Korea Telecom Group launches solar power project

Korea Telecom (KT) Group has launched the construction of a US$13.7-million solar power project in the central Quang Binh Province's Bo Trach District.

A ground-breaking ceremony for the project, which has a capacity to produce 760KW of power, was held on July 1.

Funded by official development assistance (ODA) loans from the Republic of Korea (RoK), the project is expected to provide solar power to nearly 1,300 families and 78 public service units in far-flung and mountainous areas in Le Thuy, Quang Ninh, Bo Trach and Minh Hoa districts, which are outside the reach of the national grid.

The project is expected to become fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Huu Hoai said it was a project for humanity that would greatly benefit impoverished local people and ethnic minority groups in the remote areas along the Viet Nam-Laos border, who have not had any access to the national grid.

Project Manager Vo Quang Minh said the rough local terrain and unfavourable weather conditions were among the project's challenges.

Project Contractor Lim Tae Seong of the RoK-based KT Corporation said they would ensure the project's quality and progress as per schedule.

Phu My Hung and partners offer promotion

The Phu My Hung Development Company Ltd has recently announced co-operation with three banks, four interior design companies and six electronic and construction material suppliers in an aim to bring better services to customers.

Shinhan Viet Nam, Sacombank and Vietcombank will give preferential interest rates to customers buying apartments and villas. VNS Photo Le Thu Ngan

Under the agreements signed late last week, the companies will offer promotion and discount programmes up to 50 per cent to customers who buy Phu My Hung's real estate products and use their services, including design and purchases of construction and interior materials.

Shinhan Viet Nam, Sacombank and Vietcombank will give preferential interest rates to customers buying apartments and villas.

In another development, Phu My Hung has recently opened three model apartments inside its Star Hill project. Star Hill is the first project in the financial centre of the Phu My Hung Urban Area.

Hau Giang to have $31m logistics centre

Minh Phu Hau Giang Port Company and Gemadept Corporation are set to build a VND670 billion ($30.8 million) logistics centre in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang.

The company, an affiliate of Minh Phu Seafood Corporation, will provide 49 per cent of the investment capital of the project, with Gemadept contributing the rest.

The 15ha logistics centre will come up at Song Hau Industrial Zone in Chau Thanh District.

Minh Phu Seafood Corporation began as a private enterprise on December 14, 1992. Over the last two decades, it has grown into a leading seafood firm, with the largest seafood export revenue in the country.

The corporation has set a target of earning revenue of more than VND19.3 trillion ($887 million) and after-tax profit of more than VND1.4 trillion ($64.4 million) this year.

Gemadept Corporation, initially a state-owned company, was founded in 1990. In line with the Government's economic reform policy, in 1993, it became one of the first three companies to issue shares, and it was listed on the Vietnam Stock Exchange in 2002.

Gemadept is among the leading companies in its core business sectors, including port operations and logistics. It has also achieved success in rubber plantation and real estate.

Garena invests in Foody.vn

Garena, a Singaporean consumer internet platform provider, poured capital into Foody.vn, a website that helps customers find and rate entertainment venues and restaurants in Viet Nam.

The value of the deal has not been revealed, according to ictnews.vn.

This is the third time another company has invested in Foody.vn. The two previous investments came in 2012 from Tokyo-based CyberAgent Ventures Inc., a venture capital arm of CyberAgent Inc., and Pix Vine Capital, a Singaporean investor in 2013.

Foody Corporation also operates deliverynow.vn and tablenow.vn, which provide services for delivery and table-booking. It plans to expand its market in Southeast Asia.

Foody.vn, which was founded by Dang Hoang Minh in 2012, has more than 115,000 POIs (points of interest), 275,000 ratings and 1.5 million photos.

The website attracts eight million visitors each month and 500,000 mobile app downloads, making it the number one site for rating and searching restaurants and other venues in Viet Nam.

CyberAgent Ventures and Pix Vine Capital also invested in vexere.com, a start-up that operates an online bus ticket booking portal, last month.

Vietnam should make itself more popular with cruise ship tourists: executive

Vietnam has potential to attract cruise ship tourists, but the country is still unpopular with these affluent vacationers, an executive of a U.S. cruise line said.

The Southeast Asian country must introduce itself to the world as a new, attractive and beautiful destination for cruise ship travels, John Tercek, deputy chairman of the Royal Caribbean International (RCI), told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in an interview published Monday.

In mid-June, the RCI-operated Quantum of the Seas docked at the Tan Cang Cai Mep ODA seaport in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province for more than 2,000 tourists to explore the coastal locality and nearby Ho Chi Minh City.

Tercek said the Quantum of the Seas is the world’s second-largest cruise, capable of carrying 4,500 passengers and more than 1,500 crew members.

More than 2,000 passengers of the Quantum of the Seas have booked tours to Vung Tau, which proves that Vietnam is an attractive destination for cruise ship tourists, he said.

This has resulted in a decision by the RCI to pledge a US$5 million investment in upgrading the infrastructure of Chan May port in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, Tercek added.

The project is scheduled for completion later this month, so that the port can receive one of the company’s largest cruise ships, he added.

The deputy chairman expressed his hope that more seaports in Vietnam will receive the same upgrades so that more cruise vessels can visit the country in the future.

Tercek also said the ports in the northern city of Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City are not suitable for RCI cruise ships.

The potential ones include Phu Quoc in the southern province of Kien Giang, Phu My in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and Nha Trang in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa.

RCI will move on to upgrade Nha Trang port after Chan May, and the company is particularly interested in the Phu Quoc facility, Tercek said.

Once these seaports are upgraded to be able to dock RCI ships, which can carry thousands of passengers, Vietnam will become more attractive to cruise tourists, who come from many countries and have big incomes, the deputy chairman added.

RCI ships usually dock in Hong Kong, which Tercek said is a short distance away from Vietnam, from which the cruise ships can also travel to Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines.

Tercek asserted that the future of Vietnamese sea tourism should be serving passengers who visit the country on board big ships.

Besides upgrading seaport infrastructure, Vietnam should also boost its cruise tourism promotion, as many international tourists think of traveling to Brazil, Russia, Thailand and Singapore, while having little information about Vietnam, he said.

He suggested that Vietnam attend more cruise tourism exhibitions and events to show its potential to the world.

The Chan May upgrade deal was signed on June 18 between RCI and the port operator, Shipping Building Industry Corporation.

RCI will invest $5 million to enable Chan May to receive its giant cruise ships, which are more than 360m long and capable of carrying 4,000 to 5,000 passengers, according to the agreement.

Japan opens market to Vietnamese mangos

Japanese authorities recently gave the go ahead for importing Vietnamese mangos cultivated in Xuan Loc district in the southern province of Dong Nai.

This is a great opportunity for Vietnamese mango growers to increase their consumer market, since previously only white flesh dragon fruit were approved for sale in Japan.

Japan is Vietnam’s second largest fruit importer, with a market share of 8 percent, after China. The red flesh dragon fruit is expected to be authorised for export to Japan next.

2015 is a good year for Vietnamese fruit exports so far, particularly lychees, which were licensed for export to the USA, Australia, Japan, France and the Republic of Korea.

Fruit export turnover is expected to reach 2 billion USD by the end of this year once businesses increase their shipments, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said.

Export markets with strict guidelines require Vietnamese producers to improve the quality of products, including the use of irradiation technology or sulphur dioxide fumigation. Furthermore, Vietnamese fruit growers are trying to overcome the various technical barriers that exist on the import markets.

Financial assistance measures necessary for small, medium enterprises

The Government should carry out financial assistance measures appropriate for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop the support industry, said delegates to the Vietnam-Japan Support Industry Forum in Ho Chi Minh City on July 8.

According to economists, two thirds of SMEs in Vietnam do not have access to loans due to high interest rates or no guaranteed assets. As such they face difficulties in renovating technologies and expanding production.

Hiroshi Tahara, Chief Representative of the Japan Finance Corporation in Thailand, said that besides accessing low interest rate loans, JSMEs in Japan receive a guarantee for their loans from the National Federation of Credit Guarantee Corporations.

He suggested Vietnam set up a local-level guarantee mechanism to control loans and help businesses easily access them.

Delegates also proposed establishing a loan fund with low interest rates.

The proposals will be collected and submitted to the Government for thorough consideration.

The forum was jointly organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Clearance, compensation slowing key transport projects

Issues relating to site clearance and compensation were cited as major obstacles to progress on key transport infrastructure projects in Hanoi.

According to the municipal People’s Committee, Hanoi intended to complete 22 key infrastructure projects from 2011-2015, but only seven were put into operation, three are roughly completed, seven have only finished their clearance and five have yet to begin.

As of June 15, 2015, disbursement for basic infrastructure projects for the year was at 43.6 percent, falling behind schedule.

In order to hasten project implementation, the committee asked relevant departments and investors to re-examine and allocate capital to ensure progress and quality.

Relevant agencies were asked to resolve problems relating to site clearance and resettlement.

Compal Electronics resumes project in Vinh Phuc

The Vinh Phuc Investment Promotion Agency announced on July 8 that Compal Electronics, a Taiwanese electronic product manufacturer, wants to resume its investment in the province.

Compal said it plans to build a factory producing smartphones, tablets and electronic parts for automobiles to replace its original project that produced laptops.

The factory will go into production within this year, the company confirmed.

In 2007, Compal was granted licences to develop infrastructure of the Ba Thien Industrial Park with a capital investment of 76.59 million USD and a 500-million USD laptop manufacturing factory with a capacity of 24 million units per year. However, neither two project was implemented as intended.

Dated technologies, weak connectivity hampers agricultural development

Agricultural production has faced with many issues comprising low investment capital, outdated processing technologies, asynchronous policies, and weak connectivity between farmers and businesses in production and consumption, according to experts.

Head of the Economic Division under the Southwest Region Steering Committee Tran Huu Hiep said that Investment capital for agricultural industry in the Mekong Delta was low compared to total social investment capital. Processing technologies were outdated resulting in high cost prices and low productivity.

Mechanisms and policies in the agriculture industry contained many problems affecting investment attraction of non-public businesses in this field, he said.

Policies to promote the Mekong Delta’s strengths and potentials are insufficient, asynchronous and even impractical.

Farming production has been tattered and unconnected in the Mekong Delta where farmers have produced on their own. Traffic system in remote area is not advantageous.

Market information has not been provided sufficiently to farmers who have long suffered low price and unsold condition due to production redundancy. Labor force in rural areas has been in reduction trend as the number of young people leaving fields for big cities has been increasing.

Agricultural expert Le Van Banh referred the shortage of dryer and warehouse systems to process and preserve rice and high loss ratio after harvest. By-products such as rice straw and husk have not been used up causing waste and environmental pollution.

Some fruits granted with GlobalGap quality certificate are salable in domestic market only.

Mr. Tran Van Tay, chairman of My Hoa grapefruit cooperative told Russia ordered to buy 200 tons of grapefruits a month at VND26,000 a kilogram October last year. However the cooperative was unable to meet the order because its 26 hectares of grapefruit trees produce only tens of tons every season.

The cooperative has been established for nine years but always been in capital shortage to broaden production.

Another big issue in Vietnam’s agricultural production is from weak connectivity among farmers, businesses, scientists, and managers, said experts.

Few connectivity modals have been carried out for the last decade without results as expected because of many reasons. For example, spontaneous production has been a long habit of farmers, all level authorities have provided little instructions, not many businesses and cooperatives have been willing to join connectivity modals, and relevant polices have been carried out too slowly.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said that the connectivity was one of measures to restructure agricultural industry and assist farmers to produce and consume their products.

However, businesses and farmers-- two important links of farming production chain-- have operated nearly separately.

Business is the main bridge spanning farmers to market but the ratio of firms in agricultural industry is only 6 percent now, Dr. Do Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development says.

It should be solved to develop a merchandise production industry, he said.

SBV bars troubled banks from expanding services

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has prohibited credit institutions with a rate of non-performing loans higher than 3% from all expansion activities.

They include the opening of new branches, transaction offices and representative offices, installation of new cash machines, and the launch of new services and operations.

The above-listed actions are not allowed, unless in special cases for security, defence, political or social purposes, until the concerned banks bring their bad debt rate to less than 3% by October 1.

Banks which fail to achieve the 3% target before October 1 will not be considered to have the ban lifted until the end of the year.

The move is part of the SBV’s efforts to restructure the domestic banking system.

Earlier this week, the central bank announced it had acquired the loss-making GP.Bank at no cost following the same moves with two other banks - OceanBank and the Vietnam Construction Bank.

Finance departments likely to set cane prices

The provincial departments of finance would help set sugarcane prices for farmers and refineries 30 days before a harvest season begins as required by a draft decree.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has passed around the draft decree on sugar and sugarcane production and trading for comment.

The draft allows farmers and sugar factories to pick one department of finance to decide prices for them if sugarcane farms and sugar mills are located in two provinces.

At present, the agriculture ministry and the Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association (VSSA) decide a common formula for sugarcane pricing. But sugarcane prices will vary in different provinces in the coming crops as they depend on input costs and the prices agreed on by farmers and sugar mills.

In 2014-2015, sugar refineries bought a ton of commercial cane sugar (CCS) of 10% at farms at prices equivalent to 65-70 kilograms of white sugar sold at factories. In previous crops, the price of a ton of sugarcane was equal to that of 60 kilos of white sugar.

This did not mean the price of sugarcane for the 2014-2015 crop went up but it was actually lower due to falling sugar prices on the domestic market. Sugarcane was purchased at VND900 a kilo, down VND50 compared to the crop earlier.

According to the draft decree, farmers may choose sugar refineries to sell their products and vice versa based on the contracts signed between them.

Sugarcane material must meet the quality standards of QCVN 01-98/2012/BNNPTNT set by the agriculture ministry. Sugarcane quality will be evaluated by an independent organization rather than farmers or sugar mills.  

Farmers said they had to sell canes at lower prices in the previous crops as there was no organization evaluating cane quality.

Farmers want enterprises to share profit with them in case sugar prices edge higher than expected as stated in the draft.

However, sugar prices at factories dropped to VND500-1,000 a kilo at the end of June compared to the beginning of the 2014-2015 crop.

According to VSSA, the 2014-2015 crop ended and sugar refineries turned out over 1.4 million tons of sugar, down 13% against the previous crop.

Transport ministry to manage only six SOEs after 2015

The Ministry of Transport will hold 100% chartered capital at only six enterprises under its management after this year, according to a report released at the review meeting in the first half of this year.

The six enterprises are Vietnam Railway Corporation, Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation, Northern Vietnam Maritime Safety Corporation, Southern Vietnam Maritime Safety Corporation, Vietnam Maritime Communication and Electronics LLC and Transport Publishing House.

The Enterprise Law, which came into force on July 1, states that State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are those with 100% chartered capital held by the State. Accordingly, the ministry has virtually finished equitization of SOEs under its umbrella.

Toward the year-end, the ministry will strive to equitize all enterprises in the areas which the State does not need to hold 100% of their chartered capital.

The ministry will focus on equitizing the holding company at Vietnam National Shipping Lines, Airports Corporation of Vietnam, Vietnam Expressway Corporation, Cuu Long Corporation for Investment-Development and Project Management of Infrastructure, Central Transport Hospital, 12 public service units, four vehicle registration centers under Vietnam Register.

The ministry completed divesting capital at 19 joint stock companies to get VND1.487 trillion in the first half of this year.

State Treasury to issue 20-year G-bonds

The State Treasury will sell VND6-7 trillion (US$275-321 million) worth of 20-year Government bonds, marking the first time such a long bond tenor has been reintroduced since 2002.

According to a notice released by the State Treasury, it will issue the debt paper between July 29 and December 31 with the face value of VND100,000.

The Ministry of Finance and investors will negotiate bond coupons at the time of issuance. Coupons will be paid annually while principle will be settled on maturity.

The issue aims to raise funds for the State budget and development investments this year. The program targets insurance companies in Vietnam.

Insurers interested in the 20-year bond can register for purchases at the agency. The issuance is made on the day the State Treasury gets money from buyers.

According the Hanoi Stock Exchange and the Vietnam Bond Market Association, the longest tenor of G-bonds on the local market is 15 years.

In 2002, the Ministry of Finance issued over VND7.8 trillion worth of 20-year bonds to supplement chartered capital for State-run commercial banks.

Asian importers apply EU standards to seafood imports from Vietnam

A number of Asian markets including Malaysia and Taiwan are applying the strict standards of the European Union (EU) to imports of seafood materials and semi-processed products from Vietnam, according to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad).

In a recent document sent to Nafiqad under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Malaysia’s food safety agency said Vietnamese seafood materials and semi-processed products shipped to Malaysia for processing into finished items for export to the EU must be supplied by the EU-accredited enterprises.

In addition, domestic seafood enterprises have to show their food safety certificates similar to those approved by the EU.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hanoi has requested Nafiqad to inspect and allow local firms recognized by the EU to export seafood materials to Taiwan. The names of these companies must appear on the official websites of competent agencies in the EU.

Earlier, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep) proposed Nafiqad remove the regulation on food safety certification for fishing boats or processers having EU codes or meeting requirements of EU nations when they sell products to these countries.

However, Nafiqad said Vietnamese seafood products must be in line with the Food Safety Law and Article 44 of the law says seafood exports must meet the standards set by importing countries. Therefore, seafood shipments to the EU should comply with EU regulations and processors of animal-based products must be recognized by competent agencies that their products meet EU standards.   

Therefore, Nafiqad said Vasep’s proposal is against the existing regulations.

Vasep said some Asian markets want to apply EU standards to seafood imports to make it easy for their firms to follow just one standard system. This is good for companies licensed to sell products to the EU but is a disadvantage for other businesses as they must improve quality to meet strict criteria of the EU.

Data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed Vietnam fetched seafood export revenue of less than US$3 billion in the first half of this year, down 16% year-on-year.

PM wants new business laws executed soon

The Prime Minister has ordered relevant ministries and agencies to consider establishing a working group in charge of overseeing the implementation of the revised enterprise and investment laws.

The order was made clear in the Government Office’s Document 5073/VPCP-PL on the Prime Minister’s instructions for the two laws, which took effect on July 1.

The two laws are important to improve operations of local businesses and the business environment in Vietnam. However, there have not been detailed guidelines for the enforcement of these laws and this is one of the concerns of the business community.

The Prime Minister told the Ministry of Planning and Investment to cooperate with the Ministry of Justice to prepare a report on the review of investment and business conditions for 267 conditional business areas in the 2014 Investment Law. The investment ministry announced such conditions at the national business registration portal at https://dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn.   

The conditions are classified in detail for 16 sectors, including security and defense; justice; finance; industry and trade; labor, invalids and social affairs; transport; construction; information and communications; education and training; agricultural and rural development; planning and investment; health; science and technology; culture, sports and tourism; natural resources and environment; and banking.

The clear classification is aimed to help enterprises know what conditions they should meet if they want to operate in the conditional business sectors and save time and money. They are allowed to refuse fulfilling the conditions that are set by agencies but are not regulated in the new laws.    

Local exporters to benefit much from trade pact with EAEU

Vietnamese enterprises will have a great opportunity to boost exports to a number of former Soviet Union states when the free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) becomes effective.

The EAEU groups Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia while Kyrgyzstan is waiting for approval to become an official member of the bloc. The EAEU has a population of 182 million and gross domestic product (GDP) of over US$2.2 trillion in 2014.

Speaking at a workshop on the FTA in Hanoi City on July 7, Nguyen Thu Trang, director of the WTO Center under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said the FTA is of great significance for local exporters as the trade pact is the first of its kind for the parties involved.

The EAEU did not sign any FTA before the one with Vietnam, so they have not offered trade preferences to any other partners. Therefore, Vietnamese firms have huge advantages in that market, she said.

Bui Hong Minh from the Export-Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said Vietnam will increase earnings from key export products such as apparel, footwear and handbags.

Meanwhile, Dao Thu Huong from the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Finance said goods of Vietnam and the EAEU are complementary and do not compete each other. Around 53% of import tariffs will be removed when the pact comes into force.

At present, Vietnam’s iron and steel imports account for 12% of the total import revenue from the union. Given the agreement, the countries have pledged to remove taxes on raw materials, steel pipes and hot-rolled steel immediately and on stainless steel and other steel products after five years.

Besides, Vietnam’s imports of machines and equipment from the EAEU make up 9% of the total import revenue from this bloc.

However, many businesses at the workshops complained that they have little knowledge of the content of this FTA.

The deal was signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and leaders of the  EAEU members in Kazakhstan on May 29 after more than two years of negotiations, according to the Government’s portal chinhphu.vn.

The agreement covers issues related to goods trading, origin principle, trade remedies, investment, intellectual property, legality and institution.

Vietnam pushes state-owned enterprise privatisation forwards

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has ordered relevant ministries, sectors and localities take drastic measures to ensure state-owned enterprise (SOEs) reform in 2015.

He emphasized the need to clarify shortcomings of the privatisation process and determine solutions to the issues.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued guidelines for Government Decree 118/2014/ND-CP on increasing efficient operations of agricultural-forest companies and encouraging science-technology application and transference.

The Deputy Prime Minister also demanded the equitisation process and state capital divestment be intensified to complete the set restructuring plan with 44 companies privatised in the third quarter and an additional 127 businesses in the fourth quarter.

In the third quarter of this year, the Ministry of Finance is set to collaborate with ministries, the SBV, state-owned groups and businesses to set up a divestment plan for enterprises operating in real estate, securities, insurance and investment funds.

Some 143 SOEs were equitised in 2014, well below the set target of 200. As many as 432 SOEs were subjected to restructuring efforts in 2014 and 2015.

Vietnam divested approximately 5 trillion VND (over 238 million USD) of State capital from SOEs, gaining nearly 7 trillion VND (333.33 million USD) in total revenue, 45 percent of which came from the real estate sector.

Thailand Trade Week opens in HCM City

The 14th Thailand Trade Fair Week opened in HCM City on July 9 with the participation of more than 300 companies from Thailand.

Thai manufacturers, suppliers, exporters and dealers put a wide range of products on display at around 350 booths.

Phan Thi Thanh Minh, General Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s South Agency, said that the fair has become an annual event that draws interest from consumers and is an occasion for companies from both countries to expand cooperation, especially trade, investment, tourism, education and culture.

Thailand’s Consulate General in HCM City Panpimon Suwannaprongse said Vietnamese consumers would have opportunities to experience and try Thailand’s excellent products throughout the trade week.

The event will run through July 12.

Deputy PM urges northwest region to bolster investment promotion

Provinces in the northwest region should bolster investment promotion activities while ensuring public security and safety, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlighted at a preliminary conference in Hanoi on July 9.

The Deputy PM requested members of the Northwest Steering Committee take initiative in preparing activity plans for the region in the last six months of 2015.

The Deputy PM praised achievements of the region’s 14 provinces in hunger elimination and poverty reduction, social security and national defence.

He also requested provinces expand and scale up agricultural economic models and scientific technological transfer in agriculture.

According to Steering Committee Deputy Head Truong Xuan Cu, economic development in the region has progressed steadily over the past six months; GDP growth is estimated to hit 7.75 percent with state budget collection surging nearly 16 percent from the same period last year.

Cu added promotion activities, agro-forestry production, education-training and public health services in the region have been carried out effectively, helping create a driving force for localities.

Head of the Committee for Religious Affairs Pham Dung said the region has always pursued policies that safeguard local rights to religion.

As reported by the Ministry of National Defence, localities have effectively implemented plans to ensure national defence and security, and the country’s sovereignty, he added.

Deputy Governor of the State Bank Dao Minh Tu said the State Bank has introduced several preferential mechanisms and policies for locals.

The State Bank is also piloting a credit loan programme which associates economic zones and production value chains and applies scientific technology in production, especially in agriculture.

Vietnam’s airports serve nearly 30 mln passengers in first half of 2015

Airports across the country served 29.8 million passengers and handled 467,000 tonnes of goods in the first half of this year, marking year-on-year increases of 20.4 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively, Lai Xuan Thanh, Head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), said.

The domestic market did particularly well, with the total number of passengers estimated at 14.6 million, a 24.1 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Cargos transported in this period totalled 119,000 tonnes, up by 6.3 percent.

In another positive development, the number of delayed and cancelled flights declined sharply, accounting for 14.5 and 0.5 percent of total flights, respectively, during the first six months of this year.

The aviation sector has cooperated with relevant partners on the operation of more than 96,022 safe flights, as of June 21.

Vietnam ranks third among footwear exporters

Vietnam ranks third among world footwear exporters in terms of value, only after China and Italy, according to the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso).

The country is also among top four largest footwear producers, trailing by China, India and Brazil.

A number of free trade agreements which are likely to come into effect soon will also open more opportunities for the footwear and handbag industry of Vietnam to penetrate potential markets.

Lefaso said that after Vietnam joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, current taxes of 3.5-57.4% will be cut down to zero, helping footwear businesses boost their exports.

However, the biggest challenge for the sector is that the product quality of some businesses does not meet export requirements. Other obstacles include low qualification of human resources and shortage of a material area.

Lefaso will hold an export promotion conference on July 15 with the aim of raising production and export capacity of domestic businesses.

The conference is within the framework of the 2015 national promotional programme to introduce the capacity of Vietnam footwear and handbag exporters to the world.

Hong Kong boosts cooperation with Vietnamese enterprises

Hong Kong enterprises want to cooperate with Vietnam in developing brand names and creating eye-catching product designs to improve competitiveness.

The announcement was released by Shirley Wong, Director, Indochina, Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on July 9.

Shirley Wong said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region always strongly supports the development of creative industries. This is the strength of Hong Kong enterprises.

Vietnam infrastructure to meet modern standards by 2020

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on July 9 gave directives for the continuation of Resolution 13 to develop Vietnam's infrastructure to meet the demand of a modern, industrialised country by 2020, which was approved by the Central Committee in January 2012.

Three years after the implementation of the resolution, Vietnam has seen the completion of important infrastructure projects including numerous highways, seaports and airports, which have boosted the country's socio-economic development, enhanced economic connectivity across the country and improved commerce between Vietnam and the international community.

However, the implementation of the resolution had seen a number of shortcomings and limitations such as the country's inability to fund large-scale infrastructure projects and repeated bottlenecks during the site clearance phase. Notable cases were the two urban train projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which were both delayed due to slow site clearance.

In light of public concern over these issues, the PM said Government agencies, ministries and localities were to perform a comprehensive review of the country's infrastructure projects to ensure that demand for these projects was genuine and there were sufficient financial resources to fund them.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will work with ministries and localities to tighten control on the management of infrastructure investment funds and establish legal guideline for investment under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, which will be made available to the public in the last quarter of this year.

Key infrastructure projects that are unlikely to be able to attract funding from the private sector will be given priority to Official Development Assistance (ODA).

The PM ordered the Ministry of Finance to conduct a review on the use of financial sources for infrastructure development projects such as the State budget, ODA, infrastructure assets and land capital to be submitted to the PM before the end of the year.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has been charged with preparing solutions and mechanisms to speed up site clearance in accordance with the 2013 Law on Land.

Local people's committees, Government agencies and ministries were asked to collaborate to ensure that site clearance is no longer a hindrance to the completion of infrastructure projects.

The PM stressed the importance of ensuring labour and traffic safety standards were met, and urged increased supervision and inspections.

Regarding the policy to encourage the private sector to invest in the development of the country's transport infrastructure, he ordered the Ministry of Transport to compile a list of projects that could be transferred to the private sector by the end of this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development were asked to submit a proposal to attract other sources of investment for the country's water resource and flood prevention projects for major cities across the country such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho.

PM Dung has ordered agencies, ministries and localities to step up the country's international integration process.

The PM said there was a need for Vietnam to seize opportunities, overcome challenges, achieve sustainable development and safeguard the country's sovereignty.

He ordered Government agencies, ministries and localities to continue building multi-level co-operation and promote the image of Vietnam as a responsible member of the international community.

He said the Government would continue to support Vietnamese firms find and penetrate new foreign markets and aid them in dealing with the impact of international trade agreements signed by Vietnam.

Tra fish output in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta increased in the first six months of 2015, though the value of exported tra fish products experienced a downfall.

Deputy Chairman and General Secretary of the Viet Nam Pangasius Association Vo Hung Dung said that as of June 30, total tra fish output stood at 516,140 tonnes, up 1.22 per cent compared to the same period last year.

However, earnings from the export of tra fish products dropped 9.6 per cent year on year to US$616.6 million.

Nevertheless, he reported that the monthly export turnover was increasing, and forecast that exports turnover for three quarters is expected to be equivalent to the same period last year.

He noted significant changes in markets for the country's tra fish exports since late 2014, with strong decreases in exports to the EU, slight reductions in the US market, while shipments to mainland China and Hong Kong surged by over 42.8 per cent.

Exports to the ASEAN market have also posted a positive growth.

Dung attributed the drop in shipments to the EU and the US to a cheaper Euro and stricter technical barriers. The price of tra fish exports also fell by 5 cents per pound in the US, and anti-dumping measures taken by US organisations resulted in difficulties for Vietnamese exporters, he said

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