Vietnam Airlines conducts more flights between Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur

 

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will have seven direct flights between Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur as from June 16, raising the total number of flights from Hanoi to Malaysia to 21 per week.

 

Also as from July 16, there will be four additional flights between Hanoi and Singapore and 7 more flights per week between Hanoi and Bangkok.

 

Vietnam Airlines will also have 4 flights between Can Tho and Con Dao per week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

 

All together, the national flag carrier will have 37 domestic and 45 international flights.

 

Nikkiso Vietnam ships blocker doors for Boeing 777

 

Nikkiso Vietnam, Inc., (NVI) shipped its first set of GE blocker doors, a key component on Boeing 777 airplane engines, to the US-based AeroSystems company.

 

These parts will be installed on the GE115 and shipped to Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Everett, WA, for final assembly of Boeing 777 aircraft.

 

Since 2010, NVI has successfully met Boeing’s qualifications to produce these parts. In March 2011, first article inspection was completed and production was approved by Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.

 

With the certifications and qualifications NVI now possesses, the company’s ability to manufacture aerospace composite parts has expanded, and NVI is now preparing for future opportunities at this facility.

 

NVI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nikkiso Co., Ltd., located in northern Hung Yen province, with the total investment of US$1 million.

 

4 investors lose licenses for slow progress

 

Four would-be investors in the Tinh Phong Industrial Zone in the central province of Quang Ngai have had their licenses canceled for making too slow progress, Le Hong Ha, deputy head of the Quang Ngai Industrial Zone administration, said Monday.

 

They are sewing company Dai Cat Tuong JSC, seafood processor Phu Thanh, Nam Phong Co Ltd, and Hong Phuoc Co Ltd.

 

Vietnam becomes biggest pepper exporter

 

As India has experienced a modest harvest this year, Vietnam is now the world's largest pepper exporter.

 

Vietnam exported 16,000 tons of pepper, valued at US$80 million in April, and 42,000 tons of pepper worth $208 million in the first four months of the year.

 

The Ministry of Industry and Trade expects total pepper exports this year to reach 120,000 tons, worth $470 million.

 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the price of pepper has continued to soar since 2007 and experienced a massive surge last July. It is likely to increase until the end of this May, the ministry said.

 

Beginning in June, the price will likely hinge on export volume from big pepper suppliers in Indonesia and Brazil.

 

Despite these good signs, Vietnamese experts say the local pepper industry still needs to do more.

 

For instance, they say the country often sells its pepper at lower prices than India, Brazil and Indonesia and often through many middlemen.

 

Moreover, it is raw pepper that Vietnam exports, not high-quality processed pepper that would fetch much higher prices.

 

Experts thus say the industry needs to focus on improving its pepper’s quality as well as better marketing its products.

 

3rd Vietnam Annual Economic Report released

 

University of Economics and Business under Vietnam National University - Hanoi (VNU) has organized the launching conference of the 3rd Vietnam Annual Economic Report (VAER) -- “The Economy at a Crossroad” -- in Hanoi.

 

VAER 2011 is the main product within the strategic research program of University of Economic and Business under VNU on “Macroeconomic Theories and Policies in the Context of Integration of Vietnam”.

 

The project is conducted by Vietnam Centre for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR), an independent research centre under the University of Economic and Business.

 

The report discusses in-depth a range of key issues that are challenging the Vietnamese economy at the beginning of a new decade.

 

It includes nine chapters and two appendices, in which the data is collected till the end of December, 2010 and some prominent issues are updated until the end of March, 2011.

 

The full Vietnamese version of the report contains more than 500 pages and will be published in early June, 2011. The English version will be released a month later and be internationally distributed.

 

VEPR in March held the workshop to get comments for the first draft of Vietnam Annual Economic Report 2011.

 

The third VEPR’s VAER came out after the success of the previous reports in 2010 and 2009.

 

The Vietnam Annual Economic Report 2010-- Choices for Sustainable Growth -- was published in both Vietnamese and English and has been confirmed as a reputable and influencing economic report with high international standards.

 

The 2009 Report on “Vietnam Annual Economic Report 2008 -- Slowdown and Challenges for Change” -- also received high appreciation and encouragement from both economic experts and policy makers of Vietnam. The report was published by the Knowledge Publishing House.

 

Deposit rates still capped at 14 pct: central bank

 

Dong deposit interest rates are still capped at 14 percent a year at the moment, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has confirmed in a recent dispatch to its branch in southern Tien Giang Province.

 

The document, seen by Tuoitrenews, was issued in response to queries by the branch about the legality of the mobilization of deposits conducted lately by some commercial banks in the province.

 

The cap already includes bonuses in any form, the central bank says, adding the branch is required to check if those commercial banks have conformed to what the regulations stipulate.

 

The mobilization must be halted in case of any breach of the rules, it insists.

 

SBV sent out the strong message amidst challenges faced by commercial banks to attract deposits notwithstanding a market deposit interest rate of 18-20 percent per annum.

 

Deposits of the whole banking system rose 0.46 percent as of the end of last month while lending increased 5.01 percent, statistics against last year show.

 

Dong deposits in April alone slumped 1.84 percent compared to the previous month.

 

SBV has not figured out any breach of the cap up till now.

 

Masan to open Singapore rep office

 

The director board of Masan Group (MSN) has approved the opening of a representative office in Singapore.

 

Accordingly, the company’s authorized chair of director board, Nguyen Dang Quang, and/or the general director, Madhur Maini, have also been empowered to decide issues relating to the establishment of representative office.

 

These assignees will select the place to build office, issue operation contents and appoint the chief of the representative office in Singapore.

 

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) last month accepted to buy 10 percent stake into Masan Consumer at the price of $159 million.

 

Under the issuing plan, the total issuance volume would be 14.44 million shares, equaling to over $11 (VND220,000) per share, 1.5 fold higher than the trading price of Masan Consumer's shares on OTC market and equaling to the P/E at 22 times basing on the EPS in 2010.

 

US cuts anti-dumping tariff on Vietnamese shrimps

 

Accordingly, 22 Vietnamese shrimp exporters will enjoy tariff of 0.01 percent.

 

In response to the US Court of International Trade (CIT)’s decision, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) has agreed to adjust the level of anti-dumping tariffs on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam between February 1, 2006 and January 31, 2007.

 

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) said on May 16 that if there was no appeal against the CIT’s decision Doc would guide the US Customs and Border Protection to adjust anti-dumping tariffs as soon as possible.

 

Earlier, 29 Vietnamese shrimp exporters enjoyed a reduction in anti-dumping tariffs from 3.92 percent to 1.52 percent.

 

US$412 million for Trung Son hydroelectric power plant construction

 

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on May 16 approved the results of negotiation on a US$330 million loan for the Trung Son hydroelectric power plant construction from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development under the World Bank (WB).

 

The remaining investment spending estimated at US$81 million will come from the state budget.

 

The Prime Minister also assigned the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SVB) to sign related legal documents with the WB.

 

The Trung Son hydroelectric power plant with a design capacity of 260 megawatt will be built on the Ma river in Quan Hoa district of Thanh Hoa province.

 

Quang Nam promotes tourism for poverty reduction

 

The development of a tourism value chain for poverty reduction in the central province of Quang Nam and solutions and opportunities for Quang Nam’s tourism were discussed at a seminar in the province on May 16.   

 

The seminar was part of an almost US$1.4 million project to strengthen tourist activities in remote districts of Quang Nam province, funded by the Government of Luxembourg through the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

 

ILO advisors briefed participants on the objectives of the poverty reduction project for 2011-2013 project.

 

Economic experts said tourism is a motive factor behind economic development and a tool for poverty reduction. The tourism sector needs a huge workforce, mainly unskilled and semi-professional workers that could be easily trained, they said.

 

Vice Director of the Quang Nam Culture, Sports and Tourism Service Ho Tan Cuong suggested the project focus on boosting tourism development in mountainous areas, identifying tourism possibilities in the eastern and western parts of Quang Nam province, personnel training and promoting cooperation between project partners.

 

Quang Nam is attractive to tourists for its world heritage sites, Hoi An and My Son relics, the Cu Lao Cham biosphere reserve and its 125km coastline.

 

RoK helps VN in competitive management, fair trading

 

The Republic of Korea (RoK) government through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has committed non-refundable aid worth US$1.5 million to help Vietnam boost competition management capacity and fair trading.

 

The money will fund a project on setting up systems on information management, dealing with issues relating to competition law and providing equipments as well as sending RoK specialists to Vietnam and training Vietnamese staff on competition management in the RoK.

 

The project is scheduled to run for three years from now till 2014.

 

IC Energy starts work on solar panel project

 

The Indochina Energy Industry Co. Ltd. (IC Energy) on Saturday began construction of a solar panel plant in Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in the central province of Quang Nam.

 

The 12-hectare factory has an annual capacity of 120MW of solar panels, with all products to be for export. The US$390 million plant will be finished in the next 12 months.

 

In the next phase, besides increasing its capacity to the designed level, the investor will turn out products for establishing a solar power center in the country, as well as to build a glass factory to tap the resource of white sand available in Quang Nam.

 

IC Energy’s solar modules will be tested and certified by global standard laboratories following stringent requirements applicable in the solar energy industry. In the first phase, the plant will have an annual capacity of 30MW, generating an export value of US$60 million.

 

IC Energy is a subsidiary of IC Holding (Vietnam), having expanded to solar energy sector since 2009.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, after pressing the start button at the ceremony, emphasized a dire shortage of energy as a huge challenge to the world in general and Vietnam in particular.

 

Hai called for efforts to tap all accessible resources for renewable energy to raise its proportion to 5% of the total energy generated in Vietnam by 2015 and 8% by 2020.

 

In March this year, the U.S.-based First Solar Group also began construction of a solar cell plant in HCMC at a cost of US$1 billion. The plant will cover an area of 44.2 hectares in the South-East Industrial Zone in Cu Chi District and will produce thin-film solar power panels.

 

In the first phase, the plant is expected to begin commercial production by June 2012 at a cost of US$300 million and will include four lines, each with a capacity of 59.6 MW.

 

Once operational, the plant will create jobs for 600 skilled workers. In the second phase, scheduled to start by 2014, the plant’s capacity will be raised four times.

 

Vietnam Air conducts more flights to Danang

 

Vietnam Airlines has operated two more flights a day from HCMC and Hanoi to Danang Airport to cater to rising demand for air travel to this central airport during a one-month closure of Phu Bai International Airport.

 

As scheduled, the national flagship carrier adds one daily flight from each of Tan Son Nhat Airport and Noi Bai Airport to Danang using its Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft during the shutdown of Phu Bai Airport from May 13 till June 13. With these additional services, the airline provides 1,600-1,850 seats per sector every day on the Hanoi-Danang route and 2,200-2,400 seats per sector on the HCMC-Danang run.

 

The extra flights represent seating capacity increases of 56% on the Hanoi-Danang route and 49% on the other route. Currently, Vietnam Airlines performs 11 daily flights between HCMC and Danang and nine daily flights from Hanoi.

 

More than one week ago, Jetstar Pacific suspended its two daily services from HCMC to Phu Bai Airport in Thua Thien-Hue Province, which is about 100 kilometers from Danang. Now, the budget carrier has four daily flights from HCMC to Danang and two from Hanoi.

 

To transport passengers between Danang and Hue, authorities of Thua Thien-Hue Province have arranged buses when the 2,700-meter-long runway of Phu Bai Airport is being upgraded. About 40 quality buses are in place to serve passengers, and a trip between the two destinations costs VND130,000 (around US$6.3).

 

The Thua Thien-Hue Transport Association has arranged 10-16 bus trips to serve passengers between Danang Airport and 333B An Duong Vuong Street in Hue City in the initial time. More buses will be put into service depending on demand and until the re-opening of Phu Bai Airport.

 

Thaco asks Gov’t to stabilize automobile tax policy

 

The Government needs to have a consistent tax policy to help automakers develop business and better cope with the future competition when the import tariff is slashed to zero by 2018, said the local auto company Thaco.

 

Tran Ba Duong, chairman and CEO of Truong Hai Auto Joint Stock Co., or Thaco, complained in a working session with Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on Saturday that unexpected changes to the tax policy has caused numerous difficulties for automakers. Duong said that the Ministry of Finance had recently changed taxes in an unpredictable manner, keeping local automakers guessing about the country’s automobile development policy. He was speaking to Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai as the senior Government leader called on his auto factory in Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in the central province of Quang Nam.

 

He suggested that the Government stabilize the tax policy so that Thaco could invest bravely as well as call on other partners to invest into Chu Lai Industrial Zone, manufacture auto components and join the global value chain.

 

A stable and predictable tax policy towards automakers will help them better prepare for the future competition, especially when all automobiles imported from ASEAN will enjoy a zero-rate tax by 2018, he said.

 

He also requested the Government to have a preferential policy for manufacturers of auto spare parts and components so as to promote the development of the automobile supporting industry.

 

At the meeting, Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai appreciated the development of Truong Hai. He suggested the company to continue efforts to develop into a strong group, not only to lead the local market, but also to export its products.

 

Hai said that the Government also supported Quang Nam’s proposal to develop an auto manufacturing center in Chu Lai Open Economic Zone.

 

Last year, authorities of the province asked the Government and ministries to set up a national auto manufacturing industry center in the zone.

 

As planned the 1,000-hectare project at Tam Anh Industrial Park in Chu Lai was envisaged to turn out 300,000 units a year, including passenger and commercial vehicles. The project will cover 300 hectares for the first phase.

 

Authorities of the zone will invite foreign and local investors to invest into the park and that the project would create hundreds of jobs.

 

The zone is now home to a large auto complex of Thaco. In 2007 the zone saw Thaco Kia open a factory manufacturing passenger cars equipped with the most modern technology in the region. The factory was invested with more than US$36 million.

 

In early 2009, the company succeeded in assembling its most modern and luxurious model, Kia New Carens.

 

The open economic zone, which was established in 2003, covers 27,000 hectares in Nui Thanh District.

 

Many tourism projects in Binh Thuan still inactive

 

Roughly seven out of every ten tourism projects in the coastal province of Binh Thuan remain inactive years after they have been licensed, and authorities said they would revoke those projects failing to abide by their timelines.

 

Only 150 of such projects are operational now or under construction while up to 260 others remain on the paper, said Ngo Minh Chinh, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism

 

Chinh told the Daily last week that excluding a small number of projects that had just received licenses, investors were to blame for the delay of many other projects. He however admitted that several projects were hindered by open-cast titanium mines that would be exploited soon.

 

“The mines shall be tapped before other projects can be developed so tourism investors who have projects on the titanium mines need to wait some more time,” he said.

 

According to him, the provincial government cannot says when these tourism projects could continue development because relevant agencies are verifying the reserves of titanium as well as researching methods for mining activities.

 

For other slow-moving projects, the provincial government would take punitive sanctions. Authorities will revoke the investment licenses of these projects if the slow development is due to the investors’ capacity, he said.

 

Last year, Binh Thuan revoked investment licenses of 21 resort projects because of the slow progress.

 

The coastal province with famous resorts in Ham Tien, Mui Ne welcomed 937,000 local and foreign investors in the first four months of this year, up nearly 14% year-on-year, while its tourism revenue increased over 37% to over VND1 trillion.

 

S. Korea to give additional aid

 

The South Korean government has committed non-refundable aid worth US$1.5 million to boost competition management know-how and fair trading in Viet Nam.

 

The money, which is to come via the Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA), will fund the set-up of an information management project to deal with competition law issues. KOICA will also send equipment and specialists to Viet Nam as well as providing Vietnamese staff with competition management training in South Korea.

 

The project is scheduled to run from now until 2014.

 

VN eye to up trade with Myanmar

 

Twenty-four Vietnamese businesses are displaying their electric and consumer products at a fair in Myanmar which kicked off in Yangon on Sunday.

 

With 100 booths, the four-day fair held by Myanmar's Smart Business Group aims to strengthen bilateral trade ties between Myanmar and Viet Nam while opening up opportunities for Vietnamese products to penetrate the Myanmar market.

 

According to official statistics, two-way trade between Viet Nam and Myanmar reached about US$160 million last year, up 60 per cent on 2009.

 

Viet Nam has invested nearly $23.65 million in Myanmar since 1988 and is now one of the top 20 importers of products from its Southeast Asian neighbour. Key among these are agroforestry and aquatic products as well as electronics and spare parts.

 

VN calls for German investment

 

Viet Nam's Consul General in Germany Nguyen Huu Trang has called for German enterprises to step up technology transfer and boost economic management skills through investment in Viet Nam.

 

He made the comments during a workshop in the German city of Pforzheim last week. At the same event, Pforzheim Mayor Gert Hager praised Viet Nam's successful recent economic reforms and said the country had great development potential.

 

Viet Nam was also an attractive destination for international investment and a suitable partner for German investors, the mayor added.

 

To date, German enterprises have invested US$825 million into 163 projects in Viet Nam.

 

Chinese fair to kick-off in Ha Noi

 

The three-day Zhejiang Export Fair 2011 gets underway at the Ha Noi International Exhibition Centre tomorrow.

 

The fair's 200 booths will showcase the machinery and electronics industry, the textile and fabric sector, and the building and decoration materials industry.

 

The fair, the first ever of its kind in the capital, will be a great chance for Viet Nam and China to boost bilateral co-operation, especially in trade and investment, said the Viet Nam Trade Fair and Advertising Co, one of the event's organisers.

 

Viet Nam's exports to Africa surge

 

Viet Nam's exports to Africa topped US$408 million in the first quarter of this year, up 39 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Department of Customs.

 

Key export items included rice, footwear, garments, coffee, computers and components and steel.

 

During the period, Viet Nam imported $176 million worth of products from Africa, a yearly increase of 47 per cent.

 

Security system provider heads to VN

 

Swiss security products provider Sicpa Group plans to open three offices in Viet Nam with 300 staff to sell an anti-fraud solution to the Vietnamese beverage industry.

 

The group's head of business development Viktor Zemlicka said the company's "security solution" would be sold under the name Vietrace. He said it was a secure platform that would report on each product and track it through the distribution network.

 

The solution will help prevent fraud and illegal trade practices.

 

Weak market No problem, say firms

 

With the stock market remaining depressed and liquidity drying up, many companies are finding it hard to raise money through issues, but some do buck the trend, managing not only to sell equity but also at attractive prices.

 

Shareholders of Cotec Construction Joint Stock Company (CTD) have approved to make a private placement of 10.42 million of new shares at a price not lower than VND50,000 against its book value of VND42,74. The shares will have a lock-up period of two years.

 

CTD chairman Tran Ba Duong said the issue attracted interest among buyers without revealing identities. There have been unconfirmed reports that foreign investment funds, property developers, and contractors are interested in picking up stakes.

 

A few months ago Tan Viet Investment and Development Company bought more than 2.1 million CTD shares at VND55,000 from fund manager Dragon Capital to increase its stake to 10.45 per cent from 3.5 per cent.

 

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a leading US-based global investment firm, last month paid US$159 million for a 10 per cent stake in food company Masan Consumer.

 

The deal, at 50 per cent above the then market price, valued Masan Consumer at $1.6 billion.

 

Masan is the market leader in fish, soy, and chilli sauces and second largest producer of branded instant noodles. It had a net profit of $60 million last year, up from $19 million in 2008.

 

Diageo, a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, agreed to pay $10.95 for shares of the unlisted Ha Noi Liquor Joint Stock Company, almost triple the market price.

 

Vietcombank to list 1.6 billion more shares on HCM City bourse

 

Vietcombank has received a thumbs-up from the State Bank of Viet Nam to list nearly 1.6 billion shares on the domestic stock market.

 

According to Vietcombank, 90.73 per cent of its total shares are owned by the State, represented by the State Bank.

 

To now, Vietcombank (listed as VCB on the HCM City Stock Exchange) has had 163.19 million shares listed, representing nearly 9.2 per cent of the bank's total capital.

 

According to experts, listing shares would have a positive effect on the VN-Index which is calculated on the basis of the price fluctuation of listed share volumes on the stock market.

 

A road map for listed shares has not as yet been developed however.

 

At the bank's annual shareholders meeting in April, Vietcombank approved its own plan of raising its charter capital by 40 per cent to VND24.622 trillion (US$1.1895 billion) from the current VND17.587 trillion ($849.6 million) during the course of 2011.

 

Further plans include establishing a schedule for luring strategic foreign shareholders via the private placement of 20 per cent of the bank's total shares.

 

More than 492 million new shares, or 20 per cent of the total, are expected to go to foreign buyers, who in turn are expected to be banks, financial institutions and global investment organisations that want to expand operations in Asia, especially in Viet Nam.

 

Foreign buyers are expected to have successful investment experience and a financial capacity of at least regional proportions in order to help support the bank's development.

 

The price for private placements will be negotiated based on advice from international financial consultancies in order that Vietcombank and its shareholders could benefit accordingly.

 

Expat Vietnamese dominate FDI

 

A total of 122 new foreign-invested projects capitalised at US$260.4 million have so far been granted investment licences in HCM City.

The overseas Vietnamese community accounts for $153.6 million of this investment, made largely in the processing and manufacturing industry, property trading and communication.

 

The city's People's Committee said despite the relatively small scale, projects undertaken by overseas Vietnamese cover a wide range of production and business sectors.

 

The difficulty in providing policy support to the overseas Vietnamese in doing business in Viet Nam revolves mainly around the uncertainty regarding their citizenship, the committee said.

 

City authorities have proposed supplementing existing incentive policies to encourage more overseas Vietnamese who are not holding Vietnamese citizenship to return home for doing business.

 

The municipal administration has also proposed improving administrative procedures, speeding up reforms of land and customs-related procedures as well as tax policies in order to facilitate overseas Vietnamese looking to set up businesses in the city.