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Cement industry looks to limit imports
The Ministry of Construction predicts the country's cement consumption in 2010 will reach 50 to 51.5 million tonnes, an 11 per cent year-on-year increase.
Deputy minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said in October alone, total cement consumption was estimated at 3.88 million tonnes, a decrease of 8 per cent against September, attributed to rains and floods in the central provinces.
In the first 10 months, the industry sold 40.4 million tonnes of cement reaching 80 per cent of its yearly target, a 12 per cent increase over the same period last year. By the end of October, the industry will have exported around 470,000 tonnes of cement.
In October alone, 50,000 tonnes of clinker were imported, part of 1.8 million tonnes in the first 10 months. The industry expects to import 1.9 million to 2 million tonnes of clinker this year, a 40 per cent drop compared to 2009. In order to limit the import of clinker, the ministry issued Decree 01/2010/TT-BXD to stipulate quality management of commercial clinker.
The ministry also asked the Viet Nam Cement Corporation and joint ventures to minimise their import of clinker from Thailand for cement production in the South. The cost of transport from the North makes Vietnamese clinker become more expensive, according to cement producers.
In an attempt to boost cement exports, the Ministry of Construction has asked joint venture cement manufacturers to look for new potential markets as stated in their investment licences.
To stabilise the domestic cement market, the ministry has worked with the Viet Nam Cement Association to instruct cement producers nationwide to carry out solutions by applying advanced technology to reduce input costs.
According to the ministry, the Viet Nam Cement Corporation needs to work with cement companies to carefully monitor monthly and quarterly consumption in order to meet domestic demand, especially in the construction high season.
In addition, the ministry has asked to boost the development of cement projects approved by the Government so they can be put into operation on schedule.
Blue chips boost markets
Blue chip advances helped Viet Nam's stock indices rally today, but concerns over the macroeconomic situation restrained a capital injection in securities.
In HCM City, the VN-Index gained 1.08 per cent to close at 430.81 points.
Trading volume fell 16.1 per cent from Monday to 25 million shares, a value of VND547.6 billion (US$26.1 million).
Blue chips were the advancers, with software producer FPT Corp (FPT) and property trader Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG), each up VND1,000; steel producer Hoa Phat Group (HPG), up VND900; Phu My Fertiliser (DPM), up VND600; and Ocean Group, up VND400.
Bao Viet Holding (BVH) and Masan Group (MSN) declined after rallying on Monday.
Only two stocks dropped to their floor prices, Vien Dong Pharmaceutical Co (DVD), down VND2,500 to VND53,000 and Taya Vietnam Electric Wire and Cable Co (TYA), down VND200 to VND5,500.
Sacombank (STB) and Eximbank (EIB) remained unchanged.
24 stocks hit their ceiling prices, most of which were penny stocks.
In Ha Noi, the HNX-Index bounced back 1.22 per cent to 99.05 points.
Volume was down 10.1 per cent from Monday to 25 million shares, worth VND428.8 billion ($20.1 million).
The largest capitalised stocks rallied, including Asia Commercial Bank ACB), up VND300; Bao Viet Securities (BVS), up VND400; Kim Long Securities (KLS), up VND200; PetroVietnam Insurance (PVI), up VND300 and PetroVietnam Construction (PVX), up VND1,000.
Loans stall for low-income housing projects
Builders of low-income housing have been unable to obtain preferential loans from the Viet Nam Development Bank despite Government Resolution No 18 ordering the bank to extend them priority for low-interest loans.
Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said the ministry and the Central Steering Committee on Housing Policies and the Real Estate Market have urged the Viet Nam Development Bank to begin lending to these projects in accordance with the resolution.
However, the bank's general director, Nguyen Quang Dung, said the delays were due to a lack of certificates of land use rights needed to secure a mortgage loan. Current regulations required that individuals and organisations present the certificates, Dung said.
Dung also took issue with the ministry's list of 43 low-income housing projects – worth a combined VND6.6 trillion (US$330 million) – saying that many were ineligible for the preferential loans.
A number of project developers have cried foul, however, noting that the Government had not issued land use certificates in cases where the land use fees had been waived.
They would only receive the certificates once the housing projects were completed, they noted.
Bui Duc Long, general director of Vincon Land and Finance Investment Joint Stock Co, developer of a number of low-income housing projects in the central cities of Hue and Da Nang, said his bank had yet to receive any loans from the Viet Nam Development Bank even after meeting with the bank, the construction ministry, and provincial authorities to try and resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, the company had plans to borrow from commercial banks to complete the unfinished projects due to the company's responsibility to society, Long said, but no new projects would be commenced without access to preferential financing.
Vincon was the first commercial developer that undertook development of low-income apartments, investing about VND200 billion ($10 million) in about 300 housing units in Da Nang and another 600 in Hue.
Another 600-unit development was waiting on preferential financing before proceeding.
Son An Urban Development and Investment Co chairman Nguyen Khac Son said it had invested VND33 billion ($1.65 million) out of a total estimated cost of VND55 billion ($2.75 million) for its low-income housing project in the southern province of Dong Nai and had yet to receive preferential financing since construction began in October.
Construction to date, he said, had been financed through commercials banks at interest rates of 17-18 per cent per year.
Dung said the Viet Nam Development Bank would answer businesses by the end of this month as to whether they would be able to access the loans, but he said the bank would make no commitments if the issue over regulations on mortgages and land use certificates were not resolved.
The bank could not violate the law which required land use right certificates as security for mortgage loans, Dung said.
Petrol sellers gripe over tax
Wholesalers have asked the Finance Ministry to reduce the import tax for petrol, diesel oil and kerosene.
They complain that the taxes – 17 per cent for petrol and 10 per cent for diesel oil and kerosene – are too high.
Further the tax rate has not been changed since April 2010 while the world price of petrol has increased continuously.
The petrol-price-stabilisation-fund has not staunched all their losses, say the wholesalers.
The Finance Ministry instructed the wholesalers not to raise the price at the end of October.
But they have been able to use the VND500 billion (US$26.3 million) petrol price stabilisation fund to compensate their losses.
The subsidy is VND550 per litre of petrol and diesel. For kerosene the subsidy is VND700 per litre and VND250 per litre for fuel oil.
The price of each A92 petrol barrel is $94.02.
For diesel its $101.95 per barrel and $102.39 for kerosene.
The wholesalers say at this price they lose VND1,700 for each litre of petrol; VND1,500 for diesel and VND1,800 for kerosene.
Viet Nam breaks into the world's top 10 seafood exporters
Viet Nam's seafood products were shipped to over 160 countries worldwide this year, helping the country become one of the world's top 10 seafood exporters, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam.
However, the development of the seafood processing industry had not gone exactly according to plan, resulting in a number of practical difficulties such as an imbalance of supply and demand and an unstable market.
The industry needed to carry out research to assess the market and make predictions for the future in a move to ensure sustainable development, he said.
The fishing industry aimed to increase production by 8-10 per cent per year and to export 6.5-7 million tonnes of seafood worth US$8-9 billion by 2020, following a development strategy approved recently by the Prime Minister.
The country earned $3.98 billion from seafood exports during the first 10 months of the year, up 14.46 per cent compared to 2009.
Insurance market sees 25% growth
The insurance market grew by more than 25 per cent in the first nine months, according to the Association of Vietnamese Insurers.
The non-life insurance sector reported growth of 25.97 per cent in premium income, which topped VND12.417 trillion (US$621 million).
Motor vehicles represented the largest segment, with VND3.885 trillion, up almost a fifth over the same period in 2009.
Health and personal accident insurance followed with almost VND1.7 trillion, up 28.74 per cent, ahead of construction and installation with VND1.43 trillion (28.3 per cent).
Though still a small segment with VND6.1 billion, agricultural insurance achieved the highest growth of 520 per cent.
Credit insurance was 148 per cent up at VND14 billion, while fire and explosion cover rose 77 per cent to VND254 billion.
Bao Viet was the largest player with premium incomes of more than VND3 trillion, followed by PetroVietnam Insurance Company with VND2.85 trillion, and Bao Minh with over VND1.5 trillion.
Smaller companies achieved higher growth rates – MSIG's premium income rose by 297 per cent, Groupama's by 205 per cent, and ACE's by 153 per cent.
Claim settlements were worth VND4.248 trillion during the period. The association said there will be a sharp rise in the fourth quarter due to the recent floods in the central region.
Thai Van Cach, deputy general director of the Vien Dong Assurance Company, said preliminary estimates put the damage caused by two storms in October in the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri at VND8.5 trillion.
They killed 165 people and injured 117 others, damaged around 440 houses, and killed livestock.
"Only half of the 165 people killed were insured, meaning a total payout of around VND3 billion. Auto losses were less than VND5 billion and most of the damaged roads were not insured," he said.
Clearly, insurance companies have yet to tap the market's potential.
Cach said if insurance companies manage to persuade importers to switch to FOB (free on board) mode from the current CIF (cost, insurance and freight), Vitenamese insurers will benefit since under the current practice the exporters pay the insurance in their home country.
The life insurance sector reported premium incomes of VND 9.767 trillion, a 25 per cent rise year on year.
Prudential topped the industry with more than VND3.8 trillion, up 12.9 per cent.
New contracts accounted for VND2.478 trillion of the premiums paid, a 35 per cent increase.
Bao Viet collected VND2.944 trillion (27.4 per cent) and Manulife was in third place with over VND1 trillion (53.4 per cent).
The companies collected premiums on 4.143 million contracts, 4 per cent higher than a year earlier.
Source: VNS
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