Concerns raised over airport rights

The Ministry of Finance agrees with the transport ministry's plan for socialisation of investment for airline infrastructure.

However, it is concerned about the other ministry's pilot sale of operational rights to airlines, which could lead to unhealthy competition, according to the online VnExpress.net.

In a document sent to the government recently, the finance ministry mentioned the sale of operational rights to domestic investors at Phu Quoc International Airport. In the document, the ministry noted that the use of funds collected from the sale of the airport's operational rights for the construction of Long Thanh International Airport would be decided by the shareholders of the Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV), which had been managing and operating Phu Quoc Airport. The State cannot interfere with administrative instructions.

The finance ministry said the transport ministry's report showed that as Phu Quoc Airport was operated by ACV's capital, even if the Prime Minister agreed to the pilot sale of operational rights at this airport, the use of the funds collected from the sales would be decided by ACV's shareholders.

Earlier, the transport leaders affirmed that the money collected from the sale of operational rights at Phu Quoc Airport would contribute to the investment in Long Thanh Airport, after the National Assembly approved the construction of the airport.

The finance ministry said ACV has completed its corporate value assessment and has been implementing steps for equitisation. Its valuation included 22 international and domestic airports, including Phu Quoc Airport.

ACV's value is estimated to be VND38 trillion (US$1.75 billion).

The State budget management body also said Phu Quoc Airport was not on the list of businesses that would follow the Government decree 128/2014/ND-CP, dated December 31, 2014, on sale and transfer of 100 per cent of state-owned capital in enterprises, as well as the form of transfer under an operate–manage (O&M) basis of the Government decree 15/2015/ND-CP on public-private partnership (PPP) investment, as proposed by the transport ministry.

"Therefore, the transport ministry needs to clarify whether it would separate Phu Quoc Airport from the ACV's valuation, when it summits the ACV equitisation plan for approval to the Prime Minister," the finance ministry said.

Two non-airlines sector businesses — T&T Group and Lien Thai Duong Group – are in the race to get operational rights of Phu Quoc Airport.

In March this year, the transport ministry requested the Prime Minister to allow the sale of operational rights of Phu Quoc Airport on an O&M basis to domestic investors. The funds gained from the sale will contribute to the investment capital in Long Thanh Airport.

Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air are competing for the northern Noi Bai Airport's Terminal 1.

All businesses want to auctions to be held, but the ACV is being cautious and is studying to find the best way to resolve this issue.

SBV seeks fresh impetus for green credit growth

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) issued a rule that would push up green credit and environmental risk management in the credit-granting process so it could implement the National Action Plan on Green Growth.

Experts and commercial banks said SBV's decision helped create a level playing field for green credit growth. Green banking is controlled by the same authorities as regular banking, but takes more care to assure its actions benefit the country's environment, society and natural resources.

In a recent seminar on green credit and banking, Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh, head of SBV's Banking Strategy Institute, said the banking sector had contributed to the country's socio-economic development by playing the role of financial broker and promoting growth.

Therefore, green credit policies could lead the economy to green growth, Thanh said. Green credit would also improve people's living standards and protect the environment, she added.

"Green banking and credit are used in many countries at the moment," Thanh told the Thoi Bao Kinh Te (Economic Times) newspaper. "However, it is still new in Viet Nam. So its effects are still modest, and it hasn't yet expanded throughout the sector."

Nguyen Tri Hieu, a banking expert, said green credit could help banks fulfill their obligations to society, in addition to boosting profit.

So far, though, Vietnamese banks haven't shown much interest in the trend. Hieu said most of them have been preoccupied struggling with debt. Many don't see how the issue of the environment is related to their businesses.

An expert from the International Financial Corporation (IFC) suggested Vietnamese commercial banks consider environment and society an indispensable part of their risk management structures. Besides, banks should develop green credit to give their businesses an edge and a new growth tool.

The experts also advised that commercial banks reform their investment portfolios by systematically assessing investment risks and credit evaluation processes. This would help financial institutions and banks reduce bad loans and increase their financial stability, they said.

According to an official from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Viet Nam needs about US$30 billion to implement its 2020 green growth plan, 30 per cent of which from the State budget. The rest would be mobilised from the private economic sector.

At present, climate change and green growth account for more than 10 per cent of the Government's budget.

Banks play a very important role in reaching green growth targets, the official said, as private enterprises must mobilise capital from banks when investing in green growth projects.

To effectively assist green growth, banks should offer enterprises special credits, because green growth projects take more time to bring in profit than others do.

Hieu suggested banks offer incentives such as relocating loans with lower interest or tax priority.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Duc Viet, deputy director of the Risk Management Section of ABBank, said his bank was interested in comprehensive, sustainable development.

So far, the bank had completed a system of social and environment risk management, which is integrated into the bank's current risk management, Duc said.

To create a level playing field for all banks, Duc asked management agencies to issue more policies supporting sustainable growth.

Gov't approves hi-tech agricultural zones plan

The Government has approved a plan to set up high-tech agricultural zones and areas around the country that aims to have 10 such zones by 2020.

The 10 have been or are being set up in Thai Nguyen, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Binh Duong and Hau Giang provinces and Can Tho and HCM City.

To measure between 65ha and 460ha, each zone will have, besides an administrative centre, areas for research and experiments in new high-tech agricultural production, technology transfer, farming, and waste treatment.

The Can Tho high-tech agriculture zone, for instance, will spread over 244ha in Co Do District and focus on vegetables, flowers, rice, speciality fruits, pig, poultry, and aquatic species. The zone will also process agricultural produce using advanced technologies.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city is now soliciting investment for setting up the zone.

Besides the zones, the plan also envisages development of high-tech agricultural areas focusing on local specialities. Thus, there will be areas for growing coffee in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands), north-western and north-central regions, for dragon fruit in Binh Thuan Province, for vegetables in Lao Cai and Lam Dong provinces, Hai Phong, Ha Noi and HCM City and for fruits in the southern region.

There will also be high-tech agricultural areas for dairy farming in Son La, Nghe An and Lam Dong provinces and Ha Noi, raising pigs in the Hong (Red) Delta and south-eastern regions and poultry in the Red River Delta and central and southern regions.

Places in the Red River Delta, northern-central and central coastal regions and the south will focus on breeding saline and brackish water shrimp.

By 2030 the country will set up at least 10 more high-tech agricultural zones, including in Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Son La, Nam Dinh and Nghe An provinces and Ha Noi.

Developers of high-tech agricultural zones and investors in the zones will be offered various incentives.

Fish farms fail to thrive in Lam Dong

The farming of coldwater fish has failed to develop as expected in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, mired in distribution, investment and methodical difficulties.

Tran Van Hao, Chairman of the Lam Dong Coldwater Fish Farming Association, said just 11 of 40 planned projects were launched in 2014, forming just 30 hectares of fish farms as against the targeted 350 hectares. These farms produced 200 tonnes of sturgeon, far below expectations.

Farming of coldwater fish, in particular sturgeon, is relatively recent venture in the country, beginning to develop five years ago in the provinces of Lam Dong and Lao Cai. Sturgeons are being bred with production reaching 700 tonnes in 2013, of which Lam Dong Province accounting for more than 50 percent.

A national plan envisaged harvests of 1,500 tonnes of coldwater fish by 2015 – 1,000 tonnes of sturgeon and 500 tonnes of salmon. However total production in 2014 was just 550 tonnes.

Hao said many enterprises that had initially invested in breeding coldwater fish had quit, and others had scaled back their operations.

Meanwhile, raising salmon requires large investments and meticulous care, forcing many firms to abandon it or shift to breeding for research purposes.

Hao admitted that the challenges in breeding coldwater fish had been underestimated. Several enterprises that have entered the business were learning on the job, and were not fully conversant with best breeding conditions and methods, he said.

Vu Ba Lien, farm manager with the Ngoc Mai Trang Company, said expensive imported feed, contaminated water and unusual rains had killed much of his salmon stock, and they had to switch to sturgeon and black carp.

Local farmers were excessively dependent on imported feed, with around 350 tonnes shipped in last year, he said.

Another problem was the illegal import of cheap sturgeon and salmon from China, which has seriously affected the local fish farming industry, he said.

It is estimated that around 2-3 tonnes of fresh sturgeon is illegally brought in from China into HCM City by air every day and sold at one-third the price of locally bred fish. .

Hao said that locally, sturgeon are bred in near natural conditions and harvested after 12-14 months when they reach a weight of around two kilograms. Chinese sturgeon, on the other hand, use growth stimulants and can be harvested after 4-6 months, making them much cheaper.

Several firms had recently begun importing Chinese sturgeon and putting them into fish farms in northern provinces for some time, so that they could be sold as locally-bred fish in the market, Hao said.

This meant that the local industry was likely to fall well short of the 2020 target of 100 hectares of farms producing 3,000 tonnes of coldwater fish, he added.

Vietnam-India trade cooperation highlighted

Crowds of domestic and Indian scientists, managers and businessmen gathered at a workshop in Hanoi on May 11 to discuss economic cooperation potential between Vietnam and India, organised by the Ho Chi Minh City National Politics Academy.

At the event, Director of the Academy Ta Ngoc Tan highlighted the long- lasting relationship between Vietnam and India, saying it has been continuously consolidated by generations of leaders of the two nations and upgraded to comprehensive relations as affirmed in their joint statements.

In the most recent communiqué from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to India in last October, the two Governments pledged to develop the comprehensive strategic partnership and foster all-around cooperation between the two nations.

Their cooperation commitment consists of five pillars: politics, economics, energy, security and national defence.

Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Preeti Saran said the Vietnam-India strategic partnership has seen exceptional development with comprehensive cooperation in various fields, including politics, national defence, trade and investment, education, science and technology, culture and people-to-people diplomacy.

Vietnam is India’s first partner in its “Look East” policy, she said, adding that the relationship has been reinforced by the shared interest in peace, prosperity, security and order in the region and the world.

Participants discussed the role of the relations, reviewed current economic cooperation and highlighted challenges and potential for the respective nations.

They also offered approaches to bring Vietnam-India economic cooperation to new heights, with businesses from both nations playing an active role in the process.

On the occasion, the Academy launched a website of the Indian research centre, updating the Vietnam-India relations and facilitating the teaching and understanding of the landscapes, peoples and socio-economic development of the two nations.

Trade between Vietnam and India hit 5.4 billion USD in 2014 with Vietnamese exports valued at 2.4 billion USD.

They have targeted a trade revenue of 7 billion USD in 2015, increasing to 15 billion USD by 2020.

Rice exports to Africa shows signs of recovery

Vietnam’s rice export turnover to markets in Africa, West Asia and South Asia recorded considerable growth in the first quarter of this year to hit 71.3 million USD, 531 percent higher than that of the same period last year.

Of the figure, 94.1 percent was generated through exports to African markets, forecasting a strong recovery after a recent downturn in the market.

Vietnamese rice shipped to African markets has seen strong growth since 2011.

In 2013, the country exported 2 million tonnes of rice to Africa, accounting for nearly 30 percent of Vietnam’s total volume of rice sold in foreign markets. Africa became Vietnam’s second largest rice importer that year, after China.

However, the country’s rice export turnover to Africa in 2014 reached only 452.7 million USD due to decreased demand in the market. Vietnamese rice firms also faced competition from companies in Thailand, India and Pakistan.

To support Vietnamese rice exporters, the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Africa, West Asia and South Asia Markets is outlining a rice export plan to African markets.

As stipulated, promotion activities will be intensified to help rice exporters’ access to new markets.

The ministry advised Vietnamese exporters to provide high-quality rice products besides traditional rice, given their increasing demand in Africa, to fully tap the potential of the continent’s markets.

Africa is now the largest rice consumer in the world with an annual demand of over 9 million tonnes of rice, almost 6.5 million tonnes of which is imported.

Vietnam’s wood exports expected to surge

The year 2015 is providing a golden opportunity for Vietnam’s wood exporters to boost their global exports, according to the Handicrafts and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA).

The forecast is based predominantly on the shrinking market share of China - the country’s main competitor – in the US market, where Chinese wood products are facing high anti-dumping taxes.

In addition to this, a number of wood factories in the main exporting countries have been closed down due to the ripple effects of the economic recession in Europe, providing an opportunity for Vietnam to raise its wood export value.

The formation of the ASEAN Community, which is scheduled to take place by the end of the year, will also offer excellent opportunities, as wood will be one of the 12 prioritised industrial sectors.

Currently, Vietnam is the sixth largest wood exporter in the world, with export value growing 27.15 percent a year on average from 2001 to 2010, and 15 percent on average in the last five years to reach 6.23 billion USD in 2014.

Can Tho industrial zones attract 5.6 million USD

Industrial zones in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho have drawn more than 5.6 million USD, according to the management board of the city's industrial zones.

The figure, which comes from four new projects and capital increases of three existing projects, represents a 6 percent increase from the same period last year.

Currently, the city's industrial zones have 214 valid projects with a combined investment capital of 1.91 billion USD, 192 of which are operational and 22 are under implementation.

The board said industrial zones in Can Tho plan to produce an industrial and commercial value of 1.5 billion USD with an export value of 620 million USD in 2015.

The zones are expected to generate 3,500 new jobs and contribute 2 trillion VND (92 million USD) in tax. In the first four months, the industrial value produced by the industrial zones reached 400 million USD, up 10.9 percent against the same period.

Kien Giang to build new fishing vessels

The People’s Committee of the southern coastal province of Kien Giang has approved a plan to provide soft loans worth 160 billion VND (7.4 million USD) for local fishermen to build 14 new vessels and upgrade five others.

The financial support, based on Government Decree 67 on policies to boost fishery development , will be allocated to fishermen in the Chau Thanh, An Minh, An Bien, Kien Hai, Hon Dat, Phu Quoc districts and Rach Gia city.

Each new vessel, with capacity of 400 to 1,000 CV, will receive an average investment of 10 billion VND (462,000 USD) while owners of old vessels will be given (185,000 USD) each for upgrade.

The provincial authorities also plan to provide insurance premium support for 921 fishing vessels and 8,349 fishermen.

By 2016, Kien Giang hopes to build 95 fishing boats and 10 vessels for logistic services with capacities of 400 CV and over in line with Government Decree 67.

The building of high-capacity boats for deep sea fishing is one of the programmes introduced under Government Decree 67/2014/ND-CP to boost fishery development.

The move is expected to increase the volume of fish caught and lift fishermen incomes.

To be eligible for the programme, fishermen must be approved by local People’s Committees.

As many as 2,079 new off-shore fishing ships and 205 logistics ships will be built under this decree, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Bac Ninh strives to enhance competitiveness index in 2015

Measures to maintain the provincial competitiveness index’s (PCI) momentum in northern Bac Ninh province were debated during a workshop on May 11.

In 2014, the locality ranked tenth nationwide with 60.92 PCI points. Its transparency, timing cost, business support and equal competition sub-indexes increased from 2013 while land access, unofficial cost and dynamic criteria reduced.

Bac Ninh’s PCI has ranked among the top ten provinces for six consecutive years thanks to local authority’s efforts to build an attractive business climate, said Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Nhan Chien.

He suggested drastic measures to address the dropping indexes and remove barriers to enterprise growth, including cutting red tape and boosting equality among different economic sectors.

In a bid to promote the responsibility of individual personnel, provincial awards will be presented to those with outstanding performance contributing to the local PCI by the end of 2015, noted Chairman of Bac Ninh People’s Committee Nguyen Tu Quynh.

The PCI report considers a range of criteria, including land access for businesses, land use stability, transparency, an equal and competitive environment and legal support for firms.

Since 2005, the PCI survey has included nearly 80,600 private owned enterprises and 7,800 foreign enterprises.-

Vietnam attractive destination for investment, tourism

Vietnam is a safe and attractive destination for all foreign investors and international tourists, stated President Truong Tan Sang at the Vietnam Economy-Tourism Cooperation Forum held in Prague on May 11.

The event, which was organised by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry from Vietnam, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, was also attended by Czech President Milos Zeman.

Addressing an audience of 500 companies from Vietnam, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ba Lan and Hungary, President Sang said a number of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, including the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement ( EVFTA), are expected to be signed between Vietnam and other nations in the near future, which will lay the foundation for promoting trade-investment-tourism activities between Vietnam and other countries in the region and the world.

With a population of 90 million and a significant share of the 500-million-strong Southeast Asian market, Vietnam offers investors many incentive policies, he confirmed.

President Sang also believed that a large number amounting to tens of thousands of Vietnamese who used to study in the Czech Republic and Slovakia would serve as a bridge for friendship, trade and investment cooperation among the three countries.

Czech President Milos Zeman said strengthening the traditional relationship between the two countries is the basis for boosting cooperation in economics, trade, investment and tourism.

He also highlighted the successful integration of Vietnamese community into the Czech society where they are recognised as the 14th ethnic minority.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh recommended measures to increase the number of tourists and promote tourism investment and business between Vietnam and the Czech Republic, including boosting tourism at all levels, improving visa policies, and increasing coordination in market research and development of tourism products.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Jiri Havlicek said the economic relationship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic has developed strongly over the past years with the trade volume surpassing the 500 million USD mark in 2013.

As of the end of 2014, the Czech Republic had 36 investment projects in Vietnam with a combined investment capital of 64 million USD focusing on garments and textiles, food processing, mechanical manufacturing, building materials and mining, according to the Deputy Minister.

Havlicek also highlighted cooperation prospects between the two countries in a number of sectors such as energy, infrastructure, transport vehicles and defence industry and health equipment.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese and Czech Presidents witnessed the signing of documents on cooperation between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and two Czech partners and between the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and the bank Eximbanka of Slovakia and CEB of the Czech Republic.

In 2012, the Czech Republic announced its export strategy through 2020, placing Vietnam—the only country in Southeast Asia—among its 12 prior markets.

The Eastern European country has continually provided official development assistance to Vietnam, totalling 18 million USD.-

Japanese insurer signs deal with HDBank

Japan's Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company of Vietnam, Ltd and HDBank on May 11 signed an exclusive bancassurance partnership agreement.

For 10 years starting in July Dai-ichi Life Vietnam will be the sole insurer selling life insurance products and health riders through HDBank's national network.

It will in turn offer HDBank's products and services to its own customers.

Besides, when paying their insurance premiums, Dai-ichi Life Vietnam customers can use HDBank's bill-payment service at more than 220 transaction points nationwide and through e-banking to be set up soon.

HDBank and Dai-ichi Life Vietnam pledged to help each other develop sustainable strategic cooperation between the banking and insurance sectors.

Vietnam wants Japan’s ODA for Khanh Hoa fishery centre

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat has sought Japan’s official development assistance for a fishery centre catering to the coastal south central based in Khanh Hoa province.

Scheduled as one of the five fishery centres nationwide, the Khanh Hoa-based facility will be located in Da Bac fishing port, Cam Ranh city and stretches over an area of 46ha.

Its construction will begin this year at a total cost of nearly 1.6 trillion VND (74.5 million USD).

The ministry proposed using nearly 10 million USD in non-refundable aid from the Japanese government to upgrade and expand Da Bac fishing port.

The provincial People’s Committee wants the Japanese firms to invest in functional areas such as cold storage, gasoline and petroleum service facilities, Phat told Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Fukada Hiroshi during their working session in Khanh Hoa on May 11.

Hiroshi said Japan will consider whether to provide non-refundable aid or loans for the project during the upcoming Vietnam-Japan dialogue on agriculture.

Phat said Vietnam wants to acquire Japan ’s innovations through technical transfer or direct support programmes in order to empower its aquaculture sector.

Vietnam, India boost cooperation in automobile industry

The Vietnam's TMT Motor Corporation will become the distributor of TATA Motors Limited—the largest manufacturer in the Indian automobile industry, as stipulated in an agreement on car distribution and supply and technology transfer signed in Hanoi on May 11.

According to the agreement, TATA Motor will provide TMT with spares parts and completely-built-up automobiles for distribution in the Vietnamese market. This will help TMT enlarge its operations, affirm its position in the domestic automobile industry and broaden exports to ASEAN countries.

Bui Van Huu, Chairman of the TMT Motor Corporation, highlighted that the company aims to build the TATA trademark while delivering global-standard TATA products and services to Vietnamese customers.

RT Wasan, TATA Motors’ Head of Commercial Vehicle International Business, underscored that the nexus between the company and the Vietnamese automobile sector was created by the penetration of TATA automobiles into the Southeast Asian country.

He pledged to bring highly-competitive products with TATA quality certification to Vietnamese consumers.

TMT Motor Corporation is a leading unit in assembling and distributing automobiles in Vietnam. TATA Motors is the biggest automobile manufacturer in India, recording a total revenue of 38.9 billion USD in 2013-2014.

The strategic partnership between the two companies is expected to benefit both sides.

Hundred of businesses partake in Entech Hanoi 2015

More than 110 domestic and foreign businesses are expected to take part in the 2015 International Exhibition Fair for Environment and Energy Technology (Entech Hanoi) which aims to promote energy conservation and environmental protection.

The five-day event will open at the Hanoi International Exhibition Centre at 91 Tran Hung Dao Street on May 20, featuring 165 booths and expecting to draw 4,000 visitors, announced Deputy Director of the Hanoi Centre for Energy Conservation under the municipal Department of Industry and Trade at a press conference on May 11.

Businesses from the Republic of Korea—which recently signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam—brought a wide range of new-cutting edge products to the event, such as buildings, solar accumulators and oil and gas processing equipment.

Enterprises from the Czech Republic introduced gas and dust treatment technology, and those from Sweden and Japan introduced energy-saving and environmental protection technologies.

The Vietnamese pavilion showcased electronic bikes and energy-saving equipment in garment-textiles, footwear and construction.

Last year, the event led to 640 transactions and 160 signed technology transfer contracts worth 9.5 million USD.

Trade fair to promote Vietnamese exports to RoK

A trade fair to select outstanding Vietnamese products destined for the Republic of Korea (RoK) will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on June 24-28.

The event is also to promote trade activities between the two countries, according to the municipal Centre of Promoting Trade and Investment and the Industry and Trade newspaper under the Ministry of Industry and Trade on May 11.

Pham Le Cuong, Director of the HCM City Centre for Supporting and Developing Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises, said the programme helps businesses update information on the market’s import-export regulations.

He added that the signed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries has opened opportunities for Vietnam to boost farm produce exports to the market, such as garlic, ginger and sweet potato.

Tran Thi Nghia, a representative from the RoK’s Lotte Mart, said the company will open three additional supermarkets in Vietnam in 2015 and support capable small- and medium-sized enterprises in farm produce, seafood and forestry products to enter foreign markets.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the RoK liberalised 97.2 percent of import values, accounting for 95.4 percent of all tariff lines on many of Vietnam’s key agricultural commodities and aquatic products such as shrimp, crab, fish, tropical fruits and industrial goods like garment-textiles, timber and engineering products.

Vietnam to promote peppercorn industry

The Government and the agricultural sector need to work together to overcome difficulties facing Vietnam’s peppercorn industry, which is forecast to show unsustainable development, as heard at a recent conference in Ho Chi Minh City.

The instablility was attributed to rapid plantation expansion and intensive farming.

Vietnam’s total peppercorn area was estimated to exceed 80,000 hectares by the end of the first quarter of this year, nearly doubling the figure set in the sector’s development plan, with key farming zones concentrating in Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Dak Nong provinces.

Hoang Phuoc Binh, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Chu Se Pepper Association in the Central province of Gia Lai, warned that the increasing plantation expansion will lead to high output but low price, challenging the industry.

Pepper growers will also cope with other difficulties in 2015 with increasingly destructive insects and climate change, especially in newly-cultivated zones.

On the other hand, Vietnamese peppercorn has not met quality and food safety standards strictly required by many foreign importers, said Do Ha Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Pepper Association.

Nam added that his agency has put forward a plan to set up sustainable production areas along with trademark generation in order to increase the quality of peppercorn and meet global food safety standards.

Vietnam has been one of the leading countries in exporting peppercorn in the world in recent years. Its peppercorn is sold to over 90 countries and territories, accounting for 30 percent of the total global production and 50 percent of the total global exports respectively.

Currently, the Vietnamese peppercorn sector produces 2.16 tonnes of dried berries per hectare, one of the world’s highest yields.

In 2014, the country exported over 156,000 tonnes of peppercorn, up 16.4 percent from 2013 and equivalent to 58 percent of the global market share of peppercorn. The sector’s export turnover reached 1.2 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 34.7 percent.-

Savills Vietnam scoops up two property awards

Savills Vietnam, the largest property company in the country, went up against a number of real estate agents and won two awards at the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2015.

The awards were the Best Real Estate Agency in Vietnam and the Best Property Consultancy in Vietnam. The decoration continues to assert Savills’s real estate professionalism, especially in a highly-competitive environment like the Asia Pacific region.

Managing Director at Savills Vietnam Neil MacGregor highlighted that this is the 6 th consecutive year Savills has won the prestigious prizes, saying that the results have been underpinned by experienced staff with outstanding abilities.

He added that the awards were announced when Savills celebrated its 20 th anniversary of operating in Vietnamese market, focusing on delivering the best quality and services to the customers.

Over 70 specialists worldwide judged this year’s competition. Companies with the highest scores will compete with winners from the EU, Africa, Canada, the US, Central and Southern America, Caribbean region and the United Arab Emirates for global titles.

President of the International Property Awards Stuart Shield underscored that this year saw a significant increase in the number of candidates from 25 countries in the Asia Pacific region. He said that prizes for each category will be announced shortly.

Earlier, the Vingroup-run Times City urban area and Vincom Mega Mall Times City trade centre were honoured with Vietnam’s “Best Mixed-used Development” and “Best Retail Development” awards.

The Asia Pacific Property Awards are part of the 20-year-old International Property Awards, widely considered one of the most prestigious awards in the world.

Footwear makers told to improve quality, design

Local footwear manufacturers should improve the design and quality of their products to attract local customers after bringing the local footwear market under free trade agreements, said experts.

According to the Vietnam Leather Footwear and Bag Association (Lefaso), local demand for footwear reaches 150 million pairs per year and local producers have met only 40 percent of the demand, reported Dien dan Doanh nghiep newspaper.

Local footwear mainly caters to rural and remote areas that have people with low incomes. Therefore, large footwear manufacturers often make footwear products for exports and have left the domestic market to small and medium enterprises, the association noted.

Meanwhile, the domestic leather and footwear industry does not have any standard for the use of chemical residues in products. It does not have quality verification centres to ensure the quality of raw materials or finished products.

Nguyen Van Khanh, general secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Leather Footwear Association, said Vietnamese footwear producers should pay more attention to the design of their products to attract more local customers.

They should build a trade mark and distribution system as well as take flexible marketing measures, Khanh said.

Tran Van Tac, General Director of the Tuan Viet Co. Ltd. and the owner of Tuvi's footwear brand, said some of the major factors for developing the domestic footwear market were quality, design, and price.

The Lefaso, along with the Vietnam Leather Footwear Institute and other related agencies, will build a system to ensure product quality standards for protecting the domestic footwear industry and market and to help them compete with imported footwear.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also submitted to the government a decree to help the support industry in various sectors, including leather and footwear. Support industries are expected to ensure the sustainable development of sectors in the domestic market.-

Industrial, economic zones help fuel economy

Sustainably developing industrial and economic zones is one of the modern day pressing issues, since they are vital to the country’s socio-economic development as well as national defence and security.

To do this, long-term planning should be mapped out in a strategic fashion, experts suggested.

Le Van Khoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Industry and Trade, said the city is implementing economy restructuring projects between 2013 and 2020, focusing on building specialised industrial parks.

It recently began construction on a Vietnam-Japan hi-tech industrial park in Nha Be district to serve only Japanese businesses, he noted.

Infrastructure improvements at industrial and economic parks are set a major orientation in Resolution 13-NQ/TW of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Localities have been advised to build infrastructure efficiently and on schedule while seeking ways to mobilise investment capital in the field.

At a recent meeting of the Steering Committee on developing industrial and economic parks, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked localities and sectors to eliminate poorly performing industrial and economic parks, while speeding up the rate of occupancy and improving the operational efficiency of the parks.

He also requested policy revisions on developing industrial and economic zones at the local level and measures to deal with land use issues while increasing investigations on environmental protection at the parks.

According to experts, administrative reform is necessary to develop industrial and economic parks sustainably; they suggested fully implementing the one-stop-shop model.

So far, Vietnam is home to over 300 industrial parks, with the first established in 1991.

In 2014, industrial and economic parks attracted additional 752 projects and witnessed increased capital for 515 projects worth 14.7 billion USD.

The foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing alone made up over 90 percent of the country’s total FDI.

By 2014, industrial parks nationwide have housed 5,573 FDI projects with a total registered capital of 85.5 billion USD with as much as 49 billion USD disbursed.

Meanwhile, coastal and border economic zones lured 70 FDI projects worth over 700 million USD.

In 2014, industrial and economic parks raked in over 118 billion USD in revenue, an annual increase of 18 percent, while export turnover stood at over 73.4 billion USD, up 43 percent.

Businesses in industrial and economic zones posted a trade surplus of 5.8 billion USD, a yearly increase of 24 percent, contributing 87 trillion VND (4 billion USD) to the State budget (up 31 percent) and generating jobs for 2.4 million workers (up 14.2 percent).

Opportunities for Vietnam’s farm produce to penetrate RoK

A workshop discussing opportunities for Vietnam’s farm produce to penetrate the Republic of Korea (RoK) will be held in Ho Chi Minh city on May 13.

It is co-organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) and the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to AKC, the workshop aims to help Vietnam’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) be more competitive in marketing their farm produce. It expects to attract the participation of about 100 SMEs operating in farming, processing and exporting agri and aqua products.

The workshop coincides with the Vietnam International Food Industry Exhibition (Vietnam Foodexpo 2015) - the first and largest of its kind in Vietnam. This will provide a good opportunity for AKC to establish a cooperative network with all businesses in the food industry.

AKC’s marketing experts will attend the workshop and talk about new trends on the purchase and supply of products, tender procedures, and product quality control.

AKC plans to organise similar workshops in Cambodia, Brunei, Laos and Myanmar this year. The event will contribute to strengthen bilateral economic ties between ASEAN and the RoK in general and Vietnam and the RoK in particular.

 Flat owners seek PM’s help over possible fund loss

Apartment owners at the Keangnam Landmark 72 Tower are so afraid of losing a hefty maintenance fund when Vietnam’s highest building is sold to a new owner that they have even looked to the prime minister for help.

The administrative board, which represents the flat owners, of the 72-story building has submitted a complaint to the premier, expressing their concern that a fund worth VND160 billion (US$7.46 million) would be gone with the skyscraper’s owner, the Republic of  Korea (RoK)’s Keangnam Enterprises, once it is acquired by a new investor.

Every flat owner is required to pay a fee worth 2% of the purchase contract value to add to the fund, which is meant for maintenance work on the whole building.

Keangnam Enterprises is supposed to transfer the fund to the administrative board once the building is acquired by a new owner.

But the flat owners are worried that the RoK firm, which is on the brink of bankruptcy over a corruption scandal, will fail to do so.

They thus called on the prime minister to task the Hanoi administration or relevant agencies with urging Keangnam Enterprises to return the maintenance fund to them as soon as possible, according to the complaint obtained by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Keangnam should only be allowed to transfer the Keangnam Landmark 72 Tower, which is the highest building in Vietnam, to the new owner when it has already refunded the flat owners, they said.

A representative of Keangnam Enterprises said the maintenance fund is worth only VND125 billion (US$5.83 million), and suggested annually refunding flat owners VND5 billion (US$233,013) over five years.

The suggestion was turned down by the administrative board.

Keangnam Landmark 72, consisting of one 72-story office tower at a height of 350 meters and two 48-story residence towers, was developed at a cost of US$1.05 billion.

The complex opened in October 2011 and its developer is now in troubled waters at home.

The former head of Keangnam Enterprises, Sung Wan-jong, killed himself in mid-April over a corruption scandal involving many top RoK politicians.

Keangnam Vina, which operates the Hanoi skyscraper, was allegedly involved in window dressing of the accounting books to hide mounting debts during its construction, according to The Korea Economic Daily.

Goldman Sachs and the Qatar Investment Authority have sent acquisition offers to Colliers International, the New York-based real estate consultancy in charge of the sale of the complex, The Korea Economic Daily reported on April 20.

Keangnam Enterprises still owes bank loans totaling 530 billion won (US$48.62 million), according to Vietnam’s newswire VnExpress, which cited RoK media.

Tax collections on the rise in first four months

Although tax revenues from crude oil declined following plunging world prices, domestic tax collections rose in the first four months of 2015, the General Department of Taxation's report showed.

During the period, domestic tax collections were estimated to total VND269.7 trillion (US$12.49 billion), representing an increase of 10.2% over the same period last year.

Taxes from crude oil, however, dropped by nearly 33% over the same period and was equivalent to only 27.2% of the target for the full year.

The report said that State revenues from crude oil fell below expectations.

In April alone, State revenues from crude oil only reached 56% from the same month last year.

The tax sector planned to collect VND731.6 trillion (US$33.87 billion) this year, VND93 trillion (US$4.3 billion) of which would come from crude oil.

The report also revealed that 55 out of 63 provinces and cities in the country reported rises in tax revenues in the period.

According to Le Xuan Duong, Deputy Director of HCM City Department of Taxation, online tax filings and electronic tax payments helped boost tax collection this year.

He added that tax departments were also implementing other measures to simplify tax procedures and reduce tax filing times for companies. Meanwhile, Luu Thanh Thao from the accounting department of Sai Gon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Joint Stock Corporation said that tax simplification helped firms to reduce tax filing times, but more improvements, especially the upgrading of online tax systems, were still needed.

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