Tra fish exports to US remain steady

Vietnam’s tra fish exports to the United States have remained stable after it imposed a demand that exporting countries demonstrate their food safety control system is equivalent to that of the US.

An announcement to this effect by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) on August 17 has belied fears and reports that exports of the fish could be rejected or cancelled in the coming time.

Reports of rejection or cancellation of Vietnamese tra fish exports “has no basis,” VASEP said in a note.

It said that tra fish exports to the US had declined in the first quarter due to a shortage of raw materials, but recovered in the second quarter with an 8.4 percent increase, thanks to rising demand and increase in supply of raw material.

VASEP General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe said while the equivalence process was not yet completed, it was prudent not to assume any possibility of Vietnam not passing such determination or speculate on suspension of ongoing exports. 

“During the 18-month transitional period, both sides have worked out cooperative approaches to common issues in question and US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has also given close guidance on how to comply with its requirements,” Hoe said.

He also said that while Vietnam’s tra fish industry has well developed with substantial and stringent food safety control system, he is concerned that an import discrimination policy by the US government may cause unfavourable and unfair decisions against Vietnam. 

“VASEP hopes that there will be solutions reached by the two governments not to disrupt free trade between the two countries,” the note said.

In early July, the FSIS had announced that it would apply new import regulations for Siluriformes fish from August 2, instead of September 1 as stated earlier.

Under the regulations, authorised agencies in the exporting country must submit to the FSIS documents to prove that its food safety control system is equivalent to that of the US.

Following this, the Vietnam National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) has provided guidance on inspection requirements regarding labelling, detailed inspection content, testing parameters for chemicals residues and speciation to establishments eligible for exports to the US (as listed in https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/eb3720e3-221c-4928-a018-028df5cc28b5/Vietnam_establishments.pdf?MOD=AJPERES)

On August 15, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) launched Siluriformes Controlling Programme designed for Siluriformes fish and related products exported to the US market.

The programme aims to demonstrate equivalence and minimise rejection of fish batches exported to the US, thus reducing costs for enterprises.

Starting from September 1, 2017, the programme will apply strict supervision on all stages of fish farming, processing and exporting. 

Qualified products must satisfy 85 criteria of the US regarding veterinary medicine, 106 criteria on pesticides, four on dyeing chemicals, 17 on metals and eight in biochemistry.

In case a fish batch attracts warnings from an authorised US agency, NAFIQAD will request the seafood processor to trace its origin and investigate why it failed to meet food safety requirements. The department will also halt the concerned facility’s Siluriformes fish export to the US, while handling its violations.

NAFIQAD is also preparing a complete equivalence package to be submitted to FSIS on August 20, 2017. After that, FSIS will initiate the review process of the submitted documentation, and if the submission provides an initial basis for believing the country to be equivalent, FSIS will do an in-country audit.

KOICA supports Vietnam with green urban planning

The Ministry of Construction and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) held a workshop in Hanoi last week to review the implementation of the Green City Planning Decision Support System (GDSS) in Vietnam.

Deputy Minister of Construction Phan Thi My Linh said the project was sponsored by the Republic of Korea and has been carried out for more than a half year.

The Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements along with the management board of projects of the Ministry of Construction, northern Thai Nguyen and southern Kien Giang provinces coordinated to build a set of green urban indicators and a GDSS to evaluate urban development nationwide.

This is a foundation to building a legal framework and guidance documents for green city planning in Vietnam.

During the workshop, participants discussed improving the efficiency of the project to expand it in the future and refining legal documents on urban planning.

The project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ensure climate change adaptation and make reasonable and effective use of natural resources.

Vietnam faces various urban problems such as infrastructure shortages and environment degradation as a result of rapid economic development and urban population growth. 

The Korean Government aims to help Vietnam in creating a brand new city, improving living standards and in environmentally sustainable urban planning, according to KOICA.

The project will be piloted in urban areas in Hanoi and Thai Nguyen and Kien Giang provinces.

ADB increases trade finance to 75 million USD for TPBank

Tien Phong Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (TPBank) has received 45 million USD from the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Trade Finance Programme (TFP), bringing the total to 75 million USD.

The additional trade finance will help to considerably improve TPBank’s credit capacity in the market.

Santosh Pokharel, TFP’s relationship manager, said the additional trade finance was decided after ADB reviewed TPBank’s details.

TPBank General Director Nguyen Hung said ADB increased guarantees for TPBank by 2.5 times in a very short time, showing the foreign bank’s confidence in TPBank. Earlier, ADB provided TPBank with 30 million USD on May 24.

"The finance would help TPBank increase its presence in the international market, contributing to supporting its business customers to expand their transactions worldwide," Hung added. 

In addition to ADB, TPBank has been attractive to other foreign partners.

Earlier, it received 18.3 million USD investment from IFC.

TPBank has total assets of some 106 trillion VND (about 4.6 billion USD), 4,000 employees and an extensive network of 55 branches and transaction offices in Vietnam. Currently, with more than 1.5 million individual customers and businesses, TPBank has been asserting its position as a strong, sustainable and healthy bank in the country

Deputy PM requests hastening key transport projects

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has asked the Transport Ministry, investors and contractors to work closely with localities on site clearance to speed up the progress of key transport projects. 

Chairing a meeting of the State Steering Committee for key transport works in Hanoi on August 17, Dung urged the Transport Ministry to promptly complete the north-south highway project and plans for transport investment in the Mekong Delta to report to the PM and submit to the National Assembly. 

The ministry was asked to direct investors, management boards and contractors to hasten the construction of the Tan Vu – Lach Huyen road, Da Nang – Quang Ngai highway, Hoa Lac – Hoa Binh highway, Deo Ca tunnel, Long Thanh international airport, Cao Lanh and Vam Cong bridges and component part of the National Highway 14 expansion project. 

The Ministry of Construction was told to launch a project to evaluate construction prices to prevent waste. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Planning and Investment was directed to study mid-term capital demand for transport works, including issuing government bonds to projects on building roads linking with the Ho Chi Minh Trail and providing capital for projects using official development assistance. 

The Finance Ministry will work with the Transport Ministry to deal with obstacles in capital disbursement. 

Dung asked authorities of centrally-run cities and provinces to stabilise sand prices and add the north-south highway and Tan Son Nhat international airport projects to the list of key transport works. 

The Transport Ministry reported that there are now 37 key transport works worth nearly 1.09 quadrillion VND (47.39 billion USD), including 23 roads with total investment of roughly 489 trillion VND, 13 of which have been completed. 

Seven railway construction projects are ongoing, costing 195.44 trillion VND while four domestic maritime and inland waters projects cost 49.42 trillion VND. 

The aviation sector recorded three key projects valued at more than 356 trillion VND, with Phu Quoc airport and Noi Bai international terminal T2 having been completed.

Since early this year, the transport sector opened the Thai Nguyen – Cho Moi highway and a section of the Ho Chi Minh Road from National Highway 2 to Huong Non to traffic, expanding Co Tiet – Trung Ha bridge section as part of the National Highway 32 and a section of the Da Nang – Quang Ngai highway. 

Cooperatives told to improve competitiveness

Each cooperative should itself improve competitiveness and mobilise synergistic resources, apply advanced technology as well as improve management effectiveness combined with branding and marketing.

Deputy Director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s (MPI’s) Cooperatives Department Bui Nghi made the statement during a seminar held by the ministry last week in Hanoi.

The cooperative sector needs to give priority to structural reform as well as stimulate renovation to improve operational efficiency, adapting to current market conditions and the international integration process, he said.

Cooperatives were formed and developed in Vietnam long ago. However, the country’s socio-economic situation has changed, requiring them to renovate accordingly in order to operate more effectively.

According to Nghi, the 2012 Law on Cooperatives facilitated cooperative development in line with the country’s economic development, associated with the process of international integration, he said.

They should be restructured and transformed into modern models, expanding the scale of production and developing production toward specialisation and professionalism, generating products of high quality and added value, meeting domestic requirements as well as joining the global value chain, he added.

Foreign experts said Vietnamese cooperatives should also learn from international practices, including a number of cooperative development models of developed countries such as Canada, the Netherlands and Germany.

Cooperatives should be built on a voluntary basis, mobilising resources from each participant and distributing profits according to agreement reached between participants, they stated.

Vietnam has more than 19,500 cooperatives operating in various fields, from agriculture, fisheries, forestry, transport, credit and handicrafts. However, only one third are assessed as operating efficiently.

At the seminar, Tran Van Cung, Chairman of the Cooperative Alliance in the southern province of An Giang, gave examples of co-operation on rice production between farmers and businesses in the province.

Cooperatives represented farming households, receiving seeds, chemicals and fertilisers from enterprises and then providing them to farming households, he said. They received commissions according to agreements reached with farmers. In addition, cooperatives and technical staff supervise and support farmers in the production process, he said.

Cabinet blamed for problematic budget estimating, allocation planning

The National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) has requested the Government, ministries and sectors to learn from experience in budget estimating and allocation planning which have become problematic recently.

At its ongoing 13th session, the committee gave opinions on the Government’s adjustment to the central budget plan in 2017 and the allocation and use of part of the central budget left over from 2016.

The Government reported capital was unable to be allocated to some investment projects of five ministries and sectors and two localities since these projects failed to meet the set criteria or did not have demand for capital. Therefore, the Government proposed the NASC revoke over 867.94 billion VND (38.2 million USD) to give to other ministries, sectors and localities that need funding.

Verifying the Cabinet’s report, the NA’s Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs attributed the allocation failure and budget estimate revision to budget estimating and allocation planning not in line with the set criteria and principles.

As a result, there remain projects that are not included in the list of medium-term public investment or lack investment procedures but still receive funding.

Many NASC members agreed with the capital revocation, adding that the Government needs to order its ministries and sectors to learn from experience in budget estimating, while adhering to the allocation criteria and principles and the planned disbursement progress. They must also clarify the causes of slow capital disbursement so as to devise solutions.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan also pointed out the responsibility of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, ministries, sectors, as well as the NA’s Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs and the NASC in project verification and submission to the parliament for budget allocation approval.

She stressed after budget estimates are made, new policies must not be issued to avoid an increase of needed capital.

Van Don Special Economic Zone envisioned to be green, modern urban

The northern province of Quang Ninh has envisioned turning the Van Don special administrative-economic zone into a smart and green island urban area, according to Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Van Doc.

The special administrative-economic zone is located in Van Don district, which has a total land area of 581.13 sq.km and sea area of 1,620 sq.km with a population of over 46,000. 

The district has a politically and economically important position as it lies on the strategic transit route from East Asia to Southeast Asia and from ASEAN to China, in Vietnam-China “two corridors, one belt” cooperation area, in Nanning-Singapore economic corridor, and in the extended Tonkin Gulf inter-regional cooperation area.

Van Don is one of the three special administrative-economic zones designated by a Government-approved plan; the other two are Van Phong in the central province of Khanh Hoa and Phu Quoc in the southern province of Kien Giang. The zones will pilot key new economic and administrative policies before they are applied nationwide to develop the maritime economy.

Quang Ninh is working on a master plan of and a law on Van Don special administrative economic zone, guided by the aim to build Van Don into a dynamic economic centre with focus on services, high-end tourism and high-tech industries. The zone is expected to become a centre for startups, innovation and international trade.

The zone will apply an environmentally-friendly development model with a streamlined administrative apparatus and competitive policies in order to tap the local distinctive potentials to the fullest extent and to attract investment and talent.

The modern zone is expected to spearhead the province’s growth, consolidating Quang Ninh’s position as a leading economy in the northern region while ensuring national defence and security.

The master plan of Van Don will define the local advantages with a view to pinpointing goals and priorities for development, draft a long-term development strategy for the zone and propose management model and apparatus.

The province organised a conference to collect advice from the Association of Vietnamese Scientists and Experts (AVSE) in France on the master plan and invited Kien Giang and Khanh Hoa provinces to a workshop on the special administrative-economic zone master plan.

Secretary Nguyen Van Doc stressed that the province hopes to put forward unprecedented mechanisms and policies for the zone to give it competition edge internationally.

He said that the province will hire foreign consultants to draw up socio-economic development plans for the zone and revise the blueprint for Van Don economic zone to suit the new status as a special administrative-economic zone as directed by the Politburo at Conclusion No.21-TB/TW on March 22, 2017.

A line-up of domestic giant groups like Sungroup and FLC have been pouring investment in Van Don district, including Van Don International Airport, Van Don luxury resort-entertainment complex with casino and many other high-end resorts.

The master plan of and law on the Van Dong special administrative economic zone are scheduled to be submitted to the National Assembly’s fourth meeting in October for consideration.

US rescinds part of antidumping duty review on shrimp from Vietnam

The US Department of Commerce has rescinded the administrative review, in part, of the anti-dumping duty order on frozen warm-water shrimp from Vietnam for the period from February 1, 2016 through January 31, 2017.

The department published in the Federal Register a notice of initiation of an anti-dumping duty administrative review on Vietnam’s frozen warm-water shrimp on April 10 this year, based on timely request for review of 55 companies by the Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee (the petitioner) and of 88 companies by the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) and various Vietnamese companies.

However, three Vietnamese shrimp producers withdrew their requests for review while the petitioner and ASPA also withdrew their respective review requests for these companies. In addition, a Vietnamese producer did not request a review of itself. 

So that, the department decided to rescind the previous review with respect to these companies. And the review remains active with respect to all other companies for whom a review was initiated.

The department will instruct US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess anti-dumping duties on all appropriate entries at a rate equal to the cash deposit of estimated anti-dumping duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, during the period.

Turkey applies temporary measure on Vietnamese yarn

The General Directorate for Imports under the Turkish Ministry of Economy has slapped a temporary duty of 36.28 percent on partially oriented yarn (POY) products imported from Vietnam, according to the Vietnamese office of commercial affairs in Turkey.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the Turkish measure is also designed to fight against the evasion of anti-dumping duty imposed on POY products from China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan (China) and Thailand.

The measure will take effect until Turkey gives a final conclusion on an anti-dumping duty evasion investigation, which was launched in February this year following a petition from Korteks Mensucat ve Sanayi Anonim Sirketi company. 

The Turkish Ministry of Economy said that the temporary measure is applied due to an upsurge in POY imports into the country during 2010-2016.

VPBank attracts 1.2 billion USD in pre-listing purchase offers

The Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) started listing 1.3 billion shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange on August 17, while having received 1.2 billion USD worth of purchasing offers from foreign investors.

Both VPBank and Viet Capital Securities Company (VCSC) had approached more than 80 foreign investors, and most of the investors made pre-listing buying offers for the bank’s shares at the price of 39,000 VND (1.73 USD), according to To Hai, director of VCSC.

Hai said at VPBank’s pre-listing seminar on August 15 that the value of foreign investors’ pre-listing purchasing offers might be a historical milestone for Vietnam’s banking sector, even in the golden age of commercial banks in 2007, and it would be hard to repeat a similar-valued deal in the future. 

“When we were building the book value for VPBank’s shares, we recognised that foreign investors were willing to pay even higher at 44,000 VND per share,” he said, referring to the fact that VPBank was quite attractive to foreign investors at the moment.

The bank was valued at least 2 billion USD when valuation of the bank’s shares started in March 2016, Hai added. It was also the time when the benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was around 600 points. The bank is now valued at 2.3 billion USD on the starting trade price of 39,000 VND per share, making it one of the top 10 listed firms by market capitalisation.

The share price of 39,000 VND was decided by the market demand, not by VPBank and VCSC, he said, adding that VPBank’s shares had more room to grow.

“The gap between large-cap and small-cap banks is getting wider. In the next four to five years, there will be banks whose market capitalisation reaches more than 10 billion USD, and VPBank could be among them.”

According to Nguyen Duc Vinh, general director of VPBank, there were two reasons that made the bank’s board managers decide to put its shares on the stock exchange.

Firstly, VPBank is in the final year of its five-year development stage from 2012 to 2017, and it has reached its pre-set targets. The bank’s profits have kept risen year on year with 2016 profit five-folding 2012 number.

Its achievements have brought benefits to both shareholders and customers, raising its market status to one of the best-performing banks in the banking system. The management board has met to review its old business strategy and come up with a new one for the next three to five years.

Secondly, the plan will help the bank develop its business on high-quality and specialised products and services, generating additional values for its employees, investors and the society.

By listing its shares on the stock market, the bank hopes to draw more investment from those that have financial strength, professional knowledge and skills, and make great contribution to its development.

In the past seven months of 2017, VPBank posted 2.34 trillion VND in pre-tax profit, a yearly increase of 107 percent, and a total asset of nearly 254 trillion VND.

Tata builds freeze-dried coffee plant in Vietnam

India’s Tata Coffee Ltd., Asia’s largest coffee plantation company, began construction of a freeze-dried coffee plant in Vietnam on August 16. 

The groundbreaking ceremony officially marked the beginning of the coffee plant that aims to produce 5,000 metric tonnes per annum of freeze-dried coffee at the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park II (VSIP II) in the southern province of Binh Duong. The plant is slated to start production in the next 18-21 months. 

Sanjiv Sarin, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Coffee Ltd., said the Tata Group already has a close relationship with Vietnam in various sectors, including automobiles, steel, trading, energy and watches. With this investment, beverages will also become a major sector of participation. 

“While our products are already exported to over 40 countries across the globe, our instant coffee has so far been produced only in India. Tata Coffee Vietnam marks our first foray beyond Indian shores as a manufacturer, and hence is a significant milestone in our journey to become a global coffee major,” he said. 

“Tata Coffee Vietnam will endeavour to bring best-in-class manufacturing practices, with special focus on safe working conditions. The project will contribute positively to earning foreign exchange and creating local employment,” he added. 

Tata Coffee is a subsidiary of Tata Global Beverages, and one of the largest exporters of instant coffee in India. 

Tata Coffee produces more than 10,000 metric tonnes of shade grown Arabica and Robusta coffee at its 19 estates in South India and its two instant coffee manufacturing facilities have a combined installed capacity of 8,400 metric tonnes. 

It exports green coffee to countries in Europe, Asia, Middle East and North America. Tata Coffee’s farms are tripled certificated: Utz, Rainforest Alliance and SA 8000 reinforcing its commitment to the people and the environment.-

New programme to tighten control of catfish exported to US

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has issued a safety control programme designed for Siluriformes fish (mainly tra and basa) and related products exported to the US market as part of efforts to adapt to new changes in the market.

The programme, starting from September 1, 2017, will apply strict supervision on all stages of fish farming, processing and exporting. Qualified products must satisfy 85 criteria of the US regarding veterinary medicine, 106 criteria on pesticides, 4 on dyeing chemicals, 17 on metals and 8 in biochemistry.

In case a fish batch gets warnings from the US authorized agency, the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) will request the processor to trace origin of the batch, while investigating reasons why the batch fails to meet food safety requirements. The department will also halt the facility’s Siluriformes fish export to the US, while handling its violations.

In early July, the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it will apply new regulations in import under the inspection programme for Siluriformes fish from August 2 instead of September 1 as stated earlier.

Under the regulations, authorized agencies in the exporting country must submit to the FSIS documents to prove that the country’s food safety control system is equivalent to that of the US.

The MARD’s new programme aims to demonstrate the equivalence and minimise refusals of fish batches export to the US, thus reducing costs for enterprises.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the first six months of this year, the US remained the leading market for Vietnam’s tra fish. However, tra fish export revenue in the US reached only 176.4 million USD, a drop of 5.7 percent compared to the same period last year. Due to high anti-dumping tax rate, only three Vietnamese firms managed to export tra fish to the market with considerable volume and value.

VASEP predicted that in the rest of the year, tra fish export to the US will continue falling.

Trade surplus returns in second half of July

Vietnam posted a trade surplus of nearly 430 million USD in the second half of July, after many consecutive months of deficit.

According to the General Department of Customs, from July 16-31, the country’s total export turnover reached 9.41 billion USD, up 14.1 percent compared to the first half of this month.

Meanwhile, total imports were valued at 8.98 billion USD, a rise of 6.5 percent compared with the figure in the month’s first half.

Taking into account the trade surplus in the second half of July, Vietnam ran a trade deficit of 2.53 billion USD in the first seven months of 2017, equal to 2.2 percent of the total export turnover.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said trade deficit was high in the first months of the year as major businesses such as Samsung, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), and Viettel Group imported machinery, equipment and materials to expand their operations.

After that, when the projects finish disbursement, trade deficit is seeing a downtrend, Hai added.

According to him, the latest trade surplus was the result of efforts Vietnam made to step up export. Growth was seen in almost all markets and leading commodities.

Vietnam is likely to gross a total export turnover of 200 billion USD for the whole year, surging over 13 percent from last year and exceeding the set target, Hai stated in a recent press conference.

Meanwhile, imports are forecast to reach 205 billion USD, up 17 percent year-on-year. 

The country’s trade deficit is estimated at 5 billion USD, or 2.5 percent of the export turnover and lower than the National Assembly’s goal, he added.-

Over 30,000 promotion programmes launched in HCM City

More than 3,000 firms and 5,300 household businesses will offer around 30,000 discount programmes during the annual sales promotion months in Ho Chi Minh City, said the city’s Department of Industry and Trade on August 16.

According to the department, the promotion months will take place from September until the end of the year, with various forms of promotion such as gift presenting, prize draw and giveaway besides discounts.

Several activities will be held during the event, including a special promotion week for online sales and trade promotion fairs in many places across the city.

The period will be opened with a trade fair featuring various Vietnamese products, said Nguyen Phuong Dong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade.

After 12 years since its first launch, the sales promotion month has become one of the main trade promotion activities in HCM City.

December forum to address Vietnam’s smart industry development

The Economic Commission of the Party’s Central Committee will hold international workshops and an exhibition on the development of smart industry in Vietnam for the first time in Hanoi on December 4-5.

The Smart Industry World event will offer a forum for the Party’s advisory bodies, state governance agencies, experts and business community to seek ways to attract investment for smart industry development in Vietnam. 

Over 1,500 delegates in the fields of industry, agriculture, construction, transport, healthcare, telecommunication, education and more are expected to participate in the event where they will be able to meet potential partners from the country and overseas.

On display at the event will be smart industrial technologies from leading countries like the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Israel. It will also host four workshops on shaping and developing smart industry in future; reforming industries with innovative technologies: trends and solutions; promoting trade and services in the digital era; and strategies for developing smart cities.

The smart technologies exhibition will take place at JW Marriott Hanoi on the sidelines of the forum, featuring 50 booths run by leading foreign technological, industrial and manufacturing enterprises.

Viettel offers 99 percent off roaming services in Malaysia

Viettel, the military-run network operator, is offering up to 99 percent discounts on international roaming services for subscribers to celebrate the ongoing SEA Games 29 in Malaysia.

Pre-paid and post-paid subscribers will only have to pay 1,000 VND per MB for data while in Malaysia from August 19 to December 31. In addition, they will get 80 percent off for calling or receiving calls in Malaysia and 65 percent off international messaging rates.

Viettel is currently the largest roaming provider in Vietnam, connected with more than 500 networks from about 200 countries and territories worldwide.

The firm previously announced that it will offer subscribers preferential international data roaming rates when they travel to Japan, the Republic of Korea and Australia up to September 15.

When using the data roaming services of the RoK’s SKT and KTF, Japanese Softbank and NTT Domoco and Australian Telstra, Viettel customers will only have to pay 22 VND/10 KB.

Vietnam to attend third Eastern Economic Forum in Russia

A Vietnamese delegation led by Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economic Affairs Nguyen Van Binh is set to attend the third Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on September 6-7 in Vladivostok, Russia.

The Vietnamese delegates are expected to discuss with their Russian counterparts issues related to international economic cooperation in the Far East.

The forum is held annually under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Decree signed on May 19, 2015 with the aim of spurring economic development in the Far East and expanding international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.  

Rubber exports up 58 % in 7 months

Vietnam exported 634,995 tons of rubber to get US$1.1 billion in the first seven months of this year, up 12.2% in volume and 58.4% in value against the corresponding period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

In July alone, 151,138 tons of rubber were shipped abroad with a value of US$225.5 million, up 23.5% in volume and 19.8% in value.

Exports of rubber products in the first seven months of this year reached US$1.9 billion, up 3.7% against the same period last year.

China remained the largest importer of Vietnam rubber with 394,614 tons worth US$690.7 million, followed by Malaysia with 38,663 tons valued at US$61.3 million and India with 25,731 tons worth US$44.72 million.

The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) said the world market now runs short of around 700,000 tons of natural rubber. However, it forecasts that the global shortage may reduce to 466,000 tons in September and 100,000 tons in December.

Meanwhile, on the domestic market, the Vietnam Rubber Association said most rubber companies in the Central Highlands lost around 2.5% of output in July after prolonged rains. Two storms and tropical depression occurred in July negatively affected their rubber tapping process.

Despite the shortage of supply, the price of natural rubber remained low and fell by 42.8% in June compared to January. The ANRPC president attributed the price decline to other factors like the currency, crude oil price and geopolitical tension, rather than supply and demand.

Vietnam’s debt-collecting agency seizes skyscraper to cover US$308 million loan

A skyscraper in downtown Saigon has been seized by the government’s asset management company as collateral for the VND7 trillion ($308 million) debt the investors owe.

The central bank said on August 21 that the Vietnam Asset Management Company has taken over the Saigon One Tower following years of construction delays.

It is the first building to be seized under a decision established by the country’s legislators last June to deal with bad debt.

The 42-story tower, standing 195 meters (640 feet) tall along major thoroughfare Ton Duc Thang, was designed to be the third tallest building in the city.

Construction started in 2007 and was scheduled for completion in 2009, but the bare frame of over 6,700 square meters has been left untouched since 2011, the year the city’s housing market crashed.

A city spokesperson said last June that construction had ground to a halt due to conflicts between investors. He said the project has found a new investor and work will resume this year.

It is not immediately clear how this latest move will affect that plan.

The VND5 trillion (US$220 million) project is just one of many delayed buildings in the southern city.

Work on a US$100 million, 54-story jewelry center in the heart of the city has not moved since it was approved in 2004, while a 5,000 square-meter land lot allocated for a five-star hotel and apartment complex along Le Duan Street in District 1 has been used as a parking lot for years.

Data from the central bank show that bad debt in Vietnamese banks, mostly incurred due to a slowdown in the country’s real estate market in the early 2010s, had been cut to 2.46% of loans at the end of November 2016 from 4.83 percent in December 2014, a year after it set up the asset management institution to deal with toxic loans.

Speed Queen to open five laundries in 2017

The Speed Queen chain of laundry stores owned by Alliance Laundry Systems will open five stores in Ho Chi Minh City this year.

Felipe Coddou, director of the retail and vended department for the Asia-Pacific and Latin America region, said that the company plans to open five stores in Ho Chi Minh City in 2017 and expand their reach to Hanoi and Danang in early 2018.

“We are also looking for medium- and big-sized franchisees for our business. Franchisees have to invest into at least 10 stores in their city or area with an investment capital around US$150,000-180,000 per outlet,” he noted.

Speed Queen’s first laundry store has been officially opened at Saigon Pearl Building in Nguyen Huu Canh Street, Ho Chi Minh City. With the investment capital of US$200,000, the store is equipped with advanced washing technology that can handle all types of fabrics, even the most delicate ones.

Speed Queen offers a high-end and time-saving laundry service, which is far more convenient and delivers better results than washing at home. Customers can simply drop-off their clothes and leave the washing, drying, and folding to Speed Queen while they go about more important chores.

Besides, customers can choose to do their own washing and drying as the equipment is available for self-service.

Vietnamese businesses in pursuit of entry into Thai consumer market

While made-in-Thailand merchandise is increasingly consumed by the Vietnamese market, the situation is not very positive the other way round.

Many widely popular products in Vietnam seem unfamiliar to Thai consumers as they have only been imported and sold in small quantity by intermediate businesses and merchants.

To settle the issue, an event named ‘Vietnamese Product Week’ has recently been organized in Bangkok, with the participation of over 40 brands from Vietnam.

At the stall of Vinamit, a Vietnamese agricultural product company that has operated since 1988, Jiratha, a Thai buyer, was having a taste of the firm’s dried fruit samples and could not stop complimenting their flavor and crunchiness.

Jiratha recounted trying the food during her previous trip to Phuket.

As she was impressed with the quality, the Thai consumer has been looking for the product, to no avail, after she returned to Bangkok because it is not widely sold in the city.

According to Vu Thanh Truc, international business manager of Vinamit, this is the first time the company has introduced its goods to the Thai market.

Its merchandise was previously imported and sold by local merchants at airports and railway stations in Thailand, Truc elaborated.

“We are confident that our advantages in taste and quality can compete with similar merchandise in Thailand,” the representative asserted.

Like Vinamit, other Vietnamese businesses said they had been shying away from entering the Thai market due to the lack of knowledge of local consumers’ preferences and distribution systems.

Bui Thi Ngoc Tuyen from the import-export department of Bich Chi Food Company said her enterprise had only been working with their Thai partners via an intermediary.

During the event, Nguyen Xuan Ton, director of Long Trieu Coffee Company, has spent his free time exploring the trend at coffee shops in Bangkok, discovering that Vietnamese coffee is offered at many locations.

“Given the potential market, all we need to do is complete other phases such as pricing and packaging,” Ton said.

In order to make a deal with partners in Thailand, a Vietnamese business has to undergo several stages of negotiation and quality assurance to meet local standards.

However, such procedures are considered a small challenge, Tran Thanh Hai, vice-president of Central Group Vietnam, said, adding that product originality is more essential.

Agreeing with the opinion, Dinh Thi My Loan, secretary-general of the Association of Vietnam Retailers (AVR), said Vietnam and Thailand share many similarities in such merchandise as agricultural products, consumer goods, and packaged foods.

For a successful entry into the Thai market, products from Vietnam must have distinctive features in terms of quality, packaging, and distribution, Loan stated.

According to Vu Dao, director of Phong Son Tiem Company, which had exported two metric tons of lychee sourced from the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Giang to Thailand, Vietnamese lychee is tastier and sweeter than its Thai counterpart, though the two countries share the same lychee season.

“The two metric tons accounted for just one-tenth of our original goal. We need to be more persistent to extend operations to this market,” Dao continued.

The firm previously had to meet a series of qualifications before exporting the fruit to Australia, he said, adding that such requirements also apply to the Thai market.

LienVietPostBank funds macadamia growing in Lam Dong

Each farmer household in Lam Ha district, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, can borrow between 50-80 million VND (2,200 – 3,500 USD) from LienVietPostBank to develop forests in tandem with expanding macadamia growing area.

A deal to this effect was singed in Lien Ha commune on August 22 between local farmers and representatives of the bank, the district’s Lan Tranh Forest Management Board and the Him Lam Macadamia Company.

The Lan Tranh Forest Management Board and the Lien Ha commune People’s Committee will support, monitor the use of the loans and debt collection, while the Him Lam Company will be responsible for the quality of macadamias and consumption.

During the signing ceremony, six farmers from Tan Thanh commune signed contracts with LienVietPostBank. They will be provided with macadamia seedlings by the end of August.

According to the Lam Ha district People’s Committee, the locality plans to plant 1,000 hectares of forests in 2017, including 300 hectares of macadamia.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, about 3,500 – 4,000 hectares of macadamia will be planted from 2016 – 2020 in the districts of Lam Ha, Bao Lam, Duc Trong. Dam Rong and Bao Loc.

By 2030, the province aims to have 12,000 – 15,000 hectares of macadamia, producing 8,000 tonnes of macadamia nuts per year.-

Project launched in Thai Binh to promote sustainable rice production

Novel approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing rice yields will be introduced through the AgResults Vietnam Emissions Reduction Pilot (AVERP), the first phase of which was launched in the Red River Delta province of Thai Binh on August 22.

The AVERP project, managed by the Netherlands Development Organisation, aims to set up, pilot and multiply technologies, tools and advanced rice cultivating methods to promote sustainable rice production.

It aims to improve livelihoods for some 75,000 farmers in the Red River Delta region, cut 375,000 tonnes of Carbon dioxide emissions and reduce 15 percent of input costs for farmers.

The two-phase project, set to be carried out in Thai Binh during 2016-2021, welcomes initiatives from local organisations to develop technologies in rice farming. To date, it has attracted entries from 24 organisations.

Its first phase consists of two crops, starting from the summer crop of 2017 to the spring crop of 2018. Participants will test their technologies during the two harvest periods and those that develop effective technologies and solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be selected to join the second phase.

The second phase has four consecutive crops and will begin from the spring crop of 2019 and finish in the summer crop of 2020.

According to Rodrigo Alberto Ortiz, Team Lead of the AgResults Secretariat, it is important to implement the project in Thai Binh province, which is famous for its agriculture. Solutions which were effective in this project can be expanded to other parts of the Delta and the country, he said.

The AVERP has a total funding of 123 million USD sourced from Australia, Canada, the UK, the US and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It aims to encourage agricultural initiatives that enhance food security and benefits of farmer households.

It is currently running in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria and Vietnam.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNEVET