Labour exports to Japan see good signs

 

Vietnamese labour exports to Japan have seen good signs as many enterprises and factories have resumed business activity after the recent natural disasters.

 

At the Department for Management of Overseas Workers under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), 70 per cent of contracts for labour export in the past two months were to Japan.

 

According to the department, 588 Vietnamese workers were sent to Japan in April.

 

Nguyen Xuan Vui, General Director of Airseco, which has involved in labour export for a long time, said that following his tour of seven Japanese prefectures after the earthquake and tsunami, Japanese firms increased their recruitment of workers to produce goods that had been lost.

 

He added that many Vietnamese workers stayed in Japan to share difficulties with Japanese enterprises, helping to improve the image of Vietnamese workers and create opportunities for labour export businesses.

 

However, Vietnamese workers must improve their Japanese language skills and give up some bad habits in order to compete with those from other countries, Vui said.

 

At present, Airseco needs over 200 workers in mechanics, food processing and garment manufacture to assist Japanese firms.

 

Between May 9-June 10, Japanese firms will hold several interviews at Airseco to supply workers.

 

Nguyen Gia Liem, Head of the Board for Management of Vietnamese Workers in Japan, said that Japanese firms’ plans to enrol workers were unchanged, although factories needing materials from tsunami-hit areas met some difficulties.

 

Bkav unveils Bkav 2011 equipped with Safe Run

 

Hanoi-based internet security firm Bkav launched its anti-virus software Bkav 2011 on May 11 after a year studying the application of Safe Run technology.

 

With this launching, Bkav joined anti-virus software developers Avast, Kapersky and Comodo in succeeding in equipping Safe Run into its anti-virus software.

 

Bkav 2011 will automatically be updated with operating genuine accounts for customers without fee and the charge for each new account is kept unchanged at VND299,000 ($14.4) for a year’s usage.

 

“Safe Run divides computer system by security levels into two zones comprising green and gray zone which are safe and control zones, respectively. Our new software succeeded in diverting new approaches to computer in green zone into gray zone for control. Therefore, customers are safe while opening websites that contain virus or malicious codes,” said Vu Ngoc Son, Bkav R&D director.

 

Bkav estimated that there would be around 60 million computers in the world containing with virus or malicious codes by the end of this year once the users try to access unsafe resources.

 

CapitaLand invests in apartment block

 

CapitaValue Homes Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singaporean property firm CapitaLand Limited, has tied up with Khang Dien Sai Gon Real Estate JSC, a subsidiary of Khang Dien House Trading and Investment JSC, to build an apartment complex in HCM City.

 

The foreign partner will bring in 70 per cent of the project's US$70 million investment.

 

They will build almost 1,000 units on a 29,000-square-metre piece of land in District 2 close to the proposed HCM City – Long Thanh Highway.

 

The incorporation of the joint venture company is subject to the approval of Vietnamese authorities.

German firm opens software outlet

 

German group Bosch opened its software and engineering center in HCM City, its first in Southeast Asia.

 

The Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Vietnam Company offers high-tech software and engineering solutions like embedded software and mechanical design as well as IT and IT-enabled services.

 

It employs 60 engineers and plans to increase the figure to around 500 by 2015.

 

Chamber creates subcontractor centre

 

The Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the UN's Industrial Development Organisation, launched a subcontracting relationship and development centre (SPX Viet Nam) yesterday.

 

SPX Viet Nam was established in order to link local SME businesses with local and global supply chains while developing the capacity of SME businesses to satisfy market needs and contribute to the development of supporting industries.

 

SPX Viet Nam further aims to control and develop supply chains in Viet Nam by surveying domestic industrial investment and development.

 

Intel commits additional support

 

Intel Viet Nam will provide additional support in helping Da Nang City develop its information technology (IT) sector, under a memorandum of understanding signed between the company and the local Department of Information and Communications yesterday.

 

The company's general director Pham Do Tuan said that Intel would help Da Nang boost its efficiency in managing and exploiting its IT sector by sharing information and knowledge regarding Intel's latest technological developments.

 

The goal is to transform the city's computing data centre into a "green" repository for the storage, management and dissemination of data, operating at maximum energy efficiency and with minimal environmental impact.

 

Standard Chartered offers e-saver

 

Standard Chartered Bank Limited (Viet Nam) has offered 12 per cent interest on current accounts.

 

E-Saver current account customers will enjoy 12 per cent annual interest rates, with no lock-in periods, no minimum balance requirements and no monthly fees.

 

Customers can open their E-Saver current accounts online in less than three minutes.

 

Gold alloy on market not pure

 

Jewellery companies report that some gold alloy currently sold on market has low gold purity although gold-purity testing machines show a purity rate of 99.99 per cent.

 

According to a representative from Sai Son Jewelry JSC, the impurities of this particular gold alloy will not show up on these machines.

 

Nguyen Van Dung, chairman of the HCM City Association of Fine Arts, Gold, Jewellery and Gemstones, said that his association had received information regarding this particular problem with gold alloy from its members.

 

Jewellery makers who bought the gold alloy discovered that it had a low rate of purity during the refining process, Dung said.

 

Poland's Polimex eyes $100m plant in Vietnam

 

Polimex-Mostostal, Poland's second largest construction firm, is negotiating to build a $100 million chemical production facility in Vietnam, Polish newswire Puls Biznesu reported, citing Chief Executive Officer of Polimex-Mostostal, Konrad Jaskola.

 

But it did not say about the capacity and location of the project.

 

Polimex-Mostostal, established in 1945, is a construction and technique company specializing in providing services related to general infrastructure for the chemical industry as well as oil refinery-petrochemical industry, electrical engineering, environmental protection, general industry and construction.

 

The company also operates in road construction field, railway as well as urban infrastructure.

Polimex-Mostostal is Poland's largest manufacturer and exporter of steel products. About 25 percent of the company's revenue comes from exports.

 

HCMC sees 20 percent drop in remittances

 

Inward remittances through commercial banks in HCMC dipped by 19.6 percent against March to US$367.6 million in April due to economic turmoil and the return of many Vietnamese workers from countries facing political instability, the State Bank of Vietnam's branch in the city announced.

 

A top official from the State Bank of Vietnam also confirmed with Vietnam News that total inward remittance sent to the country was down more than 10 percent. However, he refused to release the exact number.

 

Some investors blamed the decease on the 3 percent cap on US dollar deposits. "The 3-per-cent cap has very little effect on the level of remittances," Deputy General Director of Vietinbank covering treasuries Le Duc Tho told Vietnam News.

 

"The decline could be based on two reasons. Firstly, not all remittances sent to Vietnam are kept in banks; the receivers may have poured them into other investment channels. Secondly, people are still sending remittances to the country and exchanging the currency for Vietnamese dong to enjoy high interest rates."

 

Le Xuan Nghia, deputy chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Council, said: "Even when Vietnam cuts interest rate for the dollar, the rate is still higher than the common rate in other countries."

 

Nguyen Thanh Toai, deputy general director of the ACB shared this view but refused to disclose the amount of the remittances his bank had processed.

 

In April, when the cap came into effect, the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI) said that the 3 percent cap would not affect overseas remittances as no countries in the world would raise their foreign currency deposit interest rates to a "too high" level for the purposes of attracting overseas remittances.

 

Earlier this year in a Government report, annual overseas remittances to Vietnam were expected to rise at least 6 percent to $8.45 billion, from around $8 billion last year.

 

In 2010, total inward remittances sent to Vietnam reached $8 billion, in which remittance sent to the country to enjoy high interest rates were estimated at under just $1 billion, remittances from overseas laborers accounted for $4.3 billion, and the remaining $3 billion was an annual stable source of finance from people living abroad, Nghia said.

 

Dell Vietnam launches real-time marketing program

 

US-owned Dell Vietnam Wednesday launched a new real-time marketing program by inviting visitors to "Dell Digital House", which is fully-equipped with Dell’s digital devices, on Diamond Island Sky Resort in HCMC’s District 2, according to newswire Tinhte.vn.

 

The visitors to the event were showcased with Dell’s latest models of laptops, tablet PCs, projectors, printers, and smartphones.

 

Those digital devices had been installed and arranged at all the rooms of a sample houses so that it can bring new experiences for visitors, said Tran Duc Trung, Dell Vietnam director.

 

Those devices will help human being’s life more comfortable and modern with greater connectivity.

 

Dell will bring its latest laptop and tablet series including Venue, Venue Pro to the house as soon as possible, he added.

 

Diamond Island Sky Resort, covering 8 hectares on a new planned area of District 2, enjoys all the advantages of the new and modern urbanization of the infrastructure planning such as transportation, water and electricity, and other good living conditions from city’s recent development experiences.

 

U.S. agency licenses 2nd rambutan-growing area

 

Vietnam’s second standardized rambutan-growing area has been licensed in the Mekong Delta’s Ben Tre Province by the U.S. Plant Health, Plant Protection and Quarantine Agency and its Vietnamese counterpart.

 

Chanh Thu Co Ltd in Cho Lach District owns the 26-hectare area.

 

The U.S, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Post-Import Plant Quarantine Center No.2 licensed the first rambutan-growing area, located in Chau Thanh District in the Mekong Delta’s Tien Giang Province, last Thursday. The 34-hectare area belongs to the Tien Phu Cooperative.

 

The two agencies are under the management of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development respectively.

 

The USDA approved the importation of fresh rambutan into the U.S. from Vietnam and Malaysia last month, provided it is irradiated according to U.S. standards and meets other sanitary requirements. If irradiation takes place outside of the U.S., APHIS inspectors in the country of origin must clear each shipment.

 

The rambutan can also only be imported for commercial purposes.

 

Irradiated rambutan is already allowed into the U.S. from Hawaii and Thailand. The fruit can be imported into the U.S. from Mexico and Central America without irradiation.

 

Hot weather scores more sales for appliances stores

 

Home appliances stores in HCMC have been packed with shoppers in the last two weeks as people have been rushing to buy cooling products due to recent hot spells.

 

Bui Tan Cuong, deputy director of Thien Hoa Electronics and Interior Decoration Product Center, said sales of air-conditioners, electric fans and refrigerators doubled in the last two weeks. But buying power is still lower than last year, he said.

 

Gia Thanh Trading Co. Ltd. has seen revenue jumping since before the national holidays on April 30 and May 1.

 

“It’s great to see bustling trade with customers mainly buying air-conditioners and rechargeable fans,” said Vo Quoc Viet, marketing manager of the enterprise.

 

Dinh Anh Huan from thegioidientu.com website also said the market had recovered after a long period of poor business.

 

However, retailers are still concerned that they will struggle to meet sales targets this year due to the late hot season and economic difficulties.

 

Most appliances stores have launched many promotion programs to lure customers and try to make up the shortfall.

 

The retailers said that goods shortage or price fever might not occur this year as they have stocked up on enough products.

 

A representative of an electronic goods importer said air-conditioner imports are higher than last year. However, the enterprise has yet to receive substantial orders from retailers.

 

Stores in the city have suffered tough times recently as the people are tightening their belts given the high inflation. Many stores have scaled down operations and continuously launched promotions to spur sales revenue.

 

Techcombank buys credit risk package

 

Techcombank yesterday signed a contract with Dublin-based information services provider Experian to buy a package of credit risk and analytical services.

 

Although the value of the contract was undisclosed, Techcombank expected the service package would provide a platform that would enable it to validate consumer credit applications from multiple channels, while enriching application data that can be used to build and produce appropriate offers for each individual borrower.

 

The system was projected to reduce credit contract processing from a period of several days to an average of several minutes, as well as to reduce credit fraud, Experian Southeast Asia managing director Dennis Martin told Viet Nam News.

 

"Credit risk in Viet Nam is hundreds times higher than other countries in the world," said Techcombank CEO Nguyen Duc Vinh. "The risk even accelerates as the Government tightens monetary policy and focuses on tackling inflation, so risk management becomes more important."

 

Techcombank was looking to cut bad debts from 2.3 per cent of outstanding loans last year to 2.04 per cent this year, Vinh added.

 

Experian also partners with HSBC, which holds a 20-per-cent stake in Techcombank. Techcombank is the first Vietnamese bank to contract directly with Experian.

 

The bank, which expects to list shares on the stock market this year after four years of delays, projects profits to increase this year by 46 per cent over 2010 levels to VND4 trillion (US$195.12 million). It expects credit growth of just under 20 per cent, with loans to total over VND63.5 trillion ($3 billion) by year's end.

 

The Government has ordered all banks to maintain credit growth at under 20 per cent this year as part of its overall policy to control inflation.

 

Vietnam to export 4 million tons of rice 

 

The Vietnam Food Association has stated that rice exporters have signed contracts to supply 3,907 million tons of rice in the first half of 2011, an increase of 8.4 percent compared to the same period last year. 

 

The association said that until May 5, rice exporters had exported 2.648 million tons of rice, worth US$1.252 billion FOB, an increase of 26 percent in volume and 29 percent in value year-on-year.

 

In April alone, rice exporters exported 718,718 tons of rice. By the beginning of May, the country had exported 75,280 tons of rice, worth $33.5 million. It is expected to export 3.8 million tons of rice in the first six months of the year.

 

However, rice prices have recently dropped to VND6,000 per kilogram, a decrease of VND200-300 per kilogram.

 

The Philippines, one of Vietnam’s largest rice importers, has reduced orders by 20 percent to 200,000 tons. Nevertheless, Vietnamese rice exporters have signed contracts for nearly 300,000 tons of rice with Philippine companies.

 

PR, branding offer keys to property market

 

Brand building and marketing strategies will increasingly be important as buyers are now more cautious because of high inflation and tighter monetary policies issued by the Government, experts said at a seminar held yesterday in HCM City.

 

Patti Ndzana Etoga, operations director of CB Richard Ellis, said entering 2011 many high-rise developers were sitting on large amounts of stock, primarily condominiums. The majority have few unique selling points and face stiff competition from other properties.

 

However, properties with unique selling points can be branding and marketing potential.

 

The developers should be more creative and use lucky draws or add appliances to the purchase.

 

CBRE uses marketing tools such as these and has sold 60 units recently, although buyers remain cautious, hoping prices and interest rates will fall.

 

In order to move real estate marketing forward, she said developers needed to conduct research about other competition, design, size, facilities, amenities and prices.

 

To increase sales, they must learn about their target market.

 

"For marketing budgets, the developers are advised to prepare to spend up to 3 per cent of their revenue to support sales. Good public relations as well as press and social media are factors in successfully marketing strategies to promote their image," she noted.

 

The rise of branding in the real estate sector will help customers quickly identify property and service. It also enhances the value of the property.

 

In addition, product quality was the key in making decisions and should also be emphasised, she said.

 

Tuong Tuan Thong, managing director of FTA market research, said according to the company's recent survey about premium property projects, buyers'decisions are based on brand choices and their budgets.

 

Being able to identify the more prestigious projects among the many that are on the market is important. Buyers often cannot differentiate genuinely premium apartment projects.

 

"In the downturn period, buyers have been very cautious, so they only trust credible project owners. Therefore, propositioning as a giant project owner who has high credibility and strong financial capacity would help the project owner maintain trust," he noted.

 

The developers should take full advantage of a wide range of communication channels to make marketing more effective, such as a direct approach by phone, face-to-face, internet, listing on transaction offices, transaction floors, speciality magazines for real estate, and email marketing.

 

It was suggested that there should be a website specialising on real estate as a one-stop shop for all buyers. Full services, including project listing, consultancy, property valuation and even legal consultancy would help the decision-making process of buyers.

 

The website could be seen as a credible transaction floor in which there is participation of credible real estate organisations, project owners and agencies.

 

"Pricing strategies should be considered and adjusted to adapt to market trends if real estate companies want to have effective marketing activities to support their sales plans in a time of harsh competition," he said.

 

Most of the projects are based on market price in comparison to others of the same kind. For project owners with strong financial status, the price is mostly fixed. However, for those who are weak financially, prices could be adjusted by offering extra values and promotions.

 

Communications should also be focused on the profitability of the property to draw consumer attention and drive purchase intention.

 

Most buyers need to see the profitability of the property as the top trigger to make a decision to buy, even if they are buying for accommodation or investment.

 

Brett Ashton, managing director of Savills Viet Nam Ltd Co, said that "more distribution channels mean more opportunities."

 

The channels include third-party agents, product introductions in other localities, trading floors, and wholesale markets for institutional buyers.

 

Marketing activation includes organising teaser campaigns before the official launch and events such as a showhouse opening, press conferences and other sales events; tracking the effectiveness of advertisements; and proposing necessary timely adjustments.

 

At the seminar, Ashton also pointed out that the next product generation in Viet Nam which can create differentiation and attract more buyers such as a wide range of facilities would include water or river frontage, eco-friendly landscape, design and transport linkage.

 

The seminar was organised by the LEAN media group in collaboration with IRVING Seminar and Training.

 

Air Mekong to launch HCM City-Quy Nhon air route

 

The Mekong Aviation JSC (Air Mekong) will officially open a new air service between Ho Chi Minh City and Quy Nhon city in the central province of Binh Dinh on June 1.

 

Air Mekong will conduct seven flights per week on the route using CRJ 900 aircraft.

 

Apart from its sales agents, customers can buy tickets at 18,000 post offices nationwide or book flights online.

 

The route is expected to boost Binh Dinh province’s economic development and the central key economic region.

 

Air Mekong, Vietnam's third private air carrier, started its operation on October 9, 2010. It now conducts 32-35 flights each day.

 

China boosts farm imports from Vietnam

 

Vietnam’s farm exports to China via Tan Thanh border gate in Lang Son Province have surged this year, according to the provincial Customs Department.

 

Tran Van Nghia, deputy director of the department, told the Daily on the phone on Monday that each day the department allowed 50 border crossings of container trucks which mostly transported agricultural items to Vietnam but the number on the opposite way was double.

 

Nguyen Xuan Tien, director of Tam Thanh Corporation, which is responsible for coordinating customs checks of container trucks, said there were 7,200 produce-transporting truck crossings into China in April, up from around 4,400 in January. Meanwhile, last month saw only 2,200 Chinese container trucks entering Vietnam through Tan Thanh, down from 6,300 in January.

 

Most of Vietnam’s export items were agricultural goods like water melon, mango, jack fruit, chili and sweet potato. For the first time rice went on the list of farm exports to China.

 

Nguyen Thi Hong Thu, director of local firm Chanh Thu, which buys local farm products for export to China via Tan Thanh border gate, said Chinese demand for dragon fruit, longan and sweet potato was so high that her company could hardly meet it.

 

China this year has stepped up rice import from Vietnam and signed contracts for up to 200,000 tons. According to the Vietnam Food Association, local exporters had shipped 70,000 tons to China by end-April and would send another 130,000 tons within the second quarter.

 

Procurement pact to benefit Viet Nam

 

The WTO Agreement on Government Procurement would help developing countries like Viet Nam increase incentives for foreign investment, experts have said.

 

Speaking at the workshop on WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) held recently in Ha Noi, WTO Secretariat member Robert Anderson said there were several potential benefits of GPA accession for Asian developing countries, including Viet Nam.

 

They include potential trade gains from assured access to other parties' procurement markets and insulation from possible protectionist measures as well as possibilities for achieving enhanced value for money in other acceding countries' own procurement systems.

 

It brought potentially increased incentives for inbound foreign direct investment as well, Anderson said.

 

GPA is applied to every regulation related to public procurement by the countries taking part in the agreement, with a focus on non-protectionism and transparency. A GPA also regulates details and processes of government procurement.

 

According to Phillipe Pelletier, another WTO Secretariat member at the workshop, the three main procurement methods are open tendering, selective tendering and limited tendering.

 

But limited tendering was always an exception to the rule, he emphasised, saying that limited tendering required specified conditions for permitting its use.

 

In order to ensure the transparency of procurement, GPA requirements require information on procurement systems, information on individual procurement, notices related to the procurement, and the availability of certain procedural flexibilities that use electronic means.

 

Anderson said Government procurement and GPAs had an increased importance in the global economy, especially Europe and North America, which have recently experienced economic crisis.

 

While GPA has not been referred to in any free trade agreement that Viet Nam has taken part in, it would help the country limit the costs of GPA accession in comparison to potential benefits, participants said.

 

The workshop was held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the MUTRAP III, a multi-lateral trade project in its third phase carried out by the European Commission to help Viet Nam prepare for, carry out and follow up on WTO commitments.

 

PV