Bình Thuận approves seafood cluster
     
The Binh Thuan Province People’s Committee has approved a proposal by local company Truong An Construction to build an industrial cluster in Mui Ne.

The 23.86ha cluster in the beach city of Phan Thiet will serve as a seafood processing hub for the south-central province and also encourage traditional local vocations like anchovy processing and fish sauce production.

When it opens, small-scale and household processors scattered around beaches and resorts will be moved into it.

Setting up a cluster is part of authorities’ efforts to monitor the quality of seafood products and protect the coastal environment to boost tourism.

Binh Thuan is one of the country’s biggest seafood producers with around 52-thousand square kilometres of traditional fishing grounds.

The province also has a rapidly growing beach tourism industry.

The number of international visitors to the province increased by 20 per cent year-on-year in the first two months. 

Sowatco withdraws from Saigon Centre project

Southern Waterborne Transport Corporation (Sowatco) is no longer the local partner of the Saigon Centre property project in downtown HCMC.

Keppel Land Limited through its subsidiary Krystal Investments Pte Ltd has clinched a deal with Sowatco to acquire an additional 16% stake worth VND845.9 billion in joint ventures Keppel Land Watco I, II, III, IV and V which are developing the Saigon Centre property in the heart of the city.

Following the acquisition, Keppel Land has increased its total interest in the joint ventures developing the first and second phases of the Saigon Centre, namely Keppel Land Watco I, II and III, from around 45.3% to 53.5%, and the last two phases in Keppel Land Watco IV and V from 68% to 76.2%, according to a statement issued on March 20 by Keppel Land.

Ang Wee Gee, CEO of Keppel Land, said in the statement, “Keppel Land is committed to grow its commercial portfolio in key Asian cities. Vietnam, one of our key growth markets, continues to attract foreign direct investments which will drive positive demand in the property market from homes to offices and mixed-use developments. Our increased stake in Saigon Centre reflects Keppel Land’s confidence and long-term commitment to contribute to sustainable urbanization in Vietnam with our quality portfolio of properties.”

Sowatco, one of two Vietnamese partners in the project, sought approval from its shareholders to sell its entire stake last April. The stake sale plan was unveiled in a report posted on its website and meant to be presented at the firm’s 2016 annual shareholder meeting that month.

At the time, market watchers predicted Keppel Land would be most likely to purchase the stake as it was one of the dominant foreign real estate developers in Vietnam.

The Saigon Centre is situated on two hectares of land in a prime location surrounded by Le Loi, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Pasteur streets in District 1, with Keppel Land Watco being the owner. Sowatco owned around 16% of the joint venture and the remainder was held by Saigon Real Estate Corporation and Singapore’s Keppel Land.

The Saigon Centre is within walking distances from two underground metro stations under construction near two of the city’s landmarks – the Ben Thanh Market and the Opera House.

The first phase of the Saigon Centre was put into use in 1996. The second phase, designed by New York-based NBBJ, comprises 55,000 square meters of prime retail space, 44,000 square meters of premium Grade-A office space, and 195 luxury serviced apartments when fully completed at the end of this year.

A shopping mall in the Saigon Centre was launched last August, stocking over 400 international and local brands. Leading Japanese department store chain operator Takashimaya is among its tenants.

In Vietnam, Keppel Land is one of the largest foreign real estate investors with a diverse portfolio of properties in Hanoi, HCMC, Dong Nai and Vung Tau, such as Grade A offices, high-end residential properties, mixed-use urban areas, and serviced apartments.

The company has 19 licensed projects with more than 25,000 homes in the pipeline across the country.     

SBV forms FinTech steering committee

Le Minh Hung, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), has decided to establish a financial technology (FinTech) steering committee in charge of proposing solutions, strategies, plans and policies for FinTech development in the country, VnExpress reported.

Nguyen Kim Anh, deputy governor of SBV, is director of the steering committee and Nghiem Thanh Son, deputy head of the Payment Department, is his deputy.

The growing integration of technology and finance in Vietnam requires a legal corridor and policy for banks and businesses to develop.

The FinTech steering committee will be responsible for helping the SBV governor to devise measures and policies for developing FinTech companies in Vietnam.

Financial technology (FinTech) is an industry comprising companies that use new technology and innovation to improve competition in the marketplace of traditional financial institutions.

Customs asked to strengthen checks on steel imports

The General Department of Customs has requested customs agencies in provinces and cities to strengthen management of and checks on steel imports to prevent trade fraud, according to the Government’s portal chinhphu.vn.

The department made the request after the Vietnam Steel Association said there were signs that importing firms had evaded the current safeguard tariffs imposed on steel imports by declaring wrong HS codes for imported products. 

That was why local customs agencies were urged to act to ward off trade fraud by taking samples of imported steel suspected of trade fraud for analysis. They should report the suspected cases to the department and propose solutions for coping with violators.  

In July last year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued 2968/QD-BCT imposing the safeguard duty of 23.3% on imported steel ingots and 15.4% on long steel imports until March 21 this year. The respective rates are 21.3% and 13.9% applicable from March 21 this year to March 21, 2018.

Rice prices continue to fall

Rice prices in the Mekong Delta have continued the downward spiral in recent days after they soared to their all-time highs last month. 

Nguyen Thanh Tho, a rice trader at Ba Dac wholesale food market in Tien Giang Province, told the Daily on March 20 that enterprises were buying a kilo of unprocessed IR 50404 rice at VND4.500-4.600 per kilo in the delta, down VND200 against a half month ago and VND400 from the record high in end-February.

At Ba Dac wholesale food market, IR 50404 material rice is quoted at VND6,600-6,700 per kilo, down VND300 versus two weeks ago and VND500 over the record high last month.

Rice prices have dipped sharply due to falling shipments to China and the fulfillment of government-to-government (G2G) rice export contracts with the Philippines, said Nguyen Thanh Phong, director of Van Loi Co. in Tien Giang Province. Meanwhile, there is little sign that local exporters could secure new deals.

Another source told the Daily that there is a high possibility that the Philippines would import 250,000 tons of rice under G2G contracts from Vietnam and Thailand in March. “But no move has been made, thus pushing down domestic rice prices.”

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) cited international media as saying that Vietnam’s rice exports had reached one million tons by March 7, down 4.31% year-on-year, ranking third after India with two million tons and Thailand with 1.5 million tons.

Meanwhile, VFA statistics showed its member enterprises had shipped nearly 674,000 tons of rice by February 28 with a total free-on-board (FOB) value of US$286 million.

VAMC wants to quintuple capital

Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) wants to raise its chartered capital from VND2 trillion to VND10 trillion by 2020 so that it could buy more bad debts in the banking system.

This is one of the proposals VAMC has sent to authorities as part of a roadmap to better its bad debt settlement capacity in 2017-2020.

If the proposal is approved, VAMC would be able to increase its finances, buy more debts, back the formation of a debt trading market and set up a risk management fund.

VAMC was established with total chartered capital of VND500 billion in 2013, which was later adjusted up to VND2 trillion in 2015 following a Government decision.

In addition, VAMC would issue VND45 trillion worth of Government-guaranteed bonds to raise capital from organizations and individuals at home and abroad. The company intends to step up borrowing from domestic and international sources to settle government debts starting in 2018.

Additional funding would be also needed for risk management in its debt trading operations. VAMC wants to launch a fund to supplement its chartered capital and add risk provisions which can be used to fund non-performing loans bought at market prices.

VAMC is continuing to buy non-performing loans from weak credit institutions which are being restructured. It is expected that the company will have bought a total of VND150 trillion through the issuance of special bonds by 2020.

Minister: No SOE loans treated as public debts

Debts owed by State-owned enterprises (SOEs) will not be included into public debt in line with the draft of a revised law on public debt, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said at a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee in Hanoi on March 20.

Dung said the law would be revised in a way that public debt only comprises Government and Government-guaranteed debts and debts of local governments as specified in the law on public debt management. Therefore, SOEs will have to settle their own loans.

Dung explained SOEs are like one-member limited liability firms. If they are unable to pay their debts, they should file for bankruptcy in line with the prevailing regulations.

Debts of SOEs would be shouldered by the Government if they are treated as public debt. “This is not reasonable, so the Ministry of Finance will not classify SOE debts as public debts,” Dung said.

Dung said only four countries treat SOE debts as public debts but those SOEs must be public utilities and perform the tasks assigned by their governments like those in Thailand.

Nguyen Duc Hai, chairman of the NA Financial and Budgetary Committee, said most members of the NA Standing Committee have agreed the debt calculation method as defined by the draft of the revised law.

However, NA deputies are concerned that if SOEs default on loans, the country’s credit rating would be affected unless the Government intervenes as seen in some cases where the Government paid on behalf of SOEs. Therefore, they said regulations should be added to enhance debt management and reduce debt-related risks.

Do Ba Ty, vice chairman of the NA, said it is important to map out measures to deal with the consequences of loans owed by SOEs with the majority stake held by the State as the State is responsible for paying their debts if they become insolvent.

Vo Trong Viet, chairman of the NA Defense and Security Committee, voiced his concern that SOEs could spend their loans carelessly if they can still rely on the Government to settle their debts.

Phan Thanh Binh, chairman of the NA Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children, underscored the importance of clearly defining the public sector and said the State would be obliged to pay debts of SOEs if they are State-owned.

Binh noted the reality had shown the huge debts of the State-owned Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) had been settled by the State.

According to the draft, public debt does not include debt papers issued by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

Nguyen Duc Hai, chairman of the NA Economic Committee, said the Government explained that according to international practices the central bank of a country is independent. So any debts owed by the central bank are not those of government.

Phung Quoc Hien, vice chairman of the NA, said the SBV is a government agency, so it is unreasonable to not treat its debt as that of the State. 

Dung reported at the meeting that soaring public debt is attributable to economic forecasts. The economy was projected to grow 6.5-7% in 2011-2015 but the actual growth was 5.9%, and budget deficit has soared for years as the Government has spent heavily to fuel growth.

He added some Government loans were subject to annual interest rates of 12-13% in 2011-2013, so the Government is facing huge pressure from payments of high-interest short-term debt in 2016-2017.

In addition, disbursements of official development assistance (ODA) loans were estimated at VND17-18 trillion a year but VND50-60 trillion was disbursed, leading to an upsurge in reciprocal funds allocated by the State.

Dung warned if the situation is not solved, the country would continue shouldering the public debt burden.

Vietnam, Singapore explore stronger trade links

The trade relations between Vietnam and Singapore have been developing since they lifted ties to strategic partnership.

According to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Singapore, two-way trade reached nearly 20 billion SGD (equivalent to 14 billion USD) in 2016. 

Vietnam remained the 12th biggest trade partner of Singapore in the year, exporting over 4 billion SGD (3 billion USD) and importing nearly 15.7 billion SGD (over 11 billion USD) worth of goods.

High-growth commodities included iron and steel products, grease, leathers, tobaccos, glass products, seafood and vegetables.

Despite a trade balance decline due to Singapore’s economic downturn in 2016, Singapore remained one of the biggest trade partners of Vietnam, after China, Japan, the US, and the Republic of Korea, and the largest trade partner in ASEAN.

Vietnam and Singapore have also actively coordinated at regional and international forums, especially within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

The two sides are sparing no effort to connect the two countries’ economies and with others in ASEAN.

Notably, Singapore’s direct investment in Vietnam has continuously increased since 1998, making it the third biggest investor of Vietnam among 101 countries and territories, with a total investment of 39 billion USD, mainly poured into real estate, processing industry, manufacturing, and construction.

The most typical project is the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP).

Industry-trade ministerial-level meetings are conducted periodically (eight months) and rotationally in each country to review the implementation of the Vietnam – Singapore Connectivity Framework Agreement and map out cooperation orientations for the next phase.

So far, the two sides have convened 12 meetings with the latest held in Singapore in September 2016.

Deputy Director of the Export and Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Tran Thanh Hai said Vietnam and Singapore recorded an annual average growth of 12 percent. 

Singapore imports up to 90 percent of food and foodstuff from foreign markets and this will be a brilliant opportunity for Vietnam to boost the exports of such staples as rice, coffee, tea, vegetables and fruits, and fine-art handicraft products, he added.

Vice versa, Singaporean businesses have strength in processing, packaging, and increasing added value for products, and broad market relationship. As Singapore is considered a global transit destination, Vietnamese firms should, therefore, seek to make inroads into other ASEAN markets via Singapore, he suggested.

To tighten the two countries’ relations, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his spouse are paying an official visit to Vietnam from March 21-24, at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The two sides are expected to discuss strategic orientations and specific measures to further deepen the bilateral strategic partnership in the coming time and keep up with the current rapid developments in the fourth industrial revolution.

They will also continue supporting each other at multilateral forums of ASEAN, APEC, ASEM, and the United Nations for sustainable development and prosperity.

At a meeting with PM Lee Hsien Loong in Hanoi on May 20, 2016, the Vietnamese PM affirmed that his country always attaches great importance to bolstering all-faceted relations with Singapore and hoped Singapore will create the best conditions for Vietnamese firms to export farm produce, seafood, and garment-textile to the market to help balance the trade.

Experts said Vietnam and Singapore should take advantage of their strengths to promote strategic partnership and join the global supply chain. For example, Singapore has strength in capital, research, technology, and markets, while Vietnam boasts advantages in natural resources, labour and markets.

Additionally, it is necessary to help businesses make investments in the respective markets via promoting trade activities and new cooperation methods, especially the public-private partnership (PPP) form.

Experts also recommended drawing investment from multinational groups headquartered in Singapore in the fields of healthcare, education, infrastructure development, processing industry, high technology, and tourism.

Key projects should be defined, especially at industrial parks, urban and logistics areas, they said, adding that the two countries need to create a periodical information exchange mechanism as well as provide information on their socio-economic development situation, policies and laws as a source of reference data for their businesses when seeking market entry.
     
Regional conference discuss food security

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs jointly held a regional conference on food security in Hanoi on March 22.

Addressing the opening of the two-day event, MARD Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh urged participants to seek cooperation initiatives and measures to promote smart agricultural practices in Vietnam.

He noted that Vietnam is an agriculture-based country with nearly 70 percent of the population living in rural areas. Thanks to the government’s policies to develop agriculture, from a country suffering food shortage, Vietnam has ensured its domestic food supply and provided a large amount of food to the world.

Along with rice, seafood, coffee, cashew, vegetable and fruits have also considerable hard currency earners for Vietnam. However, the country has been among five most vulnerable countries to climate change which has ravaged many localities across Vietnam, he said.

He stated that the agricultural sector has reformed to increase farm produces’ productivity, quality, respond to climate change and minimise climate change impacts by choosing cultivation methods as well as plant and livestock and aquaculture varieties to suit climate situation in each locality.

At the same time, the sector has enhanced research and application capacity to deal with newly emerged challenges due to climate change, including sea level rise, said Doanh.

He stressed the need for a smart agriculture sector as well as the setting up of institutions to support farmers, especially in information, service and capital access.

He also highlighted the significance of close coordination among countries in ensuring food security to the humankind amidst climate change.

The same day, delegates joined a technical conference on food safety, innovative fishery farming and smart agriculture adapting to climate change, as well as food wastefulness and loss.
 
HCM City hosts agricultural startup forum

An agricultural startup forum will be held on March 23 in Ho Chi Minh City by the city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and the Business Support Association (BSA).

The forum aims to help students, young and small businesspeople figure out new projects and initiatives and exchange ideas with experts and successful agricultural businesses in the city.

The event will include an exhibition on agricultural products and support methods.

Nearly 250 students, youth and owners of small businesses in HCM City will have a chance to access new agricultural products with the application of biotechnology and information technology.

Two major subjects will be dealt with in two forums. A forum will discuss the making of laws for startup businesses with main speakers from DARD. The second with the topic of young agribusiness startups will involve the participation of Vinamit CEO Nguyen Lam Vien, Startup Vietnam Foundation CEO Pham Duy Hieu, Mimosa Tek CEO Nguyen Khac Minh Tri, and owner of Dat Thep Linhzhi Mushroom Nguyen Thi Hieu.

They will give valuable advices to young people and students who want to begin a startup. 

MARD department proposes suspending meat imports from Brazil
     
The Department of Animal Health under Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed suspending meat imports from some companies in Brazil.

The proposal comes in the wake of reports of expired meat being imported from these companies.

Earlier, the Trade Office of Viet Nam in Brazil warned Viet Nam’s state agencies to ensure strict control of meat imported from Brazil because of the scandal.

Viet Nam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade quoted the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply as saying that Brazilian authorities are currently investigating and collecting evidence alleging that many companies, including JBS and BRF - the largest meat companies in Brazil and the world -- have bribed state employees to allow them to sell and export rotten and expired meat products.

According to Viet Nam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, Brazil is the largest producer of meat and meat products in the world. Its meat exports account for some 20 per cent of the world’s total meat exports and are exported to 150 countries and territories.

In the first two months of 2017, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Viet Nam imported meat and meat products worth US$12.8 million from Brazil. 

MOLISA enhances co-operation with Manpowergroup
     
Viet Nam needs the ManpowerGroup’s consultation on completing the legal framework for the country’s labour market and employment services, improving the quality of its human resources and on sending Vietnamese workers abroad.

Minister Dao Ngoc Dung delivered this statement at an exceptional meeting of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Soical Affairs (MOLISA) with Simon Matthews, Country Manager of ManpowerGroup in Thailand, Viet Nam and the Middle East in the capital on Tuesday.

Matthews spoke highly of MOLISA’s support, adding that the ManpowerGroup was willing to co-operate with the ministry in the reviewed areas.

The ManpowerGroup will continue to bring resources and experiences of the international labour market into the labour market in Viet Nam up to 2018, following the third Memorandum of Understanding inked between the group and MOLISA.

The company will provide the best employment services based on the knowledge and understanding of the labour market and the policy of MOLISA while co-operating with its agencies to organise workshops and programmes to improve the labour productivity of the Vietnamese workforce.

ManpowerGroup is an American multinational workforce expert, creating innovative workforce solution for nearly 70 years. The group connects more than 600,000 people in 80 countries to work across a wide range of skills and industries daily.

Established in 2008 in both HCM City and Ha Noi, ManpowerGroup Viet Nam is the first 100 per cent foreign company working in the country’s workforce consulting industry.

VAMC asks for five-fold increase in charter capital
     
The Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC) has proposed to raise its current charter capital from VND2 trillion (US$87.6 million) to VND10 trillion by 2020.

The amount is aimed to enhance the company’s financial capacity to buy and sell bad debts at prevailing market prices.

This is one of the proposals in an itinerary of raising capacity to solve bad debts from 2017 to 2020 period that VAMC has sent to relevant bodies recently.

Other proposals include setting up debt buying and selling market and building provisional funds.

VAMC was established in 2013 with the initial charter capital is VND500 billion, which was seen as modest in comparison with the total non-performing loans that the company has to deal with. In 2015, the Government raised the company’s charter capital to VND2 trillion.

In its proposal, VAMC also wanted to issue government-guaranteed bonds worth of about VND45 trillion which will come from domestic and foreign organisations and individuals. 

EVN and VCCI promote electricity-access index

Electricity of Việt Nam (EVN) and Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on Wednesday signed an agreement on evaluating the electricity-access index and customers’ satisfaction with EVN’s services.

Under the agreement signed in Hà Nội, VCCI will provide consultancy and information related to responses of the business community in Việt Nam about power supply to improve the index.

EVN will also provide information on the power supply situation in localities and the difficulties it faced in improving the electricity-access index in the country. The two sides will research and prepare proposals to revise regulations and policies aimed at improving the business environment.

In addition, the two sides will co-operate in education and training to improve management capacity to resolve disputes between business members.

The agreement is aimed at enhancing information exchange between the two sides to meet with the integration trend.

VCCI is a representative of the business community in Việt Nam. Over the past years, VCCI has proposed solutions to facilitate business development.

The co-operation will open new opportunities to better exploit the potential of each side. This could help EVN obtain objective information from its customers in particular and the business community in general.

The agreement is considered one of the solutions for EVN and VCCI to improve the business environment and the national competitiveness capacity according to the Government’s Resolution No 19-2017/NQ.

EVN is directly selling power to 24.8 billion customers nationwide. The group has expressed its intention to improve its service, which would be a decisive factor contributing to sustainable development.

It has implemented users’ requirements for electricity access according to international standards, making the index increase from 6.9 points in 2013 to 7.27 points in 2016.

Last year, the average time for power connection was six working days, significantly improving the electricity-access index. Việt Nam jumped from 156th position in 2013 to 96th position in 2016 for the index according to World Bank (WB)’s Doing Business report.

WB also recognised the reduced time for completing administrative procedures for registration to use electricity from 15 days in 2015 to 11 days in 2016.

The transparency of power supply and tariffs also reached the average level in the Asia-Pacific region.

Customs plans tighter checks on imported steel products

The General Department of Customs has just asked its officials to strengthen checks on imported steel products after a series of reports on steel firms submitting incorrect declarations about product codes.

All customs departments of provinces and cities have been ordered to direct their sub-departments to strictly implement regulations on sampling, analysing and inspecting imported steel products, and identify imported products with incorrect codes.

As per the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MoIT) Decision No 2968/QD-BCT dated July 18, 2016 on safeguards, the tax rate for imported steel billets is 23.3 per cent and for imported long steel products is 15.4 per cent (as of March 21, 2017).

From March 22, 2017 to March 21, 2018, the tax rate for imported steel billets and long steel products is 21.3 per cent and 13.9 per cent, respectively.

The MoIT has imposed additional tariffs on imported steel products as a safeguard against cheap imports that are believed to be threatening the domestic industry.

Also under the decision, imported products on which safeguards have been applied include alloy and non-alloy steel billets, and alloy and non-alloy long steel products coded: 7207.11.00; 7207.19.00; 7207.20.29; 7207.20.99; 7224.90.00; 7213.10.00; 7213.91.20; 7214.20.31; 7214.20.41; 7227.90.00; 7228.30.10; 9811.00.00.

Steel billets and long steel products that do not have these codes will be excluded from the tougher safeguards.

However, after the safeguards were applied, representatives of Việt Nam Steel Association said the import volume of the two types of steel have declined sharply, while the import volume of steel products with non-taxable codes has shot up. Officials suspect that local steel importers are changing product codes to avoid paying higher tax.

Bình Dương records highest FDI inflow in 2017

The southern Bình Dương Province’s People’s Committee on Wednesday granted investment certificates to 21 projects worth US$1.3 billion, the first batch of projects to receive the go-ahead this year.

Of these, 10 are new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects whose registered capital totals around $740.7 million, and eight are existing FDI projects that had applied for capital increase totalling $536 million. The remaining three projects are by local investors and have combined registered capital of VNĐ740 billion ($32.8 million).

Trần Thanh Liêm, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the new projects and project expansion plans reflect investor confidence and long-term commitment to contributing to the province’s development.

So far, the province has attracted $27 billion of FDI from around 2,900 projects, ranking second in FDI capital scale, after HCM City. However, the amount of FDI capital flowing into the southern province has been higher since the beginning of 2017.

“We recognise and highly appreciate the contributions,” Liêm said, adding that the province is working constantly to be an attractive business destination for investors. To do so, provincial leaders and heads of agencies are focusing their efforts on completing the region’s technical infrastructure projects, making administrative reforms and increasing competitiveness, the chairman said.

The province will take timely measures to address the issues that enterprises face, Liêm promised.

“The business community plays an important role in contributing to the province’s socio-economic development, so we are ready to hear opinions and suggestions from associations and enterprises, as well as aspirations and desires, so that we can come up with suitable solutions to make our investment environment more friendly and efficient,” Liêm said.

Bình Dương ranks fourth among 63 cities and provinces nationwide in the Provincial Competitive Index, announced by the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Vietnamese telecoms speed up 4G race

While Vietnam’s three largest mobile carriers prepare to release 4G networks to the public, many mobile users are unsure if it is worth upgrading their data plans from the already expensive 3G.

Vietnamese mobile network operators are intensifying their preparations to offer as widely as possible coverage of the fourth generation of the wireless mobile communication network in the country.

Military-run Viettel, for instance, said that it had installed nearly 18,000 4G stations in nearly all districts across the country as of mid-March.

The company claimed that its 4G network would be available even in remote communes, border areas and islands, adding that the number of 4G stations will rise to 28,000 countrywide by the end of this month.

In the meantime, VNPT, the operator of Vinaphone, is also speeding up the pace of its infrastructure development.

The mobile carrier is testing the network in certain cities and provinces, and is set to offer the 4G service in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and ten other provinces by the end of April.

“By the end of 2017, Vinaphone will have had countrywide 4G coverage,” one company representative said.

The latest player, MobiFone, has plans to offer 4G in 53 out of 63 provinces and cities by the second quarter of this year.

It appears that the three mobile carriers will all launch the service no later than the first week of April.

4G is the fourth generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology, succeeding 3G.

Theoretically, the peak speed for 4G can range between 1 Gbps and 1.5 Gbps (gigabit per second), however the 4G network in Vietnam is of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard, with a top speed of only 200-250 Mbps (megabit per second).

In reality, the service speed fluctuates between 20 and 30 Mbps, and in some specific areas, 30 and 60 Mbps.

These are still much faster than current 3G service speeds, from 3 to 5 Mbps.

Mobile carriers all claim that users will enjoy a better online experience by using the 4G network, though some are concerned that faster speeds will result in their data plans expiring sooner.

The most common 3G prepaid data plan in Vietnam is VND70,000 (US$3.13) a month for 600GB of high-speed data. Once the 600GB quota is used up, users do not have to pay more, but their data speed will be far slower.

Some Vietnamese users believe that with 4G, it will take merely minutes for their 600GB data plan to drain, leading to them paying more.

Vinaphone has reassured users that “on the same amount of data, 4G does not cost more than 3G,” while Viettel has also claimed that the cost per GB on the 4G data plan will be “cheaper” than 3G.

MobiFone said that a data plan is cheap or expensive depending on what users do online

“Your data plan will only drain faster if you use the 4G for services like watching HD movies online,” one company representative said.

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