BUSINESS IN BRIEF 18/11 Coffee makers attend int'l fair Vietnamese enterprises participated in a coffee fair in Seoul to seek business opportunities and partners in the global market, the trade office of Viet Nam in South Korea said on Sunday. The 15th international coffee fair, entitled Cafe Show 2015, in Seoul, South Korea, had advertising and trade promotion programmes, seminars and cultural exchanges. The fair ended on Sunday. It was the largest annual fair of South Korea's coffee industry to introduce coffee drinking and coffee products, as well as the equipment for processing, preserving, packing and making coffee products. The fair also brought business opportunities for international suppliers, producers, processors and distributors of coffee. About 360 enterprises from 35 countries and territories showcased their products at 2,000 pavilions at the fair, for the benefit of about 100,000 visitors. Ngo Xuan Ty, a representative of Viet Nam's Trade Office in South Korea, said South Korea was a potential market for Vietnamese coffee exports, with a total consumption of coffee valued at US$4 billion in 2012, the 11th largest consumer of coffee in the world. Viet Nam was the largest supplier of coffee to South Korea, with a total export volume of 32,000 tonnes, worth $70 million, in 2014, the trade office said. However, the South Korean people do not know much about Vietnamese coffee brands because a majority of Vietnamese coffee is used for making coffee products in South Korea. Therefore, Vietnamese coffee enterprises took part in the coffee fair this year to showcase key products and brands to foreign customers, including South Koreans. Luong The Hung, chairman and general director of Me Trang Coffee Joint Stock Company, said the company received good feedback on its coffee products from visitors, and met many South Korean partners who sought to do business with the company. To enter the South Korean market, Hung said local coffee companies needed a national policy on advertising Vietnamese coffee and that they should co-operate among themselves to build a brand for Vietnamese coffee products. Me Trang would co-operate with South Korean partners to take advantage of the taste for and culture of coffee consumption as well as distribution and business systems, he said. Leberica is a new Vietnamese coffee brand, which the company has created as one that is different from the products of other companies, as they are manually handled by farmers at all stages of sorting and roasting of coffee beans to ensure the purest coffee taste, Han Bao Quyen, product management director of Leberica, said. Park Jeong Kwan, a representative of a coffee importer in South Korea, said he liked Vietnamese coffee and studied Vietnamese coffee imports because they were delicious and tasty.  EVN accelerates rural grid transfer As many as 900 communes have yet to hand over their low-voltage grids to the Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) corporation, even though the deadline for the transfer is the end of this year, Le Van Chuyen, deputy head of EVN's business department said. At present, local traders in these communes manage and sell electricity to residents. Therefore, rural households pay higher prices than those who buy electricity directly from EVN's companies. "Local traders do not want to hand over rural low-voltage grids due to increasing profits year by year," Chuyen said. Electricity prices in rural areas rise by 5 per cent each year as instructed by the Prime Minister; however, the actual value of the increase makes the price gap between electricity sold by local traders and by the EVN larger every year. The EVN has asked people's committees in these localities to speed up the transfer processes. The Departments of Industry and Trade in these provinces would be responsible for the transfer of the grids if local traders aren't able to complete the process by the end of this year. The transfer of rural low-voltage electricity grids to the EVN will benefit local households as they will get better electricity service with lower prices. Households no longer have to pay for additional services, such as electricity meter installations and fees for upgrading local grids. Lai Dau, a resident from Dien Trung Commune of Quang Nam Province, said that he had enjoyed better service since the rural low-voltage grid transferred to the EVN. "Prior to the transfer, the local grid managed by the Dien Trung Collective was unstable. We used to suffer power failure, especially from 10 to 12 in the morning and from 5 to 8 in the afternoon. Since the Duy Xuyen Electricity – under the EVN took over the management of the grid, the quality of service has improved considerably," Dau said. Up to June this year, the EVN has taken over the management of rural low-voltage grids in about 1,150 communes, accounting for 61.8 per cent of the set target for the 2013-15 period. At present, the EVN sell electricity directly to 1.3 million households in rural areas.  Vinh Phuc electronics production surges 88% Electronics has become a key industry of the northern province of Vinh Phuc as its production grew by 88 per cent in the first 10 months of this year compared to the same period last year, making a large contribution to the provincial budget. With the rise in both production scale and product quality, companies have a large amount of orders from the domestic and overseas partners, which helps increase the sector's production output and value, according to the provincial People's Committee. According to reports from provincial statistics, the index of industrial production (IIP) of the province in October increased by 6.6 per cent from the previous month and 0.1 per cent over the same period last year. The IIP of the first 10 months rose 2.7 per cent compared to the same period last year. The provincial supporting industry for the manufacturing mechanics and electronics - information technology also developed. Production of electronic components is expected to increase 125 per cent this year. Manufacturing mechanics industry is expected to increase 9 per cent and electric and electronic industry is expected to increase 57 per cent per year. The development of the industrial sector has made an important contribution to the export market. Export businesses, especially exporters of components and electronic equipment have grown strongly. According to local statistics, exports reached US$142 million in October, up 1.3 per cent over the previous month and 8 per cent over the same period last year. The province's exports of the first 10 months reached $1.3 billion, up 12 per cent compared to the same period last year. The main export items were electronic products ($481.6 million), means of transport and spare parts ($406.2 million), textiles and garments ($223.6 million) and tea ($19.8 million).  UK holds untapped potential for exports There is untapped potential for Vietnamese enterprises to export to the United Kingdom, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Van Thao told a business conference held yesterday in the capital. The UK, one of the biggest markets in the European Union and the world, imports more than US$1 trillion worth of goods each year. However, Viet Nam's exports to the market were expected to hit about $5 billion or accounting for a modest 0.5 per cent of the UK's import turnover, Thao said. In order to effectively utilise trade and investment opportunities available in the market, domestic enterprises need to foster their understanding about preferential tariffs to be offered by the Viet Nam- EU Free Trade Agreement and meet the standards of the British market. Chairman of Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said bilateral relations still lagged behind the demands of the two nations. Loc emphasised the importance of providing British firms with updated information about Viet Nam's market and establishing channels to solve difficulties that British companies encounter to doing business in Viet Nam and vice verse. On his speech, the Duke of York, Prince Andrew said that Viet Nam needed to continue to remove barriers for business while assisting start-ups. According to VCCI, Viet Nam's exports to the UK have experienced a yearly growth of 17 per cent over past years with major items including footwear, textile and garment, tea, coffee, rice and seafood.  Great potential for trade expansion with the UK The UK market imports more than US$1,000 billion of goods annually and consignments from companies operating in Vietnam account for just a tiny fraction of that total, said Vietnam Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Van Thao. Ambassador Thao made the comment on November 16 in a speech at a seminar in Hanoi addressing the vast potential for expanded commercial and services trade between the two nations. “The nation’s businesses ship only around US$5 billion of commercial goods to the UK market on average, which translates to huge untapped potential for future trade,” Ambassador Thao said.  The positive news, Thao said, is that the trajectory of exports to the UK has been on the fast track hovering around 17% annually, but the reality is that it should have been much higher years ago. He emphasized the nation’s domestic businesses need to emulate their counterparts from the UK to increase their competitiveness and, most importantly, stay abreast of the changing marketplace in the fast past environment of globalization and integration. Workshop enhances competition management A workshop was held in Ho Chi Minh City recently to review a decade of implementing the Law on Competition. The event, organised by the Department of Competition Management under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, saw participation from representatives of enterprises and associations in the southern region.  Phung Van Thanh from the department highlighted the shortcomings in the Law, saying that few enterprises properly understand the legal document.  He attributed the confusion to an overlap between the department and the Vietnam Council of Competition in receiving and settling competition violation cases.  Echoing Thanh’s opinion on complications in the management of competition, Tran Vo Quoc Son from Unilever Vietnam said competition management involves a number of bodies, including customs, market management and intellectual property officials. To make it easier for businesses to apply the law, he emphasised the need to clarify the functions of competent agencies.  According to the department, 300 complaints about competition violations have been recorded so far this year.  Of these, 132 cases have been investigated and another 123 cases have been handled. Vietnam-Czech Republic Business Forum opens Nov 17 The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Hanoi has announced that 15 of its nation’s companies will host a business forum on November 17 at the Melia Hanoi Hotel at 44B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem starting at 10:00 am. The event is held on the occasion of the six day official visit, November 15-20, to Vietnam of the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, HE Milan Stech. It is open to the general public. Businesses represented at the event will include a wide array of industries from the Czech Republic – operating in such fields as cosmetics distribution, agriculture, automobiles and aviation. In addition, the Embassy said a large number of prominent brand names including Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies and Faurecia Components Písek will be in attendance.  Anheuser-Busch InBev plans shopping spree in Vietnam More foreign beer will soon be flowing in Vietnam in the aftermath of the government announcement to open up the nation’s US$4.56-billion annual beer market and sell off significant chunks of state-owned brewers Sabeco and Habeco. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said 10 foreign and local beer makers have offered to buy into Ho Chi Minh City based Sabeco since the announcement earlier this year to dispose of 53% of the state’s ownership interest. “After the sale the state will retain a non-controlling minority interest of 36%,” said the MoIT. Japanese based Asahi Kirin, London-based SABMiller, and Thai Beverage PCL are the three foreign businesses vying for a piece of the company said the MoIT, while seven domestic producers have also made overtures. The MoIT said it will also reduce its ownership interest in the nation’s second largest brewery, Habeco, from 82% to either 51 or 36% and is still entertaining a bid by Carlsberg Group out of Denmark. It has been widely reported in the media that an official with the Carlsberg Group said it is avidly interested in bumping up its ownership interest from 10% in Habeco and negotiations with the MoIT are on-going. “The fact that the government plans to get out of the beer making business has made the market more appealing,” said Robert Tran, an executive at the business development firm of Robenny Corporation. Some soothsayers have made rather audacious claims the beer market in Vietnam will grow by 40% over the next four years but that is pretty much just pure speculation say most leading market analysts. “Still the country’s beer market has a lot of room for growth,” said Sapporo Vietnam CEO Mikio Masawaki, considering the nation’s consumers are young and its middle class will expand over the next 10 years. Its parent Sapporo Holdings has been operating a brewery out of Long An province since 2011 and Masawaki said the government divestiture of its proprietorship has given new impetus for the company to expand. The company has faced stiff competition from the market dominated by Heineken and has been operating in the red since it opened its doors— but with the government selloff  Sapporo’s management plans on a fast trajectory to the black. Anheuser-Busch InBev last May opened a US$30-million brewery in the southern province of Binh Duong. A company spokesperson has reported the US global beer giant has its eyes set on local mergers and acquisitions, with plans to go on a shopping spree and dominate the market in the very near future. Coffee exporters seek robust presence in RoK On November 15, Ngo Xuan Ty, an official of the Vietnam Embassy in the Republic of Korea (RoK), headed up a contingent of coffee exporters attending the kick-off of the annual World Coffee Leaders Forum and Café Show. “Tens of thousands of coffee professionals from all parts of the globe will descend on the bustling, busy, modern city of Seoul this week as the event regularly draws attendance figures in the six digits,” said Ty. Ty said the attendees will have a chance to wander one of the largest coffee trade show floors in Asia, and also take a number of classes and seminars to improve their hands-on skills or even get some advice on how to improve their business plans. Additionally they can see a number of interesting and different competitions. The Café Show and World Coffee Leaders Forum run concurrently November 12-15 with a list of speakers that reads like a who’s who in specialty coffee, providing Vietnamese coffee growers a great opportunity to gain international exposure. “Everything has been going smoothly so far,” said CEO Luong The Hung of the Me Trang Coffee Company, as our specialty coffees have received a great deal of attention and very positive feedback. Vietnam makes strong showing at Thai science fair Phung Tuan Long from the Vietnam Embassy in Thailand headed a delegation attending the grand opening of the 2015 Science and Technology Fair on November 14 in Nonthaburi, Thailand. This year’s annual event has been organized by the Thailand Ministry of Science and Technology in collaboration with the National Science Museum Long said, and emphasizes the use of science, technology and innovation to support the digital economy. “Vietnam representatives have teamed up to showcase the latest in internet television technologies utilizing VP9 streaming support, which also supports applications such as videoconferencing,” said Ambassador Long. “The Vietnam exhibit is quite impressive and garnered a lot of attention on opening day from those in attendance including Thai Minister of Science and Technology PhD Pichet Durongkaveroj.” Long said the 12 day fair ending November 25 also provides a good opportunity for staff of the embassy to tout Vietnam’s tourism, trade and investment potential to the one million plus fairgoers expected to attend. Vietnam seeks to develop cross-border e-commerce Vietnam should develop cross-border e-commerce, a growing trend, according to experts.  Tran Huu Linh, head of the Vietnam E-commerce and Information Technology Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said developing cross-border e-commerce will help enterprises export more goods through online transactions.  Cross-border e-commerce has been growing strongly in the world, as well as in the Asia-Pacific, with many successful models such as coordination between the US’s eBay and Japan’s NetPrice, or between China’s Alibaba and NetPrice, Linh said. Vietnam needs to build bilateral and multilateral environments to help foreign customers buy Vietnamese commodities.  Vietnam and Japan have been increasing bilateral cooperation in e-commerce in recent years, added Linh.  Kakuno, from the Commerce and Information Policy Bureau under the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said Japanese companies are willing to cooperate with Vietnamese partners to build cross-border e-commerce platforms.  The number of Vietnamese enterprises implementing online business solutions has increased since 2014, and most of them have considered e-commerce an indispensable part in their business strategy to increase their market share and approach customers in a quicker manner.  According to a report on retail in Vietnam from Nielsen, a market research company, around 30 percent of customers are loyal to online shopping and consult information on social networks to make shopping decisions.  The report showed 72 percent of Vietnamese customers said shopping online is very convenient. Fifteen percent said no to shopping online because of delivery fees or difficulties using websites. Lazada Vietnam launched its biggest sale of the year with discounts of up to 50 percent on www.lazada.vn, the country's largest online shopping website, from November 11 until December 12.  The programme has been supported by the Vietnam E-Commerce and Information Technology Agency, Vietnam E-Commerce Association, the Department of Industry and Trade in HCM City, 20 brand names and 40 delivery partners as well as banks.  Under the programme, thousands of offers of discounts of up to 50 percent as well as vouchers are available.  Lazada's "online shopping revolution programme" began in Singapore in 2012. It is a version of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Singles Day. Meanwhile, the thegioididong.com system has received more than 3,000 orders for Apple’s latest dual handsets, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, since October 30. Of these, more than 2,400 customers made a deposit to purchase the products, marking an unprecedented order record for the company. In order to assist enterprises, in December, the Vietnam E-commerce and Information Technology Agency will coordinate with associations and enterprises to organise an online shopping day – Online Friday 2015.  According to experts, it is necessary to build policies to help the sector develop. Practical programmes and projects can also promote e-commerce locally and internationally. IFC & Citi support emerging market trade The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Citi have announced the signing of a $1.2 billion risk-sharing facility to help stimulate the growth of trade in emerging markets and support economic development. The signing marks the extension of two existing facilities under the IFC Global Trade Liquidity Program. IFC and Citi launched their first trade finance facility in October 2009. Since its inception these collaborative efforts have financed a total trade volume of $20 billion, with around $4.2 billion in International Development Association countries and $7.1 billion in low income and lower middle-income countries. This long-standing partnership has facilitated financing for 3,368 trade transaction through 163 Emerging Market Issuing Banks in 40 countries, of which 23 are low and lower middle-income countries. “Citi’s partnership with the IFC has been a tremendous success, helping to stimulate the recovery and growth of global trade in emerging markets,” said Mr. Anurag Chaudhary, Global Head of Distribution for Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions. “Citi has been a trusted partner to banks, corporations and the public sector across the emerging markets for many decades, and through our collaboration with IFC - as well as other development and export credit agency partners around the globe - we are firmly committed to restoring the flow of trade and commerce financing around the world and to helping emerging market economies play a more significant role within global trade,” he said. The facility extension will expand the availability of trade credit for customers in emerging markets over a four-year span through a risk-sharing structure. IFC and partners will contribute $600 million and Citi will provide an additional $600 million. “As the availability of global trade finance continues to decline the IFC is committed to working with Citi to find innovative ways to help expand trade finance flows in the developing world and the Global Trade Liquidity Program is one such successful effort,” said Mr. Marcos Brujis, Director of the Financial Institutions Group at the IFC. “Citi has been one of the IFC’s most dedicated partners in trade finance and the IFC looks forward to continuing this partnership to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the emerging markets in which they operate,” he said. Citi will use the funding to originate and fund trade finance transactions in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, enabling its bank clients to extend financing to local importers and exporters. The funding is expected to support emerging market trade flows of more than $6 billion through 2019. Citi was the IFC’s first partner bank under the Global Trade Liquidity Program, a coordinated global initiative which was launched in 2009. This initiative works in partnership with global and regional banks with the goal of expanding the availability of trade credit at a time of global scarcity in trade finance. The IFC announced an extension of the program in 2012 to continue promoting international trade growth in emerging markets, including many of the world’s lowest income countries. Vietnam Silicon Valley Conner opens Vietnam Silicon Valley Conner (VSVC) was launched on November 15 at 24-26 Ly Thuong Kiet Street in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, under the Vietnam Silicon Valley project, sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology. “The conner is not only a co-working space for startups but is also where startups and investors can connect with each other,” according to Ms. Le Thach Anh, Director of the Vietnam Silicon Valley project, which supports Vietnamese startups. “The TPP and free trade agreements put pressure on us as government leaders, so we must not be slow in creating an ecosystem for startups,” said Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan. VSVC is to become a destination for information sharing among angel investors (who not only invest capital but also provide mentoring and coaching) and venture capital for investors to find the suitable startups for investment. “Investors will bring energy to the startup ecosystem and turn the dreams of young scientists into reality,” Minister Quan emphasized. He also spoke of the government’s determination to invest in science and technology. Vietnam is behind Malaysia and Singapore in technology rankings, he said, but has surpassed Thailand. Ms. Thach Anh added that young Vietnamese are passionate about startup sand this is an advantage for their development in the future. Handsome 9M business performance for BIDV The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has just announced its performance for the first three quarters of the year. Total assets as at September 30 stood at VND786 trillion ($35.01 billion), an increase of more than 21 per cent against December 31 and 31 per cent higher than on September 30 last year. Its charter capital after the merger with MHB and the issue of additional shares increased VND6 trillion ($267.3 million), to VND34.18 trillion ($1.52 billion). Lending in the first three quarters was VND570 trillion ($25.39 billion), or 15 per cent higher since January 1, and accounted for 12.9 per cent of the banking sector’s total. Credit has been directed at sectors prioritized by the government, such as small and medium-sized enterprises, which increased 27 per cent, and agriculture and rural development, which increased 16 per cent. Capital mobilized from depositors was almost VND625 trillion ($27.84 billion), an increase of 21 per cent since January 1. More capital was raised from retail banking in the period than previously. The retail market received greater focus, as outstanding credit to the sector rose 30 per cent since January 1 and accounted for 22 per cent of the total. Capital mobilization from the retail market increased 24 per cent since January 1 and was 55 per cent of total. Profit before tax stood at VND5.53 trillion ($246.36 million), an increase of 25 per cent against the same period last year. The bank also received approval from the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) to issue 336,921,100 swap shares in the merger with MHB. HoSE also agreed with the bank issuing 270,591,590 additional shares to existing shareholders, bringing the total to 3,418,715,334 shares. HCMC provides free interest loans for machine, technology innovation Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan has issued a decision on an investment stimulation program to provide businesses with zero percent interest rate within seven years to reform machines and technologies. The program aims to assist businesses to improve their products’ added value, develop support industry and boost social investment in fields such as culture, health, education and training, gymnastics and sports. Interest assistance will cover 70 percent fund on basic construction and 85 percent fund on innovation of equipment and technologies. The rate will be 100 percent to projects in education and training, health, culture and public sport fields.   Maximum loan will not exceed VND100 billion (US$4.46 million) a project. Those projects with total capital of more than that amount and time longer than 7 years must be considered by the city People’s Committee who will decide to loan them or not. The highest assisted interest rate will equal to bonus rate for 12 month term of four large commercial banks in the city plus 2 percent management fee per year. To projects getting loans in foreign currencies, the city will assist interest rate calculated according to exchange rate announced by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of loaning. If investors use capital for other purposes besides the program, they will have to repay loans together with interest and penalties and be banned from attending in demand stimulation programs in the city within three following years. Businesses can file documents to the Department of Planning and Investment for projects from hi-tech, trade, health, education and training, culture, sport, infrastructure and environment fields. Industrial and support industry projects would be submitted to the Support Industry Development Center under the Department of Industry and Trade. Total time on doing and handling procedures will not exceed 15 days. After projects are approved, investors must report progress, disbursement and loan use quarterly to Departments of Industry and Trade, Planning and Investment and Finance, the State Treasury and other authorized agencies. Over 400 real estate projects fail to take off in HCMC According to the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, 405 out of the total of 1,220 real estate projects have been unable to break ground in the city.  Investors have started to deploy 325 projects, of these 97 have been temporarily halted.  Chairman of the association Le Hoang Chau said that the failure of many projects were due to site clearance difficulties.   Data from the HCMC real estate market development project in 2016-2020 by the Department of Construction shows that 40 percent of the 1,220 projects have been built, 8 percent halted, 33 percent have been applying for investment procedures and 19 percent under construction. The department specified that complicated and time consuming administrative procedures have resulted in the unsuccessful implementation of many projects.  In 2013, 85 projects were revoked because of sluggish progress. The number increased to 162 in the following year and 189 as of August this year. HCM City expects SEZ to spur growth The government of HCMC is pinning high hopes on a forthcoming special economic zone (SEZ), saying it could help spur economic growth in the city. A recent document detailing instructions by HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan said the SEZ would be a driving force for the city’s economy. However, the city is facing difficulties in setting up the zone due to the absence of a legal framework. Early last month, the HCMC Institute for Development Studies sent the city government a plan to establish the SEZ covering nearly 890 square kilometers in four districts – 7, Nha Be, Can Gio and Binh Chanh.  The institute is tasked with coordinating with relevant units to analyze figures and comments on the location, scale and necessity of an SEZ. The institute said up to 90% of land in Binh Chanh, Can Gio and Nha Be is for agriculture while just hundreds of hectares out of over 2,900 hectares in District 7 is for residential purposes while agricultural and deserted land accounts for the remainder.  Therefore, the establishment of an SEZ will help fuel growth in the four districts and generate more jobs for residents. In addition, land could be used effectively and in line with the city’s programs for adaptation to climate change. According to the institute, the SEZ will also drive the city’s tourism development and enhance conservation of Can Gio Biosphere Reserve as well as historical, architectural and archeological sites in the region. The SEZ plan matches the city’s strategy to speed up development towards the south. The SEZ would support growth of the sea economy and logistics services in the city’s south where Hiep Phuoc Seaport and Hiep Phuoc port-urban complex are being developed. The SEZ will also help develop low-yielding agricultural land into modern towns, the institute noted. In the coming time, the institute will work out a detailed plan for the SEZ and seek approval from the city’s Party committee before reporting it to the Government. However, the downside risk is the SEZ would be located in low-lying areas with a labyrinth of canals. Therefore, must capital would be needed to develop the SEZ while the city is coping with budget constraints and finding a strategic investor would be tough. Road infrastructure and logistics services in the area planned for the SEZ have not developed as there is only Nguyen Van Tao Street leading to Hiep Phuoc area. In addition, it will take the city at least ten years to see the first fruit of the SEZ. Health product factory launched at SHTP The research and development (R&D) center of the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) in HCMC has inaugurated a factory making a health product called Nacur Vital experimented by the center. The water product, experimented at the Saigon Hi-Tech Business Incubator (SHBI) at SHTP in District 9, will be commercialized by technology development joint stock company Vivotek. It is said to help improve and detoxify human liver, heal wounds and reduce side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Commenting on Nacur Vital, Do Thanh Sinh, group leader of Nano research on the functional food at the R&D center, said it is a common trend to use nanotechnology to develop products from natural herbs and this helps make full use of medicinal plants available in the country. The trend is consistent with the city’s road map for scientific and technological development. Le Hoai Quoc, head of the SHTP authority, said Nacur Vital is a joint effort of staff at SHTP and that the factory is small but able to make a product of high value. “We will continue to invest more in turning out high-quality products which can compete with imported goods of same type,” Quoc said. Customs procedures still nightmarish for business Customs clearance procedures have been streamlined but certain importers and exporters have complained that dealing with the customs remains as troublesome as ever. The 2015 survey on corporate satisfaction with the customs released at a conference in Hanoi last week showed that 28% of import-export firms said they have to pay informal charges while working with the customs. Many respondents said customs procedures could be made simpler if they pay informal fees, otherwise they could face discrimination. The survey of over 3,200 local import-export businesses was done from April to June for the third consecutive year to provide the Government with information about administrative reform in the customs sector. According to the survey, over 1,600 businesses (over 50%), especially those in the construction, manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, seafood and trade sectors, said they found it hard to search for regulations in the customs law. Other companies complained about legal documents with unclear regulations, which has misunderstanding and led to different interpretations. In addition, some customs agencies force enterprises to complete procedures at their offices located on the streets where trucks are banned during office hours and customs units at ports where their goods are exported and imported. Customs officers often ask firms to submit forms which are available on automated customs systems. Meanwhile, procedures to get tax refunds are time-consuming.   Enterprises also pointed out in the survey that information technology infrastructure and Internet bandwidth for customs procedures fail to meet demand of corporate tax payers as Internet traffic usually gets jammed. The survey was conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Ministry of Finance and the GIG project of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Dau Anh Tuan, head of the Legal Department at VCCI, said the survey showed that enterprises want the customs to further boost procedure processing and adopt a better attitude towards them. According to the survey, firms hail the provision of information about customs procedures. Most respondents agreed regulations on customs have been improved over the past five years. Time needed for completing documents and getting tax refunds has reduced significantly compared to previous years. Nearly 80% of respondents said they have been supported as requested when carrying out customs procedures. But many firms insisted customs agencies further streamline procedures, boost application of information technology, enhance transparency and invest in facilities to support businesses to study and conduct customs procedures. Vu Tien Loc, chairman of VCCI, said though customs procedures are still in the first stage of improvement, the customs sector should a clear roadmap to streamline procedures. Ministry warns against banned substances in livestock farming Despite strict sanctions, the use of prohibited substances in livestock farming has gone unchecked and the agriculture ministry is seeking to increase public awareness of the harmful side effects of such substances. The Department of Livestock Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organized a seminar in HCMC last week to announce steps to put the situation under control, particularly growth and lean-meat stimulants. Nguyen Xuan Duong, deputy head of the department, said 7-8 million households are involved in livestock farming nationwide and law enforcement officers are unable to check all of them. So one of the solutions is to help consumers and farmers fully understand the harm of the use of banned substances and the department will work with the Ministry of Education and Training to conduct an awareness program at schools. Such a program aims to help children of farmers be aware of the harmful effects of those substances and tell their parents to stop using banned substances for livestock farming, Duong said at the seminar. According to the department, not only farming households but also livestock companies have been found to violate regulations on banned substances. The department said more than 18% of the meat samples at major slaughterhouses nationwide had tested positive for prohibited chemicals as of last month. But Duong described such a high rate as the tip of an iceberg and admitted that law enforcement officers have not been able to clamp down on the use of forbidden agents in livestock farming. Under Circular 57/2012 TT-BNNPTNT on supervising the use of Beta-agonist substances, households, livestock farms and companies found to use such substances for the second time would have all of the meat batches destroyed. However, no batches have been destroyed since the circular was issued in 2012, Duong said. The Beta-agonist group comprises clenbuterol, salbutamol and ractopamine, which make pigs grow fast and lean. At the seminar, the department introduced a quick test kit that shows the existence of banned agents in meat in just five minutes. The tool is sold at VND70,000-100,000 on the market. However, to check whether banned substances in the meat exceed permissible levels or not, laboratories would need two or three days to do tests and analyses, according to the department. Inspectors of the agriculture ministry have recently fined two animal feed producers VND140 million each for using salbutamol. Vietnam businesses worldwide meet on national development Nearly 300 delegates attending a conference in Moscow on Wednesday of Vietnamese businesspeople worldwide proposed a series of measures for fueling the country's economic growth. At the conference attended by Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Europe and America as well as African countries like Angola and Mozambique, participants proposed setting up a remittances investment fund to attract around US$1 billion in the initial time. As proposed by the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), the sponsor of the conference, all Vietnamese entrepreneurs operating overseas can contribute to the fund. A fixed rate of return the fund can guarantee is 5% a year, according to BIDV. The fund will focus on disbursing capital for domestic projects and make use of investment opportunities in Vietnam.  In addition to the fund, delegates at the conference at the Hanoi-Moscow center threw support behind proposals to set up an industry, trade and investment association in Russia and a club of Vietnamese entrepreneurs, and gather scientists and managers together to contribute ideas for developing the nation. Accompanying the conference was an exhibition featuring high-quality goods produced in Vietnam with the participation of 160 enterprises. Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Nguyen Thanh Son described the exhibition as the biggest of its kind Vietnam has organized in Russia. According to informal data, 5.1-5.2 million Vietnamese live, study and work in 109 countries. This year’s remittances to Vietnam are estimated at around US$13 billion. Number of postal services firms grows sharply The number of postal services enterprises in Vietnam has increased 20 times over the past eight years, from eight firms in 2007 to 167 by end-October this year, according to figures by the Ministry of Information and Communications. Speaking at a conference of the Vietnam E-commerce Association on the postal sector in Hanoi Tuesday, Vu Thu Thuy at the Department of Posts of the ministry said the pickup in postal services firms had gone in tandem with strong e-commerce growth. Online shopping has become popular in the country, leading to an upsurge in demand for delivery services, which are chiefly provided by postal businesses. Revenues of the postal industry have soared sharply in recent years. In 2010, it reported revenue of US$212 million but the figure rose to US$246 million in 2011, US$274 million in 2012 and US$316 million in 2013. The leading postal services enterprises include VNPost with 36% market share, DHL-VNPT (15%), Viettel Post (11%), TNT-Viettrans (7%), EMS (7%), UPS (7%), and Kerry TTC (5%), Thuy said. At the meeting, EMS deputy general director Ha Thi Hoa said rising e-commerce has paved the way for the delivery services sector to grow, which is evident in a 4.5-fold rise in EMS courier services in the first three quarters of this year. General secretary of the Vietnam E-commerce Association Nguyen Thanh Hung said that in recent years domestic delivery services have grown rapidly but have not kept up with the fast development of e-commerce. Meizu smartphones enter Vietnam Meizu, a smartphone manufacturer in China, introduced its products to Vietnam via local distributor Petroleum High Technology Products Distribution JSC (PHTD), a member of PetroVietnam General Services Joint Stock Corporation. Meizu is the latest Chinese mobile phone brand to enter the domestic market after Lenovo, Oppo, Gionee, Xiaomi, Archos and Coolpad, among others. Other smartphone brands in the world like France’s Wiko, which has production facilities in China, have also entered Vietnam.   The increasing presence of international cellphone brands indicates that Vietnam is an attractive market. According to Meizu, with a young population, Vietnam is a potential market for smartphones as youngsters have big demand for entertainment and information. This is an opportunity as well as a challenge for Meizu when joining the market. Two months ago, Obi Worlphone, a smartphone brand of the U.S., made its debut in Vietnam, saying Vietnam’s smartphone market has annual revenues of some US$2.5 billion and a growth rate of 30% per year, and is expected to expand 47% in 2015. Therefore, the firm decided to enter Vietnam earlier than other markets.    Meizu was established in 2003 and has strengthened its operation in the smartphone segment since 2008. With over 3,000 workers, Meizu is among the leading phone enterprises in China. In 2015, Meizu is among China’s top ten smartphone brands after it passef a Antutu Benchmark test for smartphones running on the Android operating system. In Vietnam, Meizu launched three products: M2, M2 Note and MX5 with the respective prices of VND3 million (US$134.2), VND4.5 million and VND9 million. These items appeared in Vietnam before as people had hand-carried them into the country. Users said these products have advantages in terms of design and configuration.    According to PHTD, Meizu M2 Note will be sold exclusively via the e-commerce website lazada.vn in two weeks starting from November 11 and then all Meizu’s products will be available at retail stores nationwide. VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR