Farmers must benefit from agricultural production, says minister

It’s time for the agricultural sector to accelerate its restructuring process to improve product quality and boost farmers’ income, says agricultural minister Cao Duc Phat.

Raising the added value of farm products is the key to increasing the competitive capacity of the agricultural sector, Phat said in a weekly online Q&A session held by the Government Portal on August 24.

He said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is implementing an agriculture restructuring programme towards higher added value of products and sustainable development.

Agricultural production will be restructured towards sustainable development

All localities are required to re-examine their agricultural structure so as to invest more in areas of highly competitive advantage, especially crop production and livestock breeding, to make a higher economic value.  

They are encouraged to mobilise agricultural investments from other economic sectors, boost technology transfer, and introduce support policies for farmers and businesses in developing these potential areas.

Phat said scientific and technological advances have been transferred to farmers in various forms over the years. However, incentive policies are needed to encourage businesses to get involved in this process to ease the financial burden on the State.

The MARD has issued a circular for localities to instruct farmers to change crop structure and use high yield rice varieties.

He said the ministry has worked closely with several localities to clarify why farmers recently abandoned paddy cultivation and switched to other crops. They initially found that high inputs costs but low prices of products forced famers to abandon their land.

Minister Phat confirmed his ministry will help farmers increase their incomes from agricultural production by growing other crops.  

Given the market economy, Vietnam still reserves land funds for rice cultivation. However, farmers can switch to other crops of higher economic value if they wish, and the MARD will support this process, he said.

The Minister went on to say that the MARD will shortly restructure crops planted on rice soil by selecting appropriate, high-yield varieties for every locality.

Trade deficit reaches $456m

Viet Nam is estimated to have seen a US$456 million trade deficit in the first half of this month, according to Viet Nam Customs.

The country exported $5.47 billion worth of goods, of which foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises contributed $3.2 billion, accounting for 60 per cent of the whole country's export value in the period.

In the first half of this month, Viet Nam mainly exported garments and textiles worth $861 million, computers, electronic products and components ($454 million), crude oil ($336 million) and seafood ($295 million).

Imports of goods and services amounted to $5.93 billion, representing a 3.7 per cent decrease over the first half of last month.

Key imported products were computers, electronic products and components worth $704 million, clothes ($328 million), petrol ($280 million), steel ($259 million) and plastic materials ($247 million).

From January 1 to August 15, the country's total import-export revenue was $158.38 billion, an increase of 16 per cent over the same period last year.

Of the total, exports were estimated at $78.75 billion, an increase of 15.4 per cent. This met 62.5 per cent of the $126 billion plan for the year set by the National Assembly.

The country imported $79.64 billion worth of goods and services, increasing 16 per cent over the same period last year, making a trade deficit of $888 million in the period.

FDI enterprises' export turnover in the period was $47.56 billion, increasing 27 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

Viet Nam plans to incur a $9 billion trade deficit this year.

VN Airlines offloads Techcombank shares, bonds as part of restructure

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will sell more than 24 million shares of Techcombank, unloading its entire 2.7-per-cent stake, Viet Capital Securities announced on its website yesterday.

The common shares, each having a face value of VND10,000 (US$0.47), will be auctioned at the Ha Noi Stock Exchange on September 26 at an initial price of VND12,100 ($0.57) per share.

The carrier also registered to sell nearly 828,000 ten-year convertible bonds with a face value of VND100,000 ($4.76) each, through an auction at the exchange on the same day. The initial bid will be VND132,700 ($6.3) per bond.

Vietnam Airlines will gain about VND400 billion ($19.05 million) if the transactions are successful.

Market observers said these were among the first steps of the carrier in a road map to withdraw capital from non-core lines of business, in accordance with a restructuring scheme approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for the 2012-15 period.

Viet Capital is a consultant and share issuer for the bids. Investors can register to buy the shares and bonds between August 30 and September 19.

Early this month, Vietnam Airlines said it planned to launch its long-delayed initial public offering (IPO) in the second quarter of next year. It is expected to obtain $200 million by selling 383 million shares at the IPO.

Techcombank on Monday got a nod from the State Bank to increase its equity by VND30 billion ($1.43 million) to VND8.87 trillion ($421.3 million).

Thai Binh power plan gets credit

The Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and its Japanese partners signed an export credit agreement worth US$141 million in Ha Noi on Thursday.

The agreement aims to help PetroVietnam purchase equipment for the Thai Binh 2 Thermal Power Plant Project. The credit is funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Bank of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), Citibank and Mizuho Corporate Bank.

The money will be allocated to buy steam turbines and other machinery, provided by the Japan-based Sojitz Corporation.

The Thai Binh 2 power plant project, which is being built in Thai Thuy district of the Red River Delta province of Thai Binh, demonstrates the determination of PetroVietnam to meet rising domestic demand for electricity.

The company wants to help ensure a stable electricity supply which serves the country's economic development and supports the business activities of Japanese enterprises in Viet Nam.

Russians open trade office

The Russian Trade Representative Office - HCM City branch was officially launched yesterday, tasked with boosting trade and investment ties between Russia and Viet Nam.

"We will create the most favourable conditions for the newly established office to deepen the cooperation between the two countries," said Le Duong Quang, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.

According to A. E. Likhachev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, bilateral trade turnover has increased fourfold with average annual growth of nearly 30 per cent during the period spanning 2007-12.

The two governments have set a bilateral turnover target of US$7 billion by 2015, while also aiming to raise cooperation to a new level and to expand the close trade relations between the two long-term allies.

In addition, the two sides aim to establish a free trade area in order to boost the bilateral trade turnover to US$12 billion by 2018.

According to the RTPO, over 60 per cent of Viet Nam's exports to Russia originated in southern provinces, the area in Viet Nam that Russian investors and tourists have traditionally paid most attention to.-

Bitexco gets nod for new urban area

Bitexco group, a diversified group, has been chosen to develop the Binh Quoi – Thanh Da peninsula in HCM City's Binh Thanh District into a new urban area.

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday, Le Hoang Quan, chairman of the city People's Committee, said the Party Committee and Government have approved Bitexco's bid.

Binh Quoi – Thanh Da will be built into an ecological urban area with modern eco-tourism services, commercial functions, and residential areas.

In the 426-ha park, public works will take up around 100ha, transport and infrastructure facilities, 48ha, and commercial facilities, 253ha.

To cost US$3 billion to develop, the area will be zoned to accommodate 30,000 permanent residents.

But at the meeting, the Department of Architecture Planning called for increasing the number to 41,000-50,000.

It also said an area should be earmarked for building a knowledge and technology centre.

Quan ordered the Department of Finance to focus on acquiring and clearing land and compensating the 3,000 households who would be affected by the project.

A 1/2000 scale zoning plan was approved in 2007 and he instructed the Department of Architecture Planning to work with Bitexco to make changes that may be required.

He agreed with a proposal by Binh Thanh authorities to resettle local residents in apartment buildings and houses with gardens.

People owning small plots of land that are taken over will be moved into apartments and those with larger pieces will get houses. The peninsula has many farmers with large land plots.

Healthcare hike lifts August CPI

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) edged up 0.83 per cent in August hitting a 7.5 per cent year-on-year increase, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced on Saturday.

The jump represents a 3.53 per cent increase on last December and saw prices rise between 0.22 and 4.11 per cent in 10 out of 11 goods categories. The biggest hike was felt across medicine and healthcare, with the lowest price increase in household commodities. Prices remained constant in the postal, telecoms and service sectors.

Petrol price adjustments in June and July were believed to be behind 0.08 per cent of the CPI increase, according to the Head of GSO Price Statistics, Nguyen Duc Thang.

The price of food and foodstuffs also increased as major storms battered agricultural yields nation-wide, while education services saw a month-on-month surge of 0.9 per cent as tuition fees for the new school year were increased in several cities and provinces.

The price of gold saw a slight increase while the US dollar price remained stable at 21,036 VND, he said.

Thang warned that the country needed to prepare for unexpected price movements until the end of this year.

The country's two major economic hubs, Ha Noi and HCM City posted a CPI increase of 3.16 per cent and 0.36 per cent, respectively.

Manufacturing continues to lead nation's FDI charge

Foreign investors poured a total of US$12.63 billion in Viet Nam during the past eight months, an increase of 19.5 per cent over the same period last year.

The Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, reports that as of August 20, nearly 770 new projects were licensed, representing registered capital of over $7.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.2 percent.

At the same time, 296 projects contributed an additional $5.22 billion in capital, 31.7 per cent higher than the previous period.

The FIA says foreign investment was funnelled into 18 industries, of which processing and manufacturing took the lead with 370 projects worth $10.817 billion, accounting for 85 percent of total foreign investment capital.

The real estate sector ranked second with more than $588 million, representing 4.7 percent of the total flow.

Japan is the largest of Viet Nam's 47 foreign investors with $4.35 billion (34.5 percent of the total), followed by Singapore ($3.78 billion, 29.9 per cent) and Russia ($1 billion, 8.1 percent).

Foreign businesses have invested in 50 cities and provinces across the country, not including offshore oil projects.

With an additional $2.8 billion in investment for the Nghi Son oil refinery, the central province of Thanh Hoa received the largest amount of FDI (an increase of 23.3 percent).

It was followed by the northern mountainous province of Thai Nguyen with $2.185 billion, while the Red River Delta province of Bac Ninh came third with $1.39 billion.

FDI disbursement in the period stood at $7.560 billion, up 3.8 percent from last year.

The FDI sector's export earnings surged 21.7 per cent against last year's level to more than $7.56 billion, accounting for 66.1 per cent of the country's total export revenue.

It imported $48.297 billion worth of goods, again representing 66.1 per cent of the national total and up 25.1 percent on 2012.

VSA: Steel price-slash wars badly damaging the market

The Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA) required steel makers to stop reducing the selling price of their products to make the local steel market healthier.

The association said that local steel makers slashed their selling price by VND100,000-200,000 per tonne and even a few producers cut the price by VND1 million, though the rate was lower than production cost.

That created an unhealthy steel market, said Nguyen Tien Nghi, VSA deputy chairman.

Additionally, local steel products must compete with steel products containing boron imported at cheaper prices from China because these products receive a zero tax rate.

The association said last year that the volume of steel products containing boron imported from China to Viet Nam reached 679,000 tonnes for rolled steel products and 275,000 tonnes for flat steel.

The large volume of imported Chinese steel products have impacted local makers, especially now when they have had difficulties in production and business due to the economic downturn, the association said.

The producers have new products and they cut selling prices to attract customers. The association called on producers to stop reducing their selling price to fight for market share because reductions in selling price create losses and then they do not have the capital for continued production.

The producers should cut production cost and balance supply and demand to ensure adequate production and reduce inventories, the association said. They should also continue to expand export markets to increase sales.

The association also suggested that the State cut value-added-tax for steel products from 10 per cent to 5 per cent to promote sales.

Meanwhile, steel producers should strengthen improvements in technological production to decrease production costs and to improve competitiveness.

Steel consumption in August was expected to reach 360,000-370,000 tonnes but was 395,000 tonnes lower than July, Nghi said.

Red book grants suffer lengthy delays

Granting of land use certificates known as "red books" has remained stagnant despite the Government's efforts to speed up the project.

According to the Government's plan, the red books are to be issued for residential projects in the country, but have stumbled due to a lack of provisions.

Statistics from Ha Noi's Department of Natural Resources and Environment showed that around 90 per cent of the city's residential projects had not been issued red books, despite having completed all required procedures.

In Ha Noi, more than 500,000 apartments had not been granted house ownership certificates, while in the Viet Hung Urban Area, apartments in HUD 3's Happy House Garden project had changed hands with buyers since 2010. Many buyers had completed payment of their respective properties but had still failed to receive ownership certificates.

The chairman of HUD 3, Phan Truong Son, told Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper that a co-investor quit the project while it was underway, causing further difficulties in obtaining red books due to the lack of provisions.

According to deputy director of the Ha Noi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Nguyen Huu Nghia, the granting of land use rights and house ownership certificates had varied, adding that there had been violations of construction, changes in plans or investors had failed to complete legal documents and payments to the State as required.

In an effort to speed up the granting of land use certificates, Tran Hung Phi, Head of the Registration and Statistics Department under the General Department of Land Administration, said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment would categorise project issues.

He added violations would be handled but that the rights of home buyers was paramount, estimating that 80 per cent of apartments currently without "red books" in Ha Noi could be granted certificates.

Early last week, the ministry submitted a report on the difficulties of granting red books to the Prime Minister, proposing certificates be granted to project investors who had not completed documents or payments to the State, but were still compliant with master planning requirements.

At the Government's meeting early this month, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai urged localities to complete the granting of red book by the end of this year.

$180m ship-building plan nears fruition

Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai has agreed in principle to include a shipbuilding facility in Khanh Hoa Province in the country's masterplan for the industry.

The licence for the US$180 million project in Cam Ranh City's Cam Thinh Dong Commune was granted to Oshima Shipbuilding Viet Nam Ltd (Japan) in 2012.

The 50-year project will develop a shipbuilding facility that can build 38,000 and 56,000 tonne vessels.

Oshima is scheduled to start construction of the 304ha facility in February 2015 after three years of site clearance and ground filling.

When construction is completed in 2017, the facility will employ some 3,000 local workers.

The new plant, set to start operations in 2017, will be able to build twenty four vessels per year by 2026.

Deputy PM Hai has asked the Transport Ministry to expedite work on the development masterplan for the shipbuilding industry and submit it to the Government soon.

Small brokers struggle to compete with big players

Brokerage companies are facing intense competition to win customers as they struggle to offer the type of low interest loans that are available at larger, more established brokers.

In this race, small brokers are always at a disadvantage. The prolonged downturn on the stock market hit many investors. Therefore, more and more investors are paying attention to trading costs such as brokerage fees and interest rates on borrowing.

Current margin interest rates at securities companies have fallen substantially compared to five months ago.

Viet Capital Securities offers the lowest margin interest rate at 14.76 per cent per year (0.041 per cent a day), lower than the previous rate of 17.28 per cent.

The rate at Bao Viet Securities is 15 per cent per year (0.042 per cent a day), while it is 15.5 per cent per year (0.043 per cent a day) at Maybank KimEng Securities. The margin interest rate at both HCM City Securities and Vietcombank Securities is higher at 16.2 per cent per year (0.045 per cent a day).

However, investors must borrow at higher interest rates of over 17 per cent per year at medium-sized and small brokers.

To stimulate trading, some companies are even provide interest-fee margin loans for the short term.

VNDirect Securities Co announced a zero per cent interest in the rate for six-day margin loans, effective from August 15, while its normal margin interest rate is 0.048 per cent a day.

Other companies such as FPT Securities and APEC Securities also offer interest free two-day margin loans. Their average margin interest rates are 0.045 per cent a day and 0.048 per cent per day, respectively.

However, a similar move is unlikely to be made by small brokers.

According to market insiders, at small securities companies where profits are a few hundreds of million dong, fees on margin loans are an important revenue source. Besides, small companies are not able to reduce margin interest rates below 15 per cent per year because they also have to borrow at 13-14 per cent.

Small firms also find it harder to attract customers via professional analysis reports. Big companies who can invest a few billion dong a year to build their analysis team can send investors daily reports, updating them on hot stocks and new economic trends. This is a tall order for small businesses.

Small brokers can not compete with big players due to a shortage of capital and human resources. Many of these brokers, such as Au Viet, Sao Viet, Cho Lon, Delta, Ha Noi and Truong Son, have had to shut down.

There are over 100 securities companies now operating in the market but experts say the number should be reduced to 30.

Vung Ang EZ attracts 79 projects worth $16 billion

The Vung Ang Economic Zone in the central Ha Tinh Province has attracted 79 projects with registered capital totalling over US$16 billion to date.

According to Ho Anh Tuan, head of the zone, these 79 projects include 44 domestic and 35 foreign invested ones.

In the first seven months of 2013, investment licences were granted for 14 projects in the zone with total capital of more than $500 million.

One of the largest projects in the zone aims to build a $10 billion steel factory and sea port invested by Formosa Heavy Industries Corporation from Taiwan, China.

Firms based in the zone have so far created over 15,000 jobs with an average salary of VND4.5-5.5 million ($212 – 260) per month.

Vung Ang EZ, one of the country's five key coastal economic zones, was founded in 2006, covering an area of 22.78ha in Ky Anh District.

VN markets remain in the mire

Shares continued to slide on both national stock exchanges yesterday.

Both national bourses tumbled as the stock market continued its four day slump.

The HCM City Stock Exchange fell 1.87 per cent to 486.82 points, with losers outnumbering gainers by 121-70.

Trading value increased 22.6 per cent compared to Thursday's level, exceeding VND1.16 trillion (US$54.7 million), while trade volume fetched 54.16 million shares.

The VN30, tracking the city's top 30 shares, retreated 1.36 per cent to 542.08 points.

Only three stocks rallied, including Eximbank (EIB), PetroVietnam Drilling Services (PVD) and Sacombank (STB); while Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Kinh Do Confectionery (KDC), private equity group Masan (MSN), Vietcombank (VCB) and Vinamilk (VNM) were among the 26 shares that slid in value.

VNM yesterday lost VND7,000 (about 5 per cent of its value), achieving the fastest decline within a year.

With the exception of software developer FPT (FPT), selling pressure from foreign investors was the major cause in the fall in blue chips, said Bao Viet Securities Company analyst Nguyen Xuan Binh.

Similar to divestment trends in late June, the sell off by foreign investors this time appeared in emerging markets amid news the US Federal Reserve would cut its QE3 (quantitative easing) programme.

"However, the impacts of foreign divestment to the Vietnamese market will not be large," Binh said, "as the characteristics of Viet Nam's economy is different".

Whilst the domestic market has experienced a decline since 2009, some economic indicators have recovered after periods of instability, he added.

He expected the impacts would last in the short-term.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the benchmark HNX-Index slid 0.7 per cent to 61.42 points. The HNX30, representing the bourse's 30 largest shares by capitalisation and liquidity, also fell 0.54 per cent to 114.32 points.

With around 21.1 million shares changing hands, trading value slightly increased to VND176.9 billion ($8.3 million).

Foreign investors turned to be net sellers on both exchanges yesterday by a total margin of VND160.15 billion ($7.5 million).

Foreign investors had been net buyers in Ha Noi for the previous five sessions.

Greater awareness of EU affairs key to relations

Vietnamese officials and the general public need to better understand EU affairs, including the functioning of its institutions in the context of current events, so as to strengthen EU-Viet Nam relations, a senior diplomat said yesterday.

Franz Jessen, ambassador and head of the EU Delegation to Viet Nam, said that the improved awareness and understanding would be "fundamental" to "bringing forward the partnership that has been elevated by the official singing of the EU-Partnership Co-operation Agreement last year".

Shortly after Jessen's opening remarks, a public lecture on the impact of financial and sovereign debt crisis on EU institutional reform and foreign relations was given by Prof Steven Blockmans, senior research fellow and Head of the EU Foreign Policy Unit at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.

He provided an assessment on the changing roles of EU institutions in its transformation process, the legitimising mechanisms of the European bloc's decision-making process and the impact of austerity measures on its global position.

Students from several universities in Ha Noi including the Ha Noi National University, Foreign Trade University, University of Social Sciences and Humanity, the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences attended the lecture.

Also in attendance were representatives from the EU member states' embassies in Ha Noi.

The lecture is one of a series of events that the European Union Delegation in Viet Nam is organising in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Other events include a high-level roundtable discussion and a training workshop in EU affairs for officials in Ha Noi and other provinces.

A press release from the EU delegation said the events aim to strengthen knowledge of EU institutional arrangements and decision-making mechanisms "in the context of recent developments including the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty - that entered into force in December 2009 - and the impact of the recent debt crisis".

The high-level round table discussion on EU-Affairs will take place on August 26.

Senior officials and leaders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will discuss the role of the EU in global and regional issues, the principles, values and objectives of it's external actions and the evolution of its mandate and powers since the Lisbon Treaty.

A two-day training workshop providing information on these issues will be held in central Da Nang City on August 27-28 for 50 officials from provincial departments.

The events are part of the EU-Viet Nam Strategic Dialogue Facility, a three-year programme that aims to support Viet Nam's development through the implementation of activities in areas covered by the EU-Viet Nam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA).

This EU-funded Euro 2.9 million project will continue until January 2016.

Experts urge reform to real estate laws

More amendments on how to ease house ownership for local people and to develop a sustainable real estate market were proposed at a seminar on draft revised laws on Housing and the Law on Real Estate Business on Friday.

Deputies from relevant ministries, experts and businesses voiced their opinions to amend regulations regarding the sale, purchase and leasing of houses, and housing development objectives.

Opinions were given on how to encourage foreign organisations and individuals to invest in housing construction or enter into real estate transactions in Viet Nam as well as the desires of many overseas Vietnamese to buy and own homes.

Head of the housing and real estate department under the ministry of construction Nguyen Manh Khoi said amendments on these laws, which issued in 2005, should be made in meeting the current demands of socio-economic development.

"The law on the housing and property business should be reformed in order to encourage foreign investment in housing and real estate projects, creating more favourable conditions for healthy and transparent development of the property market," Khoi said at the seminar.

"The proposals of amendments about draft laws on the housing and real estate business also focus on the ownership of houses and apartments in Viet Nam for foreigners. We mean that a foreigner with a three-month entry visa would allow buying at least a house and an apartment in Viet Nam," he said.

He added that representative offices of foreign businesses or individuals would get the ownership of a house (maximum area of 500sq.m land) or an apartment associated with land-use right in 50 years and the ownership will be extended by 50 years.

Khoi said foreigners should get compensation in case their houses or apartments were cleared by the State.

He also said overseas Vietnamese are allowed to buy or lease a house in Viet Nam.

Nguyen Thuy Nhan, general director of HCM City-based Binh Chanh construction investment company, said he expects that the draft revised laws would be soon ratified.

"We are looking forward to detailed regulations on land-use right procedures, transparent policies and public information on planning from the draft revised laws," Nhan said.

Deputy minister of construction Nguyen Tran Nam said the proposed amendments to these laws aim to correct defects in the laws passed in 2005, and set the property market as well as housing investment on the right track.

"Vast amendments to the laws have been proposed by deputies from relevant ministries, businesses and provincial administrations and experts. We want to hear opinions from all deputies in order to report to the Government before the draft revised laws will likely be proposed to the National Assembly in October for ratification next year," Nam said.

"We are also trying to ease the complications of house and apartment ownership for people, businesses and organisations. Of course, strict regulations will be set for investors in housing and real estate projects," he added.

Nguyen Van Phan, deputy head of real estate business department, said the draft revised laws eyes stricter management of real estate businesses.

"Property developers must have a minimum legal capital of VND2 billion (US$95,000), while each real estate business should include at least two professional agents or occupational certificate of property," Phan said.

He said the draft revised laws also require that real estate project investors must take out risk insurance or make a deposit at bank for their housing or property projects.

"The stricter regulations aim to protect buyers in case businesses suffer bankruptcy," he explained.

Phan also said that prevention of money laundering in real estate has also been proposed.

"All real estate transaction from VND2 billion or suspected trade must be declared."

Vice minister Nam also stressed the real estate sector needed the State's intervention to ensure sustainable development.

He said the draft revised law also requires that real estate or housing projects must be assessed by local government for buyers before being sold.

At yesterday's event, the ministry of construction and Da Nang City also agreed on a joint action plan to create a vision for a housing strategy in the central city towards 2020 and 2030.

Da Nang has built 8,000 apartments with total investment of VND1.7 trillion ($81 million), and nine buildings for 10,000 students with a cost of VND460 billion ($22 million).

Japanese investors continue to pour cash into VN market

Viet Nam continues to be an attractive destination for Japanese investors and the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau is showing strong pulling power for drawing foreign dollars into the country.

Japan's Consul General in HCM City Hida Harumitsu was addressing a conference in Ba Ria – Vung Tau as part of celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of Viet Nam-Japan diplomatic ties yesterday, saying the number of Japanese investors coming to the country has been rising steadily during recent years.

The event aimed to commemorate the diplomatic anniversary as well as to discuss the status of Japanese investment in Viet Nam. It also highlighted Ba Ria – Vung Tau as an area prioritised for Japanese foreign investment.

The province is a preferred location for Japanese investment thanks to its developed oil and gas sector, Thi Vai – Cai Mep deap seaport and the planned Long Thanh International Airport.

Last year, Japan ranked top in terms of foreign direct investment into Viet Nam, with US$5.1 billion, and this position remained unchanged in the first half of this year with $4 billion, Harumitsu said.

Ba Ria – Vung Tau is currently home to 18 Japanese-funded projects, capitalised at $1.7 billion, of those 12 are currently operational, local authorities said.

They said that the province has closely co-operated with Japanese organisations such as the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and the Japanese Business Association in HCM City to develop strategies and policies to make lure investors.

The local body said it would further petition the Government to provide more incentives to support industries and to build specialised industrial zones aimed at Japanese investors.

It also hopes to gain support in improving its investment climate by upgrading its infrastructure to meet the potential investor's requirements.

Previously, the provincial authorities signed a memorandum of understanding on co-operation with Kawasaki City and approved the establishment of the Kawasaki industrial zone.

A further memorandum approved the opening of a representative office in Japan to promote investment for the province's support industries.

The sectors in need of investment are metalworking, mechanical processing, plastic component production, electrical and electronic components and software for other industries.

VN urges US to issue fair ruling

Viet Nam expects the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to make an objective and fair decision over frozen warm-water shrimp imported from the Southeast Asian nation.

"The ITC's decision should be in line with the spirit of free and fair trade as well as growing economic and trade ties between the two countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said.

He made the statement at a press briefing in Ha Noi on Thursday in response to queries about Viet Nam's stance on the US Department of Commerce's final decision to impose counter prevailing duties on its frozen shrimp imports.

"Over the past many years, Viet Nam's shrimp industry has operated in line with market mechanisms without enjoying any Government subsidy," he noted. The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) earlier voiced its objection to the US' decision issued on August 12, under which Vietnamese frozen shrimp entering the country is subject to a 7.9 percent anti-subsidy duty.

The decision will take effect when it gets approval from the ITC. Ballots will be cast on September 19.

MoF yet to provide investor protection

The idea of setting up an investor protection scheme was presented to the Ministry of Finance three years ago by the Viet Nam Association of Financial Investors. So far, there has been no response.

The association (VAFI) recently repeated its proposal after the ministry on July 30 issued a circular providing guidance on the use and management of the insured persons protection fund.

According to VAFI secretary Nguyen Hoang Hai, the stock market longs to have a protection scheme for investors.

He said the ministry's delay was hard to accept.

The Law on Securities, which came into effect in 2007, requires securities companies to set up a mandatory investor protection fund to compensate investors if a company becomes insolvent or bankrupt - or its wrongdoings cause harms to investors.

Despite this, nothing has been done. "More than three years have passed since our proposal was sent, but the authority appears to have made no moves at all," Hai told the newspaper Dau tu chung khoan (Securities Investment).

"VAFI will continue to push the proposal to the ministry because it is an urgent requirement and in line with international practices," Hai said.

Already, wrongdoings by employees of some securities companies have caused heavy financial losses to investors. Abuse of investor accounts at Truong Son Securities Co, Dai Viet Securities Co and Beta Securities Co cost investors millions, even billions of dong.

When losses happen, investors do not know where to ask for help.

"We're very confused. We actually don't know which agency is responsible for protecting investors when securities companies appropriate our assets," said Le Thi Uyen.

She is one of the victims in the scandal at Dai Viet Securities Co. The company's employees are accused of abusing investor accounts to steal VND900 million (US$42,800).

The discrepancy was discovered in May, but so far nothing has been done.

Hai keeps his fingers crossed that the Ministry of Finance will eventually create a legal framework for the establishment and operation of an investor protection fund.

VN fertiliser imports on the up

Viet Nam is estimated to have imported total of 2.47 million tonnes of fertilisers worth US$968 million in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 24.5 per cent in volume and 11.6 per cent in value, the General Department of Customs said.

In July alone, the country imported 506,000 tonnes of fertilisers worth $179 million, rising 15.4 per cent and 7.5 per cent against the previous month in volume and value, respectively, the data showed.

China continued topping the list of fertiliser suppliers for Viet Nam in the period with 1.15 million tonnes, up 13.1 per cent on year and accounting for 46.4 per cent of total imports.

The Philippines came second with 211,000 tonnes, up 28.5 per cent. Other main suppliers in the period were Israel (164,000 tonnes) and Japan (159,000 tonnes).-

Prospects dim for VN electronics

Viet Nam's mechanical electronics industry was lagging behind other countries due to a lack of facilities and well-qualified engineers, leading industry experts claimed at a development strategy meeting yesterday.

Dr Pham Thi Huyen of the Viet Nam Development Forum said growth was a key motivator for developing countries like Viet Nam to produce equipment and devices for construction, transport, processing and health sectors, which were already internationally competitive.

However, according to experts, the country's mechanical electronics products remain rudimentary and sub-standard, with low intellectual value.

Viet Nam has failed to produce high-value components required by the world market, such as transistors.

The main issue was the country's total lack of modern laboratories to serve the industry, said experts, adding that technological assembly lines were backward and in need of investment.

Moreover, the country's engineers were just about capable of accomplishing tasks in a specific sector such as mechanics, electronics or automatics, but could not serve the mixed and comprehensive industry of mechanical electronics, they said.

Dr Tran Anh Quan of Institute of Machines and Industrial Equipments said it was necessary for the country to invest in creative software designs and the intellectual values of mechanical electronics products.

Dr Nguyen Ngoc Son of the National Economics University said the best way to develop the industry was to focus on training and supplying enough qualified engineers.

There was a pressing need to train mechanical engineers who are knowledgeable in automation theory and other technologies, so that they are able to design and produce complete products, he said.

According to the country's development plan for the mechanical electronics industry, about US$125 million will be invested in the industry up to 2015 and $134 million for the 2016-25 period.

The industry is expected to earn $18-20 million from its exports by 2015 and $60-65 million by 2025.

Kaspersky launches security update

Russia-based Kaspersky Lab on Wednesday launched new security software for Macbook and Android smartphones and tablets.

The company said that the new Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) products combine traditional anti-virus technologies with "advanced proactive and cloud-based protection methods".

The new products provide premium, easily managed security for Mac computers and Android devices, it said.

With more people using mobile devices, as well as Macbook, cybercriminals are taking a greater interest in them, said Nguyen An Minh Thai of Kaspersky Lab in Viet Nam.

SBV approves Techcombank plea

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has approved a plan by Techcombank to add VND30 billion (US$1.43 million) of charter capital.

The additional amount, coming from the bank's retained earnings, will bring its equity to VND8.878 trillion ($421.3 million).

The approval will be valid for a year, whereby Techcombank will only be able to raise capital in that time.-

PV Oil petrol stations to accept Visa

Customers buying fuel at 16 PV Oil petrol stations in HCM City and two in Ha Noi can pay using Visa cards from Wednesday.

OceanBank has installed the card terminals at the stations.

"This is the first time you can pay with your Visa cards for your petrol in Viet Nam," Lorijon Bacchi, the card company's country manager for Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Laos, said.

Pham Thi Loi, deputy CEO of PV Oil, said: "With more and more people using Visa credit and debit cards to pay for everyday purchases, we saw an opportunity to improve our payment options in such a way that will bring more convenience to a large number of our customers."

Following a pilot phase, the card acceptance would be scaled up across the country, Loi said.

Da Nang leads in disbursement of $1.42b property life raft

Central Da Nang City leads the country in disbursement of the State Government's VND30 trillion (US$1.42 billion) support package for the property market, according to a report from the State Bank of Viet Nam.

The report showed that Da Nang accounted for 29.25 per cent of the total disbursement, followed by Ha Noi with 28.58 per cent, northern Vinh Phuc Province with 11.85 per cent and HCM City with 10.51 per cent.

As of August 13, banks committed to disburse about VND65.57 billion ($3.17 million) from the package to 219 individual borrowers.

Experts support corporate deposit interests tax

Many experts have backed the Ministry of Finance's controversial proposal to levy taxes on corporate deposit interest.

In an act to amend the corporate income tax law, the ministry has expanded the list of taxable income. According to the proposal, the government will levy tax on the deposit interest and even the lending interest of corporations.

The proposal has been met with strong opposition from enterprises. The owner of one company said, "The Ministry of Finance should reconsider their decision because a lot of that interest goes to pay wages and bonuses for employees."

Meanwhile, several experts said it is reasonable to levy tax on interest.

Economist Nguyen Minh Phong said that the proposal might even prevent corporations from delaying paying salaries, taxes or investments to upgrade member companies to make profits from bank saving accounts.

Nguyen Tri Hieu, who has worked for 30 years in the banking sector also agreed. "Many other countries in the world also levy taxes on corporate deposit interest. For example, the USA levies a 25-30% tax on deposit interest or currency trading. This is also a way to improve our current state budget deficit."

On early 2013, Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of HCM City Real Estate Association,  proposed imposing taxes on saving accounts of over VND500 million (USD24,038). His proposal was strongly criticised by the public and not accepted.

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