Oil giant earns $2.1b in January

 

The PetroVietnam Group announced at a press conference in Ha Noi yesterday that it expected to earn nearly VND44.7 trillion (US$2.1 billion) in revenue in January, up 37 per cent against the same period last year.

 

Of the total revenue, $895 million will come from exports and the remainder will be made from product sales and services that are sold within the domestic market.

 

"The group produced 100 million tonnes of crude oil, 104,000 tonnes of fertiliser, 112 billion Kwh and 116,000 tonnes of various kinds of petrol products," said Le Minh Hong, PetroVietnam deputy director general.

 

The group is expected to pay VND11 trillion in taxes in January, a year-on-year increase of 35 per cent.

 

The company is aiming to earn VND486 trillion (US$23.1 billion) in total revenue by the end of this year.

 

To complete these objectives, the group will continue to improve its organisation and its member companies; remodel management; develop human resources; use advanced technologies; boost oil and gas exploration locally and abroad and make bold investments, said Hong.

 

Dinh La Thang, chairman of the group, said: "Petrovietnam needs a total investment capital of $5-6 billion this year, 30 per cent of which will come from its ownership capital and the remaining capital will come from equitisation, initial public offerings and commercial loans."

 

Last year, the group turned over VND478 trillion ($22.8 billion), a year-on-year increase of 59 per cent.

 

"Oil and gas services earned about VND152 trillion, making up 32 per cent of the total turnover," said Hong.

 

Also yesterday, PV Power – a member of PetroVietnam – also reported that it expected to earn a total turnover of more than VND10 trillion ($476 million) with an after-tax profit of VND80 billion this year.

 

PV Power hopes to produce about 12.5 billion Kwh this year, which will come from Ca Mau Power Plant, Nhon Trach Power Plants No1, No2, Phu Quy Power Plant and Nam Cat Power Plant.

 

World Bank arm buys into Vietnam state-owned bank

 

The World Bank’s private sector arm International Finance Corp and its IFC Capitalization Fund have bought a 10 percent stake in the state-owned Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade, one of the country’s largest banks, for US$311 million.

 

An agreement for the purpose was signed last Thursday.

 

The investment, consisting of $186 million in stock -- or 10 percent of VietinBank’s equity -- and $125 million in subordinated debt, is aimed at supporting the partial privatization of the banking sector and improving access to funds for small and medium-sized firms.

 

The IFC Capitalization Fund is an equity and subordinated debt fund founded by the IFC along with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

 

The IFC will also consult VietinBank in corporate governance, small and medium-sized enterprise banking, risk management, energy efficiency financing, information technology, and development strategy.

 

VietinBank becomes the first state-owned bank to sell a allow a stake to a foreign investor.

 

The Hanoi-based bank also plans to sell 15 percent to Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter of this year.

 

Stable fertiliser prices predicted

 

Domestic fertiliser prices are expected to remain stable this year due to ample supplies, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

 

Only the northern region would be vulnerable to a modest price increase due to heavier demand, the ministry said, but the period of high demand in the south had passed. Meanwhile, the ministry predicted that global prices would continue to be stable.

 

Supplies of fertiliser for the winter-spring rice crop were currently at more than 750,000 tonnes, sufficient to prevent any price fever from breaking out, said Viet Nam Fertiliser Association general secretary Nguyen Hac Thuy.

 

The domestic price of urea fertiliser was at VND8,000/kg (US$0.38), consistent with world fertiliser price, said Thuy.

 

To ensure the ongoing stability of the domestic fertiliser market, the association had proposed that the Government require domestic fertiliser producers to operate at full capacity and temporarily stop exports, he added.

 

But the industry would require more investment to increase capacity, countered Lam Thao Fertiliser and Chemical Joint Stock Co general director Quach Dinh Dieu.

 

The State needed to offer incentives for domestic fertiliser producers to improve their competitiveness, including loans at preferential interest rates and protection against foreign exchange fluctuations, Dieu said.

 

Phung Ha, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's chemical department, said Viet Nam should develop a large-scale fertiliser industry with modern technology and an effective distribution system to ensure quality, supply and reasonable prices.

 

US firm to build solar cell plant in HCM City

 

US-based First Solar was granted an investment licence by HCM City People's Committee and the management board of industrial and processing zones.

 

The group plans to invest US$1 billion in a solar-cell plant in a south-eastern industrial park in Cu Chi District, HCM City. The plant, slated to operate by 2012, is expected to increase the group's power output by 2.7GW.

 

Telecom services supplier earns $1.8 million

 

Telecom service supplier MobiFone's revenue reached VND36 trillion (US$1.8 billion) in 2010, a year-on-year increase of 31.5 per cent. Its pre-tax profit stood at VND5.86 trillion ($293 million).

 

The company has met the target set for the year by the Viet Nam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT) group.

 

In 2011, the company set itself a target of 5 million subscribers, a revenue of VND39 trillion and a pre-tax profit of VND6.1 trillion.

 

Liberty ranks best in business performance

 

Liberty in Viet Nam topped the Golden Dragon Awards for non-insurance in Ha Noi on Sunday.

 

In 2010, the company raised its charter capital to US$40 million and continued to expand its operations in a series cities and provinces from Southern Dong Nai to northern Quang Ninh.

 

After four years of operation, the company was listed in the top ten insurance companies with the highest revenue in vehicle and healthcare insurance.

 

Exports using all imported materials to be tax-exempt

 

Export commodities which use 100 per cent of imported materials will be exempt from tax, according to a new circular issued by the Ministry of Finance.

 

Circular 194/2010/TT-BTC, which replaces 79/2009/TT-BTC and came into effect last Thursday, states that export commodities that use both imported and domestic raw materials will be taxed only on locally produced products.

 

Hoang Viet Cuong, the deputy director of the General Department of Viet Nam Customs, said the new circular would contribute to boost international trade, stimulate domestic production, while curbing the country's trade deficit.

 

The new circular also created favourable conditions for exporters by simplifying forms and export procedures, he added.

 

Handicrafts fair slated for April in HCM City

 

The international handicraft products fair Lifestyle 2011 will take place April 18-24 at Tan Binh International Exhibition Centre in HCM City.

 

The annual event, which is jointly organised by Viettrade, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Viet Nam Handicraft Exporters Association (Vietcraft), expects to attract about 2,000 exporters.

 

There will be about 1,000 stalls, exhibiting handicraft products, interior decoration, household utensils, knitting products, footwear and toys.

 

Vietnam catfish remains on WWF red list

 

Vietnamese catfish products remain in the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) red list for Belgium and Norway, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said Monday.

 

The WWF had earlier promised to remove them but Tran Minh Hien, director of WWF Vietnam, told Thanh Nien newspaper that the process will take time since each country and its local agencies have their own procedures.

 

Mark Powell, the WWF’s global seafood coordinator, had said in Hanoi last month that his agency would immediately remove Vietnamese catfish from the red list in its handbook published in six European countries.

 

Vietnamese exporters and farmers are strongly opposed to this and doubt if the WWF will actually cooperate with Vietnam, VASEP said.

 

The WWF had red-listed Vietnamese catfish for “unsustainable farming practices.”

 

Vietnam hopes to export 800,000 tons of catfish a year by 2015, 23 percent higher than the current volume. VASEP said that by then, all catfish exports will have international sustainable development certification.

 

Vendors enjoy higher food prices before Tet

 

Prices of several kinds of goods at markets in HCM City are expected to keep rising after steady increases in recent days, Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper reported.

 

The prices of vegetables and fruit had increased by VND2,000 – VND3,000 per kilo during the last week, Tu, a small trader at Bui Van Ba market in District 7 said.

 

Common vegetables such as cucumber were continually going up. On Monday , the price of cucumber at the market was VND10,000 (US$0.48) per kilo, tomato VND8,000 – VND9,000 and watermelon VND12,000 – VND13,000.

 

Pig's trotter was VND69,000 – VND70,000 per kilo at Ba Chieu market (Binh Thanh District), VND70,000 – VND72,000 at Bui Van Ba market and VND74,000 at Ho Thi Ky market (District 10).

 

Similarly, supplies of many price-stabilised goods including sugar and cooking oil were running low at markets near Hiep Phuoc industrial park (Nha Be District) and Tan Thuan Tay market (District 7).

 

Be Tu, a customer in Nha Be District complained that she had to buy cooking oil at a price higher than the stablised price by VND5,000 – VND7,000 per litre.

 

For instance, well-known cooking oil brands including Tuong An, MeiZan and Neptune were sold at sky-high prices of VND45,000, VND35,000 and VND43,000 per litre, respectively, while the price of normal cooking oil was VND24,500 per litre.

 

At a Co.op Food store under price-stabilisation programme at Nha Be District's Hiep Binh Phuoc industrial park, customers have to queue everyday to buy sugar of Thanh Cong JSC.

 

Though the company said they had increased stocks to 200 tonnes of sugar per month, the supplies were not enough.

 

The newspaper reported that there was no order to the prices at different markets, and traders were pushing for more profits.

 

A fruit trader at Tan Thuan Tay market said the prices posted on small boards went out of date at the end of last week.

 

At a fruit stand at Tran Nhan Ton (District 10), the owner asked for VND13,000 per kilo of watermelon while the posted price was only VND10,000.

 

The authorities should put a stop to traders who "cry wine and sell vinegar," the paper said.

 

ATMs struggle to cope with New Year cash rush

 

The huge demand for cash ahead of the Lunar New Year is overwhelming ATMs in Ho Chi Minh City, especially since they do not allow withdrawals of large sums.

 

Long queues can be seen in front of many of them and breakdowns are reported frequently.

 

DongA Bank was the first to increase the amount of cash withdrawal per transaction to VND 10 million (US$510).

 

Vietcombank said it has loaded some of its ATMs with large denomination notes to enable withdrawal of VND 5 million per transaction. But since it does not have enough of these notes, customers can only get a maximum of VND 3.5 million.

 

“The VND2 million limit per transaction was set by banks five years ago to minimize loss when a customers lost a card. But it is now too low compared with current incomes,” Dinh The Hien, a banker, said.

 

“It takes a lot of time if customers want to get more money,” he added.

 

Technically, all banks are capable of fixing the problem by temporarily allowing more money to be withdrawn each time. Limits of VND10 million per transaction and VND40 million a day are within their reach.

 

However, this is not a long-term solution since the ATM cards should be used for payment and not merely withdrawing cash, Dr Le Tham Duong, dean of the business management department at the HCMC Banking University, said.

 

The hurdle now, as an ATM card manager admitted, is that using the cards to make payment at supermarkets and shopping malls takes more time than cash and is less convenient, not to mention the frequent system errors.

 

PV