Diesel price decreases by more than 100 VND per litre

The Ministry of Finance on February 10 asked petrol businesses to reduce their selling prices of diesel once again, this time by a minimum of 109 VND per litre as of 8pm on the same evening.

The previous price of diesel oil was 22,640 VND (1.06 USD) per litre.

This is the second adjustment of the diesel price this year. The first change took place on January 27 when the price of the product was slashed by more than 300 VND per litre.

The ministry asked petrol businesses to stabilise the selling prices of other products, such as mazut, unleaded petrol, RON 92 and kerosene.-

Stabilizing market prices – a primary task

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has directed its relevant agencies to closely monitor market prices and make an immediate intervention to stabilize the market after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Trade experts said the commodity market had sufficient inventory, meeting consumer demand during the Tet holiday which fell in late January.

MoIT statistics show total retail sales and social services in January reached VND237.5 trillion, up 2.8% compared to the previous month and up 13% against the same period last year.

The market management watchdog fined more than 10,000 cases out of 15,000 inspected, contributing around VND20 billion to the State budget.

The ministry says it will introduce support policies to encourage businesses to bring “Made-in-Vietnam” goods to rural and remote areas and accelerate supervision and control over trade frauds and border trade activities, including the transportation and trading of counterfeit and contraband goods.

It will actively implement the “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese products” campaign and improve trade promotion efficiency at home and abroad.

The MoIT will work with the Ministry of Finance to adjust market-oriented prices of petroleum, electricity and coal so as to harmonise interests of consumers, businesses and the State.

Rice exports slump to record low in January

Vietnam’s rice exports sputtered to 307,255 tonnes in January, valued at US$127.5 million (FOB price) and US$154.5 million (CIF price).

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) announced on February 10 the exported volume decreased by 24.11% and its value was down 30.52% (FOB) and 16.42% (CIF).

The VFA estimated around 300,000-500,000 tonnes of rice are expected to be shipped in February.

VFA said despite attaining the set plan, rice exports in January hit a record low. Businesses mainly shipped their products to the Philippines under signed contracts while exports to China and Africa tapered off sharply.

The lackluster January rice exports are attributed to the lack of demand from traditional markets.

Major trade partners like China and Africa are waiting for upcoming winter-spring crops. However, border trade exports with China began to rebound after Lunar New Year (Tet).

Exported price in January was stable at US$405-401 per tonne for 5% broken rice, the same as that from India but higher than from Thailand and Pakistan, due to limited supply.

The current price is US$395 per tonne but will tend to decline when the winter-spring crop in the Mekong Delta comes near, VFA forecast.

Vietnam attends ASEAN-EU Aviation Summit

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang  is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech on aviation safety at the ASEAN-EU Aviation Summit in Singapore on February 11-12.

The meeting aims to strengthen and reshape political, technical and industrial cooperation in aviation between ASEAN and the EU.

Vice President of the European Commission in charge of transport Siim Kallas said the EU should engage in Asia – a rapidly growing market in the world.

With a combined population of more than 1.1 billion, ASEAN and the EU have great potential for increasing aviation cooperation to benefit their residents.

He affirmed that the summit marks an initial step in a new era of cooperation between the EU and ASEAN.

During the summit, representatives from airlines, airports, air navigation service providers and Government officials will discuss a wide range of issues including market prospects in ASEAN and the EU, the establishment of single aviation markets and experience of the EU and ASEAN, as well as removing trade barriers.

Conference helps expand export market

The southern province of Dong Nai held a conference on February 10 with the aim of helping its businesses expand their market and seek cooperation opportunities with those from other countries, especially the United Arab Emirates.

The province will also focus on developing its relations with Cambodia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia, Chile and Myanmar.

Dong Nai will organise trade promotion activities, hold conferences to implement signed free trade agreements and anticipate the advantages brought by the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which is expected to be signed this year.

Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Le Van Danh said that Dong Nai’s export turnover hit more than US$10 billion in 2013, accounting for 10% of the national figure.

Its main exports include footwear, garments and textiles and wooden products.

Dong Nai’s fresh mango shipped abroad

The Suoi Lon cooperative in the southern province of Dong Nai has signed a contract to export over 20 tonnes of fresh mango to Ukraine every month.

Chairman of the cooperative Nguyen The Bao said the first container of 21 tonnes of mango is expected to anchor in the European country by late February.

Besides Ukraine, Suoi Lon has won agreements from some other European countries and Dubai, which are expected to import 20-40 tonnes of fresh mango every month, Bao added.

This is the first time local fresh mango has been exported in large quantities.

Statistics released by Dong Nai’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development show that the province has so far exported five types of fruit including jackfruit, durian, mango, dried banana and dragon fruit, to international markets, including notoriously picky ones such as the US and Europe.

Speeding up Central Highlands aluminum plant

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai inspected the progress of the Nhan Co Aluminum Plant in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong on February 10.

He lauded efforts of the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) – the project’s investors - as well as the local authorities in the implementation of the project.

He asked for closer coordination between the investors and relevant agencies to speed up the project.

It is necessary to step up the construction of a red sludge reservoir, ensuring environmental protection, he said.

The minister also emphasised the need to ensure the quality of the construction of the plant, while asking the investors to give priority to the ground clearance as well as compensation and resettlement for local people.

The plant should offer training courses and employment to local labourers, especially those from ethnic groups, he said.

According to a Vinacomin report, the project is 70% complete with a total implementation value of VND8.2 trillion.

The plant will be put into trial operation in the third quarter this year, so that the first commercial products can be produced by the end of 2014.

In the first phase from 2007 to 2014, Nhan Co Aluminum Plant, with a total investment of VND11.76 trillion (US$552.720 million) is designed to produce 650,000 tonnes of aluminum a year and double its output after 2015, using advanced and environmentally-friendly technology.

VND30 trillion for Danang-Quang Ngai Expressway

Work has started on the first phase of an expressway linking Danang city and Quang Ngai province in the central region.

The 140km road is being built at a cost of nearly VND30 trillion sourced from World Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) loans and the Vietnamese Government’s corresponding capital. It has 4 lanes and is 26m in width.

Quang Nam province, where the expressway runs through, has completed land clearance for the project.

Ngo Khac Tuan, Vice General Director of the Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No 4 in charge of bidding package 3A, said the corporation has installed nearly two thirds of stakes and several bridge piles. It expects to finish work ahead schedule.

Accelerating rice trade with Africa

Vietnam now exports rice to more than half of all 55 African countries and its major importers are Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, Angola and Cameroon.

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) reports Vietnam exported around 6.6 million tonnes of rice in 2013, and Africa is its second largest rice importer after China, accounting for nearly 30% of total export value.

Vietnamese rice is favoured in Africa due to its competitive prices and good quality. Fragrant rice currently has the highest export growth to the continent.

Last year, Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on rice trade with Guinea. Accordingly, it has agreed to supply 300,000 tonnes per year to the African nation from April 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015.

It also signed such an MoU with Comoros, under which 60,000 tonnes of rice will be shipped to the country from August 2013 to December 2015.

In addition Vietnam penned a similar MoU with Sierra Leone.

It is hoped that these MoUs will help rice export businesses fulfill contracts with partners and avoid the unnecessary risks of paying through an intermediary.

To help domestic businesses boost rice exports to Africa, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will make a fact-finding tour of two key markets, Ivory Coast and Angola, to negotiate MoUs on rice trade with these countries.

The ministry will invite African businesses to visit Vietnam to expand rice export cooperation. It is working with Vietnamese Trade Offices in African countries to support businesses in opening representative offices and warehouses in Africa.

HCM City strives to raise exports

The southern hub city of HCM is targeting an export turnover of US$29.23 billion this year, a 10 per cent increase over 2013, it has been announced.

In order to reach this goal, the city will implement a variety of solutions, with a focus on supporting local firms to overcome their difficulties and enlarge their businesses, said Le Thi Dao, deputy director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

Assistance in IT development and expansion of exports would be also included, she added.

Economists have predicted that Vietnamese companies will soon enjoy greater opportunities to develop their exports, as some bilateral and multilateral trade agreements should be finalised this year. The world economy is also looking a little brighter than a year ago, they noted.

However, some local firms said that they were not optimistic about the city's 10-per-cent target.

This year remains a difficult time for domestic exporters, in spite of some positive predictions, said Do Ha Nam, Chairman of the Viet Nam Pepper Association and owner of an export enterprise.

The city is unlikely to achieve this goal without a breakthrough in the solutions required to boost exports, he said.

Yet, the city should review the current policies and then draw up incentives for export enterprises, he suggested.

At present, the city has still to provide export firms with real incentives, which has resulted in many firms wanting to shift their production bases to different localities where attractive preferential policies could be enjoyed, he explained.

The city should actively remove some of the obstacles that enterprises have been objecting to, such as VAT refunds, he said. He added that effective market forecasts would also be important for enterprises seeking new export opportunities.

Of note, the Department of Industry and Trade's statistics show that the city's export value dropped 10.3 per cent year-on-year to $2.4 billion in the first month of this year.

This was due to significant turnover reductions of key items, including crude oil (down 35 per cent), coffee (down 26 per cent) and electronics and components (down 12 per cent). Also faring worse than last year were footwear (down 8 per cent) and clothing (down 5 per cent).

E-commerce trading fails to take off in local farming sector

Transactions of farming products on electronic trading floors are not popular in Viet Nam, even though the state and many firms have tried to promote them.

Experts say local farming product trading floors built to promote e-commerce on the domestic market have not developed as expected, reported the Dan Viet online newspaper.

The Can Gio Seafood Trading Centre was set up in 2002 to be the first farming product trading floor in Viet Nam. However, the centre must now be closed as it does not have sufficient buyers and sellers, despite tens of transactions being undertaken at the centres.

Meanwhile, the Binh Phuoc Cashew Trading Floor, launched with investments from Sacombank, has also been closed. Enterprises must import raw cashew for processing and do not have enough raw cashew in stock for transactions on trading floors.

The other commodity to lose its trading floor is coffee, which has been traded on the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Trading Floor since 2008. The trading floor was developed with a total investment of VND100 billion (US$4.76 million) but has not developed as expected.

The trading floor has attracted 10,000 tonnes of coffee per year, too low a volume and value, given the total output of one million tonnes of coffee each year in the Southeast Asian region.

Economic experts say electronic trading floors are popular in the world market as it provides a modern, convenient and transparent trading method.

Economist Nguyen Hoang My Phuong, who has studied the coffee trading policies of Viet Nam and the world, points out that e-commerce is a modern trading tool that helps companies manage risk in business.

However, many local farming products cannot be traded on international trading floors because Viet Nam does not have quality standards for those products to make them match the requirements of global trading floors, Phuong states.

Moreover, domestic companies must have deposits with trading floors to sell their products there. They then have to transport goods to the warehouse and wait for buyers, she explains. So, in this way, expenditure increases, and some capital that matches the value of the products in stock is "buried" at the warehouse. Domestic firms, however, cannot handle these expenses with their small capital bases.

Tran Duc Tung, head of the Viet Nam Pepper Association's administrative office, says local enterprises are not successful on e-commerce trading floors because they have a habit of buying and selling via intermediaries.

In addition, state policies on e-commerce activities still do not ensure security in financing, shipping and receipt of goods for farmers and companies when they use the trading floor, Tung notes.

At present, domestic pepper traders are successfully trading Vietnamese pepper products. However, if they join the trading floors, they may not be as successful because they do not have much experience with market forecasts and may not be able to fix selling prices that are profitable, he adds.

Industrial park to serve new purpose

The Dong Nai Industrial Park No.1, the country's first industrial park, will be turned into an urban trade and services area.

Located in southern Dong Nai Province, the 324-ha industrial park has caused serious pollution to the area, including the Dong Nai River.

Responding to a petition of the Dong Nai People's Committee, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved the proposal to change the purpose of the industrial park.

Dung assigned the Dong Nai People's Committee to work with ministries and industry to implement the plan.

Last Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai presided over a meeting with officials of ministries and sectors to discuss issues related to the project. The plan includes relocation of companies, zoning and construction areas in the 24 industrial park, and investments.

The total capital for building infrastructure in the industrial park to 2022 is estimated to be more than VND10 trillion (US$476 million).

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will collect opinions from ministries and sectors to ensure feasible solutions and implementation of the project.

Set up in 1963, the industrial park has 104 companies with over 26,000 employees.

The industrial park's infrastructure has not been maintained properly and has deteriorated. Most factories in the industrial park have outdated technologies and limited investment capital.

The Dong Nai River provides water for production and daily use of over 20 million people in the river basin, including nearly 10 million people in HCM City.

Trade target with India set at $7b

Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and India has developed significantly in recent years, with both countries making great efforts to reach the US$7 billion trade target next year, experts said.

India was one of Viet Nam's top 10 trade partners, while Viet Nam was India's fourth largest commercial partner from the ASEAN bloc, the Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to India Nguyen Son Ha told Viet Nam News Agency.

Bilateral trade rose to $5.24 billion in 2013 from a modest $1.54 billion in 2007. Of the sum, Vietnamese exports contributed $2.35 billion, up 13 times, and its imports produced $2.88 billion, a two-fold increase.

Viet Nam and India have accelerated trade ties through a series of measures, with a focus on perfecting the legal framework for trade and investment co-operation; fostering exchanges for trade and investment promotions; and organising trade fairs, exhibitions and business forums in each country to help businesses find new partners and investment opportunities.

The two countries are considering a plan to grant long-term visas to their businesspeople. They have also encouraged investment in the private sector and offered all possible systems of support to open representative offices and branches in each country.  

VCBS expects 15% stock market growth

The stock market of Viet Nam will be the most profitable investment channel this year, with a growth rate of 15 per cent, according to Vietcombank Securities (VCBS).

With macro-economic stability, the stock market would be a more attractive investment channel compared to other channels, such as gold, real estate and bank savings, VCBS director Vu Quang Dong told Dau Tu Chung Khoan (Securities Investment).

VCBS expects the economy to grow at a faster rate than 2013 and the GDP to rise to 5.6-5.7 per cent, while the inflation rate will be about 5.5-5.6 per cent as the government and the State Bank of Viet Nam have been consistent with their policies to stabilise the economy and curb inflation.

In addition, VCBS forecast that the interest rate will be kept stable at 7-8.5 per cent for the mobilising rate and 7-10.5 per cent for the lending rate in the short term and 11-13 per cent in the long term.

Stocks of export companies in sectors that include garments and textiles, footwear, electronic components and software products as well as infrastructure construction companies (building materials and logistics) will be in the spotlight in the stock market this year.

This will be due to expectations of an improvement in capital inflow, together with the economic recovery and the government's effort to boost infrastructure during the year.

VCBS also added that foreign capital will flow strongly into the stock market this year, and the first quarter will witness strong buying of blue chip funds.

Vietnam needs to restructure tra fish sector

The farming and processing of tra fish in the Mekong Delta region will encounter more difficulties when a new US farm bill takes effect, yet it’s also an opportunity for Vietnam to restructure the sector in a sustainable way, Vice Chairman of the Tra Fish Association Vo Hung Dung has said.

The US Senate on February 4 gave final congressional approval to a five-year farm bill.

Under the provision, the inspection of catfish, including Vietnamese tra and basa fish (scientifically named Pangasius) , will be moved out of the remit of the Food and Drug Administration and into the Department of Agriculture.

Accordingly, Vietnamese catfish exported to the US market will have to fulfill all requirements set for local products from production to packaging and exporting.

While the move poses challenges, it will also jolt the industry into restructuring for more sustainable production, Dung said.

Pham Anh Tuan, Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Vietnam is not surprised at the US decision, but Vietnamese farmers and processors will still need time to adapt to the bill.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the country exported 380 million USD worth of tra fish to the US in 2013, up slightly from 2012.-

Dong Nai promises to lend a helping hand to foreign SMEs

The People’s Committee of the southern province of Dong Nai has pledged to build policies on investment attraction and support for foreign-invested small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the locality.

The project is expected to provide businesses, which usually struggle communicating with local authorities because of the language barrier, with information and legal knowledge, thus assisting them in fulfilling procedures for obtaining an investment certificate.

It will also support them in implementing other relevant procedures, such as making a seal, registering a tax code and submitting an environmental impact assessment report.

According to Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, Bo Ngoc Thu, the province gives priority to the high technology and the support industry, environmentally friendly projects, agricultural and infrastructure development and the services sector.

In January this year, the province granted investment certificates to eight new projects costing over 71 million USD. The projects were from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia, Spain and Singapore.

Mai Van Nhon, Deputy Head of the management board of industrial parks (IPs) in Dong Nai, said that the Long Duc and Sonadezi Long Thanh IPs have invested in building production workshops to rent out to businesses. These are particularly suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises as they can set up operations very quickly.

Vietnam raked in around 552 million USD from the export of aquatic products in the first month of 2014, up 13.9 percent against the same period last year.

The country shipped abroad nearly 400,000 tonnes of aquatic products, a yearly increase of 0.8 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The US remains Vietnam’s biggest seafood importer, accounting for almost 21.3 percent of the country’s total exports. Japan followed with 16.21 percent, and the Republic of Korea , 7.44 percent.

Vietnam earned a record 6.8 billion USD from seafood shipment last year, and hopes to raise the earnings to 7 billion USD by the end of 2014.

The country’s aquatic products are shipped to over 150 markets worldwide. Besides traditional partners such as the US, Japan, and Europe, China and India have emerged as Vietnam’s potential seafood importers.

2013 marked an important milestone for the central province of Thanh Hoa as the construction work started on its Nghi Son Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex (NSRP) – the largest-ever in Southeast Asia and also the largest FDI project in Vietnam - with capital topping 9 billion USD.

The complex in the Nghi Son Economic Zone in Tinh Gia district is one of Vietnam’s key projects on national energy security and socio-economic development strategies. Its investors include the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN), Kuwait Petroleum International, and Japan ’s Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd and Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

Once commissioned in 2017 as scheduled, the NSRP is expected to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day, equivalent to 10 million tonnes of oil a year.

It will be the second in Vietnam, alongside the Dung Quat oil refinery plant, satisfying two-thirds of domestic demand for national industrialisation and modernisation.

The complex has affirmed the province’s determination to make a breakthrough in the industrial and socio-economic development.

It has also reflected the locality’s endeavours to improve the investment environment, which was evidenced by the amount of more than 4.7 billion USD in cooperation agreements signed at a forum to promote investment in the Nghi Son Economic Zone (EZ) and its surrounding areas held in the province in October. The forum coincided with the ground-breaking ceremony of the complex.

With the NSRP complex, Thanh Hoa province is expected to become a more attractive destination for both domestic and foreign investors.-

Da Nang makes exciting 2014 development plans

The central city of Da Nang is making every effort to put the first phase of its ambitious Asian Entertainment Park development into operation in 2014, according to the leader of the project’s investor, the Sun Group.

The company’s General Director Dang Minh Truong said the park will be constructed following the design of world-famous architect Bill Bensley, with an estimated investment of 4 trillion VND (188 million USD).

It will cover a total area of 880,082 sq.m on the western bank of the Han river. Once completed and operational, the park is expected to serve 2.5 million visitors per year.

The building will comprise four main areas: a game section, a culture section, a multi-purpose zone for art performance activities, and a car park.

The culture section will be divided into nine areas with miniature replicas of typical architectural works, historical sites and scenes representing Japan, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, China, Nepal and Vietnam.

In 2014, the Sun Group will continue implementing the second phase of the Hoa Xuan ecological urban area, the project running along Hoang Van Thai street to Ba Na mountain.

The cable car line in Ba Na Hill tourism site and the French Village in the city will be completed and put into use in March and July, respectively.

This year, Da Nang city will invest about 27.3 trillion VND (about 1.28 billion USD) to construct key projects related to transport infrastructure, car parking, high-tech zones, stadiums, hospitals, parks, social housing and other works.

The city has also planned to develop sustainable tourism in a bid to turn the sector into its spearhead economic industry.-

Hai Phong - a highlight in FDI attraction

The northern port city of Hai Phong attracted nearly 30 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects totaling almost 2 billion USD in registered capital in 2013, an increase of over 60 percent compared to 2012. Analysis published by the Vietnam Economic News on February 8.

In 2012, Hai Phong attracted 1.2 billion USD in FDI and was considered a highlight in FDI attraction. The city currently has nearly 400 effective FDI projects with total registered capital of over 8 billion USD.

Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority Head Pham Thuyen said that in recent years, the quality and size of FDI projects markedly improved. Previously, the projects' scale was only 2-4 million USD and the number of projects with capital of 20 million USD upward was small.

Hai Phong has now attracted large projects from Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK), such as LG, Bridgestone, Fuji Xerox, Kyocera and Nipro Pharma. These projects use modern technology and equipment, have a high added value and can help attract other projects. FDI projects worth hundreds of millions of USD and even billions of USD are found in Hai Phong.

FDI attraction in the city has seen a breakthrough since 2011 when it attracted 910 million USD in FDI. The city attracted 1.2 billion USD through 29 projects and became one of the biggest localities nationwide in terms of FDI attraction in 2012.

Hai Phong has more advantages than other localities to attract foreign investment. The city currently has 12 industrial zones, a notable of which is Nomura. Since 1994, Hai Phong has pioneered in building industrial parks with modern, consistent infrastructure. Nomura has become one of the most successful industrial zones in Vietnam. It has leased out all of its area to investors. The other 11 industrial parks, including the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VISIP), Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Industrial Zone, and Trang Due Industrial Zone, among others, have an area of hundreds of hectare of land each and modern infrastructure satisfying domestic and foreign investors’ needs.

Hai Phong is a favorable gateway to land, railway and waterway routes and ranks first among provinces and cities nationwide in terms of seaport services. That is why most of big investors in Hai Phong produce goods for export.

In recent years, administrative procedures in the city have improved to increase investor’s comfort. Hai Phong has taken the initiative in catching the wave of investment from many countries.

Hai Phong targets to attract about 1.2 billion USD in FDI in 2014. To achieve this target the city has many solutions including speeding up the construction of infrastructure projects and creating a breakthrough in the construction of essential infrastructure in the Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone.-

Vietnam’s garment exports off to a good start

Orders placed with garment factories in the first days of the Lunar New Year herald a bonanza for the garment sector, boosted by breakthroughs created by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, reported radio The Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

Members of the National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) customarily place their orders in the first three months and this year’s rise bodes well for 2014 being an opportunistic year for Vietnam tapping into the burgeoning global garment market.

Over recent days, the Duc Giang Garment Company has been busily packing products for export to the EU, the US and Japan. Workers at its 20 factories in Hanoi, Thai Binh, Ha Nam, Thanh Hoa, Thai Nguyen and Hoa Binh provinces are in a cheery rush to fill the orders on the first days of the Year of the Horse.

Many other garment businesses are also sanguine about the prospects for exports this year. They are actively searching for quality domestic materials to reduce dependence on imports, mindful of the need that domestic suppliers ensure delivery of goods on schedule.

This contributes to improving the competitiveness and is attracting more orders from well-known trademarks in Spain, Germany, the UK, the US and Japan.

The Dong Tien Garment Joint Stock Company is not only focusing on keeping its traditional clients but also pursuing expansion into new markets with specialty designed products, such as clothes for skiing, elastic coat and underwear.

Particularly, the TNG Trade and Investment Joint Stock Company has invested heavily in promoting its brand and building a domestic distribution network with clothes for teenagers. The TNG brand is now gaining popularity across the country and is favoured by many young people.

Garment 10 Company Director General Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen says since early this year, the company has received a large number of orders for exports so it is stepping up production of high quality shirts in Thieu Do district, Thanh Hoa province and 12 others in Quang Binh province, as well as one production line to make luxury jackets in Thai Binh province.

Nguyen Ngoc Lan, Vice General Director of the Nha Be Garment Corporation, says like many other Vinatex members, Nha Be orders are up this year and it is hopeful exports will be better than the previous year.

A leading Vinatex member, the corporation has continually poured investment in production to meet the increasing demand of customers. European clients are shifting their original design manufacturer (ODM) products to Vietnam to reduce human cost in residing countries and save time, Lan says.

To seize the opportunity, Nha Be has built a sample unit to make ODM products for European clients only. It has drawn up a carefully thought out marketing plan and if it is successful, Nha Be and other garment makers stand to gain a competitive edge.

Vinatex General Director Tran Quang Nghi says the group has gradually reduced its dependency on imported materials for exports and promoted self-designed products to increase the added value of the products.

It has focused on quality improvements, helping the group move to a higher position in the global garment chain and businesses make full use of capital assets available.

Vinatex has obtained both targets of restructuring – market and investment efficiency, Nghi says.

Quality growth is a key task of Vinatex this year, he says, adding the group will keep export growth of 12 percent and raise ODM products from 10 percent in 2013 to 12-14 percent this year.

The group will expand its “lean” manufacturing method which has been successfully applied in some businesses to reduce inventory and raise competitiveness, Nghi says.

With 57 projects afoot, 2014 is expected to be a boom year in investment for Vinatex. Most projects centre on developing material areas in an effort to raise the ratio of local contents in products – a necessary step towards grasping the opportunity brought about by TPP and breaking into the global market.

Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR