October CPI likely to increase by 0.76%

Credit organizations forecast that the October consumer price index (CPI) will rise just 0.76% compared to the September figure of 1.06%.

The forecast came in the latest survey conducted by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s Monetary Statistics and Forecasting Department from late September to early October among credit organizations and foreign-invested banks in Vietnam.

The October forecast of 0.76% is 0.85% lower than the same-month figure of last year.

This year’s CPI growth rate will be around 7%, 0.05% lower than the predicted index in a similar survey conducted earlier.

Stock market boost expected from TPP

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) was expected to make a great impact on the Vietnamese economy in general and the stock market in particular.

Its impacts might be stronger than those when Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007, heard the "TPP and opportunities for the stock market" seminar held by BIDV Securities Company recently.

Some experts said that Vietnam would be the country that benefited the most from joining the TPP.

There are currently 12 countries participating in the TPP negotiations, including Japan and the US, which have the largest trade turnover with Vietnam.

In the first eight months of this year, Vietnam's trade surplus with the US reached US$11.68 billion.

Among export sectors to the US, textile would enjoy significant advantages when Vietnam signed the TPP, said BIDV Securities, noting two listed textile firms with high liquidity – Thanh Cong Textile and Garment Investment (TCM) and TNG Investment and Trading (TNG).

Domestic textile and garment businesses had rapid revenue growth, but profitability was not as high as expected.

"Therefore, small changes in tax rates, exchange and interest rates as Vietnam joined the TPP will also strongly impact the profitability of these enterprises," BIDV Securities commented.

In addition, one of the most notable points in the TPP negotiations was that Vietnam committed not to interfere in the operation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and promised to lift foreign holdingship in the market.

Recently, the Government has urged SOEs to divest from their non-core industries.

"It is a big opportunity for Vietnam's stock market," said BIDV Securities' head of consultancy Nguyen Xuan Thong.

Foreign institutions had expected the divestment of SOEs for long, he added. "It's their chance to buy cheap assets in a potential market like Vietnam."

Thong revealed that there were over 40 SOEs forced to divest and make their financial conditions transparent.

Farm expo opens in HCM City

Agricultural products and state-of-the-art equipment and technology for storage and agro-processing have been showcased at Vietnam Farm Expo at the Tan Binh Exhibition and Convention Centre in HCM City.

On display at 150 pavilions were key Vietnamese agricultural exports from 80 businesses including rice, coffee, vegetables, cashews, pepper, seafood and rubber at the event.

The event has helped connect domestic producers, enterprises and international importers.

It attracted 5,000 local and foreign enterprises, importers and distributors in the agricultural sector from many countries, including Australia, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the US and Indonesia.

The HCM City Union of Business Associations and Dong Nam Advertising and Commercial Promotion JSC organized seminars on export markets and updated legal regulations for export to the US.

German businesses keen on Vietnamese market

German businesses see Vietnam as a potential market for their development, said Germany’s Commercial Counsellor in Vietnam Hans Brunner.

Vietnam’s robust economic growth in recent years has drawn much attention from German businesses, and the free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the EU, which is expected to be signed in 2014, will open new opportunities for economic cooperation between the two countries’ businesses.

As of September 2013, Germany had 209 direct investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of US$1.14 billion, making the former one of the largest investors of the latter.

In the first nine month of this year, the country registered to run 15 new projects with a total capital of US$88.56 million.

Most German companies invest in Vietnam mainly in the fields of high-tech, research and development, renewable energy, technical solutions and education.

In order to lure more foreign investors, Vietnam needs to improve administrative procedures and legal systems, said Hans Brunner.

Marko Walde, Chief Representative of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam, affirmed that by their experience and resources, German enterprises will contribute significantly to the country’s industrialisation process.

Vietnam will host the 14th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Businesses for the first time in November 2014. The event will offer opportunities for Vietnamese businesses and their German peers to discuss issues of common concern, while facilitating exchanges and investment partnerships, said Walde.

Local businesses going through crunch time

To survive the economic slowdown, businesses have no choice but to renovate technology and cut production costs.

The economic downturn has taken its heavy toll on businesses, causing many to file for bankruptcy and halt production. Other businesses had to restructure themselves to keep their operations purring along.

Many businesses in Binh Duong and other provinces in the South-eastern region are exerting a greater effort to weather the storm.

MTV Garment Company in Binh Duong province is a case in point. It has poured intensive investment into auto production lines, helping improve labour productivity and cut production timing by 17-18%.

It has also diversified product designs and run refresher courses to improve employees’ professional skills.

Since 1999, MTV has applied free on board (FOB) models for orders from the US and Europe. With its annual two-digit growth, the firm has been voted as one of the best Vietnamese garment makers.

These days, more than 2,500 employees of the company are working on intensive shifts to meet orders from Germany and the US.  

So far this year MTV has fulfilled its yearly set target of earning US$41 million, and revenue is expected to amount to US$56 million by the end of 2013, a year-on-year increase of 30%.

The company has even signed contracts for shipments till the second quarter of next year.

Nguyen Hong Anh, MTV Director in charge of human resources, says German importers proposed doubling shipment numbers in the coming months.

Another shining example is Nghe Nang – a small-and-medium-sized enterprise specialising in producing industrial fans, cooling equipment and waste treatment facilities. Its Ifan brand has gained consumer trust, securing nearly 30% of the local market share.

The firm’s success is attributed to its technological renovation and improved quality of highly efficient and durable products.

Many foreign businesses from Taiwan, Japan and the Republic of Korea in Dong Nai and Binh Duong industrial zones use Ifan products in their factories.

Nghe Nang has set up a special fund for technology research and innovation to improve product quality. The company has built manufacturing plants in many localities across the country, and has recently opened a sales agent in Myanmar.

Luu Tri, Director of Nghe Nang company, says his firm is focusing on applying automatic technology to increase product quality and lower production costs. “We are trying to produce distinctive goods on the local market,” he adds.

Nghe Nang and MTV Garment are among more than 150 outstanding businesses honoured by the Binh Duong provincial People’s Committee at this year’s Vietnam Entrepreneur’s Day (October 13).

Vo Son Dien, Chairman of the Binh Duong Young Businesses’ Association, says building trademark and promoting technology renovation are considered key to business success, especially for small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Republic of Korea has sponsored some representatives from Binh Duong-based businesses are encouraged to attend training courses abroad to increase capacity and update latest technologies, using aid from the Republic of Korea.

Southern economic hub to upgrade industrial parks

Ho Chi Minh City has approved an adjustment of master plans by the HCM City EPZ Authority (HEPZA) that will make its industrial parks (IPs) and Export Processing Zones (EPZs) more attractive to investors.

Under the plan, the Phong Phu IP would be developed into a hi-tech complex housing environmentally safe factories, while four other industrial complexes, Saigon Agriculture Corp (89ha), Da Phuoc (90ha); Bau Tran (95ha); and Pham Van Coi (75ha), will be turned into IPs.

In the final months of 2013, HEPZA will help companies gain access to sources of capital and to expand markets for their products, which will help create more jobs.

According to HEPZA figures, as of late September 3, the southern economic hub's IPs and EPZs employed about 270,000 people.

In the first nine months of the year, investment flows into enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City IPs and EPZs amounted to 480 million USD, accounting for 96 percent of the year's target and up by 48.22 percent compared with the same period last year.

These investments include foreign direct investment (FDI) of 341 million USD, with an additional investment of 95 million USD into Nidec Tosok's project and a capital expansion of 129 million USD for the Saigon Precision project.

As of September 30, the city's IPs and EPZs contain 1,263 investment projects with total capital of $7.5 billion, including 502 FDI projects capitalised at 4.526 billion USD and 761 domestically-invested projects with total investment of 44.3 trillion VND (2.95 billion USD).

Due to the economic crisis, 99 of these 1,253 investment projects in IPs and EPZs this year have suspended operations and 24 were dissolved.

Thirty-five others, mainly those specialising in textiles and garments, construction materials, interior decor and electrical equipment, cut back on production by 20 to 30 percent.

According to HEPZA, the biggest problem facing companies is not capital but consumption.

There has been no sign of a recovery or increase in number of orders for IP and EPZ enterprises in the southern hub, even though the State Bank of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City branch has helped 28 IP enterprises get loans of a total of 960 billion VND at lower interest rates.

In the first nine months of 2013, these enterprises attained export turnover of 3.4 billion USD, up by only 6.2 percent compared with the same period last year.

A HEPZA representative said it would enhance its efforts to attract investment into IPs and EPZs, with a focus on attracting Japanese investment into hi-tech industries.-

Apartments prop up property sales in Hanoi

The capital's apartment market was the busiest in the real estate sector during the third quarter of this year, but other segments of the city's property market remained sluggish, according to Do Thu Hang, head of Research and Consultancy at Savills Hanoi.

Speaking at a seminar last week, she said that strong construction progress, lower prices and a variety of promotions had lifted the absorption rate in the apartment market to 9 per cent, an increase of 2 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

Grade C apartments continued to be the key player in the market, with an absorption rate of 15 percent, up 5 percent QoQ.

Five new projects located in Thanh Xuan, Hoang Mai and Cau Giay supplied more than 1,500 units to the market, and the total primary stock was about 10,000 units, down 14 per cent QoQ.

Hang said the majority of buyers were now end-users, who preferred projects in good locations with certain construction standards and a reasonable price range.

"Shell apartments have become popular and even Grade A apartments are now on offer as a means of lowering prices," she said.

While the average primary asking price for Grade C apartments remained unchanged QoQ, it fell by 2 percent to 61 million VND (2,900 USD) per sq.m for Grade A and by 3 percent to 32 million VND (1,520 USD) per sq.m for Grade B.

The average secondary asking price continued to decrease across all districts, declining 5 percent in Ha Dong, and down 3-4 percent in Gia Lam, Hai Ba Trung and Dong Da districts.

CBRE Hanoi executive director Richard Leech said at a quarterly meeting last week that the Hanoi housing market had stabilised in the third quarter, with price drops slowing and buyers seeking actual value for property.

Despite falling prices, performances in retail, offices, hotels, serviced apartments and villas and townhouses continued on a downtrend in the third quarter due to an imbalance between supply and demand, according to Hang.

However, CBRE and Savills officials said that macro-economic improvement related to foreign direct investment, trade balance and legal frameworks were facilitating general real estate recovery.

Savills Hanoi deputy director Tran Nhu Trung said that about 58,200 newly-registered and 11,300 re-opened businesses this year promised significant property demand.

A foreign expert said the ongoing withdrawal of companies that had invested in real estate as a non-core line of business would foster market stability in the coming months.-

Vietnam, China aim for US$60 billion trade

Vietnamese Trade Counselor to China Bui Huy Hoang expects two-way trade turnover between the two nations to hit US$60 billion by 2015.

Hoang confirmed China is currently Vietnam’s largest trade partner, while Vietnam is one of China’s most important trade partners within the ASEAN bloc.

Bilateral economic and investment ties have proliferated continuously, with two-way trade turnover increasing from over US$30 million in 1991 to more than US$41 billion in 2012.

They have expanded cooperation across industry, energy, and transport, prioritising road and railway construction to connect Vietnamese and Chinese localities.

By August 2013, bilateral trade value totalled nearly US$32 billion, 20% more than a year earlier.

Vietnam’s key China-bound export commodities included crude oil, farm produce, seafood, footwear, electronics, and garments. The country imports Chinese petrol, steel, raw garment materials, fertilisers, and motorbike spare parts.

Chinese businesses marked their presence in Vietnam in August 1999 by pouring US$15.35 million into two projects to build Sat market in Haiphong city and a restaurant chain in Hanoi.

They have since developed hundreds of investment projects in almost Vietnamese cities and provinces with a combined registered capital of nearly US$5 billion.

China now has 915 valid investment projects in Vietnam capitalised at US$4.8 billion, ranking it 13th among foreign investors in the country.

According to the Chinese Commerce Ministry’s Deputy Asia Department Head Liang Wentao, Chinese investors are interested in Vietnam because of its low-cost labour abundance.

Many prospective investors are monitoring developments and emerging opportunities in border provinces like Lao Cai, Lang Son, Cao Bang, and Lai Chau.

Most Chinese-funded projects in Vietnam’s northern mountainous areas focus on mining minerals and raw materials, he added.

Can Tho expands aquaculture as a primary industry

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has worked out a plan to expand its aquaculture area to 26,000 hectares by 2020, doubling the current acreage.

With the expanded area, the city expects to earn at least one billion USD from an annual production of 335,000 tonnes of aquaculture products, of which 160,000 tonnes are for export, according to the Can Tho Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Under the city’s 2020 aquaculture development project, the farming area will be divided into two main sub-areas. The first, including 16,000 hectares in Thot Not district, a part of Vinh Thanh district and dunes in Hau River, will specialise in breeding freshwater prawn, tra (Pangasius) fish and other freshwater fish. The second, covering an area of 10,000 hectares in the districts of Vinh Thanh, Co Do and Phong Dien will raise catfish and other freshwater fish.

In addition, the city will build a fisheries centre capable of supplying two billion shrimp and fish fry each year in Vinh Thanh district.

To ensure the quality of its aquaculture products and meet the target, the city will conduct training courses to encourage farmers and processors to adopt international food safety standards such as GAP, SGF 1000 CM, HACCP and ISO, while expanding into foreign markets.

The city also aims to bring the total number of seafood processing plants to 33 with a total annual capacity of 192,000 tonnes by 2020.-

Dong Nai tops nation in GDP growth

The southern province of Dong Nai recorded gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 11.13 percent in the first nine months of 2013 to top the nation.

Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Bo Ngoc Thu said that in the abovementioned period, the province attracted 913 million USD in foreign direct investment (FDI), of which more than 700 million USD was disbursed.

The FDI projects mainly focused on support industry, high technology and environmental pollution treatment.

Domestic investors also poured more than 5 trillion VND (235 million USD) into projects in the province.

To support domestic businesses, the province disbursed 383 billion VND in loans, of which 72 billion VND went to small and medium-sized enterprises in the January-September period.

The province is implementing many large-scale transport projects, including one to upgrade National Highway No. 51 and one to build the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway.

To reach set goals in the remaining months of this year, Dong Nai will mobilise all resources to foster investment in infrastructure development, especially large-scale projects and key transportation systems, continue helping businesses solve difficulties, and develop agriculture and rural areas.

Int’l industrial exhibition to open in Hanoi

The Vietnam International Industrial Fair 2013 (VIIF) will take place from October 16-20 at the Vietnam Exhibition and Fair Centre (VEFAC) in Hanoi .

Covering 6,000 sq m, the annual fair will draw over 200 Vietnamese businesses and 100 foreign companies involved in many fields, such as machinery and equipment, mechanical engineering, electronics, plastic-chemistry and consumer goods production.

Despite economic difficulties such as bad debt, increasing input costs and macroeconomic instability, the fair will continue to attract more enterprises, increasing by nearly five percent year-on-year.

A new feature of the 2013 fair is a space displaying a project to strengthen the enforcement of intellectual property rights in Vietnam ” sponsored UK Prosperity Foundation.

Long An leads Mekong Delta in industrial development

The southern province of Long An leads the Mekong Delta region in industrial development and investment attraction, with 16 industrial parks and 760 registered projects, attracting a total investment of almost 3 billion USD.

Of the total, there are 251 foreign projects from 30 nations and territories with capital totalling 1.7 billion USD.

The fast development of industrial parks in the province over the past 15 years makes it one of the country’s five leading provinces and cities in the number of industrial parks.

The province sees the operation of 145 foreign enterprises and 215 domestic investors, creating jobs for over 70,000 Vietnamese workers and almost 1,000 foreigners.

At the parks, internal and external businesses generated an export value of 428 million USD and over 50 million USD respectively, contributing over 25 million USD to the state budget in the 15-year period.

According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Do Huu Lam, the management boards of industrial parks give priority to resolving administrative procedures to facilitate the implementation of investment projects in the locality.

In the coming time, Long An will continue to fully tap its potential and advantages, while accelerating administrative reform, fostering investment promotion and enhancing cooperation to further encourage socio-economic development.

Can Tho expands aquaculture as a primary industry

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has worked out a plan to expand its aquaculture area to 26,000 hectares by 2020, doubling the current acreage.

With the expanded area, the city expects to earn at least one billion USD from an annual production of 335,000 tonnes of aquaculture products, of which 160,000 tonnes are for export, according to the Can Tho Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Under the city’s 2020 aquaculture development project, the farming area will be divided into two main sub-areas. The first, including 16,000 hectares in Thot Not district, a part of Vinh Thanh district and dunes in Hau River, will specialise in breeding freshwater prawn, tra (Pangasius) fish and other freshwater fish.

The second, covering an area of 10,000 hectares in the districts of Vinh Thanh, Co Do and Phong Dien will raise catfish and other freshwater fish.

In addition, the city will build a fisheries centre capable of supplying two billion shrimp and fish fry each year in Vinh Thanh district.

To ensure the quality of its aquaculture products and meet the target, the city will conduct training courses to encourage farmers and processors to adopt international food safety standards such as GAP, SGF 1000 CM, HACCP and ISO, while expanding into foreign markets.

The city also aims to bring the total number of seafood processing plants to 33 with a total annual capacity of 192,000 tonnes by 2020.

Hue invests 9 billion VND in restoring traditional trade villages

The People’s Committee of central Thua Thien- Hue province has decided to invest 9 billion VND to restore and develop its traditional trade villages between 2014 and 2015.

Apart from creating jobs and improving labourers’ income for the local people, traditional trade villages help preserve Hue cultural identity and contribute to boost provincial tourism industry.

In the next two years, the province will focus on enhancing production capacity of trade villages and small scale industries, improving product designs and creating new products to meet market demand.

The province will also offer management and business skills courses for of production establishments and enterprises. Besides this, the province will promote marketing and plan to create 1500 new jobs in rural areas.

In 2013, the Centre for Industrial Encouragement and Trade Promotion under the provincial Department of Industry and Trade has carried out 31 projects to foster industrial development in the locality, thus bringing jobs to about 2,500 labourers. Many incentives have been offered to enterprises and production units to help them expand production and business.

Thua Thien- Hue has over 200 traditional trade villages including 88 handicraft villages.

Entrepreneurship honoured in Vietnam

Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Day (October 13) this year will honour 100 exemplary Vietnamese entrepreneurs who obtained outstanding business achievements, made major contributions to the state budget, participated actively in social activities and created a lot of jobs for three years from 2010 to 2012. The Vietnam Business Forum reports.

Following up Thanh Giong Awards in earlier years, this year 100 entrepreneurs will be honoured with title “Exemplary Vietnamese Entrepreneurs” and Thanh Giong Awards 2013. The award began in 2006 to honour entrepreneurs and businesses of their contributions, images and trademarks in the economic integration.

Thanh Giong Award, granted on the recommendations of concerned parties namely ministries, agencies, localities, is the first award of national scale. The “Exemplary Vietnamese Entrepreneur” title is honoured by Vietnamese business community of managers of all economic sectors for their outstanding achievements in developing businesses, contributing to socio-economic development and workers’ welfare.

Exemplary Entrepreneur and Thanh Giong Award is the main event of the celebration of Entrepreneurs’ Day this year. In the economic recession, the event is a new endeavour encouraging businesses and entrepreneurs to overcome challenges and develop new headways to get out of the crisis.

The event is more meaningful as this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). In 50 years of development with several achievements, VCCI together with business associations recommended the Prime Minister to celebrate October 13 each year as “Entrepreneurs’ Day”. The message “Entrepreneurs - Soldiers in peace time” initiated by VCCI has greatly inspired entrepreneurs.

VCCI has sponsored several awards for entrepreneurs such as “Thanh Giong”, “Golden Rose”, “Corporate Social Responsibility” and others. VCCI has also advised and participated in the drafting of Resolution “Developing the role of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in industrialisation, modernisation and international integration” – the first document of the Party and State on entrepreneurs. The resolution affirms the role of entrepreneurs as well as viewpoint, policy and solution to develop entrepreneurs together with workers, peasants and intellectuals in new era.

Presently, VCCI has 11,000 direct members and over 100,000 associated members, representing most effectively the interest of business community and entrepreneurs. VCCI has also established relations with nearly 200 international organisations and partners to help Vietnamese businesses expand to the world market. VCCI is an active member International Trade Chamber, Asia-Pacific League of Trade and Industry, ASEAN Chamber of Trade and Industry as well as world and regional leagues of employers.

According to VCCI President Vu Tien Loc, VCCI has successfully involved businesses and entrepreneurs in national activities developing business environment, economy and State management. It has in fact become a national organisation representing and promoting Vietnamese business community in the process of developing market economy and international economic integration.

On the occasion of the day this year, in addition to honouring businesses and entrepreneurs, there are also seminars on pressing issues such as restructuring businesses in the new conditions.

As the economy and business community need a modern and unstainable structure, VCCI with its role of the national organisation of business community will assist businesses in this endeavour. VCCI must play its advisory role in the socialist oriented market economy, ensuring an equitable and accountable business environment, and be fully devoted and professional in business assistance and promotion activities, especially regarding SMEs, business linkage, association network and business community, representatives of enterprises said.

State budget collection, expenditure tightly managed

The Ministry of Finance continues to manage state budget collection and spending estimates, ensuring the balance, Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai said at a regular meeting in Hanoi on October 10.

State budget revenue in September was estimated at 52.8 trillion VND (2.4 billion USD), a rise of 1.7 trillion VND (or 5.4 percent) against the previous month.

The levy in the first nine months of 2013 then totalled 543.8 trillion VND, accounting for 66.6 percent of the year’s estimated.

Mai blamed the deficit on difficulties in domestic sources, which only contributed 64.7 percent of the total estimate.

Total spending from January to September met 70 percent of the estimate, up 7.4 percent over the same period last year.

According to the ministry, only 23 localities nationwide collected taxes as panned while 40 others, including economic hubs such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh and Binh Duong, failed to meet their plans.

In the first half of this year, the country’s total budget collection reached 356.52 trillion VND, meeting 43.7 percent of the annual target. The state budget deficit hit 92.39 trillion VND, equal to 57 percent of the annual plan.

Hanoi develops animal husbandry

A programme to develop farming based in key farming areas and large-scale animal husbandry in non-residential areas in Ha Noi for 2011-15 has reportedly achieved breakthroughs after nearly three years' implementation.

According to the Ha Noi Farming Development Centre, during almost three years, key farming areas have been formed within the city, meeting 60-65 per cent of the Ha Noi market's demand for meat.

In addition, the capital has strongly developed large-scale farms in non-residential areas, with over 720 farms for raising pigs and over 2,100 for raising poultry.

In 2012, in particular, the total production of meat of all types in Ha Noi reached 385,000 tonnes and the breeding values made up 50 per cent of agricultural production.

The Ha Noi Farming Development Centre said the capital was leading the country in raising poultry flocks and animal herds. The total number of cows and buffalos so far reached 240,000, pigs nearly 1.4 million and poultry reached nearly 19 million.

During the past three years, Ha Noi has also successfully developed chains of product distributors and promoted stronger brands for its products, according to the Ha Noi Farming Development Centre.

Some of the strong brands of Ha Noi's farming products cited by the centre are the Ba Vi Milk, which is widely known to consumers nationwide, the Tien Vien eggs with an average daily output of 70,000 eggs, and the organic pork produced by the Bao Chau – Soc Son Farm with 10 distribution stores in central districts.

According to Ta Van Tuong, director of the Ha Noi Farming Development Centre, with the aim to promote a strong brand of its own, Ha Noi will set up eight more chains for farming and product distribution to reduce the differences in price between farms and distributors.

He added that the city would also need to increase the links between farmers and suppliers of farming material, animal feed and animal medicine as well as product distributors, while also ensuring that the city's products meet hygienic standards.

Local firms can count on Gov't support

The Government will continue providing support for local enterprises to overcome difficulties in production and business due to the economic downturn.

The statement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Vo Van Ninh said at a Viet Nam Entrepreneurs' Day celebration yesterday in Ha Noi.

While both the global and domestic economies have shown signs of recovery, they remain unstable, Ninh said.

As Viet Nam seeks to integrate further into the global economy, competition is increasing, a situation that offers Vietnamese enterprises both opportunities and challenges, he said.

The Deputy PM predicted enterprises would be successful if they seized opportunities, restructured their production and business activities and improved competitive ability, management ability and quality of products.

Additionally, the Government plans to create favourable conditions for enterprises to boost sustainable development.

Viet Nam has 500,000 enterprises, 15,000 cooperatives and farms and 4 million business households, excluding 40,000 enterprises that must stop their operations in the first nine months of this year, said Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Industry and Commerce (VCCI).

The Government has already offered significant support to enterprises, and the firms have worked hard, but these efforts were often not enough for them to weather the difficult period, Loc said.

To solve their present difficulties, he recommended enterprises build professional management systems, improve their competitive ability and restructure their operation.

On the occasion of Viet Nam Entrepreneurs' Day, the VCCI honoured 100 exemplary Vietnamese entrepreneurs who obtained outstanding business achievements, made major contributions to the state budget, participated actively in social activities and created a lot of jobs from 2010 to 2012.

The award aimed to encourage the entrepreneurs to overcome challenges and develop new strategies to get out of the financial crisis.

Stock market boost expected from TPP

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) was expected to have a great influence on the Vietnamese economy in general and the stock market in particular.

Its impacts might be stronger than those when Viet Nam joined the World Trade Organisation in 2007, heard the "TPP and opportunities for the stock market" seminar held by BIDV Securities Company on Thursday.

Some experts said that Viet Nam would be the country that benefited the most from joining the TPP.

There are currently 12 countries participating in the TPP negotiations, including Japan and the US, which have the largest trade turnover with Viet Nam.

In the first eight months of this year, Viet Nam's trade surplus with the US reached US$11.68 billion.

Among export sectors to the US, textile would enjoy significant advantages when Viet Nam signed the TPP, said BIDV Securities, noting two listed textile firms with high liquidity – Thanh Cong Textile and Garment Investment (TCM) and TNG Investment and Trading (TNG).

Domestic textile and garment businesses had rapid revenue growth, but profitability was not as high as expected.

"Therefore, small changes in tax rates, exchange and interest rates as Viet Nam joined the TPP will also strongly impact the profitability of these enterprises," BIDV Securities commented.

In addition, one of the most notable in the TPP negotiations was that Viet Nam committed not to interfere in the operation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and promised to lift foreign holdingship in the market.

Recently, the Government has urged SOEs to divest from their non-core industries.

"It is a big opportunity for Viet Nam's stock market," said BIDV Securities' head of consultancy Nguyen Xuan Thong.

Foreign institutions had expected the divestment of SOEs for long, he added. "It's their chance to buy cheap assets in a potential market like Viet Nam."

Thong revealed that there were over 40 SOEs forced to divest and make their financial conditions transparent.

Free care for car tyres begins

Michelin starts checking the tyres free of charge in both Ha Noi and HCM City today and tomorrow.

The programme aims to check about 5,000 cars across Viet Nam in an effort to help reduce road accident for drivers.

The programme will start at traffic-dense locations such as Big C Thang Long and Metro in Ha Noi and Lotte supermarket and Metro An Phu and many others.

It will begin in Binh Duong and Hai Phong from October 18-22 and Vung Tau and Da Nang from October 25-30.

Industrial investors given incentives

Tin Nghia Corporation plans to offer investors at Tan Phu Industrial Park in southern Dong Nai Province free use of infrastructure for the first five years of their contracts as part of its preferential policy to attract businesses.

The IP is located in Dong Nai Province's Tan Phu District and covers an area of 50ha, of which more than 36ha is industrial land for rent.

Tan Phu District has abundant labour resources with low costs particularly suited to labour-intensive industries such as textiles and garments, leather footwear, wood production and agriculture.

The Tin Nghia Corporation, known as one of the biggest companies in Dong Nai Province, was selected as of Viet Nam's Top 200 enterprises by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The corporation has invested in eight industrial parks in Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces that cover a total area of 3,500ha with total investment capital of $4 billion. The industrial parks have attracted nearly 200 businesses.

Central province wins new FDI

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue has so far this year attracted five new foreign-invested projects with a total capital of US$40.7 million and allowing four others to raise their capital by $58.75 million.

Deputy director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Le Dinh Khanh said local authorities are striving to facilitate investment to such advantageous fields as marine ecotourism, sea port services, urban infrastructure, industry, processing, and education and training.

They are also applying incentives to investors in the Chan May-Lang Co economic zone in terms of tax, administrative procedures, land and labour.

Currently the province counts 69 FDI projects that see an annual growth of 17.2 per cent in their revenue.

Ha Noi to host int'l industrial fair

The Viet Nam International Industrial Fair 2013 (VIIF) will open in the capital on October 16, the Viet Nam Exhibition Trade Fair Co announced yesterday.

The five-day event will witness the participation of 300 enterprises including those coming from mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Germany.

VIIF, one of the biggest industrial fairs in the country, would create opportunities for businesses to promote investment and trade exchange, particularly in the industrial sector, between Viet Nam and other countries across the world, the company said.

On display will be the latest processing technologies and equipment and spare parts used for plastic and chemical production, support industries, mining and consumer production.

IBM InterConnect 2013 opens in Singapore

Information will become the new natural resource for the 21st century, IBM's chairwoman, president and CEO, said at the company's global conference, InterConnect 2013, which kicked off on Wednesday in Singapore.

At the opening general session of the three-day conference, Ginny Rometty said that 90 per cent of all data available today had been created in the last two years.

Data has become the new basis for competitive advantages in every industry and constitutes a vast new natural resource.

The conference has attracted 2,500 attendees including clients, business partners, analysts and information technology leaders from 50 countries and territories in the world, including Viet Nam.

With the theme of "A New Era of Smart," the conference is a chance for IT leaders to gain insight into best practices in the biggest trends in business today, including cloud computing, mobile, and social and big data.

VDC launches cloud computing service

The Viet Nam Data Communication Company (VDC) on Wednesday joined a small group of providers offering a cloud computing service on the Internet.

Using cloud computing, users put their data on virtual servers (cloud) instead of storing them in their computers at home or in office.

The service, called Cloud VNN, helps customers establish virtual server infrastructure. Users can monitor and manage the system from any location. It ensures data security and can be used by banks and enterprises to store vital information.

This enables users, for example, to save all their email files. It is a huge advantage considering the growing number of people who have had their emails wiped out by hackers.

Vinamilk reform pays off with rising exports

The Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) exported VND3.354 trillion of dairy products in the first nine months of the year.

Vinamilk has signed export contracts for a whole year with a total value of $230 million.

Between 2008 and 2012, the export growth rate of Vinamilk reached 62 per cent annually.

Currently, Vinamilk has exported powdered milk, nutrition powder, condensed milk, fresh milk, soybean milk and yogurt to 26 countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, Russia, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Turkey, Iraq, and the Middle East.

To produce higher quality products, Vinamilk has invested in renovating modern production chains with imports from Sweden, the US, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Germany.

In the coming time, the company will invest in three new farms in Tay Ninh (10,000 cows), Ha Tinh (3,000 cows) and Thanh Hoa (20,000 cows).

Vinamilk has also bought 460 tonnes of raw milk from 5,000 local households that own 65,000 cows.

It has purchased more than 60 per cent of its raw materials from farmers in Viet Nam.

Housing support package lifts loans

By September 30, commercial banks registered to provide VND203 billion (US$9.67 million) in housing loans to about 620 individual customers as part of the Government's VND30 trillion ($1.43 billion) property assistance package.

The committed value nearly doubled that at the end of August. The State Bank of Viet Nam reported on Thursday that Vietinbank registered VND53 billion, Vietcombank VND79.4 billion, BIDV VND50.1 billion, Agribank VND12.8 billion and Mekong Housing Bank VND7.8 billion.

The banks disbursed a combined value of about VND142.46 billion ($6.78 million), also twice as much as August's figure.

Within the support programme, BIDV registered a loan value of VND658 billion ($31.3 million) and Agribank committed VND90 billion ($4.28 million) for businesses buying or renting houses. They disbursed VND54.8 billion ($2.6 million) in total.

Dung Quat refinery spouts profit

The Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant, which is operated by the Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company (BSR), sold 5 million tonnes of oil and gas products in the first nine months of this year.

CEO Nguyen Hoai Giang told Vnexpress that the plant earned over VND112 trillion (US$5.3 billion) in revenue and an after-tax profit of VND2.3 trillion ($109 million). It contributed almost VND20 trillion ($952 million) to the State coffers in the period, surpassing its yearly target of VND200 billion ($9.5 million).

If it operated continuously in the coming months, the plant could reach a processing capacity of 6.5 million tonnes and make a profit of more than VND3 trillion ($142 million) this year, said Giang.

He said this was the first year the BSR had targeted a profit over VND2.1 trillion ($100 million) after receiving a preferential finance policy from the Government.

Giang said the BSR would continue to ask JGC Corp of Japan to study the second stage of the Dung Quat Oil refinery expansion and confirmed that a detailed feasibility study would be approved this November to send to the Government for a final decision.

PetroVietnam has worked with Russian GazpromNeft energy group about the possibility of co-ordinating in the field of oil and gas, which is mainly related to investment co-operation in the Dung Quat oil refinery.

The Russian partner has proposed to expand and raise the plant's designed capacity from the current 6.5 million tonnes to 12 million tonnes a year.

The related documents are expected to be signed during the visit of the Russian Prime Minister to Viet Nam by the end of this year.

The plant is currently refining sweet crude oil produced in South East Asia. Following the completion of the expansion, the refinery will process 50 per cent of Middle East sour crude oil and 50 per cent of sweet crude oil.

The expansion project will add a crude pre-flasher, vacuum distillation unit, mercury removal unit and other facilities. Existing units of the refinery will be upgraded to process the Middle East sour crude oil.

In the four years of the refinery's operation, BSR has sold over 21 million tonnes of product.

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