HCM City container transporters up rates by 20 pct

Container transport operators in hiked tariffs by 15 to 20 percent Thursday following the 24-percent hike in fuel prices earlier that day.

Diesel prices are up VND3,550 ($0.17) per liter to VND18,300, and this fuel accounts for more than 40 percent of their costs, Luong Hoang Trung, deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Transporters Association, said.

Small and medium-sized operators applied the new rates immediately while large ones will wait until March 1, he added.

Tuan Lam Transport said for deals signed before February 16, the new rates will only apply for shipments made after March 1.

Meanwhile, major lubricant, tire, and inner tube distributors have announced a 22-percent hike in prices by.

The government hiked gasoline and diesel prices by 17.5 percent and 24 percent to VND19,300 and VND18,300 as global prices rose.

Fuel prices should have been hiked higher: ministry

Fuel prices should have been raised much higher, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement after a major hike Thursday.

Vietnam yesterday lifted up gasoline prices by VND2,900 (14 cents) to VND19,300 per liter, diesel oil prices by VND3,550 to VND18,300 per liter, kerosene prices by VND3,100 to VND18,200 per liter, and mazut prices by VND2,110 to VND14,800 per kilogram.

The Ministry claimed that if it had not used tools like tax cuts worth VND10.089 trillion or a fuel price stabilization fund having disbursed VND6.396 trillion, gasoline prices would have been increased to VND6,493 per liter, diesel prices to VND6,260 per liter, kerosene prices to VND6,692 per liter, and mazut prices to VND4,334 per kilogram.

A liter of gasoline in Vietnam is now VND5,100 cheaper than in Laos, VND4,200 cheaper than in Cambodia, and VND3,200 cheaper than in China, it added.

The Ministry affirmed domestic prices will be adjusted commensurately with global prices from the second quarter forwards.

Government gets serious about rice exports

Rice exporters are required to have 50 percent of the grain they plan to export in stock before signing a contract under a new government policy meant to deter non-serious businesses and speculators, the Vietnam Food Association said.

Once the policy takes effect March 3, export contracts submitted to the VFA must contain additional information that they do now: about volume, quality, variety of rice, export price, and delivery and payment methods.

It also requires exporters to have infrastructure and storage and processing facilities.

Vietnam has shipped 400,000 tons of 15 percent broken rice to Indonesia so far this year, while the Philippines plans to buy 660,000 tons in the first quarter.

Vietnam's Feb trade deficit falls to $950 mln: report

Vietnam's trade deficit this month will narrow to US$950 million from $1.3 billion a year earlier, a state-run newspaper reported on Friday.

Exports were estimated to have increased 40.4 percent from a year earlier to $5.25 billion and imports to rise 22.3 percent to $6.2 billion, the Liberation Saigon daily cited government statistics as showing.

The newspaper said that February exports were boosted by good prices for agricultural products and rubber.

For January, Vietnam's trade deficit was estimated at $1 billion. The government's statistics office is expected to release full trade data for February in coming days.

For all of 2011, the government aims to keep the trade deficit to less than 16 percent of the country's total exports. Earlier, the National Assembly set a target for the deficit to be below 18 percent of exports.

Vietnam hikes petrol prices, adds to inflation worries

Vietnam raised petrol prices by 18 percent yesterday, adding to worries over rising inflation and resulting in long queues as motorists rushed to fill up before the increase took effect.

The hike, announced the same day, had been expected after Vietnam devalued its currency early this month for the fourth time since late 2009, pushing up the cost of imported fuel.

Vietnam subsidizes petrol prices to offset the effect of rising oil prices, which hit two-year highs on world markets in Asian trade as turmoil continued in the Middle East.

Another key consumer commodity, electricity, will rise by 15 percent in Vietnam next month, official media said this week.

Hundreds of motorbike riders and motorists had waited at one central Hanoi petrol station hoping to beat the mid-morning price rise, which also saw the cost of diesel shoot up about 24 percent.

But many left disappointed after the government-set petrol price jumped from VND16,400 to VND19,300 a liter before they could buy.

"Obviously, the rise in petrol prices will lead to increases in other sectors like transport," said Do Tuan Khang, 42, an army officer waiting to fill up his motorbike.

"That's going to aggravate the country's inflation, which is already worrying a lot of people." Inflation in Vietnam has accelerated every month since August 2010, hitting 12.17 percent year-on-year in January, far higher than its neighbors.

To help control prices, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has vowed to cut state spending by 10 percent through measures including the delay of non-essential projects, the official Vietnam News reported Tuesday.

Vietnam to tell state firms to sell dollars: report

Vietnam is requiring major state-owned companies to sell all their foreign currency to banks, according to a report on a government website on Thursday, in an effort to support the beleaguered dong.

The dong has been under persistent downward pressure in the past three years due to high inflation and wide trade and fiscal deficits, and the central bank has devalued the official exchange rate by more than 20 percent.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved a series of measures on Thursday to tighten monetary and fiscal conditions to control inflation and re-balance the economy, after a devaluation and interest rate rises earlier this month.

Dung told an online meeting about the economy with the heads of Vietnam's 63 provinces and municipalities on Thursday that "immediately following the meeting, definitely all state-owned groups and general corporations will have to sell all foreign currency to banks."

Banks would sell them dollars at the official exchange rate when they need them, he said, according to the report on the government's website, www.chinhphu.vn.

The currency was quoted at a major gold shop in Hanoi at 22,000/22,100 dong per dollar at about 0940 GMT. The rate has eased on the unofficial market from about 22,500 last weekend.

Vietnam axes $9.8 bln Vinashin project with Malay

Vietnam has cancelled a US$9.8 billion joint steel project between troubled state shipping company Vinashin and Malaysian steel giant Lion Group, an official said Thursday.

The project in the southern coastal province of Ninh Thuan began in November 2008 and encompassed a steel mill with initial capacity of 4.5 million tons as well as power plants and a sea port.

Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) and Lion Group were to develop the project, but a government document seen by AFP Thursday says the investment license has been revoked.

"With the revoking of the license, this steel project will be completely abolished," Pham Dong, head of the Ninh Thuan planning and investment department, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Investors "did not fulfill commitments for implementation of the project as stated in the investment license," a statement posted Wednesday on the government website said.

The Lion Group held a 75 percent stake in the project but had difficulties arranging funding, Dong explained, adding there was "trouble" with the chosen technology.

A Lion Group spokeswoman reached by AFP in Malaysia said the company had "not received any notifications from (the) Vietnam government pertaining to the matter."

In December Vinashin, whose debts of more than $4 billion pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy, reportedly defaulted on the first $60 million installment of a $600 million loan arranged by Credit Suisse in 2007.

Police are investigating and have arrested Pham Thanh Binh, Vinashin's former chairman, who is accused of violating state economic management regulations.

Others have also reportedly been held in the case, which threatened the country's global financial reputation.

Vinashin, whose interests spanned a range of sectors from ports to real estate, is being restructured.

Daewon Textile to open first outlet in HCMC

Korean Daewon Textile will open its first outlet at the Vincom tower, in the southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City in March, selling medium-to-high grade clothes made from wool textile.

The outlet will sell more than 700 types of wool textile clothes imported from Canada, Australia as well as those manufactured at Daewon Textile factory in Nhon Trach I industrial park, in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Mrs. Yoo Oh Chun, manager of the Daewon Textile branch in Vietnam, said the store will be the exclusive distributor of Canada Pro Cantex brand in Vietnam.

Daewon plans to add more outlets in HCMC and Hanoi in the next two years, Chun added.

Daewon Textile Vietnam ships approximately 3 million tons of wool textiles to the US, Europe and Japan every year since it first came to Vietnam in 2002.

Firms speed up selling dollars

Exporters Wednesday started to sell dollars in large amounts following indications that authorities will take strong measures to cool the greenback fever down.

Demand for the dollar has been desperate since a major devaluation of the dong two weeks ago pushed up the exchange rate, resulting in persistent hoarding of the foreign currency.

But exporters holding a good amount of the greenbacks have sold them out quickly, worrying over a plunge in price, a sales manager of a bank’s treasury department of said.

The dollar traded at VND21,320 at banks, VND430 higher than the officially quoted rate, whereas many exporters offered it at VND21,380-21,480 to importers.

Dollars’ prices slightly edged up early yesterday at VND22,230 on the unofficial market but drastically slumped afterwards given strong take-profits from speculators who wanted to sell them fast to secure gains. The greenback was later sold at VND22,100.

Gold prices accordingly fell VND210,000 to VND37.61 million per tael.

Nguyen Thi Cuc, deputy director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company, said investors sold 1,480 taels to her company yesterday.

Drug prices fluctuate again

While the Vietnamese government fights to curb inflation, stabilize the macro-economy and ensure social welfare, drug prices have risen despite all efforts.

The continuous hike of medicine prices is causing anxiety to patients. A middle aged housewife was seen fretting when the pharmacist charged her VND400, 000 for her child’s prescription of some antibiotics and vitamin tablets. She was worried as her child suffers from chronic bronchitis and needs regular medication which will now cost her much more.

However, not only needy patients are shocked at the increasing prices of medications but also state-run employees and average-income people. Mr. Tran Long, an employee of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Lang Thuong ward of Dong Da district in Hanoi, was surprised that the medication that cost VND12, 000 a pack before Tet (lunar New Year) now cost VND14, 500 a pack.

As the exchange rates went up so did the price of drugs. Pharmacies in the wholesale medicine market of Ngoc Khanh, Lang Ha or Van Mieu in Hanoi have received announcement of new drug prices from distributors and importers. Foreign and domestic pharmaceutical companies have adjusted their prices especially on specific medications like antibiotics, vitamins and painkillers.

Vietnam Pharmaceutical Companies Association (VNPCA), the representative organization of more than 100 major pharmaceutical companies, said tens of various drugs are surged every month, among them, foreign-made items are raised much.

A survey of pharmacies showed that of 4,000 imported drugs, 168 had increased price markings by an average of 2.2 percent.

According to medical experts, the medicine market has seen changes because nearly 50 percent of the drugs in the country are imported and local pharmaceutical companies used 90 percent of imported ingredients for manufacturing.

The Vietnamese government needs to keep an eye on the price of goods delivered at the border before importing and control both wholesale prices as well as retail prices within the country.

Inflation rate to stay high in March

The country's inflation rate is expected to remain high in March, following a hike in petrol prices and appreciation of the US dollar, according to an economics expert.

Speaking at a meeting yesterday in HCM City, Pham Chi Lan said that electricity prices would also rise by more than 15 per cent in March, which would affect the prices of other goods and services.

"Although the Government yesterday issued a resolution on measures aimed to control inflation, the consumer price index (CPI) will not fall in March," she said. "I hope that government agencies immediately implement the Government's anti-inflation measures."

The high CPI could adversely affect both businesses and households, she said.

Enterprises usually raised the prices of their goods and services when input costs increased, she said, noting that this would make locally made goods become less competitive than imported ones.

She said that businesses should restructure their production and trading strategies, including using electricity more efficiently and upgrading technology to cut costs and improve quality.

This would only help them cope not with the current economic pressure but also aid their long-term competitiveness.

The country's CPI in February rose 12.31 per cent over the same period last year, and was up 3.87 per cent compared to December.

Amway opens its first shop in Ha Noi 

Amway Viet Nam Co Ltd (AVCL) announced the official launch of its first shop in Ha Noi in Dong Da District on Wednesday.

The luxurious and modern shop showcases all products of Amway Viet Nam, creating favourable conditions for its customers and distributors in Ha Noi and northern areas to visit, access and select products easily.

Officially starting business in Viet Nam in 2008, AVCL now has a factory in Amata Industrial Park, Dong Nai Province and five distribution centres located in major cities throughout the country: Ha Noi, Hai Phong, HCM City, Can Tho and Da Nang.

FPT wins contracts to provide ATMs, services

The FPT Information System Corporation (FIS), a member of the FPT Group, has won three contracts worth VND330 billion (US$13.9 million) for providing ATMs and other services to three major banks in the country.

The first contract to expand the ATM network in the southern part of the country is worth $3.2 million for equipment and $1.9 million for services.

The second contract to buy and install ATMs and card printing systems is worth $6.6 million within eighteen months. The third, to buy and install 200 ATMs, is worth $5.8 million for an unnamed bank.

Work starts on Hoa Binh aluminium factory

Viet Nam Almine Limited Company, under the Japanese-based Almine Group, started building the Viet Nam Almine Mill in northern Hoa Binh Province with a total investment capital of VND751,86 billion (US$36 million) last Monday.

Viet Nam Almine Mill, the largest project to date and the 19th project in the Luong Son Industrial Zone, will apply Japanese advanced technologies with a capacity of 24,000 tonnes of rolling aluminium per year. The mill is scheduled to begin operations in January 2012 and will create employment for 500 locals.

CPA Australia grants $300m in scholarships

The professional associations for accountants and auditors CPA Australia has granted six Vietnamese students VND300 million (US$13.824) worth of scholarships.

These students achieved distinguished graduation from the Master of International Accounting Programme, offered by Australian Swinburne University of Technology. The graduation ceremony was held in both HCM City and Ha Noi. The diplomas helped students become CPA Australia's reserve associates and attend the association's other special courses.