Vietnam exports expected to hit record high

With most of the sectors posting strong export increases, Vietnam’s total export turnover is expected to hit a record high of US$95 billion this year, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said at a meeting yesterday.

Bien said export turnover in the year to September rose by 35.4 percent year on year to $70 billion.

With this, he said, the country targeted to earn $8 billion from exports in every month of the last quarter to increase the full-year total export turnover to $95 billion from the $71.6 billion last year.

Pham Van Bay, deputy chairman of Vietnam Food Association, said rice export volume in the year to date topped the record 6 million tons.

He added that local rice exporters had contracted to export seven more tons in the last quarter, enabling them to achieve this year’s target.

Dinh Van Tien, head of export of Vietnam Rubber Association, said rubber exports in the first three quarters earned $2.27 billion, up by 60 percent compared with last year.

He said export prices would remain high towards this year’s end thanks to the rising demand against falling supply.

“Rubber’s export turnover will surpass its $3.2 billion target of this year,” he said.

The manufacturing and processing sector also posted an impressive export turnover of $46.7 billion at the end of the third quarter, rising by 32 percent year on year and accounting for 66.6 percent of the country’s total export turnover.

The textile and garment sector still remained the top earner with a turnover of $10.5 billion, a 31.1 percent year-on-year increase.

Pham Xuan Hong, deputy chairman of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said new export markets had greatly contributed to the success.

For instance, he said, the Korean market had become one of the four largest export markets of the textile and garment sector after only two years.

“Exports to this market are expected to rise by as many as 80 percent to $780 million this year.”

Despite the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s optimistic forecast, many exporters said challenges and risks were waiting ahead in the last three months of this year.

Nguyen Cong Hoang, deputy CEO of Vinacafe, said local coffee exporters had difficulty competing with foreign firms due to capital shortage plus exorbitant lending rates.

He said banks agreed to give loans to coffee exporters only when they had export contracts.
“We do not need the government to help us regarding lending rates,” he said.

“What we need is to be able to borrow enough capital and at the appropriate time.

“Otherwise, all of the domestic coffee production will be bought up by foreign companies when we have received the loans.”

The capital shortage is also hindering the cashew exporting sector.

Dang Hoang Giang, general secretary of the Vietnam Cashew Association, said that under bank loan pressures, many small-sized exporters had to sell cashew nuts at a loss to clear debts, pulling export prices down.

Price had dropped from $10 a kilogram in June to $8.5 a kilogram and was likely to slump further, he said.

Tran Quoc Manh, deputy chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City, said although the wood sector’s export turnover in the year to September saw a 16 percent increase, standing at $2.84 billion, local exporters still earned modest profits.

“Input cost and other expenses have soared while prices of most of the export items do not increase,” he explained.

Vietnam mobile phone users top 30 mln

There are 15.5 million landlines in Vietnam and 30.23 million mobile phone users, the Ministry of Information and Communication said following a survey.

Though only 30.23 million out of the 86-million population used cell phones, there were as many as 150 million subscriptions, it said.

No part of the country is left uncovered, and, interestingly, more people use mobile phones in the countryside -- 62.8 percent of total users -- than in urban areas.

Around 8.3 million households, or 42 percent of the population, have landlines, with the majority still being rural, albeit marginally.

The number of households with personal computers is 2.5 million, or 12.6 percent of the population, and they have 3.1 million computers.

The number of internet subscriptions is 3.2 million, with rural areas accounting for only a quarter.

The survey, began in June last year, was comprehensive, covering 63 out of the 65 provinces and more than 132,300 hamlets and villages.

HCM City workshop urges trade facilitation measures

Viet Nam must develop more trade facilitation measures to enhance its export competitiveness, experts said at a workshop held in HCM City yesterday.

Pham Minh Duc, senior economist at the World Bank in Viet Nam, said that "an export-led growth model is still the most suitable strategy for Viet Nam because exports are expected to boost productivity, bring technology transfer and become the magnet to FDI which contribute to growth."

Trade facilitation involves reforms in border and behind-the-border operations, transport infrastructure, logistics operations, customs and border management regulations and procedures.

"Trade facilitation improvement would yield a high impact on an open economy, fostering general welfare and trade, especially when trade value is expected to triple in the next 10 years," he said.

Viet Nam should continue to invest in infrastructure, enhancing the participation of the private sector, and carry out modernisation of customs procedures and a transparency campaign on zero tolerance of corruption.

According to the World Economic Forum's Enabling Trade Index, Viet Nam ranked 89 out of 118 countries, due to poor customs efficiency and transparency as well as a weak transport infrastructure.

During the 2001-25 period, Viet Nam plans to spend annual transport infrastructure investment of about US$5 billion (5.4 per cent of GDP), most of it in the road sector.

The logistics industry in Viet Nam also suffers because of weak infrastructure and service regulations, including a lack of modern equipment and operation models.

Participation in 3PL (third-party logistics) is still scarce and the use of information communications technology is poorly developed, lagging far behind global standards.

In regards to border management, customs are slow and inefficient, and have a large potential for corruption. Customs procedures are complex and time-consuming.

Economist Pham Chi Lan said: "Viet Nam trade facilitation reforms can help develop exports sustainably, and the country should seek trade facilitation measures under free trade agreements."

To increase exports, Vietnamese enterprises face challenges in doing business in the domestic market.

Close links among ministries and authorities in provinces and cities must be established.

Viet Nam's economic growth depends on exports, FDI and the private economic sector.

For these to grow, the country must improve its legal framework and infrastructure as well as human resources development.

Pham Van Chat, spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said: "We need to build a trade facilitation system to promote the competitiveness of Viet Nam's exports. The most important factor is capital sources."

Without capital, businesses cannot restructure operations, buy advanced equipment and technology or train human resources.

The country should focus on developing support industries to add more value to export commodities, Chat said.

The Government needs to implement programmes on modern technology innovation and set up technology exchange centres in major economic areas.

While the Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency should organise more trade promotions to help domestic businesses, it should also set up distribution channels and build networks to promote their image, he said.

At the workshop, ProfDr Vo Thanh Thu, a member of the Viet Nam International Arbitration Council, pointed out challenges for Viet Nam's exports.

The country's exports are heavily dependent on importing raw materials.

For instance, the textile and garment sector imported nearly 60 per cent, and the footwear and electronic industry imported 90 per cent. Every year, the seafood sector spent about $500 million for imported raw materials.

Every key sector exports to more than 100 countries, but the US, EU and Japan account for more than 60 per cent of export turnover.

Viet Nam's exports would be adversely affected if markets applied strict trade protectionist measures or trade barriers.

Another challenge for Viet Nam's exports is the scale of businesses, which are often small, making it difficult to access the world market and the underdeveloped support industry.

Thu suggested that Viet Nam should pay more attention to forecasting, including demand-supply, price fluctuation, world economy, and influences of free trade agreements on domestic trade activities.

Officials from the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, Viet Nam Leather and Footwear Association and Export Import Departments offered solutions for trade competitiveness enhancement of three key export sectors such as textiles and garments, leather and footwear, and electronics. The Government needs to increase investment promotion and FDI for material manufacturing. Support policies should be developed to aid manufacturing factories to move to suburban areas and invest in clean manufacturing.

Vietnam Tourism Awards to honour 50 businesses

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has announced the Vietnam Tourism Awards 2010 will be presented at a ceremony on October 17 at the Hanoi Opera House.

The awards, the highest distinction in the tourism sector sponsored by VNAT and the Vietnam Tourism Association, will honour 50 outstanding travel agencies, hotels and hospitality services providers in the country this year, including 10 five-star hotels, 10 domestic and 10 international travel agents.

On the occasion, VNAT will also organise a photo exhibition at the Opera House’s hall.

Vietnam looks to $95 bln from full year exports  

Vietnam is expected to earn US$95 billion in export revenues this year, while the export turnover so far in the first nine months of this year was US$70 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35.4 percent.

Nguyen Thanh Bien, deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, revealed these figures at a meeting to assess the country’s export status during the first nine months of the year, and to implement appropriate measures to boost exports in the remaining months of the year. The ministry was also laying an export plan and target for 2012.

So far this year, exports products like dates, cashews, fuel, cotton, steel, wire and cables have fetched the country over US$1 billion.

He said that 35.4 percent increase in export revenue in the first nine months of the year was a significant achievement, despite the rising inflation, high production costs and negative impact of the current debt crisis in Europe.
 
Rising exports help shrink trade gap

Exports have risen 35.4 per cent in the year-to-date to US$70 billion, the Ministry of Industry and Trade told a conference held in HCM City yesterday.

The domestic export sector accounted for $31.9 billion, up by a third, and foreign firms for $38 billion, a 37.5 per cent growth.

In September exports topped US$ 8.3 billion, also a 33 per cent growth though they were down 10.2 per cent from last month.
 
The biggest export earners this year have been industrial items which accounted for a full two-thirds. They include plastic materials, textile and garments, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, and tools and parts, all of which saw considerable growth.

Exports of forestry, agricultural, and fisheries products were worth $14.9 billion, a 39.8 per cent increase.

Fuel and minerals fetched $ 8.4 billion, a 45.3 per cent rise.

Viet Nam's exports to most markets rose. They were 170 per cent higher in the case of Africa and 41 per cent in the case of Asia.

The ministry said the rising prices of minerals and agro-products had contributed significantly to the increase in export value.

Besides, with imports growing at a much slower 26.9 per cent, the country's trade deficit has shrunk to just 9.8 per cent, much lower than the Government's 16-per cent target set out in Resolution 11.

Exports during the rest of the year are expected to top $8 billion every month as a result of the Government's anti-inflationary policies, fall in lending interest rates, and stability in the foreign exchange market.

But the ministry warned in a report that there could be difficulties.

The global economic instability, which could be exacerbated by the dual crisis in the US economy and public debt problem in Europe, was likely to affect Viet Nam's exports.

The Government's ongoing monetary tightening to curb inflation would also continue to cause difficulties for businesses, particularly the smaller ones, in raising funds.

Despite being cut, lending interest rates remained high compared with other countries, affecting the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods.

To combat these problems, MoIT wanted the central bank to further lower lending interest rates for businesses involved in production and trading and give priority to those buying agro-products for processing and export.

For its part, it promised to implement the National Trade Promotion Programme effectively to support export efforts.

It also plans to start a pilot project for export credit insurance soon.

Export totals in first nine months of 2011

Textile and garment: US$10.5 billion, up 31 per cent
Footwear: $4.7 billion, up 31 per cent
Wood and wood products: $2.8 billion, up 16 per cent
Electric and electronic products: $6.7 billion, up 75 per cent
Rice: $2.8 billion, up 9.13 per cent
Seafood: $4.41billion, up 27 per cent
Coffee: $2.2 billion, up 64 per cent in value, 7 per cent in quantity
Rubber: $2.2 billion, up 60 per cent in value, 2.4 per cent in volume
Cashews: $1.1 billion, up 39 per cent in value. down 6 per cent in quantity

Oil giant completes trifecta of business targets

The national oil and gas group, PetroVietnam, earned a total revenue of VND493 trillion (US$23.48 billion) in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 47 per cent over the same period last year, reported PetroVietnam's deputy general director Le Minh Hong at a meeting yesterday.

Hong said the group had completed three business goals for the year ahead of schedule. These targets are related to revenue, contributions to the State budget and increases in oil and gas reserves.

Gross revenue was now equivalent to 98 per cent of PetroVietnam's yearly target and would likely reach its goal later this month.

"PetroVietnam estimates to gain a total revenue of VND678 trillion ($32.28 billion) for the whole year, surpassing its initial target set for this year by VND178 trillion ($8.5 billion)," he said.

The group's contribution to the State budget totalled VND116 trillion ($5.52 billion) so far this year, a surge of 14 per cent over its target for the whole year and 32 per cent over the same period last year.

The group also succeeded in increasing available oil and gas reserves in 2011, following the discovery of three new oil and gas fields and the signing of five new oil and gas agreements, including four domestic deals and one overseas contract.

In the past nine months, with oil prices ranging from $100-115 per barrel, PetroVietnam's oil sales reached $9.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 49 per cent, beating the group's yearly plan by 9 per cent.

Meanwhile, oil and gas services contributed 28.6 per cent to the group's total revenue, worth VND141 trillion ($6.71 billion), up 16 per cent against the same period last year.

PetroVietnam's profit during the January to September period reached VND27 trillion ($1.28 billion).

Hong also said the group had disbursed nearly VND60 trillion ($2.86 billion) and postponed and rescheduled 56 projects worth VND7.25 trillion ($345 million).

In the last quarter, PetroVietnam aimed to begin tapping of three new gas and oil fields, including two in Viet Nam and one in Malaysia.

Do Van Hau, PetroVietnam's general director, said that to help ensure national energy and food security, the group would maintain safe operation of the oil and gas pipeline system, the Dung Quat oil refinery, Ca Mau 1, 2 and Nhon Trach 1 power plants and the Phu My fertiliser plant.

The group contributed 10.23 billion kWh to the national grid so far this year, up 3.5 per cent year-on-year and equivalent to 83 per cent of its yearly goal.

"PetroVietnam will aggressively carry out its power projects with the target of contributing up to 25 per cent of the country's energy production by 2015," Hau said.

He also said the group had co-operated with foreign partners to explore and exploit oil and gas overseas, with projects deployed in 13 countries, including Russia, Nigeria, Malaysia and Venezuela.

With regard to the group's divestment from non-core business lines, Hau confirmed PetroVietnam would continue its on-going investments in major businesses including oil and gas exploration and exploitation, gas and power industry and oil and gas services, and re-consider other investments in minor industries.

Firms urged to boost quality of financial staff

Talent management has been high on the agenda for chief finance officers (CFOs), according to a global study of best practices in talent management at businesses.

"Our findings showed that less than 20 per cent of organisations had a talent strategy that fully integrated talent identification, development and retention activity across the finance team," said president of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Dean Westcott, speaking at a workshop on maximising human resources held in Ha Noi yesterday.

Talent is defined as high performing employees that have the potential to grow to critical roles at an accelerated pace.

The report jointly undertook by ACCA and KPMG showed that nurturing of talent was a concern as financial activities play a crucial role both in the private and public sectors and from multinationals to small- and medium-sized enterprises.

It also said securing the right talent was one of the biggest challenges CFOs faced.

A KPMG survey involving 500 senior finance executives found that more than half of respondents said that difficulties in finding and retaining skilled finance professionals were a major barrier to improving a firm's performance.

The KPMG research report highlighted the role that finance teams could play to generate a competitive advantage for a business.

Dean added that the economic crisis provided heightened visibility of the value that professional accountants bring and the next decade presents an enormous opportunity for finance professionals to help create and sustain long-term value for organisations.

John Ditty, KPMG's General Director in Viet Nam, said macro trends affecting talent management included generational change, globalisation, a diverse workforce and changing nature of business.

"Focusing on talent management means connecting skills and behaviour requirements to strategy, leveraging people through the right structure, processes and technologies and translating knowledge, collaboration and creativity to high performance and shareholder value," he said.

He added that KPMG's approach to talent management aimed to ensure talent was optimised and provided the best return on investment.

In addition, talent programmes needed to be highly flexible, while also being readily adaptable to changing market conditions and business needs.

Sharing the ideas, Human Resource Consultant at HSBC Insurance Nguyen Thi Bich Huyen said talent management must be placed at the heart of the organisation. It must have ‘buy in' from senior management and also the structure of the business must support the development of talent.

Bulgaria offers entry point to EU market

Bulgaria would be an effective gate for Vietnamese enterprises to further integrate into the lucrative EU market, said the head of the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency's International Co-operation Department Boriana Mintcheva at a business conference yesterday.

Mintcheva also highlighted the competitive edge of the Bulgarian economy thanks to its strategic location in southeastern Europe as well as its investment and tax incentive policies for foreign investors.

At present, Bulgaria mainly exported machinery, medical technology and pharmaceutical products to Viet Nam while Viet Nam's exports to Bulgaria were mostly coffee beans, pepper and seafood, Mintcheva said.

The bilateral relationship between Viet Nam and Bulgaria still lagged behind the potentials of the two countries, said Nguyen Hoa Cuong, deputy director of the Business Development Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Bulgaria pumped US$30 million into eight projects in Viet Nam in 2010, ranking 54th among 91 countries and territories investing in the country. In the first nine months of this year, there were two Bulgaria-invested projects, worth $1.3 million.

Cuong called for the two nations' business communities to exploit such potentials more effectively to accelerate their co-operation. He said construction, energy, IT and tourism were promising sectors for bilateral relations.

Yesterday also witnessed a co-operation agreement inked between the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency.

Under the agreement, the two sides would provide each other's business communities with trade information and investment opportunities.

They would join hands to encourage and assist enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized companies, to establish and maintain their co-operation with their counterparts from other countries.

Consumers happy with shopping experience

Up to 94 per cent of Vietnamese people felt positive about the novelty of shopping, according to a recent G2/GREY Group Eye on Asia – Retail study.

Over 50 per cent of Koreans found shopping fun due to variety and novelty while a strong relationship with local shopowners excited 68 per cent of Indians, it said.

Contrary to Australians, who considered shopping a completing task, Vietnamese people thought that shopping was about discovery and exploration with store environment (74 per cent) a key traffic driver opposed to product range (76 per cent).

The survey, based on conversations with over 2,100 shoppers from eight countries, found links between shopper moods and experiences expected in-store. This could help marketers identify opportunities to invest in experiential marketing, making shopping experiences more memorable and profitable.

"Moods reflect shoppers would look for as they walk into a store. Beginning with the store environment, the layout, the brand display, each and every element should allow shoppers to explore and experience," said G2/Grey Group Viet Nam strategic planning director Sumit Pillai.

Such experiences could be delivered through demonstrations that enable shoppers to interact with products, in-store activities that engage shoppers or through competitive trials and offers that drive shoppers' needs for exploration and adventure.

Brokerages fail financial safety test

Twelve stock brokerages have failed to meet financial safety ratios, and five of those firms have been placed under special control, said director of the Securities Business Management Department of the State Securities Commission Pham Hong Son.

Under Ministry of Finance regulations, brokerages must maintain a ratio of total usable capital over total liabilities of 180 per cent or more. If company falls below 120 per cent, it is placed under special control.

Son told the newspaper Dau tu Chung khoan (Securities Investment) that a low financial safety ratio was a warning signal for securities firms to adjust their operations before stronger measures and penalties were enforced.

Punitive sanctions under Ministry of Finance Circular No 226 – which took effect this past April – do not go into effect until April of next year, but Son said violators in the interim were still required to report regularly to the SSC, with companies under special control required to make daily reports.

"From now until next April, we will continue to apply aggressive measures and even suspend company operations if they seriously violate the financial regulations," Son said.

"Many securities firms are public companies and shareholders should insist that their companies are transparent with the financial indicators," he said. "This will become a driving force for companies to become financially healthy and also help shareholders learn to be less passive before securities companies fall into dissolution or bankruptcy."

The commission was closely monitoring securities companies through their audit annual financial statements and semi-annual reports, Son said.

Yet, according to a survey by Dau tu Chung khoan, only 33 securities companies had submitted semi-annual financial reports by October 8, while nearly 70 firms had not yet reported, including many major companies with significant market share. Nearly 80, meanwhile, had incurred losses in the third quarter and up to 65 companies had cummulative losses through the end of September.

Life's sweet for potato grower

Facing destitution, Phan Thanh Tien wandered around from Vinh Long and Kien Giang provinces in Mekong Delta for five years, looking for jobs as a hired worker on sweet-potato farms.

After four years working on the farm, Tien moved to Vinh Loi Village in An Giang Province in 2004, and decided to set up his own farm cultivating Japanese sweet potatoes.

The soil was in an oft-flooded area, with serious alum penetration.

He is now the wealthiest man in Tri Ton District, with an annual income of up to billions of dong from harvesting sweet potato.

During the time he worked on potato farms in Vinh Long and Kien Giang provinces, he learned the latest methods for cultivating sweet potato from his employers.

Tien used all of savings of VND50 million (US$2,300), 0.2 taels of gold and wedding rings to establish his new farm.

He rented five hectares of land with VND25 million (US$1,120) of his money and bought potatoes in Hon Dat District to plant on his land.

Soon after that, the potato farm yielded VND200 million in earnings, which allowed him to expand his farmland to 15 hectares. His earnings increased to VND350 million ($16,000).

With the money, he was able to expand his farmland to 52 hectares earlier this year.

"When I came here to prepare for my sweet-potato project, many people thought I was stupid because if the floods came, all of my plants would be submerged under water, or mice would destroy my farm," Tien said.

However, he said he was not worried because the local government had strengthened the dyke surrounding his farm.

In order to save on labour costs, Tien used ploughing machines to improve the land, a pumping system, and harvesting machines.

He said most farmers chose to plant sweet potatoes on high and dry land,but he did the opposite.

"It's good to plant sweet potato now. When the potatoes grow as large as a finger, the Chinese traders leave a deposit," he said, adding that he had recently received VND1 billion ($47,600) from a Chinese trader.

Tien estimated that he earned from VND7 to VND9 billion ($333,000 – $428,000) from each harvest, with profits of VND4 billion ($190,000) in profit.

Next year he plans to expand his farm to 100 hectares.

Nguyen Van Van, head of Vinh Phuoc Commune's People's Committee, said although raw material prices had skyrocketed, Tien's use of technology enabled him to cut costs and get high yields.

"Tien is the first person who planted sweet potatoes and got wealthy from these areas in Vinh Phuoc Commune that are often flooded," Van said.

Plan to draw investors to agriculture

An appropriate policy on the public-private partnerships would attract more private investors to the agricultural sector, experts told a conference in HCM City last week.

Speaking at an agricultural sector conference, Dang Kim Son, director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (Ipsard), said many countries had been successful in using such partnerships in the agricultural sector.

Agriculture is the country's primary industry, with more than 50 per cent of total labourers involved in the sector.

Despite difficulties, the sector has achieved an annual growth rate of 3 to 4 per cent in recent years, and is expected to grow strongly.

However, investment in the sector has been low in the last 20 years, Son said, noting that foreign direct investment in the sector had even dropped from 8 per cent in 2001 to only 1 per cent in 2010.

Many economic organisations forecasted that food prices would remain high, prompting investors to invest more in the agricultural sector.

Viet Nam is currently one of the world's largest exporters of farm produce, including rice, coffee, pepper and cashew.

But earnings from exports have not been high because the country mainly exports raw or preliminary processed products, delegates said.

Public-private partnerships could prove to be indispensable in improving the sector's comparative advantage.

It would also help farmers access advanced technology and ensure that outlets exist for their products because they would have chances to work with other companies.

For example, under a pilot project to develop large rice fields in An Giang Province, implemented by the An Giang Plant Protection Company, farmers are instructed in planting techniques and offered market prices for rice.

Huynh Van Thon, general director of An Giang Plant Protection Company, said farmers earned an additional profit of VND3-4 million (US$143.8-$191.7) per hectare compared to their normal practices.

"What is most important is that working with us, farmers will have fewer hardships since we work with them and provide them necessary support from buying seed varieties, fertilisers and pesticides to dry paddy," he said.

Economist Pham Chi Lan told participants to successfully implement this model and attract more enterprises to invest in the agricultural sector, the Government should quickly complete legal documents on public-private partnerships.

In addition, she said barriers on administrative procedures would need to be lifted in order to ensure a competitive edge for both domestic and foreign investors.

Ha Noi hosts agricultural conference

The 7th International Conference of the Asian Society of Agricultural Economists (ASAE) will be held in Ha Noi from tomorrow to Saturday.

The conference, with the theme "Challenges Facing Asian Agriculture and Agricultural Economics Towards a Sustainable Future", will be co-organised by the ASAE and the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development.

Attendees, who will include agricultural economists, development practitioners, policy makers and academics from all over the world, will discuss ASEA's role in assisting the region to raise incomes, reduce poverty and improve food security.

The three-day workshop will be divided into seven sessions covering agricultural and rural development in Asian nations.

Topics will include food security, the development of Asian agricultural food markets, rural development in Asia and Vietnamese agricultural policy reforms.

The triennial ASAE International Conference was first held in 1990.

Property developers launch apartments despite slump

Though demand for high-end condos in HCMC continued to fall in the third quarter of this year, some developers are continuing to launch new projects.

According to Truong Minh Dat, deputy general director of Khang Nam Real Estate Investment Joint Stock Company, although the market remained challenging for property developers, the company felt confident to launch its apartments as it saw a positive feedback about its condo block developed nearby.

The company tried to attract homebuyers to its ongoing development high-end condo project named Terra Rosa – Luxury Condominiums by hosting an exhibition at the department store Diamond Plaza in downtown HCMC on Saturday.

At the same time, the project developer announced to start selling the first apartments of the project. Dat said the company has set aside some VND300 billion to develop the Terra Rosa – Luxury Condominiums project located along Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard in HCMC’s District 7.

The project has 129 high-end apartments from 120 to 306 square meters, which are designed as duplex units so as to maximize space.

Besides public facilities such as a swimming pool, a tennis court, a fitness center and park, all apartments are designed with a swimming pool outside on the balcony.

The developer lists the selling price at nearly VND18 million per square meter, and applies a flexible payment method that allows buyers to divide their payment into 29 installments to help buyers.

Dat expected his apartments would be accepted by the market thanks to typical design features, including a private gym and a swimming pool in each unit.

In July last year, Khang Nam launched a condo tower nearby with 366 apartments with prices staring from VND14.5 million per square meter.

Some 90 percent of all the apartments are sold. That encourages the company to continue to gauge market demand with new luxury apartments.

In another project, Phu My Hung Corporation has started launching 75 penthouses and 13 grounded apartments in Sky Garden 3 and Riverside Residence projects which are located in the new urban town Phu My Hung in HCMC’s District 7.

The company describes those apartments from 165 to 387 square meters as unique products because they are limited in units and having prime locations.

However, the company has not yet announced selling prices of those apartments.

In July, the corporation marked its coming back to the residential market by launching a new condo project named Canh Vien 3 in the new urban town after two years of stopping its sale activities.

The project has two 13-storey buildings with 116 apartments from 119 square meters with the average selling price offered at VND40 million per square meter. Commenting on the residential market in the third quarter of this year, Marc Townsend, managing director of CB Richard Ellis Vietnam (CBRE), said the cash flow continued to be important in the market, and some individual investors are caught with the pressure of their loan interest rate which increased much higher than they anticipated.

Many of them are trying to minimize their loss by selling out their already-bought apartments at a discount compared to the primary prices offered by developers.

According to CBRE, the number of apartments launched into the market decreased significantly in the third quarter of this year, dropping 82.5 percent against the previous quarter with some 860 units.

Prices in the secondary market continued to decrease across all segments.

The luxury segment saw the largest declines of 2.3 percent q-o-q to US$4,230 per square meter, and high-end apartment decreased nearly 1 percent against the previous quarter to $1,830 per square meter.

Meanwhile, prices in the affordable segment declined a slight 0.1 percent both q-o-q and y-o-y to US$725 per square meter.

With the same view, Savills Vietnam in its market research said affordable apartments with prices ranging from $550 to $1,550 per square meter recorded the highest number of transactions in the last quarter.

More than 70 percent of the units absorbed in the quarter belonged to the affordable segment, while the high-end segment had an absorption rate of only 4 percent. Market observers said that although the market received tentative signals of a reduced lending interest rate which may positively impact on the market, purchasing power cannot increase immediately.

Lower pricing and flexible payment terms will thus be used by developers to push sales as many purchasers are waiting for further price reductions.

According to Savills, the HCMC condo market will see 13 apartment projects with some 3,400 new housing units to join the market in the next two quarters.

PM approves tax deferral for some industries

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has signed off on an order deferring corporate tax for one year for businesses with more than 300 workers to help them amid the economic downturn and stimulate the economy.

The tax for the first quarter is now payable by April 30, 2012, the second quarter’s by July 30, and so on.

But it only applies to businesses in certain sectors like agro-forest-seafood processing, textile and garment, footwear, electronic parts, and infrastructure construction.

Besides, the 300 workers should not include those with contracts of less than three months and those working for subsidiaries.

Last year the government had provided a similar incentive, that time to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Malaysia's AirAsia calls off proposed Vietnamese JV

An AirAsia airplaneMalaysian-based budget carrier AirAsia Bhd said on Tuesday it had decided not to proceed with a proposed joint venture with Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company.

AirAsia said in a filing to the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange that it had decided to let the joint venture agreement lapse as Vietjet failed to obtain regulatory approval from the Vietnamese authorities to use the AirAsia brand on its commercial operations.

India's ONGC, PetroVietnam sign 3-yr cooperation pact

India's state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp said on Wednesday its overseas investment arm has signed a three-year agreement with PetroVietnam for developing long-term cooperation in the oil sector.

The pact between ONGC Videsh and Vietnam's oil and gas agency covers new investments and strengthening presence from drilling-to-dispensing in Vietnam, India, and other countries, ONGC said in a statement.

ONGC Videsh, along with TNK-BP and PetroVietnam, has a stake in a gas field in the Nam Con Son basin, off Vietnam's south coast. In 2006, Vietnam had awarded two exploration blocks -- 127 and 128 -- in Phu Kanh basin to ONGC Videsh.

PV