The State Appraisal Council will be established to appraise the pre-feasibility report of the North-South Expressway project.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung was appointed as the chairman of the State Appraisal Council, with a deputy minister of Planning and Investment as vice chairman.

The list of the remaining members of the council, who will be hailing from other ministries, will have to be submitted to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) by August 10. The Ministry of Transport was put in charge of providing sufficient documents related to the appraisal of the project’s pre-feasibility study report.

As an appraisal council, the body will appraise projects related to the North-South Expressway, a key project of national importance. It will have the right to request relevant documents from investors and contracted consultants as well as hire domestic and foreign consultancy units to ensure the independent and objective assessment of the works. The council will be dissolved once the appraisal work is completed.

The Eastern Cluster of the North-South Expressway project will span 12 cities and provinces from Ha Tinh to Ca Mau. The project includes 12 component projects with three sections, including Ha Tinh-Quang Tri (267km), Quang Ngai-Nha Trang (353km), and Can Tho-Ca Mau (109km). According to the Ministry of Transport, there are two construction plans for the project.

Under the first plan, all 12 components projects would be implemented under the public-private partnership (PPP) model by 2025. These sub-projects would have a total investment capital of VND146.99 trillion ($6.4 billion), half of which would come from the state budget and the other half from investors and other sources.

The second plan would involve nine PPP components, while the financing of three others would be decided later because a section of Ho Chi Minh Road crosses the planning zone of the North-South Expressway.

In this case, the nine PPP projects would have a capital value of VND118.67 trillion ($5.16 billion), including VND61.63 trillion ($2.7 billion) from the state budget and VND57.04 trillion ($2.48 billion) from other sources.

British Council grants for traditional handicraft producers utilising digital technology

Organisations, collectives and craftsmen from 18 countries, including Vietnam, have the opportunity to receive financial support for the sustainable development of traditional handicrafts.

The British Council (BC) is offering a total of five collaboration grants of 8,000 pounds (11,100 USD) for projects that showcase radical thinking using digital technology in craft and how craft can benefit from technology in order to continue to influence economic, social and environmental sustainability.

In response to restrictions on global travel due to COVID-19 and rising concerns about the sustainability of face-to-face collaborations, the Crafting Futures Digital Collaboration Grants is a way to foster important international connections and devise alternative ways of working virtually in craft.

Countries eligible for this opportunity include the UK, Brazil, Mexico, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Egypt, Iraq, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Turkey and Ukraine.

Three of these grants will be awarded to collaborations that are led by individuals and two will be awarded to collaborations led by organisations.

The proposals need to showcase radical thinking about working digitally in craft education and learning through making; how craft can benefit from the injection of digital technology in order to continue to influence economic, social and environmental sustainability; and inclusion and mutual engagement of marginalised and indigenous or female communities in the digital age.

The British Council is looking for projects that can be shared broadly with a wide range of audiences such as residencies, exhibitions, showcases or conferences; online archives; creative collaborations; online craft skills and education among others.

The collaboration grant is open to craft practitioners, researchers, collectives, organisations, institutions or companies, or anyone with an interest in and knowledge of craft.

The lead collaborator must be based in the UK who will submit the application and will be responsible for leading communications and disseminating the grant to all collaborators.

Applications should be completed on August 22 at https://britishcouncil2.formstack.com/forms/crafting_futures_digital_collaboration_grant?/.

Measures sought to boost export of dragon fruit to India, Pakistan

A business networking conference was organised virtually on August 5 to seek ways to boost the export of dragon fruit to India and Pakistan amid difficulties due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dragon fruit, which ranks first in terms of competitive advantage among 11 fruits and is often in the group of products earning billions of USD from export, is entering the harvest time, with an estimated output of 1.45 million tonnes in 2021, up 10 percent year-on-year.

Therefore, the sale of dragon fruit is a great pressure for localities, including southern Binh Thuan and Long An provinces. Binh Thuan’s total output of dragon fruit is estimated to reach 650,000 tonnes this year, while that of Long An is estimated at 330,000 tonnes.

Vu Ba Phu, Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, expressed his hope that through this conference, businesses and localities will have the opportunity to learn more about the market situations, demands and requirements of the Indian and Pakistani markets.

Businesses and localities can introduce to Indian and Pakistani partners the potential and strengths of Vietnamese dragon fruit products, and connect promising business cooperation opportunities in the future, he added.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau affirmed that the Vietnamese diplomatic agency and the trade office in Indian always exert their efforts to connect Vietnamese exporters with the Indian market.

In the past 5 years, the value of Vietnamese dragon fruit exports to India has surged, from 26 percent in 2015 to 52 percent in 2020, Chau said, adding that this shows that India has a huge demand for this fruit.

The Vietnamese Embassy in India is willing to support domestic enterprises in the promotion and sale of fresh and processed dragon fruit products, he affirmed.

As Vietnam has yet to export dragon fruit to Pakistan, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Tien Phong suggested businesses learn about consumption habits to approach the market appropriately./.

Land encounters downward trend

Previously a profitable and stable segment of the real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding areas, land plots are showing the first signs of a downward trend with many owners facing a cash shortage and having to sell their property to cut losses.

In the last five years, land plots in the south of the country saw a steady increase in profits, from 15 to 40 per cent on average. Some projects with good infrastructure even experienced double profits – but the pandemic, inevitably, is changing the game.

Forced to sell a land plot in an area adjacent to Ho Chi Minh City at a loss of nearly 10 per cent, Nguyen Minh Hung in Thu Duc city said this was the most reasonable choice he could make now to cope with increasing pressure from bank loans.

Hung himself could not hold on any longer when his family’s small business had to close for months due to COVID-19, but he still has to pay interest for the debt for the plot.

Hung bought a land plot in Thuan An city of Binh Duong province, next to Ho Chi Minh City, at a cost of more than VND6 billion ($260,000) a year ago with the purpose to re-sell to gain profit. The increasing presence of COVID-19 however prevented him from selling this plot when the market became frozen with the lowest interest paid by potential buyers.

Trading activities have not only been halted in Ho Chi Minh City, but in all neighbouring provinces. Meanwhile, people have felt forced to sell land plots to collect their investment back in the context that they cannot bear the bank interest and no-one knows when the pandemic will be controlled and the market can be resumed.

“My target now is soon collect the investment back before everything becomes harder if the pandemic is long-lasting,” Hung said.

Figures from batdongsan.com.vn reveal that many owners offer land plots in Ho Chi Minh City and neighbouring provinces such as Long An, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Binh Phuoc. However, sales are not easy with much fewer buyers than normal, with owners forced to accept discounts and suffer losses if they want rid.

According to a report released in July by the Ministry of Construction, prices of land plots in provinces have dropped by 10-30 per cent currently, compared to the end of 2020.

Real estate experts said that the latest outbreak of pandemic is pushing real estate into a scenario where there is intense downward pressure on the secondary market. Nguyen Quoc Anh, deputy general director of batdongsan.com.vn, said it is significantly even more challenging for investors who are using finance solutions from banks and financial institutions.

“Those investors will be under pressure to reduce their selling price if they want to sell their land plots to reduce financial burden. If the pandemic is soon controlled and the market recovers quickly, the wave of cutting losses will stop but on the contrary, there is certainly a wave of distressing land plots to cut losses,” Anh said.

Real estate expert Tran Khanh Quang said that the unpredictable developments of the pandemic causing long-lasting social distancing over 19 southern provinces have pushed the real estate market into a standstill. Secondary trading volume has meanwhile dropped by 90-95 per cent.

The wave of selling-off land plots is forecast to increase sharply in the latter months of the year if the pandemic is not controlled soon.

However, Quang also said that “what is bad for one person may be good for another”.

“Investors who are holding cash in their pockets can utilise this opportunity to buy in distressed property. Those will bring benefits when the pandemic is fully controlled again,” he said.

In particular, Quang noted that, despite struggling with many challenges over the past 18 months, the country may only be witnessing a short-term slowdown of the real estate market, especially in land plots, a favoured segment for investors.

“Purchasing power may increase soon when the pandemic is under control. Moreover, the stimulus packages with preferential policies from the state such as tax reduction or payment extensions will help the market become more resilient,” he said. “The nature of the real estate market is sensitive – as easily as it can freeze, it can also very quickly become feverish.”

Tien Giang’s exports surge 19.8 percent during January-July

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang pocketed 1.96 billion USD from exports in the first seven months of 2021, up 19.8 percent year-on-year and equal to 60.2 percent of the yearly plan, said Acting Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Dang Van Tuan.

Foreign-invested enterprises accounted for nearly 85 percent of the province's total export turnover.

Notably, the province continued seeing growth in the shipments of its strong commodities. Accordingly, in the period, Tien Giang exported over 461 million USD worth of metal products, including copper pipes, up 34.4 percent over the same period last year, nearly 338 million USD worth of footwear, up 32.3 percent, over 8,300 tonnes of vegetables and fruits for 17.62 million USD, up 15.68 percent in volume and 15.6 percent in value.

Tuan said that the department has promoted its role in coordinating with the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to provide timely information about the export markets to businesses, connect markets and customers, and avoid the disruption of the supply chains for the export markets amidst complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The province has encouraged enterprises to step up online trade promotion activities to boost the export of local products such as processed seafood, agricultural products, vegetables and fruits to China, Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea and the European Union, especially those recovering soon after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attention has also been paid to the sale of products on e-commerce platforms such as Sendo, Shopee, Tiki, Voso and Postmart, Tuan added./.

Binh Phuoc to reclaim lands from delayed projects

Binh Phuoc Province plans to repossess over 4,100 hectares of lands mostly from delayed projects for “national defence and socio-economic development,” its People’s Council has said in a resolution.

The 256 projects to lose the lands include many major ones like a 360ha solar energy farm, a 300ha military airport and a 200ha hi-tech agricultural park.

The province has asked the Government for 40,000 hectares of land owned by the Viet Nam Rubber Group and another 30,000ha owned by the province to expand three industrial parks and for other industrial and urban development projects.

Binh Phuoc, which has 14 industrial parks, is situated in the Southern Key Economic Zone and enjoys excellent connectivity with other economic hubs like Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces and HCM City.

It plans to build four new industrial parks and expand three existing ones by 2030.

Thanh Hoa has 20 more OCOP products

The Coordinating Office of the New Rural Development Programme in the central province of Thanh Hoa said on August 4 that the locality recently evaluated and classified One Commune, One Product (OCOP) products for the third stage this year.

Twenty six products from 14 districts, townships and cities were under classification. However, only 20 of them were recognised as OCOP products, three of them met four-star criteria, including Ha Lai leaf cake, Ha Trung district’s kitchen utensils, Quang Xuong district’s Quang Phuc fish sauce, and the remaining achieving three-starred standards.

Their production scale are above average and quality enough to be competitive in the market.

After over three years of implementing the OCOP programme, the province had 120 OCOP products as of August, ranking 10th nationwide in terms of the total products. It is now home to one five-star OCOP product, 30 four-star and 89 three-star ones.

To carry out the programme sustainably and effectively, the province took strict steps to evaluate and rank products in the right process. As scheduled this year, it will develop additional 80 provincial-level OCOP products.

Based on registrations by districts, townships and city, the Office will inspect production areas, help owners increase scale and quality, navigate markets and handle necessary procedures to join the programme.

Recognised products must meet all criteria in line with regulations. It is also a key task in the National Target Programme on New Rural Development in the province.

Bui Cong Anh, deputy head of the Office said after having their products recognised for the status, almost businesses and production facilities must expand production scale because their products become more popular.

Recently, several owners of local OCOP products established “Thanh Hoa OCOP cooperative” in line with the Co-operative Law 2012, playing a role as a business to promote trade and develop markets.

In the near future, the Office will work with localities to instruct owners how to invest in modern technology, improve product qualuty, gradually perfect production process in line with the OCOP programme regulations. The province will continue promoting trade at home and abroad, helping firms, cooperatives and owners sell products.

Many OCOP products of Thanh Hoa are exported to foreign countries such as Russia, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Japan and China.

Le Gia shrimp paste from Hoang Hoa district’s Hoang Phu commune has been exported to Russia, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China) and South Africa. Bamboo straws have been shipped to Switzerland, Sweden, and the United State. Handicrafts and other products made from sedge are sold in 64 supermarkets in the United States.

Over the past three years, Thanh Hoa has spent over 114 billion VND (4.9 million USD) supporting the implementation of the OCOP programme. Of these, more than 18.2 billion VND (791,622 USD) came from the central budget, 36 billion VND (1.5 million USD) from the local budget and the rest from producers.

In the 2021-2025 period, the province is striving to have at least three OCOP products rated as five stars, more than 100 as three and four stars, he said.

It will complete the application of information and technology in the production and trading of OCOP products. Each district will have at least one showroom which displays and sell these products. Creative design centres will also be formed in association with OCOP products promotion during the period.

The OCOP was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2008, following the model of Japan’s “One Village, One Product” and Thailand’s “One Tampon, One Product”. It is an economic development programme for rural areas focusing on increasing internal power and values, which is also meant to help with the national target programme on new-style rural area building./.

Disbursed public investment up 5.6 per cent in seven months

The disbursed public investment declined in July due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, but it still grew 5.6 per cent in the first seven months of 2021 as compared to the same period last year.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that the disbursed capital sourced from the State budget was estimated at VND38.3 trillion (US$1.7 billion) in July, down 1.7 per cent month on month and 12.4 per cent year on year.

The figure between January and July reached VND210.8 trillion, equivalent to 44.3 per cent of this year’s target and up 5.6 per cent from the same period last year.

The sum comprises VND35.2 trillion managed by central agencies and another VND175.6 trillion by localities, respectively rising 12.7 per cent and 4.3 per cent year on year, statistics show.

The COVID-19 resurgence has affected the implementation of public investment projects in 19 southern provinces and cities which are applying social distancing measures under the Prime Minister’s Directive 16/CT-TTg, as well as some others imposing anti-pandemic measures under Directive 15/CT-TTg, the GSO said.

It cited localities as reporting that many projects have been halted or lagged behind schedule, but investors, management boards, and contractors are making efforts and pledge to accelerate project implementation after the social distancing period is over.

Ca Mau works to increase banana value, output

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ca Mau province will popularise Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) and organic standards in order to increase the value and yield of its bananas.

The southernmost province will also combine the banana orchards with eco-tourism services to add to farmers’ incomes.

It will encourage farmers to turn mixed orchards, areas around fields growing other crops and near forests and unproductive rice fields into banana plantations.

Banana farmers will use intensive farming to increase yields, tissue culture and high-quality varieties. In the plantations, farmers will be encouraged to breed fish and livestock.

Besides, the province will strive to strengthen linkages between farmers and processors to increase the output of various products made from the fruit and its by-products.

Ca Mau, one of the largest banana growing provinces in the Mekong Delta, has 5,400ha under various varieties of the fruit, including 4,800ha of xiem, with an annual output of 60,000 tonnes.

The banana growing areas are located mostly in U Minh and Tran Van Thoi districts.

Nguyen Tran Thuc, head of the department’s Plant Protection and Cultivation Sub-department, said demand for xiem bananas remains steady despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and it fetches farmers a price of 3,500 VND a kilogramme, the same as before the outbreak.

The province’s bananas are sold in the delta and Ho Chi Minh City and exported to Cambodia through local traders.

Most are sold for eating fresh, with a quantity meant for processing into products like dried banana and banana cake.

Ca Mau plans to expand its area under banana to 6,000ha and annual output to 120,000 tonnes by 2025./.

Agro-forestry-fisheries exports up over 24 percent in Jan-Apr

Fisheries exports declined 4 percent year on year in July after surging 15 percent to earn 4.1 billion USD in the first half of 2021 as the COVID-19 outbreak has forced many seafood processing plants in the south to suspend production, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

VASEP now has a total of 270 producer members, mostly in the Mekong Delta and south central regions, said General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe. Just around 30 percent of seafood producers in the south can adopt “three-on-site” model, which involves on-site production, dining and rest, to be permitted to maintain production, he noted.

In those able to keep the production going, the headcount only accounted for 30 – 50 percent of the normal level since the remainders had quitted or taken unpaid leave, causing capacity to shrink 50 – 60 percent, he added.

Tra fish companies are struggling to purchase fresh inputs from farmers, said Truong Thi Le Khanh, Chairwoman of the Vinh Hoan Company, a tra fish producer in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap. Tra fish must be collected from different locations to provide inputs for production but travel restrictions have made it very difficult to do, she noted.

The VASEP forecast that export-led production is likely to suffer a 20 – 30 percent lack of inputs in the final months of the year due to a decrease in fishing and fish farming, and inputs for processing and exporting, while financial pressure is on a rise as a result of cancelling orders and costly “three-on-site” model.

The association is proposing the government to prioritise vaccinations for workers at seafood processing factories that are applying the model in order to prevent the risk of mass COVID-19 infections. It said if these workers are vaccinated against the virus, seafood processing plants will be able to sustain production, keep their buyers, and maintain employment for a large number of people./.

Swings and roundabouts for pharma groups so far in 2021

With risks from interruption of the medical ingredient supply chain and losses in the hospital channel, the Vietnamese pharma industry experienced a topsy-turvy first half of 2021, with potential growth set to focus on mergers and acquisitions.

Domesco Medical Import-Export JSC, the third-largest Vietnamese domestic drugmaker, in July announced the dissolution of the Vinh branch, which may be part of the company’s efforts to reorganise operations to increase efficiency amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first half of 2021 was not rosy for Domesco after the company made revenues of VND697.54 billion ($30.32 million), only slightly up 0.17 per cent on-year. Meanwhile, its after-tax profit was down nearly 39 per cent on-year.

In its financial statement, Luong Thi Huong Giang, general director of Domesco, blamed the poor result mainly on the fall in sales due to COVID-19 which prevented people from going to hospitals and drugstores; as well as rises in medical ingredient costs.

Although the year has brought challenges for Domesco and other Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies, some still made gains thanks to their strength and new strategies.

Traphaco JSC, the country’s second-largest publicly traded drugmaker, estimated that it made VND1.03 trillion ($44.78 million) in consolidated revenues and after-tax profit of VND124 billion ($5.39 million) in the first six months, up approximately 22 and 38 per cent on-year, and fulfilling 49 and nearly 52 per cent of the year’s targets, respectively.

Tran Tuc Ma, general director of Traphaco, attributed the growth to the new product Traphaton, which adds vitamin and mineral supplements, meeting local strong demands amid hot weather and pandemic developments. “The new product produces good revenue, surpassing the expected plan,” he noted.

Moreover, the strength of Traphaco’s operation is maintaining the growth rate of self-manufactured goods. During the period, the company saw double-digit growth in its self-manufactured goods.

Traphaco now boasts three big shareholders – State Capital Investment Corporation (35.67 per cent), Magbi Fund Ltd. (24.99 per cent), and Super Delta Pte., Ltd (15.12 per cent).

Traphaco set a target of obtaining net revenues of VND2.1 trillion ($91.3 million) and VND240 billion ($10.43 million) in profit after tax in 2021, an increase of 10 and 11 per cent compared to the previous year, respectively.

Similarly, Imexpharm Pharmaceutical JSC (IMP), Vietnam’s fourth-biggest pharma group, witnessed a slight on-year rise of 3.6 per cent to VND613.9 billion ($26.69 million) in the second quarter, while its after-tax profit ascended 3.2 per cent from the same period last year. IMP cited the challenges in the second quarter when the global supply chain of medical ingredients was hit as India, one of the biggest suppliers, experienced dire pandemic developments. As a result, IMP and other Vietnamese pharma firms faced steep price hikes.

Moreover, the latest wave of the pandemic in Vietnam is related to many hospitals, thus negatively affecting the ethical drugs channel (ETC), or the hospital segment, with which pharma giants like IMP are targeting.

Imexpharm targets a 10.7 per cent on-year rise in total revenue and 13.5 per cent in after-tax profit in 2021. SK Investment Vina III Pte., Ltd. is now the biggest foreign stakeholder at IMP with 29.42 per cent.

Likewise, the biggest publicly traded drugmaker DHG Pharmaceutical JSC recorded consolidated net revenue of over VND1.96 trillion ($85.21 million), and a consolidated after-tax profit of VND404.48 billion ($17.58 million), up 17.36 and 11.5 per cent on-year, respectively.

DHG, with the main foreign shareholders being Japan’s Taisho (51.01 per cent), attributed the improvements to its focus on selling strategic and key products, a well-organised distribution system, and reduction of expenses to adapt to COVID-19.

This year, DHG set targets of VND3.97 trillion ($172.6 million) in revenues, up 4 per cent from 2020, and pre-tax profit of VND821 billion ($35.69 million), equal to last year.

Like the others, the third-largest drugmaker aims to gain VND1.54 trillion ($66.95 million) in net revenues and VND215 billion ($9.34 million) in after-tax profit in 2021, up 6 and 20 per cent from 2020, respectively.

Blockades and social distancing in southern cities and provinces in July are expected to affect pharma firms’ sales more seriously in the third quarter when both the over-the-counter and ETC channels are hard hit.

Worse still, as most Vietnamese pharma firms are reliant on the import of medical ingredients, mostly from China and India, high risks of price rises in medical ingredients are expected. This has urged pharma firms to ensure reasonable storage of medical ingredients to deal with any possible breaks in the global supply chain.

In this challenge, IMP will strictly control inventory and debts, while focusing on online sales and marketing activities in the second half to ease the difficulties from social distancing and blockades.

To deal with the problem related to medical ingredients, IMP increased its reserves. Statistics from the drugmaker’s financial statement showed that IMP’s total assets rose 15 per cent on-year in the second quarter as the company increased working capital to store up ingredients to serve its demands.

Meanwhile, Traphaco will focus on self-researched and new products. Also, the progress of the technology transfer of modern pharmaceutical products by South Korea’s Daewoong Group to Traphaco is also a drastic focus. In 2021, Traphaco aims to complete the technology delivery of at least three products so that the company can make revenue from them next year. The South Korean partners’ products include diabetes, cardiovascular, and blood pressure medicines, which are now in great demand in Vietnam.

Nevertheless, the long-term prospects of the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry are bright. According to Fitch Solutions, Vietnam’s spending on healthcare is projected to reach $23 billion in 2022 and $42.9 billion in 2028. Rapid urbanisation is increasing healthcare demands in urban areas and, together with this, an ageing population leads to rising diseases and growing healthcare spending. This reflects much growth room for the local lucrative industry.

In addition, the development of IT applications is widening access to medical services, thus facilitating the operation of pharma giants’ distribution networks. More than that, new modern sales channels will be developed by pharma firms, together with traditional ones. Industry insiders forecast that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities will be more bustling in the industry in the months to come as investors want to tap into this growth potential.

Ngo Thanh Hai, senior associate of the law firm LNT & Partners told VIR, “More international businesses are planning to expand in Vietnam, with M&A being a targeted channel because acquiring Vietnamese firms will enable them to have the distribution rights.”

SeABank reduces interest rate to support customers

SeABank will reduce its interest rates by a maximum of one per cent, on its loans, for existing customers till the end of this year to help them through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The support programme will focus on sectors such as transport, warehousing, accommodation and catering services, education and training, and healthcare.

In addition, the bank will also launch preferential credit programmes and encourage customers to use non-cash transactions.

SeABank has been implementing a super fast disbursement programme for businesses affected by COVID-19 valued at VND2 trillion (US$87.3 million) with an interest rate of 6.5 to 8 per cent a year.

It offers preferential interest rates for firms that have import-export activities with an interest rate of 5.6 to 6.4 per cent a year. Businesses enjoy no fees for using a SeABank Visa Corporate for the first year. Businesses can take advantage of the working capital available from their card credit to help manage capital and spending effectively.

The bank also launched a range of measures for individual customers such as reducing interest rates by 0.3 per cent a year for all loans, and providing fee-free money transfers and bill payments.

SeABank would continue to have timely solutions to untie its customers’ difficulties in the complicated changes of the COVID-19.

Factors for Vietnamese agricultural produce to successfully break into UK market

Local businesses are looking at rosy opportunities to boost exports of agricultural products to the UK since the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement came into effect from the outset of this year, but more is needed to turn the opportunities into concrete benefits.

The first batch of longan of the 2021 season from the northern Highlands province of Son La has just arrived to the UK and the EU, paving the way for further batches of fresh fruits to enter these demanding markets from the province.

Earlier, local firms exported several shipments of rice and coffee to the UK to take advantage of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Aagreement (UVFTA) which came into force at the beginning of this year.

So far, despite zero tariffs on fruit and fragrant rice, shipments to the UK have been of a small value and reached the UK with support from new importers.

For instance, Vietnam National Seed Group (Vinaseed) shipped 60 tonnes of fragrant rice to the UK through privately-held Long Dan, which is owned by Vietnamese people and is based in the UK.

Local agricultural products could only make successful forays into UK market once local producers exercise production following Global GAP or EURO GAP standards and apply globally recognised management systems like ISO, or SA.

Before the UVFTA, the UK applied 17.4 per cent import tariff on Vietnamese fragrant rice (Jasmin), which has been abolished as of the beginning of this year, helping to bolster the competitiveness of Vietnamese rice

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade, Vietnam posted $2.85 billion of export turnover to the UK in the first six months of 2021, a nearly 28 per cent jump against the year prior. The growth was deemed quite positive thanks to the UVFTA.

The UK imports more than $700 billion of goods each year, of which Vietnam accounts for less than 1 per cent, which means there is definitely room for growth.

Last year, the UK imported more than 5.7 million tonnes of vegetables and fruits alone, valued at approximately $9 billion. The export value of such products from Vietnam to the UK only reached $11.6 million, 0.18 per cent of this.

As for rice products, last year the UK imported around 762,526 tonnes. Vietnamese exports made up 3,396 tonnes with a value of nearly $1.3 million, only 0.45 per cent of the total.

The finest agricultural export item to the UK is cashew nuts. According to figures from Vietnam's trade office in the UK, last year the country imported 23,000 tonnes of cashew nuts, with more than 16,000 tonnes coming from Vietnam, accounting for 71 per cent.

Pepper exports are also upbeat. Last year, Vietnam shipped 5,621 tonnes of pepper to the UK, raking in $48 million of the total 14,000 tonnes and $121 million that the UK imported.

According to Nguyen Canh Cuong, trade counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy to the UK, Vietnamese agricultural produce is gaining a foothold in the UK, with coffee, cashew nuts, and pepper selling well in big supermarkets while rice and fruits (longan, litchee, and dragon fruit) are mostly sold in minimarts.

Cuong noted that Vietnamese agricultural items have an edge in the UK over similar products from countries which have not yet signed an FTA with the UK. Local firms, however, can only avail of these competitive advantages if they can reach UK quality standards and match customer taste.

Industry experts noted that although the UK is a big market and the UVFTA has come into force, local firms need to take quicker actions to capitalise on this agreement, as the UK is also actively pursuing FTAs with other big trading partners. The country might also join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in the not so distant future.

Competition would therefore mount up, even as Vietnamese producers are working to reach stringent quality requirements such as Global GAP or EURO GAP standards and apply globally recognised management systems like ISO or SA.

In addition, the firms must ensure stability in both quality and quantity to develop sustainable relations with UK partners while simultaneously having suitable market access strategies.

Industrial zone leasing takes a hit as 2021’s pandemic complexities hinder activities

Manufacturers are buckling under the stress of attempting to operate with reduced staff numbers, or even house them at all as social distancing and domestic travel restrictions continue to make it difficult for industrial zones as well as developers in the leasing game.

More than two months have passed since the latest wave of the broke out, severely impacting industrial manufacturers and zones in the southern provinces.

Many localities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Long An, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau are forced to apply regulations that allow enterprises to only operate when they ensure the implementation of strict stay-at-work guidelines, which enables their workers to sleep, have meals, and work at the site.

Many companies and factories, however, had to suspend operations. Pham Quang Anh, general director of Dony Garment Co., Ltd. said that his factory had closed because he could not meet all requirements.

“Enabling hundreds of workers to stay and have meals in the factory exceeded our ability, so we had to halt operations,” Anh said.

According to a Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) report, only 70 out of 85 enterprises in Saigon Hi-tech Park registered to continue operating under the new regulations. In Linh Trung Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park 1, 13 of 32 enterprises had stopped running.

Challenging production activities of enterprises also affect the operation of industrial zones (IZs). Meanwhile, the social distancing and travel restrictions continue to make it difficult for developers to find customers to rent land, factories, and warehouses.

Apart from foreign investors who cannot enter Vietnam, potential industrial real estate financiers and tenants can also not directly visit and survey projects in other provinces, which partly affects the rental prices in IZs.

Lam Dieu Tam Hieu, deputy general director of Kizuna JV Corporation, an enterprise specialising in ready-built factories in Long An province, said that only about 50 per cent of enterprises are currently still operating with the company’s factory solutions. These are businesses maintaining production for orders that are in progress or have raw materials available at the warehouses.

“It is extremely difficult for manufacturing enterprises to maintain their production in this period due to many factors such as rising labour costs, shortage of labour, increased shipping costs, and regulations amid the pandemic,” Hieu said.

As a support for many enterprises, Kizuna decided to reduce its rental fees by 15 per cent for the third quarter of 2021. Its fees will also not be adjusted according to the economic growth forecast from the last quarter of 2021 to the end of 2022.

According to Nguyen Van Be, chairman of the HEPZA, the industrial real estate market has slowed down, with few potential tenants asking for expanding or leasing factories.

Although affecting the leasing results of IZs, businesses still expect industrial real estate to continue to grow thanks to the government’s efforts in both fighting against the pandemic and maintaining production.

The implementation of community vaccinations and the promise of a vaccine passport programme are what brings confidence to both property owners and investors.

Hieu said that Kizuna is now trying to attract existing enterprises that want to expand their businesses in Vietnam and look for a new factory. The company is particularly focusing on manufacturing enterprises with existing factories who are looking for relocations and upgrades to cut costs.

“The readiness and support services of Kizuna are helping enterprises to locate to Vietnam. Our marketing and consultant services are also adjusted to be more suitable amid the pandemic. Meetings and discussions are happening on online platforms like Meet, Zoom, and other social networking channels such as KakaoTalk, Line, and Skype,” Hieu said.

Dang Thanh Tam, chairman of Kinh Bac City Development Holding Corporation, believes that with vaccinations in cities and provinces, the pandemic will soon be controlled. “With the current policies, I hope that Vietnam can push back the pandemic within the next few months, and that the country remains a favourite destination for foreign investors,” Tam said.

As one of the country’s leading IZ developers, Kinh Bac is determined to expand and build new IZs to meet the demand of new tenants.

“Just a few days ago, Kinh Bac received bookings from existing investors to expand their production lines and, at the same time, from new investors. For example, LG has expressed its willingness to acquire more space in the third phase of our IZs,” Tam said.

Vietnam may receive $1.56 billion from $650 billion IMF special drawing rights

The board of governors of the International Monetary Foundation (IMF) has approved a general allocation of special drawing rights (SDR) equivalent to $650 billion on August 2 to boost global liquidity. Vietnam could be one of the emerging countries receiving support from this package.

“This is a historic decision – the largest SDR allocation in the history of the IMF and a shot in the arm for the global economy at a time of unprecedented crisis. The SDR allocation will benefit all members, address the long-term global need for reserves, build confidence, and foster the resilience and stability of the global economy. It will particularly help our most vulnerable countries struggling to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis,” Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, said.

The general allocation of SDRs will become effective on August 23. The newly created SDRs will be credited to IMF member countries in proportion to their existing quotas in the fund.

About $275 billion of the new allocation will go to emerging markets and developing countries, including low-income countries in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Bloomberg predicted Vietnam could receive $1.56 billion from the IMF package.

“We will also continue to engage actively with our membership to identify viable options for voluntary channelling of SDRs from wealthier to poorer member countries to support their pandemic recovery and achieve resilient and sustainable growth,” Georgieva said.

One key option is for members with strong external positions to voluntarily channel part of their SDRs to scale up lending for low-income countries through the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT). Concessional support through the PRGT is currently interest-free. The IMF is also exploring other options to help poorer and more vulnerable countries in their recovery efforts. A new Resilience and Sustainability Trust could be considered to facilitate more resilient and sustainable growth in the medium term, the IMF stated.

However, in July, the IMF forecasted lower prospects for Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam where recent waves of COVID-19 infections are weighing on activity. The fund forecast that emerging Asia would grow 7.5 per cent this year, down 1.1 percentage points from the April forecast, according to Reuters.

Tien Giang’s exports surge 19.8 percent during January-July

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang pocketed 1.96 billion USD from exports in the first seven months of 2021, up 19.8 percent year-on-year and equal to 60.2 percent of the yearly plan, said Acting Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Dang Van Tuan.

Foreign-invested enterprises accounted for nearly 85 percent of the province's total export turnover.

Notably, the province continued seeing growth in the shipments of its strong commodities. Accordingly, in the period, Tien Giang exported over 461 million USD worth of metal products, including copper pipes, up 34.4 percent over the same period last year, nearly 338 million USD worth of footwear, up 32.3 percent, over 8,300 tonnes of vegetables and fruits for 17.62 million USD, up 15.68 percent in volume and 15.6 percent in value.

Tuan said that the department has promoted its role in coordinating with the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to provide timely information about the export markets to businesses, connect markets and customers, and avoid the disruption of the supply chains for the export markets amidst complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The province has encouraged enterprises to step up online trade promotion activities to boost the export of local products such as processed seafood, agricultural products, vegetables and fruits to China, Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea and the European Union, especially those recovering soon after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attention has also been paid to the sale of products on e-commerce platforms such as Sendo, Shopee, Tiki, Voso and Postmart, Tuan added./.

Vietnam, Germany bolster cooperation in renewable energy

The Vietnamese Government gives high priority to sustainable energy development, aiming to ensure national energy security and greenhouse gas emission reduction, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Minh Vu told a meeting between the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany and Germany’s Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH (GICON) and the Vietnam Petroleum Institute (VPI) on August 4.

He said Vietnam supports the close cooperation between GICON and Vietnamese partner VPI.

The meeting was organised with the purpose of sketching out details for the content in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between GICON and VPI on March 29 on collaboration on renewables and hydrogen production in Vietnam.

The ambassador said renewable energy accounted for 11.4 percent of the total electricity produced in Vietnam in the first six months of this year, adding that it tended to increase in the future.

Vietnam has been successful in developing solar power energy projects with a combined capacity of nearly 6,000 MW, with most located in the south-central region, Vu said.

In terms of wind energy, the country is home to nine wind farms with a total capacity of 304.6MW, with the largest one located in the southern Bac Lieu province at nearly 100MW.

The Vietnamese Ambassador said he expected the MoU between GICON and VPI would further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in this field and tap into Vietnam’s huge potential in solar and wind power, especially in offshore wind energy.

It would contribute to improving Vietnam’s environment and resilience to climate change, as well as to enhancing the two countries’ cooperation in economy, trade, and investment, Vu said.

At the meeting, GICON Group President, Professor Jochen Großmann said that with a long coastline of more than 3,200km and an average wind speed at 6m/s in the East Sea at a height of 65m, Vietnam has great potential for wind power development.

With many years of experience in this field, GICON is confident that it can cooperate and support Vietnam in promoting the development of environmentally friendly renewable energy sources, he said.

Nguyen Anh Duc, director of VPI, said GICON has strengths in technology and experience in renewable energy development.

In the coming time, VPI will continue to work closely with GICON to promote the implementation of cooperation projects in the spirit of the MoU signed by the two sides, Duc said./.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes 

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS AUGUST 7

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