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Vietnam Airlines expands cooperation with Moscow’s airport
Vietnam Airlines now conducts three flights a week from Moscow to Ho Chi Minh City route on Monday, Thursday and Sunday and two flights a week from Moscow to Hanoi on Wednesday and Saturday.
The airline plans to increase the number of weekly flights from Moscow to Vietnam to seven in 2011.
Speaking at the press briefing, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Bui Dinh Dinh stressed that the fine traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia will be a foundation for Vietnam Airlines and Domodedovo airport to boost cooperation and contribute to the development of economic cooperation between the two countries.
Domodedovo consortium Director Viacheslav Nekrasov pledged to create best conditions for passengers to promote the image of Domodedovo airport.
In 2009, Vietnamese Airlines carried 9,387,000 passengers, including 151,646 people from Vietnam to Russia .
In 2010, the airline expects to carry 12,372,000 passengers, including over 200,000 ones from Vietnam to Russia.
Foreign banks boost retail services
Foreign banks are racing to expand retail services by launching more services and subsidiaries as Vietnam approaches the time for opening the door to all banking services.
In line with the country’s WTO commitments, foreign banks operating in Vietnam will be allowed to provide banking services and products on par with local banks from January 1, 2011.
Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBC) inaugurated its fifth subsidiary in Vietnam in late September, while Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank launched their retail banking services in Hanoi in mid-October.
Foreign banks also launched new products and services, with the aim of narrowing market share gaps with local banks that currently account for 90 percent of retail market share.
US giant, Citibank introduced smart banking services aiming at young, high- tech customers and is aiming to provide internet and mobile phone retail banking services.
Standard Chartered Bank, along with seven-day services, plans to link to the local Smartlink’s ATM card alliance system from next January, becoming the first foreign bank in Vietnam to make this connection.
Ashok Sud, Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam General Director, expressed his pleasure with establishing a “fair” market for both local and foreign banks. All products and services his bank wants to provide have received permission, he said.
Although possessing only a moderate retail market share, foreign banks treasure the most wealthy client group, including individuals with monthly income of 10 million VND (about 500 USD) or above.
According to Standard Chartered Bank, Vietnam ’s per capita income is estimated to be 2,000 USD a year by 2015, resulting in an increase in the use of banking services.
But there is a concern among financial experts that in the near future, local bank services such as international payments, trade assistance and project investment could be taken over by foreign banks because of their superior capacity in technology and management as well as financial strength.
Therefore, apart from strengthening and improving management and business capacity, local banks have invested in improved technology, expanding services to the private business and foreign-invested business groups along with state-owned firms.
VN, Cambodia agree to 22m USD rice cooperation
Thai Thinh Co has inked a 22.4 million USD agreement with Cambodian-based Takmoa Agriculture Development Association to cooperate in growing rice for export.
The partners will plant two rice crops per year at an estimated yield of 7 tonnes per hectare, targeting exports of 100,000 tonnes per year, and Thai Thinh will provide technical assistances in rice cultivation and processing to the Cambodian association.
The partners will also build an irrigation system and a rice processing facility with an estimated output capacity of 500 tonnes per day.
Garment, footwear firms to receive honours
Eighty-four outstanding enterprises in the textile and garment, and leather and footwear sectors will receive awards in Hanoi on Nov.18 at a ceremony to be attended by Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong.
The awards ceremony will be jointly held by the Sai Gon Times, the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (VITAS) and the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (LEFASO).
Recipient organisations include 64 textile and garment businesses, and 20 from the leather and footwear sector. The event represents the 7th awards ceremony for textile and garment sector and the second for the leather and footwear industry.
Top prizes for comprehensively outstanding enterprises will be given to 15 garment and textile, and five leather and footwear companies.
Leading the pack in the garment industry is Viet Tien Garment Joint Stock Co, while the top position among textile companies is Viet Thang Textile Corporation. Thai Binh Investment and Footwear Production Corporation leads the leather and footwear sector.
Viet Tien Co has held on to the top position for the past seven years. It is expected to reach 120 billion VND (6 million USD) in revenues this year with profit set to account for 44 percent.
"To gain the leading position, Viet Tien has made bold investment in equipment, technology and human resources to raise product quality as well as develop our trademark, boost advertising and remodel after-sales services to customers," said Phan Van Kiet, the company's deputy director general.
His firm started exporting its products with the Viet Tien trademark to Cambodia last year. This year it has brought its brand name to Laos and will enter the Myanmar market in December. Singapore , Malaysia and China would follow next year, he said.
Viet Tien has exported products (with trademarks of other well-known global companies) to more than 100 customers in over 50 countries.
New in the event this year is the organisers' decision to award eight workshops and four vocational schools in the garment and textile sector, rather than limiting the prize to companies only, said Le Quoc An, chairman of VITAS, at a press conference in Hanoi on Nov. 17.
"Organisers want to emphasise the significant role of three factors in each firm: good product quality, productivity and good relations between employees and employers," said An.
The award has been organised annually but a recent decision by the Prime Minister indicates that future awards will be held every 3 – 5 years. The 8th instalment is scheduled to take place in 2013.
In the first 10 months of this year, the textile and garment sector – the country's largest foreign currency earner – notched up a 9.2 billion USD export turnover.
"It is completely possible for the industry to hit over 11 billion USD export value by the end of the year," said An.
Vo Thi Tong, deputy chair-woman of LEFASO, said the leather and footwear industry earned 4.06 billion USD in the first 10 months and could reach more than 5 billion USD for the whole year. For the first time, it has surpassed the oil and gas industry to become the country's second foreign currency earner.
"Combining the export revenue of the two sectors, the figure could reach 16 billion USD by the end of this year, accounting for one-fourth of the nation's total export value and generating more than three million jobs," An said.
The Government has set an export turnover for textile and garments of 18 billion USD by 2015, but VITAS plans to raise the target to 20 billion USD.
Negotiated trades cushion fall
Active negotiated trades helped ease the decline of shares on Nov. 17 on the HCM Stock Exchange, as the VN-Index closed off just 0.33 percent to 425.5 points.
The value of negotiated trades reached 450.7 billion VND (21.5 million USD), accounting for half of the total 980.2 billion VND (46.7 million USD) trading value for the session.
The overall volume of trades reached 36 million shares, with many blue chips also seeing increased activity, including software giant FPT, dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), Sacombank (STB) and Refrigeration, Engineering and Electrical (REE).
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index managed to avoid losses altogether, closing up by 0.3 percent to 97.73 points.
The volume of trades on the northern bourse edged up to 30.2 million shares, worth a total of 500.9 billion VND (23.9 million USD). PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) was the most-active share, with 2.9 million traded.
BIDV Securities Co sold all 10.1 million shares offered in an auction on the Hanoi exchange on Nov.17, with the average winning price per share of 10,317 VND, a little higher than the offer price of 10,300 VND.
The company earned 105.2 billion VND (5 million USD) from the auction, which attracted 255 investors, including two institutional investors. Foreign investors bought 442,266 shares.
On the HCM Stock Exchange, PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (PVGas) also successfully auctioned 60.9 million out of 94.7 million shares offered in auction on the day. The average winning price matched the offer price of 31,000 VND per share.
Japanese trio to acquire VN steel pipe firm
Toyota Tsusho Corporation, JFE Steel Corporation and Maruichi Steel Tube Ltd have announced their joint acquisition of Vietnamese spiral steel pipe manufacturer Jeong An Vina Co Ltd for about 1.3 billion JPY (16 million USD).
The newly acquired company will be capitalised at 3.1 million USD. JFE and Maruichi will hold a 35 percent stake, while Toyota Motor Corp's metals-focused trading affiliate, Toyota Tsusho, will hold the rest, according to a press release.
The Dong Nai-based company, currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republic of Korea 's Jeong An Steel, has an annual production capacity of 50,000 tonnes and posted a total revenue of 10.9 million USD in 2009.
After the acquisition, the company's name will be changed and it will start manufacturing steel pipe pile and steel pipe sheet pile in Vietnam with the aim to take advantage of growing demand for the construction steel pipe in Vietnam and Southeast Asia .
"The demand for construction steel pipe is increasing rapidly, especially in Vietnam , due to a wave of newly launched projects for ports, railways and other major infrastructure developments," the company said.
After obtaining necessary Government approvals and licences, the company will begin supplying products under its new structure. It eventually expects to raise shipments from the current 10,000 tonnes per year to 50,000 tonnes.
Habubank to list in Hanoi next week
Habubank has announced that it will list 300 million shares on the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Nov. 23 at an opening price of 15,000 VND per share, to be coded HBB.
Habubank has a charter capital of 3 trillion VND (143.2 million USD), of which Deutsche Bank holds 10 percent and domestic shareholders the remaining 90 percent.
"We do not expect a very high share price as the VN-Index peaked over two years ago, but we strongly believe that the listing will improve transparency [of governance] and liquidity for shares, allowing investors to more actively manage their assets," said Habubank vice chairwoman Bui Thi Mai.
Responding to concerns about major loans made to insolvent State-owned shipbuilder Vinashin, Habubank confirmed that most of the Vinashin loans were made to finance shipbuilding projects and secured by specific assets. The Hanoi-based bank said that it is working with State Audit to sell the secured assets to PetroVietnam.
Habubank posted a profit of 500 billion VND (23.86 million USD) in the first 10 months of this year and expected total profits by year's end of 600 billion VND (28.63 million USD), about 37 percent higher than in the previous year.
The bank has targeted to increase its charter capital to over 7 trillion VND (334.12 million USD) by 2014.
Habubank will be the eighth bank in Vietnam with shares listed on one of the nation's stock exchanges, following Eximbank (EIB), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Sacombank (SCB), Sai Gon-Hanoi Bank (SHB), Nam Viet Bank (NVB), Vietcombank (VCB) and Vietinbank (CTG).
Source: VNA
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