VN firm to distribute US trucks

The Hoang Huy Investment Financial Services Joint Stock Company (HHF) has been appointed as the authorised distributor for the US-based International Truck and Engine Corporation, Navistar Inc.

Navistar manufactures and markets medium and heavy trucks, as well as mid-range diesel engines.

Hoang Huy, which is engaged in the import and distribution of trucks, will provide a full range of products, spare parts, warranties and repair services for the US tractor unit's products in Viet Nam. The company will also supply after-sale services and consultation for the assembly of DPF sensors used in diesel car exhaust systems.

Quang Tri studies budget planning

An 810,000-euro (US$921,600) project will be implemented in central Quang Tri province to encourage local community's participation in State budget management.

The project was launched at a conference in Quang Tri on Tuesday by the provincial Women's Union, the People's Council, and the Centre for Development and Integration.

The project that is funded by the European Union is being carried out from April 2015 to March 2018. It aims to enhance the awareness of the issue among more than 6,000 women and disadvantaged people living in six communes in Gio Linh and Hai Lang districts.

It also aims to strengthen the role, competency and responsibility of People's Councils – which directly represents local residents – at all levels in supervising public budget usage.

Search for new talent

A conference organised by VNPT Group, Viet Nam Television and the Dan Tri online newspaper was held to announce the launch of the Nhan Tai Dat Viet 2015 (Vietnamese Talent Awards 2015) in Ha Noi yesterday.

The annual awards, now in their eleventh year, search for new talent and products in the fields of IT, applied sciences, medicine and the environment.

The winners will take home VND100 million (US$4,760) for first prize, VND50 million ($2,380) for second and VND30 million ($1,430) for third. The deadline for applications is September 30.

The awards ceremony will be held in Ha Noi on November 20 and will be broadcast live on VTV and the vnmedia.vn.

Lao Cai, Yunnan to build EZ

Authorities in the provinces of Lao Cai, in Viet Nam, and Yunnan, in China, are actively constructing the Lao Cai – Honghe economic zone.

This information was revealed at a meeting between leaders in the Vietnamese locality on Tuesday. The construction will pave the way for developing the Kimming-Lao Cai-Ha Noi-Hai Phong economic corridor.

Yunnan Governor Chen Hao lauded the Vietnamese northern mountainous province for its support of his hometown in hosting the China-South Asia and Kunming Trade fairs in June this year.

Both host and guest agreed to boost their bilateral engagement in trade and tourism, launch transportation infrastructure projects connecting their localities, and simplify entrance-and-exit procedures.

Transparency key to debt management

Tighter controls, improving capital usage and making public debt transparent can ensure domestic and foreign borrowings for development and socio-economic infrastructure, said a senior official of the finance ministry.

Tran Hung Long, director of the Debt Management and External Finance Department of the finance ministry said this yesterday during a press briefing on enhancing public debt management organised by the Ministry of Finance. He said the ministry needed to clarify on two groups of issues on public debt in a clear and transparent manner.

The first group would include loans, control of the government's public debt and national public debt safety. To control these issues, the government, National Assembly, relevant ministries and agencies have made every effort required to make domestic and foreign loans transparent.

A series of laws on the state budget, tendering and investment focussed on public debt control and all institutions and policies have been working towards tightening public debt.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has promptly revised the Decree 38 on ODA management, while the Ministry of Finance has nearly completed the projects to be submitted to the government to enhance lending to local governments via finance institutions to minimise financial pressures on the State.

In addition, the finance ministry has also urgently controlled debts and reviewed risks of debts so as to restructure public debts.

The second group will consist of those who are loan users. The loan users include ministries, local governments, project owners and every economic sector. The problem is to understand how borrowings are used by the borrowers, Long said.

The 02 Directive CT-TTG dated February 14, 2015, of the Government was aimed at enhancing transparency and conducting strict management of public debts. He added that all ministries, project owners and economic sectors have been making utmost efforts with the government to achieve maximum efficiency.

He said that in the current context state-run enterprises were allocated investment capital and they must take full responsibilities for their loans. By doing so, the state-run businesses should not be included in the public debt.

According to the finance ministry's report, in 2014 the country's public debt for development and socio-economic infrastructure reached VND627 trillion (US$29 billion) of which more than 98 per cent of loans have been channelled directly to infrastructure projects. The government has taken the initiative of paying the debt on time and ensuring the safety of national finances.

The direct payment of the government reached 13.8 per cent last year and it is expected to reach 16.1 per cent this year. Under the regulation, it is not allowed to exceed 25 per cent.

The finance ministry reported that public debt still posed some limitations such as a sharp increase, unstable structure and the use of short-term loans for long-term investment, which imposed great pressure on payments.

Furthermore, the limitations are also attributed to the haphazard utilisation of loans and inadequate implementation of investment projects with regard to the appraisal, approval and contractor selection and land clearance as well.

To gradually overcome the shortcomings and limitations, the Directive 02 of the Government on strengthening the management and improving efficiency of public debt is mainly focussed on the specific tasks assigned to ministries, branches and localities with a view to conducting comprehensive solutions on management of public debt, especially new loans.

How to boost infrastructure development under discussion

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has asserted the Vietnamese Government’s readiness to create a niche for financial institutions to successfully cooperate and invest in infrastructure development projects in Vietnam.

Addressing the 38th annual meeting of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) taking place in Nha Trang on May 14, Ninh voiced his hope that ADFIAP leaders would exchange valuable experience in infrastructure development financing within member countries, and continue to seek opportunities for future increased cooperation.

Titled ‘DFIs & Sustainable Infrastructure: Policy Framework, Operational Best Practices and Challenges’, the event was attended by nearly 100 CEOs and high-ranking executives from ADFIAP members.

The conference is of great significance for emerging economies, including Vietnam, since it will help devise measures to cope with increasing demands for infrastructure development sources in accordance with ensuring social security, environmental protection and inclusive growth.

In his speech, ADFIAP President Pema Tshering highlighted the event as a good opportunity for financial institutions to take measures aimed at bringing about a sustainable future for each ADFIAP member.

Tshering stressed the imperative role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in regulating and promoting cooperation among financial institutions to deal with infrastructure difficulties and nuances. He suggested each member country should focus on four key areas: financing small-and medium-sized enterprises, ‘green” financing, expanding micro-financing for the poor, and adhering to governance rules.

On behalf of the Vietnamese Government, Ninh praised the ADFIAP activities and modern infrastructure development as one of three breakthroughs in the socioeconomic development strategy.

Besides, Vietnam is hastening the finalization of a legal framework on sustainable development towards encouraging economic sectors to invest in sustainable socio-economic infrastructure.

Vietnam has maintained an average annual GDP growth rate of 7% over the past decade, stable macro economy, low inflation rates and an overall improvement of social welfare and environment protection as a result of great reform efforts and support from the international community and businesses.

Vietnam is among the top 20 countries with political stability, ranking ninth in investment attraction. It is one of 38 countries that have recorded outstanding poverty reduction achievements and fulfilled millennium development goals (MDGs) ahead of schedule acknowledged by the UN Food and Agriculture Ogranization (FAO).

Under-1-billion-VND homes attract buyers

More than half of 400 people polled in Ho Chi Minh City expressed intention to purchase homes valued below 1 billion VND (46,512 USD), revealed a recent online survey on local housing demand by muabannhadat.vn.

Another 32 percent want to buy homes worth 1-2 billion VND (46,512 – 93,023 USD), while only a fraction of the group (4 percent) desired accommodations from 3 billion VND (139,034 USD).

The survey partly reflects the recent trend in the local real estate market of increasing demand for small and medium-size apartments costing less than 1 billion VND.

In the first quarter alone, 5,100 housing units were made available in the southern economic hub, 40 percent of which were in the affordable price range.

The low-end segment appeals particularly to young consumers, like university graduates and newlyweds, said Nguyen Dinh Trung, Chairman of Hung Thinh Corporation which sold 98 percent of its accommodations in the segment.

According to Managing Director Nguyen Vinh Tran at Jen Capital Advisors Ltd, the trend has been emerging in the city since 2010, leading to apartments with smaller spaces and 8-10 percent lower prices compared to the previous period.

Automaker to distribute Indian cars in Vietnam following Tata deal

A leading local automobile company has become the official distributor of cars manufactured by Tata Motors Ltd., India's biggest automaker by revenue, in Vietnam following a cooperation pact the two announced Monday in Hanoi.

The deal covers car distribution and supply and technology transfer between Tata Motors and TMT Motor Corporation, according to theVietnam News Agency.

TMT will supply commercial vehicles produced by Tata Motors in Vietnam under this deal, the firm said in a press release.

The Vietnamese company will assemble Tata vehicles and receive technology transfers from its Indian partner in the ensuing phases of the pact.

The Indian firm is famous for its Tata Nano, known as the world’s cheapest car.

Made and sold in India, the four-door Tata Nano was unveiled in January 2008 with a dealer price of only 100,000 rupees (US$1,900), according to Reuters.

TMT did intend to import some Tata Nanos for sale in Vietnam back in 2012, but the plan was later canceled, according to newswireVnExpress.

The cooperation pact will help Tata Motors expand its network to Vietnam, while enabling TMT to increase its strength in the country.

The Mumbai-headquartered Tata Motors has auto manufacturing and assembly plants in India, Argentina, South Africa, Thailand, and the UK.

In 2004 the Indian automaker acquired South Korea’s Daewoo Commercial Vehicle, and took over British premium carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, which produces Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover, in 2008.

Tata Motors notched up a turnover of $39 billion in the 2014 fiscal year.

TMT, meanwhile, is one of the top-ten Vietnamese automakers. The company targets sales of 7,900 vehicles of all kinds this year and VND3.8 trillion ($175 million) in revenue, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

The Tata - TMT cooperation comes at a time when Vietnam’s automobile industry is under pressure to partially cut and completely lift the tariff barriers against cars imported from other countries in the ASEAN region from now to 2018.

ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

By that time, there will be a very small price gap between imported cars and those assembled domestically, prompting some foreign automakers to weigh whether to continue assembling cars in the Southeast Asian country, with Toyota being a prime example.

The Japanese carmaker has proposed a series of tax breaks for locally assembled cars so that it can increase the localization rate and open new factories in Vietnam after hinting that it may stop making automobiles in the country by 2025 over the said reasons.

BRG Group brings Hilton to Hai Phong

On April 27, BRG Group held a ground-breaking ceremony to commemorate the agreement to invest VND2.2 trillion ($102.3 million) into a five star hotel-shopping centre and luxury apartment complex located on Tran Quang Khai Street, Hai Phong City, according to newswire Hai Phong Online.

Covering an area of 8,300 square metres, this is going to be the first five star Hilton hotel in Hai Phong City. The complex will include 22 storeys and four basements. There will be a 240-room hotel unit and a 34-room hotel complex in the form of apartments as well as supporting services such as a gym, spa and swimming pool.

“Once completed, the project will help Hai Phong City to become a hub of services, tourism and trade in the northern coast as well as attract foreign investment,” said Le Van Thanh, chairman of Hai Phong City People’s Committee.

BRG is one of the leading investors in finance-banking and golf resorts in Vietnam. Its projects include the King’s Island Golf Resort in Dong Mo, Son Tay, Hanoi, Do Son Seaside Golf Resort in Do Son, Hai Phong and Sports and Recreation Resort-Legend Hill Golf Resort in Soc Son, Hanoi.

BRG Group and Seabank are co-organisers with VIR and the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency of the annual charity golf tournament “Swing for the kids”.

Vietnam realty market shows recovery signs; insiders say no bubble will form

The property market in Vietnam is showing signs of getting warmer and industry insiders do not think there will be another real estate bubble as there was seven years ago.

The latest housing bubble occurred in Vietnam in the 2007-2008 period, when investors rushed to the realty sector after the stock market went into a crisis.

The bubble then quickly burst, leaving the market frozen with a huge number of unsold land plots, houses, and apartments.

As many as 5,150 apartments were put on sale in the first quarter of this year, three times the figure last year, according to a survey by realty consultant CBRE.

The number of new apartments in the first quarter rose 40 percent year on year, which consultancy Savills said is the strongest growth since February 2011.

Most apartment purchasers in Ho Chi Minh City in the year to date have been real homebuyers, who buy to live there, rather than speculators and secondary investors who purchase to resell, according to industry insiders.

Real estate trading floors in the city are receiving more customers than this time last year, and more purchase contracts have also been closed.

The owner of the Him Lam exchange in District 6 told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that it manages to sell around 12 apartments a week for the Him Lam Cho Lon project, located in the same district.

“Eighty apartments found buyers in April, while as many as 128 flats were sold a month earlier,” he added.

While deluxe condo projects, whose apartments cost between VND4 billion (US$186,411) and VND6 billion ($279,616) each, are not so attractive to buyers, those fetching half these prices are selling very well, a realty expert told Tuoi Tre.

Homebuyers now have a wide range of bank loan options to choose from, with banks willing to lend at reasonable interest rates ranging from only seven to eight percent.

Vietcombank, for instance, has earmarked a VND10 trillion ($466.03 million) credit package with a seven percent lending interest rate for loans with under-12-month terms.

Sacombank also offers lending for terms of up to 20 years under a credit package worth VND2 trillion ($93.21 million).

Most of the new apartment projects are located to the east of Ho Chi Minh City, where District 2 and District 9 lie.

These two districts are now home to at least 30 new apartment projects, supplying dozens of thousands of apartments.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, has ruled out the possibility of a market bubble.

“The market is only getting warm in several areas such as District 2 and District 9,” he said. “There are still many unsold apartments that need buyers.”

The chairman pointed out that there are 689 condo projects left unfinished in Ho Chi Minh City, whereas 85 others have had their construction license revoked.

Chau asserted that there will be no real estate bubble, at least in the next two years.

The chairman said the market bubble only occurs when businesses invest in segments that are not their strength while secondary investors purchase a number of apartments in the hope of making big profits when prices soar.

“Such phenomena are not happening now,” Chau said.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam also said it is not likely for a real estate bubble to form.

“Prices are stable and there are only real homebuyers and investors, rather than speculators,” he told Tuoi Tre. “Everything is well within control.”

However, a realty expert has warned that some property companies are “employing gimmicks” to make a false impression that the market has been revitalized.

“Realty developers and real estate exchanges always have a close connection and they have many tricks to boost sales,” the expert said on condition of anonymity.

“For instance, many firms say they have successfully sold 100 or 200 apartments, but the truth is any customer who has yet to sign a contract but only makes a deposit will be counted as a buyer.”

Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the State Bank of Vietnam, said banks should be cautious in lending to realty developers as most of the non-performing loans are owed by businesses in this sector.

GP Invest invests $139 million in Trang An Complex

Global Petrol Investment Joint Stock Company (GP Invest) has revealed official information about its Trang An Complex project, an apartment, office and trading complex in Hanoi.

Accordingly, the project located at No1, Phung Chi Kien Street has total capital of VND2.5 trillion ($139 million) and cover an area of 2.6 hectares.

At present, the construction of the complex’s foundations has been completed. The company will put on sale the first 150 apartments on May 16 for the initial price of VND31 million ($1,439) per square metre.

The project includes two apartment complexes, a school with the area of 3,000 square metres and a 14-floor building-complex. The area of normal living apartments will be between 75 and 140 square metres and Penthouse apartments between 220 and 240 square metres.

The project was started in January 2015 and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017.

GP Invest is the developer of two big property projects, namely the 22-floor building on La Thanh Street with a total capital of VND700 billion ($32.5 million) and the Nam Do project worth VND1.5 trillion ($69.6 million). GP Invest will expand its operation in the US with its branch GPI Holding US, LLC.

CII to buy into Tan Hoa Water Supply

HCMC Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company (CII) will buy the 65% State stake at and the water pipe network of Tan Hoa Water Supply Joint Stock Company from Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco).

The deal is the first transaction of the city’s pilot plan to open the water distribution service to private investors.

Tan Hoa Water Supply Co. currently supplies clean water for people in Tan Binh and Tan Phu districts. The company said on its website that its chartered capital is VND50 billion with the State holding 65%.

According to the HCMC Department of Transport, the city government will forward the transaction to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval.

Truong Khac Hoanh, deputy general director of CII, told the Daily that the 65% stake alone costs nearly VND40 billion. CII and Sawaco are now working together to value the water pipe network and will later announce the total value of the deal.

CII started negotiations with Sawaco in the middle of last year for a project to supply water for residents in districts 12, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, Go Vap and Hoc Mon under the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) format.

As instructed by the city government, CII will be allowed to buy the existing water pipe sub-network of Sawaco or Sawaco will contribute this network as capital at CII.

Accordingly, CII will buy clean water from Sawaco at agreeable prices for selling to customers at the prices set by the city and invest in more pipelines to meet the demand in the five aforementioned districts. CII will supply water in 15 years before transferring this business to Sawaco.

This investment model is quite new in HCMC, according to Bach Vu Hai, deputy general director at Sawaco. CII has favorable conditions to mobilize capital to invest in new water pipelines and reduce water losses.  

The current water loss rate in HCMC nears 34%. Sawaco targets to bring the rate down to 32% this year, 28% in 2020 and 25% in 2025.

Hai said the city needs more water pipelines but it is not easy to call for investments in developing the water supply network due to huge spending and slow capital recovery.

Some water plants have been invested by private enterprises but the water supply network is mainly funded by the State budget.

SCB increases capital to VND14 trillion

Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) has revised up its chartered capital to VND14.29 trillion (US$660.2 million) from VND12.29 trillion.

The move consolidates SCB as the fourth biggest local commercial joint stock bank in Vietnam by chartered capital after the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank).

SCB said the chartered capital rise was part of its development plan approved by the State Bank of Vietnam and its shareholders at a recent annual general meeting. The plan would enable the lender to enhance performance, diversify products and services, and expand operations.

SCB reported profit of VND121.5 billion in 2014, up 103% year-on-year and 1% higher than that year’s target. However, the bank decided not to pay dividend and used profit to strengthen its financial position.

The central bank approved the establishment and operation of SCB from the start of 2012 after the merger of three commercial banks – De Nhat, Vietnam Tin Nghia and Saigon.

Finance minister: 2014 surplus budget revenue used up

Last year’s State budget collections rose by VND80.82 trillion and beat the target by 10.3% but all the extra sum has been used up, according to Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung.

Dung told the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Monday that tax revenues from domestic sources and crude oil reached VND583.63 trillion and VND100.08 trillion last year, or VND44.63 trillion (8.3%) and VND14.88 trillion (17.5%) higher than the full-year targets respectively.

In addition, export and import taxes and fees contributed VND173.36 trillion to the State budget, growing 12.6%, and non-refundable aid went up 43% to VND6.43 trillion.

In all, total budget collections amounted to VND863.5 trillion last year, Dung said while delivering the report at the meeting of the committee on behalf of the Government.

The minister said 59 provinces realized and beaten their budget collection targets in 2014 but their excessive amounts have run out.

Last year’s budget spending totaled VND1,087 trillion, VND80.82 trillion (8%) higher than the target. Of which, VND208 trillion was spent on development investments, up 27.6%, and VND120 trillion on debt payments and aid.

Socio-economic development, national defense, security and administration absorbed VND732.5 trillion of the total, up 4% against the estimate.

Last year, the NA approved targets for State budget revenue of VND782.7 trillion and spending of more than VND1,000 trillion. This meant the country run a budget deficit of VND224 trillion, equivalent to 5.3% of gross domestic product (GDP).

According to the Government’s report at the NA at the eighth session late last year, estimated budget revenues, spending and deficit were VND846.4 trillion (up VND63.7 trillion), VND1,070 trillion (up VND63.7 trillion) and VND224 trillion.

Phung Quoc Hien, head of the NA Finance and Budget Committee, said the plan to allocate the surplus budget revenue and reduce spending as reported by the Government did not strictly follow the law on State budget.

The Government did not prepare resources last year to cut budget deficit, increase development investments and the national financial reserve fund and the budget reserves.

* The sale of houses and land lots managed by the State following the Government’s Decree 09 has been moving slowly in the past eight years due to the negligence of those agencies involved and the problems related to land zoning and price evaluation, according to the Ministry of Finance.  

A recent report of the ministry showed ministries, agencies, organizations, groups and corporations finished plans to handle 777 out of 1,542 properties (50.4%) and are settling 649 out of 1,542 facilities (42.1%) as of the first quarter of this year.

Competent authorities have approved the sale plans for 121,677 out of 153,573 State-owned properties and collected VND28.34 trillion for the State budget.

Ministry drafts new rules for duty-free goods buyers

The Ministry of Finance has drafted new regulations governing purchases at duty-free shops at international border gates and in the downtown areas of major cities.  

The draft regulations would not permit tourists to shop at the duty-free shops in the economic zones of Moc Bai Border Gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh and Lao Bao Border Gate in the central province of Quang Tri as at present.

According to the ministry, those finishing procedures to exit the country or transiting at international border gates can purchase duty-free goods at a separate border area.

People entering Vietnam could buy duty-free products on board arriving aircraft and inside international airports after getting through immigration. However, they would not be permitted to buy such goods after leaving the areas under the management of customs agencies.

The draft regulations require buyers of duty-free goods at licensed downtown duty-free shops to show their passports and tickets with the valid exit dates, and take delivery of their goods at border gates.

Overseas Vietnamese who are intellectuals, professionals and skilled workers and return to Vietnam to work for more than one year at the invitation of Government agencies could buy goods at the downtown duty-free shops if they show papers for the volume and value of goods they could buy.

People subject to national privileges and tax exemptions in Vietnam, and foreign experts involved in official development assistance (ODA) projects in Vietnam would be treated the same.

The draft regulations allow foreign crewmembers of international vessels to buy duty-free goods for daily use during the time of their ships staying at local ports, and Vietnamese sailors of the vessels running on international routes to purchase duty-free goods before their ships leave for overseas markets.

There would be no purchase quota on people about to exit Vietnam but they are advised to carefully read the relevant regulations applied in the next destination.

For sailors, the ministry wants each of them to be allowed to purchase no more than two liters of alcohol, three liters of alcoholic beverages or beer, 400 cigarettes, 100 cigars, and 500 grams of tobacco at duty-free stores.

The ministry suggested duty-free goods shops be permitted at international border gates and on board aircraft on international routes, and in inner-city areas.

Milk price ceilings imposed until end-2016

The Government approved an extension of a plan to levy price ceilings on powdered milk products for children under six years old from June 1 this year to December 31 next year.

Dairy enterprises should register their prices with the Ministry of Finance, according to the Government’s Resolution 33/NQ-CP issued on April 30. If objective factors impact milk prices in the period, competent agencies will review and adjust the price caps.

The upper prices are being imposed on milk products for children under six years old until June 1, 2015 in line with the Ministry of Finance’s Decision 1079/QD-BTC issued in 2014. Therefore, with the Government’s resolution, the dairy products will still be subject to the price caps until late next year.

However, whether the wholesale price ceilings for more than 600 powdered milk products for children under six years old will be kept unchanged or not remains unknown.

Local finance departments are now waiting for the ministry’s instruction for the price caps on the products from next month till the end of next year. This is one of the reasons why some dairy companies said they have not been requested to register new selling prices for their powdered products for children.

Dairy companies expect they will not have to re-register their prices and the price ceilings might be kept unchanged as they claim there is no room for them to lower the prices.

The price ceilings have been applied to the powdered milk products since June 1 last year after consumers complained about the exorbitant prices of milk products and the lack of price control measures.

Since then, the authorities have set the wholesale price caps on more than 600 products of powdered milk. The retail prices are not allowed to be over 15% higher than the wholesale prices.

A number of dairy companies bemoan that their sales and profit have dropped significantly due to the price ceilings.

Crude cashew imports surge

Domestic enterprises imported over 231,350 tons of unprocessed cashew worth US$310 million in the first four months of the year, up nearly 223% in volume and 277% in value compared to the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas).

Local enterprises mainly bought the product from African countries in previous years but have had to look for suppliers from ASEAN nations this year due to shrinking supply from the continent.

The cashew supply fall caused by unfavorable weather in Africa has pushed up prices of the farm produce, forcing local firms to increase imports from Indonesia and Cambodia, according to Vinacas. Unprocessed cashew imports from Cambodia exceeded 71,000 tons in the January-April period.

In addition to more imports from the neighboring nation, Vinacas said, many companies bought more cashew to fulfill orders delayed at the end of last year.

Last year, Vietnam imported 579,000 tons of unprocessed cashew valued at US$656 million, down nearly 10% in volume but up 9% in value against 2013.

The country earned US$635 million from selling abroad 85,000 tons of cashew nuts in the first four months of this year, up over 14% in volume and 36% in value year-on-year.

The average export price of cashew nuts stood at US$7,161 a ton in the first quarter of this year, rising 16% versus the same period last year.

Electronic labels introduced to counter fake goods

A plan to use electronic labels, known as Vtrue, on consumer products containing information about their origins has been launched in an effort to combat smuggling and counterfeited goods.

The initiative is a collaborative effort of the Vietnamese Government Portal (VGP), the Market Surveillance Agency, the National Institute for Food Control and Vnet - the company that provides the electronic labels.

VGP Deputy Director Vi Quang Dao said the system will enhance the capacity and coordination between government agencies and enterprises in the fight against trade fraud and fake goods by establishing a communication channel between relevant parties.

Vnet Director Duong Anh Duc said consumers can obtain information about products and their producers by looking up the 10-digit codes on Vtrue labels in the government portal, sending them to a message centre or dialling a call centre directly.

An authentication code is unique to a product, said Duc, adding that a warning will be sent to consumers and system administrators if it is forged.

G7 Mart no longer in partnership with Ministop chain

G7 Service and Trading Joint Stock Company (G7 Mart) under Trung Nguyen Corporation is no longer in partnership with Japan’s Ministop convenience store chain in Vietnam.

The halt to their cooperation was brought to light after the owner of Ministop and Japan’s Sojitz Corporation announced their partnership late last month to develop new Ministop convenience stores in Vietnam.

Ministop launched stores in Vietnam in late 2011 under a franchise agreement with G7 Mart, according to the announcement. However, Ministop had terminated the contract with G7 Mart and clinched a new franchise contract with its operation arm in Vietnam. Ministop Vietnam was recently established to further expand and develop business in the Vietnamese market.

A source familiar with the convenience store chain confirmed with the Daily that G7 Mart had stopped partnering with Ministop, a member of AEON Group, to operate the store chain.

According to the source, the two businesses planned to end their partnership long ago but the dissolution of their cooperation was not concluded until last March.

However, the reason why both sides terminated their contract has not been disclosed.

Under the cooperation agreement between Trung Nguyen and Ministop signed in 2010, G7 Mart and Ministop would set up a 75-25% joint venture with initial capital of over US$10 million to open 500 stores over five years.

Nevertheless, since the opening of the first Ministop store more than three years ago, only 17 stores had been opened. The figure was small compared to that of other rivals like Circle K and Shop & Go in this fast growing market.

The number of Ministop stores was even smaller than that of the rival FamilyMart which resumed operations in Vietnam around one and a half year ago as the latter has launched around 80 stores.

When Trung Nguyen announced cooperation with Ministop, retail market watchers said it would help develop and sustain the G7 Mart store chain.

With new partner Sojitz, Ministop aims to increase the number of its outlets in Vietnam to 800 in the next ten years.

To achieve this goal, Ministop and Sojitz plan to expand the store franchise and provide business support for employees through partial investment of the parent company of Ministop Vietnam, according to the announcement.

The expansion plan of Ministop and Sojitz is expected to synergize with other business of AEON Group like AEON malls, City Mart and Fivimart supermarkets.

Sources said as AEON and Sojitz are both big companies with strong financial capacities, the target for 800 stores is feasible as Vietnam’s modern retail market is still in the early stages of development as it accounts for around 25% of the total retail market.

Besides, the project will strengthen the bond between AEON and Sojitz, supporting their future business expansion.

In addition to investment, Sojitz will provide support for Ministop Vietnam’s procurement, logistics, store development, service operation and store infrastructure. It will also build a foodstuff value chain from raw material to retail.

Set up in 1980, Ministop had had 4,720 stores as of last March, with 2,149 of them in Japan and 2,571 in other countries.

With a liaison office set up in Vietnam in 1986, Sojitz has had more than 20 subsidiaries in Vietnam active in different fields like logistics, manufacturing and infrastructure of industrial parks.

Hospital networks net linked

Toan Cau Computer Trading Services Co. (Links Toan Cau) has set an ambitious goal of connecting information networks of health care institutions and hospitals nationwide, hoping to bring bigger benefits to patients. The endeavor has gained initial success with technical support from its Japanese partner.

Vu Manh Tien (L), director of Links Toan Cau, and Yoshioka Hiroshi, CEO of Techno Project Japan Co. at the signing ceremony

In 1991, Dr. Vu Manh Tien who was then working at Pediatrics Hospital 1 in HCMC fulfilled an unprecedented task when he made information throughout the hospital connected with support of partners from the Europe.

Twenty years later, in 2011, as the director of Links Toan Cau – the first medical computing company in Vietnam, Tien set in motion an interface software project to connect information networks of hospitals via partnership with Techno Project Japan Co. (TPJ).

At that time, Links Toan Cau had had 14 years of experience in supplying software and applications specially designed for hospitals. Meanwhile, TPJ was seeking collaboration in the medical computing sector in Vietnam as part of a program masterminded by Japan’s Government to promote Japanese companies’ advanced technology in Vietnam. “According to JICA [Japan International Cooperation Agency], this is the first medical software project in Vietnam to receive support of Japan’s Government,” Tien said. “The project will help create an information exchange network from health care institutions in communes to provincial hospitals. Moreover, information of patients will be exchanged among State hospitals by international standards in the future. This is a win-win project. The Japanese partner can promote its technology while Vietnamese hospitals can receive advanced technology.”

In 2011, TPJ teamed up with Links Toan Cau. However, it took the partners three years to launch their first joined attempts—pilot programs in Nghe An, Daklak and Hung Yen provinces. The network of advanced software and applications in the medical sector—including Cloud, Big Data, HL7, Mame-NET and SS-MIX—has been used in hospitals in the three provinces. Mame-NET (TPJ product) is a tool that helps health care institutions exchange information while SS-MIX is to exchange medical records of patients. Big Data helps doctors offer more effective treatment solutions.

“The entire process provides considerable benefit to patients who can receive better health care as their medical records and treatment progress from health care institutions in communes to provincial hospitals are exchanged,” Tien said. According to him, the network may help reduce considerable treatment via the exchange of Diagnostic Imaging Picture Archiving and Communication System (DI/PACS) and results of medical tests. Patients do not need to redo paraclinical tests at different hospitals. In Tien’s words, if the project is developed on a national scale, it will offer benefit for both patients and Vietnamese health care sector.

Over the past 18 years of operation, Links Toan Cau, which won the Top Enterprise of the Year 2014 Awards from Quang Trung Software City (QTSC), has supplied Medisoft – a medical management software program – for more than 100 hospitals as well as other medical software programs for more than 1,000 health care institutions nationwide. A great advantage of Links Toan Cau is that among its staffs are doctors who know thoroughly the operation process at hospitals and electronic medical records (EMRs).

Links Toan Cau always innovates advanced technology so that software programs can support hospitals and patients in the most effective way with support from foreign partners from Denmark, France and Japan. The company is cooperating with the Ministry of Health in carrying out CyberMedisoft 2003, a medical management software program, via both traditional and cloud applications. This software program has also been supplied for more than 100 hospitals.

Links Toan Cau has also applied the most advanced technology in the world such as ICD 10-CM (the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification), ATC (Active Thermal Control) and CPT4 and ICD9-CM (Current Procedural Terminology) in addition to standards of Vietnam’s Health Care Insurance.

“For a future plan, we have to produce new technology quickly based on the reliable data we have built for over 18 years,” Tien said. “Setting up standards for software programs winning international standards is another duty.”

Links Toan Cau will also focus on developing CyberMedisoft using cloud application for health care institutions as this is now one of most popular technology in the world.

ASEAN coal forum kicks off in Quang Ninh

The ASEAN Forum on Coal 13 (AFOC 13) opened in Ha Long city in the northeast province of Quang Ninh on May 14.

Addressing the event, Nguyen Ngoc Co, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Corporation (Vinacomin), said that Vietnam’s demand for coal and natural minerals encouraged Vietnam and Vinacomin to seek capital and technology from local and foreign organisations.

Vinacomin gives high priority to ASEAN countries in the cooperation, Co said.

Participants at the forum also exchanged information on the respective coal industries across ASEAN, ways to match supply and demand in the region, clean coal technology and environmental concerns.

Ideas to improve coal quality, cooperation between the AFOC with regional partners and cooperation orientations within the bloc were also discussed.

The AFOC 13, an annual activity within the cooperation framework among ASEAN countries on energy, includes the meeting of the appraisal committee on ASEAN Coal awards and the plenary meeting of the AFOC 13.

E-issuance of certificates of origin piloted

The Ministry of Industry and Trade officially launched the pilot electronic certificate of origin (C/O) issuance system on May 14, part of efforts to enhance administrative reform and support exporters.

The system, available on the website www.ecosys.gov.vn, is a turning point in improving the business climate and administrative reform as the electronic process will promote transparency and minimise time and expenses, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh.

It is also considered an important step in implementing the ASEAN one-stop customs mechanism and Vietnam’s commitment to regional integration as neighbouring countries accelerate the formation of an ASEAN community.

The launch was prompted by Government Resolution 19/NQ-CP dated March 12, 2015 on improving the business environment and national competitiveness through 2016.

Data show that about 11,000 companies have registered to have C/Os issued online so far. As many as 449,353 C/Os were granted online in 2014, increasing from 274,562 certificates the previous year.

Other import and export procedures are expected to be made available online in the future.

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