Đà Nẵng, Japan to co-operate in seafood production, sewage treatment

The central city of Da nang, in co-operation with the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA), will start building a seafood value chain in the city with a fund of 60 million Japanese yen (around VNĐ11 billion or US$528,000).

The city’s secretariat said the project, which will be implemented through Kushiro City’s Commercial and Industry Chamber, aims to support Đà Nẵng in personnel training for the improvement in hygiene and quality control of fish processing, distribution, and promotion of seafood from Kushiro City.

The project will also help the city reduce odors at the Thọ Quang fishing port in Sơn Trà District.

As scheduled, experts from Kushiro City will help Đà Nẵng improve their seafood product to supply Japanese restaurants in the city, as well as boosting promotion programmes in Kushiro, Japan. 

The central city, which has 15,000sq.km of fishing grounds, has a fleet of 2,300 fishing boats, of which 699 are deep-sea trawlers.

Seafood exports from the city earned $113 million in 2016.

JICA has helped Đà Nẵng develop key infrastructure projects and environment improvement, including biomass liquid fertilizer from human waste for improving urban sanitation and training nurses in elderly care.

This year, Đà Nẵng and JICA will start construction of an upgraded and expanded sewage treatment stations in Sơn Trà and Phú Lộc, as well as drainage systems.

The two six-year projects will cost VNĐ3.38 trillion (US$150 million), of which 85 per cent is being provided by the Japanese Government and VNĐ467 billion by the city.

KiuPlatform released in Vietnam

The KiuPlatform, which consists of the Kiu Marketplace, Kiu EPR and Kiu Shipping and allows overseas buyers to source goods from Vietnamese suppliers via an easy-to-use e-commerce platform, will create jobs in Vietnam and Cambodia, Mr. Dominic Mellor, Senior Economist at the Asian Development Bank and head of the Mekong Business Initiative (MBI) said at the launch of the platform on February 21 in Hanoi.

The Kiu Marketplace was designed for consumers and wholesale importers to source from reliable and trustworthy suppliers of baby clothing, home decor, arts and crafts, and school supplies in the Mekong Region, which at this stage includes Cambodia and Vietnam. It protects overseas buyers by visiting and validating every supplier face-to-face, which differentiates it from other platforms on the market.

Kiu ERP provides small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Mekong Region with tools for managing their business, including accounting, tax and inventory management. It complies with both international and regional accounting standards and has been updated to reflect recent changes to Vietnamese standards.

Kiu Shipping, meanwhile, offers easy tools for buyers to estimate and arrange international shipping from the Mekong Region via a variety of methods.

“SMEs in Southeast Asia struggle to access global markets and buyers,” said Mr. Steve Landman, CEO of Kiu. “Kiu was developed to fill that void, giving aspiring exporters the tools and marketing they need and want to sell across borders.”

The KiuPlatform arose from an MBI analysis of the factors constraining private sector development. MBI observed that SMEs struggle to access international markets and participate in international value chains. It subsequently convened industry experts and entrepreneurs, including Kiu, to develop commercial solutions to the problem.

Kiu is a trusted e-commerce global trading platform. With a business model built on validating and sourcing trusted and reliable suppliers, the company produces and sources high-quality products that customers want at the best prices. It is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices around the globe.

Solutions to expand the coffee market

Vietnam has striven to increase by 25%-30% of the rate of its soluble, roasted and processed coffee exports earning a total turnover of from US$3.8 billion to US$4.2 billion by 2020. In order to achieve this target, it is necessary to set out market strategies on the principle of producing things the market needs and giving priority to shifting high added value product structures.

According to the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA), Vietnam has exported its coffee to more than 80 countries and territories around the world, accounting for 14% of world market share and becoming the second-largest coffee exporter in the world, following only Brazil.

In particular, the expansion of roasted, husked and soluble coffee has initially yielded encouraging results. Vietnam currently stand fifth in the world in exporting soluble coffee, following Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and India, accounting for 9.1% of world’s market share, opening up prospects for the country’s coffee industry as Vietnam deeply penetrates into international markets through free trade agreements.

Although the Vietnamese coffee industry has rapidly developed in both area and output in recent years, big foreign brands with strong financial resources hold the majority of assets in the market. This situation is due to weakness and inadequacies in corporate governance and international trade in the Vietnamese coffee industry.

Doan Xuan Hoa of the VICOFA says that currently, Vietnam has 150 exporting enterprises and more than 3,000 dealers purchasing coffee, including 13 with foreign direct investment (FDI). However, only one third of these enterprises have green coffee processing plants for export. In addition, 90% of domestic businesses and 100% of FDI enterprises buy green coffee from traders and purchasing agents to export, so the quality of exported coffee was not high; while the lack of connection in negotiations on price caused artificially low rice prices and export dumping.

Most Vietnamese export enterprises sell their goods via wholesales and foreign businesses because they cannot directly access coffee roasters around the world; while the foreign language and international commercial transactions skills of employees working on coffee consumption and exports in Vietnamese enterprises are still weak.

Many other factors have constrained the development of Vietnam’s coffee exports, including weak commercial infrastructure, slow formation of trading and auction floors and passive information and analysis systems of market prices.

According to Doan Xuan Hoa, in order to increase the added value of Vietnamese coffee products, in addition to investment on technological innovation and the significant improvement of the processing phase, it is highly essential to build a product strategy, under the principle of producing according to the market’s demand, giving priority to shifting the structure of products in the high added value segment.

Accordingly, enterprises need to examine the market’s demand in all three dimensions: market share, tastes and prices, to properly orient products, as well as determine the proportion of processing the appropriate products (percent of primary products and percent of refined products), in order to develop a marketing strategy matching the potential capacity of enterprises.

The promotion of the consumption of domestic products is a very important task, propping up exports. Currently, the consumption of processed coffee products in the country is still low (under 10%); so it is necessary to bring consumption to 30% in 2030. In order to achieve the target, the implementation of the “Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods” campaign as well as the encouragement of using coffee in association with the health of consumers need to be enhanced. In addition, relevant agencies should create favourable conditions, particularly in infrastructure and administrative procedures, to support businesses processing soluble, roasted and husked coffee, to gradually establish a processing and consumption network in the country. Managers also need to focus on improving the efficiency of trade promotion through exhibitions, fairs and activities promoting high-quality coffee and diverse products.

Regarding export markets, relevant agencies and enterprises need to research, analyse and forcast the demand and trends of consumption as well as market volatility to build development strategies to gradually increase exports of soluble and roasted coffee while decreasing exports of green coffee, striving to attain an export turnover of US$3.8 billion–US$4.2 billion by 2020 and US$5 billion–US$6 billion by 2030. In order to achieve the target, it is essential to prioritise using funds from the national trade promotion programme to support coffee export enterprises promote their products to markets that require high quality, including the US, the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Australia, as well as to access major distributors and supermarkets.

Relevant agencies should support enterprises building their brands through training activities related to formatting products and methods to build and promote their brands. The diversification of markets, particularly developing potential and niche markets, will contribute to creating conditions favourable to the consumption of high-added-value products. In addition, managers need to actively develop appropriate trade defense measures to deal with disputes and technical barriers to quality and protectionist tariffs on processed products, helping Vietnamese coffee deeply penetrate into international markets.

Steel scrap imports hit record high in 2016

The latest trade statistics released by the Vietnam Ministry of Finance indicate there was a marginal month-on-month decline in scrap imports by the country during December of 2016.

However, steel scrap imports surged higher by 22.4% for 2016 totalling 3.90 million tons, up significantly year-on-year from the 3.19 million tons imported in 2015, even surpassing the previous annual record highs of 3.38 million tons recorded in 2014.

Monthly imports of steel scrap averaged right at 325,000 tons during 2016.

The value of imports for the year jumped nearly 8% from US$808.23 million in 2015 to US$872.08 million in 2016 with the average import price for the year up marginally by .80% at US$223.60 per ton.

The trade data published by the Vietnam Ministry of Finance indicates the country’s steel scrap imports spiked higher significantly during the month of November last year.

The country’s ferrous scrap imports totalled 411,424 tons in November 2016, surging higher by 9.6% from the previous month. The country’s scrap imports had totalled 375,387 tons in October last year.

The value of steel imports for the month increased 8.5% to US$96.45 million. The cost of imports averaged at US$234.40 per ton during the month having declined marginally by 1% against the previous month.

The cumulative scrap imports by the country totalled 3.53 million tons during the initial eleven months of 2016. The imports were up sharply by 20.8% when matched with the imports during the corresponding period in 2015. Vietnam had imported only 2.92 million tons of scrap during Jan-Nov 2015.

A projected surge in steel output by the country’s steelmakers may lead to increased intake of scrap, which in turn may further boost the level of scrap imports during 2017.

According to the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country’s crude steel and rolled steel output is expected to increase to 5.5 million tons and 5.8 million tons respectively.

This implies a 16.6% year-on-year rise in crude steel production and 18% jump in rolled steel production. The combined output is expected to fully meet the domestic demand for 2017.

Contrarily, the Vietnam Steel Association expects the steel output in 2017 to grow at a much slower pace than 2016. The growth rate is expected to drop from 16.8% in 2016 to 12% in 2017, it said.

The total steel output is expected to grow from 17.5 million tons in 2015 to 19.6 million tons this year.

The country’s largest import market for scrap steel is China, which accounts for a 59% market share followed by Japan and the Republic of Korea with significantly lesser market shares.

The country’s steelmakers recycle the scrap steel to produce products such as cold rolled and coated steel products used in a variety of construction and other industries around the globe.

Italian cosmetic firm to increase investment in Vietnam

Cosmoproject, an Italian cosmetics brand, plans to expand its investment and sales network in Vietnam.

The statement was made by Cosmoproject Director Primo Tortini at a recent working session with Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thien at the company’s headquarters in Parma city, Italy.

Ambassador Thien briefed the director on Vietnam’s economic development and latest incentives for foreign investors, highlighting investment potential for Italian firms with relations between Vietnam and Italy improving, particularly since the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2013.

For his part, Primo Tortini said he visited Vietnam in 2014 and saw Vietnam as a potential market for Cosmoproject. The company started selling products in Vietnam in spa salons and trade centres via exclusive distributor. The company launched a showroom in Savico trade centre in Hanoi, and plans to open another in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam’s economy is growing fast, yet steadily, he said, underlining the expansion of the consumption market thanks to the increasing spending power of Vietnamese people and the middle-class population.

Cosmoproject wants to expand its sales network in Vietnam as well as other Southeast Asian nations, he said, adding that the company plans to build a factory in Vietnam.

Cosmoproject, established in 1993, employs 193 people and produces 30 million products per year, including perfume, skin-care, make-up products, and health care equipment. In 2015, the company earned 27.8 million EUR in revenue.

ADB, SHB strike deal to provide trade loans in Vietnam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Sai Gon - Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) on Tuesday signed a Revolving Credit Agreement (RCA). Under the agreement ADB’s Trade Finance Program (TFP) will provide a USD20 million direct loan to SHB to support pre-shipment and post-shipment trade transactions.

The revolving credit facility will enhance SHB’s capacity to provide trade-related loans to its clients, including for pre-export finance of agriculture products, garments, and electronics for export to markets such as the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and Singapore.

“We are pleased to work with SHB to increase support to companies, including small- and medium-sized businesses. More support for trade means more economic growth and more job creation,” said Eric Sidgwick, ADB Country Director for Vietnam.

SHB became a partner bank in ADB’s TFP in early 2016. In less than 12 months, TFP has supported a total of 25 SHB transactions worth over $160 million. The revolving credit facility is TFP’s second agreement with SHB.

SHB is one of the largest commercial banks in Vietnam with total assets of more than 215,000 billion dong; about 7,000 employees; and an extensive network of nearly 500 outlets in Vietnam, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Cambodia. SHB serves nearly 4 million individual customers and businesses.

“Participating in TFP under RCA helps diversify our trade finance products and services. We strongly believe that the partnership with ADB in this program will lead to more future opportunities of cooperation between the two institutions," said SHB CEO Nguyen Van Le.

The TFP has been operating in Vietnam since 2009 and currently works with 11 local partner banks. To date, the program has conducted 5,262 transactions, supporting USD7.8 billion in trade in Vietnam—mostly benefitting small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The ADB TFP, backed by ADB's AAA credit rating, provides guarantees and loans to over 200 partner banks to support trade, enabling more companies throughout Asia to engage in import and export activities. With dedicated trade finance specialists and a 24-hour response time, the program has established itself as a key partner in the international trade community, providing fast, reliable, and responsive support to fill gaps in the region’s most challenging markets.

TFP complements its financial support with a regular series of workshops and seminars to increase knowledge and expertise in trade finance products and operations, risk management, and fraud prevention.

Since 2009, TFP has supported more than 9,200 small and medium-sized businesses across developing Asia—through over 13,000 transactions valued at over $25.5 billion—in sectors ranging from commodities and capital goods, to medical supplies and consumer goods.

Tetra Pak’s local base will back-end constant growth

The global processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak has received an investment certificate to build a US$124 million paper-board carton factory in the southern province of Binh Duong.

This factory, according to Robert Graves, managing director of Tetra Pak Vietnam, is state-of-the-art and expected to start commercial operations by the second quarter of 2019.

“With a rapid growth in food and beverage manufacturing, we saw that it was high time for Tetra Pak to set up our first factory here in Vietnam,” Graves told VIR.

Graves’ analysis showed rapid consumption growth and increasing customer needs in the Asia-Pacific region and Vietnam in particular, which was a main factor in Tetra Pak’s decision to set up this factory.

“After more than 20 years of doing business in Vietnam, we have had the honour to work with many liquid and solid product manufacturers who have successfully operated in Vietnam using our packaging products. We have decided to set up our first factory in Vietnam – the fourth in the region after three previous ones in India, Japan, and Singapore,” he said.

The investment is prompted by increasing consumption volumes, with the 2016 total packed liquid dairy and fruit-based beverages intake at 70 billion litres across ASEAN, South Asia, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, according to Tetra Pak’s report.

Additionally, over the next three years, these markets are likely to grow at a healthy 5.6% per annum, with products packed in Tetra Pak cartons projected to grow at a much faster rate compared to other packaging forms such as bottles and cans.

Situated in Binh Duong, approximately 30 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City – the country’s economic hub – the plant will be ideally positioned to meet the demand for packaging materials for food and beverage manufacturers in Vietnam, other ASEAN countries, Australia, and New Zealand.

“For manufacturers based in Vietnam, the new factory will bring a host of unprecedented benefits, such as consistent supply, reduced lead time, efficiency, and flexibility,” said Graves.

Graves confirmed that the factory will have an expandable production capacity of approximately 20 billion packs per annum, across a variety of packaging formats, including the popular Tetra Brik Aseptic and Tetra Fino Aseptic.

“The new factory reflects Tetra Pak’s confidence in the local economy, and will cater to a rise in domestic consumption for healthy, ready-to-drink beverages among the country’s growing middle-class,” added Graves.

In Vietnam, the dairy category – the country’s biggest category and a core business for Tetra Pak – is projected to grow steadily, with per capita consumption potentially doubling to 28 litres by 2020 from 15 litres in 2010.

Tetra Pak estimates that the country consume a total of 3.3 billion litres of packed liquid dairy and fruit-based beverages in 2016. It foresees an average growth of 6.5% per annum during the 2016-2019 period.

Affordable cars a wild dream for Vietnamese buyers

High import duties on foreign cars and unfavorable policies on the domestic auto industry are leaving few affordable options for car buyers in Vietnam.

A Hyundai i10 sedan imported from India arrives in Vietnam at the average price of only VND84 million (US$3,750), according to Hyundai-Thanh Cong, the authorized dealer of the Republic of Korean carmaker in Vietnam.

The five-door hatchback is among the best-selling Hyundai models in Vietnam, with Hyundai-Thanh Cong sales topping 20,000 units in 2016, a company representative told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

However, despite the car’s cheap import price, its retail price may be as high as VND350 million - 450 million (US$15,625-US$20,090) due to an import tax of 70 percent and other duties and expenses that added to the cost, the representative said.

While taxes imposed on foreign cars are high, the domestic auto industry has been slow to seize the opportunity to gain a foothold in the affordable car market segment.

In fact, the leader of Vinaxuki, once considered a giant in Vietnam’s auto industry, has at one time unveiled his vision to manufacture affordable cars for the Vietnamese people.

The ambitious leader invested in a costly manufacturing complex and hired Japanese experts to take care of the designs, but his risky venture soon plunged into unrecoverable losses that led to the closing of the factory and a huge debt on his part.

Some experts have attributed Vinaxuki’s failure to the fact that the condition in Vietnam is only suitable for car assembly rather than manufacturing from scratch.

One official at the Industrial Policy and Strategy Institute under Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has acknowledged that “the safest path for [domestic] auto companies now is to import from foreign manufacturing countries”.

Earlier this week, the chief representative of the Ho Chi Minh City office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) said that Japanese carmakers might leave Vietnam for other regional markets to improve profit, citing Vietnam’s unsatisfying production capacity compared to its regional peers such as Thailand and Indonesia.

In 2016, Vietnam produced around 400,000 cars, while its neighbors Thailand and Indonesia made 2.3 million and 1.5 million cars, respectively, according to EU-ASEAN Business Council.

Thailand is expected to reach a yearly production of 3.4 million cars in 2023, while the Philippines and Malaysia is forecast to emerge with 800,000 and 700,000 cars respectively by that year.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s car production is forecast to drop to 300,000 cars in 2020 before bouncing to 500,000 in 2023, according to the same source.

According to a representative of Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota, which has assembly lines in Vietnam, production numbers of its Vietnam factory is relatively low while the costs to source locally produced components are even higher than to have them imported.

Meanwhile, the trend of companies opting to import cars instead of having them manufactured or assembled in Vietnam is putting government policies on the auto industry under the question.

According to an official at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, there was a sudden high demand for multipurpose SUVs in Vietnam during the 2008-09 period.

But instead of introducing favorable taxes to encourage domestic production, Vietnam’s policymakers at the time decided to raise taxes on the industry, causing foreign brands to relocate their factories to Indonesia.

“Up until now, the Vietnamese government says it is doing its best to facilitate cars production but has yet to introduce any concrete policy on the issue,” the official said.

There will be an estimated 33 million people belonging to the middle class in Vietnam in 2020, according to Dr. Le Anh Tuan, head of the research unit at Dragon Capital asset management foundation.

The expansion of Vietnam’s middle class is expected to improve the country’s cars consumption in the years to come, provided that local policies are relaxed to allow for the growth of affordable auto production.

Saigon youths run in-style homestay business in Da Lat

Many youths have given up their job in Ho Chi Minh City to build a new home in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat and accommodate tourists with their homestay service.

The homestay facilities, uniquely tailored to the personal taste of their owners, offer affordable bunk bed rooms, late night cooking or barbecuing in shared kitchens, and opportunities to make new friends that are not found at regular hotels.

Their owners have found beauty and peace in the picturesque scenes of Da Lat, dubbed the ‘city of a thousand flowers’ thanks to its year-round spring-like climate, which allows a wide range of flowers to flourish.

The homestay facility named ‘Doi Mot Nguoi’ (Waiting for A Person) by gen-Y trio Diem, Thuan, and Lang is located at the end of a winding, uphill road in Ward 10, Da Lat.

The small, shabby brick house may come off as a disappointment to some at first sight, but its breathtaking interior design and the vibe it gives off get more memorable the longer one stays.

The house overlooks a valley of coffee farms, palm woods and rose gardens, with one side built entirely of glass to allow the first light of day to flow inside and entertain guests’ eyes.

Small as it is, the house has one double room, a bunk bed room in the attic, a small kitchen and a long dining table where all guests may share travel stories over dinner.

Just outside the kitchen is a small terrace with wooden chairs and a long bench where visitors may sit and enjoy the beauty of the valley below.

The house owners are fresh graduates from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture who had decided to open a homestay business in Da Lat together after their graduation and call it home.

“We have been drawn by the beauty of the winding, uphill alleys of Da Lat since our travel trips in our student years, so after graduation we came back, determined to find such a place to build our new home,” Thuan, one of the house owners, said.

The trio spent two months refurbishing a shaggy cabin they had rented into the current belvedere, designing and crafting most items in the house by themselves.

According to his friend and co-owner Lang, their homestay has been a household name among backpackers visiting the Central Highlands city since its opening.

“We receive up to 300 reservation calls a day during peak times, but we can only accommodate one percent of those,” Land said.

‘Dalat80s. Nha Minh’ is a more ambitious dream by Son, Quyen, and Thuy, who invested nearly VND700 million (US$31,250) to transform a four-story regular house into a homestay facility with eight medium-sized rooms.

Their idea for the homestay came like a flash during a coffee meetup among the three friends, upon which they wasted no time to search for the perfect location “on a tranquil hill of Da Lat,” said Le Thi Thanh Thuy, one of the house owners.

They scavenged through all the markets in Ho Chi Minh City for old furniture, resolved to resurrect the image of Da Lat in the 1980s with a touch of European architecture at their homestay.

Thuy said the three had spent all their savings on the house, but to them it was not only an ambitious venture but also a place where they are free to live the life they had always dreamt about and do what they love.

It was the strong connection among the house owners that had created a home-like atmosphere for visitors, most of whom are also groups of young friends looking to create memories in the dreamy city.

Petrol prices increase first time in 2017

The ministries of industry and trade and finance have raised retail petrol prices for the first time in 2017.

According to the latest decision by the two ministries, the retail price of RON 92 petrol increased by 504 VND to trade at a maximum of 18,098 VND (80 US cents) per litre.

The prices of E5 bio-fuel rose by 496 VND to trade at 17,818 VND per litre; 0.05S diesel was traded at the maximum price of 14,305 VND per litre; and kerosene was traded at maximum 12,758 VND per litre.

The new prices came into effect at 3pm on February 18.

The two ministries also decided to reduce the use of the petrol price stabilisation fund for RON92 petrol and E5 bio-fuel. Accordingly, subsidies for RON92 petrol and E5 bio-fuel were set at 300 VND each per litre, a decrease of 269 VND per litre and 277 VND per litre, respectively.

According to the ministries, retail petrol prices were increased because the average global petrol prices in the 15 days prior to February 18 was about 68 USD for each RON92 barrel and about 66 USD for each 0.05S diesel barrel, an increase of 1 USD from the last adjustment.

This was also the first time this year that retail petrol prices were increased after they had remained unchanged after three revisions.

Last year, petrol retail prices were adjusted 24 times, increasing 13 times by a total 6,000 VND per litre, decreasing nine times by a total of 4,463 VND per litre and remaining unchanged twice. The price of petrol this year is 1,000 VND higher than the beginning of last year.

Devise long-term growth plans, PM tells Nghe An firms     

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on February 19 advised businesses in Nghe An to devise long-term strategies that utilise the many advantages enjoyed by the central province.

He was speaking at the province’s annual Spring Festival sponsored by the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV).

The province is the birthplace of late President Ho Chi Minh, is located on a strategic transportation junction as the centre of the north-central region and the north-south and east-west exchange route, has road, railway, aviation, seaway and inland waterway links and serves as a gateway to the East Sea from central Laos and northeast Thailand via the Thanh Thuy border gate.

Nghe An is also endowed with vast land and abundant human resources, including more and more intellectuals and engineers returning home to do business. It has built eco-friendly projects and made infrastructure breakthroughs to serve socio-economic development.

The Prime Minister suggested that the province prepares a master plan for sustainable development of industry, agriculture and infrastructure, boost connectivity with the south of central Thanh Hoa Province and the north of central Ha Tinh Province and accelerate administrative reforms.

The province should also protect and effectively tap natural resources, ensure public involvement in science, education and healthcare sectors and attract investment in high value-added products and services, he said.

Social security and safety must be ensured, especially in mountainous areas, he said.

"While the Government is determined to develop the economy, the living environment will not be traded for such growth. The Government is also resolved to having a transparent, constructive, action-oriented cabinet that will protect people’s rights and their assets," he said.

He pledged that the Government would also strive to develop a pro-business environment, maintain macro-economy stability and foster an environment of peace and friendship.

Incentives would be offered to investors in the supporting and high-tech industries, as well as tourism, the PM said, adding that he hoped Nghe An would take the lead in such areas.

Chairman of the Nghe An People’s Committee, Nguyen Xuan Duong, said they had identified nine comprehensive measures to make Nghe An an attractive business destination in the near future, including simplifying administrative procedures and reducing the time for granting investment licences to three days or even one day, and launching online public services at the ASEAN 4 level for business registration.

On the occasion of the Spring Festival, provincial authorities granted investment licences to eight projects and signed 15 memoranda of understanding and co-operation agreements valued at over VND22.62 trillion (US$983.8 billion).

It was the ninth time that BIDV was sponsoring the event, which attracted hundreds of enterprises and investors at home and abroad.

Also attending the event were former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.

In the past nine years, Nghe An attracted 804 projects worth more than VND261 trillion ($11.34 billion), including 758 ones worth more than VND101.29 trillion ($4.4 billion) and 46 foreign-invested ones with a total registered capital of over VND160.43 trillion ($6.97 billion).

This year, the province targets attracting over 100 projects worth VND30-35 trillion ($1.3-1.5 billion) and generating jobs for 13,000-15,000 workers.

A ground breaking ceremony for a shipping container factory invested by the TKV Group from the Republic of Korea was held in central Nghe An Province on Saturday.

The project in the Dong Nam Economic Zone has total registered capital of VND550 billion (US$24.2 million). It is expected to be completed in June 2018 and produce 6,000 shipping containers a year.

At the ceremony, Le Ngoc Hoa, Vice Chairman of the Nghe An People’s Committee, pledged that the province would create favourable conditions on policy and investment environment for investors.

The TKV Group hopes to continue cooperating with Nghe An to implement several projects in the future, including a high technology university, health waste treatment factory, and developments in the field of electronics.

A cattle-feed factory with total investment of VND325 billion (US$14.3 million) was inaugurated in central Nghe An Province on Saturday.

The Mavin Austfeed Nghe An factory has a capacity of 300,000 tonnes of domestic animal feed per year and generates jobs for 300 local workers.

Construction began in September 2015 on an area of 3.6ha in Block B, at the Nam Cam Industrial Park, in the Dong Nam Economic Zone.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Nguyen Xuan Duong, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said that the factory would be a driving force for investment in the Dong Nam Economic Zone, contributing to the socio-economic development of Nghe An Province.

Six years see footwear exports doubling

Vietnam’s footwear exports amounted to an estimated US$13 billion in 2016, double 2011,  according to latest data of the General Department of Customs.

In the six years to 2016, the footwear export sector reported steady growth in revenue, with US$6.5 billion in 2011, US$7.3 billion in 2012, US$8.4 billion in 2013, US$10.3 billion in 2014, US$12 billion in 2015 and US$13 billion last year.

The customs agency’s statistics showed that footwear exports usually grow from the second quarter and reach their peak in the third quarter. The U.S. has remained Vietnam’s biggest importer of footwear in the past years, accounting for about 30% of the country’s total footwear shipments.

In 2016, total footwear exports to the U.S. rose 10% against 2015 to around US$4.5 billion. China came second with more than US$900 million, up 20%, followed by EU countries such as Belgium with US$825 million and Germany with US$764 million. Shipments to Asian countries also increased, such as Japan with US$675 million, and South Korea with US$345 million.

Footwear has been in the group of items that bring a billion dollars or above in annual export, said the customs department. In 2016, the footwear sector was the fourth biggest exporter after mobile phones and phone parts with US$34 billion, textiles with over US$23.84 billion and computers and electronics with nearly US$19 billion.

According to data of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (LEFASO), Vietnam is among the world’s top four footwear manufacturers and the world’s second largest exporter by value after China. Vietnam’s footwear products have found their way to 50 countries.

However, the local footwear sector still imports nearly 60% of its yearly material needs, mainly leather, to meet demand for production.

HCMC seeks investors of electric vehicles for tourism

The HCMC Department of Tourism is finding investors for a project to operate electric vehicles to carry tourists around six major tourist destinations in District 5 where the city is developing a medicinal herb store quarter into a new place of interest.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Tourism, said the department now needs firms that are interested in transporting visitors to six tourist sites including the medicinal herb store quarter and the age-old Thien Hau Pagoda by electric car.

Luong Nhu Hoc, Trieu Quang Phuc and Hai Thuong Lan Ong are among the streets which leaders of the department and enterprises surveyed in early February for a project to turn them into in an oriental medicine quarter.

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