City hosts quality testing conference

HCM City is hosting the annual meeting of the quality-control industry's Asia Network Forum (ANF) between November 14 and 18.

It is being attended by Japan Quality Assurance, Korea Testing Laboratory, China Quality Certification Centre, Electronics Testing Center of Taiwan, TUV SUD PSB Singapore, and the host nation's QUATEST 3 which is also organising it.

Founded in 2000 by conformity assessment bodies designated by various national governments, ANF is an association of certification and testing organisations from several Asian countries and territories.

Hoang Lam, deputy director of QUATEST 3, said ANF's main purpose was to harmonise certification methods applied in compulsory assessment services.

First online shopping event opens

An event on online shopping, the first ever of its kind in Viet Nam, was launched yesterday in Ha Noi.

The two-week event aimed to improve customer awareness of benefits of online shopping, said Nguyen Thanh Hung, vice chairman of the Viet Nam E-commerce Association, one of the event's organisers. It would also be a good chance for participating enterprises to introduce their products and services online, he said. Customers can access website www.TuanMuaSamTrucTuyen.vn for online shopping during the event.

Contracts inked at VN, China fair

Businesses from Viet Nam and China signed 19 economic contracts worth US$201 million last Friday at the sixth Viet Nam-China Trade Fair in northern Lao Cai Province.

The fair provides a venue for businesses to exchange and discuss co-operation in five groups of businesses, including investment-minerals; tourism-travel; agricultural product-fruit, seafood and fertiliser-chemical substances. It was the biggest fair of its kind in the area with the participation of 167 Vietnamese and 112 Chinese businesses.

FPT Securities postpones listing due to instability

FPT Securities Co's board of directors has postponed its plan to debut shares this year, attributing the decision to prolonged unfavourable conditions on the stock market.

At the suggestion of its foreign strategic stakeholder, Japanese SBI Securities, FPTS also dissolved the list of shareholders that it expected to release last Friday.

SCIC set to auction off stakes in seven companies

State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) announced a plan to sell its stake in seven enterprises before the end of the year, for a total value of VND85 billion (US$4 million).

The seven companies would be Hai Phong Steel and Material JSC, Tien Giang Construction JSC, Agimexpharm Pharmaceutical JSC, Irrigation Construction Consulting JSC II, Vinh Long Auto Transport JSC, Petroleum Minh Hai JSC and Minh Hai Tourist and Service JSC.

As of June 30, SCIC represented State capital in 461 companies with a total book value of nearly VND12.9 trillion ($614.3 million). By the end of next year, it plans to sell stakes in 420 enterprises.

Securities leaders surrender to extreme conditions

Top executives at eight securities companies have been dismissed or replaced in the past six weeks, according to a recent report of the HCM City Stock Exchange.

These general directors, deputy general directors and branch directors say they quit for personal reasons, but market insiders say the leaders caved under the immense pressure of an unstable market. Brokerage companies, whose large shareholders are often banks or financial institutions, are continuing to struggle to turn a profit in the current economic climate.

Share company posts profit amid market turmoil

While many securities companies suffered losses due to the market, Maritime Bank Securities achieved a VND19.6 billion (US$920,200) gross profit in the first three quarters. However, the figure accounts for only 34.5 per cent of this year's target. In the third quarter alone, the company opened around 500 new accounts for investors.

Maritime Bank Securities has also offered a preferential trading fee of 0.15 per cent of each transaction with the newly listed Military Bank (MBB) until December. The company's typical trading fees range between 0.2-0.35 per cent.

Vietnam joins India int’l trade fair

Four Vietnamese businesses are showcasing their products at the India International Trade Fair 2011 that opened in New Delhi on November 14.

As one of India’s leading trade promotion events that is organised by the Trade Promotion Organisation under the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the annual event aims to promote trade exchanges between India and countries worldwide.

This year’s event has drawn the participation of over 6,500 Indian and foreign companies from 30 countries and territories, including the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, Singapore, Thailand and Pakistan .

The Vietnamese businesses brought equipment, computer software, automobile, electronics, telecom and leather products, textile, handicrafts, jewelries, interior décor and consumer goods to the fair, which will last until November 27.

According to Vietnamese Commercial Counselor to India Nguyen Son Ha, India is now one of Vietnam’s 10 largest trade partners. Two-way trade between Vietnam and India has sharply increased over recent years, reaching US$2.6 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 44.7 percent over the same period last year.

The two countries set a target of raising the figure to US$7 billion in 2015, he said.

Also in the nine-month period, Vietnam’s exports to India exceeded $1 billion for the first time, representing a year-on-year rise of 61 percent, he added.

Vietnam, Japan boost economic cooperation

Vietnam always attaches importance to economic cooperation with Japan , said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Phuc made the statement in his meeting with Yoshihiko Nagasaki, Vice Chairman of the Japan-ASEAN Cultural and Economic Exchange of the Friendship Exchange Council (FEC) of Japan on November 14 in Hanoi .

The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed the Vietnamese Government will facilitate Japanese enterprises’ business and investment in Vietnam , especially in the fields of infrastructure, sea port, supporting industry, energy, healthcare, education and environmental protection.

He said he hopes that FEC will actively contribute to strengthening relations between the two countries, not only in economics but also in education and training.

Yoshihiko Nagasaki spoke highly of Vietnam ’s policies of macroeconomic stability and its efforts to curb inflation. He also said his visit to Vietnam aims to foster economic exchange and cooperation between the two countries.

He expressed hope that the Vietnam-Japan economic cooperation will be boosted strongly in the future.

Chinese garments dominate local markets

Sporting eye-catching colors and various designs, Chinese garments have outperformed the Vietnamese counterparts in markets around Ho Chi Minh City though their prices are much higher.

V, a jeans trader in Tan Binh Market, said Vietnamese garments had failed to compete with their Chinese counterparts over the last year despite their lower prices.

Though a pair of Vietnam-made jeans cost only VND160,000 (US$7.7), its sale was extremely poor, while the Chinese jeans at double the price were selling very well, he said.

Linh, who runs a T-shirt booth in An Dong Market, said locally-made clothes had made many improvements in design and quality but still failed to compete with Chinese products.

“Chinese garments cost between VND250,000 and VND400,000 apiece but still enjoy greater consumption than the Vietnamese ones, which cost only VND170,000,” she said.

Many small traders in An Dong Market have switched to selling expensive Chinese garments exclusively, targeting the middle-aged consumers.

“Selling Chinese garments always has us worried of being fined by the market management authorities since the products do not have any receipts or invoices,” a small trader said.

“But we have to take risks to suit the market demand.”

V of Tan Binh Market said despite their comparable quality to Chinese garments, Vietnamese products could only compete with Chinese clothes that have plain or simple designs.

“In the market segment of T-shirt for women above 35 years old, Vietnam-made garments are no match for them.”

Small traders said Chinese garments often had many creatively stylized details, enabling them to easily catch the consumer’s attention.

“Chinese garments always have a great variety of designs available for consumers’ choices,” Giang, a small trader, said.

Another strong point of Chinese garments, according to small traders, is that they are constantly kept up-to-date with the latest fashion trends.

Meanwhile, other industry experts argued that Chinese garments could easily dominate small markets since they faced no competition from well-known Vietnamese garment manufacturers, who mostly sold their products through modern distribution channels such as supermarkets and shopping malls.

Son Kim Fashion, who owns famous fashion brand names such as Wow and Jockey, said most Vietnamese brands had 70 percent of their products sold via modern distribution channels.

“Only a small proportion of the products are sold in small markets, which enables Chinese garments to easily dominate the high-quality segment,” the company said.

For her part, Ngo Thi Bau, head of the fashion store chain Foci, said 50 percent of the raw materials for Vietnamese garments were imported from China.

“With this heavy dependence, it is not easy for locally-made products to dominate the domestic market.”

State-owned firm loses in non-core businesses

An inspection conducted by the Ministry of Finance has found the state-owned Saigon Trading Group, or SATRA, neglecting its core business to operate in non-core ones, making massive losses.

The inspectors said SATRA’s investment in its main business of food manufacturing and distribution only accounted for 43.11 percent while the minimum required rate was 70 percent.

It had invested the rest in securities, banking, insurance, and investment funds, according to Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper.

By the end of the first quarter, SATRA had sunk more than VND546.4 billion (US$26.2 million) in these sectors.

The company had sunk over VND490 billion in six banks though state-run enterprises are only allowed to invest in one firm in a particular sector.

These investments bore SATRA bitter fruits.

In 2008 it contracted with Thanh Viet Fund Management Co to buy 481,095 shares of Vietcombank at VND103,000 each.

Though it paid the fund VND49.5 billion, it only got 266,095 stocks worth VND27.4 billion.

Besides losing the remaining VND22.1 billion, SATRA also lost heavily on the investment since the Vietcombank share now trades at a mere VND20,000.

SATRA has filed a suit against Thanh Viet Co but the case is still in court.

In 2010 the company lost VND89 billion in a dispute over a wheat trading contract with Thai Nguyen 1 Co Ltd.

A state enterprise with a large registered capital of VND3.6 trillion, SATRA also signed up for Ho Chi Minh City’s price stabilization program.

It was allowed to borrow VND11.3 billion without interest for 10 months, and in return sell 1,700 tons of white rice a month at 10 percent lower than market price.

Under the program, SATRA was required to sell the rice lower than market rice directly to customers.

SATRA registered with the city Department of Finance to sell the rice at VND8,500 a kilogram at its 66 outlets citywide.

But between October 2010 and March 2011 it sold only 100 tons a month, and not to individual consumers as required but to wholesalers.

In 2008 the city people’s committee and the Ministry of Finance gave approval for SATRA to issue bonds worth VND1 trillion to raise funds for some major projects.

But the company deposited a part of the money in banks.

Central bank loosens real-estate credit policy

The freeze on lending to the property sector will no longer apply in the case of mortgages and three other categories, the State Bank of Vietnam said in a directive yesterday.

Besides loans to individuals for buying and repairing houses for personal use, development of low-income and workers’ housing, free housing for workers in industrial parks, and those that will be completed by January 1, have also again become eligible for loans.

The freeze came when the central bank had tightened policy in April, ordering banks to keep outstanding loans to the real-estate sector to less than 16 percent of total loans.

The directive also orders credit institutions to lend to the agricultural and export sectors, and supporting industries.

Exports to Myanmar surge 111 percent

In the first 10 months of the year, Vietnam earned US$60 million from exports to Myanmar, up nearly 111 percent against the same period last year, according to Myanmar’s Customs Department.

So, Vietnam has now become Myanmar’s 13 largest exporter behind Singapore, China, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, the US, German, Sweden and Australia.

During the period, two-way trade between Vietnam and Myanmar hit $125 million, a 46.6 percent increase year on year.

Vietnam’s key exports to Myanmar included steel, garment and textile materials and accessories, medicine, and medical equipment, construction materials, electronic appliances, tubes and tyres, machines spare parts, chemical fertilizers and machinery components.

It mainly imported agriculture, forest and seafood products from Myanmar, totalling $65 million and becoming Myanmar’s 11th largest importer in the first 10 months.

Last year, the country earned $47 million from exports to Myanmar and two-way trade turnover in 2010 increased by 60 percent compared to the previous year.

Vietnam, Indonesia strengthen auditing cooperation

A delegation from the State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) led by General State Auditor Dinh Tien Dung held a working session with the Supreme Audit Board of Indonesia (BKP RI) in Bali on November 15.  

At the working session, leaders from the two audit agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding cooperation in auditing public administration.

Addressing the signing ceremony, General State Auditor Dung emphasized that Vietnam attaches great importance to strengthening relations with state audit agencies in the Southeast Asian region, including Indonesia. He said Vietnam has sent delegations and experts to share experiences with the Supreme Audit Board of Indonesia to learn from their professional knowledge.

Under the MoU, both sides will increase cooperation in improving professional skills and methods for auditing in public administration, offer training courses for auditors and conduct joint research into fields of mutual concern.

Dung said the signing of the MoU coincided with the establishment of the Supreme Audit Institution in Southeast Asia, which will lay a solid foundation for further development between the two auditing bodies.

President of the Supreme Audit Board of Indonesia, Hadi Poernomo, highlighted the traditional and effective cooperation between the two audit agencies in recent times and their bright prospects for the future.

While in Indonesia, the Vietnamese delegation also attended a conference in Bali to establish the Supreme Audit Institution in the Southeast Asian region (ASEAN SAI).

Czech and Slovakian firms seek investment opportunities in Hoa Binh

A trade promotion seminar was held in the northern province of Hoa Binh on November 15, attracting a large number of businesses from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Bui Van Tinh, highlighted Hoa Binh’s great potential and incentive policies for both domestic and foreign investors.

On the occasion, the management board of Lac Thinh industrial zone in Yen Thuy district, officially granted an investment license to BTG Slovensko group from Slovakia for operating a business.

Czech and Slovakian businesses also introduced some key projects in Lac Thinh, including a boiler manufacturing for thermal power projects, a diary production plant, and a brewery, which are expected to create thousands of jobs for local workers.

Japanese firms to develop waste treatment project

The Japan-based JFE Engineering Corporation and Nihon Suido Consultants Company are planning to develop wastewater and garbage treatment plants in the central city of Danang.

Leaders of the two companies held a working session on November 14 with municipal authorities to discuss the pre-feasibility study of the project.

In 2007, Nihon Suido Consultants conducted a pre-feasibility study on a project to improve environmental sanitation in Danang city. Based on this, Nihon Suido Consultants and its partners, including Sumitomo, JFE Engineering and Tsukishima Kakai set up a working group to develop the project under the public-private partnership (PPP).

The project is estimated to cost over JPY13.9 billion (nearly US$190 million).

Ministry supports Border Trade Fair and East- West Conference  

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has given the go-ahead for a Border Trade Fair and an East-West Economic Corridor Development Conference to be held from November 21-26 in the central highland province of Kon Tum.

The Border Trade Fair and the East-West Conference are part of the many events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Kon Tum Province and to implement the cooperative deals agreed between Kon Tum Province and provinces along the borders of Lao and Cambodia.

The fair is expected to attract around 300 enterprises from provinces and cities along the East-West Economic Corridor. Many businesses will use the opportunity for promoting economic cooperation and marketing of product brands as well as expanding their markets.

Ministry changes tax tariff for rubber exports  

The Ministry of Finance has decided to make adjustments on the tax tariff for export of some rubber commodities.  
 
Export of natural rubber products and natural rubber latex code 4005 which are either pre-vulcanized or un-vulcanized will be subject to a tax of 3 percent, instead of the earlier 5 percent.

New export duty rates for latex and other rubber products coded 4001 will be 3 percent.

Synthetic rubber code 4002 will have an export tax rate of 5 percent, instead of 3 percent.

Currently, almost all of the rubber products are enjoying a zero percent export tax rate.

The decision by the ministry of finance will take effect from December 8.

Vietnam's rubber exports in the first ten months reached 608,000 tons worth $2.6 billion, up 2.7 percent in quantity and 57.3 percent in value as against the same period last year.

China continues to be Vietnam's biggest rubber buyer with 60.1 percent of the market share, followed by Malaysia, Taiwan (China) and Korea with 7.4 percent, 4.8 percent and 4.2 percent of the market share respectively.

HCM City to welcome 1,100 MICE visitors

Over 1,100 foreign scientists, professors and doctors will come to HCMC on a MICE visit on the occasion of the 16th ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies from November 17-20.

This is the biggest MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) group that Ben Thanh Tourist has served this year, according to the HCMC-based travel firm. Most of them will stay at luxurious five-star hotels such as Sheraton Saigon, Park Hyatt Saigon.

The company has prepared for this MICE group. Due to the economic downturn, major MICE groups in the year to date have been small, with a maximum number of 200 tourists each group, said Cao Ngoc Minh, Ben Thanh Tourist’s public relations manager.

The visitors will drop by Cu Chi Tunnels and popular tourist attractions after finishing their workshop in the city.
 
Cargill acquires Japan shrimp feed plant

Cargill Vietnam, the leading animal feed maker in Vietnam, said on Monday it had completed the acquisition of a shrimp feed plant from Japanese-invested Higashimaru Vietnam in Tien Giang Province.

Pedro A. Curry, general director aqua of Cargill Vietnam, said the acquisition would enable the firm to ensure sufficient supply for the animal feed market, including feed for cattle, poultry, fish and now shrimp. This is also Cargill’s first shrimp feed project.

Higashimaru Vietnam is specialized in shrimp feed production in Tan Huong Industrial Park. With US$4 million in investment capital, it started operation in February 2008 with the annual capacity of 10,000-15,000 tons.

Cargill Vietnam did not reveal the price of the deal.

The company expects to start producing shrimp feed bearing the Cargill brand at the plant in 2-3 months after further investment in the facility.

Since its first plant’s opening in 1997, Cargill Vietnam has had six feed plants for cattle, poultry and fish, which supply the market through 1,200 sales agents nationwide.

WB funds Da Nang - Quang Ngai expressway

The Ministry of Transport hosted a ceremony in Hanoi on Nov. 15 to sign a technical design contract worth over $12 million for an expressway linking the central localities of Da Nang and Quang Ngai.

The contract, loaned by the World Bank (WB), was signed by the Project Management Board 85 and representatives from the contractor, including Nippon Koei, Nippon Engineering Consultants, Chodai and Thai Engineering Consultants.

With a total investment of nearly VND28 trillion ($1.427 billion) partly loaned by the WB and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the 131 km Da Nang – Quang Ngai expressway has a total width of 26 metres, six lanes, 126 bridges and one tunnel.

The construction is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2012 and finish in 2017.

Once completed, the work will help eas traffic on National Highway 1A and link political and socio-economic centres in the central localities of Da Nang, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.

SMEs to become major landmarks

Management authorities are scaling up efforts to champion small- and medium-sized firms’ development.

Later last week, the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Enterprise Development Agency held a workshop seeking input from industry insiders for small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) draft development plan for 2011-2015.

The draft is viewed as well-planned and meticulous by industry insiders. Accordingly, it envisages around 450,000 SMEs will come into existence during 2011-2015 against 370,000 SMEs in the previous period 2006-2010. Of them, 10-12 per cent of SMEs will engage directly in export business against the current 7 per cent. The SME sector will hold 40 per cent in total investment development capital and contribute around 30 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Around 35 per cent of total state budget collections will come from SME sector which create jobs for around four million people against 2.7 million people employed by SMEs during 2006-2010.

To make these goals achievable, the draft plan gave birth to a range of growth incubators, most relating to revamping existing legal framework on SMEs’ market entry and operations.  Support for credit and financial sources will be offered along with help for technology innovations and human resources development.

Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises general secretary To Hoai Nam said the plan contained fresh points such as support in human resources training, science and technology and production space through setting up specialised SME clusters and market information support.

Around VND3.470 trillion ($165.2 million) will be earmarked for SME development from 2011-2015, of which VND1.870 trillion ($89 million) will come from central budget, VND1.5 trillion ($71.4 million) from local budget and the remainder VND100 billion ($4.7 million) to be raised from the business community, according to the draft plan.

The draft is based on a prime ministerial decision on SME development support for 2011-2015 which envisages long-term development of SMEs being a focal task in national economic development policies.

State Bank eases credit to build social housing
 
The State Bank of Viet Nam has loosened credit hold ups for social property projects which have had difficulty accessing capital due to Government policies by allowing commercial and foreign banks to fund these projects.

Projects to build apartments for low-income people and workers at industrial, economic and processing parks, and housing projects that will be completed and available for use before 2012 are now eligible for credit.

People who need money to purchase or upgrade accommodations and can prove they can repay the loan with salary or wage documentation are also eligible to apply for loans.

Credit institutions were told to offer reasonable lending interest rates.

Document No 8844/NHNN-CSTT, issued on Monday, was designed to ensure social welfare and secure the stable economy.

The move is also expected to warm up the frozen property market which has been hit by tightened credit policies and the investment flow moving from housing to gold or savings accounts.

By the end of June 2011, the country's property loans totalled VND245 trillion (US$11.67 billion). HCM City accounted for 45 per cent of the figure while Ha Noi accounted for 18 per cent, according to reports from the National Finance Supervision Committee.

The State Bank also told credit institutions to apply strict controls on outstanding loans for non-production related businesses and reminded them that banks were required to bring down the non-production lending ratio to 16 per cent of total outstanding loans by December 31.

The SBV also encouraged banks to provide sufficient credit lines for agricultural production, rural development, the export sector, industries and small-and-medium sized enterprises.

The lending ratio for these sectors at credit institutions was initially set at no more than 20 per cent of total outstanding loans by the year end. However, due to the current economic situation, the central bank has announced that some credit expansions for these priority sectors exceeding the 20 per cent ratio would be considered.