Wind-power plant inks supply deal

A business contract to buy electricity generated from Bac Lieu wind-power plant was signed in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Bac Lieu on Monday.

The project is invested by the Cong Ly Construction-Trading-Tourism company at a cost of VND5.2 trillion (US$247 millon) and will be connected to the national grid in early November. The plant, with a capacity of 99.2 MW, is expected to generate 320 million KWh per year.

Exports to Mexico on the rise

Vietnamese exports to Mexico have maintained a strong growth, earning US$564 million in the first half of this year, a year-on-year rise of over 24 per cent.

According to Viet Nam's Embassy in Mexico, this figure is mainly attributable to key export items including footwear, garments, aquatic products, electronic goods and spare parts, coffee and rubber.

Vietnamese Commercial Counsellor in Mexico Hoang Anh Dung said that during the reviewed period, Vietnamese businesses imported Mexican goods worth over US$46 million, an annual rise of 64.72 per cent, including iron and steel, computers, animal feed, electronic products, spare parts and accessories. In June alone, Viet Nam 's exports to the country hit over $97 million, up by nearly 21 per cent year-on-year.

UN promotes legal access for poor

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Viet Nam Lawyers' Association yesterday launched a three-year project to promote legal empowerment for poor and vulnerable groups in Viet Nam.

The project, funded with $1.2 million by the UNDP, will support the association and its associated Legal Consultancy Network and civil society organisations in raising people's legal consciousness.

It is also intended to help them participate in the country's legal and judicial reform progress.

Oil firm funds projects on community building

Oil and gas company TNK Viet Nam yesterday donated VND2.1 billion (US$100,800) to support four community investment projects focused on healthcare, education and training in Ha Noi and HCM City.

The projects include heart surgery for 30 under-privileged patients; awards for 10 groups of mining and geology students to perform scientific research; scholarships for 190 outstanding students; and safety helmets for 1,200 children.

Special tax exemption on goods grown in Cambodia

The Government has agreed to grant tax exemption for farm goods grown in Cambodia by Vietnamese enterprises and individuals and imported for processing.

This follows the growing number of people cultivating and investing in farming in bordering provinces.

Statistics show that in southern Tay Ninh Province alone 120 individuals from the districts of Chau Thanh, Tan Bien, Trang Bang and Tan Chau have invested in 2,400ha in Cambodia.

However, the exemption does not cover processed farm products.

Developers merge to weather crisis
 
During the past eight months, many mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities between property developers have occurred in Ha Noi and HCM City. Experts said that this trend was necessary to bail out the market in the face of the global and domestic economic crisis.

The local CT Group announced its purchase of Thien Loc Investment Co Ltd on August 16 and officially became an investor in an apartment project with total area of 5.900sq.m at Pham Van Chieu street, Go Vap District, HCM City. The real value of the acquisition was not disclosed.

CT Group also acquired a 95 per cent stake in Cu Chi GS Development Co Ltd, worth US$24 million, and became the new developer of the CT Sphinx Golf Club&Residence project.

In early August, Vina Properties Development Group purchased the Novotel Phan Thiet Ocean Dunes and Golf Resort complex in central Binh Thuan Province. After the commercial affair, the project was renamed DuParc Phan Thiet Ocean Dunes&Golf Resort.

Ha Noi Electronics Corp (Hanel) acquired a 70 per cent stake in South Korean corporation Daewoo in the first quarter of this year. The value of the transaction was also not disclosed by the two partners.

Commercial banks also acquired property projects. An anonymous joint stock commercial bank has been completing procedures to buy a trade centre with total area of 1,200sq.m in Cua Nam Street, Ha Noi.

No more details about the acquisition were unveiled as the procedures are ongoing. An expert said that another international retail group also wanted to purchase a trade centre in Ha Noi but could not speak more about it as negotiations were underway.

The Singapore company Keppel Land made a joint venture with Hung Phu Company to build an apartment on an area of 9.8ha along Rach Chiec River, District 9, HCM City. In addition, Keppel Land also negotiated with the domestic Novaland Group to develop a residential area at District 9.

Deputy director of Ha Noi Savills Tran Nhu Trung said M&A procedures had recently been simplified. Now investors had more opportunities to select projects because property developers faced difficulties, especially financial ones.

"Buyers usually offered more stringent requirements on location, effectiveness and profitable capacity before making a decision," Trung said.

Dang Van Quang, director of the Navigat property company, said that in the face of the global and domestic economic recession, a lot of developers lacked capital so they had to sell assets and seek out partners to embark on joint ventures.

Quang stressed that almost all real estate developers were afraid of bad reputation that they would suffer losses or even bankruptcy and that there would also be negative psychological impacts for employees if they published information about M&A deals.

"Almost all the M&A information is kept quiet during the negotiation process until an agreement is reached," Quang said.

Francis Hung, director of Fresh View Training and Consulting Co Ltd, claimed that M&As or other alliances were necessary as the business restructuring would have a positive impact on the health of businesses. This was a good chance for powerful firms to hunt for good investment opportunities, while smaller ones could deal with capital shortage, recover capital or withdraw capital from the projects.

Hung added that the M&A process usually took more time than in other sectors because legal procedures and price appraisals were more complicated. If the M&A succeeded, the affairs would not only benefit the developers but also home-buyers.

Therefore, property prices would be adjusted back to practical prices that satisfied requirements of the demanders. The real estate transactions would depend on an economic recovery, he said.

Industry ramps up while inventories remain high

The industrial production index in the first eight months of this year reflected a better performance but inventory index was still rather high, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO) yesterday.

The industrial production index (IPI) increased by 4.1 per cent in August against the previous month. Consequently, the IPI rose by 4.7 per cent in the first eight months from the same period last year.

Some manufacturing sectors made great contributions to the index's positive growth. Notably, the ship-building industry skyrocketed 150 per cent and communication equipment production went up 64 per cent.

Production of spare parts for motorised vehicles also accelerated by 44 per cent. Electronic component manufacturing went up 29 per cent and crude oil exploitation was up 14 per cent.

Other manufacturing industries that saw positive growth included minerals, power and gas, water supply and sewage drainage.

However, according to the GSO, the inventory index of industrial products was still high. Particularly, the inventory index of fertiliser and plastic products in the first eight months increased by 81 per cent and 69 per cent respectively.

The inventory index of the battery sector grew 40 per cent, and the seafood and beer industries went up 35 and 29 per cent respectively.

The GSO experts said that production was better, but poor consumption did not improve, so enterprises would continue to face difficulties.

Therefore, besides preferential policies on commercial loans' interest rates, the Government and relevant State bodies should further bolster solutions to accelerate consumption and decrease inventories, they said.

Ministry kicks off construction of Nam Can Bridge

The Ministry of Transport and the People’s Committee of the southern-most province of Ca Mau held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for the construction of the Nam Can Bridge, the last bridge on the Ho Chi Minh Highway.

Nam Can Bridge is a key part of the second phase of the Ho Chi Minh Highway that runs from the southeastern province of Cao Bang all the way to Ca Mau Province in the extreme southern tip of Vietnam.
 
The Prime Minister has instructed the transport ministry to speed up construction of the Nam Can Bridge to complete by 2015, so that the entire Ho Chi Minh Highway route can open for traffic as per schedule.

Nam Can Bridge covers a total length of 3,390 meters linking Ngoc Hien District to Nam Can District. Once complete, the bridge will allow fast vehicular traffic at speeds of upto 80 kilometers an hour.

Construction of the bridge is expected to complete within 18 months at a total cost of about VND650 billion (US$31.17 million), most of which will come from Government bonds.

Peak season in Vietnam for Japanese tourists

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the country received around 525,300 international tourists in August.

In the first eight months of the year, Vietnam also greeted 4.38 million foreign tourists, presenting a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent.

The most number of international visitors were from South Korea, showing an increase of 35 percent; Malaysia came next with an increase by 23 percent; followed by Japan and Thailand that were up 19 percent.

Nguyen Van Tran, director of Apex Travel Company said that Vietnam is in its peak season for receiving Japanese tourists from now until the end of the year.

Apex Travel Company received more than 4,000 Japanese visitors in July and 5,000 in the first three weeks of August.

In related news, provinces in the North Central Coastal Region including Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue received nearly 8.3 million holiday makers in the first eight months, earning a turnover of VND4,000 billion.

The provinces attracted a huge number of visitors with a wide range of activities in response to ‘National Tourism Year-Hue 2012’, such as Hue Festival 2012; Vietnam-Lao Friendship and Solidarity Year; 40th anniversary of Quang Tri's Liberation Day; ceremony receiving the prestigious UNESCO Certificate; and recognizing Ho Dynasty Citadel as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

Major route linking Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Dak Lak opened to traffic

Phu Yen provincial authorities on August 28 inaugurated its main road connecting three provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Dak Lak.

The road was built based on upgrading provincial roads No.641, 642, 643, 645, 646 and 649 at a total cost of over VND609 billion.

The route is 115 km long and 5.5 km wide running through 15 communes in three mountainous districts of Dong Xuan, Son Hoa and Song Hinh.

The road will facilitate transportation and boost socio-economic development of Phu Yen and neighbouring provinces, meeting the expectations of thousands of local households.

HCM City banks still boost lending

Several banks in HCMC are still accelerating lending activity in various credit support programs, including via lending programs arranged by the HCMC government.

Phan Huy Khang, general director of Sacombank, said the bank’s credit was growing in a positive way, from negative in Jan-Jun to 3% in August. Sacombank is still operating normally, Khang said on the sidelines of a bank-enterprise matching event organized by the city government in Tan Phu District on Tuesday.

In September, Sacombank will continue to provide financial support for businesses in Tan Binh District.

In the year to date, Sacombank has launched 14 credit packages with preferential interest rates worth a total of VND10.5 trillion and US$180 million, supporting 2,300 corporate clients. The lending rate of the current packages is some 12% per year, said Khang.

Similarly, Nguyen Phuoc Thanh, general director of Vietcombank, told the Daily that the bank’s credit growth had improved much.

Specifically, the credit growth put at 3% as of end-June has risen to over 7% now against late 2011. To obtain stronger growth in the rest of the year, Vietcombank has been disbursing some VND30-40 trillion every month since July, said Thanh.

With substantial financial resources, Vietcombank is not worried about liquidity, he added.

Meanwhile, Vietinbank is rolling out a VND10-trillion credit package with lending rates ranging from 8.95% to 10% to support enterprises. Many corporate clients have applied for loans, said a senior source from the bank.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the central bank’s branch in HCMC, stated the effort to unfreeze credit activity was now heightened in HCMC.

Large banks are boosting lending so that cash will flow into the economy and they will achieve credit growth. However, small banks are still reserved as they restrict lending to secure liquidity.

Capital mobilization is also promoted through many preferential programs.

According to Minh, the central bank’s HCMC branch is closely monitoring the activities of the city-based banks to timely detect and handle mobilization and promotions exceeding the ceiling rates.

Minh remarked ACB had resumed normal operation early this week. Though the central bank did provide ACB with liquidity support, the bank overcame the crisis mainly on its own resources.

Premature withdrawals only accounted for 10% of the total. “For every three dong withdrawn, two dong is re-deposited, ACB operation has returned to normal,” said Minh.

At some other banks, deposits do decrease, but it is not worth worrying yet, he added.

At the office of Tan Phu District’s government on Tuesday, representatives of the HCMC branches of Sacombank, Vietcombank, HDBank, VietinBank and MHB signed an agreement to offer 18 small and medium-sized enterprises VND95.7 billion in loans, with interest rates of 12-13%. Borrowers are businesses active in fields such as textile-garment, plastics, construction and healthcare.

Tan Phu District is the third district in HCMC to link enterprises with banks, after Tan Binh and Go Vap.

Cement plant’s feet caught in stone

Economic hardships have proven tough for the $167 million northern Thai Nguyen cement plant.

With a VND77 billion ($3.6 million) loss after more than a year up and running Thai Nguyen Cement is at the crossroads, continuing its fading existence or going bust due to financial distress.

Thai Nguyen Cement project, developed by Vinaincon, benefited from an array of state incentives like concessionary loans, sourcing foreign loans with state guarantee, borrowing from Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) accumulation fund to pay foreign debts and using commercial loans in a total sum reaching 95 per cent of the project’s total investment capital, tantamount to VND3.046 trillion ($145 million).

However, since construction took seven years, and sponsoring banks failed to arrange capital as undertaken the project had to source part of its investment capital overseas with Vietnamese government acting as underwriter.

Going into production at the time of economic slump when a raft of construction projects faced delay, progress extension or being cut to save costs Thai Nguyen Cement ran at less than 60 per cent designed capacity. By late 2011, the plant saw around 300,000 tonnes unsold stock of cement and clinker valued at VND113 billion ($5.3 million).

Thai Nguyen Cement currently does not have any capital sources to pay debts, according to the MoF.

Thereby, in July 2011 as a guarantor the MoF had to pay over 4 million euros of Thai Nguyen Cement due debt at France-based BNP Paribas.

To deal with the project’s current financial woes, the MoF had proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and developer Vinaincon three scenarios - letting the cement plant go bust, shifting the plant to state cement conglomerate Vicem or transferring state capital part of the plant at developer Vinaincon to the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC).

However, these three scenarios are perceived as ineffective at this point of time.

First, if the cement plant went bust, the state could loss a huge capital amount since it is rather difficult to sell the project at its real value in current context.

Second, Vicem did not want to acquire a project bogged down in debt like Thai Nguyen Cement as it is also burdened with debts, according to Vicem’s chairman Luong Quang Khai.

Third, in case the plant was transferred to SCIC, industry experts assumed the plant’s performance could hardly be noticeably improved since SCIC did not have much experience in governing and managing cement business and construction industry.

Besides, it takes time for the MoF and SCIC to mull the plant reshuffle plan.

According to Vinaincon’s chief accountant Hoang The Hien, Vinaincon is still waiting the government’s instruction about how to deal with Thai Nguyen cement debts. The plant now runs at 50-60 per cent capacity which fails to cover high borrowing cost and machinery amortisation fees.

To get additional income sources for paying debts, the plant must reach at least 80 per cent capacity, a target now out of reach in the face of low cement market consumption.

Thai Nguyen cement’s total designed capacity is 1.51 million tonnes per year. Its official cement brand is Quang Son.

SBV continues cash injections via OMO

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) continued on Tuesday pumping nearly VND2.4 trillion into the banking system via open market operations (OMO) after a VND3.5 trillion injection via a tender on Monday, according to local banks.

The central bank maintained the interest rate at 8% per annum for the seven-day tenor on the open market.

However, SBV from now to the end of this week has to withdraw over VND23 trillion on OMO as last week’s loans fall due. The total volume of money on OMO as of the end of Monday had amounted to over VND26.7 trillion.

The central bank’s moves help to improve liquidity at banks, local lenders explained.

Last week, SBV posted a net injection of over VND23.3 trillion via OMO, the largest since January. Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) alone borrowed VND10 trillion, or 42.8% of the total.

However, the interest rates on the inter-bank market fell slightly on Tuesday with those for short tenors under one month falling. Interest rates for overnight and one-week terms were 6-6.5% per year while the one-month rate was 8-8.5%.

The inter-bank market has turned stable again but banks stay cautious, making both supply and demand rise. This suggests that the central bank’s actions have helped ease liquidity pressure at banks.

Interest rates on the inter-bank market are normally up at month-end but news related to ACB strongly impacted on the market last week.

Banks estimated that inter-bank rates would not fall this week as most lenders will reduce supply to secure liquidity. Besides, ACB might have withdrawn parts of VND36 trillion it had offered on the inter-bank market as the loans fell due.

Therefore, the central bank may continue to pump money via OMO but less than in the previous week.

Two listed banks merge

Two listed banks – Hanoi Housing Development Commercial Bank (HBB) and Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Bank (SHB) – merged on Tuesday following a central bank decision.

SHB will be responsible for taking over all assets, rights and legal obligations and benefits of HBB while HBB will have to terminate its operations within 15 days from the official date of merger.

The name of the new institution is Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Bank, which is based in Hanoi with total chartered capital of over VND8.8 trillion. Nguyen Van Le is the CEO of the fresh bank.

According to the central bank, this is the first successful merger deal between the two listed banking institutions in the country, which was implemented within over three months.

SHB has joined the list of the biggest credit institutions in the nation by capital. It has total assets of over VND120 trillion, a capital adequacy ratio of 11.39%, a countrywide business network of more than 240 branches and transaction offices, two overseas branches in Cambodia and Laos and nearly 5,000 staff.

Vietnamese companies lack strategy for exports to US   

Vietnamese exporters have gained a reputation for dumping products in the US market to compete with foreign rivals, but their lack of attention to quality could harm their long-term strategy, said an official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
 
The head of the ministry's American Market Department, Nguyen Duy Khien, said, "Vietnamese exporters tend to sell their products at low prices to attract buyers, but get themselves into trouble with US anti-dumping lawsuits."

The statement was made on August 28, at a conference for trade promotion with the US, held in Hanoi. He added that domestic exporters should focus on quality and pay more attention to quality and more environmentally-friendly products if they wish to create sustainable trade with the United States.

Khien said that from 50-60% of Vietnam’s footwear products exported to the US are only half-finished because Vietnamese firms lack design expertise. Most Vietnamese companies receive design models and materials from their US partners, working as subcontractors for firms from Hong Kong, Taiwan or South Korea, instead of being direct contractors for American firms.

The larger Vietnamese apparel firms have the capacity to act as a bridge for small local exporters to help them reduce overhead, he suggested.

The US, home to the largest overseas Vietnamese community in the world, with around 1.5 million, is a significant market for Vietnamese goods. The US market is also widely considered to be less demanding than that of Japan or Europe. Vietnam's entry to the WTO, along with the removal of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) and garment and textile export quotas have paved the way to increased exports to the US.

However, Vietnamese exporters still face many challenges for entry of their goods to the US market. Currently China accounts for about 75% of the total footwear imported to the United States. For other apparel, China accounts for 33%, for electronics, 32%, seafood, 18% and plastics, 25%.

China is not Vietnam's only major competitor, however. Indonesia and Bangladesh are also competing for exports. Another obstacle is that there is only one direct shipping rout linking Vietnam with the US. The long distance adds to high shipping fees, along with other practical problems, such as potential pirating and the Bio-terrorism Act.

Khien suggested that Vietnamese companies set up catalogues and websites in both Vietnamese and English to promote their products. This is something, he said that would help Vietnamese businesses increase the prestige of their brands and introduce them to potential foreign partners.

Vietnam, Russia push financial cooperation

Vietnam and Russia have agreed to strengthen cooperation in public finance management, a move to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries in the coming time.

A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed on August 29 by Deputy Minister of Finance Truong Chi Trung and his Russian counterpart Sergey Storchak, at the Finance Ministers’ Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Moscow.

According to the MoU which is effective from 2013 to 2015, the two sides will push the exchange of experience in public finance management, including economic stabilisation policies and strategies, management of state budget, human resources management, international financial cooperation and other issues of mutual concerns.

In addition, the two ministries also agreed to step up cooperation in personnel training through the exchange of professionals, organisation of training courses and seminars.

The APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting runs from August 28 to 30.

Hanoi metro route to travel beneath Old Quarter  

Hanoi’s metro route No. 2 will have a total length of 11.5km, of which, 8.5km will run underground along the Old Quarter, according to the Hanoi Planning and Architecture Department.

The line will run through Hang Giay, Hang Duong, Hang Ngang and Hang Dao streets and Hoan Kiem areas; with the rest of the line elevated.

The metro will start from the Nam Thang Long area, run through streets such as Hoang Quang Viet, Thuy Khue, Phan Dinh Phung, Hang Giay and Hang Duong and then link Tran Dung Dao Street. It will have 10 stations, including seven underground and three elevated above street level.

The project investor has also asked that resettlement work is speeded up.

The project has a total investment of VND19.56 trillion (USD931 million), using Japanese-funded ODA and local government reciprocal capital. By 2020, trains on the route are expected to transport around 535,000 passengers daily, with the figure expected to rise to 777,000 by 2030.

Nguyen Van Doanh, Deputy Head of the Vietnam Railway Administration, admitted that there were some outstanding problems with urban railway projects, including lack of management expertise and the implementation of related technological and EPC contracts.

In a recent intereview with DTiNews, Toshio Nagase, Senior Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said JICA is willing to lend its support to the city in carrying out routes No. 1 (Giap Bat-Gia Lam) and No. 2 (Nam Thang Long-Tran Hung Dao), which have received Japanese ODA. They have co-operated with the Ministry of Transport and Hanoi People’s Committee on a feasibility study of metro No. 5, which would link the southern part of West Lake to Ba Vi District under a public-private partnership.

Hanoi plans to build eight metro lines included in its transport development plan by 2020 under the capital city’s master plan by 2030 with a vision to 2050.

Coffee exports face tough challenges

Members of the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association (Vicofa) will have to pay US$2 for every tonne of coffee they export as of October this year.    

At a recent meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vicofa Chairman Luong Van Tu said that the Association expects to receive at least US$1 million from the 600,000 tonnes of coffee exported by its members every year.

But the main question is how effectively the money will be used to support exporters when the coffee prices keep dropping sharply.

Tu suggested that 50-70 percent of the funds should be used in growing coffee, 30 percent in stockpiling products and the rest in promoting trade.

If there is no reinvestment in coffee production, Vietnam will lose its current status as the world's biggest producer and exporter of coffee and fall to fourth or fifth place, he warned.

The plan would have taken effect sine January 1, 2012 but it was then cancelled due to strong opposition from Vicofa members.

They claimed that many businesses were in a fixed and going to declare bankruptcy.

They argued that there should be unfair treatment as the fee payment bid not apply to foreign traders, who purchase nearly 50 percent of the country’s total coffee volume while enjoying many advantages such as rich capital sources, lower loan interest rates and a much wider market.

In the meantime, the MARD and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have adopted stricter export restrictions.

To qualify as an official exporter, a domestic business has to show that it has been processing and exporting coffee for two consecutive years, and has shipped a minimum of 5,000 tonnes each year.

Most small and medium sized enterprises in Vietnam considered these requirements unrealistic.

The Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association said 80 percent of their member businesses are independent and they cannot meet the condition for coffee shipments.

In addition, the time required for processing and exporting coffee makes it difficult even for large businesses to operate well.

As more than 150 businesses now only focus on exporting coffee instead of producing it, it is urgent to apply compulsory conditions for them to refrain from competing unhealthily and co-ordinate in stabilizing the coffee industry.

Motorbike imports increase sharply

Imports of Complete Built Unit (CBU) motorbikes have picked up after a sharp decline, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).    

Vietnam imported 4,000 CBU motorbikes worth US$7 million in June, up 100 percent in volume and more than US$130 percent in value compared to May.

Then, the import volume dropped sharply to 1,790 motorbikes worth US$3 million in July and rose to 3,000 motorbikes worth US$7 million in August.

In the past eight months, motorbike imports were estimated at 24,300 units worth US$43 million, down 50.9 percent in volume and 37.1 percent in value compared to a year earlier.

Vietnam to be the world’s third largest rice exporter

Vietnam will be the world’s third largest rice exporter in the next decade, after Thailand and India, Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on August 30.
    
Last year, total rice exports from Thailand, India, Pakistan and the US accounted for 87 percent of the global value.

In 2011, Vietnam harvested 7.6 million hectares of paddy and produced 26.5 million tonnes of rice with the average yield of 3.49 tonne per hectare, showing a year-on-year increase of 0.94 percent.

ASEAN is now the world’s largest rice-exporting region with its export volume rising from 110 million tonnes in the 2010-2011 crops to 128 million tonnes in the 2021-2022 crops.

Vietnam and Thailand are two major suppliers of rice to Africa, ADB added.

Vietnam attends APEC finance ministers’ meeting

Deputy Finance Minister Truong Chi Trung attended the 19th APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings in Moscow on August 28-30.

Vietnam shared its macro-economic issues and concerns over regional issues and discussed the meeting’s joint statement.

On the sidelines of the event, Trung had a bilateral working session with his Russian counterpart Sergei Storchak, reviewing each country’s macro-economic situation and international and regional issues of common concern.

They signed a memorandum of understanding on enhancement of cooperation between the two finance ministries.

The 19th APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting was the most important event in the cooperation process of APEC finance ministers to prepare for the APEC Summit, scheduled for September 2 in Vladivostock city, Russia.

The 20th meeting will convene in Bali, Indonesia, in September 2013.

HCM City hosts Consumer Digital World Expo 2012

Vietnam Consumer Digital World Expo 2012, co-hosted by IDG Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City Computer Association and the National Steering Committee on Information and Technology, opened at Tan Binh International Exhibition & Convention Center on August 30.    

The four-day exhibition showcases more than 200 booths from ten countries and territories with various kinds of technology products such as mobile phones, electronics, telecommunications, digital devices, and the application of cloud computing.

The event aims to introduce the most advanced products, services and technology solutions for consumers, and provide an opportunity for enterprises to seek new partners.

Deputy Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee Le Manh Ha said that the exhibition provides a window into the digital era with series of smarter, more powerful and more useful products, meeting the demand from customers.

Vietnam, Pakistan set US$500 million target for bilateral trade

Vietnam and Pakistan are aiming to raise their two-way trade value to US$500 million in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.   

The target was set at the second meeting of the Vietnam-Pakistan Joint Sub-committee on trade held in Islamabad on August 28-29.

The two parties reviewed the implementation of agreements reached in Hanoi in October 2011 and devised measures to further boost economic and trade relations.

They agreed to remove trade barriers, strengthen information exchange and encourage businesses from both nations to take part in trade and investment promotion activities.

Graph of two-way trade turnover between Pakistan and Vietnam

They also signed a memorandum of understanding recognising Vietnam’s full market economy status.

Pakistan expressed its hope that Vietnam will soon facilitate visa applications for its nationals visiting for business purposes. In reply, Vietnam proposed that Pakistan should work to prevent trade fraud.

Vietnam Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang also held a separate meeting with the Pakistan Minister of Commerce, Makhdoom Amin Fahim.