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Bancassurance industry blossoms
Bancassurance has developed rapidly and helped insurers increase revenue since it was launched in Viet Nam in 2007.
Agribank Insurance Joint Stock Co (ABIC) earned VND120 billion (US$5.71 million) in the first 10 months of this year through products it sold using the service, a rise of 53 per cent against the same period last year, accounting for 47 per cent of the company's total revenue.
The co-operation between ABIC and Viet Nam Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development had helped the insurance firm increase revenue and created an opportunity for it to expand its activities through the bank's network and customers, said Mai Sinh, a representative of ABIC.
However, not all bancassurance activities had been successful, due to a lack of information sharing, supporting agents and customer care, he added.
"Bao Viet Life Insurance hit its annual target of $3 million in the first 10 months of this year," Quach Thanh Nam, chief of Bao Viet Life Insurance's bancassurance section, told Viet Nam News.
Bao Viet Life Insurance customers enjoyed user-friendly procedures for all the services the company provides such as trade loans and mortgages, he said.
"The company wants to improve bancassurance services to meet customer demand from 2011 to 2013. Our customers will be able to use online payment and internet transactions," Nam added.
An Binh Bank (ABBank) had co-operated with large insurance companies such as Prudential Life Co and Prevoir Life Co to provide bancassurance services and to meet the demands of customers, a representative of ABBank said.
ABBank signed a contract with Prevoir on November 12 under which customers are able to take out insurance for loans over VND24 billion ($1.2 million).
So far, 1,600 customers have taken out insurance policies earning the bank VND194 billion ($9.7 million) in revenue. The bank is expected to invest in new facilities, computing applications and management technology to improve service quality for customers.
Insurance companies started using bancassurance to expand their market shares, increase revenue and save on sales costs, allowing customers to benefit from increased access to financial services.
Nappy firm opens Binh Duong factory
Procter & Gamble Viet Nam has opened a new plant in Binh Duong Province to make disposable diapers.
The plant, which is expected to considerably reduce import of the product, is situated in the Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park II and is the US giant's second plant in the country.
Its opening coincided with the 15th anniversary of the company's establishment in Viet Nam.
With a population of more than 86 million people and an increasing demand for consumer goods, Viet Nam was an important market for P&G, its general manager Omar Channawi said.
Deb Henretta, group president of P&G in Asia, said: "Viet Nam is leading our growth in Asia and has done so in the last couple of years."
Viet Nam provided exciting potential for the company to expand its portfolio, she said, adding it would continue to invest to ensure that "we can provide products of all categories that Vietnamese consumers want to buy."
"Our commitment … is to have Vietnamese running P&G Viet Nam. So we want to grow local leaders and we want to support and train them so that they can get those leadership positions."
At P&G, a number of high positions that used to be the preserve of foreign employees in the past, including that of chief finance officer and plant manager, are now held by the Vietnamese.
P&G was one of the first American companies to come to Viet Nam when the country opened its market in 1995, and has so far invested more than US$140 million.
It makes hair care, personal care, laundry, fabric conditioner, baby care, men's grooming, and oral care products and owns popular brands like Pantene, Rejoice, Tide, Pringles, Whisper, Gillette and Oral B.
Fuel import taxes, duties reduced
The Ministry of Finance yesterday issued a new circular guiding the implementation of preferential import duty rates applicable to some goods on the preferential import tariff list.
From January 1, 2011, fuel products will enjoy an import tax reduction of 5 per cent compared to the current rate. Petrol import duty will decrease from 17 per cent to 12 per cent; diesel oil from 10 per cent to 5 per cent; and kerosene from15 per cent to 10 per cent.
Cement plant begins production
Binh Phuoc Cement plant was put into operation last Friday in Binh Long district of southern coastal Binh Phuoc province.
The price of clinker produced by the plant, which is owned by Ha Tien 1 Cement Joint Stock Co (VINCEM Ha Tien), was expected to be 15-20 per cent lower than the import price, company general director Tran Viet Thang said.
The US$270 million plant's enclosed production line will use modern technology to satisfy environmental requirements. It will produce around 1.3 million tonnes of cement and 1.8 million tonnes of clinker each year.
Call centre provider joins regional group
Hoasao Group, a local provider of call centre services, has become a member of the Contact Centre Association of Singapore.
The membership will help Hoasao market its trademark overseas and seek foreign partners to improve services in the domestic market. Hoasao Group is expected to earn a revenue of VND150 billion (US$7.1 million) this year.
Fifth annual trade expo opens
Around 150 local and foreign companies are taking part in the four-day Viet Nam Trade Expo, which opened yesterday in HCM City.
The expo has attracted exhibitors from many countries and territories, including China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and the host country of Viet Nam, with two specific zones displaying products of companies from China's Sichuan Province and Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises.
On display will include products and machines in the field of transportation, metallurgy, electronics, computers and medicine as well as glass, ceramics, plastics and banking and insurance services.
More firms use e-customs clearance
Some 550 firms have registered for e-custom clearance procedures in the second phase.
Of the firms, 179 companies have implemented the e-custom clearance procedure, the Customs Bureau at the Sai Gon Port reported.
Around 110 import-export declarations were implemented via e-custom procedure every day. Such declarations would help enterprises shorten clearance times by a day, the bureau reported.
Viet Nam Airlines to open new route to China
Viet Nam Airlines will launch a direct air route linking HCM City to Beijing on December 16.
The new route will have three flights per week on Monday, Thursday and Sunday.
Flights from HCM City will depart from Tan Son Nhat International Airport late in the evening and return early the next day.
"Vietnam Airlines is the first carrier to open a direct route between HCM City and Beijing," said Le Hoang Dung, a company spokesman.
The new route would be a convenient means of transport for tourists and business people between the two nations, Dung said. It would also open doors to the rest of Viet Nam, Southeast Asia and Australia, he added.
To mark the occasion, the airline is offering discounts on tickets booked between November 20 to December 31 for flights between December 16 and January 31, with return tickets from VND5.83 million (US$299), excluding tax and fees.
Exports likely to pass $70b this year, up 24%
Viet Nam's export turnover was estimated to total US$70.8 billion for the entire year, a year-on-year increase of 24 per cent, marking a 16.5 per cent increase on the predicted $60.5 billion, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) has announced.
At a meeting in Ha Noi earlier this week, MIT's Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Bien said that the industrial and processing products group revenues reached $44 billion, accounted for a major proportion of the 11-month-total export turnover of $64.3 billion.
Export revenue averaged $5.86 billion a month, which was higher than the planned figure of $5.04 billion.
"The foreign direct investment (FDI) sector played a leading role in creating export value as its export revenue continuously increased, from 52.4 per cent to 54.1 per cent in 2009-10 and it will continue to be the case in the coming period," Bien said, adding that the sector had focused on several key export commodities including textiles and garments, footwear, wood products, computer and accessories, machinery and components.
The growth of export turnover in the past 11 months was attributed to the increase in most commodity prices, including agricultural products from 4.8 per cent to 83.8 per cent; crude oil, 33.9 per cent; and coal, 53.2 per cent.
Of agricultural product, cassava saw the highest increase of 83.8 per cent; rubber, 81.2 per cent; cashew, 21.2 per cent; pepper, 39 per cent; tea, 11 per cent; and rice, 4.8 per cent.
However, the quantity of exported fuel and mineral commodities experienced a dramatic decline with crude oil, coal and minerals, recording a drop of 42.2 per cent, 26.8 per cent and 3.8 per cent, respectively. Although facing difficulties regarding input materials and trade barriers from foreign markets, seafood still saw the highest growth in export revenue at an estimated $4.9 billion, 6.5 per cent higher than planned, a year-on-year increase of 16.4 per cent.
Rice export prices surged significantly since the beginning of last month, ranging from $490 to $500 per tonne. Higher export prices and stable demand for rice from importers will assure rice export revenues reach 6.6 million tonnes or $3.08 billion for the entire year.
MIT also announced that there was a shortage of coffee supply for the global market, causing coffee prices to continue increasing which in turn would buoy Viet Nam's coffee products. This year, coffee exports were estimated at 1.15 million tonnes accounting for a revenue of $1.74 billion, 4.5 per cent higher in volume and 1.5 per cent greater in earnings than expected.
Pepper exports were also predicted to increase around 24.4 per cent in comparison with the same period last year, or $433 million, despite a decline of 10.4 per cent in volume. Thanks to continuously increasing prices, export rubber revenues will reach $2.23 billion; double that of last year, as exports were predicted to total 760,000 tonnes. Despite an increase in costs for input materials, textile and garment revenues exceeded $1billion last month.
MIT estimated textile and garment revenues of the entire year would total $11 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21.3 per cent, surpassing the 5.1 per cent planned, worth $500 million. It also predicted that the entire year's trade deficit would be estimated at $12 billion with a total import turnover of $83 billion. Of this, the FDI sector saw a significant increase of 40.3 per cent in imports, five times that of the domestic sector. Despite the fact that the country's export turnover saw optimistic signs, Bien also forecast that next year would prove difficult for Vietnamese exporters.
"The target of keeping the trade deficit under 18 per cent will not be easy as forex, high interest rates, and stiffer trade barriers will affect Vietnamese exporters," Bien said.
Source: VNS
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