VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 10
15:31 Vietnam's
pangasius exports exceed expectations  Pangasius (tra fish) exports topped US$1.61 billion last year, an 8.4
per cent rise from 2020, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood
Exporters and Producers (VASEP). Exports rose quite sharply thanks to a surge in
shipments to markets such as Brazil (48.6 per cent increase), Colombia (68.5
per cent), Russia (72.8 per cent), and Egypt (51.7 per cent). VASEP said exports were up also thanks to the US
increasing buying amid an increasing Covid-19 vaccination rate and reopening
of restaurants. Exports to the US in fact doubled from 2020 to
$370.6 million. The fact that the US imposes zero import tariffs on Viet
Nam’s two leading pangasius exporters, Vinh Hoan Company and Nam Viet
Company, has been a big factor in exports to that market increasing
consistently. Meanwhile, exports to China were down 12.6 per
cent to $450 million, or 27.8 per cent of total exports. Exports to the EU declined for a fourth straight
year, falling 17 per cent to $106.2 million. Spain-based corporation
enters Vietnam’s water treatment market GS Inima Environment, the water treatment
subsidiary of Spain-based GS Engineering and Construction Corp. (GS E&C),
has acquired a 30 percent stake of Phu My Vinh Construction & Investment
JSC (PMV) – an industrial water supplier in the Vietnam's southern province
of Long An. This move demonstrates the company’s effort to
tap the Southeast Asian water treatment market after its foray into the South
American and Middle Eastern markets. Specifically, GS Inima holds 30 percent,
Malaysian water treatment company RBC Water, 30 percent, and individual
Vietnamese investors have a 40 percent stake in the PMV - the owner and
operator of two industrial water treatment plants in Long An. Over 1 billion USD raised via
G-bonds last month The State Treasury raised over 23.08 trillion VND
(1.017 billion USD) worth of Government bonds (G-bond) via 14 auctions held
on the primary market on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) in January. The figure was down 23.6 percent month-on-month. Those with 10-year maturity accounted for the
largest share of the G-bonds sold, 46 percent, worth close to 10.63 trillion
VND in total. Interest rates for the 15-year bonds increased
against the previous month while those for the 10-, 20- and 30-year bonds
stayed flat. On the secondary market, bonds worth 1.52
quadrillion VND had been sold as of January 31, up 0.66 percent compared to
the end of 2021. Reference exchange rate down
18 VND The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference
exchange rate for the US dollar at 23,090 VND/USD on February 11, down 18 VND
from the previous day. With the current trading band of +/- 3 percent,
the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,783
VND/USD and the floor rate 22,397 VND/USD. The opening-hour rates at commercial banks
continued to drop. During the week from February 7-11, the daily
reference exchange rate was down on Monday but then followed an upward trend
in the next three days before turning around to drop on Friday. It ended the
week up 9 VND compared to the beginning of the week. Bright future forecast for US
companies in Vietnam despite COVID-19: AmCham There are great opportunities and a bright future
for US companies within sight in Vietnam despite the economic implications of
the COVID-19 for the country, said Adam Sitkoff, executive director from the
American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Hanoi, in a recent interview. US companies and investors have contributed
significantly to the transformation and growth of Vietnam’s economy, Sitkoff
told Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review). This continues today as AmCham
members represent billions of US dollars in foreign investment, tens of
thousands of direct employees, hundreds of thousands of indirect employees,
and a significant share of Vietnam’s exports and tax revenues, he said. He revealed that the Vietnam-US trade totalled
about 100 billion USD last year and the US remains Vietnam’s largest buyer,
even during these tough times. Last year was challenging for everybody,
regardless of business sector, he said, noting that for US companies in
Vietnam, the biggest challenge was the frequent changes in regulations that
were announced and implemented on short notice. He commended the Vietnamese government’s recent
decisions to facilitate cross-border travel and encouraged additional actions
to reduce the burdens on inbound and outbound international travel by both
foreigners and Vietnamese citizens. Hanoi seeks stronger
cooperation with Singapore Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien
Dung on February 10 suggested Singapore build a Vietnam-Singapore Industrial
Park (VSIP) in the capital city. At a reception for Singaporean Ambassador Jaya
Ratnam, Dung said Hanoi and Singapore have substantial cooperation
opportunities, especially in such areas as politics, pandemic prevention and
control, trade, investment, tourism, smart urban development,
education-training and culture. He called on Singapore to consider expanding
investment in other areas, apart from real estate and traditional craft
villages. For his part, the ambassador held that the two
sides should tighten solidarity and cooperation in the time ahead, noting the
political trust between the two countries would enable them to step up
cooperation. Vietnam and Singapore should strengthen
collaboration in human resources development and sustainable tourism, and
expand people-to-people exchange, he said. Singaporean enterprises wish to expand
investments in Hanoi and its adjacent localities, he said, suggesting the two
sides soon set up connectivity to enhance cooperation in the fields in which
Hanoi is interested. FLC proposes developing urban
area worth VND80 trillion in Binh Chanh FLC Group has proposed developing an urban area
project called Smart Eco City, which will cover nearly 1,200 hectares of land
and require an estimated investment of VND80 trillion in HCMC’s outlying
district of Binh Chanh, with a 99-story tower being a highlight. The project will be some 10 kilometers from the
city’s downtown area and 15 kilometers from the Tan Son Nhat International
Airport. Binh Chanh is also the gateway to the Mekong Delta. The urban area project was designed to have five
areas—ecological urban area; innovation and science-technology urban area;
hospitality and entertainment urban area; service, resettlement and social
housing area; and the existing residential area. The green space at the project was expected to be
over 75%. HCMC accelerating public
investment Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of
Planning and Investment Le Thi Huynh Mai had a talk about solutions to
promote disbursement of public investment capital in the near future. The amount of disbursement in 2021 only reached
VND 16,589 billion (US$733,342,754) of the total allocated capital of
VND32,262 billion, equivalent to 51.4 percent. Compared to prior years, disbursement results in
2021 are low in the context of unprecedented epidemics, investors and state
management agencies must allocate human resources to support epidemic
prevention and control, inadequacies in public investment, land,
construction, bidding procedures, regulations on criteria. Some regulations
are not specific; thus, it takes time for competent authorities to explain. The city will have three major solutions in 2022.
Specifically, the city will speed up the implementation of compensation,
support and resettlement for projects with land acquisition, to hand over
project sites to investors for implementation. Based on the progress of disbursement of the
public investment plan in 2022 of the investors, the Department of Planning
and Investment advised the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to transfer
capital from low-disbursed projects to projects with higher potential
disbursement during the year. Shrimp-rice farms to be
expanded to 200,000 hectares in 2022 About 200,000 hectares of shrimp-rice farms will
be developed in 2022 with total output of 120,000 tonnes, according to the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Directorate of
Fisheries. Shrimp-rice farming (one shrimp crop and one rice
crop in the same farming area) is an effective model in the Mekong Delta
region with high economic efficiency, reaching 60-70 million VND (2,643-3,000
USD) per hectare each year on average. Rice cultivation in shrimp raising areas is a way
to remove salt from the rice fields during the rainy season, limit salt
intrusion, and prolong the life-span of land use. In order to deal with problems hindering the
expansion of the model, the Directorate of Fisheries asked regional
localities to develop the irrigation system to meet the water supply demand,
while improving farmers’ cultivation techniques. Vietnam to export durian to
China via official channels Vietnamese enterprises must strictly comply with
set regulations relating to origin traceability, growing area, and packaging
codes in order to export durian to China in a sustainable manner via official
channels, according to industry insiders. The Import and Export Department under the
Ministry of Industry and Trade has outlined that durian consumption in China
from 2010 to the present has witnessed rapid growth, maintaining an annual
average of more than 16%. At present, China is the largest consumer of
Vietnamese durian, but the fruit in the peeled and frozen form has been
shipped via unofficial channels. Seven export commodities earn
more than US$1 billion each in January Vietnamese exports in January witnessed a surge
of 1.6% to US$29 billion in value against the same period last year, with
seven groups of commodities earning over US$1 billion each, accounting for
63.3% of total export turnover, according the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Among the leading commodities, phones and
components fetched US$4 billion, trailed by computers, electronic products
and components (US$3.5 billion) and textiles and garments (US$3.3 billion). The agro-forestry-fisheries sector raked in
approximately US$2.67 billion, representing an annual rise of 21.4%. Other
export commodities secured high growth, including seafood, coffee and pepper
earning US$870 million, 395 million, and 71 million respectively. Most notably, the group of industrial processing
products brought in US$24.95 billion, edging up 0.2% year on year and
accounting for 86% of total export turnover. Prices of Da Lat roses surge
2-3 folds prior to Valentine’s Day Prices of roses grown in Da Lat city of the
Central Highlands province of Lam Dong are twice or thrice the normal as
Valentine’s Day (February 14) is approaching. Farmers in famous flower villages in the city,
namely Van Thanh, Thai Phien and Lang Biang, are busy harvesting roses to
sell in major cities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and some southern
localities. The prices of Da Lat flowers usually see an
upward trend following the end of the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday,
especially on the threshold of Valentine’s Day. Favourable weather this year results in a high
yield, floriculturists said. Prices of other flowers also rise on the
occasion. CAAV approves increase of
flight frequency at Tan Son Nhat airport The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has
decided to increase the landing and takeoff frequency at the Tan Son Nhat
International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City based on the transport needs of
airlines from now to February 20, 2022. Accordingly, from February 10 – 20, the hourly
frequency of landing and takeoff is 48 flights during the time from 06:00 am
to 11:55 pm (local time), and 36 flights for the duration from 00:00 am to
05:55 am (local time). From February 21 to April 30, the frequency will stand
at 30 flights per hour. According to the CAAV, the travel demand from the
localities nationwide to HCM City still remains high after the Tet festival. To meet this increasing travel demand, from
February 7 to 10, 2022, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines scheduled
flights and asked for slots and flight permits from the CAAV for 197 flights
from localities with high demand to HCM City, including Hanoi, Da Nang, Vinh,
Thanh Hoa, Hue, Quang Ngai, Quy Nhon, Dong Hoi, Hai Phong, Buon Me Thuot,
Pleiku, and Tuy Hoa. Customs procedures to go
paperless from 2022 The customs sector will synchronously implement
solutions to achieve the target of paperless customs in 2022, according to a
directive recently issued by the General Department of Customs. Directive No. 384/CT-TCHQ on enhancing
administrative reform and simplifying customs procedures, dated February 8,
is intended to build a digital, smart customs sector. Accordingly, all customs procedures nationwide
will be conducted on digital platforms. The sector will also step up connectivity and
digital transformation through the national single window system. At the same time, efforts will be made to
accelerate the implementation of the action plan to promote the ASEAN single
window mechanism, which is linked with the sector’s information-technology
system. The sector will build digital customs platforms
based on big data and bring into full play new technologies of the fourth
Industrial Revolution, striving to take the lead in the Government's digital
transformation plan. Vietnamese food companies
join Russia's PRODEXPO 2022 Veteran Vietnamese firms in the Russian market
are attending the 29th International Exhibition For Food, Beverages and Food
Raw Materials (PRODEXPO 2022), which runs in Moscow from February 7 to 11. Among them is the Nafoods group, which sells
dried tropical fruit, particularly mango. The company’s current sales are
estimated at 200 – 250 tonnes of the products per month. Another Vietnamese enterprise participating in
the exhibition is the Sostra group, which has operated for 20 years in the market
with hundreds of food brands, notably regarding chili sauce, soy sauce and
instant noodles. Smartphone market of Vietnam
expected to pick up speed in 2022 Based on an on-year comparison with 2021,
Vietnam’s smartphone market is expected to continue to grow in 2022 and
become one of the most competitive ones in Southeast Asia. The Counterpoint Research’s Monthly Vietnam
Channel Share Tracker published on February 10 shows, that in 2021, Vietnam’s
smartphone shipments increased 15 per cent on-year and in the fourth quarter
alone, the figure reported an increase by 104 per cent quarter on-quarter. After crossing the post-pandemic phase of pent-up
demand, smartphones remained in high demand throughout the year, despite
market difficulties, including macroeconomic worries, supply chain issues,
and the emergence of new COVID-19 variants. The year 2021 also saw Samsung
and Apple registering their highest ever shipments in Vietnam. Vietnam gains strong growth
in veg, fruit exports in January The fruit and vegetable export value in January
reached US$301 million, a sharp increase compared to $260 million in the same
period of 2021. Enterprises maintained their export activities
during the Lunar New Year so a volume of vegetables and fruits was still
exported normally to the US, EU and Australia, contributing to the impressive
export revenue in January. The EU market is forecast to be a promising
market in 2022. Now, the EU market imports a volume of vegetables and fruits
worth about $100 billion each year. Therefore, with the advantages from the
Europe-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Viet Nam's fruit and vegetable
exports to this market will continue to grow strongly. In 2022, Viet Nam's fruit and vegetable export
turnover to the EU is expected to increase by 10-15 per cent on year,
reaching about $200 million. Hanoi to boost food promotion
programmes The campaign will provide a boost to the local
food industry and is expected to attract from 1,000 to 2,000 businesses in
all sectors. It will be held in May, July, and November this
year. Vietnamese retail industry
set to bounce back According to experts, modern retail distribution
faces the biggest challenge in the last two years due to changes in customer
trends, human resources, warehouse operation and the supply chain. During the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
in HCM City, the supply chain of goods suffered many fluctuations which the
modern retail enterprises must respond to in its distribution system instead
of the traditional role of providing goods to consumers onsite. During the pandemic, retail businesses invested
in technological innovation and applied them in operations, business, and
delivery services to fully meet the needs of customers. MM Mega Market Viet Nam system has started a
multi-channel sales development strategy, along with completing the online
sales solutions: website MM Click & Get; Zalo and Telesales. Similarly, Saigon Co.op, AEON, and LOTTE Mart are
also pushing sales via phone, Zalo, assorted apps and e-commerce partners. Experts forecast the COVID-19 pandemic will still
be complicated in 2022, thus businesses must be well-prepared to stay up to
speed during the recovery. Capital demand remains high
after Lunar New Year holiday It was different from previous years when the SBV
didn’t need to inject money to support the liquidity of commercial banks or
even had to withdraw money from the banking system when the capital demand
was low after Tet. Specifically, in three consecutive trading sessions
of this week, the SBV injected nearly VND13.93 trillion into the market
through the open market operation (OMO) channel. At the session on Wednesday
alone, seven banks borrowed nearly VND7.94 trillion from the SBV’s channel. Due to the poor liquidity, the interbank interest
rate has remained high at above 2 per cent per year since the beginning of
this week. The rate is even higher than that before Tet. Data from the SBV
showed the overnight interbank interest rate jumped to 2.59 per cent on
February 8, even higher than the 2.53 per cent two-week rate. Construction begins on first
green material factory in Southeast Asia Construction began on the first and largest green
material factory in Southeast Asia, in the Northern city of Hai Phong on
February 9. Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue
(8th from left), leaders from ministries and localities press the button to
kick-start construction of the project, Hai Phong City, February 9, 2022 Located in the city's Nam Dinh Vu Industrial
Park, the US$120 million plant is a high-tech investment priority project.
With a capacity of 30,000 tons per year, the plant will be completed in the
next 24 months. PBAT's operating efficiency is highly optimized
with an average operating time of 8,400 hours, equivalent to 350 days/year.
The factory also achieves high automation, which is expected to create jobs
for about 200 high-quality workers. Construction of $120-million
compostable resin factory kicks off in Hai Phong Work on the PBAT compostable resin plant, with a
total investment of US$120 million, kicked off in the Nam Dinh Vu Industrial
Park, the port city of Hai Phong. With an output of 30,000 tons annually, the
plant, among the priority high-tech investment projects, is expected to be
completed in 24 months. Once being put into operation, the factory will
meet 100% of the material needs of An Phat Holdings, the Vietnamese plastics
manufacturer, and the export goal. With the investment in modern technology and
machinery, the factory’s operating efficiency is highly optimized with an
average operating time of 8,400 hours, equivalent to 350 days per year. The
factory is expected to create jobs for about 200 highly-qualified workers. National Highway No.13
expansion project to start works by end of April After a site survey, the Provincial Party
Committee of Binh Duong leaders unified to tentatively start works of
expanding the National Highway No.13 and its intersections by April 30. Regarding the compensation and site clearance, it
is necessary to strengthen the mass mobilization to create consensus between
local people and enterprises. The 12.7-kilometer long expansion project of the
National Highway No.13 will be implemented at a section from Vinh Phu Ward,
Thuan An City to Le Hong Phong junction in Thu Dau Mot City with six to eight
lanes. The total amount for the above-mentioned project
is expected to reach VND1,400 billion (US$62 million), excluding the site
clearance fee. Petrol shops in Mekong Delta,
Dong Nai reopen Many petrol stations in the Mekong Delta and the
Southern Province of Dong Nai resumed operation after closure amidst a
shortage of the item. Director of the Department of Industry and Trade
of Dong Thap Province Nguyen Huu Dung said that responsible agencies have not
recorded speculation of petrol or oil. Of roughly 514 retail petrol and oil retailers,
four petrol retail stores closed the door because employees went home on the
occasion of the Lunar New Year of Tiger in 2022. They are all back to work
again. There are approximately 586 petrol stations, with
4 branches, subsidiaries, petroleum wholesalers, two general agents, seven
petroleum distributors in An Giang Province and 21 petroleum distributors
outside the province. Distributors in An Giang Province are having difficulty
in buying petrol from wholesalers because they hadn’t signed contracts with
wholesalers beforehand; thus, they hardly have access to the supply from
wholesalers. Over 1.1 billion shares of
EVNGENCO3 debut on HoSE Power Generation Joint Stock Corporation 3
(EVNGENCO3) today, February 10 listed over 1.12 billion shares on the
Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE) under the code PGV. With a reference price of VND39,480 per PGV share
and a margin of 20%, the corporation’s market capitalization was estimated at
over VND44.3 trillion. Earlier in 2018, PGV was traded on the Unlisted
Public Company Market (UPCoM), making it the first among the three power
generation corporations under the Vietnam Electricity Group listing shares. EVNGENCO3, with a chartered capital of over
VND11.2 trillion, runs many large-scale gas- and coal-fired thermal power
plants and hydropower and solar power ones, the local media reported. Closing the debut session today, PGV gained 12.4%
against its reference price at VND44,400. HCMC sets up inspection team
for petroleum business to prevent speculation This morning, an inspection team paid visits to
petroleum stations as a move to prevent speculation and hoarding goods before
the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Finance will make adjustments for petrol
prices this afternoon. Today, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of
Industry and Trade Bui Ta Hoang Vu signed Decision No. 25/QD-SCT on
inspecting the observance of the law on petroleum business in the area taking
effect from the date of signing to December 31. Inspectors will visit
petroleum retailers. During the inspection, when detecting any
violation, the inspection team shall make a record of administrative
violations; they will seal, confiscate documents and material of the
violation as well as suspend illegal activities and impose sanctions on
violators. Prior, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of
Industry and Trade issued Decision No. 23/QD-SCT on inspecting the observance
of the law on petrol and oil trading in the area. The Decision takes effect
from the date of signing until May 31, 2022. This decision aims to correct
the petroleum business activities and promptly handle violations. The inspection team is comprised of
representatives of many departments and branches such as the Department of
Industry and Trade, the Department of Market Management, and the Ho Chi Minh
City Police Department. Source: VNA/VOV/VNS/VNN/SGGP/VIR/SGT |
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