Some bankers had plenty of dollars but had to restrict their loans.

The downward trend in the dollar interest rate came after the central bank tightened dollar lending rules, allowing only short-term funding to be extended to exporters. Importers would be able to use all types of loans if they could prove their repayment abilities.

The regulation, effective from May 9, was aimed at stopping the upward trend in US dollar interest rates which occurred in early March after the central bank delivered a strong message to keep the Vietnamese dong ceiling deposit rate at 14 per cent per year.

In March, Viet Nam's inflation hit 13.89 per cent, the biggest annual increase in 25 months, despite monetary tightening and plans for scaled back fiscal spending.

Singaporean firm secures $8.4 mln deal for Vietnamese refinery

Singapore-based Hiap Seng Engineering has secured one of the five turnaround maintenance contracts worth US$8.4 million awarded for Dung Quat Refinery.

Under the contract, Hiap Seng will provide maintenance, overhaul and repair services including inspection, testing and cleaning of process equipment parts for the refinery located in the central Quang Ngai Province's Binh Son District.

The 148,000 bpd refinery is run by Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co Ltd, a PetroVietnam’s subsidiary.

This refinery turnaround maintenance work is expected to commence in July 2011 and is due for completion by September 2011.

“This award, which represents a major part of the refinery’s first turnaround maintenance, is a testimony to our strong track record and reputation in the execution of maintenance and engineering services for refineries and other process plants,” said Frankie Tan, Chairman and CEO of Hiap Seng.

“Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the contract is expected to have a positive impact on the Group’s financial performance for the financial year ending March 31,” he added.

Established in 1971 and a Main-board listed company, Hiap Seng is a specialist integrated engineering group for the oil-and-gas, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries and is one of Singapore’s leading engineering groups serving the oil-and-gas, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.

The company provides engineering services covering engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects and plant maintenance services for the oil-and-gas, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical industries in Singapore and beyond.

It operates six well-equipped fabrication yards in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with a total land area of almost three million square feet.

Work begins on Da Nang development

The first sod has been turned on a US$1.67 billion residential project on 400ha of riverfront land in Da Nang City.

The development, named Golden Hills and located on the Cu De River in Lien Chieu District, will comprise apartments, villas, golf course and a marina.

Trung Nam Group chairman Nguyen Tam Thinh said work had also started on extending Nguyen Tat Thanh Street to link the project and other residential areas to the city's central business district.

The street was under a separate $14.5 million build-and-transfer contract, Thinh said.

Spokesman for American architectural and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Ame Engelhart, said plans for the residential development included lower and higher density neighbourhoods that fitted in with natural amenities.

He said the riverfront would have lanes and waterways accessible to all with a waterfront eco-park along 2.7km of the riverfront.

Residential areas connecting to the city would be denser, with landscaped avenues, tight city-like streets, urban gardens and linear greenways.

Travel agencies gather for HCMC tourism fest

The 7th annual Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Festival has been opened with 150 booths from 80 travel companies across the country.

This year’s festival, held by the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, features a tourism fair, a ceremony to honor Vietnamese tourism trademarks, a singing contest for people working in tourism and a photo exhibition of natural beauties across Vietnam.

The event will run until April 10 at 23/9 Park, District 1 and is expected to attract around 200,000 visitors.

Deal struck for $2.5 bln thermal power plant

Construction of the Song Hau 2 thermal power plant will start soon in the southern province of Hau Giang after a final agreement was reached Thursday between local authorities and Malaysia’s Toyo Ink Group, the investor.

The US$2.5 billion plant located in the Hau River Power Center plant in Chau Thanh District is expected to have a capacity of 2000 MW when it goes on stream in 2018.

Tokyo operates investment funds and produces ink and a range of printing-related substances.

The Hau River Power Center, established in July 2010, is expected to produce 5400 MW or 10 to 15 percent of Vietnam’s total electricity demand.

It will have three thermal plants, with the first, the $1.5 billion Song Hau 1, currently being under construction by PetroVietnam.

Big hopes for rice, seafood, coffee, rubber

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has increased its export forecasts for several key agricultural staples in its latest market report.

In the report, the ministry said that it was upbeat about agricultural exports this year despite unfavourable weather conditions and increasing input costs, saying that rice, seafood, coffee and rubber would help increase the country's agricultural exports.

After last year's bumper rice crop of nearly 6.9 million tonnes, the ministry has increased its annual target of exporting 5.5-6.1 million tonnes of rice set earlier this year to 7.1-7.4 million tonnes.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Food Association Truong Thanh Phong said that rice exporters were close to their Q2 target of 2 million tonnes.

The country in the first quarter exported more than 1.8 million tonnes of rice worth US$884 million, up 42 per cent and 46 per cent in volume and value compared with the same period last year.

With regards to seafood, the report forecast that exports would reach $5.7-5.8 billion this year, $200 million higher than previously anticipated in December. Tra fish alone could earn the country up to $2 billion, up $300 million compared with December's forecast, the ministry said.

"A further rebound of the world's seafood consumption and the increasing cost of foodstuffs would contribute to boosting seafood exports for the rest of the year," the report stated.

It said that this year's coffee exports could reach more than 1.2 million tonnes worth roughly $2.6 billion, up 40.5 per cent in value over last year.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association Luong Van Tu was also optimistic about this year's coffee exports, due to the fact prices hit a record high in March and were forecast to remain high due to limited supply.

The International Coffee Organisation (ICO) forecast the global coffee yield from the 2010-11 crop would be up 8.6 per cent over the previous crop, however, reserves had dropped sharply by 33 per cent, draining coffee supplies to an 11-year low.

The ICO forecast that Viet Nam's coffee yield from this year's crop would be 18.4 million bags, up 1.3 per cent over the previous crop.

Low production in the world's major coffee producers, including Brazil and Columbia, coupled with strong demand from India, Japan and China, had pushed coffee prices to nearly $3 per pound in early March for the first time in 14 years.

In the domestic market, coffee reached VND49 million ($2,300) per tonne on the back of the global activity.

Tu said if coffee prices remained high for the rest of the year, the industry could expect to fetch $2.6 billion from exports.

In the report, the ministry also expected rubber exports to reach $3 billion this year if demand remained unchanged from the world's major importers, including China and Malaysia. Last year, the rubber industry earned nearly $2.4 billion from exports.

According to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries, rubber prices had decreased since early March due to China's attempts to curb inflation and the earthquake in Japan that had halted operations at automobile manufacturers.

However, the association forecast that the price decrease would not last long due to limited supply, saying it would increase again in the second quarter.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Rubber Association Le Quang Thung said that the country's rubber yield this year would rise 4 per cent against last year to 780,000 tonnes, thanks to a 40,000ha increase in cultivation area.

Ministry ups rice export target by 1m tonnes

Rice exports could exceed 7 million tonnes this year, much higher than the earlier forecast of around 6 million tonnes, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The latest forecast by the ministry says exports may range between 7.1 and 7.4 million tonnes.

It is based on the 400,000-tonne increase in exports in the first quarter, the ministry said.

According to the Viet Nam Food Association, the country exported more than 1.849 million tonnes of the grain in the first quarter for US$884 million, a 46 per cent increase in value, compared to the same period last year.

Nike to open fifth plant in Viet Nam

Tae Kwang Vina Industrial JSC will open its fifth Nike plant in Viet Nam in Agtex Long Binh Industrial Zone in the third quarter of this year.

The plant, worth US$12 million, will be able to produce 300,000 pairs of shoes a month. Tae Kwang JSC is also planning to build a $10 million plant at My Tho Industrial Park.

National carrier schedules more flights

Vietnam Airlines will put on an extra 48 domestic flights from April 28 to May 3 to cater for holiday travellers.

The number of flights from Ha Noi to Nha Trang, Da Nang, and HCM City – and from HCM City to Phu Quoc, Nha Trang and Da Nang will rise by six to 10 flights a day.

The airline will also increase the number of flight from Ha Noi to Bangkok and Siem Reap – and from HCM City to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Siem Reap by 15 flights.

Apartment project released in HCM City

Truong Thinh Phat Real Estate Investment and Construction JSC (ECILAND) and Asset Management Limited Company (AMC) released the Everville apartment building project on Saturday.

With a total capital investment of VND1.7 trillion billion (US$79 million), the project will occupy a 5ha site in Binh Tan District.

It comprises nine building apartments, two of which are expected to be finished in 2013.

Vietnam-Mexico two-way trade turnover increases sharply

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Mexico is estimated to reach more than US$915 million in 2010, a year-on-year increase of nearly 28 percent.

The Trade Office of the Vietnamese embassy in Mexico and the Mexican Ministry of Economy announced on April 9 that Mexico is an important trade partner for Vietnam in Latin America.

Vietnam exported goods worth nearly US$836 million to Mexico in 2010, up more than 36 percent compared to the same period last year. The main export products were garments, footwear, seafood, printing machines, machinery, electrical equipment, children’s toys, sports equipment and timber products.

Vietnam imported nearly US$80 million worth of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronic spare parts, scrap steel and plastic, cotton, fish paste, and beer, down 22 percent compared to 2009.

Vietnamese coffee’s prestige enhanced in the world

Vietnam is now a coffee export partner with more than 80 nations and territories around the world including many traditional markets such as Germany, the US, and Spain, according to the Vietnam Coffee and Cacao Association (VICOFA).

VICOFA held a meeting in HCM City on April 9 to review business activities in the 2008-2010 tenure and devise orientations for the next tenure. 

According to the association, Vietnam exports around 1 million tonnes of coffee on average, with a export turnover of roughly US$2 billion, making up over 8 percent of the agricultural sector’s exports. 

In the 2008-2010 tenure, VICOFA played an active role in linking production and consumption and contributed to the coffee sector’s sustainable development policies. 

From now to 2013, the coffee sector will face many challenges such as climate change, and price fluctuations which have affected the country’s coffee business.

VICOFA will focus on maintaining a coffee cultivation area of 500,000 hectares with an output of more than 1.1 million tonnes per year, holding a 15 percent share of the world’s coffee export market and promoting cooperation with major coffee growing nations in the world.

Bank event promotes technology

The 14th Banking Viet Nam Conference and Exhibition to be held here on May 25 and 26 will discuss measures to maximise information technology, diversify banking products and develop non-cash payment outlets.

The event will be hosted by the Information Technology Department (ITD) of the State Bank of Viet Nam and the International Data Group (IDG ASEAN).

Bankers will be able to learn how to increase the effectiveness of non-cash payments, including point-of-sale (POS), e-commerce and online banking.

An exhibition will display local and foreign technologies covering POS and mobile, internet and kiosk banking.

Le Manh Hung, head of the ITD, said that the event woould contribute to modernising Viet Nam's banking system.

Sale of apartments soars by 70% 

Sales of apartments, villas and townhouses were up in the first quarter of this year, according to experts.

Savills Viet Nam, at the launch of its quarterly report in Ha Noi this week, said that apartments had good sales, with about 70 per cent of stock being sold, despite a doubling in available property compared with the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, average secondary asking prices increased 3 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of 2010. In which, Long Bien achieved the strongest increase at around 8.5 per cent, followed by Gia Lam at 6 per cent against the last quarter of 2010, the report said.

CB Richard Ellis Ltd Company (CBRE), another real estate market research firm, also released its quarterly report this week echoing Savills' optimism.

CBRE said sale rates in the high-end segment improved. Newly-launched projects sold well, partly due to new market techniques.

For instance, developers had offered discount of up to 8 per cent to special group buyers.

This had encouraged buyers to take advantage of preferential offers, with advantages including index-linking contract value to the CPI (consumer price index).

Apartments had continued to prove lucrative as speculators had shifted investments due to the devaluation of the dong and restrictions on the trade of gold bullion, said the CBRE.

However, buyers would be more selective by aggressively comparing prices against other factors such as location, reputation, quality and project facilities.

Savills also saw some indicators that revealed increasing demand for apartments for sale in the coming time because more than half of the total population is under 30 and average incomes of Ha Noi residents has continued to increase.

The market showed potential demand among medium and low-income earners for apartments, as land prices were too high, said Savills.

HCM City is expected to launch more than 20 apartment projects containing 15,000 units in the second and third quarterss, according to figures from Savills Viet Nam.

About the same number of units are currently available, making the market fiercely competitive for developers, according to Truong An Duong, the company's head of research in HCM City.

He added that around 24,000 units were planned to be completed between 2012 and 2014.

"This requires developers to have a suitable strategy to react to the rapidly changing market," he said.

Several developers have already made a move by lowing their prices, including Dai Thanh, which has cut prices for its project in Tan Phu District to VND12.7 million (US$605) per square metre for a complete unit, from the previous VND14.9 million ($709.5) for a raw one.

Another developer, ThuDuc-House, has also lowered prices by VND500,000 ($23.8) for each square metre of its project in Thu Duc District.

In the first quarter, around 3,500 apartments were sold, up 16 per cent from the previous quarter's figure. However, a large number of them went to wholesale investors rather than end users.

Golden Hills and extended Nguyen Tat Thanh route projects begin

The Trung Nam Joint Stock Company began construction of the Golden Hills ecological area and the extended Nguyen Tat Thanh route projects in central Da Nang City on April 9 in the presence of National Assembly Vice Chairman, Nguyen Duc Kien.

Addressing the ceremony, Kien said these projects show great determination to promote socio-economic development in Da Nang City. He requested local departments, leaders and people to help investors clear the land and carry out other policies so the projects will be implemented successfully.

Golden Hills ecological area covers 400 hectares and with total investment of US$1.67 billion. The extended Nguyen Tat Thanh route, that will connect the city’s tourism centres to Golden Hills and the North South expressway, is 33m wide and 2.7km long, with a total investment of VND300 billion.

The projects are scheduled to be completed in 2014 and will contribute to boasting socio-economic development in the northwestern region of Da Nang City. They will play a key role in transforming the Cu De River and National Highway A from an agricultural economy to one focused on service and tourism.     

On the occasion, Trung Nam JSC also handed over VND150 million to assist the poor in Hoa Lien commune, Hoa Vang district, and VND160 million to Hoa Hiep Nam and Hoa Hiep Bac wards in the Lien Chieu district of Da Nang City.