Falling blue chips drag down indices

Blue chips plunged towards the end of today's session, dragging down both indices on the two national stock exchanges.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index lost all the gains it had made yesterday, finishing this morning off 2 per cent at 360.37 points, with decliners almost being four times higher than advancers.

Over 60 per cent of decliners slumped by around 5 per cent – the limit a share can fall during a single session, including large-cap shares such as insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Phu My Fertiliser (DPM), property developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG), steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG), PetroVietnam Finance and Vietcombank (VCB).

Among the 10 leading shares by capitalisation, only real estate developer Vincom (VIC) hit the ceiling price and Sacombank (STB) rose 1.3 per cent, with the latter being the most active code today on a volume of 2.13 million shares changing hands.

The trading volume decreased just 2 per cent from yesterday, totalling over 46 million shares, but the value of today's trades dropped 36 per cent to just VND787.6 billion (US$37.5 million).

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost nearly 2.3 per cent, closing today at 58.42 points, with losers also largely overwhelming gainers by 188-45.

Market value soared 54 per cent, however, reaching VND322.9 billion ($15.4 million), while trading volume increased nearly 52 per cent to 36.6 million shares.

Heavily speculative shares such as Kim Long Securities (KLS), VNDirect Securities (VND) and Bao Viet Securities (BVS) all dropped to the floor price today, of which KLS still saw the most trades with nearly 4 million shares traded.

Ministry inspects salaries at power group EVN

An inspection team is looking into salary issues at the Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) after the company announced a huge accrued loss of VND40 trillion (US$1.9 billion), while the State Audit Agency has reported that the group has paid its staff salaries as high as VND7.9 -10.3 million ($376-490) per month.

“The team is performing its duties and the ministry will urge it to step up its work in order to come to a conclusion on whether something was wrong in EVN’s salary payment as soon as possible,” said Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), who set up the team.

The results of the inspection will be publicly announced, she said.

She also emphasized that companies operating at a loss, like EVN, should not be able to pay high salaries or bonuses to their staff.

According to a report by the State Audit Agency, there are three average rates of salary at EVN - VND7.9 million per month for the electricity distribution sections; VND10.8 million for the power transmission units; and VND13.7 million, the highest, for staff working at the holding company.

The office staff at the holding company had an average income of about VND30 million per month, which was as twice as high as the overall average rate of the company.

Meanwhile, the average salary of an employee in State-owned enterprises last year was just VND3.8 million per month and that of a worker in textiles and garment companies was even lower, at VND2.1-2.3 million per month, Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

According to the General Statistics Office, the income per capita in Vietnam last year is US$1,168, or VND24.53 million, which means VND2.04 million per month.

Earlier, EVN general director Pham Le Thanh told the National Assembly in a meeting that “the average income for an employee at EVN is VND7.3 million per month, which is not enough for a normal person to live in an urban area.”

Another EVN official told the press that the payroll of EVN, as well as of other groups, must be approved by the MOLISA before it can be applied. He also said that the group has paid salary in accordance with the rates approved by the ministry.

For example, in 2009 the ministry approved EVN’s salary rate of VND5,720 per 1,000 kWh sold, he said.

Regarding the salary of EVN’s council of members and general director – seven people in total – the ministry also agreed to the 2009 salary fund of VND3.09 billion ($147,000) for them, and through such a fund, the general director and each member was paid VND36.7 million per month, the official said.

In 2010, the approved salary fund was 3.1 billion, and each executive received VND37 million per month, he said.

Bonuses for the council of members and the general director are also paid in accordance with relevant regulations, and must be reported to and supervised by the MOLISA and the Finance Ministry, he added.

Shares bounce back on exchanges

Shares gained on both of the nation's stock exchanges yesterday.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index closed at 367.72 points, a gain of 0.56 per cent over Tuesday's close. Trading was active but mixed, with the value of trades surging nearly 66 per cent to about VND1.24 trillion (US$58.3 million). Volume hit 47.3 million shares.

Of the 10 leading shares by capitalisation, half added value. Property developer Vincom (VIC) surged to its ceiling price of VND99,500 ($4.75) per share, while Eximbank (EIB), food processor Masan Group (MSN), Sacombank (STB), Military Bank (MBB) and Vietcombank (VCB) all rose by 0.9-1.9 per cent.

Heavy sales caused telecom equipment distributor Sacom (SAM) to claim the spot as most-active share, with a volume of 2.1 million traded, even as it bottomed out to just VND4,600 per share.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also closed up 0.78 per cent to 59.79 points. Value decreased by 13.7 per cent, however, to only VND209.6 billion ($9.8 million) on a meagre volume of just over 24 million shares.

VNDirect Securities Co (VND) was the most-active share nationwide with nearly 2.3 million changing hands,

According to VietCapital Securities Co analysts, shares in the Vietnamese market were trading 45 per cent below those of other markets in the so-called CIVETS group of emerging markets in Colombia, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa – and 23 per cent below markets in the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Although it might be too early to foresee a sustainable growth, the analysts believed that the market could create buy opportunities for medium- and long-term investors next year after plumbing new lows this year.

They advised investors to consider shares in companies with revenue streams in US dollars, such as PetroVietnam Drilling (PVD) and agricultural products and seafood processor Vinh Hoan (VHC). Others notable stocks included cash-rich consumer goods companies like Vinamilk (VNM), Phu Nhuan Jewelry Co (PNJ), and MSN.

Foreign investors yesterday net sellers in HCM City by a margin of VND710 billion ($33.5 million) and continued as net buyers in Ha Noi, picking shares worth a net of VND8.7 billion ($410,400).

Exports to Africa, South-West Asia beat annual target

Vietnam’s export earnings to Africa, and South and West Asia hit US$6.43 billion in the past three quarters of this year, exceeding the annual target by 10 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Exports to Africa earned US$3.08 billion, up 125 percent compared to the same period in 2010. South Africa was Vietnam’s largest market, importing US$1.71 billion worth of goods, followed by Senegal, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Meanwhile, exports decreased sharply to some African countries such as Angola (down 34 percent) and Nigeria (down 51 percent).       

Export turnover to South Asia gained US$1.59 billion, a year-on-year increase of 63 percent. India, Bangladesh and Pakistan were Vietnam’s largest markets in the region, importing Vietnamese gemstones, rice, mobile phones, and seafood, as well as computers and spare parts, garments, textiles, coffee and rubber.

As a result, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and these markets in nine months reached US$11.28 billion, a year-on-year increase of 71 percent.

MoIT Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Bien has warned that Vietnam will face many challenges in carrying out its 2012 plan because of the slow recovery of the world’s economy, the public debt crisis and bankruptcy risks troubling many international financial organizations.

He suggested that corporations and businesses should actively approach sources of information and develop their trademarks to effectively promote trade in other markets around in 2012.

Dalat sets new fresh flower export record

The Central Highland resort city of Dalat has exported more than 53 million flowers in 2011, the record figure so far, according to the municipal People’s Committee.

The locality exports mainly roses, orchids and chrysanthemums to markets in Singapore, China, and Japan, and as far away as Europe and North America.

Dalat is now the leading flower exporter in Vietnam. With expanded operations and the application of high technology in farming, Dalat’s floral export volume and value is forecast to continue rising in 2012.

MB Bank opens branch in Cambodia

The Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB Bank) inaugurated its branch in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on December 21, following a decision by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC).

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Governor of the NBC Chea Chanto, and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Defence, Lieutenant General Le Huu Duc, along with MB officials and partners.

This is the MB’s second overseas branch after its first one in Laos. The Phnom Penh facility brings the total number of MB branches to 170.

According to MB General Director Le Cong, the bank’s services in Cambodia will focus on strategic clients, mainly companies, small and medium-sized factories and individuals operating in all fields, with priority given to trade and agriculture.

Cong said he is aware of the fierce competition between nearly 40 banks, including seven owned by foreigners in Cambodia. However, he hoped that the MB’s professional services will meet customer demand for financial sources in the country.

The MB is one the five largest commercial banks in Vietnam with total registered capital of US$480 million.

Ambassadors help exporters iron out snags

Ambassadors and trade counselors met with outstanding businesses in Hanoi on December 20 to discuss ways to help them boost exports.

Representatives from some businesses pointed out difficulties they face with exporting, such as high interest rates of bank loans and the length of time it takes to transport goods.

They paid great attention to trade promotion and information exchange to link businesses at home with overseas trade offices.

The Vietnamese ambassador to Belgium, Pham Sanh Chau, said although Vietnam’s exports to the European Union have increased by 50 percent, they still face a number of difficulties and challenges, citing the fact that the EU is a demanding market with many technical barriers.

Businesses should prepare technical, legal and political plans to cope with future anti-dumping lawsuits in big markets like the EU, Chau warned.

The Vietnamese trade counselor to the US said that the US has introduced a new bill on food safety which will come into effect in 2012. He suggested that exporters keep a tight rein on food safety regulations and consult US experts about the new regulations before exporting goods to the market.

Volatile retail climate to last through 2012
 
The domestic retail market will continue experiencing difficulties next year due to volatile business conditions, experts told the "World and Viet Nam: Forecast 2012" seminar held in the capital over the weekend.

Phan The Rue, chairman of the Viet Nam Retail Association, said at the event, organised by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that the world market was predicted to undergo slow growth next year due to economic downturn in the US and Europe as well as social instability in other countries around the world. Emerging economies, including those in Asia, have been faced with high inflation and low economic growth rates compared to 2010.

These factors would affect the domestic economy as well as the retail market next year, Rue said.

In addition, the Government would continue controlling the macro-economy and inflation to boost production and ensure social security, he noted.

To achieve macroeconomic stability, both the scale and growth rate of the local retail market would have to be kept in check, he added.

With the market dependent on macro-economic development, price stability and the relationship between supply and demand would in turn depend on the price of essential, Government controlled products such as electricity, coal, petrol and oil.

The high price of import materials would continue affecting customers while real incomes reduce, Rue said, adding that competition between foreign and local retailers was also expected to remain low next year.

Nguyen Thai Dung, deputy general director of the Big C Supermarket Trading and Service Ltd Company, said that high inflation has eroded purchasing power while saving trends have affected consumption.

Consumption growth, following deducted price factors, was 14 per cent in 2010 and only 4 per cent in 2011, making forecasts for 2012 dismal, he said.

Inflation, along with increased interest rates, unstable exchange rates between the US dollar and Vietnamese dong, fluctuations in gold prices, a lack of capital, stagnating production, and unemployment have all affected consumer confidence.

"Small retailers in Viet Nam managed to cope well with these challenges this year," Rue said.

He added that the local retail sector still had problems to address, including the quality of goods as well as difficulties in controlling food prices, hygiene and safety.

Enterprises experienced price increases without improvement to quality while failing to declare or list prices sufficiently. In addition, trade fraud has grown.

The country currently has around 600 modern retail supermarkets and shopping centres alongside around 9,000 traditional markets. Foreign retail enterprises have been allowed to promote their business activities on the local market since 2009.

According to the ranking of global retail markets (GRDI) by AT Kearny, in 2008, Viet Nam's market was the most attractive globally amongst foreign distributors. Since then, the local market has fallen to sixth place in 2009 and 14th in 2010.

Pham Tat Thang, a representative from the Trade Research Institute at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the domestic management system and complicated trade barriers were to blame and not market supply and demand factors.

He expected the average retail market growth rate to remain at 23 per cent - 25 per cent per year until 2015 with the Vietnamese market developing into one of the hottest in the world.

"The country's retail market will become an increasing target for foreign distributors once unnecessary barriers are removed," Thang said.

Japan funds road improvement
 
A fund of US$1.5 million from the Japanese Government will be provided to mitigate the effects of high tides and flooding on coastal segments of National Highway 1A which links the southern coastal provinces of Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.

The fund was granted under an agreement signed yesterday between Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam Le Minh Hung and Asian Development Bank country director for Viet Nam Tomoyuki Kimura.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Hung said that a 180km stretch of National Highway 1A through the two provinces was a coastal road and extremely vulnerable to climate change, especially flooding as a consequence of the combination of heavy rains and high tides.

"Because frequent flooding and landslides are posing traffic safety risks, road infrastructure and driving conditions would be improved to reduce human and economic losses," said Tomoyuki Kimura.

The project would help develop the capacity of national and local transport authorities and provide engineering solutions to improve climate resilience of the road, such as raising vertical alignments, increasing cross-drainage capacities and stabilising slopes.

Under the project, campaigns to raise awareness among local communities along the road corridor of traffic safety and climate change risks would also be launched with the co-operation of provincial traffic safety committees and local community organisations.

Foreign banks face asset threshold

Foreign banks who want licences to operate in Viet Nam must have at least VND100 trillion (US$4.76 billion) worth of assets in total, according to the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV).

Circular 40/2011/TT-NHNN, announced by the central bank last week provides that banks must have profited during the past five consecutive years before applying for operating licence.

Under old regulations, foreign banks were required to have VND50 trillion ($2.38 billion) in total assets and profited in the last three consecutive years only.

The new circular also regulates that banks must not be founder shareholders, strategic shareholders or founders of any Vietnamese credit institutions or local banks.

Specifically, regulations on the issue of bad debt under the old circular will be replaced by new requirements in terms of risk management and provision while bank names and headquarters also come under scrutiny.

The central bank said the new circular would help restrain unhealthy competition amongst banks on the domestic market and ensure that foreign banks have sufficient financial capabilities.

The issue of the new circular aimed at satisfying the banking system's administrative reform while enhancing the State role in managing foreign banking operations in Viet Nam.

The circular will come into effect at the beginning of February next year.

Discontent brews in coffee industry
 
With coffee farmers expecting prices to go higher and hoarding their crop, traders are finding it hard to buy enough beans for export.

Coffee currently sells at nearly VND40,000 (US$1.9) per kilogramme – up from around VND37,000 last month – in Dak Lak Province, the country's largest coffee growing area, and Nguyen Xuan Thai, general director of Thang Loi Coffee Company, said this was higher than global prices.

The director of a foreign coffee export company in Lam Dong Province, who did not wish to be named, said: "It is very hard to buy from farmers now because they think the current price is still low and do not want to sell their crop."

If the situation prolonged, his company might not be able to buy enough coffee for processing, he said.

However, Nguyen Nam Hai, general director of the Superintendence and Inspection of Coffee and Products for Export and Import JSC (Cafecontrol), said hoarding by farmers at the beginning of the harvest season was a good thing.

In the past they used to sell their crops en masse after harvest, dragging prices down, and businesses had had to petition the Government to buy and stockpile coffee to prevent prices from falling further, he explained.

That would not happen this year, he said.

There were concerns that the farmers were taking a risk by hoarding, but it was not too serious since global supply was falling and it was hard to imagine prices falling, he said.

Coffee farmers have so far harvested about 40 per cent of their crop.

The country is expected to produce about 1.2 million tonnes of coffee in the 2011-12 crop, the same as the previous crop.

Ministry issues new preferential tariffs

The Ministry of Finance introduced 336 new preferential tariffs at a conference here on Monday that included representatives of about 400 enterprises.

The ministry has added 1,200 tariffs since the list of tariffs for ASEAN countries was issued in 2007, increasing the total to 9,500 tariffs, according to the General Department of Customs.

This year's list of preferential import and export tariffs includes some major changes including classification of goods reduced from a 10-digit to an 8-digit code, new items in international trade, classification of chemical substances, plant protection provisions and provisions on ozone-depleting substances, while removing over 40 groups of tariffs with a low import turnover.

Most of the rates on the tariff list remain unchanged, with amended rates for only 24 groups of commodities, mostly waste and scrap metal, pursuant to WTO commitments. As many as 945 out of over 9,550 preferential tariffs are scheduled to be cut under the WTO roadmap in 2012.

However, another 157 import tariffs will be increased to protect domestic production and restrict the trade deficit pursuant to Government Resolution No 11. Items which are discouraged from import include machinery, equipment and spare parts which can be produced domestically.

The conference also offered guidance on compliance with the Law on Environmental Protection.

The ministry last week held a conference to introduce the new preferential tariffs for customs units in southern Dong Nai Province.

State-owned enterprises to merge into groups

The Ministry of Transport plans to establish four economic groups by merging several State-run corporations involved in construction, consultancy and exploitation.

The construction group merger will include the Civil Engineering Construction Company No 1 (Cienco 1 ), Cienco 8 and the Thang Long Construction Corporation, all from the North as well as Cienco 4, Cienco 5 and Cienco 6 in the South.

Construction, consultation, finance and credit corporations were all scheduled to be merged with the Viet Nam Expressway Corporation to become the Viet Nam Expressway Investment Group.

The three airport corporations (North, Central and South) were to be merged into the Viet Nam Investment and Airport Group. The merger would be implemented over two separate periods of approval.

Minister Dinh La Thang said these groups woRueuld take on large-scale transport infrastructure projects and public utility duties in underprivileged areas in addition to accumulating capital to boost competitive edge.

Saigontourist offers discount for groups

Saigontourist Travel Service Company will offer a 15-20% discount for tourists traveling in groups to Phu Quoc Island by air, before expanding the promotion to other domestic and outbound tours.

Groups of 2-5 tourists buying a complete tour package to Phu Quoc will enjoy a discount of VND375,000 per person, while the respective discounts will be VND475,000 and VND525,000 each for those traveling in groups of 6-8 and more than 10 customers. The promotion program will apply from January 5 to 22.

After the Lunar New Year holiday, the program will continue from January 29 to February 28, 2012 with more tours involved, including outbound tours.

The promotion program is aimed to attract tourists who are family, colleagues, friends or club members to travel in groups. Tourists can refer to detailed information at www.dulichtet.com.
 
Binh Duong earns $10.3 billion from exports

The southern province of Binh Duong earned $10.3 billion from exports in 2011, up 21 per cent over the previous year.

The figure helped the province register a trade surplus of $1.2 billion, showing its economic management is on the right track to sustainable economic development.

Key export items seeing high growth of 10-15 per cent included garment and textiles with $1.3 billion ; wooden products, $1.3 billion; and footwear, $900 million.

The province also registered an industrial production value of VND123 trillion in 2011, up nearly 18 per cent from last year, contributing to the province’s GDP growth rate of 14 per cent

Railroad container plans on track

Railway container transportation is becoming a hot ticket.

Last week, the Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) submitted to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) a draft plan on boosting container transport capacity to help ease gridlock in the current roadway system.

According to the report, in 2012 and 2013, VNR will pump capital into raising transport capacity on the Haiphong–Hanoi and Hanoi–Lao Cai rail routes to reduce overloading on national highways 5 and 70.

In the 2014–2015 period, the VNR will ramp up measures to boost container transport capacity on all other rail routes.

To improve the plan’s feasibility, MoT Deputy Minister Le Manh Hung asked VNR to make comprehensive appraisals of railway container transportation capacity. He also asked the body to complete planning of current container terminals and yards along the Hanoi–Haiphong rail line.

“The railway sector may get priority in inland goods transport. However, in the long run without vigorous improvements in service quality and connectivity the VNR will find it very tough to jump into the container transport game, let alone share the road system’s burdens,” said Hung.

Haiphong port is a single seaport with a railway networked into the national railway system. In 2011, the port handled around 1.2 million 20-feet equivalent unit (TEU) container output (averaging 3,300TEU/day). This represented growth of 15–20 per cent year-on-year, putting great pressures on roadway goods transport.

In this context, container transport by railway is proving many advantages as it can transport huge and stable goods volumes while minimising incidents, saving costs and causing less harm to the environment.

“330 TEUs transported by railway each day could replace 200 trucks running on national highway 5,” said MoT Deputy Minister Le Manh Hung.

Vietnam Auto Transport Association chairman Nguyen Manh Hung said active participation of the railway sector into container transport could bring multiple benefits, including those to transport firms.

According to preliminary figures from the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam, over 1,000 overloaded trucks run on national highway 5 each day, accounting for 30 per cent of total vehicles on that stretch of road. “Parallel to significantly slashing equipment corrosion costs when big container volumes are transported by rail, drivers can save business costs on the roads,” said Hung.

According to Vietnam Railway Freight Transportation Company (VNRFT) general director Tran Duy Luan, the current container transportation capacity of the railway network remains modest against the actual exploitable capacity of more than 100 containers per day based on existing infrastructure.

But forwarding firms said containers transported by rail were subject to rather slow unloading procedures.

The firms added that when containers were transported by rail, firms had to lease trucks to carry their goods to enterprise warehouses.

“Besides, at this point in time the railway sector has neither the loading equipment nor the specialised cranes which present problems for firms,” Luan said.

Over 1.5 million visitors to Hoi An

Hoi An this year has welcomed some 1.5 million travelers, up 18.3% year-on-year, with 750,000 international tourists.

The number of sightseeing travelers is about 1.13 million in total while that of visitors staying overnight is 649,000 with an average of 2.16 days per person.

“This number of visitors to Hoi An has hit a record high since the ancient town was listed into the tourism map at home and overseas,” reported Hoi An City chairman Le Van Giang. Such a good performance is believed to have resulted from the city’s efforts to launch numerous tourism promotion activities in the year.

Besides better infrastructure, the city  attracts visitors with a wide range of new tours and services, including a visit to the global biosphere reserve on Cham Islet or sightseeing programs in the countryside.
 
Cai Mep port welcomes super container ship

CGM Laperouse, one of the world’s biggest ships, has anchored at Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau.

The 13,830 TEU ship is the biggest of this kind to dock at a Vietnamese port. Earlier this year, the CMIT welcomed the CMA – CGM Colombia, with the capacity of 11,400 TEUs.

General Director of CMA – CGM Vietnam Jean Charles Tassoni said super container ships, up to 14,000 TEUs, will become the main vessels for the Asia-Europe sea route in near future.

Therefore, more big ships will dock at CMIT on their way to England , France , Germany , the Netherlands and Belgium .

Deputy General Director of the Cai Mep International Terminal Nguyen Xuan Ky said the CMIT is one of few terminals in Asia that are able to cater for the world’s largest container ships. He also said the terminal will install the fifth super Post-Panamax Ship-to-Shore cranes to upgrade the loading and unloading capacity to international standard.
 
EVN applies three-level pricing system

A three-level pricing system will be applied for electricity used for production, business and service purposes.

The latest circular from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) stipulated that electricity prices would increase by 5% to VND 1,304 (US $0.06), excluding VAT, per kWh from December 20.

However, the increase will not apply to the first levels on the graduated pricing chart, which starts from 0-50kWh for low-income families, who normally use less than 50kWh of electricity per month, as well as those who use from 0-100kWh. Poor families would be required to register and prove they use less than 50kWh of electricity a month.

As a result, the increase would be calculated from the 101st kWh of electricity.

The three-level pricing system will be applied to those who use electricity for production, business and services with 25kVA transformer or higher, or those with the average bill of 2,000kWh or more over three consecutive months.

People who use electricity for agriculture irrigation will also be included in this group.

Electricity charges will also vary depending on the time of day. During peak hours, prices will be double than those of regular hours, and triple hours of low usage.

Peak hours are between 9.30-11.30 and 17.00-20.00 (excluding Sunday); normal hours are between 4.00-9.30 and 11.30-17.00 (from Monday-Saturday) and between 4.00-22.00 on Sunday; and low usage hours from 22.00-4.00 everyday.

According to the MoIT, despite this price hike, the electricity producers will still incur losses.

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) reported that they suffered a loss of VND 10.162 trillion (US $500 million) in electricity generation business due to low output from hydro-power plants in 2010, result of insufficient water supply.

EVN had to utilise its oil-fired plants and purchase additional electricity at high prices, which caused their operating costs to soar. Increased fuel prices and unfavourable exchange rates also contributed to rising expenses.

Increasing the price of electricity is seen as a necessity for long-term development of a socialist-oriented market economy, as well as the formation and development of a stable and sustainable electricity market in Vietnam, said EVN Deputy General Director Dinh Quang Tri.