Cheap, unsafe Chinese foods flood Ho Chi Minh City

A plethora of news reports about their harmful quality has done nothing to dent the popularity of Chinese foods in Ho Chi Minh City, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.

City markets are flooded by foods imported from China and they are reportedly sold at prices that are even lower than back home, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.

Products like dried mushroom, almond, bamboo shoot, food additives, and confectionary are stored in sacks and cartons without any labels, packaging, expiry dates, or hygiene and food safety certificates.

Some traders say they look fresh indefinitely.

Nhung, a former trader in Binh Tay Market, said moldy mushroom, bamboo shoot, and seaweed could be restored to their original state by simply soaking them in saltwater and drying them.

Chinese confectionary at throwaway prices also fill markets in HCMC, threatening consumers’ health.

A large pack of candy costs just VND30,000 (US$1.5) while a yellowish soft drink is sold for a mere VND1,000 a bottle.

There are also products called “peppery stick,” “instant cuttlefish,” and “tiger meat,” without Vietnamese labels.

The National Institute for Testing Food Safety and Hygiene tested these strange foods but was unable to detect what they are made of.

The director of a HCMC-based food company said while high-quality products from China were licensed to be sold in domestic markets, dubious ones at dirt cheap prices came in over the borders.

“It means the foods do not undergo any quality or safety checks before they reach the consumer,” he warned.

However, wholesalers selling them have set up a large distribution chain in the city by transporting the products directly to the traders and providing them invoices and receipts, which help them avoid action by market authorities.

Tu Nhu Nguyet, who runs a shop selling imported confectionary, said some wholesalers had persuaded her to sell Chinese foods and promised to take care of the transportation and all necessary papers.

They also offered prices that were 30 percent cheaper than she could get for Vietnamese products, she said.

Dang Van Duc, head of the city’s Market Management Bureau, said it was difficult to curb the trading of low-quality Chinese foods since they were not illegal.

Though the foods at shops and markets had no packaging or labels, the traders always had receipts and invoices for them, he said.

“It is the job of food safety authorities to find out if the foods are harmful to health,” he added.

GM stops making Daewoo cars in Vietnam

General Motors, the world’s largest automaker, announced Monday that its unit in Vietnam, Vietnam Daewoo Motor Co, or VIDAMCO, has been renamed GM Vietnam and will stop manufacturing cars under the Daewoo name.

GM Vietnam said it would focus on making Chevrolets.

“The changes represent a new beginning for GM in Vietnam in line with our new corporate strategy,” the company’s managing director, Gaurav Gupta, said in a statement.

“We look forward to leveraging GM’s unmatched global resources to introduce high-quality new products and services.”

GM Vietnam plans to launch three new Chevrolet models this year and upgrade its dealer network, showrooms, and service centers to meet Chevrolet standards.

But owners of Daewoo vehicles would continue to receive full warranty coverage as well as after-sales service and spare parts replacement, the company said.

Chevrolet sales in Vietnam rose 40 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of this year, enabling GM to maintain its position as the country’s second largest automaker.

VIDAMCO was established by the former Daewoo Motor Co in 1993. Daewoo became part of GM in 2002 and currently has nearly 600 employees.

Its manufacturing facility in Hanoi, which began operation in 1995, assembles cars for sale in Vietnam and exports.

Association suggests restructuring banks

The Vietnam Association of Financial Investor (VAFI) has asked the finance ministry to cut the lending rate to 12% and reduce the number of commercial banks by 20 percent, VAFI’s General Secretary Nguyen Hoang Hai told Tuoi Tre.

Hai said the new lending rate would help the government curb inflation, cut public spending and achieve sustainable economic development.

Though the State Bank of Vietnam has already lowered the lending rate to between 17 percent and 19 percent, Hai said the rate should be reduced further. He said lending rates in other countries were currently four to five times lower than in Vietnam.

The banking system also needs to be restructured, Hai added. He said one way was to reduce the number of commercial banks by 20 percent through dissolution, nationalization and mergers and acquisitions, so as to eliminate ineffective ones.
 
Japanese logistics firms expand businesses in VN

Japanese mid-sized logistics companies are expanding their distribution networks in Vietnam, a growing market where big players have still not solidified their positions, the Japanese daily Nikkei reported.

Among the firms, Japan Logistic Systems Corp. has invested an estimated 400 million JPY in building warehouses in Vietnam's three major cities of Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. It plans to put the warehouses into operation from the beginning of next month with the aim of boosting its annual revenue in the market from the current 4 billion JPY to 7 billion JPY in the next three years.

Mitsubishi Logistics Corp. set up a joint venture with a local firm to transport products from appliance factories to the parts of Vietnam where they will be sold. The Japanese firm hopes to eventually handle imports and exports of electronic parts, coffee and other products.

Meanwhile, Nissin Corp. has joined hands with Vietnam's national railroad to operate a freight train exclusively for Japanese companies in response to growing demand on the transport of cars and motorcycles. The train makes two trips a week between Hanoi, where factories are concentrated, and Ho Chi Minh City, where the vehicles are sold. Appliances are shipped on the return trip going north. The products used to be transported on trucks, but deliveries were often delayed and products were sometimes damaged en route.

At the same time, Yusen Logistics Co. has begun considering regular truck deliveries between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Since the firm already operates Bangkok-Hanoi and Hong Kong-Hanoi routes, the new route would connect Ho Chi Minh City with Thailand and China by land.

According to the Nikkei, Japanese companies have been setting up factories in Vietnam, in part to take advantage of low labour costs and its proximity to the Chinese market. The Vietnamese Government has indicated plans to create a special economic zone for Japanese businesses, another positive factor for midsize logistics firms.

EVN tops SOE debtor list

The country’s leading power supplier, Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN), tops the list of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOE) with massive debts of more than thousands of billion dong, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.

According to the preliminary business report for the state economic sector in the first eight months of this year issued by the Party organization of centrally-run enterprises, EVN expected a VND11.67-trillion (US$583.5 million) loss, followed by Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) and Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation (Petrolimex), which posted losses of VND3.09 trillion and VND1.2 trillion, respectively.

The report also shows that businesses in the agriculture and oil and gas sectors possess the highest growth rates, while those in the transportation and construction sectors record the lowest.

Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam) tops the list of the best state-run earners, paying its employees an average monthly wage of VND16.2 million.

In the runner-up positions are Vietnam Rubber Association, Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, Vietnam National Coffee Corporation, and the commercial bank group, whose profit growth rates are between 15 and 20 percent.

Vietnam vows support for Swiss investors

Vietnam pledges to create all favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Switzerland , to do business in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai made the statement at a seminar to promote Swiss investment in Vietnam held in Zurich city, Switzerland on September 12.

As one of activities during Hai’s visit to Switzerland from Sept. 10-15 on the occasion of the 40 th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties, the seminar attracted hundreds of Vietnamese and Swiss businesses and investors operating in finance and banking, mechanical engineering, food processing and tourism.

Deputy PM Hai stressed that Switzerland is Vietnam ’s important economic partner in Europe and in the world with 80 investment projects totalling nearly US$2 billion in the Southeast Asian nation.

Many large Swiss groups, including Nestle, Holcim and Norvatis, have seen effective operations in Vietnam .

At present, Switzerland is Vietnam ’s second largest trading partner in Europe with two-way trade exceeding US$3.7 billion in 2010.

In addition to investment and trade cooperation, the bilateral ties have developed in the fields of finance and banking, urban management, infrastructure development and natural resource management.

The educational and training cooperation between the two countries has seen encouraging developments with an increasing number of Vietnamese students and post-graduates studying in Switzerland , he said, adding that Vietnam has become a familiar destination for Swiss tourists.

However, Hai noted that the investment and trade relations are yet to match great potential for cooperation between the two countries.

The Deputy PM said though Vietnam has faced great challenges since the beginning of the year such as high inflation and interest rates, unstable foreign exchange rate, high trade deficit, and stagnant production, the government has taken strong measures to curb inflation, stabilise the foreign exchange rate and increase foreign currency reserves, thus achieving a GDP growth rate of 5.57 percent in the first six months of 2011.

Hai stressed that in the coming time, the Vietnamese government will focus on restructuring the economy and transforming the growth model along with completing investment mechanisms and policies to mobilise social investment for infrastructure development.

Speaking at the seminar, President of the Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce Urs Lustenberger expressed his belief in Vietnam ’s policy of door-opening and investment encouragement. He said that the seminar offered a chance for Vietnamese and Swiss businesses to seek cooperation opportunities in the future.

On the same day, Deputy PM Hai met with Christian Sigg, Vice President for International Business Development of the Zurich Airport Company.

Vietnam-Malaysia trade turnover hits over $4 billion

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Malaysia has hit US$4 billion this year making the target of US$7 billion within reach in the next few years, said a Malaysia diplomat.

Malaysian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Shazryll Zahiran made the comment at a meeting to mark the 54 th National Day of Malaysia held in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

A the event, Shazryll Zahiran and the Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City chapter of the Vietnam-Malaysia Friendship Association Le Thanh Tam expressed their joy at the development of relations between the two countries, which have been expanded in many fields, including politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, education and training, tourism, and defence and security.

Tam informed that Vietnam attracts more Malaysia investors in construction, electricity, water, oil and gas, mechanical engineering and banking. One of the typical examples in investment cooperation is Malaysian Petronas, which will celebrate 20 years of arrival in Vietnam this year.

High-end developers advised to tone down projects

Developers of high-end apartments in Ho Chi Minh City should focus less on projects’ magnificence and more on their efficiency, said Nguyen Nguyen Thai of CB Richard Ellis Vietnam.

Thai said given the stagnant sales of high-end apartments in HCMC in the first half of this year, changes were imperative if developers wanted to sell their products.

Thai said local developers tended to brag about their high-end apartments yet failed to understand the demands of buyers.

Over the past ten years, they have paid more attention to the final phases of development, namely securing land for building apartments, and then making efforts to sell their products.

The more important phase of researching demands of potential home buyers has almost been skipped, he said.

The result is poor sales which most experts say are caused by expensive prices which are beyond the capacity of most home-buyers.

Developers are thus advised to downsize their apartments and lower prices if they want to sell their products.

According to design consulting company Alinco said several property project owners had requested it to help re-design their projects by reducing apartments’ sizes as a way to boost liquidity at a time when the property market is frozen.

Given the fast urbanization process in major cities, most experts agree that the potential for the housing market is still very big. However, as the per capita income in Vietnam is still low, averaging at US$1,100 countrywide and $3,000 in HCMC, current housing prices are still beyond the reach of most people in need.

Thai of CBRE Vietnam calculates that there are around 45,000 couples getting married each year in HCMC, and each of these young families requires a small apartment of 50 square meters. If smaller apartments are priced between VND12-15 million a square meter, a medium-income couple should be able to afford a home after 15 to 20 years.

“Those developers who offer buyer-oriented products are already half way to success,” Thai said. “The remaining task for them is to have an appropriate marketing strategy.”

Vietnamese firms channels more investments in Laos

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Co (HAG) has signed memorandum of understanding with Laos's government for four large hydropower projects including Nam Et 1, 2, and 3 and Se Su.

In addition, representatives from Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and their Lao counterparts have also granted HAGL with investment licenses for Nam Kong 2 and 3 hydropower plants in Laos’ Attapeu Province.

HAGL's projects in the province also include a sugar refining plant with an estimated capacity of 7,000 tons per day, a 30 MW thermo power plant, an ethanol plant with annual capacity of 12,000 tons and a $100 million fertilizer plant with annual capacity of 50,000 tons with sugarcane as raw material.

Doan Nguyen Duc, chair of HAG's director board, said that starting investments in Laos since 2008, so far, HAGL has become one of enterprises with the biggest investment capital in Laos of nearly $1 billion.

HAGL's investments in Laos mainly focused on rubber and sugarcane with a total area of 30,000 hectares and investment value of some $210 million.

Its hydropower projects of Nam Kong 2, Nam Kong 3, Ha Xe Kong, Se Su and Nam Et have total capacity of 400 MW valued at $500 million.

Regarding mineral, HAGL invested in mining a copper mine in Xe Kong and an iron mine in Dac Chung district, Xe Kong province, worth about $70 million.

Additionally, HAG also invested $60 million in two airport projects in provinces of Attapeu and Hua Phan.

Vietnam National Petroleum Joint Stock Corp (Petrolimex) has also received the investment license to officially enter into trading business in Laos and cooperate with Chevron.

Petrolimex's investment project in Laos received the nod from the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment on June 21, 2011 under the License No.452/BKHDT-DTRNN to invest abroad.

Chevron is the world's third biggest energy group in terms of oil reserves and the world's fourth biggest group in terms of exploitation of oil and natural gas.

Petrolimex has been developing doing oil and gas business in regional countries in forms of transfer business and export.

It has also already established Petrolimex one-member Ltd Co in Singapore, the world's major oil and gas centre, and opened its representative office in Cambodia.

“Footwear exports to EU shouldn’t be increased suddenly”

A sudden increase in Vietnam’s footwear exports to the EU may take the risk of anti-dumping cases.

The statement was made by Nguyen Thi Tong, General Secretary of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (LEFASO).

She said the country’s businesses must grasp regulations and market changes, avoid any sudden increase that make the EU, particularly those countries having a developed leather and footwear industry, feel unstable.

Ms. Tong noted that from now until 2020, businesses will be supported to develop trade names and create new models for the domestic market.

LEFASO forecast Vietnam’s footwear exports would earn US$6 billion by the end of the year.

In 2010, Europe remained the most important export market for Vietnam’s footwear industry.

Norway funds poverty reduction project

The second-phase of a Norway-funded project was launched in Hanoi on September 13 to promote the community’s participation in socio-economic development and poverty reduction.

With a funding of US$3.8 million granted by the Norwegian government, the second phase of the project will be carried out with help from Plan Vietnam. It will benefit 49 communes in the provinces of Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Quang Binh and Quang Ngai.

Glenn Gibney, Country Director of Plan Vietnam, said that the second phase of the project will continue to step up the participation of grassroots levels and focus on children, women, ethnic minorities and needy people.

In the first phase from 2008 to 2010, the project drew the engagement of over 32,000 women and children, who directly attended nearly 1,400 consultancy group meetings and 684 village meetings to work out 342 socio-economic development plans for villages and 27 communes in the provinces of Ha Giang, Thai Nguyen and Quang Tri.

Hau Giang invests VND1,000 billion in building rice storehouse

Hau Giang leaders have allowed Phuong Trang Investment Joint Stock Company to build a rice storehouse in Chau Thanh A district and a nearly 1,000-hectare materials zone.

The storehouse will cover 100 hectares in Nhon Nghia A industrial zone with an annual capacity of 500,000- 1,000,000 tonnes.

Local leaders have directed relevant authorities to create the best conditions for investors to complete necessary procedures for the project to get the ground soon.

The storehouse aims to ensure the safe purchase of rice from farmers in Hau Giang and the Mekong delta region as a whole.

Hanoi to host Promotion Month Fair 2011

The Hanoi municipal People’s Committee will host Promotion Month Fair 2011 from October 28 to November 30.

The annual event is expected to bring many benefits to both businesses and consumers.

During the fair, 1,000 promotion points will offer discounts of above 15 percent and 2,000 others 30-50 percent discounts on thousands of products.

So far, hundreds of supermarkets and commercial centres have registered to take part in the event. Each business involved will be supported 30 percent of rental payment for a stall by the organizing board.

Central coastal provinces cooperate in tourism development

A seminar will be held in Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen province, in December to strengthen cooperation in tourism development among central coastal provinces and cities.

The deputy head of Ho Chi Minh City’s National Assembly delegation, Dr. Tran Du Lich, who is also head of a consultative group on developing tourism in central coastal areas, said that the seminar will be attended by local authorities and big businesses from seven central coastal provinces and cities.

They will discuss measures to boost cooperation and create more favourable conditions for developing common tourism products, he said.

These provinces and cities having a total of over 1,100km of coastal line are Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa.

Vietnamese and Lao localities boost cooperation

The Central Highland province of Kon Tum on September 13 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Lao neighbouring province of Attapeu to continue boosting cooperation in socio-economic development.

The signing took place at a meeting of the two provinces’ leaders in Kon Tum the same day.

The two sides agreed to create favourable conditions for their firms to seek investment and business opportunities, with a special focus on the border economic zones of Bo Y of Kon Tum and Phu Cua of Laos.

The two provinces plan to soon build and effectively operate a joint tourism route under the “three nations – a destination” plan covering provinces in central Vietnam, southern Laos and northeastern Thailand.

In terms of external relations and culture, the two provinces will continue to boost exchange of visits and hold cultural activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Laos and the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Cooperation Treaty.

Attapeu will continue to help Kon Tum search and repatriate remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts, who died in Laos during the past wars.

The two sides will continue coordinating to protect security in the common border area, focusing on fighting drug and social evils.

Over the past years, Kon Tum and Attapeu have attained good results in socio-economic development cooperation, especially import-export at the Bo Y-Phu Cua international border gate.

14 European countries invest in Hanoi

Fourteen European countries have invested a combined implemented capital of US$500 million in Hanoi and created jobs for 9,000 locals.

FDI reaches US$9.5 billion in eight months

According to the Hanoi People’s Committee, the city is calling on businesses to invest in high-quality services, financial centres, banking, trade, the electronic industry and information technology.  

It is also giving priority to businesses building high-tech parks, support industries, tourism projects, luxury resorts and international standard hospitals.

Indian companies seek opportunities
 
India's experience and technological capabilities offer Viet Nam great potential for collaboration in several sectors like manufacturing, IT, financing, and infrastructure, a business forum in HCM City heard yesterday.

Organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Indian consulate, and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it was attended by more than 20 Indian companies operating in infrastructure, IT, mining, banking, healthcare, and education.

Ninad Karpe, leader of the FICCI delegation and CEO of IT training giant Aptech Ltd, said he hoped the forum would help Indian and Vietnamese companies create new business partnerships.

Vo Tan Thanh, director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in HCM City, said trade between the two countries had surged from US$72 million in 1995 to $2.75 billion last year.

So far this year, Viet Nam's exports to India were $739 million and imports, $1.3 billion.

India was an import trade and investment partner but Viet Nam's trade deficit remained high and "the two sides are working to reduce [it] and boost trade."

To achieve sustainable development, Viet Nam had to focus on infrastructure, which was rather poor compared to that of other countries, and energy development.

It needed an estimated $70-80 billion in the next five to 10 years to build road and rail infrastructure and ports.

For this, besides local investment, the country would also seek investment from other countries, offering a great opportunity for Indian infrastructure companies.

Anil Nikam, assistant vice president of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited, said: "With [their] recent investment and experience in India, Indian infrastructure companies would like to be an active participant in the proposed development of Viet Nam."

Karpe said with its young, fast-learning, and large workforce and cheaper production costs than India and China, Viet Nam was also a promising investment destination for IT companies.

Many large global IT companies like Intel, IBM, and Samsung had already invested in the country, he pointed out.

Abhay Thakur, Indian consul in HCM City, said: "The Indian corporate sector is looking to utilise opportunities to invest in the infrastructure, power, IT, auto-components, banking and finance, and mineral sectors as well as to use Viet Nam as a hub for reaching out to the entire ASEAN region.

"However, to further boost Indian investment in Viet Nam, it is necessary to inform and provide specific opportunities to attract potential investors."

Indian companies were also interested in the agricultural, health, and pharmaceutical sectors, he said.

Nguyen Anh Ngoc, deputy director of the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Center, presented an overview of the national and city economies and the city's development goals.

To Minh Gioi of the Steering Committee for the South-western region spoke about the socio-economic development of the 13 Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces and called on Indian companies to invest there, especially in agricultural processing.

Operations resume at Dung Quat Refinery

Two months after the first maintenance work was carried out on the Dung Quat Refinery, operations resumed at full capacity yesterday, two days earlier than scheduled, reported the general director of the Binh Son Oil Refining and Petrochemical Co Ltd, Nguyen Hoai Giang.

The refinery actually resumed operations on 26 August at 85 per cent capacity, but this was increased to full throttle from noon yesterday, Giang affirmed.

Since it resumed operations, the refinery has produced about 70,000 tonnes of oil and petrol including 40,000 tonnes of diesel oil, 21,000 tonnes of petrol and 10,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas.

Giang said that 10.5 million tonnes had been sold to the domestic market.

Giang added that the resumption of operations at the Dung Quat Refinery played an important role in lifting the burden from the shoulders of other petroleum companies that had been forced to import petrol at high exchange rates and expensive transport costs.

Giang also said that during the maintenance work, experts fixed 55 technical problems.

Building materials sales to rise
 
Sales of building materials, particularly steel, are expected to pick up in the remaining months of the year.

Steel sales in August increased by 50,000 tonnes to 410,000 tonnes against the previous month, said Nguyen Tien Nghi, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA).

That trend was expected to continue untill the end of the year, Nghi added.

However, he said the suspension or termination of a number of construction projects would dampen sales of building materials.

Experts said the recovery of the building materials market would depend on the rate of economic growth and macroeconomic policies.

Most steel producers plan to keep prices unchanged, while sales agents have been offering discounts.

Nguyen Thi Oanh, who owns a steel shop in Ha Noi's Tu Liem District, said orders had dropped over the last few months.

Nghi added that many steel producers had cut production by half in the hope that the market would recover later in the year.

Cement sales have also been sluggish this year.

Doan Van Da, a cement agent in Ha Noi's Phu Xuyen District, said sales had declined by 40-50 per cent to just one tonne per day.

In the first eight months of this year, 31.65 million tonnes of cement was produced – 58 per cent of the industry's target, according to the Ministry of Construction.

Construction experts said sales of building materials had been hit by the cooling of the property market this year and a tightening in public spending.

To reduce stocks of steel and cement due to low domestic consumption, enterprises have increased exports.

The steel association said it expected 200,000 tonnes of steel to be exported this year, against 170,000 tonnes in 2010.

Meanwhile, the country exported 2.8 million tonnes of cement in the first eight months of this year.

HCM City set to host food, hotel exhibition

The biennial Food & Hotel Viet Nam in HCM City later this month will see exhibitors from 31 countries and territories showcase their latest food and hospitality products and services.

Bui Thi Thuc Anh, director of the VCCI Exhibition Service Company told media yesterday that the exhibition aimed to help Vietnamese businesses discover the latest products, equipment, services, and solutions in the food and food services industry.

It would also be a good place for both Vietnamese and international businesses to seek business opportunities, she added.

Almost three-quarters of the 360 exhibitors will be from foreign countries, including Australia, Cambodia, the US, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand, Turkey and the Philippines.

Beverages, wine, spirits and beers, snacks and ice cream, dairy products, fresh food, sea food as well as many processed and convenience foods will be on display.

Hotel equipment such as bar and coffees tools, interior furnishings and decoration, refrigeration and storage and lighting systems will also be on show.

On the sidelines of the exhibition will be the 2nd Viet Nam Coffee Preparation Competition hosted by the Singapore Exhibition Service Company and Kerry Ingredients, the 4th Vietnamese Talented Chef Competition held by the Sai Gon Professional Chefs' Guild, and the best Vietnamese Wine Waiter Competition.

VINALAB will organise a series of conferences on Viet Nam's food and hospitality industry.

The number of visitors this year is expected to top 8,500.

The 6th Food & Viet Nam Hotel 2011 will be held at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre on September 28-30 by the VCCI Exhibition Service Company and Singapore Exhibition Service Company.

Brands, not budget, rule consumer picks

Brands decide the consumer's budget instead of budget deciding choice of brands, according to a recent "Eye on Asia" retail study conducted by G2/Grey Group.

Asians had a budget range instead of a fixed amount, the study said, pointing out that the Chinese spent between CNY100-200 (US$15.6-$31.3), Malaysians between MYR150-200 ($49.6-$66) while the Vietnamese set aside about VND 300,000-600,000 ($14.4-28.7) in a regularshopping trip.

Even if consumers had a budget range, the study revealed, they tended to stretch beyond it to spend as high as 30 per cent more each time.

This fact was partly attributable to impulse buying as the study found at least 35 per cent of the brands purchased in stores were on impulse, with the number rising up to 53 per cent in the case of snacks.

"Impulse purchases have a peculiar characteristic," said G2/Grey Group Viet Nam strategic planning director Sumit Pillai. "They tend to override any rational decision processes of the consumers and take a life of their own. Therefore, the moment impulse takes over, budgetary considerations and shopping lists are thrown out of the mind."

Shopping lists and budgets were usually made outside the store with an older set of information from previous trips or communication. But the minute the consumer stepped into a dynamicenvironment like a store, new information about promotions, offers and products disrupted these calculations and decision rules, the study concluded.

Ministry permits massive imports of high-grade salt

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has granted domestic companies permission to import 50,000 tonnes of high-quality salt for use in chemical production.

This year's second batch of imported salt, which aims at mediating raw material shortages in chemical companies, met a portion of the 2011 import quota, the ministry said.

"This import is in accordance with Viet Nam's World Trade Organisation commitments. Viet Nam only imports high-quality salt that the country cannot produce on its own for use by specific processing industries," affirmed Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ho Xuan Hung.

To date, MoIT has not officially divided the allotment for each company. However, it affirmed that the salt would be sent to companies who use salt for chemical production.

Companies were not allowed to sell, exchange or use the salt for other purposes, the ministry said.

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) statistics show that Viet Nam consumes more than 1 million tonnes of salt each year.

While the country is able to meet the demand in terms of quantity, its domestic salt industry cannot produce the quality required by the medical sector and other industries.

MARD said the country currently had a 217,000-tonne stockpile of salt, a year-on-year increase of 33.8 per cent.

At the beginning of this year, MoIT issued Circular No45/2010/BT-BCT permitting companies to import 100,000 tonnes of salt for chemical production and 2,000 tonnes of high-quality salt for use in the health care sector in 2011.

PV