Vietnam-Ivory Coast trade ties resumed

 

After the interruption caused by the political crisis in the Ivory Coast in February and March, Vietnam and the Ivory Coast resumed trade ties in April, said the Africa, West Asia and South Asia Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. 

 

In April alone, Vietnam’s exports to the country reached US$10.9 million, increasing the total export value to US$22 million since January.

 

At the same time, imports from Ivory Coast hit US$1.8 million, making the total figure US$6.1 million so far.

 

Vietnam’s main exports to the Ivory Coast are rice, garments and textiles, fertilizer, plastic, iron and steel. It imports iron and steel, cotton, cashew nuts and timber from the country.

 

In 2010, Vietnam exported 89,654 tonnes of rice to the Ivory Coast, earning US$118.3 million. It imported 45,798 tonnes of cashew nuts, worth US$90.4 million from the West African nation.

 

RoK tops Vietnam’s automobile imports

 

The Republic of Korea is overwhelming Vietnam’s automobile market when it accounted for 41.2 percent of imports the latter made in the first four months of this year.

 

According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam imported 21.406 automobiles valued at US$391.8 million in the reviewed period, up by 63.2 percent in volume and 71.6 percent in value from the same period.

 

VietinBank assists HDBank to issue int’l credit cards

 

Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) on Thursday cut a deal with HCMC Housing Development Bank (HDBank) to assist the latter to issue international credit cards of the brand HDBank MasterCard.

 

Pham Anh Tuan, deputy general director of VietinBank, told local media that at this time many international card institutions had restricted having new banks as members so if a local bank wants to join an international card network, it must have guarantee from an old member. Therefore, HDBank has to ink a deal with VietinBank to issue the international credit card.

 

This signing is also part of a full-fledged cooperation agreement signed by the two banks last year, Tuan said. He also added that VietinBank still can guarantee for other banks to join international card networks.

 

VietinBank has so far issued 100,000 international payment cards in Vietnam.

 

Forum for investment and strategies for sea-based economy

 

A forum will open next month, as part of Vietnam Seas and Islands Week, to discuss strategies to boost the growth of coastal areas of Vietnam and the sea-based economy.

 

The Vietnam Marine Economy Forum 2011 (VMEF) will be held in Nha Trang on June 8, with the topic ‘Motivations and challenges for the development of Vietnam’s coastal economic zones’.

 

The convention of the second VMEF, one of the main programs of the Government’s Vietnam Seas and Islands Week, is expected to create a forum for exchange to help the marine economic development of Vietnam.

 

This year VMEF expects to attract around 400 guests and also offers understanding of the potential and prospects of marine resources and marine economic development of the country, especially coastal provinces, such as Khanh Hoa Province.

 

Notably, it helps promote investment projects in central coastal economic zones, including Van Phong economic zone and other projects in Khanh Hoa.

 

The annual event also creates an opportunity for exchanges between potential domestic and foreign investors, as well as leaders of central and central southern coastal provinces and leaders of related ministries and industries.

 

There will be a Green Meeting program between domestic and foreign investors and leaders from some ministries, industries and leaders of Khanh Hoa Province on June 9.

 

The convention is organized by Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, Foreign Investment Review, in coordination with Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and concerned agencies.

 

The first VMEF took place in Hai Phong last year.

 

Meat import cut sought to save local farmers

 

Vietnam’s Animal Husbandry Department is calling for a reduction of meat imports to prevent local livestock farms from going bust.

 

The proposed import cut will help stabilize local meat prices and thus ensure good incomes for farmers, Hoang Kim Giao, head of the department, told the Daily on Thursday.

 

Demand for pork between now and August is traditionally down, so if supply stays at the current level, pork prices will slump, he said, adding a price decline would hurt the livestock farming industry.

 

Giao denied news reports that a domestic pork undersupply had sent prices snowballing rapidly. “I do affirm that there is no short supply. Transport of domestic pork has been disrupted as livestock disease outbreaks have been detected in some provinces.”

 

He said his department was considering giving livestock farmers good breeders and vet drugs, and helping them clean up their farms so as to improve the quality of their products, instead of providing loan interest support.

 

The department is working with other relevant agencies to find ways to prevent meat prices from surging too much, he said, noting any meat price rise might lead animal feed producers to raise prices of their products though world material prices are on the decrease.

 

VinaLiving set to expand residential investment in city

 

VinaLiving, a property development brand of fund manager VinaCapital, will continue to expand its residential investment portfolio by starting work on two new property projects in HCMC late this year.

 

David Henry, managing director of VinaCapital Real Estate Company, told the Daily on Thursday that the firm would set aside some US$200 million for a mixed-use property named VinaSquare on a 1.2-hectare site in District 5.

 

A final design for this project is not available but the company revealed the project would have 1,280 condos, a shopping center and entertainment facilities.

 

Henry said he was pinning high hopes on the project because it is located in a densely populated Cho Lon commercial area.

 

As for the other property development, VinaLiving will invest some US$40 million to develop the Garland 2 in District 9. The 6.4 hectare project will be built with 72 semi-detached villas, a school and a condo building.

 

The fund manager has released its business performance in the first quarter of this year with a record of 264 sale, purchase and capital contribution contracts were signed with a total value of nearly US$21 million.

 

Those sales came from residential projects including a township in Nha Trang, an integrated resort and mixed-use property in Danang and a township in the southern province of Dong Nai.

 

Henry was upbeat about the company’s residential sales results, saying the two launches planned for this year would allow the company to match and likely exceed the sales figure from 2010.

 

He, however, said the sales environment was challenging, and the residential market in the next 12 months would continue to be tough for developers given the high interest rates prevailing in the country.

 

In a recent event, VinaCapital announced to continue to raise capital from overseas to further its investment in local companies and property market in the years to come. 

 

The fund manager said it would continue to invest in villa and row house projects around the country as demand remains strong in the segment. Besides, hospitality and retail were the two segments the company would continue to further invest in the coming time.

 

The company, however, said it would not invest in office building projects given an oversupply and an office rent decline.

 

Co.op Food store comes to workers

 

Saigon Co.op, owner of Co.opMart, on Thursday opened a new convenience food store at Linh Trung II Export Processing Zone in HCMC’s outlying district of Thu Duc to serve workers in the zone.

 

The store covers nearly 500 square meters, and stocks a wide range of food items including fresh, processed, semi-processed, ready-cooked and frozen products.

 

This is part of Saigon Co.op’s expansion plan to bring convenience to workers in the city. This is the second Co.op Food store to serve workers after the first one opened at Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park in Nha Be District last year.

 

Saigon Co.op has plans to open more stores at other industrial parks where the demand for safe and hygiene foods is running high.

 

Up to now, Saigon Co.op has opened 18 Co.op Food stores in the city.

 

Quang Nam starts work on ecological hotel, housing complex

 

Lung Lo 5 Investment and Development Joint Stock Co. on Wednesday commenced work on Cyan ecological hotel and housing complex in the central Quang Nam Province with the invested capital of US$240 million.

 

The project covers 38 hectares in Dien Duong Commune, Dien Ban District with six key sections of hotel, sports, public service, technique, condo and villa as well as some supporting works. The hotel section will be built on 62,000 square meters and have 240 rooms and 44 five-star villas.

 

Unlike other tourism projects, this is the first with resettlement works located in between to ensure construction progress and protect benefits of affected residents, said Lung Lo 5 chairman Pham Viet Cuong. This also helps restore cultural distinctions of central fishing villages.

 

In the first phase, the investor will expand a fishing village for resettlement in Ha My Dong B village before moving on with other works.

 

“We have won approval from the provincial government to directly carry out site clearance and compensation for affected households,” Cuong added.

 

Dien Duong now takes the lead in the central province for the number of tourism projects as the coastal commune links up Danang City and Hoi An ancient city. However, the locality still sees many projects delayed with a number failing to begin construction.

 

Vietcombank has Credit Suisse find foreign investors

 

Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) has named Credit Suisse as consultant to find foreign strategic investors as part of its expansion plan to spur capital by 40% from VND17.6 trillion to VND24.6 trillion this year.

 

The country’s biggest State-turned-shareholding bank has plans to complete the recapitalization scheme in late 2011 or early 2012 by issuing 703.5 million shares, including nearly 500 million shares for international strategic investors.

 

Nguyen Hoa Binh, chairman of the bank, told the Daily on Wednesday that many foreign institutions had approached Vietcombank via Credit Suisse to mull investment into the bank. Binh said the bank’s general meeting in late April had decided to issue shares to strategic investors in late 2011 or early 2012, but whether the issue would be successful or not would depend on many factors.

 

The bank, which launched its IPO in 2007, will issue over 211 million shares from retained profits to pay 2010 dividend to existing shareholders at the ratio of 12%, according to the general shareholders meeting.

 

In addition, it expects to issue 492.5 million shares, or a 20% stake, to foreign strategic investors at a negotiated price suggested by the consultant. Shareholders have authorized the board of directors to decide details of this share issue.

 

Vietcombank said capital increase would be a must in the bank’s development strategy to improve its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) which currently stands at around 9%. The central bank’s regulation requires banks to have a minimum CAR at 9% while international standards set it at 12% to 14%, so if Vietcombank wants to continue expanding business, it must increase chartered capital.

 

Vietcombank this year targets a 15% increase in total assets to VND353.6 trillion, while mobilization and outstanding loans growth is expected at 20%. The bank targets VND5.65 trillion in pre-tax profits this year, increasing 3.1% year-on-year.

 

According to a new circular issued by the central bank in late April, a strategic foreign investor of a State-turned-shareholding bank must be a credit or financial institution and have total assets of at least US$20 billion.

 

Other conditions for a strategic foreign investor include having at least five years in international operation, and being positively rated by international rating agencies. Those institutions cannot be strategic investor, big investor, or founder at any other credit institutions in Vietnam at the time they register to become the strategic investor of an equitized bank.

 

Currently, the State holds a majority stake of over 90% in Vietcombank. The central bank has permitted the bank to float about 1.6 billion shares held by the State on the stock exchange.

 

Power Price Hike Needs Close Curb

 

Decision 24/2011/QD-TTg, signed on April 15, 2011 by the Prime Minister, allows the power sector to adjust prices in accord with the market mechanism. The price adjustment is in deed the price hike as the price cut will never or seldom occur in the principle that prices are based on the change of input elements.

 

Like gasoline, electricity is a kind of essential goods for economic activities and the social life. Power price hikes will have certain impact on the country’s economy and the people’s life as well.

 

The biggest paradox is that the power sector is currently using many national resources such as land, capital and materials with preferential prices but it is allowed to determine power prices as a sector, even an economic entity. The power sector will therefore deliberately seek reasons for raising power prices rather than trying to find measures to cut power waste and losses to reduce prices.

 

Earlier, leaders of the power sector requested the Government to raise power prices to the rates of regional countries (except China). Now, they have a golden chance to realize their intention. What does the power sector think when Vietnamese have far lower per capita gross domestic product and personal incomes than those in the region but must pay the same prices for power?

 

Another paradox is that the Government permits the power sector to determine power prices only five days after submitting a price hike scheme to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. If it proposes a rise of over 5% and has not got the approval, it can still adopt a 5% increase 15 days after submitting the scheme. This is a precedent no other sector has enjoyed when carrying out a decision with large influence on the people’s life. In addition, one may wonder why the Government allowed the power sector to raise prices but imposed no obligations on the output and quality of power supplied to customers.

 

To the power price adjustment, huge power consumption sectors such as iron, steel and cement will face the risk that their production prices will change continuously for three times a year on average. In theory, it is possible to assume the power sector only raises 5% each time and the power price will double after 14 times of price hike. The power price will double after five years with three times of rise in a year (every four months) or after six years with five times of increase in two years (every 4.8 months). Perhaps, no entity in the world can determine such a big and fast increase in selling prices. And power price hikes will make the Government’s inflation control and prize stabilization policy far from being realized.

 

Article 4 of Decision No. 24/2011 mentions the publicity and transparency as part of the power price adjustment principles. In fact, this was much referred to by the media and many National Assembly delegates proposed it but it had not been realized. How will publicity and transparency be when the power sector is allowed to determine selling prices by itself? Moreover, Decision 24 also means the Government has offered the power sector an almost permanent priority without a point of stop, including the price and time limits.

 

Decision 24 came into being after a process of scrutinization but taking advantage of it is anyway unavoidable. Prices of power, a product that affects the production, trading and life of people across the country, cannot be determined only by the power sector. Any overuse will also result in a price the whole country must pay for.

 

Therefore, there should be measures for closely controlling the implementation process and a final decision on power prices. The examination on proposed power price adjustments should not be within five days but should be scrutinized for at least 30 days. This will restrict the power sector to disable management agencies by submitting a power price increase plan within the time of public holidays or at the time when there are personnel changes.

 

It is also inadvisable to assign the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance to checking and supervising the application of power prices but there should be the coordination between many ministries and sectors. For instance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will evaluate impacts of power price hikes on the investment attraction strategy and its influences on the farming of millions of people. The National Assembly Office, the Fatherland Front Committee and the Vietnam Labor Confederation will assess the impacts on the people’s life and millions of workers. On the other hand, the time between power price hikes should be extended to at least six months, instead of three months as it is now.

 

Real estate activity heats up in HCM City's suburban districts

 

While the apartment market in HCM City has been quiet of late, the housing and land market in outskirts areas is bustling, pushing up property prices, the Dau Tu (Investment Review) reported yesterday.

 

It cited independent market observers as saying the number of property transactions has recently increased in districts undergoing rapid urbanisation, including Thu Duc, Binh Tan, Binh Chanh and District 12.

 

They said land prices in these areas range between VND1.5 and VND5 million per square metre and this is considered reasonable, attracting many investors.

 

Nguyen Thi Yen Hoa, director of the Yen Hoa Real Estate Brokerage Company in Thu Duc District's Hiep Binh Chanh Ward, said the number of people who've bought plots of land in the area has jumped sharply in recent months.

 

The Hiep Binh Chanh Ward is very close to the city's downtown area, but its development plans are not clear yet. Consequently, most land transactions are happening via unofficial contracts between sellers and buyers. Although this is an unsafe business practice, it has increased in frequency of late, Hoa said.

 

The selling and buying of land plots at low prices via unofficial contracts was also taking place in Binh Chanh District's Vinh Loc Commune.

 

Noticing the increased demand, many real estate agents in the area have purchased thousands of square metres of land at cheap prices from locals and divided it into smaller land plots for sale at higher prices, making handsome profits in the bargain, the report said.

 

It quoted an unnamed broker in Vinh Loc Commune as saying land marketability there was rather high and the price was increasing regularly.

 

"Despite the fact that infrastructural facilities here have not been completed, I am accumulating some land in the hope of making some profit. Land prices here will rise significantly in the near future," he said.

 

He said that land in the district has become more attractive since a rumour began making the rounds that part of the Binh Chanh and Binh Tan districts are likely to be combined to create a new urban district under a new plan prepared by the city government.

 

The Dau Tu report said many real estate investors in the city's outskirt districts have made significant profits recently.

 

This has been proved by a fact recorded in Binh Tan District, they said.

 

Some years ago when the land had not been zoned clearly, land plots in Binh Hung Hoa A, Binh Tri Dong A and B were priced at between VND2 million and VND3 million per square metre.

 

But now, its rates have risen to between VND10 and 15 million, the report said.

 

It said middle income earners were especially interested in houses and land plots in residential areas at the edge of the city. The demand for properties of this kind has recently risen significantly due to the increasing number of immigrants from provinces to HCM City, said Nguyen Minh Suong, director of the Dai Nam Real Estate Company.

 

"Purchasing land and houses in the outskirts areas carry high risk because proper plans have not been drawn up for several areas there. However, many people with actual demand of housing still venture to invest into due to their limited cash," said Suong.

 

Province to boost tourism

 

The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has announced plans to develop four tourism hubs to attract investment in the industry.

 

They are Vung Tau, Long Hai – Phuoc Hai, Nui Dinh, and Binh Chau – Ho Linh.

 

The plan envisages developing Vung Tau by 2015 into a coastal tourist centre that will offer spas, water sports, nocturnal entertainment, and trade and conference facilities.

 

Long Hai – Phuoc Hai will be developed into a cultural, sport, and spa-tourism cluster that will also offer historical relics and other tourist attractions.

 

Nui Dinh will become a hub for spas and shopping centred on the Ba Ria Shopping Centre.

 

Binh Chau – Ho Linh will offer luxury spas, cultural entertainment, and eco-tourism.

 

The province has spent VND10 billion (US$481,000) to build roads and bridges to serve tourism at Xuyen Moc, Dat Do and Long Dien districts in Vung Tau.

 

National Highway 51B has been completed, helping shorten the distance to nearby cities and provinces.

 

Many five-star resorts have opened in the province, including the Oceanami Resort & Luxury Home in Long Hai and Blue Sapphire Resort on the Chi Linh beach.

 

Environmentally friendly tourism projects like the MGM Grand Ho Tram resort near the coast have also come up.

 

With recreational tourism destinations mushrooming in Vung Tau city, real-estate investors are getting an opportunity, according to local authorities. Investors can own luxury apartments in these tourism areas and can lease them out as well.

 

The province has licensed 168 tourism projects with a total investment of nearly $12.2 billion, all in tourist hot spots close to the sea.

 

Construction of the Vung Tau administrative centre is under way, a project that will turn the city into one of the country's largest economic and tourism hubs.

 

Ba Ria-Vung Tau's 150km of coast include many beautiful beaches like Bai Truoc, Bai Sau, Bai Dau, and Bai Dua.

 

The province's many cultural, revolutionary and historic relics are also a major tourism draw.

 

Investors home in on Long An

 

Real estate is becoming attractive in southern Long An Province thanks to its solid infrastructure, particularly for transport.

 

Travelling between Long An and HCM City, the country's economic hub, has become significantly easier and quicker with the development of many transport projects – some of them already complete – which has accelerated socio-economic development in the province.

 

They include the HCM City-Trung Luong Expressway which opened in February 2010, Nguyen Van Linh and Vo Van Kiet Roads, Belt Road No 3, and the Tan Son Nhat – Long An Expressway which is under construction.

 

According to real estate analysts, since late 2010, Long An has become a hotspot for property investors, with prices of land near HCM City rising by between VND500,000 and VND4 million per square metre so far this year.

 

Doan Chi Thanh, general director of the Hoang Anh Sai Gon Real Estate Company, said much buying and selling has been happening at major projects like Five Star, Happy Land, Long Hau, Everluck Residence, and Long Dinh trade centre.

 

Since late 2010, both the prices and number of transactions here have shot up, he said.

 

Property industry insiders said the markets in most places near HCM City, including Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Naiwere expected to flourish this year.

 

There have already been symptoms of that, they said.

 

Asked about the phenomenon, analysts said the HCM City market is saturated while the minimum investment needed is also large.

 

Besides, there is little land there to be sold, forcing many investors to move to neighbouring localities, particularly Long An, they added.

 

Property prices in places like Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An are still low and likely to yield better profits to investors, Luong Tri Thin, chairman of the Dat Xanh Group, said.

 

Exporters called on to create innovative plastic designs

 

Vietnamese exporters need to diversify their designs of plastic products and increase investment in market research to further penetrate the Japanese market, an expert has said.

 

"Profit comes from not only production and processing but also from innovation and creativity that can meet market demand," said Fumio Koyama, senior advisor at Japan International Cooperation Agency.

 

Speaking at a meeting yesterday in HCM City on Japanese imports of plastics, Koyama said exporters should also pay more attention to investing in infrastructure and machinery.

 

In Viet Nam, there are more than 2,000 plastics manufacturers, including foreign-invested enterprises. About 80 per cent of them are located in HCM City and southern provinces, and most are small-scale operations.

 

Investment in high technology will help businesses compete with strong companies in domestic and export markets, he said.

 

The domestic plastic sector must import 80 per cent of its materials, so the fluctuation of plastics prices directly affects production expenses and makes business more volatile, Koyama said.

 

Because the cost for raw materials in Viet Nam is 10-15 per cent higher than in China or India, the plastics industry has become less competitive on price when exporting to other countries, including Japan.

 

The Vietnamese plastic industry has had a growth rate of 15-20 per cent per year. Total export turnover has seen an increase year-on-year. Last year, the plastic industry's export turnover reached more than US$1 billion while it was $950 million in 2009.

 

The US was the biggest importer of Vietnamese-made plastics, but in 2009, because of an American anti-dumping action against Viet Nam, Japan became the biggest country for Vietnamese exports.

 

In the first half of last year, Japan was the largest plastic importer accounting for 26.5 per cent of total exports, followed by the US with 13.2 per cent and Germany with 8.1 per cent.

 

According to the Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency, total export turnover to Japan will reach $255 million this year, with plastic exports accounting for 24.7 per cent of the total.

 

Still, Viet Nam exports only $235 million worth of plastics to Japan, although import demand is around $8 billion.

 

Vietnamese exporters, lacking experience and market information, have not manufactured a sufficient variety of products that meet Japan's strict regulations on quality and design.

 

Property loans need standardising

 

The Ministry of Construction (MoC) has asked the Government to draw up property loan standards for credit organisations in order to regulate the domestic real estate market.

 

According to the proposal, the standards would create conditions for real estate investors with a real demand for capital to access loans for financially viable projects. The ministry also asked the Government not to consider the property industry as a non-production industry because its development had a knock on effect on other industries.

 

Construction enterprises have agreed with the proposal.

 

Le Khac Hiep, Chairman of Vincom Group, said the State should have specific regulations on bank loans to create favourable conditions for property developers.

 

The ministry also suggested that property transactions should not be conducted in cash.

 

According to the ministry, over the past 10 years, the number of enterprises investing in real estate has increased by 20-50 per cent per year.

 

The ministry said the direction of housing and apartment projects was uneven because enterprises had focused on developing luxury apartment and villas while demand was really in the middle and low end bracket.

 

The ministry expected this to change soon and for the market to make a strong recovery.

 

Companies must boost performance

 

Small and medium-sized enterprises should use the Balanced Scorecard, a strategic performance measurement tool and semi-standard structured report, to achieve greater success, a seminar heard in HCM City yesterday.

 

Alan Fell, a Certified Balanced Scorecard Master Professional, said the BSC provides a framework that encourages the use of both financial and non-financial measures of performance, allowing businesses to pinpoint their strategic objectives by balancing four perspectives – financial, customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth – to measure their performance.

 

It also enables organisations to translate their vision and strategy into action, he said.

 

City gas price falls after earlier increase

 

The retail price for gas in HCM City fell by around VND5,000 per 12-kg canister 10 days after the price was increased.

 

Yesterday, the Sai Gon Petro Company announced it would decrease the price for 12-kg canisters by VND6,000 to VND376,000 (US$18).

 

MT Gas Company also reported it would decrease its price for the same size container by VND5,000.

 

Companies said they cut the price after receiving many complaints from the public regarding the price increase.

 

Exports to Senegal hit $78.9m in first 4 mths

 

Year-on-year export turnover to Senegal trebled to US$78.9 million in the first four months of this year, according to the Viet Nam General Department of Customs.

 

Rice accounted for 92 per cent of the total export value during the period while motorbike spare parts came in a distant second.

 

Other Vietnamese exports to Senegal include pepper, cassava, computers, confectioneries, seafood and footwear. Imports from Senegal during the period were valued at $5.8 million.

 

Thai Nguyen revokes investment licences

 

The northern province of Thai Nguyen decided this week to withdraw investment licences from 22 out of 60 overdue projects to strengthen the provincial investment environment.

 

By the end of the first quarter, about 460 new projects were approved in the province and granted investment licences.

 

Total capital for the approved projects reached more than VND150 trillion (US$7.2 billion).

 

Vietinbank joins hands with VNS Securities Co

 

VNS Securities inked a financial support deal with VietinBank's Dong Da branch on Thursday in order to it develop its securities services.

 

VietinBank's branch is set to help VNS Securities manage its client accounts, advancing them money for securities investment. The bank will further assist the brokerage house with adding potential new clients.

 

During the signing ceremony, the VNS Securities general director revealed its official listing on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange to be implemented during the third quarter of this year.

 

State raises $25.3 million in bond auction

 

The State budget raised VND530 billion (US$25.3 million) from a total of VND1.2 trillion ($57.1 million) worth of T-bills auctioned on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange on Thursday. The bills were divided into 3 year (13.25 per cent coupon value) and 5-year (13.2 per cent coupon value) notes, each worth VND1 trillion.

 

Bond analysts said that commercial banks returned to buy T-bills when the deposit rate stood at 17-20 per cent a year and the lending rate at 22 per cent. If banks managed to buy bonds at a coupon rate of 13.2 per cent a year, they only spent 1.8 per cent, much lower than the deposit rate.

 

Japanese funds buy stakes in Nutifood

 

Japan's Dream Incubator Inc and ORIX Corporation have acquired a 25 per cent stake in Dong Tam Nutrition Company (Nutifood) as part of initial investment endeavors in Viet Nam.

 

The deal was facilitated by the DI Asian Industrial Fund LP, a large-scale Japanese investment fund targeting non-listed Vietnamese companies.

 

According to the Orix Corporation press release, the fund would be dispatching a consultant from Dream Incubator Inc to act as an outside director to Nutifood in support of strategy formation. The fund would also aim to further increase Nutifood's corporate value by actively supporting business and capital alliances with Japanese companies, especially those working in consumer goods, the release said.

 

Vitaly Co cancels listings in Ha Noi

 

The Ha Noi Stock Exchange announced the cancellation of the listing of 6 million Vitaly Company (VTA) shares due May 31 on Thursday. The cancellation is due to consecutive losses over the course of three years.

 

During 2008, the company suffered losses of VND4.7 billion ($224,000); followed by VND34.7 billion ($1.7 million) loss in 2009 and a VND42.1 billion ($2 million) loss in 2010.

 

The company posted a figure of VND8.8 billion ($419,050) in post-tax profit during the first quarter of 2011 with a turnover of VND52.9 billion compared to VND18.3 billion in the first quarter.

 

Trade boom in shrimp, tra leads to stock shortages

 

As the shrimp and tra fish prices rise both locally and globally, farmers and traders in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta are paying more for breeder shrimp and fish.

Most of the shrimp and fish breeding centres in the Delta have sold all of their breeder fish and shrimp, leading to a shortage and an increase in price.

 

The Delta is entering the main shrimp breeding season. Only 25 per cent of the entire shrimp-breeding areas in provinces like Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Ben Tre and Tra Vinh is currently productive because of the shortage of breeder shrimp.

 

The Delta has 1,200 shrimp breeding centres which meet about 50 per cent of the Delta's shrimp fry demand.

 

The remaining 50 per cent is generally bought from other southeastern and central provinces. However, the quality of shrimp fries bought from those localities are not strictly quarantined.

 

The price of breeder shrimp is now about VND80 a head, up two to three times against the same period last year.

 

Chau Cong Bang, deputy director of the Ca Mau Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Ca Mau was the country's largest shrimp breeding province with an area of 260,000ha and needed about 13 billion of shrimp fries a year.

 

But the province's shrimp breeding centres can only supply about 5-6 billion fries and the remaining must be bought from other provinces, even from other countries.

 

"The weather is now unfavourable so it is difficult for shrimp breeding centres to produce fries, making the scarcity of fries become even more severe," he said.

 

Nguyen Van Khoi, deputy director of the Soc Trang Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said farmers were buying breeders from unknown sources that have not quarantined their fish and shrimp.

 

Only 15 per cent of shrimp fries bought from other provinces were disease-free, Khoi said, adding that this was causing outbreaks of disease.

 

Tra fish fries 1.4 cm long now cost VND1,200 a head compared to VND800-900 in April, Viet Nam Economic Times has reported.

 

The Delta has 175 tra fish breeding centres, which are producing 19 per cent more breeder fish compared to 2009, according to the Fisheries General Department. But that higher output still cannot meet the current demand of farmers who raise tra fish.

 

To solve the quality issue of tra fish and shrimp fries, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will provide 100,000 breeder tra fish for the Delta to replace current breeders at the end of the year, said MARD deputy minister Vu Van Tam.

These breeder tra fish would help raise the quality of commercial tra fish on the market, Tam said.

 

The ministry, which will soon issue criteria for shrimp farming areas, plans to grant codes to 50 per cent of shrimp farming areas to track down shrimp origin.

 

The ministry would also strengthen the transfer of shrimp reproduction techniques for localities so they can ensure an adequate supply of shrimp fries, he said.

 

Half-fake gold impossible to detect, on sale now

 

Gold mixed with volfram has appeared in Vietnam and a tael (1.2 ounce) of such gold will cause a loss of up to VND10 million (US$483) to buyers, warned Nguyen Minh Chau, general director of the Bao Tin Minh Chau Co.

 

“I have received many questions from traders who asked me how to distinguish between pure and impure gold,” Chau said when talking to media yesterday afternoon.

 

Such gold has appeared in Vietnam for the first time, he confirmed.

 

The impure gold contains volfram and some other heavy metals that are mixed into pure gold according to a special method during the gold melting process.

 

The difference is so subtle that experienced gold traders and gold analysis machines currently used in Vietnam fail to detect it, he said.

 

Some traders said that mixed gold was first found in Vietnam in March in the form of standard gold block bearing famous foreign brands and weighing 1-2.5 kg each.

 

Some importers sold it as 99.99 percent gold to many gold shop owners, who later had it tested with gold testing machines, which also confirmed it as pure gold.

 

When melting a tael of such gold, local experts found that only 60-80 percent of it was gold and the remainder was foreign matters looking like fine sand.

 

Tests of the impure gold at foreign laboratories showed that Vonfram accounted for the most part of the heavy metals that had been mixed in it, Chau said.

 

Volfram, a hard and heavy metal that can more easily melt than gold, sells now for around VND1 million per tael. And a tael of gold containing 10-30 percent Vonfram will deprive buyers of up to VND 10 million ($450), he warned.

 

However, there have been no complaints from customers about the impure gold so far, he said.

 

The origin of gold mixed with vonfram has yet to identified, Chau said, adding that mixing vonfram into gold cannot be made in Vietnam due to technology reasons.

 

But he also had a word of criticism for the critics: "Critics seem to be passive in their criticism.

 

"We want young artists to remember that through their works, people [also] understand tradition."

 

The meeting attracted dozens of theatre artists and critics and writers from 20 State-owned and private art troupes around the city.

 

City authorities who attended promised more support for the association's activities.

 

More budget tours for would-be summer vacationers

 

Some travel agencies in HCMC are introducing new budget tours this summer as tourists facing a budget crunch want to cut costs.

 

Saigontourist has introduced the Iko travel tour, a four-day package tour to China which costs VND11 million (US$550) per tourist, VND2 million ($100) less than the usual price.

 

The travel agency has also reduced the price of another tour to China by as much as VND7 million ($350).

 

Other travel agencies like Viettravel and TST are following suit by offering low-budget tours to Thailand with prices reduced by VND4 million ($200); tourists to China pay VND2-4 million ($1-200) less for the trip and tourists to Hong Kong–Guangzhou–Shenzen are given a 25 percent discount.

 

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, head of the marketing department of Saigontourist, said some airlines have also priced down their tickets on certain days, and some of its partners also reduced their service costs, enabling the travel agency to provide budget tours.