BUSINESS IN BRIEF 9/5 VNG to reach out Silicon Valley's Vietnamese talents for cooperation   On April 29, Vietnam’s leading internet enterprise VNG Corporation held the “Vietnam Internet Ecosystem” event in the Silicon Valley in the US' California to connect and seek co-operation opportunities with US firm Vietnam Resource & IT Development Group. The event mainly focused on the current situation of technological development, including artificial intelligence (AI) and data, as well as to pave co-operation opportunities between VNG and Vietnamese technology experts working in the Silicon Valley, with the hope of jointly building an Asian Silicon Valley in Vietnam. Speaking at the event, founder and CEO of VNG Le Hong Minh, said: "Vietnamese technology experts should consider returning to Vietnam to work as the market shows tremendous potential thanks to the great number of young Vietnamese people interested in technology. Their creations will directly reach dozens of millions of people." The Vietnam Internet Ecosystem event was held with the attendance of top VNG personnel, including CEO Minh, deputy general director Nguyen Hoanh Tien, leader of Payment Dang Viet Dung, and head of Data and Analysis Ma Nam. Besides, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung, management director of Vietnamese Science and Technology in San Francisco (the Ministry of Science and Technology), was also present, along with speakers from giant technology brands including Google, Cisco, and Athena Media, as well as more than 100 Vietnamese technology experts living and working in the US. This is the second time that VNG has held a meeting with foreign technology experts after Singapore last year. VNG is Vietnam’s pioneer in expanding connections between Vietnamese grey matter, especially the Vietnamese talent in the Silicon Valley, and other countries’ technology scenes. VNG expects these efforts to provide development opportunities not only for itself but the Vietnamese technology segment at large. Founded in 2004, VNG is a leader in value added services, developing and publishing online content, mobile platforms, and payment systems in Vietnam. Well-known products including the popular game Sky garden (People's Choice award at IMGA 2017) and the game Dead Target (Editor's Choice in 2016 on Google Play store), among others. Vietnam Resource & IT Development Group is a privately-held consultancy firm in California established to create and maintain a network of experts and diversified businesses and co-ordinate activities to promote links between Vietnam and the US, especially in the field of IT and agriculture. The four domestic developers behind smart city near Nhat Tan Bridge The smart city project near Hanoi's Nhat Tan Bridge will be developed by four Vietnamese developers and a Japanese partner by 2030. A proposal to develop a smart city has just been submitted to the Hanoi People’s Committee by a group of Vietnamese and Japanese investors. The developers include BRG Group, Phu Cuong RICO., LTD., VINAMCO, and Hanoi Real-Estate., JSC of Vietnam, as well as Sumitomo Corporation from Japan. The project would be based on 271.82 hectaré in Hai Boi and Vinh Ngoc of Dong Anh district and needs an estimated investment of VND94.348 trillion ($4.14 billion). Sumitomo has contributed 50 per cent of the VND14.26 trillion ($625.4 million) initial capital, while the remainder was contributed by the Vietnamese developers. The project aims to develop a smart city with synchronised technological and social infrastructure, applying information technology in its operation and management. The developers proposed to establish five companies to carry out five component projects, which are expected to break ground within this year to be completed by 2030. The first component project (73ha) will be developed between 2018 and 2030 with the total investment of VND13 trillion ($573 million), which will be followed by the four remaining component projects. Earlier, the co-operation agreement between the Hanoi’s People’s Committee, BRG Group, and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation to develop the smart city project was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his official visit to Japan in June 2017. According to the 1/500-scale master plan of the project, the Nhat Tan-Noi Bai route will be divided into three segments with the total length of 11km across nine wards in Dong Anh district and three wards of Soc Son district. The Phuong Trach trade and finance tower will be the centre of this area with the expected height of 108 stories. On the other hand, Victory Hotel JSC, a member of BRG Group since 2014, has also proposed developing a 36-story trading, hotel, and premium apartment complex on 42,000 square metres at 200 Yen Phu street, Tay Ho district, the site of Thang Loi Hotel, now Hilton Hanoi Westlake. However, the proposal faces strong opposition as it would cover land that is not allowed to house high-rise buildings or encroach on public space around the West Lake. The Hanoi People’s Committee has forwarded the proposal to the Ministry of Construction for review. Asset management of BVF continued to grow well, reaching VND47.8 trillion ($2 billion) in Q1/2018 Bao Viet Fund (BVF) has announced its first quarter business results for 2018. Accordingly, total asset management continued to grow well, reaching VND47.8 trillion ($2 billion), up 7.5 per cent compared to the end of 2017, and revenue growth was 20.7 per cent higher than the same period last year. Open funds managed by BVF also achieved comparatively good results. Specifically, the Bao Viet Bond Fund (BVBF) recorded a NAV/CCQ growth of 10.44 per cent in the first quarter of 2018. Bao Viet Potential Fund (BVPF) also recorded a relatively high growth rate of 8.41 per cent. In 2018, BVF will focus strongly on its information technology platform to improve the quality of its services and to be able to provide more services for its customers. In fact, a new website with a more user-friendly interface was launched in January 2018. In addition, BVF also upgraded their online ordering software and developed its own mobile application to help investors easily track their portfolio and facilitate transactions. Bao Viet Fund Company Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Baoviet Holdings, which plays a pivotal role in managing the investment activities of Bao Viet Holdings. With a total asset management of nearly VND48 trillion ($2.1 billion), BVF is one of the two largest asset management companies in the market. BVF specializes in providing professional financial services, portfolio management, fund management and securities investment advice. Currently, the company manages three open-end funds (BVFED, BVBF and BVPF), one member fund (BVIF) and has many trusted clients. In the context of many market fluctuations, the investment activities of BVF always achieve satisfactory results and meet the expectations of its customers. Vietnam's first reinsurance company ranks high Established in September 1994, Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (VINARE) was the first reinsurance company in Vietnam’s insurance market. Since 2005, VINARE has been officially operating in the form of a joint stock company in which State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) holds 40.36 per cent stake and foreign strategic partner Swiss Re holds 25 per cent stake. VINARE activities include specializing in reinsurance for the local and international market, supporting the development of the local insurance market, contributing to the growth of businesses of the local market and making financial investments. Since its establishment twenty three years ago, VINARE has made many outstanding achievements and has been honored with many awards from the State such as the Third Class Independence Order and the First, Second and Third Class Labor Orders. In reinsurance, our gross written premium has had an annual average growth rate of 11 per cent and our net written premium has had an annual average growth rate of 17 per cent. In financial investment, investment income has had an annual average growth of 23 per cent. Average profit before tax has been growing at 19 per cent year-on-year. By the end of 2017, VINARE had paid-up capital of VND1.3 trillion ($57.1 million), equity capital of VND2.6 trillion ($114.2 million) and assets worth VND6.2 trillion ($272.3 million).  VINARE took the lead in carrying out the policy of restructuring state-owned enterprises with a successful equitization in 2004, raised additional capital and selected a strategic partner in 2007. Swiss Re, the biggest reinsurer in the world with 150 years of history, was selected as the only foreign strategic shareholder of VINARE. Together with a strategic cooperation agreement, Swiss Re has facilitated VINARE to access experience, know-how and the most advanced insurance products in the world, helping VINARE to enhance its competitiveness and reputation in the local and international insurance market. Selecting their strategic partner was voted as “The most successful transaction of Vietnam in 2008” by Finance Asia. A.M. Best has assigned VINARE with a financial strength rating of “B++” (Good) and an issuer credit rating of “bbb” (stable outlook). According to A.M. Best, the ratings reflect “VINARE’s solid risk-based capitalization, consistent operating performance, sound liquidity and strong presence in Vietnam’s non-life reinsurance market”. VINARE shares (VNR) have been listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange since 2006. The Corporation has always taken the lead in enhancing the quality of corporate governance, ensuring transparency of information and shareholder interest. VINARE has been consistently honored in the Top 30 Transparent Enterprises of the Hanoi Stock Exchange since 2014. VINARE was part of the Top 500 most profitable companies in 2017 and ranked 5th out of 14 most profitable insurance companies according to the Profit 500 of Vietnam Report. VINARE was also honored as the Best Financial Indicators insurance company by the enterprise evaluation program of Hanoi University of Business and Technology and Vietnam Association of Accountants and Auditors. The Global Brands magazine headquartered in the United Kingdom also selected VINARE as “Best Reinsurance Brand Vietnam 2017”. Stepping up promotion of agricultural products Trade promotion to connect the supply and consumption of agricultural products is among the important trade activities that have received great attention from the authorised agencies, bringing about visible outcomes. The increasing consumption of lychees over the past few years is a typical example of the success in promoting agricultural products. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has recently coordinated with the five Northern provinces of Lang Son, Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Son La, and Hung Yen to organise a conference to promote the sale of longans and lychees in the Northern provinces from this year's crops. According to Director of the MARD’s Department of Cultivation Nguyen Hong Son, lychees and longans are major fruits in the Northern provinces of Vietnam with a total area of 98,300 ha, accounting for 27% of the total area of fruit trees in the Northern provinces. Of which, there are 58,800ha of lychees and 39,500ha of longans. In recent years, Vietnam has produced roughly 300,000 - 350,000 tonnes of lychees per year, becoming the world's third largest lychee producer after China and India. The yield of longans was also reported at 500,000 - 550,000 tonnes per year. Due to favourable weather, longan and lychee trees are growing well with the rate of flowering and matured fruit estimated at over 90% this year. Vice Chairman of Hai Duong provincial People's Committee Nguyen Anh Cuong said that Hai Duong has approximately 10,500ha of lychees, including 131.68ha that are eligible for growing lychees for export to the US, the EU and Australia. Thanks to its favourable climate, Hai Duong is expected to harvest 55,000 - 60,000 tonnes of lychees this year, a twofold increase compared to 2017, which is also the highest output over the past ten years. Meanwhile, backward preservation and processing technologies and a short period of preserving fresh lychees have caused difficulties for the transportation and consumption of the fruit. According to Vice Chairwoman of Bac Giang provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, lychees of the main crop in Bac Giang will be picked from June 15 to July 25, forecast to be a bumper crop of lychees, creating pressure for the province to boost the consumption of this fruit. Ha noted that Bac Giang also pays much attention to the new policy of China on the import of fruits, thus asking the MARD to promptly provide specific guidance for Bac Giang lychee growers. She noted that Bac Giang is seeking large enterprises to sign consumption deals with the local lychee growers. Meanwhile, a representative from Lang Son border province said that the province has invested in building warehouses, a rail route and upgrading roads to the 12 border gates with China in order to facilitate the export of fruit to China. In addition, the province is working to open several border gates specialising in exports and extend the clearance time up to 9pm to avoid the congestion of export fruits at border gates. The Lang Son administration is also negotiating with the Chinese side to conduct customs clearance on days off. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, who chaired the promotion conference, affirmed that the MARD will create favourable conditions for the Northern provinces to sell their agricultural products in Hanoi, while telling these provinces to pay heed to the southern market. Concerning the Chinese market, Cuong noted that the aim of exporting fruit to this market is to create high values for local farmers, emphasising that a bumper crop of fruits should not lead to a decline in the prices of agricultural products. To reduce the pressure on consumption of fresh agricultural products, it is necessary to promote the processing of products and encourage enterprises to boost the processing of lychees and longans, Cuong noted. In addition, it is advisable to effectively use bonded warehouse to temporarily store fruit while preparing all of the necessary logistics services to promptly consume fruit. Authorised agencies also need to create favourable conditions in terms of administrative reforms and transport to facilitate the consumption of lychees and longans. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has also attached due attention to the promotion of agricultural products to connect supply and demand which has brought about positive results. The consumption of lychees is one of the most successful examples of the promotion of agricultural products over the past few years. Before 2013, the sharp declines in the prices of lychees became an obsession with local farmers in Bac Giang and other lychee growing regions. The situation has changed over the past few years thanks to the strengthened promotion of lychees before and during the crops. In 2017 alone, trade promotion made significant contributions to the consumption of lychees in Bac Giang, helping to consume 91,000 tonnes of lychees. In addition, the average selling prices of lychees hit a record high of VND38,000 per kg for domestic consumption and VND58,000 per kg for export. Besides, the MoIT has successfully held trade promotion activities for thousands of other products. The statistics showed that the ministry organised 1,280 trade promotion programmes with a total cost of over VND170 billion (US$7.48 million) in 2017. In North Vietnam, local trade promotion centres conducted 315 trade promotion activities, accounting for 25% of the total trade promotion activities nationwide and assisted more than 5,100 local enterprises in taking part in such activities. Trade promotion activities have not only contributed to boosting the consumption of lychees but have also enhanced the quality of agricultural products. Thanks to the activities to connect supply and demand, farmers, enterprises and consumers have a better understanding about each other's demand towards on-demand production instead of unplanned production. In 2018, the MoIT will focus on the implementation of 71 projects and tasks to develop the domestic market aligned with the implementation of the 'Vietnamese people priorities using Vietnamese goods' campaign. According to the MoIT, Vietnamese fruit exported to China should notice that China will increase their tracing of the origin of Vietnamese fruit. Since April 1 this year, Chinese enterprises importing Vietnamese fruit via border gates in Guangxi province must provide packaging images containing traceability and quality information of products when they follow the procedures for getting imported animal and plant quarantine permits at Guangxi’s import quarantine management agency. Telephone, computer exports decline in April Export earnings from telephones, computers, electronic products and components saw declines in April but still enjoyed growth in the first four months of 2018, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The country’s exports of telephones of all kinds and components in April fell by 24.1 percent from the previous month to around 4 billion USD. However, the overseas shipments of these commodities in the first four months still soared by 36.8 percent year on year to 16.59 billion USD, said the department. Sharing the same downward trend last month, a month-on-month decrease of 11.1 percent was recorded in exports of computers, electronic products and components to stand at about 2 billion USD. Nearly 8.33 billion USD worth of these items were exported between January and April, up 10.8 percent from the same period last year. Earlier, the General Department of Vietnam Customs estimated the country’s total trade revenue in the four months at 144.13 billion USD, up 14.4 percent year on year.  Of the figure, the export value was likely to reach 73.76 billion USD, up 19 percent, while the import turnover was calculated at 70.37 billion USD, up 10.1 percent. Power losses in northern region continue to decline Electricity losses in the northern region have continued to drop, standing at 5.21 percent in the first four months of 2018, down 0.34 percent year on year, according to the Northern Power Corporation (NPC). The NPC, a subsidiary of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) Group, reported that in April, it ensured safe and stable power supply for business activities and daily use, especially during big holidays like the Hung Kings Temple Festival, the South Liberation and National Reunification Day (April 30) and the May Day (May 1), in 27 northern provinces. Its commercial power output was estimated at 5.14 billion kWh in April, up 10.63 percent from a year earlier. About 68.19 percent of the output was provided for industry and construction while another 25.97 percent was supplied to people’s daily use. Commercial power output surpassed 19 billion kWh from January to April, rising by 13.29 percent year on year. Over the past months, the NPC has put nine transmission projects into operation, adding 165 MVA and 60km of 110kV power lines to its system. It has also started six projects, thus helping to improve the power grid’s capacity and power supply stability, the corporation noted. The NPC said it will press ahead with solutions to ensure safe and stable power supply, reduce power losses and accelerate the construction of power facilities in May, ahead of the peak power consumption season in summer. Tien Giang expects to have 730 new firms in 2018 The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang expects to have 730 newly-established enterprises in 2018 with total registered capital of 3,196 billion VND (140.8 million USD), year-on-year rises of 9.3 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively. Since the beginning of 2018, almost 180 businesses have been set up in Tien Giang, which have combined registered capital of 1,115 billion VND (49.1 million USD), up 14.2 percent and 27.1 percent, respectively, from the same period last year. Tien Giang province is now home to 4,581 enterprises which have created a large number of jobs for workers and supplied a wide range of products for domestic consumption and export.  The province has also attracted five projects, including three foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, totally worth 483 billion VND (21.2 million USD), in local industrial parks and industrial clusters.  According to the provincial People’s Committee, Tien Giang has drastically deployed the Party Central Committee’s and the provincial Party Committee’s directives and resolutions on improving the efficiency of support and business development in 2018 with a vision through 2020. The province has continued creating the best conditions for enterprises, improving its investment-business environment, reducing relevant costs and encouraging businesspeople to invest in the fields of their strength. With regard to operating firms, the provincial authorities have encouraged them to renovate production lines and technologies and better their competitiveness in the markets. In addition, the province also set forth specific policies and measures for each of its key economic regions. PPP infrastructure investment should be promoted: official Encouraging investment in infrastructure in the form of public-private-partnership (PPP) is necessary to tap into domestic and foreign capital sources and technology, said Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang. Thang cited an estimate by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that Vietnam needs about 16-17 billion USD for infrastructure investment between 2015 and 2025. The figure was forecast to be 17.2 billion USD by the Hong Kong – Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). However, the State budget for public investment is limited, hence the need to mobilise investment from other economic sectors, Thang said.  He noted that the Ministry of Planning and Investment had made several efforts to promote PPP investment in the forms of some Decrees, such as the government’s Decree No.15/2015/ND-CP dated February 14, 2015 on PPP investment and Decree No.30/2015/ND-CP dated March 17, 2015 stipulating the execution of some articles in the Law on Bidding about the selection of investors.  However, the enforcement of those documents revealed many limitations, which failed to create an attractive environment and flexible investment methods for investors, especially those from overseas. The National Assembly has entrusted the government to study and draft a PPP law to remove difficulties and legal restrictions in promoting this investment form. The Ministry of Planning and Investment has embarked on the process to build the PPP law, which is expected to take three years.  The ministry has collected opinions from relevant ministries, sectors, localities and businesses on the need for such a law, and submitted a proposal on building the law to the Government. The proposal will be considered at the cabinet meeting in May and submitted to the National Assembly in July 2018. Forum discusses ways for youths to successfully establish startups Young Vietnamese entrepreneurs must pay attention to six crucial steps in order to successfully establish a startup business, said CEO of Startup Vietnam Foundation (SVF) Pham Duy Hieu at a recent forum held in Hai Phong. "First, you must find your inspiration. Once this has been found, it is important to learn the necessary basics of how to start a business. Next you should set up a startup group, in order to learn from and support fellow entrepreneurs who could possess invaluable skills to help you along the way. Once you’re connected you must learn the essential skills required for creating your own startup. It is important to make sure that you are always growing and learning from your mistakes, and finally, you must believe in yourself to become the champion," he said. The forum was organised to educate the many young people who have failed to launch a startup because they had no prior experience in running a business. The forum, co-held by the SVF and the city’s Science and Technology Department, also aimed to motivate more young people to have a go at creating a start up business. According to Hieu, many people get inspired and take the leap to start their own business, but rather than continue to move forward and adapt, they simply stay where they are and complain. The second step would provide the most streamlined knowledge, he said, this knowledge was essential for someone starting a business, and would help them avoid hurdles along the way. The purpose of setting up a startup group was to help the people who want to start a business, by giving them the tools to find the complementary pieces for themselves, he said. “Each person in the group will have different talents, and some will be essential to support the other,” Hieu said. Additionally, the launch of a startup requires the participation of mentors and advisors that could become shareholders of the startup. In the early stages, a startup needs to join hands with other forces to grow and develop together, he said. During the later stages, a startup should follow the rule of multiplication and division. The “multiplication-and-division” rule means that leading businesses should work together with startups, so that the benefits will be multiplied, and the scale and growth potential to each will be amplified accordingly, he said. However, Hieu also added that youngsters should not be afraid of failure. If they failed to successfully create a startup then they should try again, because each failure will serve as a lesson to bring them closer to success. Other speakers at the forum answered questions from young people about mechanisms and policy at both central and local levels to support startups, as well as how non-governmental organisations work to give support for startups. Questions were also raised on how to choose a suitable field for a startup, what the role of the investor encapsulates, and how to gain access to investment funds. Speaking at the forum, Vice Chairman of the Hai Phong People’s Committee Le Khac Nam said that the youngsters would be the generation to shoulder responsibility to make a prosperous Vietnam in the future. Therefore, the city would create the most favourable conditions for local young people to create startup companies, he said. As scheduled, following the forum, a meeting will be held on May 31 by the Dien dan doanh nghiep (Business Forum) newspaper and the Hai Phong Young Entrepreneurs Association with the aim of allowing young people to network and share experiences related to startups. Last year, Vietnam recorded the establishment of 126,859 new businesses, in part due to the Government’s strong promotion of startups. Data from the General Statistics Office shows that the country now has 561,064 businesses. The country is expected to become a startup nation with one million businesses by 2020. Tra Vinh calls for investment in industrial, agricultural projects The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh is giving priority to calling for investment in 59 projects in the fields of industry and agriculture between 2018 and 2025.   Under the list of prioritised projects announced on May 7, the province hopes to attract investment in 45 industrial projects and 14 agricultural ones. Those include a project to build an aquatic product processing factory with a capacity of 32,000 tonnes per year; a 40,000-tonne vegetable and food processing plant; a cattle and poultry meat processing factory with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year; and a 270MW-wind power plant. Besides, a high-quality rice production and processing plant with an area of 1,000 ha and a plant to produce peanut with a total area of 2,000 ha will also seek investors.  The projects will focus on producing high-tech products, clean farm produce by tapping potential in terms of materials and competitive advantages, thus increasing the added value of products.  Investors pouring investment into these projects will enjoy incentives related to land clearance, expenses for building technical infrastructure, production activities, processing and persevering farm produce, and environmental protection. Sweden shares experience in developing public transport The Swedish Embassy in Vietnam, the Swedish Commercial and Investment Office, and the Hanoi People’s Committee held a roundtable on May 7 to share Sweden’s experience in operating and monitoring public transport. At the event, representatives from Swedish companies including ABB, Erisson, Volvo Buses, Axis Communications, Volvo Cars and Roxtec, shared with Vietnamese partners measures to help Vietnam increase the number of public vehicle users, protect the environment and bring into full play the latest technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT) and eMobility. Like many other Asian nations, Vietnam is experiencing rapid urbanisation. As of 2017, around 40 percent of the country’s 90-million population lived in urban areas. The figure is expected to rise to 50 percent by 2025. In its strategy to develop public transport until 2020 within a vision to 2030, Vietnam sets a target of turning public transport into the top choice of people while controlling the growth of individual vehicles and improving urban transport quality. It also strives to have 20 percent of buses and taxis using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG) or solar energy by 2020. Quang Tri selects local products to join national staples The central province of Quang Tri has chosen coffee, pepper and shrimp to join the chain of national key products as they have competitive advantages, said the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Quang Tri is now home to more than 5,100ha of coffee, mainly in Khe Sanh in the mountainous district of Huong Hoa. The province has focused on helping local people re-grow coffee trees to bring higher economic value. Accordingly, the province will provide 500kg of NPK fertiliser for each newly-planted hectare of coffee, organise training courses to transfer cultivation, treatment and harvest techniques and purchase coffee directly from local farmers. Quang Tri has to date grown over 2,500ha of pepper. In 2014, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam issued a geographical indication certificate to pepper grown in Ho Xa town and Vinh Hien, Vinh Hoa and Vinh Nam communes of Vinh Linh district.  Especially, in April, pepper in four more districts of Cam Lo, Gio Linh, Vinh Linh and Huong Hoa also received the similar indication certificates. Besides, the province boasts a shrimp farming area of about 3,000ha, mostly in the coastal districts of Vinh Linh, Gio Linh and Trieu Phong. Quang Tri is striving to sustainably develop the shrimp-breeding sector by investing in infrastructure in farming areas, stepping up the application of technology in line with VietGap standards, and reducing diseases and environmental pollution, while making products which ensure food safety. For the sustainable growth of its main plants and animals, Quang Tri province also sought for support from the government to develop a hi-tech agricultural zone and pilot new land policies, along with calling for investment in infrastructure and agriculture. Fisheries sector enjoys great start to year Fishermen around the country caught 1.08 million tonnes of fish and other aquatic species in the first four months of the year, 2.7 per cent up year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Marine species accounted for 1.03 million tonnes, up 2.8 per cent and inland catches for 49,000 tonnes, the same as last year. Favourable weather and the appearance of large quantity of marine fish like scad, Indian mackerel and beltfish have contributed to the increase, the ministry said.  The prices of fish at fishing ports are ruling high. Indian mackerel is sold at VNĐ40,000 – 50,000 (US$1.8 – 2.2) a kilogramme, cuttlefish at VNĐ100,000 – 200,000 ($4.4 – 8.8) and tuna at VNĐ70,000 – 115,000 ($3.1 - 5). However, in the central provinces of Phú Yên, Bình Định and Khánh Hòa, the country’s largest tuna fishers, the catch was down 14 per cent to 7,427 tonnes. Aquaculturists have harvested 1 million tonnes of various aquatic species, up 6 per cent year-on-year, according to the ministry. The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta, the largest producer, accounted for 373,000 tonnes of tra fish, an increase of 8 per cent. Tra prices are high at VNĐ31,000 – 32,000 ($1.3 – 1.4) because of high demand for exports. More farmers in the delta have started to farm the fish, resulting in a shortage of fingerlings for breeding. The region also harvested 46,700 tonnes of black tiger shrimp and 51,500 tonnes of white-legged shrimp, up 1 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. In the southernmost province of Cà Mau, the country’s largest shrimp producer, farmers have enjoyed a bumper harvest and good prices in the first shrimp crop of the year. Trần Quang Hiên of Tâm Thành Commune in Cà Mau City said he sold his first shrimp crop for more than VNĐ1 billion ($44,000) and  earned a profit of VNĐ700 million ($30,830). Conditions for breeding shrimp are highly favourable this year with the salt content in the water not being too high and the weather not being too hot compared to last year, local farmers said. Cà Mau Province has more than 300,000ha of aquaculture ponds, or 27.9 per cent of the country’s total, according to the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.  Investor proposes toll exemption in Ninh Lộc toll station A new proposal for the reduction of toll fees, as well as the exemption of tolls for cars of 17 communes and wards located in a 10km radius of Ninh Lộc Toll Station in Khánh Hoa Province, has been submitted to the Ministry of Transport. The proposal came as a means to relieve tension from local drivers who are protesting against what they call unfair fees. “In the event that the ministry does not accept the proposal, the investor proposed that they would stop collecting fees from Ninh Lộc station, and asked that the government refund the investment and place the transport ministry in charge of collecting fees at the station”, Trần Phúc Tự, general director of the BOT Đèo Cả Company siad told online newspaper Vietnamplus.vn. The previous proposal was made in January by the BOT Đèo Cả Company, an investor for a section of road on National Highway 1 in Khánh Hòa Province, but was rejected by the ministry.   The ministry accepted toll reduction and exemption for cars from three communes located within a 5km radius of the station, and this has been the case since December last year. However, the local people in communes and wards of Ninh Hòa Township, which has not benefited from the fee exemption, protested against having to pay toll fees at the local station. In recent days Ninh Lộc BOT toll station has ground to a standstill due to protests by drivers, and has had to lift its barriers to allow vehicles to go through at no charge to avoid traffic congestion, reported the Người Lao Động (The Labourer) newspaper. Many drivers at the tollgate have refused to move, causing traffic congestion, so the station has had to repeatedly stop collecting fees in order to contain the situation. The station stopped its operation 40 times last Tuesday and Wednesday. The situation continued to escalate as once the station resumed normal operations, drivers would gather around again, forcing it to open up all traffic lanes once more. Most of the protesting drivers at the tollgate were living in Ninh Hòa Township. The drivers said that the tollgate collects unreasonable fees from local people, and that it is not fair that they should have to pay these fees so often. Drivers were angry at the company as it origionally claimed to offer fee reduction or exemption for residents in 17 wards and communes of the town, but more recently reduced the number to eight. In addition, instead of exempting drivers from the toll fee as promised, they instead provided a 50 per cent discount. This, the local people said, is not good enough. To relieve the situation and ensure traffic safety, the company has asked the Ministry of Transport to accept the proposal of toll reduction and exemption for cars of 17 communes and wards nearby the station. Tiền Giang expands fruit production as prices rise Tiền Giang Province, the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta’s largest fruit producer, has increased its fruit cultivation area to nearly 75,000ha this year, up three per cent against the same period last year. Farmers have planted 1,300ha of new dragon fruit, 1,200ha of pineapple and 400ha of new green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruit this year.   Under its agricultural structuring plan, the province has encouraged farmers to turn farmland unsuited to growing rice into fruit orchards.    Cao Văn Hóa, director of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province had set up concentrated fruit planting areas to produce specialty fruits for domestic and export markets. Specialty exports include Lò Rèn Vĩnh Kim milk apple in Châu Thành District, Ngũ Hiệp durian in Cai Lậy District, and citrus fruits in flood-prone districts. The province has also established a 7,000 concentrated durian planting area in Cai Lậy District, the largest durian planting area in the Mekong Delta. The milk apples, which are exported to the US, offer high profits for farmers. Advanced farming techniques, especially for off-season fruits, and good quality seeds have helped farmers increase profits by VNĐ300 – 500 million (US$13,200 – 22,000) per ha of specialty fruit a year. Some farmers can earn a profit of up to VNĐ1 billion ($44,000) per ha a year. Huỳnh Văn Kem, who plants 7,000sq.m of two specialty durian varieties - Ri6 and Mong Thong - in Cai Lậy District, said he harvests an average of 20 tonnes of durian a year and earns a profit of VNĐ1 billion. Durian yields high profits, but farmers must choose good seedlings, use advanced farming techniques and produce off-season fruits, according to Kem. Lê Văn Cẩn in Chợ Gạo District said he earns a profit of VNĐ100 million a year from planting 4,000sq.m of dragon fruit. This profit is four times higher than from rice, he said, adding that he planted rice on his farmland. Concentrated fruit planting trees have helped farmers increase their income, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The province has also started production chains for durian, Hòa Lộc mango and dragon fruit cultivation to 2020. The development of new fruit orchards has increased the demand for fruit seedlings. Út Phương, a fruit seedlings producer in Cai Lậy District, said the price of seedlings of Ri 6 and Mong Thong durian varieties had risen to VNĐ100,000 a seedling, up two times against the same period last year.  VNN