Oman lifts ban on Vietnam poultry imports

The Omani Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries recently lifted the ban on importing live poultry, their non-processed meat, and hatching eggs from Vietnam.

The same decision was also made on the import of live birds, their products, derivatives and offal hailing from Nepal.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Fuad bin Ja’far Al Sagwani issued the decisions basing on recommendations of Oman’s veterinary agency.

Meanwhile, this ministry also imposed another import ban on live fowls and their products, derivatives, and offal from the UK, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Germany, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the Indian state of Kerala.

It said the ban, triggered by the abovementioned countries’ report of avian flu outbreaks, is necessary to prevent influenza viruses from entering Oman.

Seafood exports reach $7.9b in 2014

Viet Nam will reach US$7.9 billion in the value of seafood exports for 2014 due to high growth in key products.

Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) general secretary Nguyen Hoai Nam said the world market had seen a recovery, and sales of seafood products has risen more than other types of food. Meanwhile, Viet Nam maintained stable and high quality seafood supplies, as the nation was estimated to gain a year-on-year increase of 18 per cent in seafood export values for this year, rising to $7.9 billion, reported vietnamplus.vn.

Also, deputy minister of agriculture and rural development Vu Van Tam said the nation could reach its target of $8 billion in total seafood export value for next year due to the continuing high growth in value this year.

The value of shrimp exports in 2014 was expected to reach 22 per cent year-on-year, surging to $3.8 billion, while the value of tra fish exports would be $1.8 billion, he said.

Of note, Nam said tilapia could become a key export seafood products in the near future. Many seafood experts agreed with this opinion because, with the potential in fresh water and existing technological infrastructures of the fisheries industry, Viet Nam had the ability to greatly increase the output of tilapia for export processing.

Pham Anh Tuan, deputy head of Fisheries Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said tilapia had great appeal in foreign markets.

Over the past five years, tilapia has reached an average growth rate at 30 per cent each year in the world market.

For instance, the US market imported tilapia worth $200 million 10 years ago, while this year the import value of tilapia to the US is expected to reach $1 billion. Meanwhile, the export price of tilapia at the market is high, at $4.5 per kilo.

Also, China annually exports 1.1-1.5 million tonnes of tilapia.

Thus tilapia, said Nam, would be a potential export seafood product for Viet Nam in the future.

Tuan added that the fisheries industry would promote the production of tilapia. Also, systems for raising tilapia along with shrimp would improve the environment, control disease and produce quality seafood products, officials noted.

Nguyen Huu Dung, VASEP deputy chairman, said many enterprises now raising tra fish and shrimp had planned investments for rearing tilapia.

Viet Nam produced 80 per cent of the local demand of tilapia breeding and the ministry built a centre for hatching tilapias in Quang Nam Province to provide live fish for the northern provinces. In the future, the ministry would have a plan on sustainable development of tilapia to assure high growth in tilapia exports, he said.

VN firms need to seize IT innovations

More than 130 ICT foreign and local specialists gathered for a seminar late last week at Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park to discuss IT innovations in computing issues on quality and service based on the SMAC.

The IT industry witnesses new innovations in computing every 15 years or so. These innovations change the way IT services are delivered to businesses and end users. After the eras of mainframe, mini-computing, personal computers and client servers, as well as the Internet, or more correctly called "Web" era, the industry is currently in what many call the fifth wave of corporate IT. This fifth wave is characterised by a new master IT architecture comprising social, mobile, analytics and cloud technologies collectively known as SMAC.

During the SMAC Quality Conference 2014, specialists and participants focused on the main topics to test solutions on quality and services based on cloud and mobile computing.

At the seminar, chairman Hoang Nam Tien stated that seizing the new tendency of SMAC would create value and strong growth for businesses. This was a global trend that ICT businesses must learn, since they cannot operate outside the "game."

Tien said the Viet Nam ICT market had seen development and strong integration. In particular, SMAC had been given special attention.

Between 2014 and 2016, mobile tendencies and the number of 3G users was expected to continue to rise rapidly, he said. Services, such as OTT (over-the-top) and social, would contribute 80 per cent to online communications, online video and mobile content. These would help enhance multimedia communications via personal computers, smartphones, tablets and smart TV. Therefore, people would witness a real boom in multimedia communications, with coverage of more than 50 per cent of the Vietnamese population.

Neopost Software Community Director Jerome Modolo, one of the main speakers during the seminar, said SMAC and SMACT (Social, Mobile, Analytics, Cloud, Internet of Things) were new trends that were growing rapidly, based on information from the International Data Group (IDG) and Technology Research Gartner Inc.

However, testing activities of SMAC technology were still in the early development stages. Vendors continued using their available resources, but they were gradually adjusting their products or services to meet the new trends and customer needs. He added that very few companies had made a breakthrough in the field of SMAC testing.

He added that this was an opportunity for young Vietnamese companies and IT workers to participate in solving the problem through knowledge and creativity.

The new trend of IT technology also entailed a great demand for IT workers. He called this a "big space" for local training and the human resource market.

FPT Software will need at least 600 IT workers next year. Of this number, 100 will comprise engineers with expert understandings of SMAC testing.

According to reports of IDG and Gartner there will be 2.18 million users of "Social" by 2015, bringing in revenues of US$34 billion. Further, the number of "Mobility" users is expected to increase to 1.3 billion, bringing in revenues of $735 billion.

Mobile devices market set for holiday pickings

Most mobile device agents and stores in HCM City expect to achieve high turnover in December and in early 2015, thanks to several holidays and festivals, according to market observers.

The prediction was based on business results that the companies have achieved in recent weeks, particularly after Apple's new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets were put on sale in mid-November in the country.

In November, at FPT's shops, the two iPhones 6 brought the highest turnover, followed by iphone 5s, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

Other popular smartphones include Asus, Sony, Oppo and Nokia.

Turnover for Thegioididong.com and dienmay.com increased by 10 per cent and 15 per cents compared to October and 2013 figures, respectively.

A representative of thegioididong.com, who declined to be named, said that his company's turnover rose because of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Gold sold well as sales from promotions (12-24 per cent discounts) on many smartphones such as Samsung Grand 2, Nokia Lumia 1520 and HTC Butterfly S.

In addition to the products, some products such as the new Nokia 535 and Oppo R5 have also attracted customers because of their convenient features and reasonable prices.

As for the PC tablet market, Nguyen Hong Linh from FPT said the Asus Fonepad FE170 with full 3G telephony functionality was one of the bestsellers last month among PC tablets selling for less than VND3 million.

Five out of 10 kinds of Samsung's tablets, three types of Apple iPads, and several kinds of Asus tablet PCs were also big earners.

Because of the PC tablet market's rapid growth, many mobile device companies such as Asus, HP and Lenovo have increased investment in production of low-cost tablet PCs to fully tap the market segment that Apple and Samsung have not yet occupied.

Analysts say mobile devices are continuing to sell well in December, and are expected to do so over the next several months.

HCM City posts 94% FDI surge

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into HCM City as of December 15 has reached US$3.21 billion, an increase of 94 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to figures from HCM City Department of Planning and Investment.

The figure includes registered capital of $2.84 billion for 414 new FDI projects, nearly triple last year's figure. Most of the investment was in the manufacturing and real estate sectors.

In addition, 133 operational projects have received added capital totalling $371.2 million, 53.5 per cent of the figure in 2013.

BIDV, Hiroshima Shinkin ink MoU

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan's bank Hiroshima Shinkin to support Japanese businesses operating in Viet Nam.

The local bank will be the first partner in Viet Nam and is expected to provide banking products and services to small- and medium-sized enterprises that are customers of the Japanese bank.

They will include payment accounts, credit, wage payments, consultancy on the trade and investment environment in Viet Nam, taxation, and recruitment. The foreign bank plans to organise a business mission to visit Viet Nam in the coming March to explore investment opportunities.

Service industry lures Japanese firms

There is a growing tendency to seek investment opportunities in the service industries in Viet Nam among Japanese companies, according to a speaker at a workshop in HCM City last week.

The workshop, held by the Japanese External Trade Organisation (JETRO), hosted some 60 Vietnamese businesses and 17 Japanese enterprises.

According to the organising board, Japanese businesses are interested in estate-related information and seeking spaces for restaurants and beauty care services in major commercial centres and shopping malls in HCM City.

They also seek partners, in a bid to expand Japan's high-quality retail chains.

Ho Xuan Lam, Vice Director of the Municipal Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, said that Japan's investment in the service field is increasing, along with its strong investment industry in Viet Nam.

Experts, architects suggest ideas for HCM City metro area

Experts and architects put ideas forwards to develop the HCM City metropolitan area at a recent conference entitled “Planning-altering ideas for developing HCM City metropolitan zone by 2030 with a vision to 2035.”

Tran Ngoc Chinh, president of Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association (VUPDA), said that the HCM City metropolitan area must have a clear development boundary in order to take advantage of topology, land and landscape.

The metropolitan expansion should head towards the sea as well as establishing a network of towns connecting to the nuclear city and in return, those towns got benefits from the nuclear city, Chinh added.

The HCM City metropolitan area with HCM City as the nuclear city is planned to encompass the borders of the current HCM City and seven surrounding provinces – Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Long An, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Tien Giang.

The natural area of the zone is around 30,404 sq. km and has a population of 18 million. It is to contribute 60% of the State budget revenue and over 70% of the entire country’s export volume, according to architect Ngo Quang Hung from the Southern Construction Planning Institute.

The participants agreed that the planning adjustment is necessary to improve the metropolitan zone’s role and position in the world as well as boosting the connection with large metropolitan zones in Southeast Asia and South Asia.

The adjustment also helps overcome shortcomings in the development of the zone’s space, increasing the regional connection and integration with the overall planning on socio-economic development as well as meeting challenges from climate change.

Hung also suggested the layout for economic areas in the metropolitan zone with HCM City as the nuclear city, serving as an economic, industrial, scientific and technological centre, while the Northwest region, including Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc, will develop border-gate economy and highly-specialized agriculture.

The Northeast region, composed of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, will develop logistics service, ecological and resort tourism and the Southwest region, including Long An and Tien Giang, will be the area specialising in growing rice, fruit trees, and raising seafood.

Professor Charles Gore, an economic expert from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, underscored the role of the HCM City metropolitan zone region, considering the region as a way of helping Vietnam beat the middle-income trap.

Meanwhile, Professor Frank Schwartze from Germany pointed out problems likely facing HCM City such as too many unoccupied departments, worsening flooding and traffic congestion.

Architect Ngo Viet Nam Son, a specialist on urban planning, put an emphasis on two challenges the city is facing: the uncontrolled and unsustainable urbanisation and risks of climate change and rising sea levels.

According to Son, the metropolitan area should prioritize developing a network of roads and highways as well as multi-sector and inter-regional cooperation mechanisms.

Huynh The Du, lecturer of the Fulbright Economics Teaching Programme, said it was necessary to share responsibilities and gains among provinces and cities within the metropolitan region.

The conference was held in the City on December 19.

Phu Quoc Island plans enormous tourism complex

An international tourism complex including five-star hotels, convention centres and casinos will be built on Phu Quoc Island, authorities in southern Kien Giang province have announced.

At a recent meeting between the provincial administration and a working team led by Deputy Minister for Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong, the Deputy Chairman of the Kien Giang People's Committee, Dang Cong Huan, said the tourism complex will be built on 135ha in Phu Quoc Island district's Bai Thom commune.

Huan said the casinos will be located on a 30,000-sq.m area adjacent to five-star hotels and resorts with a total of 2,500 to 3,000 rooms.

The complex will be a 100% foreign-invested project with a maximum duration of 70 years, with the casino licence valid for a maximum term of 30 years.

The investor in the tourism complex must be a company specialing in casino services, and must commit to an investment of over US$4 billion, said Huan.

International consultants at the meeting said other entertainment services should be added to the complex.

They also said strong commitment from the Vietnamese Government would be needed for such a huge project.

Under the master plan for socio-economic development of Kien Giang province by 2020 approved by the Prime Minister on July 26, Phu Quoc Island will be developed into a centrally-administered special economic zone by 2020.

Vietnam's biggest island with a total area of 593sq.km, Phu Quoc is now part of Kien Giang province.

Under a 10-year-development plan, the province, situated 250km south of Ho Chi Minh City, will upgrade the stretch of National Highway 80 between Lo Te and Rach Soi, build a coastal road south of HCM City as well as the Ha Tien – Rach Gia – Bac Lieu Highway. These projects are expected to boost development of the Rach Gia and Phu Quoc airports.

By 2020, Kien Giang will establish the Kien Luong town and the Ha Tien city, as well as two new districts – Thanh Hung district from Giong Rieng town, and Soc Xoai from Hon Dat town.

 HCM City office space market remains stable: CBRE report

The office buildings market in Ho Chi Minh City has remained stable in the fourth quarter with limited new supply in grades A and B in both the central business districts and elsewhere, according to property consultant CBRE.

The Government's success in reducing inflation (and lending rates), cutting back spending, attracting foreign direct investment and achieving reasonable GDP growth of 5.6 percent have improved market conditions, which in turn have improved the confidence and outlook of both established businesses and new investors.

This demand in the market combined with limited supply has helped stabilise rents and reduce vacancy rates. In the fourth quarter rents for both grades A and B have been quite stable (0.1 percentage points down from the previous quarter).

In terms of vacancy rates, grade B performed slightly better than grade A as they declined by 3 and 1.8 percentage points from a year earlier.

Net absorption in the quarter improved significantly for both grades A and B – by 59.8 pps and 31.7 pps – which the latter continuing to perform better than the former.

The five most active sectors were banking, finance, insurance, drugs, manufacturing and IT/technology even as relocation for cost reasons ceased to be a major driver.

Expansion and new leasing are expected to drive the office market next year given the economy is improving and Vietnam returns to the radar screen of investors.

For small- to average-sized occupiers, the market does still provide some viable options, but for occupiers seeking quality, international standard, and managed buildings in the central business districts, limited new supply will come from large scale, mixed-use projects and from those developed partly for owner occupation.

The notable projects coming online in 2015 include Vietcombank, Viettel, and SSG .

So while construction can be seen across the central business district, the reality is that for large tenants planning an occupancy solution, the market will remain tight until the end of 2014.

As a result rent levels will remain stable at least until Q1 2015 when the next wave of supply comes online.

Local businesses received ASEAN awards

The Industry and Trade Information Centre under the Ministry of Industry and Trade on December 20 presented ASEAN awards to local businesses.

Among more than 500 entries, 41 businesses were presented with famous ASEAN brand name awards, 65 with ASEAN outstanding business awards, 65 with ASEAN product & service quality awards and 6 with ASEAN favourite destination awards.

The organising board conferred ASEAN golden cups and certificates to these 153 businesses.

The awards presentation aims to realise the Government’s renewal, open-door and international economic integration policies and to strengthen friendship towards forming the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.

The awards also constituted a motive force for the business community to develop reputable brand names and high quality products and services, contributing to a healthy business environment, and enhancing sustainable economic development and cooperation and trade promotion.

Two more foreign banks to open branches in Vietnam

E.SUN Commercial Bank, Ltd of Taiwan and BNP Paribas bank of France have been granted permission to establish branch banks in Vietnam, Nguyen Van Binh, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) recently revealed.

Binh said he also approved the appointment of Ho Fa-Chen as E.SUN Bank Director of its branch in Dong Nai and Nguyen Thi Duc Hanh as BNP Paribas bank Director of its branch in Hanoi.

However, the two banks must submit a few perfunctory compliance documents as required by State bank’s guidelines and regulations before licences would be issued, Binh said.

Stable material areas needed for cashew sector’s growth

Stable cashew material supply areas, suitable support policies, and the application of science and technology are crucial for the cashew sector when it comes to securing sustainable development, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Cao Duc Phat.

Though being the world’s top cashew exporter, Vietnam has still depended on imported raw materials, he pointed to the unsustainable feature at a conference seeking to boost the cashew sector’s growth held recently in the southern province of Binh Phuoc .

Binh Phuoc is the largest cashew tree grower in Vietnam . It has over 157,000 ha with the tree, which account for 45 percent of the country’s total cashew tree growing area and contribute 40 percent of the total cashew nut output.

Selecting saplings that could produce high-quality nuts and good yield for multiplication is a must, the minister said, asking research institutes and the MARD’s Cultivation Department to issue related criteria by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

Nguyen Van Hoa, Deputy Head of the MARD’s Cultivation Department, said the connectivity among cashew producers, processor and exporters in the development of cashew material supply areas is significant and should be strengthened.

He also pointed to the need for reviewing the planning of cashew production and boosting technology transfer.

Hoa suggested that the government allocate more budget to the building and upgrading of infrastructure systems in key cashew farming areas, while providing farmers with preferential loans for intensive cultivation.

According to the department, Vietnam ’s total cashew area is now 311,000 hectares, featuring a 62-fold rise from 30 years ago, concentrating mostly in the southeast region.

Average productivity was raised to 950kg per hectare in the 2006-2013 period from only about 500kg per hectare in the 1995-2000 period.

In 2014, the figure is estimated at 1.172 kg per hectare, a rise of 24 percent compared to that of 2013, said the department.

The country’s total yearly cashew yield rose nearly 233 times in the 1982-2014 period, reaching nearly 350,000 tonnes in 2014 from only 1,500 tonnes. However, the output has satisfied only 35 percent of processing demand, added the department.

Low inflation leaves room for interest rate cuts

Inflation is expected to dip lower in 2015, which could give the central bank room to cut back loan interest rates, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Initially, the inflation rate was projected to be 4 percent in 2015, as revealed in a meeting on December 17, Vneconomy reported.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment said any price adjustments, whether in case of products or services in domains such as healthcare, education, power and petrol, must be carefully considered to prevent any significant impact. Similarly, any decision to adjust the price of oil should be critically deliberated upon, as well.

This followed the Electricity of Vietnam's proposal to raise power tariffs by an average of 9.5 percent, beginning this month.

According to the ministry, the input-output analysis (I/O) revealed that a 9.5 percent increase in power price would raise the production cost by 0.55 percent. It would also cause the end-consumption of households to decline by 0.58 percent and the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate to decrease by 0.45 percent.

In addition, cutting the loan interest rate by one percent would increase the GDP growth rate by 0.45 percent and cause the inflation rate to decline by 0.76 percent.

An expert said that the loan interest rates of Vietnam remain high, putting immense pressure on businesses. If loan interest rates are not lowered, then it would be difficult for the economy to attain stable growth in medium and long term.

The Government has prioritised macroeconomic stability and inflation reduction in the past.

In November, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had said Vietnam's inflation rate this year was likely to remain below 3 percent, its lowest level in decades.

System offers painless investment procedures

Foreign investors who apply online for permission to invest in Vietnam will be able to receive investment certificates online as of 2015.

The move is part of the national foreign investment information system, and is part of the plan to create more favourable conditions for foreign investors. If this plan is enacted next year, foreign investors may finally be able to dispense with  complicated administrative procedures when deciding to invest in Vietnam.

The procedure to obtain an investment certificate where a foreign party wants to invest or buy into a company in Vietnam is still very complex and cumbersome and a significant amount of time is dedicated to the preparation, explanation and supplementation of unnecessary information for various authorities.

For example, investors may be required to explain the origin of funding, business plans and track records. The licensing time is also lengthened with cross-consultations between the municipal and provincial departments of Planning and Investment and the municipal and provincial People’s Committees or relevant governmental agencies. Sometimes, a local department may put an application on hold for two to three months while it awaits feedback from relevant governmental agencies.

Turkey begins antidumping probe into Vietnam, Malaysia steel over dishonest China exporters

The import department under the Turkish Ministry of Economy has launched an antidumping probe into steel imports from Vietnam and Malaysia, the Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA) announced Friday.

The Turkish side unveiled the investigation into Vietnam’s cold rolled stainless steel welded tubes in an announcement on December 12, the VCA, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said on its website, citing the Vietnamese trade office in Turkey.

The investigation will review the steel imports from Vietnam to Turkey between January 1, 2013 and October 31, 2014, following a complaint by M/s Jindal Stainless Limited, according to the VCA.

The plaintiff has said that some Chinese and Taiwanese exporters shipped their products to Vietnam and Malaysia before transporting them to the European country to dodge the antidumping taxes slapped on their exports.

On March 15, 2013, Turkey levied antidumping taxes on cold rolled stainless steel welded tubes imported from mainland China and Taiwan following an investigation.

Chinese and Taiwanese steel shipments to Turkey have since slowed down while volumes from Vietnam and Malaysia have risen dramatically, raising suspicions of a dishonest move to avoid taxes, according to Turkish investigators.

Vietnam is Turkey’s tenth largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region, the Turkish Ministry of Economy said on its website.

The Southeast Asian country is Turkey’s 105th largest export market, and 37th largest supplier of merchandise imports.

Turkish merchandise exports to Vietnam were worth $90 million in 2012, while imports stood at $1.2 billion the same year.

FIA organised training courses for officials

In order to run the national foreign investment information system smoothly next year, the Foreign Investment Agency has organised a series of training courses for municipal and provincial authorities in charge of foreign direct investment management at local levels.

Such training courses were organised firstly in cities and provinces with the largest number of foreign invested projects such as Hanoi, Haiphong, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency, the training courses are the first step to introduce the national foreign investment information system to municipal and provincial officials who will work directly with the system to ensure a comprehensive database of foreign direct investment in the country.

At the training courses, local officials learnt how to use the system to  make reports and manage information related to foreign invested projects.

Vietnam’s richest hit hard by stock plunge following world oil slump

Many richest Vietnamese people on the stock market have suffered severely from the free fall of the local stock market, a knock-on effect from the recent slump of the world’s oil prices.

After the Wednesday session alone, VN-Index fell 16.92 points, or 3.16 percent and stood at 518.22 points. During the session, the VN-Index lost more than 20 points before recovering. Many stocks were sold at a floor prices with many blue-chips, though not hitting the floor, closing in red.

Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, saw a loss of about VND374 billion (US$1.76 million) by the end of the day after HAG shares of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group lost VND1,200 per share to VND21,100 per share ($1).

Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Dinh Long, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoa Phat Group, continued to lose hundreds of billions of dong when HPG shares of the company fell VND2,000 per share to VND47,800 per share. Long lost VND202.12 billion ($9.5 million) on that day, and if the number of HPG shares owned by Vu Thi Hien, Long's wife, is taken into account, the family lost an extra VND37.14 billion more ($1.75 million).

The big bosses of Masan Group were also in the same boat as MSN shares dropped VND2,000 per share to VND79,000 per share. After the trading session, Nguyen Hoang Yen, member of the Board of directors of the company, lost VND43.56 billion ($2 million), while Ho Hung Anh, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, witnessed VND31.54 billion ($1.5 million) values of MSN share fading away.

Fishery stocks are even more tragic.

HVG shares of seafood exporter Hung Vuong Group plunged VND2,000 per share to VND26,700 per share, bringing the total value of HVG shares owned by Duong Ngoc Minh, CEO and chairman of the Board of Directors of the company down sharply by VND87.28 billion ($4.1 million).

Pham family, owners of property developer Vingroup, could not stand aside when suffering a big loss worth some VND732.96 billion ($34.5 million) when their VIC shares declined VND2,000 per share to VND45,000 per share.

Banking shares also fell victim to the bearish market, including STB shares of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank. STB shares of the bank retreated by VND1,000 per share, which caused a loss of VND54.86 billion ($2.6 million) for Tran Phat Minh, the largest individual shareholder of the bank.

Meanwhile, as a shareholder of Sacombank, Vice President of Southern Bank, Tram Trong Ngan also saw a VND54.86 billion loss, while Ngan’s younger brother Tram Khai Hoa, who holds the position of a member of the board of directors of Sacombank, lost VND23.72 billion ($1.1 million).

The ones suffering the biggest loss are oil companies, in which PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas) suffered the most severely when seeing the total value of its shares losing VND4.74 trillion ($222.78 billion) as its GAS share fell by VND2,500 per share to VND62,000 per share.

The loss of GAS share was followed by PVD, PVS and PVT. The market capitalization of the PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corp decreased by VND757.68 billion ($35.6 million) after the Wednesday session.

PVT shares of Petrovietnam Transportation Corp fell to the floor, losing VND1,000 per share to close at VND14,700 per share, suffering a VND255.86 billion ($12 million) loss in market capitalization.

Currently, the price of oil is at the center of the world economy’s attention, as oil price tends to fall to a new bottom, leaving many economies severely affected.

Vietnam's stock market is not out of that trend, with key indicators, such as VN-Index and HNX-Index, declining continuously.

VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR