Over 16,000 vehicles sold in March

Vietnam's vehicle manufacturers sold a combined 16,399 units in March, up 62 percent from the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

Of the figure, 9,416 were cars, representing a 6 percent month-on-month increase, while trucks made up 6,983 units, 104 percent higher than the sales recorded in February.

Thaco, a domestic car manufacturer, retained its market leadership with 5,973 sales, or a 101 percent increase from last month and a 79 percent increase from March 2014.

Japanese manufacturer Toyota came in second with 2,231 sales, followed by US manufacturer Ford with 1,400 sales – a 51 percent surge from February.

With 529 sold vehicles in March, GM Vietnam superseded Japan’s Honda to be among the top four highest auto sales in in Vietnam.

Statistics from VAMA also showed 12,877 domestically-assembled vehicles in March, up 63 percent from the previous month. Correspondingly, the number of imported vehicles was 3,522 units, down 20 percent from February.

Work starts on Vietnamese-invested complex in Vientiane

Construction on the Nongtha Complex funded by the Laos-Viet Bank (LVB) began in the Lao capital city of Vientiane on April 12.

Covering 4 hectares, the project has a total first-phase investment of 15 million USD.

The complex, designed in a harmonious combination of Lao and Vietnamese architectures, will comprise office zones, training centres, houses and apartments for the bank’s staff.

Part of the 80 million-USD Nongtha Paradise Land project under the Vietnamese Ha Do Group, t he infrastructure is expected to be completed after 10 months of construction.

The LVB, founded on June 22, 1999, is a joint venture between the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and its Lao partners. It is the second largest bank in Laos in terms of capital.

Supply of villas, attached houses abundant

Supply of villas and attached houses is abundant but the segment is suffering from the fierce competition of cheaper apartment and housing land, real estate experts said.

According to Do Thu Hang, Head of Savills Hanoi’s Research and Consultancy, many developers are delaying putting their projects on the market.

The company’s statistics showed a total 30,040 villas and attached houses from 107 projects were being offered on the market as of the end of the first quarter, while 109 more units in 16 projects are expected to be launched from now to 2016.

Average asking prices of villas will reduce slightly while a slight rise is expected for attached houses, Hang said, adding that higher numbers of transactions were recorded in the first quarter compared to the previous periods.

Experts said the high-end segment will gain a boost when the housing law allowing foreigners to own properties in Vietnam takes effect in July, 2015.

Deposit growth rate slows as credit continues to rise

The deposit growth rate is currently slower than that of credit growth; however, savings in banks are still considered a good choice due to low inflation.

Statistics from the General Statistics Office showed that as of March 20, deposits at credit institutions rose 0.94 percent from December 2014, while credit increased 1.25 percent.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s Ho Chi Minh City branch, said deposits in the city had increased at a modest rate of 0.4 percent, while credit rose by 2.3 percent.

Experts attributed the slowdown mainly to a recent significant reduction in deposit interest rates.

According to the SBV, the VND deposit rates have reduced significantly to commonly 0.8-1 percent per year for on-demand and below 1 month terms, 4.5-5.4 percent per year for 1-6 month terms, 5.4-6.5 percent per year for 6-12 month terms; and 6.4-7.2 percent per year for 12 month plus terms.

Meanwhile, the residential real estate market is warming up, so many depositors have withdrawn their savings to buy houses.

Nguyen Thanh Nhung, VietBank General Director, said that although savings at banks had increased in the first quarter, a number of individual customers had withdrawn their deposits and even borrowed money from banks to purchase a house as the lending rate for home mortgages had fallen to reasonable rates.

A representative from a small bank, which declined to be named, admitted that although liquidity in the banking system was good, banks still had to compete to increase their deposit market shares when deposit interest rates were low and were kept at the same rate at both large and small banks.

Besides interest rates, the representative said, banks also had to utilise more promotions to lure depositors.

Despite the decline in deposit sources, experts agreed that due to low inflation, the current deposit rates still ensure positive effective rates, so savings are still a good choice for investment.

Tran Du Lich, member of the Monetary and Financial Policies Advisory Council, said the rate cap of 5.5 percent per year for term deposits of under six months still ensure positive effective rates. Depositors could even get higher rates if they chose longer terms, he said.

However, Lich said, the flow of savings to other channels was also a good sign as it proved the potential for an economic rebound.

Firms lack awareness of legal rights

Though the Laws on Competition and Consumer Rights Protection took effect many years ago, a majority of Vietnamese businesses and consumers do not understand their legal rights, a seminar heard on April 10 in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Tran Phuong Lan, head of the Vietnam Competition Administration Department's Competition Supervision and Management Division, the competition law was written to preserve the rights of enterprises to compete freely and lawfully with each other. It took effect about 10 years ago, but only about 25 percent of Vietnamese firms understand the law.

"About 78 percent of FDI firms know how to use the law to protect their rights," she said.

Under the law, unfair competitive practices include misleading instructions (misleading consumers in their understanding of the goods and services); infringement of business secrets; coercion in business; defamation of other enterprises; causing disruption to business activities of other enterprises; advertisements or promotions aimed at unfair competition; discrimination by association; and illegal multi-level selling.

Advertisements or promotions aimed at unfair competition and illegal multi-level selling were two common violations.

"When enterprises discover unfair competitive practices of their rivals, they need to submit their complaints to the VCAD for investigation," she said.

But she said sanctions applied to unfair competitive practices were not strong enough to prevent people from repeating the offence.

Phan The Thang, deputy head of the Division of Consumer Rights Protection under the department, said awareness of consumers about the law had increased, but they were still afraid to file complaints or lawsuits when their rights were violated.

The number of violations of consumer rights was increasing, especially the selling of poor quality products and fake goods, and dubious promotion programmes. Exaggerated advertising and trade fraud were also more common.

He suggested that consumers carefully check information about products they want to buy, keep all bills, warranties and other relevant documents and inform authorised agencies when their rights are violated.

Businesses needed to focus more on improving their customer services and product quality and design, he said.

Nguyen Phuong Nam, deputy head of the department, said free trade agreements would open opportunities for local firms to boost exports, but present challenges as well. Importing countries would increase trade remedies and barriers, including anti-dumping, anti-subsidies and safeguards to protect their local production.

If a company faces an anti-dumping investigation, or anti-subsidies and safeguards, it must closely co-operate with relevant agencies of that country to solve the problem. Otherwise, it would have to pay very high duties when exporting its products to that market.

The seminar was organised by the department, the Vietnam Association of Women Entrepreneurs, the Vietnam Association of Consumer Goods Development, and the Business Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Goods.

HCM City Expo 2015 to be held in Myanmar

The Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) will hold the 2015 Vietnam - Myanmar Trade, Service and Tourism Exhibition in Myanmar from May 20 to 24.

The exhibition aims to help Vietnamese businesses and investors increase their presence in Myanmar.

Thirty-five Vietnamese enterprises have set up companies and representative offices in Myanmar, according to ITPC.

Vietnam currently ranks eighth among foreign investors in Myanmar with eight projects worth 688.6 million USD.

Vietcombank lends money to Chinese-invested business

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam’s ( Vietcombank) chapter in northern Nam Dinh province formalised a deal to provide 128 billion VND (5.9 million USD) for Chinese-invested Yulun company to build its yarn-producing factory in the locality.

Capable of generating 7,800 tonnes of yarn per year, the factory’s construction is expected to cost 324 billion VND (14.9 million USD).

A Yulun representative said cheap building service prices and low-cost labour in Vietnam appealed to the company.

Tran Manh Hung, Director of Vietcombank’s provincial chapter, pledged the bank’s support to foreign investors with competitive services in line with the Vietnamese Government’s orientation.

Licenses granted to 28 FDI projects in Binh Duong

Authorities in southern Binh Duong province hosted a ceremony on April 10 to grant licenses to 28 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth 304 million USD, including 20 new and 8 added capital projects.

These projects contributed to bringing the number of foreign-invested projects in the locality in the last quarter to 85, valued at 402 million USD.

A number of high-value projects are in the motorbike and bicycle industries, sports equipment, electronic spare parts and beverages.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Nam highlighted the important role played by businesses in promoting the locality’s socio-economic development.

He stated that local authorities will design measures to improve the investment climate and reform administrative procedures, thus facilitating investment project operations and drawing more foreign investors.

They will also pay attention to investing in the construction of infrastructure systems to meet investor demand while intensifying investment promotion activities, targeting projects using advanced technology and manufacturing high added-value products.

So far, as many as 2,440 FDI projects with a combined capital of 20.8 billion USD have operated in Binh Duong. The province aims to attract one billion USD in FDI in 2015.

SMEs improve competitive edge to benefit from AEC

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have been urged to sharpen their productivity in the lead up to the ASEAN Economic Community  (AEC) formation later this year, economic experts at a recent seminar in Hanoi said.

“Vietnam will face fierce competition from imported products on its home turf after the AEC officially comes into existence in December,” said  economist Pham Chi Lan, a leading economist.

I am concerned that far too many SMEs seem to be taking a lackadaisical attitude towards its creation and are not adequately preparing for the  fierce competition they will be facing, Lan added.

As the nation enters a new era of regional and global integration, businesses have no options but be more productive, innovative, and  competitive, other economists said at the seminar, and business need to grasp the three dimensional aspects of competition.

SMEs should strive and push to become competitive in producing a high-quality product and delivering it to the customer in a timely manner at a  fair and profitable price if they are to be competitive in the AEC.

For enterprises to be able to compete and sustain their place or improve their positioning in the market, they will also have to continually aspire  

for enhanced productivity by streamlining business operations.

In addition, improving labour productivity, adopting new technologies and techniques, and developing new designs and products will also be  pivotal to an effective competitive strategy.

This all must be done without losing sight of the need to optimize resources and increase gains without sacrificing quality and excellence, they  said.

Hand in hand with the opportunity to succeed in the new regional marketplace goes the opportunity to fail and what will tilt the scales between  winning and losing is productivity and innovation.

Meanwhile, they urged SMEs to participate in upcoming trade fairs and expositions for them to showcase their good practices and engage with  other SMEs in the region.

Tariffs to go on hundreds of Vietnam farm products by 2018

Vietnam has signed seven free trade agreements with multi-lateral, regional and bilateral partners, with hundreds of tariffs on farm produce to be removed by 2018.

Under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), 1,434 of 1,539 tariffs will be reduced to zero this year.

By 2018, most of the 149 tariffs on wood and wood products will go.

Tariffs will be removed under a range of trade agreements, including the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) and the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA).

Tran Kim Long, director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) department of international cooperation, said integration helps foster exports of farm produce, push up science and technology application and improves food safety and hygiene and product quality.

Long said the integration has resulted in several challenges, including fierce competition and narrowed production of some industries.

Luong Hoang Thai, director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s multi-lateral trade policies department, said that this year the government of Vietnam is focusing on negotiations for three major trade agreements , including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement and a free-trade agreement with the Custom Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan (VCUFTA).

“After the WTO accession, we’ve realised a changing integration trend in the world -- switching from multi-lateral integration into regional and bilateral integration,” Thai said. “Vietnam is negotiating proactively instead of defensively in order to find export markets for farm produce.”

Japanese businesses study investment opportunities in ASEAN

ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh has called on Japanese businessmen to study possible investments in infrastructure across telecommunications, transportation, electricity, water supply, and environmental sanitation, to facilitate broader ASEAN connectivity.

Capital for those construction projects is estimated at US$60 billion per year between now and 2020, Secretary General Minh told his guests, who were executives from 20 big Japanese companies.

The executive visited Jakarta, Indonesia, from April 7-9 with interests in ASEAN’s free trade agreements with other regional partners, the bloc’s connectivity scheme and its post-2015 visions.

Minh said an ASEAN Economic Community that is ultimately shaped by the end of this year will provide a potential market of 3.3 billion people and a goods flow accounting for one-third of the global value.

Trade between Japan and ASEAN rose to US$240 billion in 2013 from US$100 billion in 2003, which made up about 10% of the bloc’s trade value.

Japanese investment poured into the bloc increased tenfold to US$23 billion during 2003-2013, or 19% of the total foreign direct investment into ASEAN.

Morocco – a new land of opportunity for Vietnam

Morocco is rapidly becoming an important player in the North African market, with its proximity making it attractive to Vietnamese businesses, which can use it as a hub for their African sales and operations.

Though trade between Vietnam and Morocco has been robustly growing over recent years, experts at a recent business forum in Hanoi suggested it has not matched with its full potential.

In 2014 exports of businesses operating in Vietnam to Morocco rose sharply by 48% on-year to US$148 million.

Vietnam mainly shipped telephones and components, coffee, seafood, computers, electronics and components, garments, fibre, footwear, fishing nets, chemical and pepper to Morocco.

The country’s imports remained modest, reaching just US$8.7 million resulting in a US$139.3 million trade surplus. Imports consisted principally of computers, pharmaceuticals, DAP fertiliser, and raw materials for the garment and footwear industry.

Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Tran Tuan Anh said the surplus is the result of domestic businesses being more proactive in their efforts to engage in business in Morocco and a more aggressive advertising campaign.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has led the way in advancing the nation’s marketing efforts and should be applauded for their hard work, Anh said.

In addition, the composition of exports has changed for the better. The country shipped fewer unprocessed commodities such as coffee, pepper, and coconut rice and turned to exporting higher value added items such as computers, telephones, garment and footwear.

In addition, Vietnamese rice has become a staple of Moroccan households.

The Africa, West Asia and South Asia Market Department in turn said that the North African nation is the perfect location for which Vietnamese businesses can use as a springboard to launch into both North-West Africa and the EU.

For his part, Mohamed Abbou, minister delegate to the Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment and the Digital Economy of Morocco said Morocco is rapidly transforming into a promising export market for Vietnam businesses.

Moroccan businesses are fixated on boosting cooperation with Vietnamese partners in the fields of agriculture, seafood, metallurgy, engineering, and construction materials, among other fields, Abbou said.

However, businesses still face a number of hurdles to overcome such as the far geographic distance, lack of market information, and differences in business customs, and languages, said the Vietnam Trade Office in Morocco.

A representative from the Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro) – an exporter to Morocco – added that businesses must set up representative offices and use local agents or distributors if they want to gain a firm foothold in the market.

Mohamed Abbou revealed that there are plenty of opportunities for the two countries’ businesses to foster much higher levels of expanded cooperation.

Morocco has been speeding up reform and has morphed into one of most advanced countries in Africa he said adding that, proposed incentive policies would open up more opportunities for Vietnam businesses.

They would allow for businesses to invest in industrial zones or free trade areas and better access neighbouring markets, Abbou added.

The Moroccan Government has pledged to create a favourable business climate conducive to both sides’ business communities, Abbou said.

To boost exports to Morocco, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will update local businesses with market information, carry out more advertising campaigns in the country and layout a development through 2020, Deputy Minister Tuan Anh said.

Moreover, the ministry will assist businesses in setting up subsidiaries and rice storage warehouses in key markets like Cameroon, Angola, and Mozambique, Anh assured.

A cooperation memorandum of understanding (MoU signed by the Morocco’s export promotion agency and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) evidences the strong determination of both sides to elevate bilateral trade value in the time ahead, Anh underscored.

Few Vietnamese firms seek patent protection

Only 10 percent of 4,400 patent registration applications came from Vietnam in 2014 due to the poor quality of Vietnamese applications, said an official.

Nguyen Van Bay, Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP)'s Centre for Research and Training, said during a recent press conference in Hanoi that the yearly number of patent registration applications has risen 10 percent in recent years, as the number of applications for trademark protection registration in 2014 reached some 33,000.

HCM City took the lead in the number of trademark registrations, with 12,000 applications, followed by Hanoi with 7,600. Northern Lai Chau province, however, had the lowest application numbers, with only 2. This was followed by Bac Kan and Dien Bien provinces, with 5 and 9 applications.

Bay said the reason for the low number of applications was that the number of businesses in these localities, and knowledge about intellectual property, remains modest.

Meanwhile, the US had the highest number of trademark registration applications in Vietnam last year, with 1,713. Japan took second place with 1,295 applications, China 904, the Republic of Korea 785, and Thailand 519.

The director noted that up to 3,000 patent and trademark registrations remain unresolved due to the poor quality of the applications, complicated issues and lack of office staff.

He added that there was no university in Vietnam providing training on completing intellectual property applications.

The application office currently has to train their staff or seek international support.

NOIP is expecting to hire 70 more employees, while promoting information and the use of technology to resolve the application problem.

Le Ngoc Lam, NOIP's deputy head, said Vietnam lacks judges with special knowledge about intellectual property rights, which is the reason that disputes on intellectual property rights take time to resolve.

Further, Lam said officials had been considering creating a court to rule on intellectual property conflicts, as similar courts had been set up in advanced countries.

"We expect that Vietnam would have such courts in the future," he added.

HCM City seeks cooperation with Japan in agriculture

HCM City hopes to increase cooperation with Japan in agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors, especially hi-tech agriculture, according to Le Thanh Hai, Secretary of the city’s Party Committee.

At a meeting with Hiroshige Seko, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, on April 12, Hai said his city has built the Agricultural Hi-Tech Agriculture Park (AHTP) and the Bio-tech Centre in order to welcome Japanese investors.

He took the occasion to thank the Japanese Government for providing official development assistance (ODA) loans for development projects in Vietnam in general and in HCM City in particular.

Being impressive with the development the city has achieved, Hiroshige Seko said that projects funded by Japanese ODA in HCM City produced certain effects, proving the effective cooperation between the two sides.

The city, Seko suggested, should continue cooperation with Japanese partners to deepen the ties.

HCM City is not only a production base but also a big market for Japanese commodities, he said, adding that the relationship will benefit both sides.

Central province takes advantage of investment momentum

The central province of Quang Binh currently houses 320 registered projects worth more than 5 billion USD, including 158 projects worth nearly 4 billion USD that are already under construction.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, a number of these projects could add momentum for the local economy, including the 3,600 MW Quang Trach 1 thermal power plant, which has received an investment of over 1.6 billion USD by the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, and the Lao Government-invested construction of a 200 million USD oil pipeline system to the country.

Many foreign investors, including those from Taiwan (China), the Republic of Korea and Russia have also come to Quang Binh to explore investment opportunities recently, it said.

Russia’s Inter RAO Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with local authorities on building the Quang Trach 2 thermal power plant under the BOT (built-operate-transfer) model.

The plant is expected to be located at the Quang Binh Power Centre in Quang Dong commune, Quang Trach district. It will have two turbines with a total power capacity of 1,200-1,320 MW.

In addition to offering attractive investor incentives, the People’s Committee has also listed 49 projects in need of investments. Four operate in infrastructure; seven in industrial production; six in health care, culture and education; and 32 in trade and tourism.

Local uniqueness key to sustainable tourism

The local uniqueness should be considered as one of keys to sustainable tourism development, experts said at a conference on sustainable tourism held in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre on April 11.

According to Prof. Dr. Jean-Marie Breton from Les Antilles University, France, the tourism sector is not developing sustainably if the local characteristics are lost during the process.

Discovering the local uniqueness needs an extensive research into every corner of life, Jean-Marie said.

The professor also suggested that Ben Tre should introduce tourism products that are typical of the province while conducting surveys to find out tourists’ tastes and requirements to improve products and services accordingly.

Dr.Joost C.L. van Buuren Wageningen from Holland said that it is necessary to make stakeholders in the tourism sector understand their tasks and responsibilities on sustainable tourism.

The income from tourism should be distributed reasonably to encourage people and enterprises to develop tourism sector.

The conference aims to seek solutions to develop Ben Tre’s hospitality industry sustainably with the goal of attracting the participation of local community and increasing the community’s income, and exploiting and preserving local natural resources and culture.

Ben Tre’s tourism sector posts an annual growth of 23 percent over recent years. The province plans to draw 1 million visitors and a revenue of 700 billion VND (32.4 million USD).

Vietnam imports more cattle feed

Vietnam imported 27.8 percent more cattle feed and materials in the first two months of the year than the same period in 2014, according to the Vietnam Trade Information Center (VTIC).

Argentina and the US are the country's main cattle feed providers, accounting for 61.6 percent of the product's total import turnover.

Vietnam imported a total of 561.7 million USD in cattle feed, including 189.8 million USD from Argentina and 156.2 million USD from the US.

Vietnam also imported cattle feed from China, Italia, India, and Thailand as well.

Vietnam has 239 cattle-feed processing factories. Of these, the state owns 180 and 59 are joint-venture or foreign direct investment enterprises.

Agriculture sector told to reform

Change your way of thinking and doing business. Form production chains to become more competitive.

This was the key message that Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat conveyed to stakeholders at an online conference held on Thursday to discuss opportunities and challenges presented by international integration of the agriculture sector.

Viet Nam's expected signing of several bilateral and multi-lateral free trade agreements this year would provide major export opportunities, especially for farm produce, he said.

At the same time, the dissolution of tariff barriers would pose stiff challenges, he added.

Since it joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007, Viet Nam has signed seven free trade agreements (FTA) and maintained stable relationships with 160 countries and territories, according to Tran Kim Long, head of the ministry's Department for International Co-operation.

"Commitments to bilateral and regional trade agreements can contribute to expanding export markets, diversifying export commodities and markets, boosting production, creating jobs and incomes for farmers, promoting technological applications, changing production mechanisms and bringing into full play the advantages of (all) sectors," Long said.

Statistics presented at the conference showed the progress that Viet Nam has made in farm produce exports, which account for between 26 and 27 per cent of the export of all goods every year.

Agriculture is the only sector that has recorded a trade surplus, with US$8.5 billion in 2013 and $9.5 billion in 2014.

Phat said "numerous" agricultural products, especially in animal husbandry, have managed to enter and maintain a "firm standing" in picky markets.

He also said that in the past, "we had successfully protected home-produced goods through taxes. However, in the future, only chicken from ASEAN will carry five per cent import duty. On other products, the tariff will be zero.

"Thus, without proper measures, Viet Nam might become a consumption market for farm produce from other countries. That will shrink local production and farmers will lose chances to increase production and incomes," Phat said.

Another senior official underscored the minister's warning.

"The majority of countries that Viet Nam is set to sign trade agreements with have strong advantages in agriculture. For instance, EU countries are good at husbandry, Australia and New Zealand have advantages in producing beef and fruits and the US is strong in exporting chicken, pork and beef. So there is certainly great competitive pressure on Vietnamese commodities," said Luong Hoang Thai, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Multilateral Trade Policy Department.

Conference participants agreed that Viet Nam had been slow to readjust its production mechanisms to make full use of opportunities and establish comparative advantages.

Viet Nam also lacked appropriate planning and investment policies for specific products or industries with high demand in domestic and world markets. Moreover, production remained fragmented and commodities were not produced in large quantities while the quality of goods had not been constant, they said.

Le Dinh Son, Vice Chairman of the Ha Tinh People's Committee, said the central province had recently reorganised its production chain and enjoyed "initial" results from deploying new models in producing vegetables, fruits and pigs using new technologies.

"The biggest challenge we face in international integration is maintaining and expanding export markets," Son said.

"Vietnamese produce usually find it hard to compete with foreign ones. In addition, many Vietnamese are fond of imported goods. Therefore, if we do not reorganise farming production, we could even lose out at home."

Son said middlemen had considerably increased production costs.

For example, farmers had to pay VND33,000 (US$1.5) per kilogram of feed for prawns when they bought it from an agent, VND5,000 higher than if they bought it directly from the first seller/supplier or from producers, he said.

"The cutting of tariffs would not be a major issue if we manage the distribution phase well and reduce intermediate costs, which can help reduce production costs," said Son.

Son also called for the central and local governments to "make the local market healthier and annul benefits of certain groups.

"Ha Tinh has examined and inspected 996 establishments trading in agricultural materials. As a result, we completely shut down 662 establishments which were operating without licences, sold goods of low quality at high prices."

Tran Kim Long, head of the MARD's Department for International Co-operation, said the agriculture sector should map out specific strategies and increase approaches to key market of farm produce while establishing co-operation with potential partners.

"It is important to study and assess potential impacts of integration, enhance competitiveness of farm produce, develop human resources for international alliances, reform institutions and improve the capacity of State management bodies," he said.

Other participants mentioned the need for enterprises to increase their competitiveness by being aware of risks and other influences of FTAs on their operations. They should also be helped in coming up with their own strategies and solutions, the delegates said.

PetroVietnam, Lilama to build new plant

The Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and the Viet Nam Machinery Installation Corporation (Lilama) signed a contract last Friday to develop the Song Hau 1 thermoelectric plant in the southern province of Hau Giang.

PetroVietnam is to be the investor. With this "EPC" contract, Lilama is committed to carrying out the engineering, procurement and construction phases.

The factory has a total investment capital of more than VND43 trillion (US$2.05 billion) and will cover an area of some 115 hectares in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province's Chau Thanh District.

The facility belongs to the Song Hau Electricity Centre, and will generate a total capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW) with two turbines. It is expected to come into operation in 2019 and supply about 7.8 billion kilowatt-hours per year for the national grid.

The project is among the key works outlined in a master plan adopted by the Government for national electricity development during the 2011-20 period, with a vision to 2030. It will help drive economic development of the delta and ensure the country's energy security.

On Friday, Lilama also inked a contract with South Korean's Doosan Group, which will provide the major equipment for the project.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked the investor and contractors to guarantee close collaboration for the efficiency of the plant. PetroVietnam Nguyen Quoc Khanh undertook to protect the environment to achieve optimal socio-economic effects while carrying out the project.

Song Hau 1 will be among three thermoelectric factories of the Song Hau Electricity Centre, which are projected to have a combined generating capacity of 5,200 MW.

Ha Noi real estate posts Q1 growth

The real estate market in Ha Noi has seen a strong recovery, especially the luxury apartment segment, the CBRE Viet Nam announced recently in Ha Noi.

In Q1 2015, the market continued its recovery with the comeback of high-end apartments. Construction of some 4,879 new units has begun among 18 projects, an 82 per cent against the same period in 2014, said Nguyen Hoai An, senior manager at CBRE Viet Nam's Ha Noi branch.

"Notably, five out of 18 projects are for the high-end segment, more than in any single quarter during 2012-14," she said. "The number of new projects for high-end units went up 60 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 30 per cent year-on-year".

Despite a long Tet (Lunar New Year) break, sales remained strong during this quarter, An said. An estimated 3,079 units were purchased during the quarter, which was double the number of sales from Q1 2014.

"The share of transactions for high-end apartments increased to 26 per cent of total sales, as compared to 14 per cent in the previous quarter. The mid-end segment remained the highest share of total units sold, while the low-end segment saw a dip in the share of total sales, as compared to last quarter," she said.

In terms of pricing, some projects in good locations near city centres have increased their asking prices. On average, primary prices in high-end and low-end segments increased by 7 per cent and 5 per cent year-on-year, respectively, An said.

"These are mostly projects near city centres and displaying good construction or offered by reputable developers. This price rise is attributed to the scarcity of land in city centres, and hence, projects in or near city centres become highly sought after."

In the near future, the market is expected to welcome a supply of some 13,000 new units for the remainder of 2015, An said. The West and Southwest will see the most number of units, accounting for 64 per cent of the total supply. However, the East and Southeast is seeing construction of attractive residential clusters.

Additionally, sales performance is expected to remain positive for the remainder of the year, with the resurgence of top-tier developers and projects, she said.

Hai Phong plans to attract $1.5b in FDI this year

The northern port city of Hai Phong is improving its investment climate to attract US$1.5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015.

To achieve this goal, the city will focus on expediting administrative reforms, accelerating land clearance and improving the quality of personnel.

According to the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, top priority will also be given to fostering the implementation of key infrastructure development projects, such as the Ha Noi-Hai Phong Highway, expansion of the Cat Bi International Airport and construction of the Tan Vu-Lach Huyen Sea Bridge.

Hai Phong People's Committee member Dan Duc Hiep told vietnamplus.vn that in the future, the city also needed to step up its international economic co-operation and expand the city's economic space, along with broadening relations with strategic partners, including Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States, as well as the EU and various other regional countries, international organisations and multi-national groups.

According to the department, the city granted licences to 11 new foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of more than $38.92 million, while allowing 10 existing ones to raise their capital by $197.74 million in the first quarter of this year.

The latest addition has brought the total number of foreign-invested projects in the city to 425, capitalised at more than $10.29 billion, it said, adding that encouraging figures have proved that the city remains one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investors.

HCM City stimulus plan out of reach

Noticing signs of an economic recovery, the HCM City-based Duy Khanh Mechanical Engineering Company decided to expand production with loans under the city's demand stimulus programme.

But the plans remain on paper due to the cumbersome administrative procedures for borrowing.

"Under the stimulus programme, it should take no more than 33 days for enterprises to complete necessary procedures and get preferential loans if their projects meet all requirements," the company's director, Do Duy Tong, said.

"However, we have been waiting for four months without a reply from relevant agencies.

"This delay has disheartened many enterprises that they have opted out of the stimulus programme."

Minh Duc Company has a similar tale of woe.

Its director, Nguyen Quoc Anh, said the company had submitted all necessary documents required under the stimulus programme several months ago but was yet to get a reply.

The city People's Committee launched the Demand Stimulation Programme in 2000 to encourage investment, develop infrastructure and speed up restructuring of the economy.

Businesses willing to invest in certain priority sectors can get loans at low interest rates, which is expected to boost the competitiveness of local products.

But not as many firms as expected have been able to borrow.

According to the Department of Planning and Investment, since May 2011 – when the programme saw a major revamp to improve it – only 85 projects have been approved with a total investment of VND6.8 trillion (US$320 million) and loans of VND3.2 trillion ($150.6 million) at low interest rates.

The programme has a funding of only VND27 trillion ($1.27 billion), and the city plans to augment it in the coming years.

Economists have said the amount is too modest since the programme is meant to benefit a multitude of sectors like industry, agriculture, infrastructure, environment, healthcare, education, professional training, and culture.

At a meeting with the city Department of Industry and Trade in late March, many business executives said the programme's regulations should be further simplified so that more firms could get preferential loans to take advantage of the economic recovery and the country's international integration.

The loan periods should be more flexible and be based on the needs of each project to ensure sufficient supply of funds for the project, they said.

Businesses in sectors identified as priority – such as supporting industries, waste treatment, and environmental protection – should have interest subsidised by 50 per cent or even fully, they said.

The time needed for authorised agencies to clear the documents required to apply for loans should be made very clear to enable applicants to regulate their production and trading activities, they added.

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