20,000 officials yet to declare assets

Around 20,000 employees working for state corporations and those under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade have not declared their fortunes to the Government Inspectorate as required.

The figure was provided by the Inspectorate which also said that the Ministry has failed to satisfactorily solve the denunciation and accusation at the Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) and land dispute at the Hanoi Mechanics Company.

According to the Inspectorate, the minister of trade and industry and heads of state firms have to bear responsibilities.

On June 1, the Government Office issued a regulation saying it will monitor the salaries and bonuses paid to executives at state-owned corporations, focusing on “salaries and real income” earned by chairpersons, general directors, deputy general directors, and other senior executives.

The results will be submitted to the Prime Minister through the labor ministry in this month.

Vietnam eyes 2nd anti-dumping lawsuit against US

Following the partial victory in the anti-dumping case against the US last week, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producer has sought the government’s go-ahead for a second lawsuit to completely get rid of US anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese frozen shrimp.

Revealing this, a VASEP official told Tuoi Tre that the Ministry of Industry and Trade has accepted the petition and is awaiting government approval to file the suit.

Last week, the World Trade Organization ruled that the US violated global trade rules in calculating its anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnamese frozen shrimp.

The US’ so-called “zeroing,” a framework for calculating dumping margins, was against WTO rules, it said in the ruling.

Vietnam argued that the zeroing method resulted in large anti-dumping tariffs for its products.

In zeroing, US officials apply a single duty rate based on products that are more expensive in exporters’ home markets and do not take into account cases where the goods are cheaper.

But the VASEP official explained that the WTO verdict was yet to completely free Vietnamese shrimp from US anti-dumping tariffs.

Vietnam only sued the US on its use of the zeroing method in the US’ second and third administrative reviews.

The US was continuing its fourth and fifth reviews, he said.

The second lawsuit was necessary to completely remove the import duties, he said.

It would also enable Vietnamese shrimp exporters to get a US$20-million tax refund, and save them an expense of $900,000 a year for the administrative reviews.

Hue economic zone expansion enters final stretch

The Hue-based Trung Quy Investment Corporation began the fourth and final stage of expansion of its Phu Bai Economic Zone at a cost of VND980 billion (US$47.68 million) last Saturday.

The 818-hectare zone, situated just outside the central city, has attracted 50 projects with total investments of VND36 trillion (US$1.751 billion) since its establishment in 1998.

It focuses on light industry, intelligent technologies, and mechanical engineering.

The fourth stage involves 515 hectares in Huong Thuy town, and in its first phase VND175 billion will be spent on infrastructure.

Trung Quy Corp has also begun work on a VND117-billion industrial, commercial, and services hub measuring more than 2.5 hectares in Huong Thuy.

Over 440 mln USD gas plant building to start soon

The Vietnam Gas Corporation, PV Gas, signed with contractors a deal worth 441.57 million USD for engineering, procurement and construction of a gas processing plant in Ho Chi Minh City on July 16.

The plant will be built close to another gas processing plant in the oil-rich southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to feed two major residential quarters in HCM City and an industrial zone in neighbouring Dong Nai province.

Vu Van Thuan, General Director of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Construction and Assembly Joint-stock Corporation (PVX) - a project co-contractor, said the project, including gas tanks and pipelines, is an important part in the Nam Con Con gas pipeline project No. 2.

The plant, with a design capacity of 20 million cu. m. per day and night, will receive natural gas from the Nam Con Son basin within Vietnam ’s southern continental shelf through an off-shore pipeline to produce condensate, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ethanol. Condensate will be transported to the Phu My distribution station in HCM City through an onshore pipeline.

Along with the plant, contractors, including the Oil and Gas Metal Structuring and Assembly Joint-stock Company, will also build pipeline systems to carry LPG, condensate and ethanol.

The project is expected to help pump between 1.5 billion cu. m. of natural gas annually from the Nam Con Son basin by 2013. The figures are likely to reach 2.8 billion cu. m. by 2014 and 3.09 billion cu. m. by 2017 till 2024.

Experts put the Nam Con Son reserves at some 590 million cu. m. of oil equivalent.

Melior Business School spends $3.5 mln for relocation

Melior Business School (MBS) has decided to spend $3.5 million to lease Intan Building in Phu Nhuan District for relocation from District 3, according to a recent deal between the school and Knight Frank Vietnam.

The sum will be spent on leasing 3,236 square meters of the whole building located at 97 Nguyen Van Troi Street.

“The government is encouraging education firms into decentralized areas such as Phu Nhuan District as they try to combat some of the congestion issues in district one and its immediate surrounds,” said Matthew Duckworth, commercial manager of Knight Frank.

“We are delighted to welcome MBS to Intan building. After several years of preparation it is great to see the efforts we have put into the building has attracted international companies such as MBS,” said Rosidah Aly, director of Haliem Co, the landlord.

“Over the last three years, MBS has doubled its required space, and we are looking forward to this site being our main campus to provide our students with a spacious learning environment with state-of-the-art technology and learning resources,” said Paul Sorensen, principal of MBS.

US businesses speak high of Vietnam market

Catherine Mellor, Director Asia of the US Chamber of Commerce, said Vietnam is a "hot market" that US companies should boost investment and trade activities.

Mellor, speaker of the Vietnam Business Seminar which was held in Baltimore of Maryland state on July 14, assured Vietnam News Agency's US-based reporter of US companies' appreciation of Vietnam, which, she said, is a fast growing country having hard-working, smart working people and the government committed to facilitating trade development with the US.

At the Vietnam Business Seminar, which was sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and attended by about 40 US executives and nearly 30 VCCI member companies, Alexander W. Koff, Chairman of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, LLP., said: "Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia and is quickly becoming the place for American companies to invest."

The US law firm chairman called on U.S. companies to enter Vietnam because " Vietnam has a young, educated population that speaks English. It has a stable political system." He reaffirmed that Vietnam is a "dynamic place". He added that since the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1995, the US has become one of Vietnam 's biggest foreign investors and two-way trade with Vietnam recorded high increases.

Also at the seminar, Bill Burwell, a trade specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce, highlighted Vietnam 's achievements in 2010, including becoming full member of Asia-Pacific Economic Partnership (TPP) negotiations; GDP per capita going from 189 USD in 1993 to 1,113 USD in 2010 and poverty rate falling from 58 percent in 1993 to 10.6 percent in 2010.

According to the specialist, US companies should boost investment and trade activities in Vietnam in various areas, including power generation, telecommunications equipment and services, oil and gas machinery and services, airport ground support equipment, environment and pollution control equipment and services, medical equipment, education and training, architecture and construction and engineering.

The US specialist recommended US companies to do business in Vietnam especially in the coming time as the Department of Commerce has listed Vietnam as one of six next-tier markets under the national export strategy along with Indonesia , South Africa , Saudi Arabica, Turkey and Colombia .

Talking with US and Vietnamese businessmen attending the Vietnam Business Seminar, Vietnam's Ambassador to the U.S. Nguyen Quoc Cuong reaffirmed Vietnam's facilitation of FDI for US investors by continuing to improve the macroeconomic situation, reviewing and adjusting investment and business related policies in order to comply with WTO commitments, and strengthening Vietnam's FDI promotion activities in the US.

Mobile platform launched for HSBC’s credit cardholders

HSBC has launched a mobile platform for its global credit card privileges program, enabling cardholders to access HSBC's Home&Away Privilege Program on their iPhone and other compatible Apple devices.

With the new location-based feature, HSBC credit cardholders can now find all nearby dining, shopping and leisure locations whether they are in their home town or travelling overseas.

Through the "Offers near me" feature on the Home&Away mobile platform, HSBC credit cardholders can also identify all nearby merchant discounts at once via their mobile devices.

The new free online restaurant booking service also enables cardholders to make reservations quickly and efficiently while on the move, and at a time that suits them.

Cardholders can also scroll through the best deals in town by the desired country, card type, merchant category and name to enjoy a hassle-free day out.

The iPhone-friendly Home&Away platform can be accessed directly at www.homeandaway.hsbc.com via the iPhone's Safari browser or via HSBC's mobile banking service.

The Home&Away portal provides HSBC credit cardholders with over 4,000 exclusive privileges from over 19,000 merchant outlets across 160 countries and territories.

Vietnamese business confidence falls on more uncertainties

With more rising economic uncertainties, more Vietnamese private firms became less confident in business prospect in Q2/2011, though confidence rate remains higher than in other regional countries, according to Grant Thornton's (GT) latest survey.

There have been growing worries, from financial availability issues to those of access to a skilled workforce, a fall in the number of orders and the continuing problem of the infrastructure, among Vietnamese enterprises, said Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR).

Those uncertainty factors have dampened business sentiment in Vietnam to 54 percent in the 2nd quarter from its peak of 80 percent in Q1/2011, said the survey.

Despite those worries, Vietnamese firms are still more confident about the future than those in some of the other ASEAN countries, with the Philippines taking the lead (76 percent), followed by Singapore (64 percent), Thailand (48 percent) and Malaysia (16 percent).

The result was found after Grant Thornton had conducted telephone interviews with chief executive officers, managing directors, chairpersons and other senior executives at 2,697 private businesses in 39 economies from May to June.

Of the 39 surveyed economies for overall levels of business optimism, Vietnam’s rank fell from 7th in Q1 to 17th in Q2.

The decline in business confidence was attributed to some internal and external factors, but certain sectors were faring well, the Saigon Times Daily quoted Kenneth Atkinson, managing partner of Grant Thornton Vietnam, as saying.

"Some sectors are still performing well (export) and others are struggling (real estate)," said Atkinson.

"But across the board many businesses are being hurt by high interest rates, tightening credit policy and wage inflation," he added.

Wage inflation is a rising uncertainty factor that has also been found in two recent surveys, "HR strategies during inflation" of Navigos Search and the bi-annual “Salary Survey” of Towers Watson Vietnam.

Navigos Search pointed out that 54 percent of the 116 surveyed companies said they would increase the average salary for staff-level by 11-15 percent, and 62 percent have increased the salary for professional-level by at least 11 percent this year.

Towers Watson Vietnam said companies would provide average salary hikes of 12.8 percent this year.

“As with some other countries, inflation is also a major worry,” said Kenneth Atkinson.

“The government has reacted positively to help the availability and flow of finance plus it is keeping a close watch on the performance of the currency. If their plans are successful we should see inflation under control and a growth in confidence return later in the year,” he said.

Globally, there has been a dramatic quarter-on-quarter decline in levels of business optimism, falling by 3 percent from the previous quarter, with sentiment dipping in the wake of natural disasters, political unrest and economic volatility, including the impact of sovereign debt issues in the eurozone, said the IBR.

Although general level of optimism remained 4 percent higher now than that a year ago, the revival in optimism has stuttered badly in the Q2/2011.

With business owners becoming significantly less confident about the outlook for their countries' economies, the report’s findings raise concerns about the strength of the global economic recovery.

The trend is most acute in Latin America, where optimism fell 15 percent over the last quarter.

Argentina, Brazil and Chile, key economies in the region, saw optimism fall by 30 percent, 24 percent and 10 percent respectively in the second quarter of the year.

The BRIC group of economies fell collectively by 13 percent.

“In global terms the past three months have been challenging and business optimism has been hit hard. Companies are feeling the effects of the unrest in the Middle East and the subsequent volatility in oil and commodity prices, which recently led western nations to release large stocks of oil,” said Ed Nusbaum, CEO of Grant Thornton International.

“In addition, the earthquake and nuclear disaster in Japan caused huge disruption to supply chains,” he said.

“Clearly governments, and international organisations such as the IMF, must demonstrate that they are able to steer the economy and make credible decisions. If businesses are left unconvinced that their leaders can deal with these issues, what is currently a stutter has the potential to become an economic stall,” Ed Nusbaum said.

4 Hanoi firms fined for overdue debts

The Hanoi government has decided to fine 4 firms a total VND292.8 million for being late in repaying the zero-interest loans they received to keep prices down last year.

Of these firms, Food Import-Export Co is subject to the heaviest fine, VND173.8 million, followed by Lan Chi Business Co. (VND57.8 million), Cau Giay Trading Co. (VND52.5 million), and Minh Hien Co Ltd. (VND8.7 milion).

These companies received the loans as part of a price stabilization program that has been run in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for the past two years to help producers of essential items keep prices down in times of inflation.

Jetstar Asia to offer flights between Singapore, HN

Low-cost carrier Jetstar Asia will expand its presence in Vietnam by launching a Singapore-Hanoi route this winter in addition to adding more flights between Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City next month.

The new services were confirmed by Jetstar Asia’s CEO Chong Phit Lian and Jetstar Group’s CEO Bruce Buchanan at their meeting with reporters in Hanoi on Thursday.

The fast-growing airline will offer four weekly flights between Singapore and Hanoi on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays as of December 15 (pending government approval).

It will also add a daily service to the Singapore-HCMC schedule from August 18, bringing the total number of flights on this route to three a day.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) told the Saigon Times Daily about Jetstar Asia’s plan to fly between Singapore and Hanoi last month, but did not clarify the date the carrier would launch this new route.

Buchanan said in a statement that the new services would target customers who are keen to try alternative low fares between Vietnam and Singapore, where they would be able to connect to 28 destinations in Asia Pacific.

Jetstar Asia CEO Chong said the new services would give Asia Pacific passengers better access to the Jetstar network, allowing them to use more services available in Jestar’s rapidly growing Singaporean hub.

Buchanan said the new service would complement and build upon the domestic flights currently offered by Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam.

With new services and increased frequencies, Jetstar will conduct 50 flights per week between Singapore and Vietnam, with almost 10,000 passengers moving between the two countries every week.

In total, the new services represent a 78 percent increase in the airline’s capacity between the two countries and enable the carrier to offer a total of more than 468,000
seats between the two destinations by the end of the year.

Jetstar now offers an all-inclusive one-way economy-class fare from VND770,692 for the Singapore-Hanoi service on Jetstar.com until 11:59 on July 15, 2011 unless seats sell out prior.

This discount air ticket is valid for travel from January 31 until March 6 next year and from March 30 until April 24, 2012.

In addition, Jetstar’s every day all-inclusive, one-way low fares from Hanoi to Singapore start from over VND1.81 million.

Jetstar now flies to more than 56 destinations in 17 countries and territories. Its pan-Asian network extends from Australia through Singapore, to Japan, China, and Vietnam. The airline also operates direct flights from Singapore to Auckland and Melbourne.
 
China imported 100,000 tons of sugar from Vietnam

China has imported 100,000 tons of sugar between August 2010 and mid June 2011 from Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said at a conference on sugar production held Friday in HCMC.

Since China is still fighting with high inflation, analysts said sugar export to China will continue to rise in the coming time.

According to the Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association, there is more than 347,000 tons of sugar on stock.

With the consumption of 100,000 tons a month, this stock is enough to meet domestic demands by the end of October, the association said.

Vietnam Airlines starts using local jet fuel  

Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines took the first delivery of 3,000 cubic meters of jet gasoline from the country’s oil refinery on Sunday under a contract the two sides reached in June.

The PV Oil Alpha ship of Vinapco, the airline’s fuel supply company, took the delivery of Jet A1 fuel at Dung Quat Oil Refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai.
 
The PV Oil Alpha ship takes the delivery of jet fuel at Dung Quat Oil Refinery on July 17, 2011 (Photo: Tuan Minh)

Vietnam Airlines announced June 29 that Dung Quat was its domestic fuel supplier. This move is said to be a way to reduce the carrier’s reliance of fuel import and decrease the country’s import spending.

Dung Quat, Vietnam’s only oil refinery, is capable of supplying 400,000 tons of Jet A1, equal to 35% - 40% of the flag carrier’s current annual demand.

The airline’s fuel supply company Vinapco is set to buy 250,000-300,000 cubic meters of Jet A-1 fuel from Dung Quat a year, according to Vinapco chief executive Tran Huu Phuc.

Vietnam’s Southern Service Flight Company was the first Vietnamese enterprise to use Dung Quat’s Jet A1 fuel. The military’s Oil and Gas Department followed, buying the refinery’s jet gasoline for military flights, according to the Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company, which operates Dung Quat.

US eyes ‘hot' local market

Catherine Mellor, Director Asia of the US Chamber of Commerce, said Viet Nam was a "hot market" that US companies should boost investment and trade activities in.

Mellor, speaking at the Viet Nam Business Seminar which was held in Baltimore last Thursday, assured Viet Nam News Agency's US-based reporter of US companies' appreciation of Viet Nam, which, she said, was a fast growing country with hard-working, intelligent people and Government committed to facilitating trade development with the US.

At the seminar, which was sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and attended by about 40 US executives and nearly 30 VCCI member companies, Alexander W. Koff, Chairman of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, LLP, said: "Viet Nam is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia and is quickly becoming the place for American companies to invest."

The US law firm chairman called on US companies to enter Viet Nam because " Viet Nam has a young, educated population that speaks English. It has a stable political system." He reaffirmed that Viet Nam was a "dynamic place." He added that since the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1995, the US has become one of Viet Nam's biggest foreign investors and two-way trade with Viet Nam recorded high increases.

Also at the seminar, Bill Burwell, a trade specialist at the US Department of Commerce, highlighted Viet Nam's achievements in 2010, including becoming a full member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Partnership (TPP) negotiations; GDP per capita going from US$189 in 1993 to $1,113 in 2010 and a poverty rate that fell from 58 per cent in 1993 to 10.6 per cent in 2010.

According to the specialist, US companies should boost investment and trade activities in Viet Nam in various areas, including power generation, telecommunications equipment and services, oil and gas machinery and services, airport ground support equipment, environment and pollution control equipment and services, medical equipment, education and training, architecture and construction and engineering.

Burwell recommended that US companies should start doing business in Viet Nam soon, especially given the Department of Commerce has listed Viet Nam as one of six next-tier markets under the national export strategy along with Indonesia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Colombia.

Talking with US and Vietnamese businessmen attending the seminar, Viet Nam's Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Cuong reaffirmed Viet Nam's facilitation of FDI for US investors by continuing to improve the macroeconomic situation, reviewing and adjusting investment and business related policies in order to comply with WTO commitments, and strengthening Viet Nam's FDI promotion activities in the US.

No respite to high prices, says ministry

The price of many essential goods is expected to remain high until the end of the year, following a report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade today.

The price of rice would rise slightly due to an increase in Thailand's export rice price while other food prices were at their highest ever due to crop diseases, higher input costs and a boost in exports to China and Cambodia.

However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has predicted the price of livestock products on the domestic market would fall 10 to 15 per cent in August but still remain high.

Milk product and sugar prices would also remain high, with the latter at VND21,000-22,000/kg, the ministry said.

The prices of domestically produced drugs were expected to fluctuate depending on input costs, while imported medicines and raw materials would be subject to import prices.

Fertiliser prices would increase till the end of this year due to rising import costs but the prices of essentials such as animal feed, steel, cement and paper were forecast to remain unchanged.

The cost of retail domestic gas would fall slightly due to the downward trend in the price of imported liquefied gas.

Salt prices would remain stable in northern and central provinces and rise slightly in the Mekong Delta. Salt is up 50 per cent in price on the same period last year, now standing at VND4,000-5,000/kg.

Handicraft, wood industry to meet export target despite hiccups

Despite many difficulties, the handicraft and wood industry has been making efforts to reach the Government's export target of US$4.2 billion for the year.

Speaking at a seminar on the industry in HCM City on July 14, Huynh Van Hanh, deputy chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Association of HCM City (Hawa), said that as much as 70 percent of enterprises involved in the wood processing industry are small, with investment capital of less than VND1 billion.

"They are very vulnerable to changes in macro-economic policies as well as fluctuations in the global economy," he said.

The current high bank loan interest rate and an increase in input costs have caused difficulties for enterprises in the sector, especially for small – and medium-sized ones, he said.

Hanh said the wood industry estimates to need roughly 10 million cubic metres of timber a year, of which domestic production could provide about 4.8-5 million cubic metres.  Thus, roughly 4-5 million cubic metres of timber should be imported to meet the sector's demand.

In the past few months, the cost of imported wood materials has surged 15 percent. Imported chemicals used in wood processing have also gone up by 30-40 percent, he said.

With export prices remaining the same while production costs are increasing, many wood product exporters have decided not to sign new export contracts.

Hanh said the cost of timber will also increase to obtain legal timber sources, under the EU's Forest Law Enforcement and Governance and the US's Lacey Act, which ban the import of any wood products made from illegally harvested timber.

Enterprises would take high risks since they are highly dependent on imported timber and plywood, he said, adding that they need to know clearly about their timber sources.

Vietnam earned more than US$3.4 billion from exporting handicraft, wood and wood products last year.

There are more than 2,500 wood processing firms employing 250,800 workers in the country, located mainly in HCM City and southern Binh Duong, Dong Nai and central Binh Dinh provinces.

Rieker footwear factory built in Quang Ngai

The managing board of Quang Ngai Industrial Zones on July 18 granted an investment license for the Rieker Vietnam Footwear Factory.

This is the biggest foreign invested project worth US$14 million in Quang Ngai so far.

The project will cover an area of 10ha in Tinh Phong IZ in Son Tinh district in August and the first phase of construction will be finished by the end of 2012.

Once completed in 2014, the project will generate 5,000 direct jobs and 2,500 indirect jobs for local people and manufacture 7-8 million pairs of shoes each year, earning around US$15 million in export revenue.

Vietnam’s exports to Africa up 69 percent

It is predicted that African countries will import around 9.8 million tones of rice from Vietnam in 2011.

In the first half of this year, Vietnam exported 900,000 tonnes of rice to Africa, up 55 percent over the same period last year.

Ly Quoc Hung, Head of the Department for Africa, West Asia and South Asia under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said trade turnover between Vietnam and these markets hit US$5.6 billion, an increase of 65 percent over the previous year.

Of that figure, exports reached US$2.8 billion, 69 percent more than last year and double the country’s average export growth.

Exports to the Middle East have sharply increased (87 percent), followed by South Asia (62 percent) and Africa (53 percent).

ASEAN Business Awards honour outstanding regional enterprises

A ceremony was held in Vientiane, Laos on July 16 to present the 2011 ASEAN Business Awards (ABA) for outstanding Lao and Vietnamese individuals and businesses.

The awards honour and encourage the business community to promote ASEAN prosperity and regional economic development, as well as friendship and solidarity within the ASEAN bloc.

The Vietnamese delegation at the event included Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Duc Kien, the Vietnamese ambassador to Laos Ta Minh Chau and more than 300 Vietnamese entrepreneurs.

Politburo member and Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee Bunphon Buttanavon, Minister of Industry and Trade Vinhaket, and 10 prestigious Lao businesspeople represented Laos.

In his speech, Vice NA Chairman Kien said the symbolic awards are a great source of encouragement for businesspeople and entrepreneurs at a time when regional countries are struggling to overcome the global economic crisis and develop highly competitive, effective and sustainable economies.

He also praised outstanding businesses for achieving high productivity and economic efficiency that has contributed significantly to the bloc’s economic development.

In his closing speech, Mr Buttanavon congratulated both Vietnamese and Lao entrepreneurs on winning the prestigious awards and wished them further success in the future.

He said he hopes cooperation between the two countries will be strengthened in to economically benefit businesses and contribute to reducing poverty.

During a visit to the Vietnamese embassy in Laos the same day, the Vietnamese delegation expressed their desire to act as a bridge for Vietnamese businesses so they can expand their investments in Laos.

Ambassador Chau pledged to create the best possible conditions for them to obtain the most accurate information about the Lao market and bring their strength into full play in the country.

The awards ceremony was sponsored by the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia Association for Economic Cooperation Development, in coordination with the Laos Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Culture.

Vietnam-China border trade fair planned for November

The Vietnam-China International Border Trade Fair 2011 will take place November 11-16 in Vietnam’s northern border province of Lao Cai.

The schedule was agreed at a recent meeting between Lao Cai province’s centre for investment, trade and tourism promotion and representatives from He Kou district, in the southern Chinese province, Yunnan.

The five-day fair under the theme “Cooperation and Friendship for Integration and Development” expects to feature 650-700 pavilions, including 200-250 representing Chinese businesses.

This annual event is hosted in turn by Lao Cai and He Kou.

At the 2009 exhibition in Lao Cai, 14 contracts worth US$114 million were signed between Vietnamese and Chinese partners.

Businesses talk investment opportunities in Laos

On July 16, the Vietnamese embassy in Laos hosted a seminar on cooperation and investment opportunities in Laos for more than 200 Vietnamese businesses seeking investment opportunities in the country.

Speaking at the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador Ta Minh Chau said that Laos is a peaceful country and has great potential in many fields, especially economics. He highlighted the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos, adding that the Lao Government always creates favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in the country.

The ambassador noted that many Vietnamese businesses are reaping success in Laos including the Song Da Corporation, Viettel, Lao-Viet Bank, Long Thanh Golf and the Hoang Anh-Gia Lai Group.

During the seminar, Vietnamese delegates expressed their interest in many areas including schools, industry, banking, services, cotton, rubber,, coffee and other agricultural products.

The delegates also asked the embassy and concerned agencies to provide Vietnamese businesses with information on the legal requirements of both countries to facilitate their investment in Laos.

Singapore businesses want to invest in Da Nang

Singapore businesses wish to make long-term invest in the central city of Da Nang in the coming time.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) Chua Taik Him expressed the desire at a recent meeting with leaders of Da Nang People’s Committee.

Chua Taik Him hoped that the Singapore Cruise Centre and the Da Nang port will discuss and agree solutions to difficulties in the cooperative project for building a terminal for tourism ships in the Tien Sa Port in the locality.

He highly valued the city’s leaders’ proposal to establish a Singapore industrial park in the city, based on existing infrastructure of Da Nang Hi-tech Zone, which has been zoned off on an area of 1,200 ha.

He expected the park will be carried out as soon as possible.

US group equips wind power plant in Mekong Delta

US-based General Electric (GE) has gained a contract with a local partner to provide equipment for a wind power plant in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu .

Under the contract, GE will provide the Cong Ly Trade and Tourism Co., Ltd, the developer of the project, with 10 wind turbines and assist in the maintenance services for the first phase of the Bac Lieu Wind Power Plant with a total capacity of 16 MW.

The GE wind turbines selected for the project feature an 82.5 metre rotor for class III wind conditions. The 1.6-82.5 turbine builds on the success and global experience of GE’s 1.5MW wind turbine, the industry’s most widely deployed megawatt-class machine with more than 16,000 installed worldwide.

The two sides plan to increase the plant’s capacity by 120 MW in the second phase.

Covering a coastal area of 500 ha in Vunh Trach Dong village, Bac Lieu town, the project will be built at a cost of 5 trillion VND (263 million USD)./.

PetroVietnam unit inks EPC contract

The Viet Nam Gas Corporation (PV Gas) signed a deal worth US$441.57 million to engineer, procure for and construct a gas processing plant in Ho Chi Minh City last Saturday.

The plant will be built close to another gas processing plant in the oil-rich southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. It will feed two major residential quarters in HCM City and an industrial zone in neighbouring Dong Nai province.

Vu Van Thuan, general director of the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Construction and Assembly Joint Stock Co (PVX), said the project was an important part in the Nam Con Son gas pipeline project No 2.

The plant, with a design capacity of 20 million cu. m per day and night, will receive natural gas from the Nam Con Son basin within Viet Nam 's southern continental shelf through an off-shore pipeline. It will also produce condensate, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ethanol. Condensate will be transported to the Phu My distribution station in HCM City through an onshore pipeline.

Along with the plant, contractors, including the Oil and Gas Metal Structuring and Assembly Joint-stock Company, will also build pipeline systems to carry LPG, condensate and ethanol.

The project is expected to help pump between 1.5 billion cu. m of natural gas annually from the Nam Con Son basin by 2013. The figures are likely to reach 2.8 billion cu. m by 2014 and 3.09 billion cu. m by 2017 till 2024.

Experts put the Nam Con Son reserves at some 590 million cu. m of oil equivalent.

Real estate body must build sector
 
The Viet Nam Real Estate Association (VNREA) should expand its role in developing the domestic real estate market, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

VNREA's third congress held in Ha Noi on Saturday revealed the real estate market now had a surplus in some areas and deficiency in others. While many condominium projects had been unmarketable, a huge number of people could not afford to stay in their own apartments or houses, said Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam, VNREA chairman.

"Viet Nam's real estate market is still young so certain structures are imbalanced and the financial system for property development is imperfect," Nam said. The market has suffered from the banks' tightened monetary policies that made it more difficult for people to get loans.

To overcome the challenges, deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said in coming time the association should consolidate to work more efficiently, contribute more ideas to state management agencies at central and local levels, increase international co-operation, and attract high-quality staff and foreign investment.

The association should develop apartments and houses for lease that meet the real demand of the majority of renters, who have difficulty security their living arrangements, Hai said.

"The government should have policies to support enterprises that develop rental housing," Hai said.

"In coming time, if the property market increases the supply of housing, of course the market would have more customer choice," said Tong Van Nga, VNREA's deputy chairman said.

"In the past, the real estate market was stocked with luxury apartments while the mid-price apartments, which were in high demand, had low supply. In the future, real estate businesses should adjust their business strategy to focus on the real needs," Nga said.

Construction minister Nguyen Hong Quan said at the association congress on Saturday that the association should represent the national real estate businesses. They would facilitate the close co-operation with state management offices in building development policies for the domestic property market.

Quan believes that the association can overcome the current challenges in development and create products with infrastructure synchronous with the housing demands of the people.

The Association of Real Estate Viet Nam was launched in 2002 and is a social organisation for groups and individuals operating in the real estate sector and other property related sectors.

Over the past nine years, the association has increased its members from 70 in 2002 to over 1,200 in Ha Noi, HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Can Tho and Hai Phong.

During the congress on Saturday, delegates elected the deputy minister of construction Nguyen Tran Nam to continue as chairman of the Association of Real Estate Viet Nam for the next five years.  

Ha Noi to build more low-income housing

Ha Noi People's Committee has approved 11 social housing projects that are expected to result in more than 11,710 houses for around 39,640 low-income earners in the city.

Deputy director of the Ha Noi Department of Construction, Nguyen Quoc Tuan, announced the decision at a conference on housing management for low-income people, students and workers from industrial zones in the city held last Saturday in Ha Noi.

One project in Ngo Thi Nham Residential Area in Ha Dong District has already been completed and 328 apartments have been put into use.

Four projects are under construction in Ha Dong, Long Bien and Gia Lam districts, and when finished will add a further 3,298 homes.

The remaining six projects totalling 8,316 apartments were in the process of completing investment procedures, and construction would begin in the near future, Tuan said.

At the meeting, Nguyen Van Khoi, Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee, urged the department to survey the housing demands of these groups of people and work with relevant authorities to invest the city's land fund wisely.

Initial figures from Ha Noi Statistics Office showed that there were about 355,260 cadres and civil servants in the city, the highest number in the country. Since 2006, the city has developed 206 locations with an area of over 596 ha to build houses for this target group.

Prime Minister Dung urges further fossil fuel exploration
 
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has proposed that PetroVietnam and Vietsovpetro expand their exploration to increase oil and gas reserves, to ensure energy security, promote exports and increase State budget income.

PM Dung made the proposal at the celebration of the 30 th anniversary of the agreement signing between Viet Nam and the former Soviet Union on the establishment of Vietsovpetro, an oil and gas joint-venture enterprise, 25 years after extracting the first tonne of oil in Viet Nam's continental shelf.

During 30 years of implementation of the 1981 Inter-Governmental Agreement and the Viet Nam-Soviet Union and Viet Nam-Russia Agreements on oil and gas joint-venture, the staff of Viet Nam's oil and gas sector, with Soviet Union and Russian colleagues, developed Vietsovpetro into a leading oil and gas industry.

Vietsovpetro, which now employs almost 7,000 people, nearly 180 of whom are MAs and PhD degree holders, helped open a new development period for Viet Nam's oil and gas sector.

The joint-venture was the focus of inventions and applications of the latest technologies and human resource training.

Since the first tonne of crude oil was extracted in 1986, the joint-venture has tapped more than 193 million tonnes of crude oil and more than 23 billion cubic metres of associated gas. Such important contributions ensure the nation's energy security, while the large number of exports increases income for Viet Nam and Russia's State budgets.

With 30 years of oil and gas exploration, production and scientific research at sea and on the continental shelf, Vietsovpetro, made important contributions to affirming, preserving and defending Viet Nam's sacred sovereignty over the East Sea.

Dung commended Russian friends, particularly former Soviet Union and Russian oil senior cadres, scientists and experts, for their contributions to building and developing Vietsovpetro and the nation's oil and gas sector.

He suggested PetroVietnam and Vietsovpetro prioritise exploration activities in offshore areas of Vietnam 's continental shelf, and actively seek opportunities to open operational areas in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and other countries.

Also yesterday Dung had a working session with senior leaders from the south-eastern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to review the province's socio-economic performance and plan for the second half of the year.

He was full of praise for achievements gained by the provincial Party Committee, administration and people, noting efforts to curb inflation, stabilise the macro economy and ensure social security.

He cautioned the province about difficulties and challenges that it may face in the second half of 2011, particularly high inflation and an unstable macro economy.

Dung asked the province to enhance its comparative advantages in oil and gas production, tourism, port services and other sectors to surpass the 2011 socio-economic targets set out by the provincial Party Congress.

He also asked the provincial leadership to seek all measures to stabilise the prices of essential commodities and to avoid goods speculation.

He said economic development must go hand in hand with work on solving social issues, health care, poverty reduction, social security and environmental protection.

He asked the province to pay more attention to development of human resources, particularly high quality human resources – a very important factor in the country's industrialisation and modernisation as well as development of rural areas.

Nguyen Tuan Minh, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said that during the first six months of 2011, the province was able to save VND76 billion (US$3.7 million) from its recurrent spending and VND55 billion ($ 2.7 million) from asset procurement using State capital.

In the period under review, the province generated more than 17,000 new jobs and more than 7,000 poor households were given access to credit to improve their livelihoods.

"In the past six months, Ba Ria-Vung Tau's economic growth increased by nearly 12 per cent while the value of industrial production increased by 14 per cent and services by almost 33 per cent," Minh said, adding "export revenue – excluding oil and gas, was nearly $670 million, an increase of 30 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Earlier, PM Dung visited the construction site where workers and engineers are building Viet Nam's first self-lifting oil platform, one of the country's key projects.

Scientific, technological research called crucial to HCM City's growth
 
Scientific and technological research and application would be the impetus for the development of HCM City if hindrances for their development are removed, a senior Government official has said.

Addressing a meeting with the HCM City People's Committee yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan praised the significant contributions scientists and experts in HCM City had made to the country's socio-economic development.

HCM City, one of the country's two scientific and technological hubs, still had great potential for scientific and technological research and application, said Nhan.

To better contribute to the country's development, the city's Department of Science and Technology must be responsible for scientific and technological targets and goals that would be carried out and conducted by relevant agencies, he stressed.

He asked the city authority to provide sufficient investment for scientific and technological works.

Nhan welcomed the HCM City Health Department's decision to establish its Scientific and Technology Division.

He also asked the city to bring its scientific and technological trading floor into operation as soon as possible.

Phan Minh Tam, director of HCM City's Department of Science and Technology, said activities in this sector had not matched the development of a city with a population of over 8 million.

He noted that forecasts for demand of the hi-tech labour force remained inadequate and that the city authority needed to pay greater attention to the development of hi-tech resources.

Tam also warned of a shortage of senior experts in biological and nano-technologies, and IC (integrated circuit) and automation industries.

According to the HCM City Department of Science and Technology, 193 scientific and technological organisations, including 38 State agencies, have registered for operations in HCM City with total capital of VND616 billion (US$30 million).

The city authority receives from 50 to 100 registrations for patents and solutions annually, and only 20 per cent of these registrations were accepted.

Between 2006 and 2010, results of 168 research works were applied in the city. They were applied into areas such as software industry, and biological, pharmaceutical, agricultural, electronic, IT and new material development technologies.

In the past five years, the city provided VND305 billion ($14.8 million) for scientific and technological research works.

In 2010, each district received an investment of VND100 million ($4,800) for scientific and technological research works.

HCM City prioritises funding to boost sustainable development

HCM City authorities have decided to not give priority to funding projects that do not result in sustainable development, Nguyen Thanh Tai, deputy chairman of the People's Committee of HCM City, said.

This decision would ensure that necessary infrastructure is available for economic development and investment attraction as the government tightens public investment.

The city would give priority to roads, parking, anti-pollution, public health and education projects, Tai added at a meeting of the HCM City People's Council on July 13-14.

In addition, it will use Official Development Assistance funds for metro routes, railways, overhead highways, and drainage and flood-prevention programmes.

Tai said the city was focusing on carrying out metro line No 1 financed by the Japan Bank for International Co-operation's ODA; metro line No 2 and No 3 funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and German bank KfW; and metro line No 5 pledged to provide EUR833 million in ODA by Spain.

In addition, it will continue key traffic construction projects, including provincial road 10B; provincial road 10 from Long An Province to Tan Tao Bridge; upgrade of the north and south banks of Nhieu LocThi Nghe Canal; upgrade of Go Dua Intersection, Phu Long Bridge and Rach Tra Bridge; and upgrade of Nguyen Thi Thap Street, using budget funds, ODA, or investment capital under BT (Build-Transfer) or BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) forms.

The city would implement measures to ensure progress on projects in an aim to cut expenditures, minimise waste and improve residents' lives, Tai said.