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Korea Eximbank helps build VN’s infrastructure
The Korea Eximbank Chairman made the statement at his meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Hanoi on Oct. 27.
PM Dung spoke highly of Korea Eximbank’s provision of loans for Vietnam for developing socio-economic infrastructure.
He said projects with the bank’s investment, especially the construction of Vam Cong bridge and the southern coastal road route, were important to Vietnam ’s socio-economic development and contributed in a practical way to friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
PM Dung told the bank official that Vietnam ’s biggest current challenge was investment for infrastructural development, especially transport systems, so the country is in dire need for international community’s assistance, including that of the Republic of Korea .
He asked Korea Eximbank to continue arranging loans for Vietnam to enable it to complete the construction of Vam Cong bridge and the southern coastal road route.
Korea Eximbank Chairman highly valued the Vietnamese government’s role in weathering economic crisis impacts and maintaining the country’s economic growth.
He said he believed Vietnam would fulfill all development goals it has set forth.
Korea Eximbank and the Vietnamese Transport Ministry are working on loans for a series of transport infrastructure projects, including 120 million USD for the southern coastal corridor road route, 200 million USD for the construction of Vam Cong bridge, and 100 million USD for the building of Vinh Thinh bridge.
Rubber exports to bounce higher
Vietnam ’s rubber sector will enjoy a surplus in 2010 thanks to the higher price of rubber exports, said an official of the Vietnam Rubber Group.
Le Quang Thung, acting Chairman of the VRG’s Board of Members has said that the price of rubber on the world market has increased continuously from the start of this year, averaging 2,767 USD per tonne in the first nine months of the year.
In the two remaining months of this year, rubber prices are forecast to remain high or even rises further as the global economy recovers and the demand for natural rubber for the automobile industry increases. Meanwhile, the world’s major rubber producers such as Thailand , Indonesia and Malaysia have experienced inclement weather conditions.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam shipped 603,000 tonnes of rubber, earning 1.67 billion USD, in the first ten months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 7.7 percent in volume and 92.5 percent in value.
With this growth, Vietnam is predicted to earn 2 billion USD from rubber exports by the end of this year, 500 million USD more than the targeted figure.
Vietnam expects more promising export markets
Local businesses are expecting more opportunities to open up for export in the near future as several free trade agreements (FTA) between Vietnam and other countries are being negotiated.
In mid-October, the first session of a multi-national working party representing Vietnam, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan took place in Hanoi to prepare for the first researches on the impact of a free trade area between Vietnam and the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan customs alliance.
According to Dang Hoang Hai, Head of the European Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), if a FTA is established, Vietnamese businesses will have more opportunity to trade in the Eastern European market as they do not face direct competition. In particular, agricultural products – a Vietnamese strongpoint – will get a better foothold in this market.
Also this month, the third round of negotiations on the trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) was held in Brunei with eight countries taking part, including Singapore, Brunei, Australia, the US, New Zealand, Chile, Peru and Vietnam. The TPP is expected to stimulate growth for businesses that operate in the Asian-Pacific region, which is seen as one of the world’s most dynamic markets.
According to the President of the Vietnam Garments and Textiles Group (Vinatex) Le Quoc An, if Vietnam becomes a TPP member, garments manufacturers will have an enormous opportunity, especially in the US and South American markets. “Therefore, businesses are waiting expectantly for this agreement to be signed,” he said.
In addition, Vietnam is also actively preparing for FTA negotiations with Chile .
However, Vietnamese businesses are still weak in taking advantage of tariff preferences from FTA. They have failed to form alliances with regional businesses to make the most of tariff preferences and access to new technologies.
It is difficult for Vietnam to establish a new export market or find markets with large consumer demands, say experts, who emphasised the importance of taking advantage of tariff preferences in large markets such as Eastern Europe, the EU, the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea and India, who Vietnam will establish FTAs with.
They recommended that Vietnamese businesses should keep a close watch on FTA negotiations between Vietnam and the aforementioned partners to prepare to take advantage of these markets.
According to the MoIT, Vietnam, together with ASEAN, has to date signed and implemented FTAs with six major partners in East Asia, including the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), the ASEAN-RoK Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA), the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP); the ASEAN-Indian Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA) and the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA).
These agreements were valued as essential for Vietnam to increase its export turnover.
VinaSecurities, Macquarie sign deal
VinaSecurities and Macquarie Capital Securities Limited, an affiliate of global financial institution Macquarie Group ( Macquarie ; ASX:MQG), have signed a wide-ranging agreement that will benefit customers of both companies.
The agreement will give Macquarie clients access to Vietnam , one of Asia's fastest-growing markets, and allow VinaSecurities clients access to Macquarie 's leading presence in global financial markets.
The initial scope of the agreement enables Macquarie clients to receive co-branded equity research focused on Vietnam and to trade Vietnamese equities, according to Hunt Macnguyen, CEO of VinaSecurities.
The agreement also includes exclusive partnering arrangements between VinaSecurities and Macquarie in relation to in-bound and out-bound equity capital-market transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate finance advisory work.
The agreement covers both the HCM City and Hanoi stock exchanges.
Mark Duncan, head of Macquarie Securities Group, Asia, said: " Vietnam is an important market to us and the world's institutional investors as they look to expand their investment horizon."
VinaSecurities, established in 2007, is part of the asset management group VinaCapital.
Profit-taking ends stock rally
Accelerated sales on the HCM Stock Exchange depressed the VN-Index on Oct. 27 to a close of 450.01 points – a decline of 1.12 percent.
Tran Thanh Binh, head of the brokerage department at an HCM City-based securities firm, said that on Oct. 27's correction was due to profit-taking on penny stocks, some of
which had seen gains averaging about 10 percent over the last few days of trading.
The profit-taking began increasing at mid-session, causing 188 of 271 listed stocks to decline, including Khanh Hoa Power (KHP), which plunged by 6.14 percent, and Dong
Nai Painting (DSN) and Hoang Quan Real Estate Consulting Trading and Services (HQC), each down 5 percent.
A firm infusion of capital from foreign investors was still focusing on blue chips, Binh said, with foreign investors picking up 3.2 million shares on the HCM City market.
However, only Vietcombank (VCB), software giant FPT, and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF), among major shares, saw advances on the day.
The volume of trades fell 19.1 percent from Oct. 26's session to just 27.5 million shares, worth a combined 710.1 billion VND (36.4 million USD).
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index on Oct. 27 plunged by 2.07 percent to close at 112.53 points. The value of trades on the northern bourse fell back to just
488 billion VND (25 million USD), on a meagre volume of only 24.2 million shares.
With decliners outnumbering advancers by 216-76, many shares which had hit ceiling prices in the previous two sessions dropped sharply, including Vimeco (VMC), down about 7 percent; Dien Hong Printing (DHI) and Song Da Yali Cement (SDY), each down around 6.9 percent; and Vincom Securities Co (VIX), down 6.8 percent.
Hoa Binh Securities Co deputy director Nguyen Huy Duong said that a rally based on penny stocks, such as markets had seen over the last couple of days, would be
hard-pressed to create a stable uptrend.
Meanwhile, economic factors like inflation and interest rates were doing little to encourage trading and break the markets out of their doldrums, Duong said.
Japan rolls out business aid programme
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) introduced its financial support programmes to the local business community on Oct. 27 in HCM City.
Tomoyuki Hirata, deputy division chief of JBIC's Asia and Oceania Finance Department, explained that the programme includes loans for import and export, overseas investment loans and united loans.
"A united loan is a lending product that aims to create an environment conducive to Japan 's global economic activities, including trade and investment in developing countries," he said.
JBIC offers loans to foreign buyers and financial institutions, as well as financing for the import of important materials to Japan .
It also offers direct and indirect financing for projects undertaken by companies incorporated in developing countries and regions in which Japanese firms have equity shares.
In addition, JBIC finances projects that conserve the global environment, including those that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Loans are also made for private-initiative projects in the fields of infrastructure and key industries.
To be eligible for this loan, the project must receive a guarantee from the Government so the risk can be shared, Hirata said.
Because of the strict requirement, private companies find it difficult to meet the eligibility criteria.
Currently, JBIC and relevant Vietnamese parties are discussing ways to help companies access bank loans. JBIC offers an alternative capital source besides Official
Development Assistance (ODA) from foreign donors, said Noriyasu Yuge, JBIC's chief representative office in Hanoi .
Some of the projects that have received loans from JBIC include Cam Pha Cement, Butson Cement, Hai Phong Power Plants 1 and 2, Phu My 2-2 Power Plant, Phu My 3 Power Plant, and the Vietnam National Coal Minerals Industries Group.
Garment trade fair opens in HCM City
More than 230 domestic and foreign companies are displaying their latest products in 275 booths at the 10th Vietnam International Textile and Garments Industry Exhibition that opened on Oct. 27 in HCM City.
The VTG 2010 is being held at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7.
Australia , France , the US , Switzerland , Turkey , Germany , Italy , Japan , mainland China , India and Indonesia are among foreign exhibitors at the four-day event.
The annual event is an opportunity for domestic companies in the textile and garments industry to learn about advanced technologies and acquire new machinery to improve
product quality at lower prices, according to Phan The Hao, head of the HCM City representative office of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The Association of Garments, Textiles, Embroidery and Knitting will host two seminars to discuss the latest trends, techniques and technologies used in the industry.
More than 16,000 visitors are expected to visit the fair which is co-organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam National Trade Fair and Advertising Company, the Paper Communication Exhibition Services Company, the Chan Chao International Company and the Yorkers Trade&Marketing Service Company.
Japan to transfer rice technology
Japan will transfer its most advanced technology to help develop new rice varieties in the midland and mountainous areas of northern Vietnam.
An agreement for the technical cooperation project was signed on Oct. 27 by Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam Tsuno Motonori and Rector of Hanoi University of Agriculture Tran Duc Vien.
The five-year, 4.6 million USD project aims to help Vietnam achieve long-term and nationwide food security. The new technology and equipment will allow scientists to produce new and improved rice varieties for all regions in the country.
"In this project, we will transfer our rice breeding selection method with DNA Marker Assisted Selection, our most advanced technology, to the Hanoi University of Agriculture," said Motonori.
"With such technology, we aim to produce rice varieties with short growing time, high yields and high disease resistance that can adapt to the natural conditions of the midlands and mountainous areas in the north," added Motonori.
Rice production in the midlands and mountainous areas can meet the needs of only 70 percent of the population. Productivity is still low, with 40 percent of the land area used to grow only one crop per year. Although it is a rice export country, Vietnam is still facing food security challenges. More rice is needed to meet the growing population which is growing at a rate of one percent per year in Vietnam .
Source: VNA
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