Van Nam said. Nam said as many construction projects were being implemented faster, the demand for construction steel has increased. In the first eight months of this year, the group sold 892,000 tonnes of steel, including the export of 30,000 tonnes to Laos and Cambodia, marking a more than 30 per cent increase over the same period last year. The group expects to sell about 1.2 million tonnes of construction steel by the end of the year. Nghi Son iron steel international complex kicked off A groundbreaking ceremony for the Nghi Son iron steel international complex, with a total investment of VND5,850 billion, was held in Nghi Son Economic Zone in the central province of Thanh Hoa on September 9. Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai valued the project as a key  one in Nghi Son Economic Zone, which is playing as a major economic driver of the Central North. The project ensures the connection between harbors and transport facilities in serving industries in the economic zone. He asked investors and contractors to closely follow commitments and tasks to realize the project safely and guarantee the progress of the project. The local authorities were required to coordinate with other functional agencies to support investors and tackle difficulties in launching the project as well as supervise the implementation of the project. Accordingly, the first three harbors will be completed in October 2016 and the others will be built till 2021. VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR