Hai Phong Port sees profit

The Hai Phong Port Joint Stock Company announced net revenue of nearly VND1.7 trillion (US$76 million) and after-tax profits of more than VND360 billion (US$16 million) in 2015.

Hai Phong Joint Stock Company (JSC) was listed on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange with the code PHP since August, 2015. In the fourth quarter of 2015, it posted a net revenue of VND425 billion ($19 million) and an after-tax profit of VND90 billion ($4 million).

The PHP net revenue in 2015 came mainly from activities related to loading and unloading goods, which was estimated at VND1.2 trillion ($54 million), accounting for 74 per cent of the company's total net revenue.

The revenue earned by the warehousing services contributes VND335 billion ($15 million) to the total net revenue. The revenue from the remaining activities was estimated to be less than VND50 billion ($2.2 million) each.

PetroVietnam Southern Gas to offload its shares in CNG

CNG was established in 2007 in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. — Photo baudautu.vn

PetroVietnam Southern Gas (PGS) approved the divestment of its 14.9 million shares, a 55.2 per cent stake, in natural gas producer CNG Vietnam Joint Stock Company (CNG) yesterday.

PGS said the divestment would be completed before the end of April under an agreement or suitable transactions. Buyers must purchase at least 25 per cent of the stake, or 6.75 million shares.

Investors must show a balance in their financial statements at the end of 2015 of at least the amount due for the share purchase.

If the amount is calculated on January 27, when each of the CNG shares closed at VND32,200(US$1.4), the investors must have at least VND217.3 billion ($9.67 million) if they want to bid on the shares from PGS.

On February 4, CNG is expected to pay a 15 per cent dividend in cash, with each share worth VND1,500. Thus, PGS will receive more than VND22 billion (more than $1 million) in dividends from CNG before the divestment.

The consolidated financial statements of PGS reveal that its investment in CNG was VND149 billion ($6.6 million). Calculated on January 27, the deal was worth some VND479.7 billion ($21.36 million).

Besides PGS, two foreign investors in CNG are Utilico Emerging Markets Limited and Halley Sicav - Asian Prosperity Halley, holding a 20.07 per cent stake.

CNG was established in 2007 in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and is specialised in producing, transporting and distributing compressed natural gas, which is utilised by plants using thermal energy during production and processing; apartment buildings; and the transportation industry, as a replacement for petroleum.

It earned a revenue of VND950 billion ($42.3 million) and profit before tax of VND145.2 billion ($6.46 million) in 2015.

VN to export more shrimp to US

Viet Nam's shrimp exports to the US are expected to rise in 2016, the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said.

This would be thanks to positive results from the ninth administrative review (POR9) of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese frozen shrimp and the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the association said.

The average anti-dumping duty levied on most Vietnamese frozen shrimps sold in the American market fell from 6.37 per cent in POR8 to 0.91 per cent, as regulated in POR9. This reduced the tax burden on Vietnamese shrimp exporters.

In addition, the growing demand in the US for Vietnamese shrimp, spurred by the dollar's rise, will lead to rise in exports. Rising demand has also resulted in vibrant shrimp retail promotion programmes in the US, creating opportunities for Vietnamese shrimp suppliers to boost exports to that country.

VASEP said the US last year continued to be Viet Nam's largest export market. However, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the American market stood at US$657 million last year, dropping 38.3 per cent from 2014, due to decreasing export prices, weak demand and fierce competition from foreign rivals.

Vietnamese shrimp was sold in 92 markets in 2015, down from 150 markets in the previous year. Key markets included the US, Japan, the European Union and China, besides the Republic of Korea, Canada, Australia and ASEAN, as well as Switzerland.

Newly established firms increase 21% in January

Viet Nam saw 8,320 new enterprises begin operations, with total capital of VND59.3 trillion (US$2.7 billion) in the first month of this year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

This represents a 21.2 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of new businesses, and a 87 per cent year-on-year increase in capital.

During the month, 4,872 firms also resumed operations, up 69.6 per cent against the same period last year.

According to the GSO, this January had the highest number of firms resuming operation in the past few years, adding that the numbers in January 2014 and January 2015 were 2,375 and 2,872 firms, respectively.

However, the number of firms that have either suspended or shut down operations in the month was also high.

In January, the number of enterprises, which have completed disclosure procedures and shut down operations rose by 34.7 per cent to 1,338. Most of the firms were small-sized, with registered capital of less than VND10 billion ($456,600) each.

Further, companies that have declared a temporary suspension of operations numbered 12,456, up 27.5 per cent year-on-year.

Last year, more than 94,750 businesses were established, with total registered capital of VND601.5 trillion ($27.46 billion), up 26.6 per cent and 39.1 per cent over 2014, respectively. However, last year also saw more than 9,400 firms dissolved and shut down, inching down 0.4 per cent year-on-year.

According to a GSO survey recently released, many businesses active in the processing and manufacturing industry have been more optimistic about prospects in 2016 thanks to improvements in the final months of last year.

Nearly 41 per cent of respondents said they hope for better prospects this year than seen in the final quarter of last year.

Further, up to 91.1 per cent of respondents were hopeful that the number of new orders will rise or remain stable this year.

To conduct more effective business and production this year, GSO director general Nguyen Bich Lam said the Government should offer incentive policies on credit, funds and market information access to encourage start-up firms.

VN FDI surges this month

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Viet Nam rose impressively by 101.2 per cent to more than US$1.33 billion in January of this year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

Up to 127 new foreign-invested projects, worth more than $1 billion, were licensed as of January 20, surging 157.9 per cent against the same time last year while 56 operating ones were approved to raise the capital by $323.4 million, up 19.2 per cent on-year, the agency said it its latest report.

It added that FDI disbursement also experienced a yearly rise of 23.1 per cent to an estimated $800 million.

During the reviewed period, foreign investors pumped investments into 16 sectors. Of these, the manufacturing and processing sector took the lead with more than $905 million, accounting for 67.8 per cent of the total FDI pledged in the country.

With only one large-scale project, capitalised at approximately $211 million, the entertainment industry ranked second, accounting for 15.7 per cent of the nation's total FDI, while the production and distribution of electricity, gas, hot water and steam, and air conditioners came third with $59.22 million or 4.4 per cent.

Out of 24 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, Singapore was the largest investor with $295.5 million or 22.1 per cent of the country's total registered FDI. It was followed by Malaysia with $243.6 million or 18.2 per cent, and China with $179.5 million or 13.4 per cent.

In the first month, Ha Noi beat 29 localities to become the most ideal destination for foreign investors. The capital city attracted $243.5 million investments, totalling 18.2 per cent of total FDI registered in the country.

The runners-up were southern Dong Nai Province and HCM City with $183 million or 13.7 per cent, and $163.4 million or 12.2 per cent, respectively.

FIA said the foreign-invested sector recorded a trade surplus of more than $1.59 billion in January as it exported more than $9.74 billion, a year-on-year rise of 3.2 per cent, while its imports slumped 2.2 per cent to $8.15 billion.

Vietnam’s footwear sector readies for TPP

Vietnam is considered the country to reap the most benefit in apparel, footwear, agro-forestry and seafood exports from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, said the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso).

The country’s footwear – handbag sector exported a total value of over 14.9 million USD in 2015, the highest recorded so far, of which the US was the biggest market at 5.1 billion USD. The sector targets to earn about 17 billion USD from export activities in 2016.

Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of Lefaso said the biggest challenges for local enterprises are capital and production capacity, so most of them are not yet confident in joining the TPP.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City’s Footwear Association Ha Duy Hung shared that the TPP requires the sector be self-sufficient in materials and accessories and should not rely on imported raw materials from non-TPP members.

Meanwhile, most domestic shoe makers are dependent on imported materials, mostly from China. He noted that raw materials account for 68 to 75 percent of the product’s cost, but the proportion of materials sourced domestically is only 40 to 45 percent.

Deputy Chairman of Lefaso Diep Thanh Kiep said enterprises have to spend about 300 million USD annually on artificial leather and over one billion USD per year importing tanned leather.

Notably, foreign-invested enterprises within the industry are the mainstay of Vietnam’s footwear exports, earning 9.55 billion USD and enjoyed a growth of 20 percent compared to 2014. Those enterprises are eagerly expanding production in anticipation of the TPP.

According to Lefaso, the Republic of Korea’s Chang Shin company in the southern province of Dong Nai, which has produced shoes for Nike’s brand since 1995, had an initial capital of 11 million USD, but it is expected to add 160 million USD to expand production. The company aims to increase its production tenfold, or to about 27 million pairs of shoes a year.

Lefaso affirmed that the sector’s workers are capable of competing with workers from other TPP countries, but the association hopes the government will introduce timely mechanisms and policies to create conditions for enterprises to benefit from the trade deal.

Tran Du Lich, an economic expert, suggested the government should have long term strategies such as investing in footwear-handbag manufacturing clusters, providing human resource training and creating preferential treatment on tariffs, in order to boost the sector.

Belgian businesses expand investment in Vietnam

Belgian businesses are expanding investment activities in Vietnam to grab opportunities when free trade agreements (FTAs) the country has signed come into effect.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of 2015, Belgium ran 59 valid investment projects in Vietnam in 2015 with total registered capital of 421.66 million USD, ranking 27th among 105 nations and territories investing in Vietnam.

Last year, the European country counted four newly-licensed investment projects and two registering to increase capital.

Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Jehanne Roccas said the number of projects invested by Belgian businesses is quite modest compared to other foreign investors in Vietnam. However, with Belgium, this is a considerable figure as the country typically only runs about 2-3 investment projects in a host country.

She said Vietnam constitutes the brightest spot in Asia, adding that with FTAs, the country’s export potential will increase in the future.

Vietnam is also expected to become a manufacturing hub in the world, so Belgian enterprises will consider increasing their presence and activities in the Southeast Asian country, she said.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment said Belgian firms are investing in various fields in Vietnam, especially construction, processing and manufacturing.

As a transportation center in Europe, Belgium is keen to share experience and make investment in the field of logistics in Vietnam.

It has also partnered with Vietnam to carry out a number of projects in water and health care over the past few years.

Since the two countries signed an agreement on investment encouragement and protection in 1991, Belgian firms have invested in 17 out of the 63 cities and provinces across Vietnam.

Its two projects worth 278.4 million USD in Hai Phong have helped the northern port city become one of the leading localities nationwide in FDI attraction.

Bac Ninh province comes second with a Belgium-invested project worth 42 million USD, followed by Ho Chi Minh City – which attracted the biggest number of projects from the European country, but only in small-scale (each worth approximately 0.4 million USD).

In the industrialisation and modernisation process, Vietnam has big demand for developing transportation, electricity, and mechanics, which are the strengths of Belgium.

Vincent Decuyper, a member from Belgium’s Solvay corporation – which is active in the field of chemicals and materials, said the group defines Vietnam as a good market to expand operations in the Asian region.

He added that foreign chemical companies have been shifting their investment to Vietnam, so his corporation is following that trend.

To prepare for long-term operation in Vietnam, the Belgian firm recently held the “Solvay Vietnam Days” to explore opportunities in the market, especially in the fields of oil and gas, fertilizer, chemicals and milk.

Malaysia leads ASEAN investors in Vietnam

Malaysia topped the list of ASEAN countries investing in Vietnam last year with newly registered capital of 2.47 billion USD, according to the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia’s Commercial Affairs Office.

The figure was largely thanks to the Duyen Hai 2 thermal power plant project in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh worth 2.4 billion USD financed by the Malaysia -based Janakuasa Sdn. Bhd.

In 2015, Malaysia also came second in the list of 62 countries and territories investing in new projects and adding capital to existing ones, just after the Republic of Korea .

Fields that attracted the most projects from Malaysian investors included real estate, processing and manufacturing, and thermal power.

By the end of 2015, Malaysia poured 13.5 billion USD into 523 projects, ranking seventh out of 110 countries and territories investing in Vietnam .

According to the statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, two-way trade between Vietnam and Malaysia reached 7.8 billion USD last year, down 5.2 percent year-on-year.

Vietnam shipped commodities worth about 3.6 billion USD to Malaysia, down 8.8 percent, while importing about 4.2 billion USD of goods from the country, up 0.2 percent.

Bidding law should conform to EVFTA: expert

It is necessary to define differences between the country’s Bidding Law and commitments concerning government procurement stated in the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), so as to make suitable adjustments, said an economic expert.

Speaking at a workshop in Hanoi on January 27, Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Director of the World Trade Organisation and Integration Centre under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said the VCCI has implemented a study which offers feasible proposals on the issue, specifically those benefiting domestic businesses.

Compared to international regulations on bidding, Vietnam’s revised Bidding Law in 2013 ensures principles of transparency, competition and efficiency concerning bidding invitation announcements, bidding documents and bidding procedures.

The study shows that there are many differences between commitments to the EVFTA and Vietnam’s current Bidding Law, including those related to the use of electronic devices, reasons for selecting bidders, bid price, the deadline for bidding document submission, and conditions for joining bids.

About two-thirds of regulations in the law have yet to comply with relevant commitments in the EVFTA, Trang said.

She underlined the need to make suitable changes to the law to have it conform better to the country’s integration reality, thus bringing benefits to the domestic business community.

According to Ninh Viet Dinh from Electricity of Vietnam, the Bidding Law 2013 is quite consistent with the country’s international integration process, including contents in connection with free trade agreements and the Trans-pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

Tran Trung Kien, a bidding expert from the World Bank in Vietnam said Vietnam needs to build more regulations around opening the market to international bidding activity, adding that regulations related to domestic bidding should also facilitate the participation of bidders from regional countries and EVFTA member nations.

Negotiations of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement were completed in late 2015. The agreement is forecast to affect Vietnam’s legal institutions and economy reasonably soon.

Growth of shoe exports to continue in 2016

Exports of footwear and related items showed robust development for 2015, said speakers at a recent meeting of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso) in Hanoi.

Lefaso Chairman Nguyen Duc Thuan told the meeting the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and other free trade agreements (FTAs) stimulated exports in 2015 and would likely continue to create additional growth for 2016.

Speakers from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) were equally sanguine on the prospects for expanded exports, but emphasized the need for greater focus on profitability and sustainability for the industry.

“Last year saw leather and footwear exports surge 16% over the prior year to US$15 billion,” said MoIT Deputy Minister Ho Thi Kim Thoa. “Of which, outbound sales of footwear accounted for US$12 billion, up 16%, and handbags made up US$2.88 billion, up 14%.”

“The total value of exports for 2016 could potentially see yet further growth of another 15 to 20%,” said Deputy Minister Thoa.

However, Thoa said local companies need to concentrate more on developing the domestic support industry to reduce overall cost of raw materials and thereby increase the profit margins on their sales.

Producing raw inputs locally will also position local companies to take full advantage of tariff reductions brought about by FTAs, because it’s best if the raw materials for the industry are sourced locally, Thoa said.

Complicated rules of origin come into play when raw materials are imported from foreign countries and the benefits of tariff reductions on exports can easily go up in smoke and be lost.

So it’s a double whammy when local companies import their raw materials – costs are increased and tariffs risk being lost – both of which significantly impact negatively on profits and sustainability.

More importantly, Thoa said competing foreign invested companies operating in Vietnam are relocating their supply chains from China, Japan and other countries to for exactly the same reasons.

Lastly, Lefaso Chairman Nguyen Duc Thuan, pointed out the number of orders from EU member nations increased significantly in 2015 thanks to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which cut tariffs on footwear exports to the EU from 13-14% to 3-4%.

There is some uncertainty as to whether the GSP preferences will continue in 2016 and if they are discontinued, the export forecasts would likely need to be re-evaluated and adjusted downwards.

Foreign investors buy 63.83% of new GTN shares

Foreign investors have bought 63.83 per cent of the new batch of shares issued by Thong Nhat Investment and Production Joint Stock company (GTN).

The sale increased the firm's charter capital to touch VND1.5 trillion (US$66.8 million).

GTN completed the issuance of 75.2 million shares separately for strategic investors on January 27. The shares, which were bought by foreign investors, were equivalent to 32 per cent of the new charter capital.

The foreign investors included Singapore's Two TEAL Partners Ltd, which bought 30 million shares or a 20 per cent stake; Beira Limited Fund, which bought six million shares or a four per cent stake; SNET VINA, which bought six million shares or a four per cent stake; and Michael Louis Rosen, elected vice-chairman of GTN on January 18, who bought six million shares, or a four per cent stake.

Based in the capital city, Thong Nhat Production and Investment JSC was established more than 10 years ago through a merger of companies involved in bamboo manufacturing, construction infrastructure, minerals and building materials, besides plastics, agricultural products and foodstuffs.

GTN earned VND725 billion ($32.2 million) in revenue and VND25 billion ($1.11 million) in before-tax profit in Q3 of 2015. On January 27, 2016, each GTN share ended at 16,400 ($0.73) on the HCM Stock Exchange.

Agiculture, forestry, fisheries exports down in Jan

Export turnover in agriculture, forestry and fisheries in January was $2.33 billion, a 3.1 per cent decline year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Import value in the sector for the month was $2.01 billion, a 1 per cent decline year-on-year. The sector therefore recorded a trade surplus of $320 million in the opening month of the year.

After falling throughout 2015, agriculture exports in January were up. Rice increased the most, by 46 per cent in value compared to January 2015, to $218 million on 495,000 tonnes.  

Exports to Indonesia increased 13.6 per cent in quantity and 5.2 per cent in value, those to the Ivory Coast increased 19.6 per cent and 10.4 per cent, respectively, and those to the United Arab Emirates increased 26.4 per cent and 14.2 per cent, respectively.

Experts predict that Vietnam’s rice exports will have a good 2016 because global rice production is falling. Thailand, for example, plans to cut its rice production from 2016 to 2017 and is encouraging its farmers to grow other crops. Its annual rice exports will be 9 million tonnes per year instead of 12-15 million tonnes as in previous years.

Vietnam’s rice inventory is between 300,000 and 400,000 tonnes while orders in January were up to 1.2 million tonnes. The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) has predicted that enterprises may have to buy rice from elsewhere in Southeast Asia to meet demand during Tet, perhaps even from China.

Coffee exports stood at 149 tonnes in January, worth $264 million, an 8 per cent increase in quantity but a 9.1 per cent decline in value year-on-year. Germany and the US were the largest markets, accounting for 13.4 per cent and 11.7 per cent, respectively. While global prices have been heading downwards, the domestic coffee price fell to its lowest in ten years in January, with inventories being high and farmers needing to sell cheaply to recoup funds as Tet approaches.

In January rubber exports reached 106,000 tonnes worth $120 million, a 13.3 per cent increase in quantity but a 10.5 per cent decline in value year-on-year, also on the back of falling global prices, according to the Vietnam Rubber Group.

Cashew exports were 24,000 tonnes worth $183 million, a 9 per cent increase in quantity and 15.6 per cent in value year-on-year. The US, China and the Netherlands were Vietnam’s three largest markets, accounting for 34.3 per cent, 14.7 per cent, and 12.8 per cent of value, respectively. Other markets with strong growth included Germany, with 59.3 per cent, the UK 39.8 per cent, and Thailand 34.5 per cent.

AirAsia launches Penang-HCM City direct flights

Malaysian low-cost airline – AirAsia has conducted a direct flight between Malaysia’s Penang city and Vietnam’s HCM City.

The direct air route has four weekly flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It departs from HCM City at 1.35pm (local time) and arrives in Penang at 4.15pm (local time) and vice versa it departs from Penang at 12.20 (local time) and arrives in HCM City at 1.05pm (local time).

Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, vice director of the HCM City Department of Tourism, said the event meets the increasing travel demands of peoples from the two countries in the integration process.

On the occasion, AirAsia offers a discount on tickets booked between January 27 and 31.

Forestry and seafood fall

Wood and wooden product exports in January totaled $489 million, a 15.8 per cent decline year-on-year. The figures were something of a surprise as the annual result for 2015 of $6.9 billion was a 10.7 per cent increase compared to 2014.

Seafood exports were also in decline. Export value in January came in at around $455 million, 8.8 per cent less than in January last year. The US was the largest market, accounting for 19.9 per cent of value but down 23.4 per cent. Exports to Japan and South Korea also fell, by 13.4 per cent and 13.2 per cent, respectively, year-on-year.

BOT tolls agreed upon

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong has confirmed that the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) have agreed on a basic method on determining tolls at build-operate-transfer (BOT) roads.

“Tolls will be appropriate to people’s income and the need to recoup funds by BOT investors,” Mr. Truong said. “Only by making the return favorable can we encourage BOT investors to invest and banks to lend money while making tolls acceptable among the public.”

One BOT road recently increased its toll as the time had come under its schedule, Mr. Truong said. “The MoT notes that the increase is in accordance with the BOT schedule signed by competent State agencies and the investor to ensure loan repayments can be made,” he explained.

The MoF recently adjusted all tolls on BOT roads to the same amount - VND35,000 ($1.57) per vehicle. According to Mr. Truong, the increase from VND20,000 ($0.9) was suitable with existing incomes.

Other roads have tolls higher than VND35,000 because authorities decided to combine all tolls into one, negating the need for drivers to stop at all toll booths.

It created some problems, however, as many drivers became confused about paying a higher toll when only traveling along one toll road. The Ministry of Transport resolved the problem by deciding to issue monthly tickets, quarterly tickets, and yearly tickets.

Land reassigned in Da Nang for eco-villas

The Da Nang People’s Committee has agreed with a land acquisition in Ninh Hoa commune of Hoa Vang district for a project building eco-villas on an area of 150,000 sq m.

The People’s Committee has assigned the Hoa Vang District People’s Committee to notify those who live in the area about the acquisition to determine the area of paddy land, protected forests, and special use forests. The land use purpose is to be changed by a decision of the Hoa Vang District People’s Committee.

Hoa Vang is also responsible for assigning Hoa Ninh commune and related parties to collaborate and work together on notifying the listing at the Commune People’s Committee office and public places in residential areas. There will also be meetings to inform local residents about the acquisition as well as media activities.

The Da Nang Land Resource Development Center and the Commune People’s Committee will also work on a compensation plan offering resettlement support. Once compiled the plan will be submitted to competent authorities for evaluation, who will also decide on both the acquisition and the compensation plan.

The task will involve the participation of other parties in order to determine the boundaries between projects and demarcating the project area to avoid any overlap in boundaries with other planned projects.

Agricultural export increases, import decreases

Export turnover of farm products was up 2.8 percent over the same period last year to reach US$1.16 billion in January this year while import turnover of agricultural materials went down 3.1 percent to US$2.33 billion, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday afternoon.

Despite of export increase, rice market in the Mekong Delta has still been gloomy because of weak consumption and down prices.

Conversely some products, usually in much demand for Tet holiday, such as cashew nuts and chicken have seen prices on the rise especially in the southern region.

Tra fish price has been stable while supply scarcity has rocked shrimp prices. Shrimp production has been satisfactory while tra fish still difficult.

Plans on developing power, coal sectors adjusted

PM Nguyen Tan Dung chaired a meeting with permanent members of the Cabinet to adjust plans on developing the country’s power and coal sectors to 2020 with a vision to 2030.

Concluding the meeting, PM Dung praised the sectors’ positive results which served the country’s socio-economic development and construction, stressing the necessity of adjustmenting the plans to respond to new requirements of increasing demand on power and coal and the economic, safe and effective utility of the resources for sustainable development and environmental protection.

He asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to collect ideas at the meeting and of ministries and sectors to improve the adjustments and report them to the Government for consideration and approval in order to realize the adjusted plans from 2016 to ensure energy for development goals for the 2016-2020 period and to 2030.

The leader urged the sectors to ensure sufficient power supply and back-up plans to meet demand for local consumption and export with higher quality and more effectiveness, affirming the role of key State-owned enterprises in ensuring energy for the country and shifting successfully to the market mechanism.

He asked the sectors to ensure supply for national development with a vision to decades ahead, as well as quality, effectiveness, safety, and economical utility of energy, reduction of electrical waste, and infrastructure to minimize problems related to power and coal.

The sector should protect the environment effectively, review development plans of all coal-fired power plants, build no more plants and gradually replace coal by gas while following strictly international commitments on cutting emission and promoting the development of renewable energy, PM Dung said.

Regarding nuclear energy, the Government leader affirmed that the sector should continue to realize approved plans on developing the energy in conformity with laws effectively and safely.

He reminded the sectors to stay consistent to the market mechanism, gradually be competitive without price monopoly and subsidy and enhance scientific and technological applications to elevate productivity and lower product prices.

At the meeting, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang delivered a report on plan adjustments and the Government’s suggestions.

The Deputy PMs and leaders from minities and central agencies discussed and analysed main contents of the adjusted plans; reviewed the implementation of the previous plans; forecast power demand; updated the power network’s development and investment requirements and evaluated effectiveness of the plans.

Many delegates stressed the importance of the projects to the sectors’ development and the economy, saying these lay a foundation for managing and monitoring the State management over the sectors.

They also gave suggestions on supplementing and building specific policies in line with the national energy development strategy.

Schneider Electric Vietnam builds new manufacturing plant in HCM City

Schneider Electric Vietnam on January 26 began the first phase of construction on a new manufacturing plant in Saigon Hi-tech Park in Ho Chi Minh city with an investment capital of US$45 million.

The plant is built on an area of 10,000 square metres and be ready to manufacture products for customers by the end of this year.

Equipped with advanced technologies, it will produce high-tech electronic products for smart homes, in addition to the traditional wiring products being manufactured in Vietnam for almost 20 years.

It will include lean manufacturing concepts and Schneider Electric's latest energy and process management solutions, enabling it to flex and scale to the dominant buying behaviour of its customers in an agile manner.

With the move, the company will consolidate existing manufacturing operations currently based in the Bien Hoa 1 and Amata industrial parks into the new state-of-the-art facility in District 9 of Ho Chi Minh City.

The new manufacturing plant is predicted to become one of major production centres in the Asia-Pacific region.

Schneider Electric Vietnam will receive a labour order, third class from by the State on January 27.

Schneider Electric corporation is a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, offering integrated energy solutions across multiple market segments.

Growing green-skin grapefruits helps build new rural areas in Ben Tre

Ben Tre province has 5,500 hectares under green-skin grapefruit cultivation for domestic consumption and export. Green-skin grapefruits have increased local incomes and boosted new rural development.

Green-skin grapefruits are easy to sell and profitable. Major grapefruit growing areas in Ben Tre are Cho Lach, Chau Thanh, Ben Tre city, Mo Cay Bac, Mo Cay Nam, and Giong Trom.

In 2005 Mr. Le Van Phong’s family began to grow grapefruits after failing to find buyers for their longans. The National Target Program on new rural development has provided them and other farming households with planting and tending techniques.

Phong’s 6 hectares of grapefruits produce 6-8 tons per harvest with each kilogram earning him approximately US$2.

Phong said, “The price of grapefruits has remained steady for 7 years. I earned US$15,000 last year and this year it will be more than US$25,000.”

The steady price of grapefruits has guaranteed a stable income for farmers in Ben Tre. Phu Thanh grapefruit cooperative in Chau Thanh district has 94 members with a total grapefruit growing area of 50 hectares.

Many members have become well off thanks to this fruit. Dao Van Minh, deputy head of the cooperative, noted, “We don’t have to worry about markets for our products because some businesses have bought them all. Because we follow VietGAP standards businesses place a higher price than in the market. What we care about now is improving the quality of our products.”

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has recognized Ben Tre green-skin grapefruits as a national agricultural brand. Businesses say Ben Tre green-skin grapefruits have great potential for export and many of their foreign partners have placed orders for this kind of fruit.

Ben Tre green-skin grapefruits have been shipped to Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Russia, China, France, and Japan.

Nguyen Van Thuong, deputy head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, shared, “We are advocating the establishment of cooperatives and transferring technology to help farmers improve the quality of their products.”

Green-skin grapefruit growing has been expanded to Mekong Delta provinces, the central highlands, and the southeastern region. It has contributed significantly to the national new rural development program.   

Vietnam's energy sector forecast to see record FDI pledges

Vietnam's energy sector is set to become a new foreign investment magnet this year with at least US$4.5 billion to be committed for two new power plants, a government report said.

That was higher than the total foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges of over US$2.8 billion recorded by gas and power projects last year.

One of the two anticipated projects is a thermal power plant invested by Japanese and Korean energy companies Marubeni and KEPCO at a cost of more than $2.2 billion, the government's website said last week.

The investors are expected to apply for investment licenses for the 1,200-megawatt plant in the central province of Thanh Hoa within the first quarter, it said.

The other is also a 1,200-megawatt thermal power plant located in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

Its investors, Arab Saudi's ACWA Power and South Korea's Taekwang Power Holdings signed an investment agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Trade last week and are expected to receive a license this year, according to the website.

Both the projects will be developed under a built-operate-transfer agreement with Vietnam's government.

The government has planned 86 power plants for the 2011-2020 period and 18 thermal projects have been assigned to foreign investors, it said.

So far, six of the 18 planned projects have been licensed, it said.

Another six projects are still pending for licenses, although their investors, including Japan's Sumitomo, the Republic of Korea's Samsung C&T, Malaysia's Toyo-Ink and India's Tata Power, have signed investment agreements with the government.

Spring Fair to offer consumer goods for Tet

The Spring Fair 2016 takes place at the Giang Vo Exhibition and Fair Centre in Hanoi from January 27 to February 5.

More than 800 enterprises from 35 provinces and cities nationwide are expected to participate in the event, showcasing essential products and specialties from all parts of the country at approximately 1,000 booths.

On display will be food and foodstuff, beverage, textiles and garments, footwear, and electronics, in addition to furniture, pottery and handicrafts.

The annual fair will provide a good opportunity for domestic businesses to introduce their products in order to better serve purchasing demands prior to the Lunar New Year (Tet) and encourage local people to use Vietnamese products, organisers said on January 25.

The previous event saw the participation of 500 domestics firms.-

Banking network’s biggest Enterprise Resource Planning system applied

The biggest Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in Vietnam’s banking sector was officially applied at the State-owned Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) on January 26.

The ERP system, designed by the FPT Information System Corporation, ran on a trial basis from October 2015 and helped conduct more than 11 million transactions at BIDV on December 31, doubling the transaction number on normal days.

Also, the system did not overload when some 1,000 transactions were made simultaneously.

BIDV’s 185 branches and 233 units nationwide successfully operated the ERP system, helping the bank modernise its enterprise resource planning, increase precision and minimise risks.

The construction of the ERP system for BIDV included a great amount of work and required advanced techniques. Although completing the project on schedule was a real challenge, the completion one month ahead of schedule was possible thanks to efforts from both the bank and the designer, said Director General of the FPT ERP Services Co. Ltd Mai Cong Nguyen.

Agro-forestry-fishery exports earn over 2 billion USD in January

Agro-forestry-fishery exports yielded 2.33 billion USD in January, an annual decrease of 3.1 percent.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, major farming produce shipped overseas brought home 1.16 billion USD in revenue, up 2.8 percent year on year.

Rice export saw the highest growth with 495,000 tonnes sold at 218 million USD, increasing 56.7 percent in quantity and 46 percent in value from the same period in 2015.

Likewise, overseas shipments of 24,000 tonnes of cashew earned 183 million USD, annual gains of 9 percent and 15.6 percent in quantity and value respectively.

The volume of peppercorn exports fell by 30.2 percent to an estimated 7,000 tonnes, compared to 2015. As such, its revenue was recorded at 67 million USD, down 31.5 percent year on year.

The value of exported coffee and rubber products continued to drop despite higher amount shipped abroad.

While overall export turnover of agricultural produce rose, the figures for forestry and fishery products followed the opposite trend.

Aquacultural exports were approximately 455 million USD, a decline of 8.8 percent from 2015. Forestry goods, meanwhile, recorded an export revenue of almost 520 million USD, decreasing 15.1 percent annually.

In 2015, agro-forestry-fishery export revenue amounted to 30.45 billion USD, representing a mere 0.2 percent higher than the figure for 2014.

A law for SMEs needed: Chamber of Commerce

All supporting policies for small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for more than 95 percent of the total Vietnamese enterprises, should be included under one law.

Therefore, it will be easier for enterprises to access and benefit from these policies, Nguyen Hoa Cuong, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Enterprise Development Agency, said at a recent meeting in HCM City.

According to the deputy director, supporting policies for SMEs are scattered in many different documents, which makes it hard for enterprises to search for support policies.

Tran Ngoc Liem, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in HCM City said SMEs in Vietnam had stated their role in the country's economy by contributing more than 40 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP), while attracting more than 50 percent of the total labourers.

"Therefore, supporting SMEs is regenerating development for the economy," he added.

ASEAN countries including Vietnam have built and approved the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development 2016-2020.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) has also strived to eliminate trade barriers for SMEs in the Asia-Pacific region and help enterprises utilise new trade opportunities to integrate into the global value chain.

To support SMEs, Hoang Van Son, representative of the VNC Law office, said at the meeting that administrative procedure reforms should be prioritised as many enterprises faced complicated regulations.

SMEs need simpler accounting document sets, creating favourable conditions for investment bids, Son said, and added that fees and levies should be reduced to lessen burdens for businesses.

Surveys among some SMEs revealed that most of enterprises have just focussed on production, business, tax and customs, while paying less attention to market research, marketing, and building an enterprise culture.

Therefore, related agencies should provide more market information to the SME community and support them in trade promotion, so that enterprises could build a stable development strategy and enhance their competitive capacity, Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Import and Export Association, said.

He said SMEs had to face challenges in production and fixed asset investment.

In addition, SMEs mainly have weak financial sources and have not received investment incentives in industrial parks as well as in registration into specialised industrial complexes.

RoK firm scopes out investment environment in Ha Nam

An official of the northern province of Ha Nam promised optimal conditions, including labour force and infrastructure, for Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd from the Republic of Korea (RoK) to run long-term business in the locality.

Vu Dai Thang, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, made the pledge at a working session on January 26 with representatives from the RoK firm which is seeking to set up a plant producing semiconductor products and LED lights in the Dong Van I Industrial Park in Ha Nam.

The official highlighted the locality’s consistent investment attraction policy and willingness for cooperation.

Ha Nam will ensure round-the-clock electricity, clean water, waste water treatment, favourable customs procedures, labour force, security and other services for foreign investors, he said.

Representatives from the management board of industrial parks in Ha Nam and relevant departments and agencies provided the RoK business with information regarding electricity, environment, land and foreign exchange rates.

Jo Shuaan, director for strategic planning at Seoul Semiconductor, praised Ha Nam’s open investment attraction policy and expressed his hope that the locality will help his company with the project’s location.

In 2015, industrial parks in the province attracted 39 projects, 28 of which were from foreign investors with a combined registered investment of 391 million USD.

To date, local industrial parks are home to 230 active projects. Of this figure, 131 were from FDI. Together, they have a total registered investment capital of 1.3 billion USD.

Meanwhile, 99 domestic direct investment projects have a total registered capital of nearly 10 trillion VND (455 million USD).

Currently, the province has eight industrial parks that cover an area of 2,000 ha. The industrial park Dong Van III, which is under construction and geared towards the supporting industries, will apply its own mechanisms and policies. The locality has approved the plans for 18 industrial clusters, covering an area of nearly 500 ha.

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