Local exporters lament rising costs

Though export revenues in January-August increased by 33.7 percent year-on-year, exporters said they had earned little because of rising input costs.

Speaking at an export promotion conference held in Ho Chi Minh City  this week  by the Party Central Committee’s Office and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, traders said high interest rates had made deep inroads into their profits.

Nguyen Cong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Coffee Corporation, or Vinacafe, said Vietnam’s total coffee export this year was estimated to reach US$2.5 billion thanks to high prices, but exporters’ profits would not be high because of steep lending rates.

Hoang said his company had paid over VND300 billion in interests to banks this year alone. It’s hard for industry players to make profits if they merely buy and sell coffee as intermediaries, he said.

“Vietnam is going to start the new coffee harvest soon, but if traders have to take out loans to buy beans, none will make profits given the current high interest rates,” Hoang said.

Though it is Vietnam’s top export earner with a revenue of $9 billion so far this year, the textile sector, which has to import up to 90 percent of input materials and mainly live on subcontracting, is also gaining little profit, said Pham Gia Hung, an official of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas).

Meanwhile, Vu Duc Thinh, General Director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, or Vinatex, said the group in the first eight months of the year earned $1.6 billion from export, an increase of 26 percent year-on-year, but it still failed to achieve the profit target due to rising costs.

“Despite a sharp increase in costs, including minimum wages, we could not increase prices in the contracts signed earlier,” Thinh explained.

“The only way to reduce overhead is to improve governance and boost investment in new technology which needs capital, but interest rates are too high, making it hard to invest in new technology for efficiency.”

Some firms also blamed their losses on the price gap between selling and buying the dollar at banks. They said they had to buy US dollars from banks at a negotiated price but sell them back later to banks at the formally-quoted price.

Hoang of Vinacafe said one of Vinacafe’s subsidiaries incurred a loss of VND40 billion after finishing an export contract just because of this unfair practice.
 
Footwear shipments to EU fall

Vietnamese footwear exports to the European Union are down in both volume and value, despite the removal of an anti-dumping duty.

In the first quarter, when the EU’s 10 percent duty on Vietnamese shoes was still in effect, Vietnamese footwear exports were down by 22.18 percent in value and nearly 12 percent in volume year-on-year, Claudio Dordi, MUTRAP III team leader, said at a seminar in HCMC this week.

However, after the tariff was abolished on April 1, total Vietnamese shoe exports to the EU in April and May continued to fall sharply by 61 percent in value and 24.8 percent in volume compared to last year.

Meanwhile, despite a 16.5 percent tariff, Chinese shoe exports to the EU in the two-month period increased 4 percent in value and had a slight decline of 4 percent in volume year-on-year. This tariff on Chinese footwear would likely end by December 31.

Figures from Eurostat indicated that Vietnamese shoes accounted for 30 percent of the total footwear imports into the EU in 2001-2002 but the proportion fell to 17 percent last year. In contrast, Chinese shoes accelerated their share to 26 percent in 2010 compared with 15 percent in previous years.

Dordi said China would make even more inroads into the market after the EU lifts the anti-dumping duty. Though anti-dumping is a big concern, competition against China in terms of leather shoe exports seems far more important, he said.

Shoes exports to the EU to date make up 50 percent of Vietnam’s total shoe exports, compared to the previous 65 percent, said Diep Thanh Kiet, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association.

It means that Vietnamese shoe-makers have to shift their focus to other markets besides the EU, he said.

The 0 percent tariff prepares the ground for Vietnamese shoe exports to the EU to achieve a better growth rate compared with India and Thailand. But it also sets up stiff competition with China, Kiet said.

The EU established a one-year-long monitoring regime on Chinese and Vietnamese shoe prices starting from April 1 this year.

However, with surging exports or a fall in the price of Vietnamese shoes, the EU can impose anti-dumping duty without any investigation. Then tax rates would be higher and tax duration would last longer, Kiet said.

Tours cost more this year

Domestic package tours cost customers 15 percent – 20 percent more this year than in 2010, says a report by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

According to the report, rising air fares and food prices have hurt travel agencies. In particular, there are fewer airfare promotion programs for local tourists than before, prompting a rise in package tour prices.

The increase in local tour prices is recorded at a number of travel enterprises but there is no change in the number of customers at these firms. Nevertheless, tourists tend to choose short-term tours by road instead of longer trips, while the number of clients using air travel has become stagnant.

According to a representative of Saigontourist Travel Service Co., despite a steep service price hike, travel agencies have no choice but to flexibly arrange services instead of increasing package tour prices.

For example, travelers are encouraged to take lower-priced tours that depart at the beginning of the week rather than on the weekend.

Meanwhile, the situation is worse with smaller firms, which account for a majority of all travel agencies in HCMC.

Because of modest sales, these companies can’t offer better prices than larger ones and are vulnerable to volatile prices.

Representatives from some companies complained that they could not control package tour prices and several clients had refused to buy inbound tours whose prices are higher than those of outbound tours, especially tours to regional countries.

According to Young Generation Travel Agency’s Director Tran The Dung, the number of tourists at his company, especially air travelers, had fallen by 30 percent -35 percent year-on-year.

Before, tour prices only increased slightly on holidays but are now inching up steadily in line with other services’ price hikes, Dung said.

He said since the beginning of the year, air fares and ground services had increased by 23 percent and 10 percent respectively, pushing package tour prices up 15 percent -20 percent compared to the same period last year and hindering business activities when several customers have shifted to road travel or decided not to buy tours at all.

10 Vietnam firms listed among Forbes Asia’s best

Ten Vietnamese businesses with revenues of under US$1 billion have been listed among 200 high-performing Asia-Pacific companies and will be awarded the title “Best Under A Billion 2011” by Forbes Asia.

The financial magazine said the 200 “Best Under A Billion” list were selected through a search for small and medium-sized businesses that have annual revenue of between $5 million and $1 billion and be publicly traded for at least a year.

The companies will then be screened for earnings growth, sales growth, and return on equity in the past 12 months and over 3 years.

Of the 10 Vietnamese companies in this year’s list, DHG Pharmaceutical and Dong Phu Rubber earn the highest positions with their respective market values of $454 million and $108 million, according to Forbes’ figures.

The two are followed by the Vietnam Container Shipping and PetroVietNam Low Pressure Gas Distribution, whose market value both topped $72 million.

The remaining are the Ninh Hoa Sugar, Nari Hamico Minerals, Long An Food Processing Export, Doan Xa Port, Dinh Vu Port Investment & Development, and Petroleum Equipment Assembly & Metal Structure with market values between $11 million and $36 million.

In last year’s survey, the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Co, or Vinamilk, was the only representative of Vietnam.

Forbes Asia said the 200 title-winners this year were shortlisted from more than 15,000 companies as they have best managed through the economic volatility that began in 2008.

Most of them navigated the global credit crunch with little to no debt on their balance sheets, it said.

The magazine also said the list was dominated by Chinese and Hong Kong companies.

State cement firm posts loss despite high revenue

The Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) posted a loss of VND7.8 billion (US$390,000) in the year to date, despite a revenue of VND20.5 trillion, the company said in a meeting yesterday.

High expenses is the main cause for this loss, VICEM’s CEO Nguyen Ngoc Anh said at the meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai to find solutions to ease the state-run corporation’s difficulties.

He said the lending interest rate of up to 21.5 percent plus the forex rate difference of VND540 billion had sent production costs to a skyrocketing high and thus reduced profits for VICEM and its subsidiaries.

He added input costs such as fuel also rose by 32 percent, while the respective figures for power and coal were 15.28 percent and 41 percent.

“The government policies to tighten credits and cut public spending and the frozen real estate market also forced the cement makers to constantly reduce prices to even lower than production costs to increase consumption,” he said.

An official from the Ministry of Finance said with the profit margin of only 9 percent, the cement sector was operating with poor effectiveness regardless of the increased sales and production.

“It is also difficult for VICEM to clear foreign debts as six out of its nine subsidiaries are suffering losses while the exchange rate difference is still big,” he said.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said high production costs, poor workforce productivity, non-diversified products and low competitiveness were amongst the main causes for VICEM’s losses.

He added that the company also had to suffer high transportation cost due to the undeveloped traffic infrastructure.

Deputy Minister Hai said VICEM had to expand its export market to boost consumption and reduce stockpile as a short-term solution to overcome crisis.

He also urged the company to develop plans to reduce the fuel and material consumption and increase workforce productivity.

“VICEM also has to restructure production and enhance technology,” he said.

Firms earn little despite high export turnover

Vietnam’s export turnover from January to August rose by 33.7 percent year on year to US$60.8 billion, but businesses said their actual profits are inconsiderable due to soaring input costs and lending rates, TBKTSG reported.

For instance, Nguyen Cong Hoang, deputy director of Vietnam National Coffee Corporation, or Vinacafe, said export turnover of the coffee sector this year was estimated to reach $2.5 billion, but exporters would not benefit much since the lending interest rate was too high.

He said Vinacafe had spent a total VND300 billion to cover bank loan interests so far.

“Most of the domestic exporters have to borrow from banks to buy coffee for exports, but none of them could make profit with the current skyrocketing rates,” he said.

Pham Gia Hung, head of the public relation of Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association, said the textile and garment sector was the country’s best earner this year with export turnover of $9 billion.

But since up to 90 percent of the industry had to import materials, the actual profits were inconsiderable, he said.

Vu Duc Thinh, CEO of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, said the increased labor wages plus the soaring input cost had reduced the company’s profit, although it had exported $1.6 billion worth of products in the first eight months of this year, which is a 26 percent rise compared with the same period last year.

Most of the contracts were signed at the beginning of this year so we could not hike export prices, he explained.

“The new production technologies can help reduce input cost, but no businesses can afford the huge investment to do so with the current interest rate,” he said.

Many exporters also said they had to buy dollars from banks at an arranged rate, but could only sell the currency back to banks at a fixed rate, which cost them a considerable expense from the rate difference.

“This is the main cause for a Vinacafe’s member company to incur a loss of VND40 billion in a coffee exporting contract,” he said.

ODA disbursement in H1 reaches just 18%

The disbursement of official development assistance (ODA) capitals in the first half of this year reached about VND154 billion, or 18 percent of 2011’s plan, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The disbursement on financial management and public management sectors, non-refundable aid of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), reached the highest ratio of 106 percent, exceeding the previous plan.

But that on World Bank-funded projects and projects funded by Sweden, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands governments in 2009-2014 reached only reached only 8 percent and 9 percent respectively.

The total value of ODA programs and projects signed in the first six months of this year reached $293,270.

The ministry has been managing 20 ODA programs and projects so far.

Denmark helps Vietnamese business lift competitiveness

The Global Competitiveness Facility under the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) on September 23 launched a programme to assist Vietnamese enterprises in the 2011-2013 period.

Under the programme, GCF will provide VND216 billion (US$10.3 million) as non-refundable aid to between 50-60 private and non-State economic organisations in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Dac Lac, Lam Dong, An Giang and Can Tho provinces.

Enterprises involving in agriculture, farm produce processing, fisheries, aquaculture, handicrafts and tourism will be given priority. Top priority will be given to female entrepreneur producers.

GCF’s programme aims to help develop trade services, which bring active and long-term benefits to the development of the value chain towards exports. It also helps reduce financial risk for private and non-State organisations, which are providing new business services and new technology or are seeking new export markets and applying new business models.

In the 2006-2010 period, GCF granted VND135 billion to 52 Vietnamese enterprises in Ha Tay, Nghe An, Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces, generating 6,396 jobs for local people.

RoK’s Lotte Mart increases investment in Vietnam

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Lotte Mart Company has planned to raise investment capital into Vietnam to US$50 million.

Lotte Mart Company belongs to the Lotte Shopping Group in RoK. In 2008, it cooperated with Vietnam’s Minh Van Company with an initial capital of US$15 million.

Under a new plan, Lotte Mart Company will contribute another US$40 million, making up 80 percent of increased investment.

With such new capital, Lotte Mart will open their third retail centre after the first two were opened in HCM City.

Da Nang hosts Vietnam-RoK cultural, economic exchange

A seminar on Vietnam-Republic of Korea (RoK) cultural and economic exchange was held in the central city of Da Nang on September 23.

The event was jointly organised by the Da Nang municipal People’s Committee and the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

At the seminar the municipal leaders introduced new policies to attract investment as well as new customs procedures and taxes, while the RoK side presented its business culture.

Da Nang now has more than 200 foreign investment projects with a total capital of US$3.2 billion, with 25 of them coming from the RoK. The city is concentrating on hi-tech industry.

Phung Tan Viet, Vice Chairman of the Da Nang municipal People’s Committee, said the event provides a good chance for RoK businesses to understand more about the investment policies and the business potential in Da Nang.

The city commits to giving preferential conditions for RoK businesses investing in Da Nang, he added.

Poland-Vietnam Business Forum opens

The Polish Government will offer US$2 billion worth of credit loans at a low interest rate across 10 years through Vietnamese banks to help domestic businesses which have established relations with Polish partners.

The information was released at a Poland-Vietnam Business Forum held in Hanoi on September 23 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Poland Chamber of Commerce and the Polish embassy.

Thirty leading Polish businesses in energy, shipbuilding, food production, pharmacy, machinery and banking attended the forum to seek business and investment opportunity in Vietnam.

Speaking at the forum, Polish Deputy Minister of Economy Rafal Baniak said Poland is keen to become a significant trade and investment partner with Vietnam. The Polish Government agreed to provide US$2 billion worth of credit loans to Vietnam at a low interest rate over 10 years to support Vietnamese businesses. This is a good opportunity for businesses from both countries to boost cooperation in the future.

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Poland reached US$620 million in 2010, up 18 percent compared to 2009. Vietnam’s exports to Poland have steadily increased by 20 percent annually.

Poland has had 8 projects in Vietnam with a committed capitalisation of nearly US$100 million, of which nearly US$42 million have been implemented.

However, trade relations have not matched with potential, making the forum a good opportunity for businesses from both countries to boost mutual cooperation.

Phan Thi Thu Hang, VCCI General Secretary, said Vietnam and Poland have organised business forums to provide information on economic development and the potential for businesses.

In the first half of this year, Vietnam exported goods worth US$348 million to Poland, representing an increase of 46 percent, while US$25 million was imported from Poland, an increase of 6.7 percent. Poland is currently the leading partner of Vietnam in Eastern Europe.

Cement makers urged to cut costs
 
Cement producers should cut energy and other costs and restructure in order to enhance their financial capacity and sharpen their competitiveness, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai in a meeting with representatives of the State-owned Viet Nam Cement Industry Corporation.

The economy was in a harsh situation, with a heavy adverse impact on the cement industry, Hai said last Friday. The sector therefore faced an urgent need to diversify its products and markets in order to boost exports.

Hai also urged the ministries of Finance and Construction to address foreign exchange fluctuations between the Vietnamese dong and the US dollar which have eaten into the industry's profit margins.

He also urged the Viet Nam Cement Industry Corporation to work closely with the Ministry of Transport on its regional and provincial road-building programme, which would help to boost cement consumption.

The corporation should also strike an agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to source raw materials and avoid the kinds of shortages that have halted production at a number of cement plants in recent months, he said.

Hai also praised the cement industry for reaching price targets set by the Government this year despite high inflation and rising input costs.

The corporation earned VND20.5 trillion (US$985.6 million) in the first nine months of the year, producing nearly 11 million tonnes of clinker and 12.3 million tonnes of cement. Its subsidiary companies have begun repaying debts incurred to finance construction of the Hoang Thach No 3, Binh Phuoc, Bim Son and But Son No 2 cement plants.

The corporation's general director, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, acknowledged, however, that the corporation would be unable to meet its pre-tax profit target for the year of VND1.25 trillion ($59 million), having alread suffered losses totalling VND7.8 billion ($371,000) in the first nine months due to soaring interest rates and the rising costs of raw materials.

Demand for cement also decline dramatically in the third quarter, he said, compared to the same period last year, due to the effects of heavy rains on the construction season.

Vietnam Airline offers discount Europe flights

The Vietnam Airline Corporation (Vietnam Airlines) on Sept. 25 announced a 35 per cent fare discount for customers who fly directly from Vietnam to France , Germany or Russia .

The promotional programme will last until October 30 for tours to Russia and until December 31 for those to France and Germany .

The national carrier now provides three service classes for the direct flights to Paris ( France ), Frankfurt ( Germany ) and Moscow ( Russia ), with a frequency of 23 flights per week.

Vietnam Airlines plans to increase flights to 29 per week by December when its London (UK) destination is launched.

Firm’s steely resolve

Taiwan’s E-United Group has dispelled doubts over its financial ability to build the $4.5 billion Guang Lian steel manufacturing project in Vietnam.

Representatives from Export-Import Bank of China last week visited Vietnam, at E-United Group’s invitation, to confirm the bank would provide funding to the central Quang Ngai province Dung Quat Economic Zone-based steel factory, in which the Taiwanese will hold a 90 per cent stake.

The investor and bank delivered the message to the Quang Ngai People’s Committee, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Guang Lian is the largest of 40 projects the Chinese banker has funded in Vietnam.

Cao Khoa, chairman of Quang Ngai People’s Committee, said the credit confirmation “eased worries the local authority had about this project.”

Till now, the local authority has not granted an amended investment certificate to the project, even though the government approved the investor’s proposal for investment expansion from $3 billion to $4.5 billion.

Khoa said provincial leaders had wanted to see the investor’s strong commitment and financial ability before granting an amended investment certificate.

“Our requirement was that E-United Group leaders had to introduce bankers who agreed to fund this giant steel manufacturing project. Finally, they did,” he said.

Khoa added the local authority would grant an amended investment certificate to this project, allowing E-United Group and its partner Thailand’s Tycoons Worldwide Group – which holds the remaining 10 per cent stake – to resume construction.

Guang Lian is the second largest steel project to have been licenced in Vietnam, following mammoth port and steel manufacturing complex of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group in Vung Ang Economic Zone, central Ha Tinh province.

Guang Lian, first invested in by Thailand’s Tycoons Worldwide Group and Chinese Jian Steel and Iron Group, was licenced in 2006 with total investment capital of around $1 billion.

One year later, Taiwan’s E-United Group replaced Jian Steel and Iron Group and took a 90 per cent stake in the project, establishing Guang Lian Steel Company. It also raised the investment capital to $3 billion, but has delayed construction. Last year, the new investor asked for permission to raise total investment capital to $4.5 billion and total annual production capacity to seven million tonnes of steel.

Nippon Steel begins production in Vietnam

Nippon Steel Pipe Vietnam Co., Ltd. on Friday commissioned a steel pipe plant in Phu My 2 Industrial Zone in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, supplying the market with around 5,000 tons of products a month.

The factory covering ten hectares is the first construction steel project of Japan Nippon Steel Corporation outside Japan, producing steel pipes and steel sheets.

It is a joint venture capitalized at US$15 million, with Nippon Steel Corporation holding a majority stake of 51%, while other minor stakeholders are Metal One Corp., Vietnam Steel Corp., Sumitomo, Marubeni Itochu Steel Inc., Hanwa Co., Ltd. and Nippon Steel Trading Co.. These are leading steel producers and traders of Japan and Vietnam, which ensure a firm financial and technical base, experience and relations for the success of venture.

The company said in a statement that with the most state-of-the-art production line, its products have competitive advantages and are suitable for use in building foundations, bridge foundations, and harbor structures among others.

Kenichi Kanezaki, general director of the joint venture, said in the statement that his company’s output would mainly be for domestic consumption, but it would still export part of its products to Southeast Asian countries and Australia.
 
City spends VND315 billion on dikes in District 8

Work started last Friday on a system of dykes stretching 3.2km along the Can Giuoc River in HCMC’s District 8 to prevent high tides and flooding.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, vice chairman of the district Nguyen Ho Hai said that the work costing VND315 billion was expected to be completed within five months. When in place, it can help limit the regular flooding caused by the rising tides as well as floodwater from the Can Giuoc River overflowing into residential areas nearby.

The dyke which stands 2.5m high and is 5m in width can function as not only a wall to prevent tides and floodwater but also a road for the residential areas.

The low-lying District 8 is crisscrossed by 23 canals and impacted by 70% of the tides from the Can Giuoc River. Due to the obsolete sewerage, many areas often get inundated so heavily that it is hard to distinguish between roads and rivers when the tides reached their peak.

In related news, the HCMC Department of Communications and Transport said landslides along canals in the city remain an alarming issue due to the limited funds for strengthening the dike system.

The department has approved eight projects to ensure safety for people living in areas susceptible to landslides, but only three projects have found capital for implementation.

In a field trip on Saturday, HCMC’s Vice Chairman Le Minh Tri said the city would allocate funds for more urgent projects to fight landslides.

This year to date, the city has seen eight landslides along canals. The latest landslide was in Nha Be District last month, killing one person and collapsing five houses.
 
Banyan launches sales of luxury condo project in Hue

Banyan Tree Worldwide Group of Singapore on Friday introduced a model apartment and officially launched the apartment offering of Laguna Lang Co integrated resort being developed for two years in Thua Thien-Hue Province’s Phu Loc District.

Michael Ayling, senior vice president of Banyan Tree, said 40 among 197 apartments in Angsana Properties of the resort will be introduced to potential investors with prices ranging from US$290,000 to US$2 million each.

Getting off the ground since August 2009, Laguna Lang Co, covering 280 hectares, is being constructed in four phases with total investment raised from US$875 million to US$1 billion.

This project will have seven hotels with over 2,000 rooms, over 1,000 luxury apartments, a golf course, a villa resort and other components such as conference center, retail outlets and an entertainment section.

The first construction phase of Angsana Lang Co apartment project and an 18-hole golf designed by Nick Faldo, a professional golfer, is set for completion in July next year.

Lang Co is endowed with favorable natural conditions such as white-sand beaches along the ‘heritage road’ with many heritage sites recognized by UNESCO. Besides, it takes only one hour to get to Hue and Danang airports from Lang Co which has both mountain and sea, said Michael.

The project, which has the apartment price based on the average price in regional countries, attracts not only locals and overseas Vietnamese but also foreign investors as Banyan Tree is a famous developer in tourism property with many projects such as Laguna Phuket in Thailand.

In addition, Banyan Tree pledges a profit to attract potential customers, in which apartment owners can join Angsana club and have chances to go on a vacation with 60 days per year in many other Angsana resorts worldwide.

Customers can also get an annual profit of 6% in the first six years or receive net sales from apartment leasing. Any apartments bought will be listed as hotel rooms and managed by Angsana.

Languna Lang Co, Banyan Tree’s first project in Indochina region, is scheduled to be finished in late 2014.
 
Tan Thuan EPZ focuses more on hi-tech sectors

Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Ltd Co., the developer of Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in District 7, said on Saturday it would focus on attracting hi-tech industries and high-added-value producers in the future.

At a ceremony marking the 29th anniversary of the company’s establishment last weekend in HCMC, Y.T. Young, general director of Tan Thuan, said that the enterprise was developing a workshop area and an office building named E-Office covering 40 hectares within its premise in the hope of attracting hi-tech investors, software projects and investment services only.

The infrastructure for the first stage is scheduled to be finished by the year-end, noted Young.

After 20 years of operating by luring labor-intensive schemes such as textile and clothing firms in the 1990s, Tan Thuan EPZ has gradually shifted its focus to others including mechanics, automobile components, electronics and semi-conductor industries generating more export value.

Some 120 among 175 investors in the export processing zone have increased investment funds to expand their activities and build more factories, creating more than 60,000 jobs with total investment capital of US$1.2 billion and earning total annual export revenue of over US$2.8 billion, Young added.
 
VND9 bil. for study, charity activities

Phu My Hung Corporation and Lawrence S. Ting Memorial Fund last weekend commenced the 9th Lawrence S. Ting’s Scholarship Awards and Donation Presentation Ceremony for 2012 which saw VND9 billion donated to bright students.

Lawrence S. Ting Memorial Fund handed over 470 scholarships worth VND4 billion to gifted students and pupils from 33 schools including high schools, colleges and universities throughout the country. Every scholarship ranges from VND4.5 million per year for high school pupils to VND10 million annually for students at colleges or universities.

Accordingly, the scholarships will be transferred monthly into the current accounts of grantees with 318 students coming from the South, 60 from the Central and 92 from the North.

In addition, Phu My Hung Corporation offered other scholarships worth VND5 billion to a number of central and local associations who will distribute the scholarships to poor, hard-working pupils.

Since its establishment 18 years ago, Phu My Hung has contributed over VND140 billion to numerous society and community support programs.

PV