Local petroleum retail prices remain unchanged at VND17,286 (US$0.80) per litre on March 26, while the Government has asked the stabilisation fund to be reduced.

Accordingly, the ministries of industry and trade and finance ordered fuel traders to keep diesel selling prices stable at VND15,883 per litre.

Oil prices were slightly reduced by VND250 from VND16,323 to VND16,323 per litre. Mazut prices were also lowered from VND12,761 to VND12,653 per litre.

This was the third time this year that petroleum prices remained unchanged during each adjustment.

The two ministries have also decided to reduce the stabilisation fund by VND832 per litre for petroleum; VND883 per litre for diesel and VND837 and VND927 per litre for oil and mazut respectively.

In the world market, fuel prices have been declining, despite complex changes.

On March 11, fuels prices surged from VND700 to VND1,600 per litre, which was considered the highest increase since the beginning of the year.

Vietnam records US$1.8b trade deficit

Vietnam recorded a trade deficit of US$1.8 billion in the first three months of this year, accounting for 9% over the total export-import turnover.

Of those, the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector, including crude oil, had a trade surplus of US$2 billion. Domestic enterprises had a trade deficit of US$3.8 billion.

The figure was released by the Ministry of Planning and Investment on March 25.

Export turnover for the first quarter was evaluated at nearly US$35.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%.

FDI sector exports excluding crude oil, reached US$24.02 billion, increasing by 16.2% compared with the same period last year and accounting for 67.5% of total export turnover.

FDI sector exports including crude oil, reached US$25.08 billion, a 12.9% increase.

Domestic enterprises' export value reached US$10.6 billion, decreasing by 5.1%.

Telephones and components, garments and textiles were key export commodities in the first quarter with export values of US$6.67 billion and US$4.75 billion, respectively.

Crude oil's export value fell by 31.2% with 1.063 million tonnes. Coal exports reached 609,000 tonnes, decreasing by 78.6%.

Total import turnover in the first quarter was estimated at US$37.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.3%. Of those, the FDI sector overwhelmingly imported US$23.1 billion and domestic firms imported US$14.4 billion.

Bui Thu Thuy, deputy director of the ministry's Agency for Enterprise Development told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that export turnover in the FDI sector accounted for nearly 70% of the total export turnover. It showed that domestic enterprises are still facing difficulties accessing the export market.

She also said it was concerning that more than 80% of domestic enterprises didn't know about impending free trade agreements.

Small enterprises, which account for more than 97% of domestic enterprises, might be difficult to inform, she said.

FDI disbursement surges in Q1

Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) increased 7% to end at US$3.05 billion in the first quarter of the year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency.

During the reviewed period, the country attracted more than US$1.83 billion in FDI, equivalent to 55.1% of the same period last year. Of the total, US$1.21 billion came from 267 newly licensed projects and the remainder came from 102 operating projects that raised their level of earnings.

The agency's newest report noted that the first quarter saw new registered FDI and capital added to existing projects dropping by 40.6% and 51.8%, respectively.

Manufacturing and processing remained the most attractive sector to foreign investors during the period, as it absorbed US$1.4 billion, accounting for 76.6% of the total capital registered in the country. Estate trading ranked second, luring approximately $203 million, and wholesale and retail industry came third, attracting $123.4 million.

From January to March, The Republic of Korea surpassed 32 countries and territories to become Vietnam's leading source of FDI with US$491 million, making up 26.7% of the country's total registered FDI. It was followed by the British Virgin Islands (US$351.6 million or 19.1%) and Japan (US$294.4 million or 16%).

Among 28 localities, the southern economic hub of HCM City attracted the largest share of FDI with US$540.2 million, following by Hai Phong with US$235.2 million and the southern province of Binh Duong with US$140 million.

According to the report, the foreign-invested sector recorded a trade surplus of $1.98 billion in the first quarter of this year. It exported US$25.08 billion in goods, up 12.9% year-on-year, while its imports saw a yearly rise of 24% to US$23.09 billion.

Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), said there was a new wave of investment in 2014. Implementation capital reached US$12.6 billion, with registered capital totalling more than US$21 billion.

Mai said there were various signs that indicated the new wave of investment last year. The quality of foreign investment was better than previous years. Big projects were carried out very quickly.

"The new wave will maintain its pace until 2020," he said. "How well Vietnam welcomes the wave depends on administration systems in the country, including tax and customs, and the management of the Government, ministries and of chairmen of People's Committees in cities and provinces."

PM: Modern public administration crucial to business climate

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has demanded the use of technological advances to modernise public administration through e-government systems, considering it essential for a better business climate.

Vietnam needs to make more of an effort in this aspect, the PM told a teleconference in Hanoi on March 26 after noting Vietnam ranked 78th of 189 economies on the ease of conducting business in the World Bank rankings, which he called a disappointing result.

He asked ministries, agencies and localities to determine processing time limits for their units, adding that the outcomes of specific reforms will be announced to the public during the Government’s June meeting.

Regarding institutional reform, the leader requested the fine-tuning of laws, policies, and socialist-oriented market economy mechanisms to create an improved legal framework.

A market economy must follow the principles of competition and operate in a fair, open and transparent manner, encompassing different economic sectors with different forms of ownership, the PM noted, making it clear that the Vietnamese economy is to be managed through tools, policies and resources in a way that ensures social progress and fairness.

When issuing legal documents, localities should evaluate its feasibility and ensure it supports human rights and the rights to freedom and democracy in line with the Constitution, he reminded.

As of January 1, 2015, the duration for processing corporate tax payment was cut by 370 hours from the initial 872 hours, reported the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Customs departments nationwide have used the Vietnam Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System and the Vietnam Customs Information System (VNACCS/VCIS) since November 2014, which has reduced the time for imports and exports custom clearance by 7.6 hours and 9.6 hours, respectively.

Vietnam is in the process of negotiating a protocol on the legal framework for the application of the ASEAN One-Stop Shop customs mechanisms and preparing to expand the ASEAN single window mechanism towards the birth of the ASEAN Community in early 2016.  

The ministry is also working on a range of legal regulations for renewed policies for civil services and its staff; several new mechanisms are being piloted in the recruitment of public servants and managers and the generation of job title standards.

Vietnam to set stronger tone for SOEs restructuring

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has requested drastic actions to restructure State-owned enterprises (SOEs), with a focus on equitisation and withdrawal of State capital from non-core business lines.

As of March 24, 289 SOEs on the waiting list of equitisation already established Steering Boards in charge of the process. Up to 207 of them were evaluating their assets while 81 others planned to announce their worth.

Nationwide, as much as nearly VND7 trillion (US$333 million) invested in non-core business lines has been recollected, mostly in the military-run telecom Viettel, the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications, the Electricity of Vietnam, the State Capital and Investment Corporation.

In January-March, 18 SOEs auctioned 100 million shares and earned VND805 billion (US$38.3 million).

During a working session with the Steering Board for SOE Renovation and Development in Hanoi on March 26, the Government chief asked for perfecting SOEs restructuring plans and clearing barriers to the reshuffle, which he said, is running slowly.

Restructuring SOEs is a focal political task of the Government, therefore, it requires unanimous consent and concerted efforts by the entire political system, agencies, localities and business community, he noted.

Directing tasks for the coming time, he requested SOEs to constantly overhaul their production and governance while going through open and transparent procedures to be listed on the stock market.

Concluding the event, he ordered stepping up supervision of ministries, agencies, localities, and SOEs over the restructuring process.

Few firms embrace new tech

Application of new technologies by foreign-invested and domestic enterprises in the nation’s southeastern region is at a low level, according to experts at a conference on science and technology application held in Dong Nai Province on Tuesday.

A survey conducted by the HCMC University of Technology shows 80% of foreign businesses use normal technologies, 14% apply outdated technologies and only 6% use advanced technologies.

Although companies acknowledge the advantage of applying new technologies to production and business, few of them, especially local ones, embrace advanced technologies, said Pham Van Sang, director of the Department of Science and Technology of Dong Nai, at the meeting.

The Government encourages technology application but what the Government has done to promote the use of up-to-date technologies is not attractive. Meanwhile, procedures to receive the State’s financial support are complicated, discouraging businesses from seeking it.

Due to the lack of funds, local companies in the area choose to purchase outdated machines which do harm to the environment and turn out low-quality products, he said.

Many attendees said although the Ministry of Science and Technology launched many programs such as the science-technology market program and the national technology renovation fund to promote the development and application of science and technology in the country, the resulting outcome is not as good as expected.

Tran Viet Thanh, deputy minister of Science and Technology, said Government Decree 95 makes it possible for firms to raise funds to apply technology while the national technology renovation fund requires companies to complete simple procedures to ask for financial backing.

SBV says to prioritize forex rate stability

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said on March 25 it would continue to ensure the stability of the exchange rate between the local dong and the U.S. dollar in the wake of volatility on the forex market.

In a statement posted on its website on March 25, the central bank said the dong has weakened against the dollar in recent days as the greenback has turned firmer against other currencies in the world.

Meanwhile, there have been no big changes in foreign currency supply and demand in the country. Despite the recent rises, the exchange rate is still below the ceiling set by the central bank.

The market has shown no signs of anomaly as all legitimate foreign currency demands of organizations and individuals have been met, said the central bank.

The central bank said it decided to maintain the stability of the exchange rate after it closely monitored developments in the country and elsewhere in the world and a policy statement issued on March 18 by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

In the coming time, the SBV will allow the exchange rate to move within a band of 2% on either side this year. It said it would keep a close watch on the macro economy and the monetary market and pursue flexible monetary policy to obtain the goal.

Earlier, the greenback increased strongly and was around VND80 lower than the ceiling at VND21,672 per dollar on Tuesday. However, banks revised down the dollar price by VND50 to VND21,525-21,540 on March 25.

Experts said the stable forex rate policy would affect Vietnamese exports as the dollar has appreciated against other currencies such as the euro and Japanese yen. But others said the central bank should maintain the policy to stabilize consumer sentiment and the macro economy and avoid putting pressure on inflation and Vietnam’s foreign debts.

Local firms benefit little from economic recovery

The economy has seen clear signs of recovery but this has yet to bring significant benefits for domestic firms, heard at a meeting of the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Hanoi City on March 25.

An interim report by the ministry’s Department for National Economic Issues showed that industrial production has continued picking up, especially manufacturing, processing and export goods production.

March’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) has jumped 25.8% against the previous month and 9.1% over the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2015, IIP is estimated to rise 9.1% year-on-year versus 5.2% and 5% in the first quarter of 2014 and 2013 respectively.

Besides, total retail and service revenue in the Jan-Mar period is expected to rise nearly 10% year-on-year. Last year, the figure rose 5.1%.

The nation’s export value is estimated at nearly US$35.7 billion, up 6.9% year-on-year. Exports by foreign direct investment (FDI) firms (excluding crude oil) are expected at US$24 billion, rising 16.2% and accounting for 67.5% of the total.

Meanwhile, exports by domestic firms are down 5.1% to around US$10.6 billion.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Thu said that data announced by local authorities and agencies shows that the local economy has made positive growth. The agriculture sector has still reported positive growth despite the current drought in the central region.

Power consumption has increased while domestic budget collections have improved thanks to better production and business activities. Therefore, the Government’s target for 6.2% gross domestic product (GDP) growth is achievable this year, Thu added.

However, a representative of the Business Development Bureau said FDI firms have contributed nearly 70% of export value and domestic enterprises, mostly medium-sized ones, make up only 30%. These figures suggest local companies are facing challenges to approach export markets.

While the country will sign many free trade agreements (FTAs) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), up to 80% of local enterprises are not prepared for this.

In addition, the ratio of micro businesses is up to 97% and they are still struggling to access export markets. Local firms even have failed to deep integration into the ASEAN community.

Ministries and agencies are still speeding up equitization of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) but basically, the State still holds a huge stake at these firms, she said.

Deputy Minister Thu also agreed that local firms are still in great hardship. Therefore, the Government is considering two major programs to help them with integration while boosting support funds for small and medium-sized enterprises.

FIS to help LaoVietBank develop IT strategy

FPT Information System (FIS) will become the main partner of LaoVietBank and help it implement its information technology (IT) strategies during the 2015 to 2020 period.

The two parties had signed a memorandum of understanding in Laos' capital of Vientiane on March 24.

They will mutually exchange services, join hands to boost co-operation with other credit institutions operating in the Lao market, as well as promote IT development trends related to banking and finance.

FIS will also assist LaoVietBank in training employees and launching services, so that the bank can maximise the efficiency of applying technology to business management.

FIS is a member of the FPT Group, one of the leading IT and telecommunications companies in Viet Nam. LaoVietBank is a joint venture between the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam and Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao.

Last September, the automated teller machines (ATMs) of LaoVietBank were connected to the system of the Viet Nam National Financial Switching Joint Stock Company (Banknetvn).

The linkage has helped bank card holders of nearly 30 Vietnamese banks, who are Banknetvn members, to carry out transactions via LaoVietBank's ATMs across Laos, and vice versa.

The connection will also reportedly help more than 30 million customers in both countries save billions of dong in transaction costs.

Vietcombank to finance Nghe An hydroelectric project

Vietcombank will lend the Nam Mo & Nam Non Hydropower Joint Stock Company VND360 billion (US$17.14 million) to build a hydroelectric plant in the central province.

Representatives of Vietcombank and the Nam Mo & Nam Non hydropower company signed a credit contract on March 23.  Photo vietcombank.com.vn

Vietcombank's Vinh branch and the company signed a credit contract for the same in Vinh City on March 23.

The factory will be named Ban Ang and will be located on the Nam Mo River in the Tuong Duong District. It has a total investment capital of VND514 billion ($24.48 million), and the investor will use its own budget to meet the remaining costs.   

Construction is expected to begin during the first quarter of this year and the facility is projected to generate 68.51 million kilowatt-hour of electricity per year when it becomes operational during the third quarter of 2017.

According to Vietcombank, Ban Ang is the first project in Nghe An and the north-central region of Viet Nam to be adopted to take part in the World Bank-funded Renewable Energy Development Programme, under the United Nations' Clean Development Mechanism.

As a result, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's General Department of Energy and the World Bank have agreed to refinance Vietcombank's VND360 billion.

Five large cities contribute 37 percent Vietnam’s GDP

Five centrally-run cities including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Can Tho posted an economic growth rate of 8-12 percent and contributed 37 percent of Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year.

That was revealed at a conference in Can Tho city on March 25 on these cities’ implementation of emulation movements last year and key missions this year.

They have become drivers in the economic development of regions where they are located as well as of the country and have obtained many important achievements in health, education, culture, society, and poverty alleviation fields.

At the conference, Politburo member and chairman of Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan prompted the five cities to fulfill socioeconomic development norms for 2015 and the phase 2010-2015.

That will create a foundation to successfully implement resolutions of the Party Congress at all levels and progress towards the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, he added.

Vietnam looks to global airport linkage by 2020

The Ministry of Transport is gathering comments on a restructuring plan for the country’s aviation sector, which is envisaged putting Vietnam on the international airport map by 2020.

The plan also aims to raise the number of flights to each domestic airport to at least seven a week.

The local aviation market would be among the five biggest in Southeast Asia and aircraft would become a popular means of transportation in the country.

Domestic air passenger and cargo transport will account for 3.23% and 0.04% of total transport demand in Vietnam respectively.

In 2015-2020, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines would launch new services to San Francisco and Los Angeles in the U.S., New Delhi and Mumbai in India, Wellington in New Zealand, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Doha in Qatar, Brisbanea and Perth in Australia. It will maintain services to Phu Bai airport in Thua Thien-Hue Province and Can Tho airport in the Mekong Delta city of the same name.

Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines and VietJetAir will develop their cargo fleet to expand services to markets in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and South Asia by 2020.

By 2020, the combined fleet of the nation’s air carriers would surge to 190 or 210 aircraft, with 140-150 belonging to Vietnam Airlines, and 50-60 to other airlines.

Half homebuyers are Hanoi non-residents

Half of the homebuyers in Hanoi are non-residents, according to data of real estate exchanges.

Speaking at a conference on the property market held by the online newspaper BizLive on March 25, Pham Duc Toan, general director of EZ Property Vietnam Co., said half of the homebuyers in Hanoi are not citizens of the city.

A BizLive survey conducted on 1,000 homebuyers aged between 23 and 55 about the demand for apartments in Hanoi, HCMC, Danang and several other major cities and provinces nationwide shows that most people, especially those under 40 and with monthly income of more than VND5 million (US$232) per person, want to buy apartments.

Around 15% of respondents said they want to buy townhouses, villas and land lots. 55% said they prefer apartment units that cost around VND2 billion and measure 50 to 80 square meters each, 30% said they want apartments measuring from 80 to 100 square meters, 10% said they need apartments of more than 100 square meters and only 5% said they are interested in small units of less than 50 square meters.

For prices, 55% of respondents go for the price of VND15 million per square meter, 10% for VND16-20 million, 10% for VND20-25 million, 10% for VND25-30 million and 5% for VND30 million.

According to the survey, most homebuyers in Hanoi prefer homes located in Cau Giay, Tu Liem, Hoang Mai, and Ha Dong districts while those wanting apartments in HCMC prefer districts 9, 2 and 10.

Tran Ngoc Quang, general secretary of the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA), said the property market since late this year has shown positive signs with transactions this year surging three times against the same period last year.

Toan of EZ Property Vietnam said most customers bought homes for staying and those who purchased apartments for resale or rent only accounted for 10-20% of the total.

The segment of apartments worth VND2 billion each makes up 50% as this is an affordable price for most homebuyers.

Bac Giang attracts 43 investment projects

The northern province of Bac Giang has attracted 33 domestic and 10 foreign-invested projects worth a combined US$144 million so far this year.

According to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, the large-scale projects include a $40.5-million factory specialising in granite tiles and a $30-million plant producing electronic headphones.

In the second quarter of the year, the locality will continue improving its business climate to lure more investment through addressing land clearance difficulties.

The province will also ask the Government to approve the Chau Minh-Mai Dinh Industrial Park. It will work with investors to accelerate infrastructure construction in Van Trung, Quang Chau and Song Khe-Noi Hoang industrial parks.

Investment opportunities in the province will also be promoted to markets such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, giving priority to processing, manufacturing and high-tech projects.

Healthy banks attract int'l interest: analysts

Domestic commercial banks can forge strategic co-operation with foreign investors if they clear their bad debts and prove their future potentials, analysts say.

An article in the Dau Tu Chung Khoan (Securities Investment) magazine cites analysts as saying that while Viet Nam's banking and financial markets are quite attractive, foreign investors will not step in or could even withdraw capital from a bank if they think future benefits are likely to be small.

The State Bank of Viet Nam's Circular 38 mentions that a foreign investor can buy stakes in a bank only if it is committed to long-term co-operation, will support the bank with modern technology to develop products and services, and help the bank with its internal administration.

It also states that a foreign individual, foreign organisation and strategic investor cannot own more than 5 per cent, 15 per cent and 20 per cent respectively of a bank's chartered capital.

Foreign investors are likely to carefully review and evaluate local banks to avoid losses, especially those that are engaged in restructuring themselves, the magazine says.

It also cites bank leaders as saying it would be easier for them to attract foreign investment if they could clear their bad debts and improve their financial health.

Vo Hoang Tan, General Director of Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) said foreign investments would help the bank develop new development strategies. He also mentioned the possibility that foreign investors raise their stakes to take control of local banks.

He said that despite prevailing market problems, SCB successfully raised its chartered capital in 2013 and 2014, which now stands at VND14 trillion (US$666.6 million), including a foreign investment of VND2 trillion ($95.2 million). This raised foreign ownership in the bank to 15 per cent, he added.

SCB also successfully sold bad debts of VND12 trillion ($571.4 million) to the Vietnam Assets Management Company (VAMC), reducing its bad debt to one per cent at the end of last year.

Singapore's Fullerton Financial Holdings (Full), strategic shareholder of the Mekong Development Bank, however, will sell its 20-per-cent stake to Maritime Bank when the latter merge this year, and is seeking to invest in other local banks, the magazine reports.

United Overseas Bank (UOB) is now a strategic shareholder of the Southern Bank with a 20 per cent stake and is expected to raise its to 25 per cent when SB bank merges with Sacombank (expected to happen before June).

The magazine cites an unnamed representative of a foreign investment fund as saying Vietnamese banks have great opportunities to work with foreign investors.

However, the Government should raise the percentage of shareholdings for strategic investors in the long-term interests of the banking sector, he said.

Foreign investors could own more than half or even the entire stake in Vietnamese commercial banks if they were allowed, he added.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Binh, the provincial Tourism Association and travel firms held a conference in HCM City on Tuesday to promote tourism in the central province and seek investment in the sector.

Tran Tien Dung, deputy chairman of the province People's Committee, said Quang Binh had outstanding sightseeing and relaxation spots like Phong Nha Cave, Thien Duong Cave, Nhat Le Beach, and Son Doong Cave.

It was also an ideal destination for adventure tourism activities like cave exploration, mountain climbing and kayaking, he said.

Transportation was also a strong point since the province was situated on the north-south national highway and railway and Vietnam Airlines had for long been flying from HCM City to the provincial capital Dong Hoi, he said.

"Jetstar Pacific launched flights from HCM City to Dong Hoi earlier this month, and VietJet will start its HCM City- Dong Hoi service next month."

Pham Thanh Binh, deputy director of the department, said the province's 4,000 hotel rooms could only meet 60 per cent of the demand, and tour operators therefore took their customers to spend the night near Hai Van Pass [situated between Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang]. To turn tourism into its main industry, Quang Binh is looking for experienced investors in high-end hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, supermarkets, and rest stops for tourists.

US leads Vietnam’s seafood importers

The US remains top importer of Vietnam’s seafood, accounting for 18.62% of the country’s total seafood export revenue in the first quarter of this year.

According to latest statistics released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, seafood exports in March are estimated at US$417 million, bringing the total export value in three months to US$1.27 million, down 20.6% against the same period last year.

Exports to Japan also saw a decline of 11.73% in the first two months of the year. Meanwhile exports to other markets like China, Mexico, Thailand and the Republic of Korea (RoK) still enjoyed growth.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the US Department of Commerce has announced its preliminary results of the 9th period of review (POR9) according to which the average tariff dropped to 0.93% from 6.37% imposed in the POR8 on Vietnamese shrimp exporting to the US in the period between February 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014.

Furthermore, the rise by 20% of the US dollar against the Euro and Yen last year stimulated consumption and imports to the US. It also creates a motive for Vietnam shrimp exporters to expand their market shares in the country.

Last year, Vietnam ranked third in terms of shrimp export value to the US, after India and Indonesia but came fourth in terms of export quantity, after India, Indonesia and Ecuador.

Hai Duong farmers to ship first litchi batch to US

Farmers in the northern province of Hai Duong are busy on their litchi farms as they prepare to export the first batch of this local specialty to the US.

Nguyen Thi Lua’s family in Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Ha district, is one of the 97 households fulfilling the US order. Her 19-tree farm had an output of 1.5 tonnes in 2014.

Lua said she signed a commitment not to using pesticides containing banned substances to ensure the quality and safety of the litchi.

Thanh Thuy commune has 25 hectares of litchi under Vietnamese good agricultural practice (VietGAP) standards, including 10 hectares for export to the US .

According to Trinh Xuan Khoa, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Thanh Thuy commune, farmers have received technical and financial support as well as safe pesticides from the province to apply VietGAP.

Earlier this month, the US inspected and granted codes to two litchi cultivation areas totalling 20 hectares in Hai Duong, he noted.

So far, the province has 10,500 hectares of the special “thieu” litchi. Each year, the province applies VietGAP standard to over 1,000 hectares.

After the US decided to open its market to Hai Duong’s litchi, the province rolled out a number of measures to provide a litchi shipment to the US in the middle of this year’s crop.

Vu Thi Ha, Deputy Head of the Hai Duong Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said the province will continue instructing farmers and ensuring no banned pesticides are used on the litchi trees.

Six agricultural engineers have been sent to the local litchi areas to work with farmers and advise them in the production process, she said.

Growing litchi is the primary livelihood of farmers in the province. A number of efforts have been made so far to seek markets for the product.

LG inaugurates largest industrial complex in ASEAN

LG Electronics on March 27 inaugurated its new facilities in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

This LG’s largest hi-tech complex in South East Asia has a total investment capital of US$1.5 billion.

Bon-Joon Koo, Vice Chairman & CEO, LG Electronics Inc. affirmed that this important event marked the group’s strong development in Vietnam over the last 20 years.  He emphasised that the group will do its utmost to ensure its cooperation and investment a success. He underscored the importance of the new facilities in the LG’s global production strategy.

The new facilities were built on an area of 800 hectares in Trang Due Industrial Park at a cost of US$1.5 billion. The project has 3 phases. In the first phase, the complex will manufacture and assemble telematics devices, refrigerators, TV sets, washing machines, and air conditioners. In the next five years, 70% of its products will be exported to 35 countries in the world.

Representatives from LG Electronics said the group will transfer more technology to the Vietnamese electronics industry, expecting to raise the localization rate to 50% in the first phase. After the complex is put into full operation, it will open up a good opportunity for the auxiliary manufacturers in Vietnam to cooperate and meet the group’s demand for auxiliary equipment.

USTDA supports wind power development in Vietnam

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on March 26 awarded a US$700 million grant to the Cong Ly Construction-Trade-Tourism Company Ltd. to carry out the 300-megawatt (MW) wind power project in Vietnam, the third phase of the Bac Lieu Wind Farm project.

A US$1 million will also be granted for feasibility study to assist Cong Ly Ltd., a private sector firm that operates the only near-offshore wind project in Vietnam, in its efforts to develop phase 1 of the Bac Lieu Wind Farm.

To Hoai Dan, Cong Ly Company Director, said commercial operation for phase 1 of the Bac Lieu Wind Farm which used 10 US manufactured wind turbines from General Electric (GE) has generated more than 60,000MW. Fifty two (52) GE turbines are being installed in Phase 2 and expected to generate electricity on April 30.

Bac Lieu Wind Farm has received US$1 billion fund from the US Export-Import Bank and the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB).

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