|
Hai Phong to apply more port fees in 2017
From January
1, Hai Phong will start collecting fees for using infrastructure, service
facilities and public utilities from shipments at all ports in the city.
Hai Phong to apply
more port fees in 2017
The information was announced
by Hai An District People's Committee. It is estimated that the city could
earn up to VND1.5trn each year.
Individuals and organisations
that have shipments stored at bonded warehouses now must pay VND2.2m (USD97)
to VND4.8m per container, depending on the load. The fees for goods in
transit are VND500,000 to VND1m.
The infrastructure fee is an
expansion of the service costs relating to temporary import and re-export,
transit, storage in bonded warehouses which was implemented in 2013. Revenues
have increased year-on-year and reached VND750bn (USD33m) in 2016.
According to the Hai Phong
Department of Finance, its ports receive 80 million tonnes of goods each year
and can collect VND1.5trn (66m) from the proposed fees.
However, many import-export
firms said the costs were too high because they are already paying customs
fees, shipment handling fees and import and export taxes.
Dantrinews
|
Thứ Bảy, 31 tháng 12, 2016
|
VN price management targets 4% inflation
The Department of Price Management will
seek to improve market analysis and forecast in oder to implement appropriate
policies and control inflation at 4 per cent, as set by the National Assembly
for 2017, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Van Hieu said.
At a conference on Thursday, Hieu asked the price
watchdog to tighten price management to prevent dramatic price hikes ahead of
the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, especially in areas recently hit by natural
disasters.
Although the macro-economy is expected to remain stable
in 2017, potential exists for a rise in inflation, the department said. For
example, the adjustment of healthcare and education fees in late 2016 and in
2017 are expected to create inflationary pressure.
The department said that power and fuel costs would
also be under pressure, coupled with unfavourable weather conditions which
would affect the supply of goods and services, especially food and food
stuffs.
The price adjustments of products and services, which
have significant effects on the economy, would be evaluated carefully to
minimise their impacts and focus would be placed on market data collection
and analysis, the department said.
Inflation under control
Nguyen Thi Thuy Nga, the department’s Deputy Director,
said the department implemented flexible price management policies in
coordination with other ministries to control inflation in 2016 at below 5
per cent as set by the National Assembly. The inflation rate had in fact been
kept relatively low at 4.74 per cent in 2016.
This was due to the combined effort of the Government
and financial economic administrative agencies, Nguyen Bich Lam, director
general of the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam (GSO), said.
The low 2016 inflation was achieved through careful
adjustment of prices by the Government according to market indicators,
despite price hikes of several essential goods, Lam said at GSO’s year-end
conference on 2016 economic indices in late December.
The reason for the CPI hike in 2016 was determined to
be the Government’s upward price adjustment of healthcare services, higher
demand for food and construction before the Lunar New Year, and El Niño’s
effect on crops resulting in a deficit in rice supply and pushing the rice
price higher.
December 2016 also saw the consumer price index (CPI)
rise slightly by 0.73 per cent compared with November 2016. The CPI saw a
light decrease in December in Ha Noi but rose 0.52 per cent in HCM City.
Annual core inflation increased 1.83 per cent compared
with 2015.
The rise in core inflation from January to December
2016 compared with the same period in 2015 showed narrow amplitude,
fluctuating from 1.64 to 1.88 per cent, a result of a steady monetary policy
being put into practice, helping the country’s macroeconomic stability and
keeping inflation under control.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade worked together with
the State Bank of Viet Nam in 2016 to organise a steady supply of goods to
insulate the market from sudden price hikes and to adjust the exchange rate
between the VND and US dollar to suit the macroeconomic scene.
The year 2017 will see a change in the inflation
calculation method by using the average annual CPI instead of the change in
CPI between December of the current year and the previous one, Le Thi Minh
Thuy, director of the GSO’s Trade and Service Statistics Department, said.
Lam also expressed the GSO’s concern through a petition
to the Government proposing several solutions to keep inflation under control
in 2017, with the target of a four per cent CPI rise as indicated by the
National Assembly.
As such, price adjustment methods must be employed for
healthcare services, electricity, water and interest rates, and a close watch
must be kept on global oil prices to prevent the domestic price from shooting
up and affecting the 2017 CPI.
VNS
|
Shares end 2016 on
positive note
HÀ NỘI -
Shares ended the last trading session of the year yesterday on a positive
note on both local bourses, driven by increasing demand for large-cap stocks
during the closing period of the day.
The benchmark VN Index on the
HCM Stock Exchange closed slightly up at 664.87 points, totaling a two-day
gain of 0.2 per cent.
The HNX Index on the Hà Nội
Stock Exchange finished at 80.12 points, up 0.7 per cent from Thursday and
1.6 per cent since Tuesday.
The southern market index has
risen 14.8 per cent since December 31, 2015, while the northern market index
remained nearly flat after one year.
Market trading liquidity
surged from the previous sessions of the last trading week with more than 154
million shares being traded across the two bourses, worth VND3.24 trillion
(US$144 million).
That included more than 43.3
million shares, worth VND1.13 trillion, which were traded via put-through
transactions.
The stock market remained
negative and quiet most of the time during the last trading session, but
investors’ strong demand boosted large-cap stocks in the At The Close Order
(ATC) period.
Among the 10 largest shares
by market capitalisation, seven advanced, including Sài Gòn
Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corp (SAB), property developer and retailer Vingroup
(VIC), private equity firm Masan Group (MSN) and Faros Construction Corp
(ROS).
SAB gained 0.4 per cent, VIC
inched up 0.2 per cent, MSN rose 1.4 per cent and ROS increased by 1 per
cent.
The energy sector also
contributed to the market’s gains yesterday after oil prices rose higher on
confidence for a production cut that could begin in early 2017.
US crude West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) was traded at $53.82 a barrel, slightly higher than
Thursday’s closing price.
Among local energy stocks,
PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS) added 1.5 per cent, PetroVietnam Drilling and
Well Services Corp (PVD) and PetroVietnam Technical Services Corp (PVS)
advanced 2.5 per cent each.
The banking sector was the
worst hit among 20 industries on the stock market, as the Bank for Investment
and Development of Viet Nam (BID) and Eximbank (EIB) dropped 0.7 per cent and
6.2 per cent, respectively, while Vietcombank (VCB), Asia Commercial Bank
(ACB) and Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Bank (SHB) ended flat.
The food and beverage
industry was driven down by dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), which fell 2.3 per
cent. The stock suffered from profit-taking after increasing by 5 per cent in
the previous three sessions.
Viet Nam News
|
|
Vietnam to allow screening of 18+ movies from 2017
A new film-rating system is
slated to take effect on January 1, 2017, allowing for the first time the
screening of adult movies not suitable for viewers under 18 years of age in
Vietnam.
A sexual scene of
Vietnam's film Huong Ga. Tuoi Tre
According to the new ratings by the Ministry of Culture,
Sports and Tourism, movies will be labeled based on four age restrictions
before reaching theaters across Vietnam.
The classifications include films that are suitable to general
audience, with all ages admitted, and movies that are only allowed for
viewers of at least 13, 16 and 18 years of age, respectively.
The respective labels for the four categories are P, 13+, 16+
and 18+.
The rating system is quite different from that of the Motion
Picture Association of America, which includes such ratings as G (General
audience), PG (Parental Guidance Suggested), PG-13 (may be inappropriate for
children under 13), R (Restricted - under 17 requires accompanying parent or
adult guardian) and NC-17 (Adults Only).
The 18+ rating applied in Vietnam is similar to the NC-17,
which is worded as “no one 17 and under admitted.”
According to the culture ministry, the ratings are based on such
parameters as the film theme, topic, language, content and the level of
untidy, sexual and violent scenes, as well as the use of drugs.
Until today, the companies that release adult films in Vietnam
usually have to cut all explicit scenes to be allowed to screen the works as
16+ movies.
The new rating system, which finally allows films intended for
adult viewers to be screened, is therefore hugely welcomed by Vietnam’s film
industry.
Local filmmakers said they will no longer have to worry if
their works are banned from screening for explicit content, while releasing
firms can now sigh a breath of relief as they will no longer have to show cut
movies to fans at the expense of their complaints.
A recent flick released late 2016, Chay Di Roi Tinh, was in an ironic situation when it
was forced to be labeled as 16+ because Vietnam was then yet to have the 13+
rating. Consequently, a young actor of the film was not allowed to watch his
own movie as he is under 16 years old.
TUOI TRE NEWS
|
Thứ Sáu, 30 tháng 12, 2016
|
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 30/12
Credit grows 18% in HCMC this year
Banks in HCMC have made loans totaling VND1,460
trillion (US$64.3 billion) this year, up 18% versus the end of last year.
The State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) HCMC branch told the
Economic and Budget Committee of the HCMC People’s Council at a recent
meeting that this loan growth rate was well above 9% in 2013, 12% in 2014 and
15% in 2015.
The macro economy has remained stable and production
and business activities have steadily expanded, according to the SBV branch.
The Government’s policy steps in favor of the corporate sector have left
positive impact on lending.
The lender-borrower matching program of the city has
allowed many businesses to gain easy access to preferential loans.
According to the SBV branch, capital mobilized by the
city’s banking system will reach an estimated VND1,810 trillion by
end-December, a 16% pickup from end-2015.
The branch said its has written to credit institutions
in the city asking them to prepare plans to meet people’s cash demand in the
run up to the traditional Lunar New Year holiday (Tet). They are told to
ensure sufficient cash at banks and automated teller machines (ATM) and put
small denomination banknotes into circulation.
Thien Hoa opens small store in Binh Duong
Thien Nam Hoa Commercial Service Co Ltd, the owner of
the Thien Hoa home appliances store chain, has put into operation a small
electronics shop in the southern province of Binh Duong.
Tran Tan Hoang Hau, marketing director of Thien Hoa,
told the Daily that the company is working on a plan to expand small stores.
Such small stores target customers who need goods at
reasonable prices. The new store in Ben Cat District, Binh Duong Province is
the second such facility of the firm, raising the number of the retailer’s
all outlets to eight.
Hau said at least 10 new stores of different sizes
would be opened in neighboring provinces.
Currently, many electronics retailers eye smaller
stores since the electronics retail brand Xanh of The Gioi Di Dong has been
successful in its small-store model, and now it has over 220 shops in the
nation’s 63 provinces and cities.
Nguyen Kim, a major retailer of mobile phones and home
appliances, has opened 14 new stores, with some of them at Big C supermarkets
which Thailand’s Central Group and Nguyen Kim jointly acquired from France’s
Casino.
Business climate improvement effort yet to pay off
Through Resolution 19 the Government has shown its
resolve to make life easier for businesses but a slew of hindrances to
production and business activities have remained.
In a comment on a review report on three years’
implementation of the resolution, the Ministry of Planning and Investment
said the gap between what the resolution targets and what has been achieved
is woefully wide.
The resolution is intended to improve the business
environment and the competitiveness of the nation to catch up with leading
ASEAN economies.
The Government will meet with city and provincial
leaders on December 28 in a teleconference to review the execution of the
resolution.
If well implemented, the resolution would help shore up
private sector investment. But it was not until this year that ministries and
localities had begun showing some change in their thinking and actions.
The report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment
says most ministries, agencies and local authorities are fully aware of the
objectives, tasks and measures set out in the resolution.
The 2016 version of Resolution 19 identifies 13 groups
of general tasks and solutions and 83 particular tasks for ministries,
agencies and local authorities. So far, 35 solutions have been adopted and
have brought results (42.2%); 19 have been carried out without a clear effect
(22.9%); and 29 have not been implemented (34.9%).
A number of cities and provinces have drastically
enforced the resolution and achieved encouraging results as shown in a number
of indicators. Many of them have executed Resolution 19 on a regular basis,
including HCMC, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, An Giang and Dong Thap.
At the conference “Hanoi 2016 – Cooperation for
investment and development” held in the capital on June 4, the city’s leaders
said: “Hanoi will be a pioneer to improve the business environment and
competitiveness in the spirit of Resolution 19.”
However, Resolution 19 has not received an enthusiastic
response from many ministries and localities.
In 2014, when the resolution first came out, most of
the ministries, agencies and localities did not draw up action plans. Those
who did devise a plan failed to meet criteria for business climate
improvement based on international practices, says the report.
In response to the 2015 version of Resolution 19, only
a handful of local governments mapped out action plans, and many just did it
perfunctorily. The action plans of some localities set out goals but
contained no specific tasks and solutions.
With Resolution 19 of 2016, many provinces have neither
adhered to the resolution nor produced clear results, such as Thanh Hoa,
Quang Binh, Lao Cai, Thai Binh, Quang Nam, Nam Dinh, Thai Nguyen and Quang
Tri.
The latest version of the resolution was issued on
April 28, but months later some provinces came up with action plans, like
Khanh Hoa on September 14, Hau Giang on August 23, Kien Giang on August 8,
Son La on August 12, and Ca Mau on August 17.
Therefore, the Ministry of Planning and Investment
report says that most indicators of Vietnam’s business climate have yet to
reach the average levels of ASEAN 4, or even ASEAN 6. A number of countries
in the region have carried out a lot of reforms and outdone Vietnam, with
Indonesia and Brunei having moved up 15 and 25 notches respectively.
In the 2016 Global Competitiveness Rankings of the
World Economic Forum, Vietnam comes 60th among 138 nations and territories,
down four places from last year (56/140). This ranking is only above Laos and
Cambodia, and below most other ASEAN countries.
Tân Á Đại Thành Group begins factory’s construction
Tân Á Đại Thành Group this morning began construction
of a factory producing water heaters and filters in the Kiện Khê 1 Industrial
Complex in Hà Nam Province’s Thanh Liêm District.
Covering an area of 137,000sq.m., the Tân Á Hà Nam
factory is the group’s 12th factory being built at the cost of VNĐ500 billion
(US$22 million).
Using European standard technology, it is expected to
produce 1.5 million water heaters, 300,000 solar water heaters and 800,000
R.O water filters per year when it begins operation in the fourth quarter of
2017.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, the
provincial People’s Committee Chairman Nguyễn Xuân Đông said the factory’s
construction would not only meet market demand, but also contribute to
shifting the province’s economic structure, increasing budget collection and
creating job for locals.
He asked the group to ensure the project’s quality,
progress and compliance with current State regulations of working safety and
environment.
Related authorities were required to co-operate with
the group to address obstacles arising during the construction process and
factory operation, Đông said.
FE CREDIT signs loan contract with Credit Suisse
VPBank Finance Company Limited (FE CREDIT) on Wednesday
announced that it has completed a syndicated loan procedure with
Switzerland’s Credit Suisse Group.
The loan contract will supply FE CREDIT with a
much-needed flow of working capital and broaden its ability to meet its
clients’ financial demands.
Credit Suisse AG Singapore acted as the intermediary
for the signing of the loan contract, as well as the credit agent and legal
representative for the loan.
The capital flow from the syndicated loan will give FE
CREDIT liquidity based on its commercial loan results, and serve to fulfil
its plans to lead the Vietnamese commercial financial market, said Kalidas
Ghose, FE CREDIT’s deputy CEO and director of retail banking and consumer
finance.
The loan will allow participating entrepreneurs to
improve their financial capability and boost business operations, he said,
adding that it reinforces the trust in FE CREDIT by global banks, courtesy of
its returns and business models, and vision for sustainable development of
international standards.
“We are honoured to be a partner with FE CREDIT in
their journey to success and development, as well as a supporter for
Vietnamese entrepreneurs and provider of creative financial solutions for
Vietnamese consumers,” said Rehan Anwer, managing director of investment
banking and capital market at Credit Suisse Group AG Singapore.
“Việt Nam has been a major market for Credit
Suisse in Asia, and we are committed to bringing clients the best service
through the investment banking and capital mobilisation system,” Anwer said.
Ghose said Credit Suisse received positive responses
from international partner banks for joint capital mobilisation after a
period of careful research and consideration.
Founded as the consumer finance division of Vietnam
Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank), FE CREDIT became an
independent company within six years of being established. It was awarded for
being Việt Nam’s best commercial finance company by the Global Banking and
Finance Review in 2016.
Credit Suisse, one of the largest global financial
services firm in Việt Nam, has around US$7 billion invested in contract
values with domestic businesses and organisations. It ihas been recognised as
the best foreign investment bank in Việt Nam by many international financial
magazines.
Republic Plaza launched in HCM City
Thuy Duong Duc Binh Trading JSC on Tuesday launched the
Republic Plaza, which is expected to provide a luxurious live-work-play
environment and the best investment opportunity in HCM City.
Located on Cong Hoa Street, Tan Binh District, Republic
Plaza is one of the most luxurious and largest mixed-use development projects
under construction near the Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
The project features two towers being developed under
the Officetel & Suites concept. Tower A will comprise 350 rooms built according
to the five-star standard and managed by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
- the world’s leading hotel management company - while Tower B will include
266 Officetel & Suite units with floor area from 47sq.m to 104sq.m.
Michael Hoe-Knudsen, regional general manager of IHG,
said Republic Plaza will be the first Holiday Inn & Suites in Viet Nam
catering both to transient guests passing through the airport, corporate
customers visiting offices and factory clusters nearby when it opens in 2018.
The launch ceremony also saw an agreement inked between
Vietjet and Thuy Duong Duc Binh Trading JSC, which will allow Viet Nam’s
largest private carrier to move its headquarters to Republic Plaza in 2018.
“Republic Plaza has prime location near Tan Son Nhat
airport, a luxurious design and is integrated with various facilities,
especially the five-star hotel units, managed in line with international
standards, and the unique Officetel & Suites,” Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh,
deputy vice president of Vietjet, said.
“The complex meets all the criteria of a comfortable,
dynamic working space as well as quality accommodation and recreation for
staff that Vietjet is looking for,” she said.
Also at the launch, HDBank and Thuy Duong Duc Binh
Trading JSC signed a co-operation agreement to provide loans for buyers at
preferential interest rates.
Viet Capital Bank launches MasterCard debit card
Viet Capital Bank has launched MasterCard debit cards.
Card holders, besides paying for goods and services,
can also withdraw cash free of charge at ATMs with the MasterCard logo.
Viet Capital Bank issues the card to customers aged 15
years and above.
To mark the launch, Viet Capital is offering discounts
of up to 50 per cent or gifts when shopping or eating at Lotte mart, Nguyen
Kim Electronics and many other places.
AEC site launched to guide firms
Vietnamese businesses can now access all important
legal documents of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) on aecvcci.vn, which
was launched on December 28.
The portal, launched by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (VCCI), was introduced at a seminar on Viet Nam and AEC, held by
the VCCI and British Embassy Hanoi in the capital.
The portal, which has both Vietnamese and English
versions, will give businesses detailed instructions and guidelines on how to
read and understand the AEC’s legal agreements on goods, services and
investment. It will also provide businesses with the latest information on
Viet Nam.
Speaking at the seminar, Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, director
of VCCI’s Centre for WTO and Economic Integration, said the portal had been
launched as only a moderate number of Vietnamese businesses understand the
AEC thoroughly. This came to light after the VCCI conducted a survey in April
to gauge what enterprises know about trade agreements such as the
Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),
EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the AEC.
The survey revealed that while 94 per cent of the 250
participating businesses knew about the AEC, only 16 per cent understood it
clearly. Meanwhile, 88 per cent, 83 per cent and 77 per cent of the
enterprises surveyed knew about the VKFTA, TPP and EVFTA, respectively, but
again the percentage of those who understood the details of these agreements
was low.
“We found that it is not because our businesses are
passive or lazy, but that they don’t know how to access such important
information to develop business overseas,” Trang said, adding that as a
result, Vietnamese enterprises had failed to make use of the opportunities
presented by the AEC.
“The portal will not only help Vietnamese businesses
but also those from the ASEAN and other foreign countries who are looking for
opportunities to develop business in Viet Nam,” Trang said.
Hoang Quang Phong, deputy chairman of VCCI, said the
trade pacts were a sign of Viet Nam’s development and its success at
globalisation, but while both the TPP and EVFTA have not come into effect,
the AEC agreement was signed on November 22, 2015, and must be exploited.
Andrew Holt, first secretary and head of political and
economic section of British Embassy Hanoi, said the AEC was the first
community established in Asia with a total GDP of around US$3 trillion from
its 10 member countries. The ASEAN expected the AEC to create a highly
competitive environment that would help integrate the region deeper into the
world economy.
Service price mechanism applicable on services, goods
fees
Service price mechanism will be applicable on fees and
charges of 17 types of services and goods from January 1, 2017, a Finance
Ministry official said.
During a meeting organised on December 27 by the
Ministry of Finance, Director of Ministry of Finance’s Price Management
Department Nguyen Anh Tuan explained the new price mechanism, saying the
State will no longer collect the fees of some 17 goods and services but just
be responsible for determining their specific prices.
The 17 types of goods and services which applied
service price mechanism include water-related public services; veterinary
drug testing services; cadastral measurements and cadastral mapping services
in cases when the State assigns land, leases land or changes the purpose of
land use in areas where there is no cadastral map and fee for the use of
surface areas at marketplaces; as well as ferry toll and
Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) road toll, port and terminals services fee and
parking charge and sanitation charge, Tuan said.
He added that the government’s intention to switch to a
service price mechanism aims to encourage private-public partnership projects
and attract investment to improve the quality of public services, which
essentially causes no change in the State’s revenue.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the State’s
revenue earned from fees and charges previously accounted for less than five
per cent of the total State budget’s revenue.
Regarding the basis for such decisions, Tuan informed
the meeting of the latest changes in pricing law as contained in Decree No.
149/2016/ND-CP, dated November 11, 2016, of the government on amending and
supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 177/2013/ND-CP, dated
November 14, 2013, by the government, providing guidance on the
implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Pricing.
Six ministries and the people’s committees of cities
and provinces have been ordered to adjust and determine prices of those 17
types of services and goods, Tuan said, adding that the appointed bodies
would be in charge of determining maximum prices, minimum prices and price
range for the goods and services. He also noted that the fees would then be
collected by non-state sectors.
The adjustment and determination of prices of the 17
types of goods and services has been assigned to Ministry of Finance;
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Ministry of Transport and
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs; as well as Ministry of
Industry and Trade and Ministry of Health, along with the people’s committees
of cities and provinces within the country.
Beer prices rise 1 month before Tet
With a month to go for Tet (Lunar News Year) the HCM
City beer market is heating up, with prices rising virtually daily.
The owner of a shop called Beer Loan on Tran Xuan Soan
Street, District 7, told Viet Nam News that a case of 24 cans of Tiger beer
has seen its price increase by VND6,000-7,000 in recent weeks to VND314,000
(US$13).
The prices of all brands would definitely increase in
the coming days, she said.
A beer seller in Tan Phu District said prices were
rising by the day.
Retailers predicted the prices to make a surge just
before Tet, which falls on January 28 this time when they sell beers produced
specifically for the festival.
The owner of Beer Loan explained that breweries had
sold all the beers packaged specifically for Tet and traders had bought them
and were waiting for the holiday to sell at higher prices.
She said consumers like to buy beers made specifically
for the occasion to gift family and friends.
While retail prices have been increasing, breweries
said they are making efforts to keep prices steady and would fully meet
demand.
Though refusing to divulge production figures for Tet,
Sapporo Vietnam’s General Director Mikio Masawaki told Viet Nam News that his
company had increased production of Sapporo Premium Beer by 20 per cent since
there is high demand for canned beer during Tet.
Sapporo has not increased prices and in fact, has
co-operated with distributors to keep them steady, he said.
Prices would not rise if the demand is fully met, he
said, adding that the company expected demand to be high between the end of
this month and mid-January.
A Heineken Vietnam spokesperson told Phap Luat HCM City
(HCM City Law) newspaper that the company would surely meet demand even if it
increases by 15-20 per cent during Tet.
Talking about the increase in beer prices, the chairman
of the Viet Nam Association of Beer, Wine and Beverages, Nguyen Van Viet,
told the newspaper that companies were under pressure from higher special
consumption tax.
Furthermore, demand always rises during Tet and
provides retailers the opportunity to increase profits, he said.
The municipal Department of Industry and Trade has said
it would monitor prices of consumer goods during Tet, including those of
beers.
Beer consumption in the city is expected to increase by
30 per cent during the period to 40 million litres, it said.
HCM City rolls out support program for start-ups
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and
Technology has unveiled a comprehensive program to support the innovation and
growth of start-ups that are driving new breakthroughs in product
development.
The program provides unique tools, resources and
opportunities to the waves of entrepreneurs starting new companies, so they
can develop products and services with a first-mover advantage.
We’re committed to helping innovative companies in the
City break new ground said Le Thanh Liem, vice chair of the City People’s
Committee at a press conference announcing the new program.
Qualified companies in the fields of mechanics,
chemistry, information technology, food processing and biotechnology may be
eligible for financing of up to US$87,840 (VND2 billion).
The cut-off date for financial assistance applications
is January 1, 2017.
Vietnam's economy expands 6.2% in 2016
The agriculture sector has been facing obstacles this
year. But foreign investment and trade surplus numbers all look good.
Vietnam’s economy expanded an estimated 6.21% this
year, lower than the original target of 6.7% set by the government, according
to data released on December 28.
The services and industry sectors were the key drivers
as agriculture was hit by a series of extreme weather events.
"In general the economy has been growing strongly,
except for the agriculture and mining sectors," said Nguyen Bich Lam,
head of the General Statistics Office, pointing out there have been upheavals
in financial and monetary markets around the world.
Inflation was also under control, at 4.74%, lower than
the 5%ceiling, officials said earlier at a conference last week.
Retail sales reached around US$118 billion in total, up
10% compared to last year. Vietnam’s retail turnover is expected to rise to
US$179 billion by 2020, according to the Association of Vietnam Retailers.
Vietnam has become an attractive destination for
foreign direct investment. The country has received an estimated US$15.8
billion so far, up 9% from a year ago.
New FDI pledges and additional funds to finance
existing projects this year saw a 7% increase. Korean investors, notably LG,
led the pack.
“A lot of investment has come this year in expectation
of the TPP,” said Thomas Jandl, East Asia expert at the Washington-based
American University.
Now that the trade deal, formally known as the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, may not become true, experts still say investment
inflows for next year will remain strong. The Financial Times has listed
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City among global investment magnets for the year
ahead.
Exports reached around US$176 billion this year, up
8.6% compared to 2015. The country posted a trade surplus of US$2.68 billion,
the biggest in six years, data from GSO showed.
Amid Samsung's fiery Note 7 scandal, exports of mobile phones
and parts still saw an increase of 14%. Other key products such as pepper and
coffee also posted growth, but not rice.
The U.K's Brexit vote to leave the European Union would
not be a concern to the bilateral trade relations between the two countries,
said an official from the General Statistics Office.
Experts also said, even without TPP, Vietnam has other
free trade agreements to lean on and will continue to increase its trade
activities.
The year has also seen 110,000 new business launches,
up 16.2% from 2015, a trend attributed to more relaxed regulations under new
enterprise and investment laws.
These new companies are expected to create nearly 1.3
million jobs. On the other hand, the number of businesses that shut down
surged 32% to nearly 12,578.
Exports to Cambodia dip more than 10%
Vietnam exports to Cambodia dropped 10.63% to US$1.9
billion for 11 months leading up to December 2016, according to Vietnam
Customs.
exports to cambodia dip more than 10% hinh 0 In the
reviewed period, Vietnam companies shipped 28 groups of products to Cambodia.
Key export products included steel with an export value of US$271.9 million
(down 24.98%), followed by petroleum (down 25.23% to US$256 million and
garment (up 18.59% to US$221.3 million).
Most export products to Cambodia witnessed a decline.
Fertilizer saw the deepest fall of 93.12% to US$76.4 million.
Only a few products obtained a robust export growth
like telephones and components (up 1618.23% to US$2.6 million) and wood and
timber products (up 371.12% to US$10.8 million).
Business climate improvement effort yet to pay off
Through Resolution 19 the Government has shown its
resolve to make life easier for businesses but a slew of hindrances to
production and business activities have remained.
In a comment on a review report on three years’
implementation of the resolution, the Ministry of Planning and Investment
said the gap between what the resolution targets and what has been achieved
is woefully wide.
The resolution is intended to improve the business
environment and the competitiveness of the nation to catch up with leading
ASEAN economies.
The Government will meet with city and provincial
leaders on December 28 in a teleconference to review the execution of the
resolution.
If well implemented, the resolution would help shore up
private sector investment. But it was not until this year that ministries and
localities had begun showing some change in their thinking and actions.
The report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment
says most ministries, agencies and local authorities are fully aware of the
objectives, tasks and measures set out in the resolution.
The 2016 version of Resolution 19 identifies 13 groups
of general tasks and solutions and 83 particular tasks for ministries,
agencies and local authorities. So far, 35 solutions have been adopted and
have brought results (42.2%); 19 have been carried out without a clear effect
(22.9%); and 29 have not been implemented (34.9%).
A number of cities and provinces have drastically
enforced the resolution and achieved encouraging results as shown in a number
of indicators. Many of them have executed Resolution 19 on a regular basis,
including HCMC, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, An Giang and Dong Thap.
At the conference “Hanoi 2016 – Cooperation for
investment and development” held in the capital on June 4, the city’s leaders
said: “Hanoi will be a pioneer to improve the business environment and
competitiveness in the spirit of Resolution 19.”
However, Resolution 19 has not received an enthusiastic
response from many ministries and localities.
In 2014, when the resolution first came out, most of
the ministries, agencies and localities did not draw up action plans. Those
who did devise a plan failed to meet criteria for business climate
improvement based on international practices, says the report.
In response to the 2015 version of Resolution 19, only
a handful of local governments mapped out action plans, and many just did it
perfunctorily. The action plans of some localities set out goals but
contained no specific tasks and solutions.
With Resolution 19 of 2016, many provinces have neither
adhered to the resolution nor produced clear results, such as Thanh Hoa,
Quang Binh, Lao Cai, Thai Binh, Quang Nam, Nam Dinh, Thai Nguyen and Quang
Tri.
The latest version of the resolution was issued on
April 28, but months later some provinces came up with action plans, like
Khanh Hoa on September 14, Hau Giang on August 23, Kien Giang on August 8,
Son La on August 12, and Ca Mau on August 17.
Therefore, the Ministry of Planning and Investment
report says that most indicators of Vietnam’s business climate have yet to
reach the average levels of ASEAN 4, or even ASEAN 6. A number of countries
in the region have carried out a lot of reforms and outdone Vietnam, with
Indonesia and Brunei having moved up 15 and 25 notches respectively.
In the 2016 Global Competitiveness Rankings of the
World Economic Forum, Vietnam comes 60th among 138 nations and territories,
down four places from last year (56/140). This ranking is only above Laos and
Cambodia, and below most other ASEAN countries.
Customs sector fails to meet yearly tax collection
target
The customs sector collected 261.49 trillion VND (12
billion USD) for the State budget this year to December 25, equal to 96.82
percent of the year target, according to the General Department of Vietnam
Customs.
The department said the falling crude oil price is one
of reasons behind the reduced tax revenues, as the yearly plan was based on
the assumption that oil price was 60 USD per barrel.
Besides, the enforcement of several free trade
agreements brought down the tax rates on petrol imports from ASEAN and the
Republic of Korea, cutting into tax collection.
Lower-than-expected economic and export growth rates
are other causes.
As more taxes will be reduced to zero in 2017 and the
years after, revenues from import-export tariffs and special consumption
taxes are expected to drop further, prompting the sector to look to other
sources such as environment taxes and value added tax (VAT).
Le Manh Hung, deputy head of the department’s
Import-Export Tax Department, said the VAT rates, which stand at 5 and 10
percent at the moment, are relatively low in comparison with that in other
countries in the region.
He pointed to the need to change the structure of tax
collection sources in order to ensure revenues for the State budget.
The customs sector’s revenue mainly comes from
import-export tax, special consumption tax, environmental protection tax and
VAT.
The sector was assigned to collect 270 trillion VND for
the State budget in 2016, with 91 trillion VND to come from import-export
tax, special consumption tax and environmental protection tax, and 179
trillion VND from VAT.
Ha Tinh province makes breakthrough in industrial
development
The central province of Ha Tinh has achieved a
breakthrough growth in the industry sector despite difficulties caused by
natural disasters and the marine environment accident.
The province’s industrial production index increased by
15.37 percent compared to last year.
Ha Tinh licensed 108 investment projects during the
year, up 22 projects against 2015. They included 100 domestic-invested
projects with registered capital of 8 trillion VND (over 351 million USD) and
8 foreign-funded ones worth 155 million USD.
Ha Tinh also paid attention to policies supporting and
encouraging local small businesses. To date, it has 6,234 local businesses
listed in the National Business Registration Portal, in which 4,831 firms and
unites are operational.
There were 930 enterprises established in the province
in 2016, presenting an annual increase of 7.9 percent.
Both the collective and private economic sectors
witnessed swift development, with 230 cooperatives and nearly 4,000 household
businesses set up.
The locality has built 18 industrial clusters,
attracted 233 projects, of which 135 are being implemented.
The local industry sector is expected to record high
growth and contribute 12.68 percentage points to the provincial economic
growth in 2017, helping Ha Tinh become an industry and tourism province.
Vietnam-RoK economic cooperation records strong boost
Trade relations between Vietnam and the Republic of
Korea (RoK) has reached new development milestones, with two-way trade
surging 80 times to 40 billion USD in 2016 from only 0.5 billion USD in
1992.
In the field of industry, Vietnam imports materials for
producing for-export goods while ships electronics, textiles and footwear to
the RoK.
Regarding investment, the RoK is currently the largest
investor in Vietnam with about 5,600 projects worth 50 billion USD across 52
provinces and cities, whilst Vietnam is the RoK’s third largest economic
partner. RoK firm such Lotte, CJ, Samsung, and Daewoo are companies that have
effective operation in Vietnam now.
Kim Inho, Chairman of the Korea International Trade
Association (KITA) said the Vietnamese Government’s investment attraction
policies have helped bring development opportunities to foreign businesses,
including those from the RoK.
Vietnam’s stable economic growth lays a solid foundation
for RoK firms to expand investment in Vietnam.
The Vietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement, which took effect
in late 2015, has ushered in a new stage in the trade ties between the two
countries, creating impetus to a greater investment flow from the RoK into
Vietnam in the coming time.
According to Nguyen Hong Son from the Ministry of
Industry and Trade, two-way trade between Vietnam and the RoK recorded annual
average growth of 19 percent in the last ten years.
RoK firms are investing in 18 different fields in
Vietnam, with high-technology and service being the main sectors,
contributing to the change of the economic structure of Vietnam.
Vietnam is calling for the RoK’s investment in the
agro-forestry-aquaculture sector, which is hoped to create a new cooperation
field between the two nations’ enterprises in the near future.
Notably, trade relationship between the two countries’
localities, especially big cities, has been intensified in recent
years.
Park Noh Wan, RoK Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City
affirmed Vietnam is the leading destination for RoK firms’ business and HCM
City is the RoK’s most potential consumption market in Vietnam.
RoK companies are seeking to invest in agriculture and
farm produce processing in Vietnam, adding that local-level trade promotion
events will help the two countries’ businesses to establish partnership and
sign specific agreements.
Deagu is the first RoK locality has signed a
comprehensive cooperation agreement with HCM City, paving the way for strong
economic exchange between the two cities, towards expanding their trade
turnover in the coming time.
With the role as a key economic hub of Vietnam, HCM
City has been giving and will offer more preferential policies to, improve
the legal framework and create favourable conditions for RoK enterprises in
particular and foreign in general to invest in the locality.
The RoK ranked fourth among foreign investors in HCM
City with approximate 1,300 project worth 4.3 billion USD.
Highest Tet bonus in Binh Duong Province is $8,782
The highest bonus in the southern province of Binh
Duong for the coming Tet (Lunar New Year) has been reported to be $8,782 at a
foreign-invested business, the province labor department has announced.
The province Department of Labor, War Invalids and
Social Affairs released information on bonus payment by about 200 businesses
that employ 80,000 employees.
Accordingly, enterprises announced that bonus for the
Tet holiday will increase by 10-15 percent compared to last year with the
highest bonus that for the New Year is VND200 million ($8,782), which was
recorded at a foreign-invested enterprise.
Meanwhile, the bonus for the coming Lunar New Year is
lowest equaling to one month salary for those has one year working time in
the company which has been offered by a private business.
The highest bonus for Tet holiday in State-run
companies is VND82 million while private companies is VND30 million.
The Department added that some enterprises will
announce bonus for Tet holiday at the end of 2016. It is hoped that more
businesses will give high bonus to employees.
Banks enter new interest rate hike race
In a fresh race to lure depositors, a number of banks
have revised up annual interest rates by 10 to 30 basis points for certain
tenors and, at the same time, launched attractive promotion programs, Dan Tri
news website reports.
Sacombank has raised the interest rate for two-month
deposits from 4.9% to 5% a year and 6-to-11-month deposits from 5.9% to 6%.
The bank applies an annual rate of 7% to savings with tenors of 15 months or
above.
Notably, 13-month deposits enjoy an interest rate of
7.55% per year but the total value must be at least VND500 billion (US$22
million).
VPBank hiked the one-month rate from 4.9% to 5.2% a
year and the 12- and 13-month deposit rates by 0.4 percentage point to 6.9%.
It added 20 basis points to deposits registered online, sending the highest
to 8% for the 36-month rate and deposits of more than VND5 billion.
Earlier, other commercial banks such as Eximbank,
Techcombank and TPBank increased interest rates for some tenors by 0.1 to 0.3
percentage point. TPBank is also running promotion programs to lure
depositors.
There is a wide gap between big banks’ interest rates
and those of smaller banks.
Vietcombank and Agribank offer interest rates of
4.3-4.5% per year for one-to-three-month deposits while rates for long tenors
stand at some 6.5%. Meanwhile, deposit rates for tenors of less than six
months reach 5.5% and for long tenors soar to 7.5-8% at small banks. They are
1-1.5 percentage points higher than at bigger banks.
Experts said that by hiking deposit rates, banks want
to retain customers amid surging demand for cash to make year-end payments.
On the interbank market, the overnight, one-week and
two week rates for Vietnam dong loans hit 10-month highs in mid-December. The
average overnight rate climbed from 1.25% to 5.1% per year, the one-week rate
from 1.17% to 5.11% and the two-week rate from 0.95% to 5.07%.
Data of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) showed that
loans had grown 15.8% while capital mobilization had risen 15.2% in the year
to end-November.
According to Bao Viet Securities Company, strong credit
growth last month was boosted by stronger demand for loans at the end of the
year. It led the banking system’s liquidity to edge lower than in the third
quarter and sent interbank rates soaring.
The SBV did not issue treasury bills and continued
injecting money into the banking system via open market operations (OMO) with
a combined VND22 trillion in the previous three weeks.
Bao Viet Securities said interbank rates would stay
high until the Lunar New Year, which falls in late January, at 4.5-5% per
annum.
Savico, VietinBank ink strategic partnership
Saigon General Service Corporation (Savico) has struck
a deal with Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) to forge
strategic cooperation in the 2016-2021 period.
Mai Viet Ha, general director of Savico, told the signing
ceremony last week that VietinBank would support Savico and its member
enterprises to bolster their finances to expand their distribution networks
and improve their competitiveness.
Savico looks to expand its auto distribution share in
the market for members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association to
10% by 2020 from this year’s 8.5%.
VietinBank Branch 10 also signed agreements with two
Savico member firms, Toyota Dong Saigon JSC and Nam Song Hau Automobile JSC,
to provide short-term loans.
By end-November this year VietinBank Branch 10 had
raised around VND5 trillion and had reported total outstanding loans of over
VND2.8 trillion, VietinBank said on its website.
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR
|
Đăng ký:
Bài đăng (Atom)