April CPI picks up over electricity and gasoline adjustment

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a calculator for inflation growth, escalated by 0.14 percent from March buoyed from the increase of petroleum and electricity prices, announced the General Statistics Office (GSO) on April 24.

The GSO said the figure for the first four months of the year rose by 0.8 percent compared to the same period last year.

The price bracket saw the sharpest rise in transportation (2.47 percent); followed by housing and building materials (0.84 percent); culture, entertainment and tourism (0.32 percent); home appliances (0.16 percent); and education (0.01 percent).

Meanwhile, price decreases were seen in food and restaurants (0.42 percent), beverage and tobacco (0.01 percent) and telecommunications (0.09 percent).

The GSO said CPI growth was curbed by the drop in food price, triggered by an abundant supply yet dwindling demand after the Tet holiday. In addition, steady CPI in April was spurred by a fall in domestic gas prices.

The price of gold decreased as the dollar strengthened. The inter-bank average exchange rate, quoted by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on April 15, was 21,458 VND/USD. Meanwhile, the rate in free markets stood at 21,620 VND/USD, up 0.74 percent from March.

According to the GSO, inflation rose 0.07 percent against March and 2.2 percent from the same period last year.

The GSO highlighted that the May CPI is likely to continue to rise due to the impact of electricity price adjustments and increasing demand for tourism, food and public transportation during the upcoming long holiday celebrating the Southern Liberation and National Reunification and International Labour Day.-

Deputy PM demands approval of macadamia cultivation planning

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has demanded expeditious approval of a master plan on sustainable cultivation of macadamia, dubbed “Queen of Nuts” indigenous to Australia.

At his request, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for monitoring seed quality and facilitating farmer-business joint ventures in collaboration with agencies and localities.

Well-known for its nutritional value and high concentration of mono-unsaturated fats, macadamia was introduced to Vietnam in 2002 for trial cultivation in several Central Highlands provinces, including Lam Dong, Dak Nong and Dak Lak.

After more than a decade under trial farming, it was found that Vietnam produced a higher yield of macadamias than other countries.

Local scientists have tested and found that the northwestern and Central Highlands regions have conditions best suited for the plant's growth.

The plant has so far covered over 2,000ha in the Central Highlands.

The project aims to turn macadamia into a key industrial plant in the Central Highlands region, which can provide a stable source of income for the farmers and turn the region into a "macadamia kingdom" in Southeast Asia.-

Pan Pacific says shares do better than expected

Agriculture and food products producer Pan Pacific (PAN) reported a consolidated revenue of over 1.12 trillion VND (52 million USD) and a pre-tax profit of 183 billion VND (8.47 million USD) for 2014.

PAN said during its shareholders general meeting on April 24 that though it had not achieved the targeted revenue, it still saw profits surge 31 percent more than expected.

This year, PAN expects 2.5 trillion VND (115.5 million USD) in revenue and a pre-tax profit of 280 billion VND (12.9 million USD), reflecting an increase of 53 percent over 2014.

Chairman Nguyen Duy Hung said if these targets are met, PAN would announce a dividend of 10 percent in cash.

PAN's board of directors also decided to increase the charter capital of its subsidiary PAN Food from 100 billion VND (4.6 million USD) to 1 trillion VND (46.29 million USD) during the meeting.

Also at the meeting, CEO Michael Louis Rosen announced that PAN would change its name from Trans-Pacific Corporation to the PAN Group Corporation or the PAN Group.

Professor Tran Dinh Long, a member of the PAN board, said Vietnam has considerable potential for developing the agriculture industry, as well as the food industry. PAN would not only produce early stage agricultural products, but also sell high quality food that could be readily served at consumers' dining table.

PAN was established in 1993 and has been listed in the local market since 2006.

On April 24, PAN shares closed at 38,300 VND (1.7 USD) each on the HCM City Stock Exchange.-

Nestle vows to promote Vietnamese coffee in international markets

The Nestle Group is carrying several major projects with the aim of popularising Vietnamese coffee among coffee consumers all over the world and making Vietnam an international reference for robusta coffee, said a Nestle executive.

Executive Vice President for Nestle Nandu Nandkishore, responsible for Asia, Oceania and Africa, told the Hanoi Moi (New Hanoi) newspaper that the recent inauguration of Nestle’s 80-million USD factory in southern Dong Nai province not only marks a new step forward in the group’s presence in Vietnam but also demonstrates that Nestle is continuing to carry out its commitment to the community, coffee farmers and consumers in the country.

The Dong Nai factory, Nestle’s second facility to produce de-caffeinated coffee beans in the world, will use only Vietnamese robusta coffee beans, and its product will be supplied to Nestle processing facilities around the world, according to the executive.

It is expected to raise the production value for Vietnamese coffee farmers as well as the Vietnamese coffee reputation in international markets, he said.

Since 2011, the company has also assisted coffee farmers in the Central Highlands in replacing old trees in a bid to improve productivity and production value, with a total of 11 million coffee seedlings to be supplied at half the price by the end of 2015.

The project also opened technical training courses to more than 20,000 local farmers to spread the application of good farming practice.

At the same time, Nestle joined the public-private partnership project in coffee production, an initiative put forward at the World Economic Forum 2010. With the collaboration of other partners such as 4C and Rainforest Alliances, the project has been building model coffee farms and training farmers in sustainable farming techniques, contributing to reducing production costs, environmental impact and raising productivity and income for farmers.

According to the executive, Nestle’s investment in Vietnam now totals 450 million USD, but the investment carries a greater significance than merely an expansion of business.

The inauguration of the Dong Nai factory and farming projects that Nestle is carrying out in Vietnam demonstrate the group’s confidence in the country, where it has been operating successfully for more than 20 years, he said.

Vietnamese coffee is available in more than 80 countries and territories across the world, making the country the second largest coffee exporter in the world, only after Brazil.

The country is currently the world's leading exporter of robusta coffee. Last year, it earned 3.62 billion USD from shipping 1.73 million tonnes of coffee abroad, up 33.4 percent in volume and 32.2 percent in value.

Germany and the US remained the two largest importers of Vietnamese coffee in 2014, accounting for 14.13 percent and 10.17 percent, respectively, of the country's total coffee export turnover.-

NA Committee looks into socio-economic performance

The National Assembly (NA)’s Committee for Economic Affairs convened the 12th plenary session on April 24 to verify a supplementary report on the implementation of the 2014 socio-economic development plan and the plan for 2015.

The supplementary report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) affirmed that most of the key targets set by the NA were achieved, except for the one on the rate of trained labourers.

Macro-economy was kept stable with inflation kept under control and low growth in consumer price index. The GDP grew at a three-year high rate of 5.98 percent that surpassed the set target, and trade surplus was gained for the third straight year, the ministry said.

In the first quarter of 2015, the GDP growth rate was at 6.03 percent – the fastest pace for the period since 2011. The number of new businesses rose by 3.8 percent with registered capital climbing 13.5 percent from a year earlier, the MPI reported.

The ministry proposed 11 key measures to promote socio-economic performance this year, including continuing to improve the business climate, accelerating State-owned enterprise (SOE) restructuring and equitisation, stabilising macro-economy, developing human resources, and stepping up the research and application of science-technology in production and business activities.

At the plenary session, members of the Committee spoke highly of the realisation of the set targets, noting that such achievements were thanks to both internal efforts and global factors.

They agreed with the proposed 11 key measures while asking ministries and Government agencies to quickly issue documents guiding the implementation of the revised Law on Enterprises, the revised Law on Investment, and the Law on Public Investment, ultimately optimising the economy’s competitiveness.

Many urged NA agencies to strictly supervise the making of regulations on investment and business conditions and issue a law or a resolution on SOE privatisation to raise State agencies’ sense of responsibility regarding this matter.-

Vietnam looks to tap tourism market in India

Vietnam hopes to expand its share in India’s great tourism market in the coming time, a Vietnamese official told a round-table seminar on tourism in New Delhi, India on April 25.

The seminar was part of the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) that is underway in New Delhi on April 23-25, with delegates from more than 40 countries taking part.

Addressing the seminar, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu praised the progress of bilateral tourism engagement since the two governments signed a cooperation agreement in 2001.

Tourism cooperation is part of the agenda of talks during respective visits by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last September and October.

Ha Van Sieu said with a 1.2 billion population and soaring demand for foreign travel, India is becoming a promising market of Vietnam. However, few Indian tourists go to Vietnam, and most Indian visitors arrive in the country for business purpose.

He expressed hope that the GES will offer Indians an opportunity to learn more about Vietnam, its culture and people.

In his opening remarks, Indian Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation said the Indian government is rolling out appropriate policies to promote tourism, including ways to ensure security and safety of domestic and foreign visitors.-

Binh Duong seeks development, int’l integration advice

The southern province of Binh Duong held a conference to seek new ideas to accelerate its development and international integration on April 24.

The goal of the conference was to collect ideas and opinions from experts, scientists, managers and businessmen towards long-term solutions for developing urban areas and service sector or drawing investment.

The conference also reviewed Binh Duong’s past achievements and lessons to draw upon in the coming years.

Many speeches at the event discussed technical infrastructure connectivity between the province and HCM City as well as localities in the southern key economic zone, and the strategic master plan to upgrade Binh Duong into a centrally-governed city by 2020.

Nguyen Huu Tu, Deputy Secretary of the province’s Party Committee, thanked experts and scientists for their advice and underlined the importance of sustainable development.

Conference seeks solutions to stronger aviation transport

Over 350 logistics experts from airline and logistic firms worldwide gathered for a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on April 24 to discuss ways to enhance aviation transport cooperation.

Participants focused their discussions on development trends of aviation transport and new challenges facing airlines in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific.

Do Xuan Quang, President of the Vietnam Logistics Association, said the event provided a venue for Vietnamese enterprises to seek new opportunities for developing supply chains, adding that it is also a chance for foreign firms to enhance their strength and position in the Vietnamese market.

According to Vo Huy Cuong, Deputy Head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, there are over 50 international airlines from 25 countries and territories providing services in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s aviation market ranks third in the world for average growth. The airlines operating in the country have consistently achieved high and stable growth, hitting 12 percent and 12.6 percent in passenger and goods transport, respectively, from 2010-2014.

However, links between airlines and logistics firms have been largely ignored.

At the event, participants also debated how to connect air transport with the logistics sector, which is said to play an important role in fostering the development of the aviation transport industry.

The Ministry of Transport has deployed a sector restructuring plan and designed projects to improve capacity in management and utilisation of infrastructure facilities in a bid to develop logistic services.

Rodrigo Rayes, Regional Cargo Manager of the International Air Transport Association, underlined that to speed up the development of aviation transport, it is necessary to build a transparent, synchronous and comprehensive framework for the entire transport process.-

Vietnam exports 90 percent of honey to US

Vietnam earned over 120 million USD from exporting over 46,600 tons of honey, more than 90 percent of which was exported to the US market in 2014.

In the first quarter of 2015, Vietnamese enterprises shipped over 80 tonnes of honey to the European market, a positive sign of expanding market penetration, according to the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Vietnam currently is the world’s sixth largest exporter of honey and the second largest in Asia, after China .

The industry is still facing challenges in lack of experience, underperforming beebreeding techniques, low product quality management and insufficient marketing strategies, limiting Vietnamese honey’s recognition in the world market.

In an attempt to develop the country’s industry, Vietrade has signed an agreement with the Netherlands’ Centre for the Promotion of Imports (CBI) to develop supporting programmes for exported food materials, including honey products to the EU.

Japanese traders fish for Vietnam’s market

Businesses operating at Japan’s largest fish market are trying to boost exports to Vietnam – sensing demand for such fare as octopus, abalone and stonefish sold with the renowned Ishinomaki brand will be high.

Representatives from more than 20 Japanese businesses from the Ishinomaki Fisheries Association in Miyagi on April 23 met with domestic businesses in HCM City to seek local distributors.

Amakawa, a Ten Group representative, said some businesses from Ishinomaki previously have exported material seafood to Vietnam processing factories. However, during this visit, the Japanese businesses were introducing processed products.

“We want to export Ishinomaki fish and seafood products to Vietnamese customers through a retail network,” said Amakawa.

Tomihiko Chiba, Hitakami Sensyoku Company director said Ishinomaki is called the city of fish because its fish and seafood industry has developed strongly.

Its businesses now stay active in seeking export markets, of which Vietnam is considered highly lucrative, Chiba said.

Integration puts Vietnamese producers at risk of losing home market

As Vietnam is integrating more deeply into the regional economy and the world economy, it has reached – or is finalizing – many trade pacts with several international trade partners, which in return makes both foreign-made goods imported into Vietnam and Vietnamese-made products exported to other countries cheaper.

However, only Vietnamese consumers and importers are said to be among the biggest beneficiaries when shipments from ASEAN countries and Japan have begun to flood the local market after their import duty has been lowered or even waived as a result of many trade pacts.

From the perspective of manufacturers, the pressure of integration will be extremely formidable when local firms have to compete with rivals from Japan and the ASEAN bloc, Vu Vinh Phu, a trade expert in Hanoi, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The ASEAN members include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

That pressure has been mounting on local manufacturers as their domestically-made products cannot compete with imports once the door is fully open to foreign-made goods which often have an edge over theirs regarding price and quality, Phu said.

It is certain that foreign-made goods will flood the Vietnamese market when tax barriers are completely removed thanks to their superiority in price and quality, Phu added.

“Just look at Thai products, from fruit to household appliances, they are often offered at a variety of price ranges and come in a wide range of types, which trump Vietnamese-made goods at any price point with better quality,” he said.

Under the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the tariff lines of more than 3,200 products imported from Japan into Vietnam already began to enjoy zero percent import duty this month.

"Certainly when the taxes on imports from other ASEAN members and Japan are reduced to zero percent, those imported goods will gradually dominate the domestic market,” an expert told Tuoi Tre.

Hanoi-based Binh Minh Co. specializing in distributing cameras and camcorders imported from Japan said the prices of those products would go down when import duties are exempted.

Some other distributors said the price would drop 3-5% this week compared to the preceding period, depending on each type.

According to the Tax Policy Department under the Ministry of Finance, to protect locally-made products, the taxes levied on imports need to be increased.

But now the department cannot do so because of the rules of the World Trade Organization, of which Vietnam has been a member since 2007.

In addition, the tax rates of many kinds of imported goods will be fully dropped in accordance with many free trade agreements (FTA) Vietnam has signed with its partners.

Vietnam will exempt 98% of import tariff lines for ASEAN-made goods pursuant to an FTA, and 98% of import tariff lines for Chinese and Korean commodities over a trade pact between the bloc and the two East Asian countries by 2018.

Such tax reductions will greatly affect domestic firms whose goods are not able to compete with imports from those countries by that time.

At the same time, reducing import tariffs will also mean shrinking tax revenue, especially those imposed on cars, motorcycles, and petroleum products.

Tran Quoc Khanh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, told Tuoi Tre that Vietnam has signed eight FTAs and is actively negotiating seven others, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and a pact with the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia.

Hanoi aims for ‘Number One Tech Hub’ title

The Hanoi People’s Committee has unveiled a plan to attract information technology (IT) manufacturers and firms to the capital city over the six year period 2015-2020.

Our ultimate goal is for Hanoi to be recognized as the number one tech hub of the country and we have our work cut out to make this happen, said a member of the committee.

For 2015, IT businesses operating in the city are expected to realize total revenue of US$5 billion, 80% of which are generated from exports that create thousands of high paying jobs for residents.

To fulfill the targets and stimulate job growth to new heights, city official and employees will spare no effort to enhance state management capacity and implement measures to support expansion of the industry.

Specifically, city officials are targeting speeding up the software technology parks at Vo Nguyen Giap and Cau Giay streets.

Sapo takes top honours at Sao Khue Awards

Sapo, a software solutions innovator transforming networks that connect and store big data utilizing cloud computing, received top accolades on April 24 at the prestigious 2015 Sao Khue Awards in Hanoi.

The award recognizes Sapo’s product quality, technical support and product delivery by a panel of experts from the Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Industry and Trade, research institutes, technologists and technology reporters.

The goal of Sapo’s software package is to learn as much as possible about each customer's attitudes, needs, and behaviour to provide them optimal service and keep them satisfied and loyal.

Receiving this award is a testament to our dedication in providing world-class technology, outstanding products, and best-in-class customer support, said Cat Van Khoi, Sapo project manager.

It’s an honour to be recognized as a leader in the technology industry and a global leader with very high standards in product excellence.

At the awards ceremony, Sao Khue awards were presented to 69 recipients that met the panel’s strict criteria in terms of technology advantages, creativity, revenue and high growth rate.

This year’s awards have reflected a new trend of the application of software solutions in solving hot issues in health, education, public administration, agriculture, accounting, human resource management and the retail fields.

Air Freight Logistics Vietnam 2015 opens in HCM City

Air Freight Logistics Vietnam 2015 got underway on April 23 in HCM City with more than 350 delegates and 30 speakers in attendance.

At the two-day exhibition and conference, speakers are addressing a wide variety of topics regarding new trends and challenges in the logistics industry in the Asia-Pacific region in general and Vietnam in particular.

“The conference provides a great opportunity for domestic businesses in the industry to forge new cooperative opportunities in the logistics sector,” said Do Xuan Quang, Vietnam Logistics Business Association President..

Quang said it also affords them a chance to connect with foreign companies and get a toe hold in the global supply chain and raise their prestige in the industry both domestically and globally.

Vo Huy Cuong, deputy director of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration (VCAA), in turn said more than 50 foreign airlines from 25 countries currently conduct flights to Vietnam and the aviation market ranks third in terms of growth.

Cyrille Picard, a representative from Boeing group said Vietnam aviation has obtained impressive growth, with a projected rate of 14% for 2015 with key products – techniques and electronics, mobile equipment, computer, semiconducting, garment and materials.

HCM City to host largest int’l Photo & Imaging Show 2015

Vietnam International Photo and Imaging Show (VIPI) and Vietnam International Broadcast & AV Show 2015 (VIBA 2015) will officially open in HCM City on May 7.

The annual event will focus on imaging technologies (photo cameras, photographic films, photographic studio equipment, smart phones and others) and audio equipment (entertainment sound equipment, smart TVs, smartbox/TV box and cable TV equipment).

With more than 400 pavilions, the two-day event is expected to attract the world’s leading technology groups such as Canon, Nikon, Tamron, Yamaha, GoPro, Denon, Jamo, Shure and local enterprises namely Anh Duy, Tieng Ngoc, Truong Le, Khai Thien and CGV. More than 30,000 visitors are expected to join the event.

An international exhibition titled LEDTEC Asia will also be held during the event, expecting to attract 120 companies from 10 countries. Experts from Vietnam and the Republic of Korea will provide information on advantages and disadvantages of current LED technologies.

Survey shows support for Vietnam joining TPP

A recent survey from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) found that 66% of domestic enterprises have expressed support for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) to go forward.

However for transnational enterprises operating in Vietnam the survey found much less support and that only 30% of them were in favour of the 12 member Pacific Rim trade pact.

“There is still a surprising group of small and medium sized businesses that are not well informed about Vietnam’s negotiations to join theTPP,” said Professor Edmund Malesky from Duke University.

Professor Malesky added that the survey results surprisingly showed that 31.5% of domestic enterprises and 29.8% of transnational enterprises said they were completely unaware of the trade negotiations.

Even more interesting is the fact that transnational enterprises from non TPP member nations were better informed and knew more about the status of negotiations than those from TPP member countries, he added.

These negotiations have been conducted in secret and no official draft of the document has been released so it’s understandable that no one in the general public knows the specifics of the agreement.

What we are talking about here is simply the general awareness of the Vietnam business community to stay abreast of current events and have a broad understanding that negotiations for, maybe the largest trade agreement in history, are coming to a close.

Overall 50% of all domestic and transnational enterprises operating in Vietnam said they were reasonably informed about the TPP. Meanwhile only 20% of businesses said they possessed an in-depth understanding of the issues surrounding the negotiations.

Malesky said most transnational enterprises were not concerned with Vietnam’s joining the TPP as they thought that they wouldn’t be affected.

Exporters should benefit from expanded export markets, Malesky suggested, adding that on the reverse side the TPP should also stimulate imports into Vietnam.

However, it should be pointed out that because the specific terms of the agreement have yet to be made public, all of the representations by Malesky are simply his opinion at this point.

TPP negotiators have announced that negotiations are entering their final stages and should be concluded in the next couple of months. If they are successful the TPP will affect trade among the 12 member countries, making up nearly 40% of the global economy.

According to the VCCI, the TPP negotiators are making progress and only a few differences remain to be resolved.

Many experts view the TPP an important opportunity for Vietnam to diversify its economy, expand export markets, and reduce its economic dependence on any one country and increase its import surplus in some markets.

Currently, Vietnam is the lowest developed country among the TPP members. However, the country should get much more benefit from the huge expanded market brought about by the agreement.

Some economists have speculated that after TPP comes into effect Vietnam would get a stimulus of US$46 billion and a growth of 13%.

To turn TPP advantages into reality however, enterprises must be pioneers in grasping opportunities, said VCCI President Vu Tien Loc, adding that the survey results showed that most support Vietnam’s entry into the TPP.

Despite the positive evaluation of the TPP, a number of concerns still remain, said Malesky. As one example he said the question of whether the garment industry will benefit from tariff reductions is not cut and dry.

The answer depends on the origin of the raw materials.  Tariff reduction only applies if they were imported from a TPP member country.

FDI disbursement tops $4.2b

Disbursement of existing foreign direct investment (FDI) recorded a year-on-year rise of 5 per cent to hit US$4.2 billion in the first four months of this year, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency.

A total of 448 new foreign-invested projects, worth more than $2.67 billion, were licensed during the review period, a yearly decrease of 17.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, 167 operating projects were also given approval to add $1.04 billion to their investments, a fall of 35.7 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

According to the report, total FDI registered in the country topped more than $3.72 billion in the January-April period, equivalent to 76.7 per cent of the figures for the same period last year.

Foreign investors placed their investments in 14 sectors during the period. Of these, the manufacturing and processing sector attracted the largest share of FDI with $2.83 billion or 76 per cent of the nation's total FDI.

Estate trading came next with $327 million, while wholesale and retail ranked third with $198.6 million.

South Korea remained Viet Nam's biggest foreign investor with more than $9.08 million, making up 24.4 per cent of the total FDI registered.

This was followed by Turkey ($660 million or 17.7 per cent), British Virgin Islands ($509.6 million or 13.7 per cent) and Japan ($374.3 million or 10.1 per cent).

The southern province of Dong Nai was the most attractive destination for foreign investors with $916.7 million in FDI investment, accounting for 24.6 per cent of the nation's total.

HCM City and the northern port city of Hai Phong came second and third, with $784.9 million, or 21.1 per cent, and $292.1 million, or 7.8 per cent, respectively.

The report noted that the foreign-invested sector created a trade surplus of more than $2.71 billion in four months as it earned $35.07 billion from exports, up 12.6 per cent or equivalent to 70 per cent of the country's total export turnover. The FDI businesses imported $32.35 billion worth of goods, up 27.8 per cent.

Since the Law on Foreign Investment was issued in 1987, FDI capital has had great impact on Viet Nam's economy.

It had mobilised capital for development and promote economic development, said the Director of the National Centre of Socio-economic Information and Forecasting, Mai ThiThu.

FDI also helped create conditions for the transfer of technology, generated jobs and accelerated the country's global integration, she said during a conference in Ha Noi early this month.

Several products produced by foreign-invested businesses in Viet Nam had established themselves firmly in international markets, such as telephones, electronic components and garments and textiles, she said.

Director of the Foreign Investment Agency, Do Nhat Hoang, said FDI helped to strengthen the linkage between foreign and domestic businesses, and assisted Viet Nam's economy to integrate deeper into the global economy.

Wrongdoing found in VietinBank's business

The Government Inspectorate has found many wrongdoings in the 2009 to 2012 business performance at Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank).

According to a report signed by Deputy Chief Inspector Ngo Van Khanh and released this week, the inspection focused on the bank's credit activities, financial investment and procurement and renting of assets, as well as setting and using funds.

The inspection found that VietinBank had been responsible for violations of regulations in both capital mobilisation and credit activities, including breaking lending regulations and setting higher deposit interest rates than allowed. Serious violations by the bank were sent to the police for further investigation.

Due to an imbalanced capital structure, VietinBank had to use short-term deposits for medium - and long-term credit. Further, some of the bank's branches broke the maximum deposit interest rate of 14 per cent set by the State Bank of Viet Nam from March 2011 to September 2011, and paid brokerage commissions and improper marketing expenses in cash.

The bank's violations were found in almost all stages of the lending process, from the credit appraisal stage to disbursement stage.

The bank also did not classify debts as per proper procedures, leading to inaccurate debt classifications, where some Group l (Standard) debts of the bank actually belonged to Group 2, 3, 4 and 5 (Debt Needing Special Attention, Subprime Debt, Doubtful Debt, Potentially Irrecoverable Debt). It also had violations in regulations outlining debt restructuring, extending disbursement times and grace periods.

Regarding financial investments, VietinBank did not follow the proper rules on using capital from Government bonds and when investing in risky businesses, said authorities.

VietinBank was also found to have many systemic violations in procurement and the renting of its assets, as well as setting and using funds, which impacted its efficiency in using capital.

NBB tells shareholders of its plan to take-over CII Holdings

Real estate developer NBB Investment Co (NBB) yesterday admitted that HCM City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII) had proposed it become a member company of CII Holdings.

This was revealed at the annual shareholders' meeting in Ha Noi.

Don Truong Trieu, NBB's chairman, said CII presented two proposals, one for NBB to become a CII member with the suggested name CII Member, not CII Land as previously suggested.

The other proposal was that CII increase its holdings in NBB to 40-50 per cent.

"This would not be a take-over, but just a pure investment co-operation," Trieu said, adding that any procedures to execute the transaction would be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders.

CII has actively bought NBB shares since the beginning of this year. It raised stockholding in NBB to 24.06 per cent of NBB's charter capital on Thursday after another purchase of 346.800 NBB shares.

NBB shares closed flat yesterday at VND23,400 (US$1.08) a share while CII's price ended 1.9 per cent down at VND21,100 ($0.98) each.

NBB last year invested more than VND170 billion ($7.9 million) to develop two major projects, including Son Tinh residential area in Quang Ngai Province and City Gate Towers high-rise apartment in HCM City to create supplies for sales during 2015-17.

However, the company's performance was slow in 2014 as its total sales reached just VND256 billion ($11.9 million), about 83 per cent of its yearly plan, while the net profit was VND35.5 billion ($1.6 million), equivalent to 50.7 per cent of the target.

NBB attributed the modest results to the slowdown in capital divestment from Quang Ngai Mineral Company. It also said that the Son Tinh and City Gate Towers projects that made profits from these developments was recorded this year instead of 2014.

The real state company decided to keep cash dividends unchanged in 2014 at the rate of 10 per cent.

In 2015, it has set a revenue target of nearly VND299 billion ($13.8 million), of which VND156 billion ($7.2 million) will be from real estate sales, while the remainder from earnings of divestment from Quang Ngai Mineral Co.

It's net profit is expected to reach VND70 billion ($3.2 million) for the whole year and the dividend rate is set at just 8 per cent.

Besides the major Son Tinh and City Gate Towers projects, NBB will develop other buildings, such as Diamond Riverside apartment in HCM City and Mountain Villas in northern Ha Long City.

NBB also plans to resume its convertible bond issue plan this year worth VND210 billion ($9.7 million) with a proposed term of three to five years. The interest rate is likely to be fixed at five to nine per cent a year, paid annually.

FPT most attractive employer in VN

Viet Nam's giant software corporation, is ranked the most attractive employer in Viet Nam, reports a new survey by Universum.

Under the ranking list, FPT ranked in the top 10 employers in Viet Nam this year, rising 11 grades from its ranking last year.

The survey is an independent business reference for employers worldwide.

Co-op helps shallot farmers make more

Saigon Co-op signed agreements with farmers in Soc Trang Province to buy 100 tonnes of Vinh Chau shallot by May. The agreement comes as part of an effort to help them cut losses after prices plummeted following a bumper harvest.

The shallots will be available at all of Saigon Co-op's outlets, including Co-opmart, Co-opXtra and Co-op Food.

Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, deputy general director of Saigon Co-op, said its purchase division bought the first batch of 15 tonnes in mid-April and distributed them to its stores.

Saigon Co-op is paying the farmers higher prices than those offered by local traders.

Mobifone director now new chairman

The Ministry of Information and Communications has appointed Le Nam Tra, the general director of the MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation, as its new chairman.

Tra replaces chairman Mai Van Binh, who retired on December 31.

Born in 1961, Tra started working at the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) in 1989 and moved to its subsidiary, Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company, which operated MobiFone, in 1994.

He was appointed as MobiFone general director in August last year. After the company was given approval to transform into a corporation, he was appointed general director on December 11, 2014.

HCM City achieved robust economic growth in the first four months of the year, the city administration's website reported without furnishing the growth figure.

Retail sales and services amounting to nearly VND211.5 trillion (approx. US$9.8 billion), a year-on-year increase of 10.7 per cent, according to figures released at a meeting to review the performance on Thursday.

Exports in the period edged down to $9.29 billion, but exports ex-crude oil rose 8.3 per cent to $8.03 billion.

Exports of industrial products accounted for 69.4 per cent of non-crude exports, according to Thai Van Re, director of city Department of Planning and Investment.

If oil prices had not slumped, there would have been a sharp increase in exports in line with the targets set by the city.

The industrial growth index was up 5.7 per cent (compared with 5.2 per cent last year) as industrial production expanded due to a focus on processing and manufacturing at the cost of mining.

Domestic and foreign direct investment was also on the rise.

As of April 20 licences had been issued for 8,823 new local firms with a combined registered capital of nearly VND47 trillion (nearly $2.2 billion) a year-on-year increase of 15.7 per cent and 10.4 per cent.

In addition, 158 new foreign projects worth $615.3 million were also licensed, a 55.9 per cent increase in number but a 12.3 per cent decrease in capital.

In May the city authorities will focus on some major targets like fully tapping domestic demand, strengthening distribution networks in remote areas and maintaining traditional overseas markets while seeking to expand into new ones.

They will launch new promotion campaigns to enable city businesses to exploit their domestic and overseas markets and help companies in the price stabilisation programme develop their distribution networks for essential goods.

Positive socio-economic markers reported in Q1

The nation's first quarter GDP grew at the highest level since 2011 to reach 6.03 per cent, the Ministry of Planning and Investment reported yesterday.

In a report to the 12th plenary session of the National Assembly (NA) Economic Committee, it said the first quarter of 2015 saw several changes for the better in the nation's socio-economic development.

It cited as an example a 1.25 per cent credit growth, as compared to a fall of 0.57 per cent in the first quarter of last year.

The number of new businesses increased 3.8 per cent with the newly registered capital rising 13.5 per cent year-on-year, the report said.

Reviewing last year's performance, the report said all the targets assigned by the NA had been met or exceeded, except in labour training.

Macro-economic growth and stability was maintained, inflation contained and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) kept low, it said.

The 2014 GPD growth of 5.98 per cent was the highest in three years and exceeded the set target.

Export momentum was maintained at high level, helping to make 2014 the third consecutive year with a trade surplus.

Based on the socio-economic situation of the first quarter of 2015, the ministry has identified 11 measures to focus on in the remainder of the year, including continuing to improve the business climate, stepping up economic restructuring and State enterprise equitisation, maintaining socio-economic stability while switching to a new growth model.

Developing human resources and intensifying research and application of science and technology in production would also be a focus, the report said. NA deputies praised the performance, especially in exceeding some of the targets.

They said such results were made possible by the concerted efforts of the government at all levels, businesses and the citizens.

They also mentioned some external factors that affected not only Viet Nam but also other countries in the world.

Agreeing with the 11 measures proposed by the ministry, delegates said that all relevant legislation including the 2013 Constitution, the revised Enterprise Law, the revised Investment Law, the Housing Law and the Public Investment Law had institutionalised as many as possible lines and policies (of the Party and Government) designed to improve the investment climate and strengthen the nation's economic competitiveness.

The Government should instruct its ministries and agencies to promptly issue guiding documents for their enforcement and create concrete conditions for investment.

The deputies also asked concerned NA agencies to enhance monitoring of the issuance of regulations related to investment and business conditions.

Some asked the NA to consider the issuance of laws or regulations concerning State enterprises' equitisation in order to boost State accountability and transparency in this regard.

Yesterday's meeting was convened to hear the report reviewing implementation the Socio-economic Development Plan of 2014, ongoing implementation of the 2015 plan and to discuss the draft Statistics Law.

VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR