Ballooning potential for puffer fish exports

Increasing demand for Vietnamese puffer fish (ca noc) from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and mainland China offers great profit potential for Viet Nam's seafood industry, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Seafood Department.

Cao Huong Thien, director of Mai Sao Seafood Co in southern Kien Giang Province, said his company had signed a deal with Korea Poseidon Seafood Company to export more than 56 tonnes.

Puffer fish stocks are estimated at 37,287 tonnes in Viet Nam. The annual puffer fish output from the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Kien Giang alone is between 6,000-10,000 tonnes.

Khanh Hoa and Kien Giang provinces have been given permission to catch, process and export puffer fish to South Korea in co-operation with the Korea Poseidon Seafood Company.

Petrol price up VND2,900 per liter

The price of petrol (A92) has increased by VND2,900 (14 cents) to VND19,300 per liter as of 10 am today, along with increases in prices of diesel, oil and mazut.

The price increase took effect as of 10am today.

The new prices have been ratified and announced by the Finance Ministry.

The price of diesel has increased by VND3,600 to VND18,300 per liter, the highest in the past three years.

Meanwhile, a rise of VND3,100 per liter has been applied to oil, which now sells for VND18,200 per liter.

A lower increase in price has been made to mazut, which is now priced at VND14,800 per liter compared with the old price of VND12,690.

Such rates of increase in fuel prices are equivalent to the rates of losses suffered by businesses in the past time, especially after the rise of the interbank rate of US dollar against dong, said the ministry.

Recently, the price of petrol and oil in Singapore has increased sharply. On February 22, the price of A92 petrol rose to US$112 per barrel, while the prices of diesel and oil increased to $123-125 per barrel.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau licenses developments

Ba Ria-Vung Tau Housing Development Joint Stock Co has won investment licences for three projects, which are expected to be launched between now and 2015.

The three projects include the Phuoc Thang urban area, which carries a total investment capital of VND416 billion (US$19.3 million); a 49-ha new urban area worth VND983 billion ($45.7 million); and the Hodeco Sea Village hotel and housing area worth VND198 billion ($9.2 million).

The company earned a revenue of VND82 billion ($3.8 million) and a pre-tax profit of VND30 billion ($1.4 million) in 2010's fourth quarter.

Online conference to eye blue chips

Securities Investment magazine will hold an online conference on investment prospects for blue chip stocks this year.

The conference, which will take place at 2-4pm Friday next week, will offer an opportunity for investors nationwide and managers of listed firms to discuss business and the stock market in the context of the current economic situation.

Managers of software producer FPT Corp, Vincom, Sai Gon Securities Inc and Habubbank will host the conference. Questions can be submitted via www.tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn.

PetroVietnam unit to list in HCM City

Cuu Long Petro Urban Development and Investment Co will list 25 million shares on the HCM City Stock Exchange. The shares will be listed under CCL code.

The company has a charter capital of VND250 billion (US$11.9 million), and its major shareholders include REE Corp, Agribank Securities Co, and Viet Nam Asset Management.

The company earned VND49.5 billion ($2.4 million) in revenue in the fourth quarter of last year, representing a year-on-year increase of 45.8 per cent. Annualised profits for 2010 totalled VND16.7 billion.

Printing firm offers additional shares

Aviation Printing Co has received State Securities Commission approval to offer 642,600 shares to existing shareholders at a 10:3 ratio. The shares will be offered at their face value, generating turnover of VND6.4 billion (US$304,761).

Vietcombank Securities will act as the consultant on this offering.

The company, listed on the unlisted public company market (UPCoM), has a charter capital of VND21.4 billion ($1.2 million). The company specialises in printing tickets and branding.

Seafood processor plans buyback

Hung Vuong Seafood Processing Company has announced its decision to attempt to buy back 5 million shares. The repurchase will begin from early April to July.

The Sai Gon Securities Inc has been tasked with the repurchase which will be implemented through order matching or negotiation. After the repurchase, the company will raise its stake from 1.3 to 6.3 million shares.

BIDV Insurance registers to list

The HCM City Stock Exchange confirmed it had received listing documents from BIDV Insurance Co (BIC), the insurance arm of the state-owned Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV).

The Ha Noi-based non-life insurance company intends to list 60 million shares, representing its entire charter capital of VND600 billion (US$31.4 million) by the end of March.

VN to maintain position as world's top pepper exporter

Viet Nam would remain the world's leading pepper exporter this year, industry's experts said.

"The total pepper volume could exceed last year's figure," Viet Nam Pepper Association chairman Do Ha Nam said.

"The total pepper volume this year may reach about 100,000 tonnes, an increase of 5.3 per cent over the last year," Nam said. "With stockpiled volume, the export turnover could hit 115,000 tonnes, the same level as last year."

In addition, the world supply of pepper this year was forecast to be less than the demand.

Viet Nam accounts for 60 per cent of the world's total pepper export volume.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that the pepper export turnover in January year-on-year jumped by 40.7 per cent despite a decrease of 7 per cent in volume.

In the first month of this year, the industry exported 7,000 tonnes of pepper, worth US$33 million.

Recently, about 17 pepper manufacturers with modern equipment have been established in the country with the total capacity of 60,000 tonnes a year. Ten of the 17 have reached international standards.

The quality has also improved with manufacturers from foreign countries such as Japan, India and the Netherlands investing in local processing.

Since 2002, Viet Nam has increased its pepper volume while many countries have experienced a decrease in volume.

Vietnamese pepper has been exported to 80 nations and territories.

Since 2001, Viet Nam has been a leading pepper exporter in the world with the average export volume of 80,000 tonnes per year.

Vietnam to raise electricity price by 15.28 pct

Vietnam will raise electricity prices by an average of 15.28 percent from March 1, a government official said Saturday.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had already given approval for the price rise and the ministry would issue a circular on the new rates this week.

The hike would bring average electricity prices to VND1,241 (US$0.06) per kilowatt hour.

There would be regional price variations, as well as differences based on usage and industry, the ministry officer said.

Electricity prices are tightly controlled by the government.

The government aims to keep inflation at 7 percent or less this year.

The last time Vietnam raised its electricity prices was in March last year. The 6.8 percent hike brought average electricity prices to VND1,037 (US$0.05) per kilowatt hour.

State utility EVN has said that although its power output is set to increase by 17.63 percent this year, there will be a serious supply shortage of between 3-4 billion kilowatt hours.

The anticipated shortfall in power supply is high compared to the shortage of 1 billion kWh in 2010.

EVN said the increased production will not be able to keep pace with an 18.3 percent increase in demand during the dry season alone.

Irrigation tax exemptions lift farm output

The policy of exempting farmers from irrigation fees, launched in 2009, has been well received by both farmers and companies providing irrigation services.

Deputy head of the Irrigation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dang Duy Hien, said when the fee was reduced or waived altogether, farmers accurately reported the areas under cultivation instead of generally understating them as previously to save on payments.

The Government also allocated funds in advance to irrigation companies so that they could ensure enough supplies of water for farmers, Hien said.

Previously, the providers had to collect the fees themselves and often got into financial difficulties if farmers were slow in paying.

Hien added that the budget for irrigation had increased by 30 per cent in many localities, including Yen Bai, Thai Nguyen and Lang Son.

In the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap, Soc Trang, the authorities spent more money on dredging and cleaning canals so that water could flow more freely.

Tran Quoc Hung, director of Linh Cam Irrigation Ltd Co in central Ha Tinh Province, said that in 2007, the company provided irrigation water for 16,800ha of crops but last year, the area expanded to about 19,000 ha.

He attributed this to the new fee policy. "Getting benefit from the policy, farmers are eager to grow crops on land that used to be left uncultivated," he said. Moreover, the money saved on water fees was invested in fertiliser or breeding stock.

Dao Quang Chien, director of Dien Bien Irrigation Management Ltd Co in northern Dien Bien Province, said monitoring local reservoirs helped to increase rice output. In Dien Bien District alone, the province's biggest rice producing area, the growing area of 6,000ha yielded 6.4 to 6.5 tonnes per hectare.

Irrigation fees vary from region to region across the country. The lowest are in mountainous areas with fees of VND566,000 (US$28) per hectare per crop. The highest are in the Song Hong (Red River) Delta region with fees of more than VND1 million ($50) per hectare per crop.

Irrigation fees account for seven to 10 per cent of farming production costs. Farmer Nguyen Van Duong, of Van Giang District in northern Hung Yen Province, said that the lower irrigation fees enabled him to save up for modern machinery.

The State now pays for 50-60 per cent of irrigation fees for farmers - on top of the hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong spent fighting the effects of drought and floods.

Last year, the State budget allocated VND3.338 trillion ($171 million) for localities to implement irrigation-fee exemptions. It also granted VND288 billion ($14.8 million) to pay irrigation companies outstanding fee debts owed by localities.

However, director of an irrigation company from Dien Bien Province said his company, like others, depended on Government funding, so it was crucial it was allocated on time.

He said his company needed an estimated operating fund of VND4.3 billion ($22,000) but was just given VND1.5 billion ($7,700).

He said many farmers had yet to pay outstanding fee debts, creating a burden for service providers.

Central Highland provinces were faced with another situation. Because the new fees in the region were low, the Government allocated less support than it did to other regions.

However, both mountain provinces and Central Highland provinces had more difficulties in managing and monitoring irrigation works due to large coverage.

Standard Chartered, card firm join in merchant network

Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam and Smartlink have linked up to a merchant network that accepts all kinds of plastic.

The network is operated by 20 commercial banks including all the giant state-owned ones like Vietcombank, Agribank, VietinBank, BIDV, and Eximbank, and has merchants in the city alone.

Smartlink’s system has over 5,000 ATMs and more than 20,000 points of sale nationwide.

Holders of Standard Chartered Bank, a debit card issued by the bank, can now use it at member hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets nationwide including Big C, Co.op Mart, Maximart, Metro, Citimart, and others.

From the early 1990s, Standard Chartered has focused on developing its strong franchises in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It has concentrated on consumer, corporate and institutional banking and on the provision of treasury services - areas in which the Group had particular strength and expertise.

Electricity prices to increase by over 15 percent

The Prime Minister has approved the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s proposal to raise the average price of electricity from VND1,058 per KWh in 2010 to VND1,220 by March 1. 

Along with the adjustment in electricity prices, the Government will issue a policy to support disadvantaged, low-income people and businesses in order to promote production and improve competitiveness.

Experts say the rise in electricity prices is inevitable because of price hikes of input materials to produce electricity such as coal, oil and gas.

Raising electricity prices will help the industry mobilise investment and loans to implement projects to meet the rapid growth in electricity consumption.

PetroVietnam will not invest in Iran Darkhovin oilfield

No agreement has been reached between the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and its Iranian partners concerning PetroVietnam’s investment in the Darkhovin oilfield.

PetroVietnam Deputy General Director Nguyen Quoc Thap emphasized this in response to rumours that PetroVietnam will invest US$1.2 billion in the Darkhovin oilfield, which was explored in 1965 and has a total production capacity of about 5 billion barrels of crude oil.

According to Thap, a year ago, Iran's Petroleum Engineering and Development Company offered some development projects, including Darkhovin, to PetroVietnam Exploration Production (PVEP), a member of PetroVietnam. However, PVEP has not yet responded the offer.

PetroVietnam is currently investing in overseas projects such as the Nhenhetxky project in Russia and the block PM304 and block SK305 projects in Malaysia.

France keen on Vietnam’s development strategy

French business circle showed their interests in Vietnam's development strategy, especially in the 2011-2015 period and between now and 2020.

Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc made the remarks after his working sessions with France’s Secretary of State for Foreign Trade J.H. Lellouche, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Christine Lagarde and Secretary of State for Health in charge of cooperation programmes with Vietnam Nora Berra while visiting France from February 16-18.

He said the French political and business circles always pay attention to expanding investment in and cooperation with Vietnam .

France currently ranks second after Japan and first in the EU in terms of bilateral assistance to Vietnam since 1990 which has helped facilitate Vietnam’s socio-economic development process, the minister said.

The EU member country has committed US$3 billion to Vietnam, focusing on the telecom, processing, oil and gas and power industries.

Minister Phuc further said that France pays special attention to developing markets human resources and infrastructure in Vietnam.

With potentials in infrastructure development, France considers this a great chance for its investment in infrastructure in Vietnam, he added.

At the Vietnam-France business forum held on February 18, French business people and their Vietnamese partners discussed possibilities of investment and measures to remove obstacles while doing business in Vietnam.

They are keen on projects on electricity development, urban planning and construction of seaports and airports.

Regarding the two countries’ strategic cooperation, Minister Phuc said Vietnam and France are looking towards strategic partnership.

At present, the French political and business circles highlight the role of Vietnam in Southeast Asia, while Vietnam speaks highly of the role of France in the EU, Minister Phuc said.

U.S. company to expand beverage can production in Vietnam

Crown Holdings, Inc., a U.S. leading supplier of packaging products worldwide, has announced that it would expand beverage can production capacity in all three of its existing facilities in Vietnam.

In a news release issued on February 18, the company, with world headquarters located in Philadelphia of Pennsylvania state, said it would add a second can line to its facility in Hanoi. The new line is expected to be operational in early 2012 and have an initial annual production capacity of 750 million two-piece 33cl aluminum beverage cans. This expansion will bring the Hanoi plant's total capacity to 1.5 billion cans.

Upgrades are planned to existing facilities in Ho Chi Minh City. Total annual production capacity will increase by 700 million cans, bringing the total capacity for Crown in southern Vietnam to 3.2 billion cans, said the release.

Jozef Salaerts, President of Crown's Asia-Pacific Division, reconfirmed Crown's commitment to supporting the growth of its customers in the Vietnamese market. He said beverage cans are a truly sustainable packaging solution as they have endless recycling potential, can be stored at ambient temperatures and help reduce waste by extending shelf life.