ICE tourism up significantly, says travel company

Sai Gon Tourist Travel Service Co said on Thursday that it had welcomed 850 foreign visitors this month for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).

About 250 visitors will come for the International Conference on Radiopharmaceutical Therapy in HCM City today.

MICE visitors also book tours to attractions such as the Cu Chi tunnel, Ha Long bay and Hue ancient citadel.

Japanese brewery to produce up to 150m litres when completed

Sapporo Viet Nam Co put into operation a beer factory at the Viet Hoa-Duc Hoa 3 Industrial Park in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Long An on Thursday.

Sapporo Viet Nam Co Ltd is a join venture between the Viet Nam National Tobacco Corporation (Vinataba) and Sapporo Holdings Ltd of Japan.

Covering an area of 6.5ha, the factory was built for a total investment of US$75 million and was capable of producing 40 million litres per year in the first phase and its output was expected to increase to 100 million litres and 150 million litres per year in the next two phases.

HCM City among top 10 in Asia for real estate investment

HCM City ranked sixth in the top 10 Asian cities for real estate investment prospects, according to the Urban Land Institute's "Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2011" survey.

The city ranks after Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing and Quangzhou.

ULI surveyed, analysed and assessed development and investment trends and many other relevant issues in real estate in the Asia Pacific.

Ca Mau fertiliser plant undergoes successful trial run

The operation of a urea plant, one of final stages of the project of Ca Mau Nitrogen Fertiliser Plant, was successfully tested on Thursday.

Construction of the US$900 million Ca Mau Nitrogen Fertiliser Plant is now 97 per cent completed after start in July 2008. It is expected to start operations by the end of this year.

The plant is located in An Khanh Commune, U Minh District, Ca Mau Province, on an area of 62ha, with a designed capacity of 800,000 tonnes of nitrogen fertiliser per year.

Vinagame exports social network software to Japanese market

Vinagame, Viet Nam's leading internet company, signed a strategic co-operative agreement with Japanese social gaming company DeNA in Ha Noi last week to export its social network game to Japanese market.

Under the agreement, the game "Pig Farm" would be on the Japanese market through the social gaming website Yahoo!Mobage.

DeNA and Vinagame are also working to change the language of another Vinagame game, "Sky Garden", to Japanese.

HCM City to host 9th international trade fair this week

Nearly 400 domestic and foreign enterprises will showcase a wide range of products and services at the 9th Viet Nam International Trade Fair in HCM City, held from 30 November to 3 December at the Sai Gon Exhibition&Convention Centre in District 7.

Algeria, Belarus, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, China, Malaysia and the Czech Republic are among the international exhibitors.

The exhibition will display industrial and agricultural machinery, construction machinery and materials, agricultural products, handicrafts, wooden interior decoration products, household items, textiles and garments and electronics products. It will also present various services offered by finance, banking and tourism sectors.

Funds to get green light to offer new services

In addition to open-end fund operations to be allowed early next year, the nation's stock market will be able to offer additional new investment fund services consistent with international practice, according to the State Securities Commission.

The commission is collecting public comment on a draft circular guiding the establishment, fundraising and management of investment funds, including closed-end funds, private funds, and real estate investment funds. Once promulgated, the circular would offer investors more diversified investment channels, the commission said.

Ministry sets out bond swap procedures

The Ministry of Finance has issued Circular No 150/2011/TT-BTC, specifying Government bond swap procedures, bond registration, depository and listing. About 30 listed bonds would be eligible for swaps under the circular when it takes effect on December 24, according to the Ha Noi Stock Exchange.

Bonds to be swapped include those listed on the Ha Noi exchange with a remaining maturity of at least one year and which are not bound by any secured transactions at the time of the swap.

Over 20% auditing firms deemed unqualified

As many as 20 per cent of auditing firms failed to pass the periodic testing of auditing firms in 2011, conducted by the Viet Nam Association of Certified Practicing Auditors, the asscociation announced.

Although the quality of auditors has improved, the association said, many shortcomings remained in auditing firms. Six out of 30 companies were unqualified, with Ha Noi Auditing and Consulting Co ranked as "poor". Two companies scoring over 90 points included Ernst & Young Vietnam Ltd and A&C Auditing and Consulting Co.

The State Securities Commission has also published the list of 32 auditing companies and 331 auditors approved to audit listed companies on both exchanges next year.

PetroVietnam Construction to offer additional shares

PetroVietnam Construction Co (PVX) plans to issue 250 million additional shares on December 3, including 12.5 million to be paid as a dividend, 12.5 million to be offered to company staff, and 125 million to be offered to existing shareholders at a ratio of 2:1, at an asking price of VND10,000 per share. Another 100 million would be issued to strategic investors at a price of at least VND12,000.

PVX expects to raise VND2.7 trillion ($128.6 million) from this issue. Interested shareholders would have to register to purchase the shares, and complete payment, between December 15 to January 20.

Public partner investor shield urged

The rights and interests of investors must be valued in the public-private partnership (PPP) model, said Dang Xuan Quang, deputy director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Department of Foreign Investment.

It would be important to seek investment from the private sector in PPP projects, he said, adding that a mechanism must be worked out for distributing risk between the Government and private investors.

Private enterprises were often hesitant to join PPP projects because they believed they would encounter difficulties in recovering the invested capital, let alone make a profit.

A Japanese business representative said at a seminar held yesterday in Ha Noi that enterprises investing in PPP infrastructure construction projects could only realistically expect to recover their capital after 30 to 40 years.

This lengthy time frame forced enterprises to be particularly careful in considering such projects.

He also emphasised that the Government needed to fully commit to the partnership, sharing the risks as well as the benefits with private enterprises. A demonstration of increased support from the State would help promote the implementation of the PPP model.

According to the Ministry of Transport, other governmental measures would also be required to successfully implement PPP projects, such as capital contribution, preferential land clearance policies and tax incentives.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment estimated that Viet Nam was in need of US$16 billion annually to invest in infrastructure development, but capital allocation from the State budget would only meet half of the demand.

The practice of the PPP model was considered an ideal way for the country to deal with a shortage of capital while also achieving the goals set for infrastructure development.

The pilot application of the PPP model was stipulated in the Prime Minister's Decision No 71 issued last year.

To date, four out of 27 proposed projects were selected to be adjusted to the PPP model, including three traffic projects and one water supply project.

Investment rules to be tightened countries to be tightened

A draft decree on domestic enterprise investment in foreign markets is set to tighten the money flow and increase the effectiveness of capital after concerns regarding low returns.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment said the decree would manage not only direct investments but also indirect capital, including stakes, shares, bonds, valuable papers and stock.

Investors using State capital who owned the project outright or were majority shareholders would have to submit an application for a licence to invest in foreign markets and include a report on the economic effectiveness of the projects, granted by an investment assessment agency.

The draft aims to facilitate administrative procedures and tighten the regular check-ups on investments, including project progress and quality, costs and fluctuations.

A representative of the decree's editing board said the management would review difficulties and create support to resolve them.

The checkups would focus on project planning, bidding, capital utilisation and disbursement.

It also stipulates that projects which are a wholly or majority State investment will have to follow a law on bidding for their purchase, consultancy and installation.

The ministry's Foreign Investment Department Agency head, DoNhat Hoang, said there had been a growing trend among domestic enterprises to invest in foreign markets even while their turns remained low.

The country had had 601 projects in 55 foreign nations and territories since 1989 with a total registered capital of US$10 billion. Of that, $2 billion had been disbursed.

Ministry statistics also indicated each project that Viet Nam invested in foreign countries cost an average $66 million, much higher than the average $14.6 million for foreign investment projects in Viet Nam.

Authority investigations revealed that there were 130 projects worth $1.99 billion of investment in foreign countries in the first 10 months of this year. Of the total, State investment accounted for more than 60 per cent.

Statistics also indicated that Viet Nam's investment outflows have increased each year, but returns on equity has been low at 2.02 per cent from 1989-2010.

"The number of projects invested abroad will continue to rise," Hoang said.

Laos, Cambodia, the US and Russia had been major markets for Vietnamese businesses. Laos was the biggest market with 187 projects.

The five agencies with the highest amount of overseas investment were the National Oil and Gas Group, the Viet Nam Coal and Minerals Corporation, Rubber Corporation, telecommunications firm Viettel and Da River Construction Corporation. They have brought $1.35 billion to foreign countries.

The department said most were long-term projects related to petroleum, minerals exploitation, rubber and power plants.

Fertiliser industry ‘quiet' as buyers wait for price fall

The domestic fertiliser market has been quiet of late, as consumers await cheaper prices.

The Viet Nam Fertiliser Association blamed the current situation on rainy weather, which has affected crops in some provinces, especially in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

As a result, the price of urea fertiliser (used in the Mekong region) has slumped over a period of 10 days.

Nguyen Van Chon, a shopowner selling raw agricultural material in An Giang Province, said that many agents had recently lowered their retail prices, those having bought fertiliser at high prices, making all-out efforts to push up sales to avoid loss.

Another reason for quiet market conditions was that the winter-spring crop had not started yet, the association said.

Southwest regional crops had been delayed due to flooding, causing the demand for fertiliser to drop and the volume of supply to soar, the association said.

It is estimated that there are currently 600,000 tonnes of domestically produced, imported and stockpiled fertiliser on the market, capable of fully meeting domestic demand up to the end of this year.

The volume of urea fertiliser imported from China has increased against declining prices, additionally affecting the market.

Seafood industry boosts ties with UAE

A three-day workshop on opportunities for Vietnamese seafood in the UAE market, held in the UAE capital city of Abu Dhabi, ended on Wednesday.

The event was jointly organised by the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in co-operation with the Vietnamese Embassy to UAE on the occasion of VASEP's participation at the SIAL food fair in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking at the workshop, Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Ngoc Thach highlighted the recent strong development of the Viet Nam-UAE trade relations, especially in the field of fishery, saying that the workshop was a good chance for the two sides' enterprises to seek co-operative opportunities in the field.

Three firms fined for forex violations

The State Bank of Viet Nam announced it would fine three firms including FPT University, Ngoc Long Gold Processing Co, and privately-owned My Phuong Co for breaching violations on foreign currency management.

FPT University, an information technology university, was fined VND500 million (US$23,800) for quoting its tuition for some courses in US dollar.

Ha Noi-based Ngoc Long Co was fine VND100 million ($4,762) and the traded sum of $12,195 was confiscated for breaching the regulation.

Private gold trading company My Phuong was caught selling $1,000 to a customer and fined VND50 million ($2,381).

Southeast agriculture and trade fair opens

A six-day agriculture and trade fair for the southeastern region started yesterday in the southern province of Dong Nai's Long Khanh Town, hosted by the National Agriculture Promotion Centre and the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The fair featured 160 stalls from more than 200 international and provincal firms, displaying products, machines, devices and technologies in the field of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, together with 18 stalls showcasing machines invented by local farmers.

Vietnamese-Czech friendship group forms

The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry will co-ordinate with the Viet Nam-Czech Friendship Association to establish the Viet Nam-Czech Business Association, according to chamber Vice Chairman Doan Duy Khuong at a meeting between Vietnamese and Czech businesses in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

The move aims to strengthen friendship and economic co-operation between the two countries while bilateral economic cooperation remains modest and has yet to match the two countries' potential and traditional relations.

t the event, the two countries' businesses in the fields of construction materials, industrial machinery, transport, foodstuff and culture also exchanged market information to seek partnership for cooperation and development.

SeABank receives CitiBank Award

The Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank) has been awarded the International Payment Performance in 2011, the third time the bank has won this award granted by CitiBank.

Citibank's Straight Through Processing (STP) Award has been granted every year to honour those banks with high-quality global payment services with accuracy rates for e-payment performance at 90 per cent.

SeABank's customers have always highly appreciated the bank's international payment services so far.

No tax breaks for Hyundai plant

The Ministry of Finance has rejected a proposal from Quang Nam Province to offer special incentives to Hyundai Motor Company in Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, according to Vietnam Financial Times.

The official rejection was signed by Deputy Finance Minister Vu Thi Mai on November 23, 2011.

To encourage investment, Quang Nam People's Committee asked the Ministry of Finance for permission to offer special export processing zone (EPZ) incentives to Hyundai Motors. However, the special preferences were rejected because the ministry said they exceeded allowable incentives under current law.

Under the proposal, the province asked the ministry to allow Hyundai Motors to enjoy EPZ preferences if the company committed to exporting at least 70 per cent of its products, rather than the required 100 per cent.

Mai said that the special consumption tax (luxury tax) law did not include any provisions to offer preferences or support to encourage production and business activities. Furthermore, Decree No 87 guiding the Import-Export Law showed that this project was not subject to tax exemption and reduction preferences.

The Ministry of Finance affirmed that the proposal was not in line with Government Decree 29/2008/ND-CP.

Under the plan, Viet Nam's Truong Hai Auto Joint Stock Company (Thaco) and South Korean Hyundai Motor Corp signed an agreement to build a diesel engine manufacturing plant in the economic zone. Capitalised at US$165 million, the 20ha factory is expected to churn out 25,000 diesel engines per year in the first phase with plans to expand to 100,000 units per year. Construction started in August and operations are scheduled to begin late next year.

Quang Nam Province People's Committee said the project would lay the foundation for the development of an auto production centre. It said the project would be a good example for other foreign investors who wanted to invest in the zone's industry sector, adding that it was also expected to attract more support industries.

Data security measures lack sufficient teeth

Several Vietnamese organisations and businesses have not implemented measures to prevent attacks on their information systems despite a security awareness increase.

The statement was made at the Viet Nam Information Security Day 2011 held in the capital on Wednesday.

Speaking at the event, entitled "Digital Information Security – Foundation of a Strong Nation in Information and Technology", Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Hoang Minh Hong said that Viet Nam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) statistics showed that the number of annual information breaches had increased by 50 per cent.

Hong added that information security was one of five pillars of technology together with infrastructure, human resources, industry and application.

Reports from the Viet Nam Information Security Association (VNISA) showed that 52 per cent of the country's organizations had no procedures in responding to cyber attacks. Anti-virus software, firewall and spam filter systems had been widely used while special technologies including encoding, digital credits and Certificate Authority (CA) had been used at lower rates of 20 to 30 per cent.

"The number of organisations and businesses free from attacks by malicious software, consisting of programming (code, scripts, active content, and other software) designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, gain unauthorised access to system resources and other abusive behaviour, has increased," said Vice Chairman of VNISA Vu Quoc Thanh.

Thanh added that organisations and businesses had to cope with difficulties associated with reduced State budget spending and public investment in the context of global economic downturn, while demand for information security increased.

Experts attending the event agreed that in the first half of this year, 249 Vietnamese websites, including 50 with gov.vn domain names, were attacked.

Head of the Ministry of Public Security's Department 42 Le Danh Vinh said that attacks had been increasingly sophisticated.

"Network security has become an urgent issue, affecting all aspects of politic, economic and national operations," Vinh said, adding that ensuring information security would be vital for every country in the world.

He added that companies needed to co-operate with the VNCERT, the Department of High-tech Crime Prevention and relevant agencies to prevent and fight cyber attacks.

Vietpay to join hands with Vietcombank

Vietcombank and Viet Electronic Payment Joint Stock Co (VIETPAY) on Thursday entered a partnership to launch the new "VCB-eTopup" electronic top-up service.

Beginning on November 24, 2011, retail customers of SIM VIETPAY may "top-up their SIM VIETPAY accounts" using VIETCOMBANK services at any time and from any location.

VIETPAY Director Nguyen Duy Cuong said that customers would be able to access their SIM account balances in real time and make transactions free-of-charge. In addition, VIETPAY would also provide free 24/7 customer service through operator number 1800 599962 in order to address any questions related to this on-line top-up service.

Japan ICT Day takes place in Ha Noi

The Japan Information and Communications Technology Day was held in Ha Noi on Thursday to promote IT co-operation between Vietnamese and Japanese businesses.

The participants at the seminars heard reports on Japan's demand for software outsourcing and an overview of Viet Nam's IT development, as well as prospects for IT co-operation between Viet Nam and Japan.

Nguyen Doan Hung, chairman of the Viet Nam-Japan IT Co-operation Club, said that Viet Nam's software outsourcing market share in Japan has increased from 0.4 per cent in 2004 to nearly 4 per cent in 2009. The figure has yet to reach the full potential for co-operation between the two countries, he noted.

Zing Me implements social commerce project

Viet Nam's leading internet company Vinagame announced early this week that the social networking site Zing Me would implement a social commerce project, aimed at helping individuals and organisations in the distribution sector.

The project would allow retailers to expand the scope of their businesses by constructing and then developing a connectivity platform.

Currently, Zing Me has around 8.2 million users and 23 online shops.

Third electronics-IT fair opens in HCM City

Over 50 foreign and local telecommunications companies are participating in the third Electronics Communication-Information Technology (FECIT) Fair that opened on Thursday in HCM City.

New products in information technology, telecommunications and electronics are on sale at the four-day trade fair, which closes today.

More than 1,000 products of famous companies like Samsung, Acer, Lenovo, D-Link, Lacie and Corsair are being sold at 20 – 49 per cent discounts at the fair.

The 2nd Social Media Day held during the fair will feature online game competitions.

IT experts and representatives of leading companies will share their views and thoughts on products and recent development trends in modern technology.

FECIT is organised by the HCM City Computer Association and Intel Viet Nam.

BKAV joins anti-phishing working group

The Bach Khoa Anti-virus Centre (BKAV) will share data about fraud and malware carrying websites in Viet Nam with 133 leading internet security and information technology firms as it becomes a member of Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG). Microsoft, Google, Facebook, McAfee, Symantec and AVG are members of APWG.

The group was set up in 2003 with the aim of fighting all credit card fraud as well as theft of banking and other sensitive information on the Internet.

Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as trustworthy entities.

Seasonal demand lifts food processors

Despite steep declines on the stock market, shares of food processors have been among a few rallying stocks recently, while investors anticipated the annual spike in demand for processed food products ahead of the Tet (lunar new year) holiday.

Although food processors' profits in the third quarter saw an improvement over the same period last year, some shrank from the second quarter as they stocked up inventories to meet anticipated year-end demand.

Reports from four companies – Long An Food Export (LAF), Safoco (SAF), Mechanics Construction and Foodstuff Co (MCF), and Yen Bai Agricultural Forestry and Food Products (CAP) – reflected inventories in the third quarter surging 134 per cent over the same period last year, while the combined overall earnings of the three companies increased by over 21 per cent.

While businesses in other sectors have had to halt their expansion plans due to the sluggish capital markets and rising input costs, food processing firms have had less trouble accessing capital. SAF, for instance, was able to sell 1.5 million additional shares and increase its charter capital to nearly VND45.5 billion (US$2.1 million).

MCF, meanwhile, earned VND16.8 billion ($787,800) in the first nine months of this year, exceeding its target for the entire year by 10 per cent. The company plans to issue 4.5 million additional shares. About 80 per cent of the capital raised from the issue will be allocated to expanded food processing capacity, although the company also plans to increase its charter capital from VND35 billion ($1.6 million) to VND80 billion ($3.7 million).

MCF chairman Nguyen Ngoc Nam said that the increase in capital would help the company ensure a safe financial structure and be less dependent on financing.

Masan Group (MSN), one of the top shares on the HCM City Stock Exchange, was also reportedly planning to introduce new products in time for Tet and expected this year's revenue would grow by 31-64 per cent.

Industrial production curbed by finance woes
 
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth rate has hit a record low since June with a year-on-year increase of only 6.9 per cent in the first 11 months of this year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has reported.

"In the first six months, the figure was 9.7 per cent and 8.8 per cent in seven months, 7.3 per cent in eight months, 7.8 per cent in nine months and 7 per cent in 10 months," the GSO said.

The office's experts said that the down-turn in the IIP reflected financial difficulties experienced by industrial companies, including high interest and foreign exchange rates.

Meanwhile, they added, the financial challenges also had a strong impact on their distribution and that was why many of them had to cut down their production.

Although the IIP continued to drop, the value of manufacturing and processing industries, which account for nearly 70 per cent of the industrial sector, still reached a high growth rate of 9.8 per cent.

Other industries reaching high growth rates during the same period included the sugar sector with 982,000 tonnes, up by 42.4 per cent against the same time last year; and the garment industry with 1.6 billion units, up by 15.1 per cent.

The auto and motorbike industry gained a growth rate of 19.9 per cent, manufacturing 3.8 million units.

During the 11 months, power production and distribution rose 9.7 per cent, reaching 92 billion kWh.

As of the beginning of November, the stockpile index saw a month-on-month increased of 0.4 per cent. Some industries have amassed huge stockpiles, including the furniture industry and paper producers.

Industrial production curbed by finance woes
 
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth rate has hit a record low since June with a year-on-year increase of only 6.9 per cent in the first 11 months of this year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has reported.

"In the first six months, the figure was 9.7 per cent and 8.8 per cent in seven months, 7.3 per cent in eight months, 7.8 per cent in nine months and 7 per cent in 10 months," the GSO said.

The office's experts said that the down-turn in the IIP reflected financial difficulties experienced by industrial companies, including high interest and foreign exchange rates.

Meanwhile, they added, the financial challenges also had a strong impact on their distribution and that was why many of them had to cut down their production.

Although the IIP continued to drop, the value of manufacturing and processing industries, which account for nearly 70 per cent of the industrial sector, still reached a high growth rate of 9.8 per cent.

Other industries reaching high growth rates during the same period included the sugar sector with 982,000 tonnes, up by 42.4 per cent against the same time last year; and the garment industry with 1.6 billion units, up by 15.1 per cent.

The auto and motorbike industry gained a growth rate of 19.9 per cent, manufacturing 3.8 million units.

During the 11 months, power production and distribution rose 9.7 per cent, reaching 92 billion kWh.

As of the beginning of November, the stockpile index saw a month-on-month increased of 0.4 per cent. Some industries have amassed huge stockpiles, including the furniture industry and paper producers.

Cocoa growers meet standards

Cocoa products grown in the southern province of Tien Giang have been certified by UTZ Kapeh Viet Nam for meeting international-quality standards.

The Cho Gao Cocoa Cooperative, which manages 1,500ha of cocoa trees in the province's Cho Gao, Go Cong Tay and Tan Phu Dong districts, was awarded the certification.

"This will lead to more of an impetus to develop cocoa because the certification is awarded to products that have good quality and are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable," said Nguyen Van Thiet, chief representative of UTZ Kapeh Viet Nam.

The certification, however, covers only 185 ha that strictly comply with UTZ-certified processes of taking care of trees, harvesting, fermenting, and drying of cocoa-bean products.

Cocoa products in the cooperative are categorised into two types: market cocoa and UTZ-certified cocoa.

UTZ-certified cocoa products are purchased at a higher price compared to market cocoa.

UTZ production requires strict control of pesticides and chemical fertilisers, local monitoring and origin-tracking systems, farmer clubs, and the production diaries kept by farmers.

UTZ also strongly encourages the use of green fertilisers and non-chemical pesticides during cocoa production.

According to Thiet, the yield of cocoa in the province is rather low, 50 tonnes of dried beans from 185ha. Thus, the cooperative should involve more farmers in UTZ-certified cocoa production.

Nguyen Van Tu, chairman of the Cho Gao Cocoa Cooperative, said it has developed a roadmap to increase the number of farmers in a UTZ-certified cocoa production programme to increase production area and yields.

The local Department of Science and Technology is implementing the programme, funded by Helvitas Swiss International Viet Nam. The programme began in 2009 and will end in 2014.

The cooperative expects to have 1,000 farmers take part in the programme by 2014.

UTZ cocoa production would have an area of 600ha, and yield would add up to 360 tonnes of dried cocoa a year.

Currently, there are 14 UTZ-certified clubs of cocoa farmers.

The clubs have been trained in production techniques, work safety, and post-harvesting techniques by staff from Helvitas and the local Department of Science and Technology.

Helvitas has also given farmers tools, pesticide spray and work-safety clothes.

It provides expertise on cocoa tendering, production, and safety, mainly to leaders of the farmer clubs.

Club leaders, who are cocoa farmers with good production practice, are in charge of training other members on techniques.

They also supervise production under UTZ requirements, collection of cocoa pods from club members for fermentation, and the process of sun-drying.

Farmers are pleased with the programme, saying they can earn more profits from UTZ-certified cocoa. The farmers say they are also more aware about work safety.

Farmer Le Tan Sum, 72, of the province's Go Cong Tay District, said his 0.3ha of cocoa had brought him more earnings.

He previously planned to grow cocoa trees in his spare time in his old age, but now he has become addicted to tendering and doing the work on trees, after receiving training with techniques.

The programme has changed attitudes towards work safety, as farmers are now required to limit pesticide spraying, not use child labour and not dump waste into the environment.

"Earlier, several households even allowed pregnant women to spray pesticides on paddy fields, but thanks to the programme, they stopped it," said Nguyen Van Luy, lead farmer of Tan Thanh Club.

Dr Mai Thanh Phung, director of the Viet Nam Committee for Coordination of Cocoa Development, urged the province to increase cocoa production, saying that techniques learned from the programme would ensure production, and companies would purchase their products.

Cargill Viet Nam is the leading purchaser of local cocoa. The company has worked with local farmers since early cocoa production in 2002, said Nguyen Hoang Hanh, deputy director of the local Department of Science and Technology, who manages the UTZ cocoa programme.

Seed production a weak link
 
Though Viet Nam is a leading exporter of farm produce, it produces very little of its seedlings.

In the case hybrid rice, for instance, it can meet a mere 20-25 per cent of demand and the rest is imported from neighbouring countries, especially China, according to figures from the Plant Cultivation Department.

Following 20 years of research, the country has just four varieties of hybrid rice, with five others still being planted on a trial basis.

Some 80-85 per cent of seeds required for major vegetables like tomato, cucumber, and beans and for high-quality grass for feeding livestock are also imported.

In the case of sugarcane, domestic supply met only about 10 per cent of demand for seedlings, the Sugarcane Research and Development Centre said.

In 2006-10 the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) approved 19 projects to produce seeds and seedlings.

Sixteen of them have been completed with 120 models established for producing various seedlings, including rice, corn, tea, and vegetables.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong said the projects had cost VND268 billion (US$12 million) but sales of seedlings produced through them had fetched only VND16 billion.

The units carrying out the projects had not focused enough on producing seedlings for mass cultivation, he said.

Experts blamed the shortage of seeds on the country's failure to have long-term strategies and channel investment.

Tran Dinh Long, chairman of the Viet Nam Seedling Association, said the Government should have a comprehensive long-term strategy to develop seedling production and identify some key crop varieties to develop brand names.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country's rice granary, for instance, could develop one to three high-quality rice strains, thus improving the quality of rice, he said.

Nguyen Tri Hoan, head of the Field Crops Research Institute, said for production of seedlings to be successful, co-operation with businesses was essential since research institutes themselves cannot produce seedlings for mass cultivation.

Nguyen Tri Ng?c of the Plant Cultivation Department said the country had done the task of researching to create new strains but not that of producing seedlings for cultivation.

This needed the participation of businesses, he said, echoing Hoan's opinion.

The Government had, under a decision to increase the output of seedlings in 2011-15, unveiled policies to support businesses involved in their production, including credit and land support, he added.

All eyes turn to backward bio-technology

Despite making significant strides, the bio-technology industry remains backward compared to its counterparts in other countries in the region.

Speaking at the 2nd National Biotechnology Conference in Southern Viet Nam yesterday, the director of the HCM City Department of Science and Technology, Phan Minh Tan, said: "Bio-technology has yet to meet the increasing needs of socio-economic development, environmental protection, and improving living standards."

It is a fact that bio-technology needs competent scientists, modern facilities, huge investment, and extensive research and testing, but has a short product life and faces difficulties with regard to copyright protection.

The conference, which attracted 250 scientists and managers from around the country, sought to discuss how to cope with these difficulties and develop the industry by 2015.

To improve the situation, the city, the biggest bio-technology hub in Viet Nam, is planning to extensively invest in facilities, equipment, as well as human resources for research and development.

More than 100 Vietnamese post-graduates and Ph.Ds are currently training in Australia, Canada, Cuba, France, Israel, Japan, Singapore, the UK and the US.

The city's Biotechnology Centre is getting a US$100 million infusion to set up modern facilities.

In the last five years, over VND19 billion (almost $1 million) has been spent on research and development, with more than 80 per cent of research projects yielding practical technologies.

"HCM City will promote co-operation among the Government, scientists, and enterprises, with enterprises being at the centre," Tan added.

The city is eyeing development of new technologies in areas like medicine, agriculture, food safety, and environmentally-friendly materials.

In 2010 – 15, around VND1.4 trillion ($70 million) is expected to be invested in bio-technology, with 89 per cent coming from the Government.