Petrol price constant despite global fluctuation  

The Finance Ministry has decided against cutting petrol prices but instead will raise import duty on petrol and increase the petroleum price stabilization fund, aimed to balance benefits amongst gasoline companies, State and consumers.

This decision was reached at a meeting with the Ministry of Industry and Trade on June 10.
 
The tax imposed on diesel and kerosene will be raised to 5 percent from 0 percent and at the same time petroleum companies will have to contribute VND100 more for every liter of gasoline sold, towards the price stabilization fund.
 
Import tax exemption will be maintained for gasoline and fuel oil.
 
The price of crude oil fell by 5 percent in the world market by June 15, with crude oil to be delivered in July going for US$94.81 per barrel, the lowest since mid February 2011.
 
Domestic fuel prices are meant to fluctuate following changes in global prices since they are regulated under the market mechanism. However, they have remained unchanged, despite global prices dropping sharply during the past month.
 
The ministry said that in the past, the fuel market was regulated in a way that allowed the State, firms and consumers to share benefits.
 
For instance, in the last months of 2010, though the world petrol price went up, the ministry didn’t allow any hike in domestic retail prices and slashed the tax rate on gasoline and diesel to 0 percent in mid January 2011, while continuing to adjust the tax duty on fuel oil down to 0 percent on February 24.
 
The tax cut caused a loss of VND20,136 billion for the state budget from 2010 to June 10 this year, of which VND10,047 billion was lost during the period starting February 24 this year.
 
The ministry said to recover the loss, it will raise the import tariff and increase the stabilization fund but will not ask gasoline firms to reduce retail prices, as consumers have expected.

The ministry added that a clear picture for future pricing has yet to emerge since the world price fluctuation last month. The present move will bolster the fund and help cushion future price hikes.
 
The ministry said if fuel prices were to be adjusted in line with the market mechanism, according to the Government decree issued in 2009, gasoline retail prices had hiked by VND1,000 per liter in late April 2011. The ministry asked gasoline wholesalers to keep prices unchanged, to help curb inflation.
 
Petrol firms are worried that gasoline will no longer be exported illegally via the country’s borders but will be transported illegally into the country.
 
Domestic gasoline prices in Vietnam are currently five percent higher than in neighboring Laos and Cambodia, forcing Vietnam to deal with smuggling.
 
Firms say that since the world market is facing constant price fluctuation, the ministry should not impose import duties on gasoline but regulate domestic prices by using the stabilization fund.
 
Meanwhile, economists say gasoline prices must be adjusted in line with market mechanism, which means that domestic prices will go up and down following hikes and drops in world prices.
 
Risk management to protect cotton industry
 
A greater focus on risk management will prevent Viet Nam's cotton industry from being damaged by volatile global prices, a US trade official has said.

Dr Gary Adams, vice-president of the National Cotton Council of America's Economic and Policy Analysis, speaking at a seminar in HCM City on Wednesday, said ways to tackle price volatility were needed.

"Viet Nam will have to look at what types of ways, whether it is hedging some of their raw material costs, creating strategies within the future market, or hedging to try to minimise that risk," he said, adding that some of the textile mills could work with merchandisers which supply cotton.

Some types of risk management and strategies in working with these merchandisers would help, but this might not be able to lower the price of cotton, he said.

"It may be able to mitigate some of the risks associated with the volatile level of prices," Adams added.

World cotton prices have soared to 150 cents a pound (New York future) from 70-80 cents a year ago, a high level compared with previous years, according to industry insiders.

Nguyen Hong Giang, general secretary of the Viet Nam Cotton and Spinning Association, said that the country produced less than 3,500 tonnes of yarn from cotton last year, meeting around 1 per cent of the demand for local yarn production of 380,000 tonnes a year.

Viet Nam had had to rely on imported cotton, he said, adding that 40 per cent of cotton was imported from the US, 15-16 per cent from India, and the rest from West Africa, former Soviet Union countries and Australia.

To tackle this heavy reliance, the association has encouraged and offered incentives to farmers to grow cotton since the Government plans to increase the localisation rate in which cotton acts as the source in the yarn production.

He said that with cotton prices lower than those of maize, coffee and soybeans, few farmers would opt to grow cotton.

Local cotton production was inefficient because cotton was planted on a small scale of under one hectare per household.

This had made it difficult to mechanise cotton production, driving cotton prices higher, he said.

Currently, cotton was cultivated in the south-central provinces of Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan, in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dak Lak and in Son La, a northern upland province, Giang said.

Adams said he saw continuing potential for Viet Nam to export cotton textile products, especially to the US.

"Viet Nam is a growing supplier of textile products to the US market and I think a lot hinges on US consumers extending their purchase of cotton textile products because clearly Viet Nam has been competitive with other countries in terms of getting market share in the US."

Last year, Viet Nam ranked the fifth-largest cotton textile supplier to the US, after China, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, accounting for 5 per cent of the total cotton imports to the US market.

Adams said he anticipated more potential for market share for Viet Nam.

"I don't know how quickly they will move up the ladder, but I think we can anticipate that they will continue to increase their market share in the US because Viet Nam appears to have a growing textile industry."

To increase market share in the US, Vietnamese cotton textile exporters should work with US retail brands and importers, set up sourcing, and establish a supply chain relationship between exporters and those that they are actually importing.

Seed shortage threatens crop
 
Farmers in the central region are facing a shortage of short-term rice seed for the summer-autumn rice crop, which will be grown 25-35 days late because of the late harvest of the 2010-11 winter-spring rice crop.

A prolonged cold spell has prolonged the maturing period of the current crop, causing a delay in harvest.

To prevent losses to the summer-autumn rice crop due to flooding, central provinces have planned to grow short-term rice varieties with a growing period of less than 100 days, so they can harvest the crop before September 15 to avoid the flooding season.

Nguyen Van Bai, director of the Quang Tri Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said his department had never faced these kinds of difficulties.

If rice fields were left vacant for the current summer-autumn rice crop, farmers would face a food shortage.

On the other hand, if they were more than one month late, there would be a risk of flooding before harvest, he said.

The province has had to use short-term rice harvested from the 2010-11 winter-spring rice crop, as rice seeds for the summer-autumn rice crop, he said.

Hoang Huu He, deputy director of the Thua Thien – Hue Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said to deal with the late cultivation of the summer-autumn rice crop, the province has decided to switch from growing long – and medium-term rice varieties to growing short – and very short-term rice varieties to mitigate potential losses caused by flooding.

The department has instructed the province's Plant Seedlings and Breeder Animal Company to select and supply 2,000 tonnes of short and very short-term rice varieties for the summer-autumn rice crop, he said.

The growing period of the rice varieties, including Khang Dan, HT1, TH5, Iri 352 and DV108, is 5-10 days shorter than normal rice varieties.

Thua Thien – Hue Province has also petitioned the Government to support farmers with 300 tonnes of short-term rice varieties, he said.

The central provinces' departments of agriculture and rural development have also instructed farmers to bury rice stubbles deep in the ground, after harvesting the winter-spring rice crop to prevent the spread of diseases caused by insects to the summer-autumn crop.

Central provinces are also facing the threat of water shortage for the summer-autumn rice crop.

Vu Nhan, head of the Mo Duc District Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau in Quang Ngai Province, said the district's drought-hit area this year was larger compared to previous years.

In this year's summer-autumn rice crop, the district has transferred nearly 200ha of rice into growing other crops to avoid drought.

Nguyen Van Hoa, head of the Nghe An Province Irrigation Sub-department, said with current hot weather and the inspection results of water level at the province's 625 reservoirs and dams, the danger of water shortage for the summer-autumn rice crop was very high.

It was difficult for pumping stations at the Nam Dan and Khe Luong sluice gates in Do Luong District to pump water into rice fields because of a low water level at the sluice gates, Hoa said.

Water sources at the end section of irrigation systems in Dien Chau and Quynh Luu districts were also limited, he said.

Ministry seeks income tax changes

The Ministry of Finance wants to seek approval from the National Assembly Standing Committee to increase the income tax threshold to VND5 million with immediate effect and not wait for the Income Tax Law to be amended in 2012.

Those with dependents can add VND1.6 million (US$330) for each of them.

The ministry also said it plans to issue a new circular to double the tax threshold for other incomes to VND1 million.

Besides, it is seeking approval to include some other industries in the program to defer income tax by a year, which now benefits small and medium-sized firms.

It wants the same benefit for companies in the agricultural, aquaculture, and forestry processing, leather footwear, and textile industries that hire a large number of workers as well as to reduce their tax.

Tran Xoa, director of the Minh Dang Quang law firm, said income tax should be fully waived for small and medium-sized firms this year since they are struggling with the very high loan interest rates.

However, if it affects the budget, the National Assembly could cut the tax by just 50 percent, he said.

The ministry is also seeking approval for a 5 percent tax reduction on income from dividends.

Xoa said the exemption would be vital in supporting the stock market.

Khanh Hoa’s waste nix plant long overdue

The VND1.49 trillion (US$74.6 million) construction of a plant to treat waste nix from Hyundai Vinashin Shipyard Company (HVS) in central Khanh Hoa Province remains unfinished though the deadline was 3 months ago.

No work seems to have been done at the construction site in Ninh Thuy Commune, Ninh Hoa District, where the plant, which was aimed to treat 800,000 tons of waste nix dumped by HVS every year, was supposed to be built.

A guard at the site said all construction work has stopped since the Lunar New Year.

At the project’s ground breaking ceremony in December 2009, the project’s main investor, Hanoi Minerals – Metallurgy Joint Stock Company, said it would employ the most modern and environment-friendly technology to build the plant by March 2011.

At the same ceremony, Pham Khoi Nguyen, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment promised that the plant would turn waste nix into useful products, thus helping to protect the environment and generating thousands of jobs for locals.

But the investor hasn’t made any progress since then, according to the management board of the Van Phong Economic Zone which issued the project’s license.

So far, neither HSV nor provincial authorities has confirmed when the plant would be up and running.

The zone’s management board said the investor’s financial problems were the cause of the delay.

The investor didn’t manage to get the bank loans needed for the project, said the management board.

A representative from the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) which the investor wanted to borrow from said VDB had accepted the investor’s application in principle but as the investor hasn’t submitted required financial reports, VDB couldn’t give the money yet.

The management board said they were thus waiting for a solution from the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

“If this project still makes no progress, we’ll revoke its license,” an official from the board said.

HTC launches most high-end handset in VN

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has launched its most high-end handset, HTC Sensation, which is priced at VND15.2 million for Vietnamese consumers.

The handset, power with a dual-core processor and HTC’s most powerful hardware ever, will be the second of its kind in Vietnam after the VND15 million LG Optimus 2X, while Korean Samsung is expected to unveil its Galaxy S II, the 3rd dual-core rival, in the country this month.

"With the collaboration between fashion designers and multimedia entertainment, the HTC Sense interface, HTC Sensation will bring a superior entertainment product to Vietnamese consumers," said Jack Tong, CEO of HTC North Asia.

In addition to a dual-core processor clocking 1.2 GHz, HTC Sensation, running Android Gingerbread operation system with 768MB RAM, 4.3 inch wide screen resolution of 540 x 960 pixel qHD, can also film full HD 1080p movies.

It has 8-megapixel camera and a front VGA camera for video conversations.

Like the HTC Flyer tablet, users can buy and rent movies from video store HTC Watch with resources from Sony, Warner Bros, Disney, Fox, and MGM.

Regarding the loss of signal when holding the handset in some specific positions on it back, Nguyen Hong Chau, director of HTC Vietnam said, this will not affect the phone’s connectivity ability.

After opening a HTC showroom in Hanoi Last month, HTC Vietnam has just launched another one selling its own products in HCMC’s District 3.

Currently, the HCMC showroom is selling most of HTC products including the Sensation, Flyer and Chacha.

SSC, Ernst & Young Vietnam in deal to boost cooperation

State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) on Thursday clinched deal with Ernst & Young Vietnam (EYVN) in an effort to enhance Vietnam’s legal environment for listed companies, especially in risk management and corporate governance.

The signing of the framework agreement in technical assistance will also strengthen cooperation between the two sides through all activities including training and capacity building for SSC’s staff.

Under the agreement, EYVN will coordinate with the SSC in organizing training programs to enhance skills and knowledge for leaders of public companies, especially listed firms on the stock market, securities companies, the securities management companies, investment funds in the field of corporate governance.

They will also join forces in drafting documentation on corporate risk management, conducting researches, and contributing professional ideas for enforcing regulations in the field.

Fears over plans to leave out notary services in property sales

The Ministry of Construction has put forward ideas to leave out the notary legal service procedure that is seen as a must in housing transactions; however, many property experts are concerned the move will produce more potential risks to buyers and sellers.

The construction ministry said simplifying administrative procedures and saving money is why they are proposing the Ministry of Justice amend the current Housing Law, allowing contracts of selling, giving, mortgaging, exchanging and leasing properties within six months to be done without requiring notarization.

The ministry reasoned that when those activities occur the organization that grants ownership certificates will have to check conditions and legal status of those properties. Therefore, notary services were unnecessary.

However, many people are concerned that cutting down the procedure will not improve the current situation and will only allow more risks to appear in property transactions in the future.

Lawyer Tran Duy Canh, managing partner of Luat Viet Advocates and Solicitors Company, told the Daily that notary services served as a legal guardian to protect both sellers and buyers, thus it would be too risky to discard the legal service.

Canh said the proposal fails to appreciate the current condition of the local property market where land and housing policies change very often, and buyers or sellers will not have a chance to access those policies and understand clearly the regulations.

“Many people do not have the opportunity to access a database to check the legal status of a property, thus the notary public office will act as the third party to monitor the transaction activity so as to minimize potential risks to both parties,” Canh said.
 
Hanoi begins $15.5 mln price stabilization scheme

Hanoi will lend US$15.5 million this month to 11 distributors and importers of 10 essential goods at zero interest to keep prices stable.

The items covered are rice, pork, poultry, egg, fish, other seafood, cooking oil, sugar, vegetables, and writing paper.

Beneficiaries should keep the prices of their products at least 10 percent below market prices.

They will also have to maintain enough stocks to meet 20 percent of the total demand and ensure high quality.

The program will go on until April 2012 and be overseen by the Department of Trade.

Ho Chi Minh City launched a similar scheme in April, and it will last until March next year.

It provided $20.5 million to 22 processors and importers of the same 10 items.

Steel firms fail in effort to revive demand

Despite a slump in demand, steel manufacturers have not cut prices, choosing instead to increase commission for distributors, a move that has not worked.

H.C, who runs a construction steel shop in Ho Chi Minh City’s Ly Thuong Kiet Street, said she has virtually no customers and only managed to sell 1.5 tons last fortnight.

An official from the southern branch of the Vietnam Steel Corporation said sales of construction steel in the last two months was only 50,000-54,000 tons, 60 percent down from normal.

“A lot of the construction has been stopped and people are becoming thrifty, both of which are causing difficulty for the steel business,” he said.

Hoang Quoc Dat, director of the Dai Vinh Construction Corporation, said his firm had no new contracts in the last two months except for some small ones for repair which did not require the use of steel.

Pham Chi Cuong, head of the Vietnam Steel Association, attributed the fall in demand to the reduction in public spending around the country.

However, instead of lowering prices to boost sales, most manufacturers have kept their March prices of VND18.28-18.48 million ($US914-924) a ton.

With this high market price, these firms are even able to grant bigger commission for their distributors without fearing of loss, as the original price is just VND16 million ($800) a ton.

Distributors have a margin of VND500,000-600,000 ($25-30), H.C said, adding manufacturers have hiked commissions by VND200,000-300,000 a ton in the hope of improving sales.
 
Danang’s IPs have alarming levels of pollution

Environmental pollution has hit an alarming level at industrial parks (IPs) in Danang City with all 90 enterprises found to violate the Law on Environmental Protection.

According to a report of the city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, three out of six IPs in Danang have yet to build a wastewater treatment system, while 90% of enterprises that have a wastewater treatment plant operate it irregularly or in an inappropriate way. Meanwhile, 14% of businesses have yet to make reports on environmental impact.

Limited human resources and capital of managing agencies is the main reason for the problem. The report also attributed the pollution to poor management and underdeveloped infrastructure of the IPs.

Central bank to monitor banks’ investments more closely

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) plans to better monitor commercial banks’ investments, including corporate bonds, lending and investment operations on consignment, heard  meeting between SBV and commercial banks last week.

According to this source, SBV found 19 small and medium banks had been involved in high risk operations. SBV also said many of these banks had invested in securities, especially corporate bonds with big outstanding loans many of which don’t have collateral or risk provisions.

By late May, the total financial investment value of the 19 small and medium banks, each of which has less than VND75 trillion in total assets, was over VND88.6 trillion, accounting for 15.2 percent of their total assets and increasing by 2.1 percent, or VND1.8 trillion, from late last year.

However, compared to the same period last year, the figure has risen by almost 94 percent.

Investing in securities of corporations was nearly VND42.7 trillion, making up 48 percent of the total financial investment value and 17.9 percent of the banks’ total outstanding loans.

Some banks including GP Bank, TienPhong Bank, Nam A Bank and Kien Long Bank, have invested as much as 80 percent of its outstanding loans in securities issued by corporations.

SBV said these banks have also carried out and received investment consignments at high rates in order to avoid the credit growth cap of 20 percent.

Of the 19 banks, seven have a consignment balance of over VND500 billion. Operations on consignment are diversified from lending, investment and capital management and investments on consignment account for a big ratio and are of high risk, SBV said.

The central bank has also found these banks confiding capital to other institutions or individuals to deposit at other banks to earn high interest rates as another way to help banks avoid the credit growth cap.

By late May, total investment and lending consignments at 19 banks had amounted to VND19.74 trillion, or 8.3 percent of their total outstanding loans. The figure fell by 7.5 percent from late 2010 but rose by 460 percent from the same period last year.

At the meeting last week, SBV asked these banks to re-assess risks of corporate bond investments to ensure safety and adopt a mechanism for provisions for corporate bonds investments.

SBV said it would also work with big banks to get updated on their investments and operations on consignment.

PetroVietnam reduces non-petro investments

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has signed deals to sell its stakes in two real estate and securities companies to investors from the Republic of Korea.

Under the agreements, which were signed at an ongoing conference on trade promotion in the RoK, Hanshin Group will purchase a 10 percent stake of PetroVietnam in PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVX) and Shinhan Investment Group will buy a 15 percent stake of PetroVietnam in PetroVietnam Securities Incorporation (PSI).

PetroVietnam’s Deputy Director General Nguyen Tien Dung said selling off its stakes in non-petro areas was part of the corporation’s plan for the next five years.

Dung said PetroVietnam would focus on only four key areas: oil exploration and exploitation at home and abroad, petrochemistry, thermo-electricity and other clean energies, and technical services in the oil industry.

The group would maintain its 100 percent stake in PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation as part of this plan, he said.
 
Privus Mobile expands service to Vietnam: US newspaper

Texas-based Privus Mobile, a provider of caller ID services and mobile apps for smart phones, has announced to be behind the world's first national rollout of mobile caller ID to Vietnam, according to RCR Wireless Austin.

Privus said they has clinched a deal with Vietnamese digital media and communication companies, Media Hub and Smart Media, to make caller information available to 25 million of Vietnam's wireless users.

The contract is expected to generate more than $21 million in revenue for Privus Mobile annually.

Under the terms of the agreement, Media Hub and Smart Media will provide Privus Mobile with the caller names for both mobile and landline numbers within the country.

This will allow Privus Mobile to apply data validation technology to deliver caller ID service to mobile users by matching numbers with names, regardless of whether or not the caller is in the recipient's contact list.

Privus said that Vietnam already has complete 3G coverage and the country was listed by AdMob as one of the 10 largest consumers of mobile Internet advertising data in the world. Nearly 80 percent of Vietnam's population uses a mobile phone, while only one-third uses landline phone services.

"Vietnam has shown incredible growth in its telecommunications infrastructure over the past few years, to the point that it's now introducing concepts and capabilities unlike any other country in the world, and we're excited to be a part of it," said Greg Smith, president of Privus Mobile.

"Vietnam's strong carrier system allows us to apply our technology across nearly every handset in the nation with unprecedented accuracy and effectiveness," he added.

Privus also develops apps for the Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Symbian and Windows Mobile operating systems, providing caller ID information.

High-end property segment undeterred by tough conditions

As compared with the so-called affordable housing units whose selling prices are bellow VND20 million per square meter, the high-end segment with apartments and villas worth several billion per unit is facing tough sales. Interest rate support, flexible payment terms, lucky draws and discounts are among the multiple incentives developers are offering for winning buyers.

But the tough market conditions have not deterred a number of developers from launching their projects.

Among those developers is Khang Dien Housing Trading and Investment Joint Stock Company which on Saturday started marketing its luxury Goldora Villa project underway on Lien Phuong Street in Phu Huu Ward in HCMC’s District 9. The project covers some eight hectares with 119 villas of 192 to some 1,070 square meters, with prices starting from VND6.5 billion per unit.

Ly Dien Son, general director of Khang Dien, said the company had decided to launch the project to assert its business development strategy in spite of the current challenges and that the company had received feedback from the market since it launched Villa Park project nearby the newly launched project.

Villa Park is jointly developed by Khang Dien Co and Prudential Vietnam Fund Management Co, a Prudential subsidiary. It has 213 villas and garden row houses and serviced utilities such as swimming pools, Jacuzzis, barbecue gardens, sport clubs, tree parks and a kindergarten. VND1.5 trillion has been allocated for the first phase of the residential project.

Dien said some 60 villas in the first phase of the Villa Park project were sold with prices ranging from VND3 billion to VND9 billion a unit, thus encouraging the developer to move on with its second villa project in the area.

In another development in the same area, VinaCapital Real Estate Company is pressing ahead with a plan to launch a residential project later this year after it saw success in the first project nearby.

David Henry, managing director of the company, said the company would invest some US$40 million in Garland 2 project with 72 villas and four condominium towers.

The firm is expected to get positive feedback from the market as seen in Garland 1 project whose 53 villas have been snapped up.  

The high-end segment on Saturday saw the Singaporean property company Keppel Land Limited and its local partner Tan Truong Company launched their mixed-use development in HCMC’s District 7.

Some 193 apartments in its Riviera Point project along the Ca Cam River in District 7 are offered from VND30.7 million (US$1,460) per square meter.

The US$200 million project has 18 residential towers with a total of 2,400 apartments of two to four bedrooms. Like other developments, it has spaces for retail shops, food and beverage outlets, and recreational facilities. As planned, the first phase of the project with 549 apartments will be completed by 2014.

Linson Lim, president of Keppel Land International for Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, agreed the current residential market was tough for all developers. However, the Singaporean company has a long-term development strategy in the Vietnamese market where it expects to see challenges overcome in the coming time.

While a number of developers look optimistic, many others are struggling to do all what they can to lure buyers through various incentives.

For example, Novaland Company has started up a free-staying program to get buyers’ feedback for its 39 apartments in the Sunrise City project in HCMC’s District 7.

In the program, the buyer will place a deposit equivalent to some 20% of the total value of an apartment when they sign a contract. The buyer then will make an additional payment equivalent to 60% to take delivery of the apartments. They are eligible to stay in the apartment for two years without paying a fee. After two years, they will pay the remaining 20% once they want to buy. If they do not want to buy, they can return their apartments to the company and take back their deposits together with the interest.

In another development, Phat Dat Corporation allows buyers to pay in 48 installments in the EverRich 2 condo project in District 7.

Instead of fixing a payment schedule, the firm is willing to design a payment method that fits the buyer’s monthly income. The first required deposit is 10% of the total value of an apartment and from the second to 47th payment, the buyer will pay a mere 1.3% at a time.

The company calculates that for a VND2.5 billion apartment, the buyer can pay some VND40 million per month. The amount of payment is believed to suit the income of a young family.

However, time will tell which incentives work, and which developers will win the race to attract customers. The current credit crunch and high interest rates have impacted on both the developer and the buyer.

Vung Ang port company begins operation

The Vietnam - Laos Vung Ang Port Joint Stock Company began its operation at the Vung Ang economic zone in the central province of Ha Tinh on June 16.

The company is a one trillion VND investment by the Ha Tinh Port Company, Vientiane Petroleum Company and Transport Company of Laos.

Located on the East-West economic corridor linking with Laos and northeastern Thailand, the company manages and exploits two wharves at 13m-deep Vung Ang port, which is capable of receiving 50,000 DWT ships along with 1.5 million tonnes of cargo each year.

With 300 officials in hand, the company is also able to handle 6,000 to 8,000 tonnes of cargo every day.

The establishment of the company will facilitate Lao businesses’ import-export and increase the amount of cargo via the port, in line with the country’s policy of developing marine-based economy in the future.

VN offers ample opportunities for int'l insurers

Washington DC (VNA) "Research and Markets" has said that Vietnam insurance market is one of the fastest growing insurance markets in the world and Vietnam insurance sector offers ample opportunities for international insurers.

The company's "Vietnam Insurance Sector Forecast to 2014" report wrote: "The country's insurance market has been witnessing a double digit growth for the past few years and it is expected to witness the same growth trend in the coming years also. Thus, Vietnam insurance market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 22 per cent during 2011-2014".

The report, posted on website http://www.researchandmarkets.com on June 15, wrote that the non-life insurance will enlarge its share in the total insurance market in coming years. It added, strong demand for motor vehicle insurance products, property, and health insurance products are the major factors responsible for the prospective growth.

According to this new research report, the non-life insurance sector, which accounts for over half of the insurance market, has witnessed a robust growth during the past few years. The life insurance sector also recorded healthy growth during 2010, attributable to the expansion of the middle class and the country's rising economic growth. In fact, the life insurance sector witnessed an increase in growth rate compared to the previous years as more and more people are seeking insurance cover to protect themselves from risk.

In the "Vietnam Financial Sector Forecast to 2013" report released ealier this year, the company reported that Vietnam's insurance sector has expanded rapidly during the last few years and has witnessed increase in the presence of foreign players, which helped intensify the market competition and benefit consumers the most.