Vietnamese firms in Japan encouraged investing in homeland

A Vietnam Business Forum was held in Tokyo on June 12, aiming to support Vietnamese businesses in Japan to expand their operations in the host country and head to the homeland.

Addressing the event, Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung said the Party and State have defined that the 4.5 million overseas Vietnamese community is indispensable part of the nation.

A number of policies have also been issued to assist them integrate into the host country and maintain solidarity with their fellows at home, he noted.

The Vietnam-Japan bilateral ties are growing, while the Japanese economy is recovering, creating abundant business opportunities in investment, trade, technology, labour and tourism, he said.

The diplomat said he hopes participants will contribute their ideas on how to give more effective support to Vietnamese firms in Japan and encourage them invest more in the homeland.

Meanwhile, Duong Hoang Minh, head of a delegation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said the ministry has set up a consultation team to give businesses abroad with updated policies and gather their opinions to propose suitable support policies.

He expressed his hope that together with the growing partnership between the two countries and policies of the Party and State, overseas Vietnamese and businesses in Japan will increase investment at home, contributing to boosting the country’s socio-economic development as well as the Vietnam-Japan relations.

Participants at the event were also introduced to the competitiveness of Vietnamese products and Vietnam-Japan partnership prospects, as well as the operation of the Association of Vietnamese Businesses in Japan.

Indian investors seek opportunities in Quang Binh province

Indian investors are making a fact-finding tour to the central province of Quang Binh to explore the local investment environment.

At a working session with provincial authorities on June 13, Managing Director of the Bombay Finance India Satpal Singh Oberai highlighted promising projects in tourism, industrial production, and trade.

The total investment for the projects, including the cave tourism at the world heritage site Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park, is estimated to reach over 550 million USD, he said.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Hoai said local authorities will create all favourable conditions and design policies to support Indian businesses.

JETRO hopes to expand agriculture investment in Ha Nam

The Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) hopes to expand investment in agriculture in the northern province of Ha Nam, which has advantages for agricultural production.

The favourable transport system and proximity to Hanoi capital will create vast opportunities for the two sides to develop cooperation, said Hiroshi Chishima, a JETRO representative, during his working session with Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Truong Minh Hien on June 12.

He also highly valued the local investment environment and attraction policies, noting that 40 Japanese firms are making investment in the provincial industrial parks.

Local official said Japanese firms could lease land of farmers or allow them to contribute capital to realise agriculture investment projects, adding that the province will support the infrastructure building such as roads, electricity and irrigation system.

The locality has zoned off an area of 1,100 ha to grow vegetable and fruits at riverside regions which have favourable land, transport, irrigation, drainage and flood-drought-proof systems, he said.

Developing agriculture is defined as one of the key economic development tasks of the province to increase farmers’ income and modernise rural areas, he added, hoping that Japanese businesses will help the province to promote the application of science and technology in the field.

From last July, the provincial An Phu Hung company and the Japanese International H.B.C company jointly implemented successfully the model growing organic vegetable according to Japanese technology to serve domestic market and exports, he noted.

After the working session, Japanese businesses visited the organic vegetable and fruit growing model in Ly Nhan district.

Dong Nai exports over 3,200 tonnes of peppercorn in five months

The southern province of Dong Nai exported over 3,200 tonnes of peppercorn in the first five months of this year, raking in more than 31 million USD, up 18 percent in volume and 50 percent in value.

Pepper farmers in Cam My and Xuan Loc districts and Long Khanh township are embracing Global Gap, an internationally recognised set of farm standards dedicated to Good Agricultural Practice (GAP).

In Cam My alone, over 10ha of pepper have been earmarked for Global Gap farming, with the end products fetching 10,000 – 20,000 VND (0.47- 0.95 USD) per kilo higher than those grown in conventional farming.

Cam My has also been chosen for a large-scale model pepper farm covering 170ha in accordance with the Global GAP standards.

It is also home to over 1,700ha of pepper, or 30 percent of the total pepper area in the province, said Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Pham Minh Dao.

Dong Nai provided all funding for varieties and 30 percent of funding for fertilisers and pesticides within four years since cultivation.

According to the department, Dong Nai boasts over 8,000ha of pepper, mostly in Cam My, Tan Phu, Xuan Loc and Trang Bom districts. Each ha generates more than two tonnes and average income of 100 million VND (4,700 USD) per year.

The province is one of the three largest pepper-growing localities nationwide, annually supplying about 20,000 tonnes to the market.

Da Nang Airport finds funds for new terminal

A number of domestic businesses have come forward to invest in building a new terminal at Da Nang International Airport in the central city of Da Nang.

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) had proposed the Transport Ministry to set up a joint venture of domestic businesses to invest in the project.

The joint venture comprises the ACV, which will contribute 10 percent of the total investment capital, Thang Long Air Services Corporation, AOV Investment Corporation, and Hanoi Construction Corporation.

The Imex Pan-Pacific trading group has also sought the Transport Ministry's permission to invest in the project on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis.

Although no official investor has been selected for the project, the new terminal will be built by domestic investors, an official from the Transport Ministry was quoted as saying by Dau Tu (Investment) online newspaper.

The construction of the new terminal is estimated to cost around 3.2 trillion VND (147.4 million USD).

The 40,000sq.m construction, is scheduled to start by January next year at the latest and is expected to be completed by June 2017 to serve 2.3 million international visitors by 2022 and four million passengers by 2030.

Vietjet receives 25th aircraft

The low-cost carrier Vietjet Air welcomed the latest member to its expanding family of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on June 13.

According to Vietjet, the brand new Airbus A320, known for fuel-efficiency and exhaust fume reduction features, is the 25 th plane of its fleet.

The addition is expected to help Vietjet meet the increased travel demand during this summer holiday season.

The airline currently operates 150 flights per day on 30 domestic and international routes across the region, including destinations such as Singapore, Thailand, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan.

During the ongoing promotion campaign, “12h, It’s time to Vietjet!”, it has offered additional 2,000 flights and put on sale over 35,000 promotional tickets starting at 199,000 VND for short-distance trips and from 399,000 VND for longer distance, applying to flights from now through August 30.-

Hanoi pushes IT development

The Hanoi Customs Department will accelerate its use of information technology (IT) in the customs process to promote transparency, simplicity, and to modernise the sector.

Increased use of IT is among the key activities planned for the 2016-20 period, as set by the department at a recent conference.

Other tasks include implementing a mechanism for companies to enjoy special priority in customs procedures and security, in line with World Customs Organisation standards. Also, rules will be put in place for applying national and ASEAN single-window mechanisms, as well as ensuring fair, transparent and efficient tax collections.

In addition, over the next five years the city's government will equip its staff with world class professional and technological skills to improve trade and tourism activities, the conference heard.

Director of the department, Nguyen Van Truong, highlighted favourable conditions that assisted in reforms and modernising operations over the past decade, adding that its sub-departments are expanded to outlying provinces, such as Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc and Yen Bai, making it easier to handle new procedures.

He emphasised procedures for assessing risk management throughout the customs process, which have helped the sector cut down the time required to deal with procedures.

Further, the staff's abilities and sense of responsibility have improved substantially, he noted.

BIDV predicts forex market uncertainty in the long term

The foreign exchange market might face uncertainty with relatively increased pressure in the medium and long term, according to a research group of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV).

The research group forecast that the foreign exchange rate might reach 21,850 VND against the dollar by the end of the second quarter, 40 VND away down from the ceiling rate, reported the website vneconomy.vn, adding that no huge fluctuations are expected to occur within this month.

The exchange rate would hardly fall dramatically unless supply of foreign currency supply increased, according to researchers.

The news website reported that from the beginning of June, the State Bank of Vietnam started to sell the dollars and issue treasury bills to ease tensions in the forex market after the dollar rates showed a huge increase last month.

On May 7, the central bank raised inter-bank rate by 1 percent for the second time this year to 21,673 VND per dollar, leaving no room for any adjustment this year as it had earlier committed not to weaken the dong by more than 2 percent in 2015.

On May 27, the central bank's Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong signalled that the central bank could sell the dollars if necessary, which help calm the forex market.

The research group predicted that the exchange rates would fluctuate around 21,800 VND and 21,820 VND this month and around 21,700 VND and 21,890 VND in the third quarter of this year.

According to a market report by BIDV Securities, 1 percent adjustment of VND/USD rate in May would help boost exports and improve competitiveness of Vietnamese products.

However, the report said that attention should be paid to changes in the world market, especially the possibility of rate rises by Federal Reserve System (Fed).

In Fed raised rates, the greenback would become stronger which would create pressure on the forex market of Vietnam.

Although Vietnam ran a trade surplus in the first few months of this year, the central bank forecast that overall balance of payments would post a surplus for the full year.

Dong Nai encourages Japanese investment

Dong Nai pledges to create a favourable business climate for Japanese companies, said Nguyen Phu Cuong, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

He made the remarks during a meeting on June 12 with a Japanese delegation led by the President of the Japanese Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City (JBAH) Tsutomu Sakagami.

Cuong said the province encourages foreign businesses to invest in high-tech agriculture, real estate, and tourism.

Dong Nai is currently home to about 1,500 FDI projects, worth more than 27 billion USD. Of which, Japan has nearly 200 enterprises with a total capital of over 4 billion USD.

For his part, Tsutomu Sakagami highlighted Dong Nai’s potential in attracting investment in agriculture and industry, saying Japanese businesses will invest in the province in order to welcome the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Dong Nai has recently received a number of Japanese businesses who wish to invest in the province.

On June 3, a delegation of Japanese enterprises from Nagoya region, led by Hiroyasu Naito, Vice Chairman of Nagoya Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NCCI) and President of Rinnai Corp, embarked on a fact-finding mission to Dong Nai in order to seek investment opportunities in the province.

Earlier, the province and the Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan’s Kansai region signed an economic cooperation framework agreement, with a focus on links in support industry.

ASEAN Economic Community discussed in London

Business executives in Asia and Europe met in the Asia House in London on June 12 for a conference on ASEAN strategy.

The participants discussed about the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and opportunities the AEC can offer.

Addressing the meeting, ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh said that more than 90 percent of 506 measures of the AEC have been implemented since the blueprint on the AEC was approved in 2008.

Regardless of impacts from the economic recession, ASEAN countries have achieved many economic achievements and have been revised and issued policies to turn the region into an independent market and production level with the free flow of goods, services, investments and skilled workers.

He expressed his belief that the AEC will be formed as scheduled and the implementation of the AEC measures send a strong message that principles, frameworks and measures being implemented will move the region to a real economic community.

Business leaders such as Min Yih Tan, General Director in charge of the Shell Corporation’s Global Retail and Trade Strategy, Klaus Landhaeusser, head of the Robert Bosch Corporation’s External Affairs and Governmental Relation in Southeast Asia shared business experience with ASEAN countries like selecting partners, training staff and working with governments for sustainable development.

Delegates at the conference also discussed about the rising competitive environment in ASEAN as well as enterprise owners’ management in labour, capital and investment.

The AEC which is formed late this year comprises ten countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – with a population of over 600 million and a combined gross domestic product of more than 2,000 billion USD.

HCM City to host support industry expos

Three exhibitions related to the support industry, Metalex Vietnam, Vietnam Electronics Assembly and the Business Alliance for Support Industry in HCM City, will be held at a single venue in HCM City in October, the organisers announced on June 11.

Organised by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in HCM City and the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, "The Business Alliance for Support Industry in HCM City" will enable local parts manufacturers to contact Japanese buyers of parts and components.

Two other exhibitions, Metalex Vietnam, an international exhibition on machine tools and metalworking solution for production upgrade, and Vietnam Electronics Assembly, an international machinery expo for electronic parts and components manufacturing, will be hosted by Thailand's Reed Tradex Co.

Metalex Vietnam, the biggest of its kind in the country, will open doors for Vietnamese industry to enhance product quality and productivity, as well as improve production lines with new machine tools, metalworking technologies, and solutions provided by 500 brands from 25 countries.

To be organised at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre from October 8-10, the three expos will help boost the development of Vietnam's support industries, said Duangdej Yuaikwarmdee, Deputy Managing Director and General Manager of Reed Tradex Co, Ltd in Vietnam.

Ha Nam attracts 210 investment projects so far

Industrial parks (IP) in the northern province of Ha Nam have so far this year attracted 116 foreign-invested projects totalling over 1.19 billion USD and 94 domestic-funded ones worth 9.5 trillion VND (445 million USD).

According to the provincial IP Management Board, local IPs are currently employing 40,000 labourers, mostly locals whose wage is up to 4 million VND (190 USD) per month.

The IPs have made increasing contribution to the province’s industrial production. Last year, the parks produced 13.14 trillion VND (625 million USD) worth of industrial products, accounting for over 75 percent of the province’s total industrial value, a sharp rise from 6.48 trillion VND (308 million USD) , or 64.5 percent of the provincial total output, in 2011.

Last year, enterprises in the IP contributed over 1.02 trillion VND (48.57 million USD), or 30 percent of the province’s budget revenues.

Tran Xuan Duong, head of the board attributed the high investment attraction result to the province’s strict implementation of commitments to investors. Besides, Ha Nam has also focused on renovating investment promotion methods with direct meetings with businesses keen on investing in the locality, he added.

Viettel customers in Cameroon hits 2 million

Nexttel, a brand of the military-run telecommunications group Viettel, has increased its Cameroonian users to 2 million after 9 months in the Western African market.

With over 1,100 base transceiver stations (BTS), Nexttel has provided 2G coverage for 70 percent of Cameroon residents. The south eastern telecom operator is also topping 3G services in Cameroon.

By the end of May, the group had raked in 29 million USD from the Cameroon market.

To date, Viettel has conducted business in nine countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa, bringing in 1.2 billion USD in revenue in 2014, a yearly increase of 25 percent.

Vietnam’s economic policies discussed at seminar in France

A seminar was held in Paris on June 11 focusing on attracting foreign investment inflows in Vietnam and improving Vietnamese business competitiveness with input from scholars residing in France and the US.

The seminar is the follow-up to a similar dialogue themed “Reforming the Vietnamese economy: the role of new strategic partnerships” hosted by the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in France last February, said Commercial Counsellor of Vietnamese embassy in France Nguyen Canh Cuong in his opening speech.

Professor Tran Ngoc Anh, public policy lecturer from the US’s Indiana and Harvard universities, stressed the significance of stepping up equitisation.

He also mentioned the activities of V-idea (Vietnam Initiative for Development and Economic Analysis), a global network of independent scholars at home and abroad contributing ideas to Vietnam’s development cause.

French-Vietnamese banking expert Ghislain Nguyen presented an analysis of Vietnam’s trade policy and banking system, both of which are key to Vietnam’s integration into the world economy.

For his part, Editor-in-chief of Bordelex & Trade Policy Dreyer Lana spoke of the European Union (EU)’s trade policies and issues regarding the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement, negotiations for which are in their final stages.

Jacques Fourvel, advisor to the President of Casino Group, parent company of the Big C supermarket chain in Vietnam, hoped for additional foreign investment protection from the government.

Participants urged their proposals be considered towards bringing benefits to Vietnam.

The event was co-hosted by the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in France and the Association of Vietnamese Scientists and Experts in France.-

Dong Nai active in building logistics infrastructure plan

The northern province of Dong Nai is striving to build a thorough logistics infrastructure system plan to meet the increasing demand of goods transport between sea ports and industrial parks in the locality.

Speaking at a meeting to examine and assess the locality’s plan through 2025, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Vinh asked relevant departments and sectors to proactively support consulting units towards fulfilling the plan within the year.

Dong Nai has become the leading locality in attracting investment, given its strategic location on key transport routes such as the national north-south railway, the national Road No. 20 connecting with the Central Highlands and National Roads No. 51 and 56 connecting with southern coastal Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. It is also close to key seaports in the south and the Tan Son Nhat international airport.

However, the sluggish pace of logistics development planning is the root of weakness in the local logistics infrastructure network, which is essential in connecting the locality with major southern seaports such as Cai Mep-Thi Vai and Ho Chi Minh City .

According to consulting units, it is necessary to rapidly build a logistics service network, helping reduce expenses for production and trade activities in the province as well as in southern key economic zones in general.

Looking forward, the locality will focus on studying and planning logistics service development; building a plan for developing Dong Nai port into a logistics centre; and setting up a forum to seek measures to promote logistics services in the locality.

Nguyen Thi Bach Mai, General Director of the Dong Nai Port JSC, shared that there are no links between small and medium-size enterprises operating logistics sector, resulting in their limited role as sub-contractors for foreign logistics firms.

Additionally, the quality of the workforce serving the sector does not satisfy the development demand and leads to ineffective industry activities, she added.

Japanese capital moves towards trade sector

Japanese investors in Vietnam are likely to shift their capital to the trade and service sectors given the advantages of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (AJCEP) in 2015-2019 and the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in 2015-2018.

According to the Ministry of Finance, more than 3,200 tax categories on materials, machines and equipment, electronics and spare parts from Japan have enjoyed a zero-percent tax rate from April 2015 as a result of the Vietnamese preferential tariff within the AJCEP framework.

Furthermore, many goods imported from regional countries are expected to be cheaper than domestically made products under the ATIGA, the ministry said.

With these agreements, the Japanese have more reasons to focus on trade and service development projects in Vietnam , it added.

General Director of Aeon Vietnam Yasuo Nishitohge told the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper that the new tariff policy has had a positive impact on retail groups like Aeon, adding that the import tax reduction has enabled the company to diversity its products and sell goods at reasonable prices and with high quality for Vietnamese customers.

Another retail giant from Japan, Family Mart, affirmed that it will not withdraw from the Vietnamese market. A representative from the company said it plans to have 100 stores in Vietnam by 2015 and increase the number to 800 in the next five years to make up around 30 percent of the Vietnamese market share.

According to a survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), Vietnam granted investment licences to 517 Japanese investment projects last year, including 342 new ones and 175 for business expansion.

The organisation revealed that the total investment capital of Japanese firms in Vietnam in 2014 was as much as 60.9 percent of that from the previous year; however, investment projects in the fields of trade and services increased in volume, including 85 percent of under-five-million-USD projects.

The trade activities of Japanese firms in the fields are expected to be more bustling in the coming time due to their competitively high quality products, according to the consulting services corporation RECOF.

Many Japanese enterprises aim to expand their operations in Vietnam, especially in non-banking financial services, transport, technology, hotels, marketing and retail, it said.

For example, the Japan Logistic Systems Group is pouring investment to build store houses in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City; while the Nissin Group is partnering with Vietnam Railways to operate a cargo transporter specially designed for Japanese firms.

Banks strive to expand alternative payment methods

Domestic banks have undertaken numerous efforts to expand services and provide alternative transaction methods in a bid to enhance their competitiveness and meet client demand.

These form part of activities to implement the State Bank of Vietnam’s plan, aiming to bring the rate of cash transactions to below 11 percent in the 2011-2015 period.

The Vietcombank Securities Joint Stock Company together with the Nhat Ha 3 hotel in Ho Chi Minh City launched discount programmes for Vietcombank card holders to encourage payment by cards over cash.

The bank also plans to develop mobile-based banking transactions to tap the potential resulting from increased smartphone use.

Meanwhile, Dong A Bank aims to import some 300 auto banking transaction points this year to reduce cash transactions.

In a similar move to enhance competitiveness, Viet A Bank fostered the application of technology to expand its services and improve its service quality.

In late 2014, the bank invested 2 million USD in developing an online transaction system.

According to the SBV, cash transactions represented 12.3 percent of the total means of payment at the end of 2014, a decrease from 12.6 percent in 2013 and 13 percent in 2012.

MSN subsidiary issues bonds worth 412 million USD

Masan Consumer Holdings (MCH), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Masan Group Corporation (MSN), has signed agreements to issue five-year bonds worth 9 trillion VND (412.8 million USD).

The buyers will be Vietcombank and other local commercial banks. Vietcombank Securities Company arranged the deal which was inked on June 10, Masan said.

The group said it was the largest-ever private sector corporate bond deal in Vietnam's capital market.

The proceeds will be used to simplify Masan Group's consolidated balance sheet, including the repayment of existing debts, and reduce its overall expenditure as market conditions become more favourable.

In connection with the transaction, Vietcombank solidified its position as the priority corporate banking partner for Masan Group's consumer-related businesses.

Recently, Masan Group penetrated Vietnam's domestic consumption market by establishing Masan Nutri-Science, a platform that aims to close the productivity gap in the animal protein sector between Vietnam and the developed world, starting with the animal feed sector.

Masan Group is on track to earn 2 billion USD in revenue in 2015. Validation of Masan Group's success and strategy was further provided by global business media company Forbes, which named Masan Group as the 20th most-innovative growth company in the world in a list of 200 fast-growing companies in 2015. It was the only Vietnamese company to be mentioned.

MSN shares closed at 80,000 VND (3.7 USD) each on the HCM City Stock Market on June 11.

Power tariffs to follow market mechanism

Local retail electricity price will be adjusted under a market mechanism by 2016, said Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang.

Hoang said that power supply has been better since 2011, with preventive capacity meeting 25-30 percent of the country's total demand.

He noted that power price has to follow a market-based mechanism under the Government's supervision to ensure profits. Vietnam will implement a price roadmap transparently to make investors feel safe about investing in the sector.

However, most businesses, especially FDI firms, expressed their concern about power shortage in the southern region.

A Vietnam Business Forum (VBF)'s report revealed that FDI companies have not been worrying about increasing power prices as much as about unstable supply. The Government can increase the electricity tariff of enterprises that consume more power while ensuring adequate supply.

Responding to this situation, the minister remarked that it would require the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to ensure capital for a proper power transmission system.

"We have asked the EVN to implement nine supplemental power projects to supply electricity to the southern region, following a forecast of power shortage in 2017-18," he added.

Binh Duong reviews investment activities

Southern Binh Duong province has attracted nearly 2,550 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects between 2010 and 2015, bringing the total registered capital to 21.5 billion USD, said Tran Van Nam, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

It is estimated that FDI capital will exceed 1 billion USD this year, Nam noted.

According to the provincial Department of Investment and Planning, the projects have an average capital of less than 10 million USD each, and the current largest among them is a real estate Binh Duong New City project invested by Japan-based Tokyu Corporation at a cost of 1.2 billion USD.

As many as 12,370 firms received business licenses from 2010 to 2015, raising the total number of local companies to nearly 19,640, a two-fold increase from the outset of the decade.

Total registered capital also grew to over 146 trillion VND (6.7 billion USD), 2.2 times higher.

During the period, total investment in the province reached 263 trillion VND (12.06 billion USD), 8 percent of which was contributed by the state budget and 43.1 percent was sourced from FDI.

The industry will continue to be the locality’s key economic driver to boost urban, service and trade development in the next five years.

The province’s exports are also expected to expand at an average rate of 19.5 percent annually. Its foreign trade revenue is forecast to exceed 20 billion USD this year, including 16 billion USD imports and 4 billion USD exports.

Hanoi to hasten IT application in customs process

The Hanoi Customs Department will accelerate its use of information technology (IT) in the customs process to promote transparency, simplicity, and modernity in the sector.

Stronger IT application was among key planned activities for the 2016-2020 period, as set by the department at a conference on June 11.

Other tasks included implementing a mechanism for companies to enjoy special priority in customs procedures and security in line with the World Customs Organisation standards; applying the national and ASEAN single-window mechanisms; and ensuring fair, transparent and efficient tax collection.

Over the next five years, the city’s sector will equip its staff with first-rate professional and technological skills to facilitate trade and tourism activities, the conference heard.

Director of the department Nguyen Van Truong highlighted favourable conditions to reform and modernise over the past decade, adding that its sub-departments were expanded to outlying provinces such as Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc and Yen Bai, making it easier to handle procedures.

He emphasised risk management throughout the customs process, which has helped the sector cut down the time required to deal with procedures.

The staff’s capacity and sense of responsibility have also improved substantially, he noted.

Tuna value likely to drop in Q2

Vietnam would continue to decrease tuna's export value in the second quarter of this year, partly due to its falling price on the world market, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) forecast.

According to the association, the export value of tuna is expected to see a year-on-year reduction of 5 percent to 123 million USD in the second quarter.

The decline can be partly because of a drop in tuna price on the world market to under 1,000 USD per tonne, while the global output of tuna is expected to increase, the association said.

The other reasons for the decline include the weak Yen and Euro against the US dollar and a lower demand for tuna in Vietnam's major export markets, Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency reported.

In the first four months of this year, Japan, one of the top three tuna export markets of Vietnam, dropped to the fourth place, after the US, the European Union, and the ASEAN market, because the export value of Vietnamese tuna to Japan dropped 38 percent compared with the same period of last year.

However, the tuna exports from Vietnam to the US recorded a year-on-year increase of 3 percent to 58 million USD in the first four months, the association said.

The association expects that the tuna exports to the US will continue to increase in coming months to recover the national tuna export value for this whole year. The US market holds 40 percent of Vietnam's total tuna export volume, the Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam (Vietnam Economic Times) newspaper reported.

The VASEP also believes that Russia will emerge as one of Vietnam's potential tuna export markets in future, as the free trade agreement signed between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on May 29 will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese fisheries exports to Russia, including tuna, to jump sharply.

Over the past few years, Russia has been one of the major export markets of Vietnamese fisheries, the association pointed out.

Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Head of the Export Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, noted that three sectors - fisheries, garment and footwear - can gain many advantages from the free trade agreement with EEU as it has zero import tariffs.

According to the General Department of Customs, the export value of Vietnamese tuna to Russia had a year-on-year surge of 218.4 percent to 1.65 million USD in the first four months of this year.

Meanwhile, the World Trade Centre's statistics show that Vietnam was the third largest tuna exporter to Russia in the first quarter of this year, after Thailand and China.

Agricultural produce dominates parliament sessions

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang on June 11 was grilled on policies to promote the selling of farm products, a burning issue that National Assembly (NA) deputies had questioned Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat earlier the same day.

NA member Nguyen Si Cuong from Ninh Thuan province said voters were extremely concerned about how watermelons from farmers in the central region were sold to middlemen for just a few hundred VND (less than 4 US cents) per kilogramme while people in Hanoi had to pay 18,000-20,000 VND (about 0.9 US cent).

Tran Khac Tam, NA member from Soc Trang province, said purple onions from Soc Trang had been sold at cheap prices for the past three years.

“The trade ministry promised that farmers should be able to benefit from stronger cooperatives and find output markets for purple onions, but how had these activities been done in the past three years?” he said.

Minister Hoang said there had been difficulties exporting farm products due to unforeseen changes in many export markets. However, Vietnam had signed many free trade agreements recently, paving the way for more competitive export markets.

Hoang said Indonesia once imported 80,000-100,000 tonnes of purple onions from Vietnam, but recently it encouraged its own farmers to grow the onions.

He said his ministry had not forecast the situation but suggested that localities must reassess the growing plan for this product as exports would be more difficult in future.

On the watermelon situation, the official said the cost of taking watermelon to markets made the difference in prices.

In a report sent to the NA before the question-and-answer session, the trade ministry said one of the keys to sales was to spur domestic consumption. For example, the report estimated that 60 percent of this year’s lychee production of 200,000 tonnes would be sold in the domestic market and 80,000 tonnes exported.

The ministry has been working with other ministries and localities to sell to domestic consumers and build new channels to export to the US and Australia.

Nojima now largest TAG shareholder

Japan's Nojima Electronics has bought another 3.7 million shares of Tran Anh Digital World JSC (TAG), the Vietnam Securities Depository said.

The buying of the shares, which belonged to Aureos Southeast Asia Fund and are equal to a 21 percent stake in TAG, has increased the total holding of the Japanese corporation to 30.92 percent, making it the largest foreign shareholder of TAG.

TAG is one of the leading electronics firms in northern Vietnam, with a chain of 15 stores. It plans to open seven to nine more stores to serve the northern region.

In the first quarter of this year, TAG earned 872.67 billion VND (40 million USD) in revenue, an increase of 44 percent over the same period last year and after-tax profit of 3.9 billion VND (178,899 USD), up 11.5 percent year on year. It plans to earn total revenue of 3.3 trillion VND (151.3 million USD) and net profit of 7.8 billion VND ( 357,798 USD) in 2015.

According to Bloomberg.com, Nojima Corporation operates consumer electronic chains that specialise in computers and communication products. The company also sells entertainment-related items such as game software and CDs, and household appliances, and has franchise stores in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Each TAG share closed at 24,000 VND (1.1 VND) on June 10 on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange.

Sanofi expects to open 75 million USD plant in Q3

French drug firm Sanofi expects its new plant in Ho Chi Minh City to begin production in the third quarter.

Eric Ng, who was recently appointed general manager of Sanofi Indochina, told local media on June 9 that the 75 million USD plant in the Saigon High-Tech Park in HCM City's District 9 is his company's largest ever investment anywhere and also the most significant foreign investment in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry.

The plant will also house a research and development centre, which will focus on new formulations using existing compounds.

"It will efficiently meet the fast growing demands of the local market and serve as an export platform to Asian ones, including demanding markets like Hong Kong and Japan," Ng said.

New law to govern derivatives sector

The Prime Minister has issued Decree 42/2015/ND-CP on derivatives and the derivative trading market in Vietnam, which will become valid next month.

Under the new decree, companies that trade derivatives for profits on the derivative trading market must have at least 600 billion VND (27.8 million USD) in chartered capital.

Brokerage firms on the new market should have at least 800 billion VND (37 million USD) in chartered capital and will be allowed to trade derivatives for their own profits.

Firms should also meet the requirements set by the Ministry of Finance on profit, disposable capital, and professional procedures.

Securities firms and commercial banks may sign up to become clearing members at Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) that will settle trading orders if they satisfy some regulations on equity, including that the equity of a direct clearing member remains less than that of a general clearing member.

In detail, a commercial bank should have equity of at least 5 trillion VND (231.5 million USD) to become a direct clearing firm and at least 7 trillion VND (324 million USD) to become a general clearing member.

A securities firm should have at least VND900 billion ($41.6 million) to become a direct clearing member and at least 1.2 trillion VND (55.5 million USD) to become a general clearing member.

hus, 15-20 securities firms that meet the requirements set by the Finance Ministry will operate their businesses on the Vietnam's derivative trading market.

In order to prepare for the promising derivative market, large securities companies have issued more shares to increase their chartered capital and support their clients in this new market.

For example, Bao Viet Securities Company (BVS) in its annual shareholder meeting decided to increase its chartered capital by 1 trillion VND (46.3 million USD), which should not be a problem for the company.

Nhu Dinh Hoa, BVS Director General, said derivatives will have a bright future in Vietnam, just like at the Taiwan Stock Exchange, where derivative trading occupied 70 percent of the total securities market.

Other large securities firms, including Vietinbank Securities Joint Stock Company, Vietcombank Securities Joint Stock Company and Saigon-Hanoi Securities Joint Stock Company also plan to raise their capitals to enter the derivative market.

Derivative is a security on the securities market which is used to reduce financial risks, protect initial investments, and generate profits for investors.

On the securities market, no matter how stocks and bonds change in market values, derivatives will maintain their initial market values.

Derivatives are futures, options, and forwards that are traded on the stock exchange and listed securities that are traded on the stock exchange.

Stock exchanges, including the Hanoi Stock Exchange and the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, are the only legal organisations can hold derivative trading activities.

Nearly 18,000 cars sold in May

Nearly 18,000 cars were sold in the domestic market during May 2015, down one percent from the previous month, but up 47.69 percent from May last year.

The Vietnamese car manufacturing company Thaco led the market with 6,603 cars sold. Toyota came in second with 3,880 cars and Ford Vietnam sold only 1,747 cars during the period.

The sales of commercial cars in May reached 7,796 units, up five percent, and tourism cars 8,946 units, down 5.1 percent. Specialised cars hit 1,179 units, down 10 percent from the previous month.

The number of cars assembled in the country was 14,032, a 0.4 percent increase. Vietnam imported 3,889 cars, down 7 percent from April.

Total sales of the sector in the first five months of this year reached 84,806 cars, surging 58 percent from the same period last year. Of the figure, tourism cars rushed 88 percent and commercial cars rocketed 103 percent.

The report was carried out by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacture’s Association (VAMA).-

Thanh Hoa works to pique foreign interest

Authorities in central Thanh Hoa province held talks with heads of Vietnamese representative agencies in foreign countries on June 11 in a bid to promote local potential overseas.

According to Nguyen Dinh Xung, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Thanh Hoa has formed affiliation with localities in a number of nations, including Laos, the Republic of Korea and Germany.

There are currently 57 foreign-funded projects worth more than 12.6 billion USD and 17 official development assistance programmes valued at almost 11.4 trillion VND (531.2 million USD) across the province.

Local seniors urged Vietnam agency heads to present the provincial potential and strengths worldwide to forge business links, boost tourism and attract investors, among others.

The representatives, whose three-year tenures start in 2015, noted increasing international cooperation can bring both development opportunities and challenges for Thanh Hoa.

They pledged to support the province to build its global connections.

Manpower capacity in Vietnam’s tourism and hospitality sector intensified

A conference on reviewing the project to intensify the manpower capacity in tourism and hospitality sector in Vietnam was held in Hue city, Thua Thien-Hue province on June 11.

The project funded by the Luxembourg government has a total investment of 3.95 million EURO.

The project has been carried out since 2010 by Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Luxembourg Cooperation and Development Agency (LuxDev). The project is scheduled to conclude in late June 2015.

Beneficiaries of the project are lecturers, teachers and students of nine tourism and hospitality schools and colleges in cities nationwide including Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Vung Tau, Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the project management board, the project has invested in equipping, and classrooms, installing computer systems of all participating schools.

The project has helped 541 officials and teachers take local and international training classes on skills, teaching methods and administrative capacity.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister Dang Thi Bich Lien praised the support from the Luxembourg government in helping tourism training schools in Vietnam build their infrastructure, bolster management competency and contribute to increasing training quality for the sector.

The project is the third supporting Vietnam’s tourism funded by the Luxembourg government since 1997.

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