Improved status of women vital for economic growth: Deputy PM

Economic growth can only be sustained if the status of women is improved, Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh said at a Việt Nam-Laos-Cambodia women’s forum held yesterday in HCM City.

The forum was held to promote friendship and cooperation among the countries to realise the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

The deputy PM, who is also Việt Nam’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that peace, cooperation and development would continue to be “the dominant trend in the coming time, of which women play a vitally important role”.

“The UN agenda to 2030, the first historic agreement reached globally on sustainable development, in which the central task is gender equality, is bringing unprecedented opportunities to promote cooperation and to enhance the role of women,” Minh said.

The Asia-Pacific region continues to be an engine of global growth while the ASEAN community is implementing a vision to 2025 with a focus on people, of which women are an indispensable part of the community.

“Therefore, the contributions of women, especially in our three countries, will help build a stronger ASEAN Community and realise the ASEAN Vision,” he said.

However, challenges remain, including the risk of war and conflict around the world. Global economic growth has become unstable and is slowing down, requiring economies to seek new growth drivers.

Meanwhile, 90 per cent of global economies continue to maintain at least one discriminatory policy or regulation on women. Around 2.3 million women worldwide do not have access to the internet.

In the ASEAN region, gender inequality is causing a loss of 18 per cent of ASEAN’s GDP each year, which is equal to half a billion US dollars, according to Minh.

The forum was organised on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Cambodia, the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Laos and Việt Nam, and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Việt Nam-Laos Friendship and Cooperation Treaty.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà, chairwoman of the Việt Nam Women’s Union Central Committee, said that women’s unions from Việt Nam, Laos and Cambodia were planning to increase the number of exchanges and educational programmes among the countries.

Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Men Sam An, Cambodian deputy prime minister, who is also head of the Cambodian Women for Peace and Development Association, said: “Cambodia and Việt Nam have cooperated in poverty reduction, vocational training for women, as well as health, education and anti-trafficking activities, contributing to the building of a border of peace, friendship and development.”

Inlavanh Keobouphanh, president of the Laos Women’s Union, told Việt Nam News that the Lao government had long enacted a policy of promoting gender equality “as enshrined in the constitution and laws as well as legal documents, including related international treaties and the introduction of policy documents.”

Both Cambodian and Lao delegates said they hoped that Việt Nam would continue assisting the three countries’ women to carry out exchanges, share experiences and promote women’s roles in each nation’s development.

Ha Long attractive to real estate, tourism firms

With high per capita income and an increasingly synchronised infrastructure system, the tourism hub of Ha Long city in the northern province of Quang Ninh has become an attractive investment destination for many real estate and resort investors.

Ha Long is a must-go place for those who spend holidays in Vietnam, in particular Quang Ninh province, as it is home to Ha Long Bay, a World Natural Heritage Site, which was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Ha Long Bay has been named one of the seven natural masterpieces of the world.

With its strength, Ha Long has a lot of opportunities to grow into a leading tourism hub of the Southeast Asian region.

In the 2011-2016 period, the GDP growth of Quang Ninh province was 1.5 times higher than the country’s average, reaching 10.1 percent in 2016. The locality has recorded a per capita income of over 4,050 USD, which enabled it to stand in the list of the country’s top localities having highest per capita income. 

Under the province’s planning to 2030, Quang Ninh has set to become one of the three economic locomotives of the northern region along with Hanoi and the port city of Hai Phong. It also targets a per capita income of 8,000 USD-8,500 USD in 2020 and 20,000 USD in 2030.

In the recent five years, Quang Ninh in general and Ha Long in particular have attracted many domestic real estate giants, including Vingroup, Sungroup, Bim, and FLC, with some outstanding projects, including the 6.5 trillion VND Ha Long Ocean Park of Sungroup, the 7.5 trillion VND Van Don airport, which is designed to serve 2 million passengers per year, and Vinpeal of Vingroup.

Foreign firms have also shown their interest in Ha Long city, including Wyndham and Starwood of the United States. The Wyndham Legend five-star hotel has 217 rooms and Sehraton Halong Bay provides 330 rooms and apartments. 

These real estate facilities have mostly focused on resort and hotel segments, looking to prepare for welcoming the increasing number of tourists to the province and Ha Long. 

Last year, Ha Long welcomed 6.3 million tourists and earned 7.7 trillion VND (over 338 million USD) in revenue, respective increases of 14 percent and 65 percent from the previous year. About 2.7 million of the visitors were foreigners, a year-on-year growth of 16 percent.

The number of tourists to this city also increased sharply from the outset of 2017, surpassing 660,000 during the Lunar New Year holiday alone – up 15 percent from the same period last year.

The municipal administration said it has worked to diversify and improve tourism products, upgrade infrastructure, and better tourism workers’ capacity. The sense of responsibility of local residents and service providers has also been improved.

Ha Long also helped to organise some activities of the Ha Long-Quang Ninh Tourism Week, the Yen Tu cherry-yellow apricot flower festival, Ha Long Carnival, the festival of Tran Quoc Nghien Temple, and a spring flower festival, thereby creating interesting tourism products.

One fifth of enterprises to expand workforce in Q3

Around one fifth (20.1 percent) of enterprises plan to expand their workforce in the third quarter, according to the latest newsletter on the labour market update released by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) on September 15.

The newsletter said the forecasted 6.9 percent GDP increase in Q3 will have positive impacts on the labour market. In addition, the higher number of newly-established enterprises in the first 8 months of the year helped stimulate the demand on the market.

The manufacturing-processing industry is projected to employ 320,000 more workers in the third quarter, the construction industry – 136,000 more workers, and transport-warehouse – 169,000 more workers. Other industries likely to offer more jobs include garment making, leather and leather products, computer and electronic appliance, and furniture making.

In the second quarter, the labour market saw a slight increase in the number of employed persons and paid workers. The number of employed persons was 53.4 million, up 164,300 compared to one year ago and up 39,700 from the previous quarter. The rate of paid worker continued to be on the rising trend, reaching 42.7 percent. Around 6.21 million people worked in the non-State business sector, up 38,000 from the previous quarter.

Among industries reporting increases in employed workers, the construction industry posted the greatest rise with 166,000 more labourers, followed by education-training with 49,000, electricity production and distribution with 19,000, and finance-banking-insurance with 18,000.

Some industries showed decreases in their workforce, led by manufacturing-processing with 74,000 cut workers, transport and warehouse with 34,000, and mining also with 34,000.

The number of people of working age without jobs stood at around 1.08 million, down 20,100 from Q1 and down 7,100 compared to one year ago. The rate of unemployment among people of working age dropped to 2.26 percent, the lowest for the past five quarters.

However, the unemployment rate among those holding under-graduate and higher degrees rose to 3.63 percent (the figure for Q1 was 2.79 percent).

Party official: Vietnam attaches importance to free trade agreements

Vietnam attaches special importance to free trade agreements with foreign partners in general and the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in particular, said Politburo member Nguyen Van Binh, who is head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission. 

During a reception in Hanoi on September 15 for Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) Bernd Lange, Binh appreciated the guest’s contribution to developing Vietnam – EU trade and investment ties over the past years, particularly speeding up EVFTA negotiations. 

Discussing the signing and ratification of the EVFTA and related political, trade and economic matters, Binh said Vietnam wants the EU to build a roadmap for technical support to Vietnam and make it easier for the two countries’ businesses to access information and survey each other’s market. 

He asked the INTA and Bernd Lange himself to continue supporting ties with Vietnam, especially facilitating the signing and ratification of the EVFTA. 

Lange expressed his optimism about the development of the Vietnam – EU multifaceted ties, particularly in trade and investment. 

He lauded Vietnam’s efforts to reform and restructure the economy, as well as to develop a market economy in tandem with ensuring social progress and fairness, while widely and effectively integrating into the global economy, including the EU. 

The EU always attaches importance to reinforcing ties with Vietnam, he said, adding that the INTA backs the EVFTA signing. He also pledged to actively facilitate the approval of the deal.

Rice export goal raised to 5.6 million tonnes this year

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) revised up the goal of rice export to 5.6 million tonnes this year from the 5.2 million tonnes set in July thanks to a strong rise in contracts signed during August and positive signs of the market. 

In the first eight months this year, the country exported more than 3.8 million tonnes of rice with free on board (FOB) value of 1.66 billion USD, up 17.7 percent in volume and 16.6 percent in value, respectively, on a yearly basis. 

August saw a surge of 70 percent in volume and 56.8 percent in FOB value of rice shipments. 

During the eight months, businesses signed export contracts amounting to 5.1 million tonnes, more than 1.2 million tonnes of which are yet to be delivered. 

Positive signals were also seen in the shipment of glutinous rice to China. 

Dang Thi Lien, Director of the Long An food company, said China has demand for 300,000 tonnes of glutinous rice between now and the year’s end while Vietnam can meet only 20-25 percent of them so export prices could continue to rise later this year. 

Export of jasmine rice has also performed well. 

VFA Chairman Huynh The Nang said China, Bangladesh and the Philippines remain potential rice importers of Vietnam. 

Apart from African countries, new markets such as Iran, Iraq are likely to buy Vietnamese jasmine rice while japonica rice is gaining more popularity in Australian continent and China.

Dong Nai records 1.4 billion USD trade surplus in eight months

The southern province of Dong Nai enjoyed a trade surplus of nearly 1.4 billion USD in the first eight months of the year, according to the provincial Statistics Office.

In the eight-month period, the province shipped nearly 11 billion USD worth of products to foreign countries, a year-on-year increase of 11 percent.

The trade surplus was contributed by key staples like footwear (1.9 billion USD, up 9.4 percent), garments (over 1 billion USD, up 8.2 percent) and wooden furniture (722 million USD, up 12.3 percent).

The provincial People’s Committee said that the footwear sector has witnessed the highest export turnover in the past years. Foreign direct investment (FDI) companies like Changsin, Taekwang Vina and Pouchen have enjoyed sound and stable growth. They are committing to raising production capacity to meet orders from the world’s big footwear brands in the coming time.

Despite facing fierce competition with Chinese, Indian and Bangladeshi enterprises, Vietnamese garment businesses still ensure stable orders thanks to their prestige and product quality.

Regarding wooden products, numerous firms have sought new markets while taking advantage of the free trade agreements signed with the Republic of Korea and Japan to boost their exports.

Meanwhile, several products saw high export growth like fibre (795 million USD, up 25.6 percent), machines and equipment (670 million USD, up 22.9 percent), computers and electronic products (318 million USD, up 22.8 percent).

High export prices of agricultural products also contributed to the province’s export revenue.

The largest importers of Dong Nai goods in the period were the US with revenue of 2.54 billion USD, China with 944 million USD and Japan with 934 million USD.-

Hai Phong told to revise fee collection

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has asked the Ministry of Finance and Hai Phong city to strictly follow the PM’s instruction on reviewing fees for using infrastructure, service facilities and public utilities at ports in the city.

The Government Office has sent Document 9014/VPCP–KTTH to the city’s People’s Committee to convey the Prime Minister’s instruction on the issue. The previous document from the Government in May said adjustments in fees were needed to ensure they are reasonable, comply with the law and create favourable conditions for import and export firms, as per Government resolutions on improving the business climate.

The document was sent right after the municipal Hai An district People’s Committee required businesses that have imported and exported goods through the city’s ports to pay fee from the beginning of the year to quickly complete the payment. The deadline is September 15.

The announcement by Hai An district also said if firms did not pay the fee by the deadline, they would be subject to administrative penalties stipulated under Decree 109/2013/NÐ-CP, dated September 24, 2013, on price management, fees and invoices.

The district also said they would apply coercive measures on companies that did not follow the announcement.

“Customs units, bonded port and warehouse trading firms in Hai Phong will not allow import-export goods through their seaports if companies do not pay the fee,” the announcement said.

The district said most businesses have executed the resolution that came into effect from the beginning of this year, regulating fees for construction, infrastructure, service buildings and public utilities at ports. However, there were some companies that had not paid the fee.

Under the resolution, individuals and organisations that have shipments stored at bonded warehouses must pay 2.2 million VND (97 USD) to 4.8 million VND (220 USD) per container, an increase of nearly 70 percent from the previous fee.

The municipal People’s Committee said fee collection was legal and suitable with the current laws. In addition, the fee is half of that collected at the Lao Cai border gate, it said.

Businesses, meanwhile, expressed their disagreement with the city’s resolution, saying the fees were unreasonably high and undermined their competitiveness.

The Vietnam Private Sector Forum (VPSF) has proposed the municipal people’s committees conduct direct dialogues with businesses and associations to collect their ideas on the issue. In addition, associations also sent several documents to the Government to resolve the problem.

Pham Thi Ngoc Thuy, VPSF’s deputy general secretary, said the short duration between the resolution’s promulgation and it coming into effect has made businesses passive, as all issues, including contract and price for the whole year, were negotiated and signed beforehand. The fee could make their export products’ prices higher, causing losses for businesses.

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said the resolution could be a dangerous precedent for other localities which have seaports and airports to collect fees in the future, creating disadvantages for the country’s export activities.

Hai Phong Port is the second-largest port in Vietnam with one third of total cargo passing through it.
 
Vinatex seeks investment opportunities in Armenia

A delegation of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) made a fact-finding trip to Armenia in late August to seek partners to develop production projects as Vietnam is the first country to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) that includes Armenia.

Vinatex General Director Le Tien Truong said during their stay, the group’s representatives held working sessions with a deputy foreign minister, the minister of economic development and investment, and some major businesses in Yerevan capital city of Armenia.

He said Vinatex will consider production and business cooperation with big companies of Armenia that have already had distribution networks in Russia and the EU. In the initial stage, the group will mainly contribute machinery and production administration.

At the meetings, the Armenian Government expressed its desire to cooperate with major firms with much experience in production management like Vinatex so as to revive the local garment industry and boost export.

It also promised to encourage investment attraction, create favourable conditions for foreign investors, and provide special mechanisms for Vietnamese investors through cooperation policies, multilateral and bilateral cooperation agreements, and granting of work visas, Truong added.

According to Vinatex, 94 businesses are operating in the textiles and garment industry of Armenia. The country exported 50 million USD and imported 170 million USD worth of textile and garment products in 2014.

Despite their small and outdated scale, Armenian firms have experience in working with big fashion brands of Italy and Germany such as La Perla, Moncler, Armani and Porsche.

The country has also benefited from a number of tax incentives thanks to free trade agreements when its products enter the Russian or EU markets.
   
Work starts on first Vietnamese automobile manufacturing complex

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended a ceremony in the northern port city of Hai Phong on September 2 to start the construction of the first Vietnamese automobile manufacturing complex in Dinh Vu – Cat Hai economic zone. 

Invested by Vinfast manufacturing and trade Ltd company - an affiliate of real estate developer Vingroup, the complex is expected to roll out a five-seater sedan model, a seven-seater sport utility vehicle model, and electric motorbike meeting European standards during the first stage. The designed capacity is estimated at 100,000 – 200,000 vehicles per year. 

Its first product in the next 12 month will be electric motorbike model while automobiles will be made in the next 24 months. 

The complex will cover a site of 335ha with five major workshops. Design of engines and major components will be bought from top European and US designers while exterior shape will be designed by famous Italian studios that were behind luxury cars such as Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Jaguar, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, among others. 

Vinfast will use advanced and eco-friendly technologies, particularly green energy, to meet Euro 5.0 and Euro 6.0 emission standards. 

In order to make itself a leading automobile manufacturer in Southeast Asia with a designed capacity of 500,000 units by 2025, Vinfast signed a memorandum of understanding with Credit Suisse AG regarding a loan worth 800 million USD. 

Vinfast will also work with Vietnamese partners to manufacture spare parts, towards raising the rate of locally-made products to 60 percent. 

Speaking at the event, PM Phuc said the project could generate 20,000 jobs and contribute to the province’s State budget. 

The birth of Vinfast complex marks Vietnam’s position in the map of the world automobile manufacturers, and Vingroup’s foray into heavy industry apart from its six core areas of real estate, tourism-entertainment, retail, health, education and agriculture.

Lam Dong announces 300-billion-VND plan to build post-harvest centres

Lam Dong has issued a plan to build more post-harvest centres during the 2017 – 2020 period, with investment surpassing 300 billion VND (13.2 million USD).

Of the sum, 12.7 billion VND (558,800 USD) are sourced from the State budget, while 293.1 billion VND (12.89 million USD) is from investments of participating businesses, organisations and individuals. 

Under the programme, from now to 2020, the Central Highlands province will assist the establishment of between four and six centres for post-harvest processing and preservation of farm produce. Annual processing capacity of each facility is set to range from 50,000 to 12,000 tonnes.

The operation of these centres will increase the rate of properly processed farm produce by 25-30 percent and reduce post-harvest loss rate to below 10 percent.

Potential participants of the programme include enterprises, cooperatives, and households in Da Lat city and the districts of Lac Duong, Don Duong, Duc Trong, and Lam Ha.

Once selected, they will be supported in technology transfer, trade promotion, and quality management.

Air routes linking Hanoi, Da Nang and Japan’s Osaka launched

The budget carrier Jetstar Pacific Airlines officially launched direct air routes linking Hanoi, Da Nang city and Japan’s Osaka city on September 1.

With the launch, Jetstar became the first low-cost airline to offer direct service between Vietnam and Japan.

The airline operates four round trips per week using the 180-seater Airbus A320 on the two routes. One-way tickets have been sold from mid-June priced from 68.18 USD, exclusive of taxes and fees.

Nguyen Quoc Phuong, Jetstar Pacific Director General, said that more than 20,000 tickets for both routes have been booked so far. The two first flights reported an occupancy of over 90 percent.

At present, there are about 16,000 Japanese people living and working in Vietnam, while around 180,000 Vietnamese are living and working in Japan.

Last year, Vietnam welcomed more than 740,000 Japanese tourists, and the number is expected to grow, especially with the launch of the low-cost air services.

Jetstar Pacific, a member of Jetstar Group, one of the Asia Pacific’s largest low-budget carriers, is flying on 37 domestic and international routes. It has two major stakeholders – Vietnam Airlines and Qantas Airways.

Efforts made to control disease safety in shrimp exported to Australia

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) recently issued a decision on tightening the control of disease safety and food safety for shrimp and shrimp products exported to Australia.

Specifically, businesses have to take measures to control risks of white spot and yellow head diseases in material shrimp before processing.

For processed shrimp, businesses should send samples of each batch to laboratories appointed by the MARD for disease tests.

Certificates of qualified batches should be submitted to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad) for food safety checks in line with Australia’s regulations.

The Nafiqad is also responsible for issuing certificates to each batch of export goods.

The MARD assigns the department to guide businesses in how to implement the procedures.

In addition, exporters and processors have to ensure the origin tracking dossier of each batch.

On January 7, the Australian Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources announced the suspension of prawn and uncooked shelled shrimp imports from Asian nations, including Vietnam, in fear of white spot disease outbreaks in Australia. The ban took effect on January 9 and lasts for six months.

In June, the department lifted the ban.

Last year, Vietnam exported 114.6 million USD worth of shrimp products to Australia, of which processed shrimp made up 78 percent of the total.

Gas prices, transport costs for Block B - O Mon project signed

Agreements on wellhead gas prices and transport costs for Block B – O Mon gas project were signed in Hanoi on September 1.

The deals were inked between the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP), and PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas), Japan’s Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. Ltd. (MOECO) and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP).

Speaking at the signing ceremony, PetroVietnam General Director Nguyen Vu Truong Son said the project has a quite complicated geological structure, which requires exploitation methods similar to other gas projects in the Gulf of Thailand.

In July, PetroVietnam submitted a gas field development plan to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, under which the exploitation needs up to 1,000 drilling wells and 50-60 oil rigs, he said.

The signing of the agreements creates an important premise for the involved parties to soon reach necessary trade deals for the project, he added.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung said Block B – O Mon is one of the two biggest gas projects in Vietnam, with a total investment of 10 billion USD.

With an annual output of 5 billion cubic meters, the project will supply crude gas for O Mon power centre and Ca Mau gas-power-fertilizer complex.

Particularly, with estimated total revenue of 47 billion USD, the project is expected to contribute around 18 billion USD to the State budget.

The provision of gas from this project will help the south-western region boost development of industries and ensure energy security for the nation.

 Over 3.1 trillion VND raised from Government bonds

The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) raised more than 3.1 trillion VND (136 million USD) through 17 auctions of Government bonds issued by the State Treasury in August, down 79 percent against the previous month.

While five-year bonds were sold with an annual interest rate of between 4.6 percent, those for seven-, 10- and 15-year bonds are 4.8 percent, 5.38 percent and 5.75 percent respectively.

Meanwhile the 30-year bonds bear the respective interest rate of 6.1 percent.

Compared to the previous month, the August interest rates dropped 0.12 percent for five-year and 30-year bonds and 0.15 percent for seven-year bonds while those for 10-year and 15-year bonds remained unchanged.

In the secondary market, the total trading volume of Government bonds sold outright reached over 902.5 million bonds worth more than 99.5 trillion VND, a monthly decline of 10.3 percent.

The volume of G-bonds sold through repurchase (repo) agreements was estimated at over 1,186 million bonds valued at over 119 trillion VND, a month-on-month increase of 20.4 percent.

Foreign investors made outright transactions worth over 4.9 trillion VND in purchase value and over 5.5 trillion VND in sale value.

They also had repo selling of over 98.9 trillion VND and no purchasing repo transaction this month.

First batch of Vietnamese chicken to depart for Japan in Sept

The first shipment of Vietnamese chicken will be dispatched to Japan by sea on September 9.

Koyu & Unitek Co., Ltd, a joint venture between Australia and Japan in southern Dong Nai province, will ship 30 tonnes of chicken wings, thighs and breasts to Japan, which are expected to arrive in Tokyo in 10 days.

The company has signed a long-term contract with the Japanese side in which Japan will import about 300 tonnes of chicken products per month, said Director General of the firm James Hieu.

According to Hieu, Japan imports over 900,000 tonnes of poultry products annually. In fact, Koyu & Unitek falls short of its Japanese partner’s real demand which exceeds 2,000 tonnes per month. 

The firm plans to increase capacity in the future by enhancing cooperation with farmers to raise chickens and expanding processing facilities.

Four locations proposed for Rach Mieu 2 Bridge

Project Management Unit 7 (PMU7) has written to the Ministry of Transport proposing four locations to build Rach Mieu 2 Bridge, with one of them around three kilometers upstream the current Rach Mieu Bridge seen the most feasible.

PMU7's proposal is based on the pre-feasibility study of Dasan Consultants from South Korea as the consultant of the project. Accordingly, the new four-lane bridge will be shorter than the current Rach Mieu Bridge if it is built at the most-preferred site.

The location is ideal as it is convenient to connect to HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway and Ham Luong Bridge while a bypass is not required in the construction process. The river flow will not also affect the implementation of the project due to the long distance from the Rach Mieu Bridge.

For the second option, a longer two-lane bridge than the bridge suggested in the first option will be built next to the current Rach Mieu Bridge. This site is good for connecting to HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway but severe traffic congestion may be seen in the construction process and the river flow may be an obstacle. In addition, traffic jams may occur in Tien Giang Province’s My Tho City due to the heavy traffic from HCMC to Ben Tre Province through My Tho.

The third site is 1.3 kilometers upstream from Rach Mieu Bridge. A four-lane bridge with the same length with Rach Mieu Bridge can connect to HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway. A bypass is unnecessary but the river flow may also affect construction work.

With the last option, the bridge planned to be built eight kilometers from the Rach Mieu Bridge is shorter than in the other proposals. During the construction of the four-lane bridge, a bypass would not be needed but this location would make the new bridge impossible to link to HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway.

In the first option, the new bridge inclusive of approach roads is envisaged having five sections.

As for investment, the consultant proposed using official development assistance (ODA) loans from South Korea and local counter capital for the first and second sections while the fourth section with 8.9 kilometers in length will be invested under the public-private partnership form.

The management unit is waiting for approval of the Ministry of Transport on investment solutions.

Medical plastic company merged into equipment corporation

Mediplast Medical Plastic Joint Stock Company has been officially merged into Vietnam Medical Equipment Corporation (Vinamed), said the latter on September 14.

All of Mediplast’s assets, rights, duties, and benefits, as well as liabilities have now been transferred to Vinamed. The assets include property, plants, and machinery.

Vinamed earlier issued additional shares via a private placement for Mediplast’s shareholders at a 3:1 ratio, meaning each share of Mediplast entitles the holder to three shares of Vinamed.

Vinamed said leaders of Mediplast are to hold key management positions at Vinamed. The corporation also guarantees all of the rights and duties for Mediplast’s employees.

Mediplast earlier had plans to expand production in a bid to diversify its products. However, it ran short of investment capital, lacked management capacity, and relationships with international partners.

Meanwhile, Vinamed has stronger finances, international relations, governance, and customer relations. Therefore, the merger will give Mediplast and its shareholders an opportunity to achieve their purpose, according to Pham Quang Huy, chairman of Vinamed.

He added the merger helps Vinamed bolster its capacity as a corporation specializing in major medical fields, including equipment manufacture and distribution, consultancy and construction, technology solutions, and investment. These fields will create a close supply chain of medical products and services.

Vinamed has recently unveiled its plans to invest in two hospital projects, including the high-tech service facility of the Thanh Hoa General Hospital in the northern city of Thanh Hoa.

Pegas Vietnam opens five-star resort catering to Russian tourists

Pegas Vietnam Co Ltd has opened the five-star Swandor Hotels & Resorts targeting Russian tourists in the coastal city of Cam Ranh in Khanh Hoa Province.

Hoang Thi Phong Thu, chairwoman of Pegas Vietnam, said Swandor Hotels & Resorts has 546 rooms and is rented for a long term by a domestic investor.

“Russian tourists usually stay at the hotels in 10-12 days and require a variety of food and beverage, sports and entertainment services. Pegas Vietnam has hired foreign chefs and spa specialists to work at Swandor and train the local staff,” Thu said.

In addition to Swandor, Pegas Vietnam is managing two other resorts under Dessole Sea Lion brand in Cam Ranh and Phan Thiet, both mainly catering to Russian tourists.

According to Thu, the number of Russian tourists to Vietnam is growing fast. Last year, Pegas served 140,000 Russian tourists and the number would rise to 180,000 this year. Most of them choose Cam Ranh, Phan Thiet, Ninh Thuan and HCMC for multi-day vacations.

CLIA to hold river cruise conference in HCMC next year

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) will hold a river cruise conference in HCMC next year given the high demand for river cruise tourism in Asian countries.

Taking place from April 10 to 11, 2018, the conference will include a cruise in the Mekong River for participating travel agents.

Participants will be able to take advantage of a trade fair and conference sessions which will focus on identifying potential river cruise customers and learning more about river tourism services in Asia.

Some travel agents in HCMC said the ocean and river cruise sector has seen strong growth in recent years. Particularly, there are currently about 20 ships plying the waterway on the sightseeing cruise from My Tho City in the Mekong Delta to Cambodia’s Siem Reap Province.

An eight-day tour costs around US$2,000 per person for three-star cruise ship and US$4,000 per person for four or five-star ship. Specifically, some luxury cruise ships offer tours costing US$1,500 per person per day.

Bui Viet Thuy Tien, managing director of Asian Trails Co., Ltd., said river cruise in the Mekong Delta is flourishing. CLIA’s conference will be a chance for domestic travel firms to introduce river tourism products internationally.

“Tourists from Japan, Europe and the U.S. are very much interested in river cruise. With extensive marketing and promotion, this sector will grow further in the Mekong Delta and Vietnam as a whole,” she added.

Prices of steel products to rise     

Prices of steel products are forecast to continue rising in the latter months of the year due to a hike in the prices of steel ingot and steel scrap.

This was stated by the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

Nguyen Van Sua, deputy chairman of the association, said because prices of input materials have been increasing strongly, steel producers have to raise the selling price of the products to offset production costs.

In August alone, steelmakers in the northern region had to increase prices five times, with a combined increase of VND1.1 million (US$48.8) per tonne from VND10.77 million per tonne.

In the same month, steel producers in the southern region hiked prices three times. Prices of steel products in the region currently range from VND12.4 million per tonne to VND12.7 million per tonne.

According to VSA, steel scrap is being imported at $350-354 per tonne, $40 higher than the price one month ago. Domestic steel scrap is being sold at VND6.8-7.2 million per tonne, compared with VND6.35-6.55 million in August.

The price of imported steel ingot in early September was quoted at $540-545 per tonne, 13 per cent higher than early August. Price of domestic steel ingot went up from VND10.5 million per tonne to VND12.1 million.

VSA deputy chairman Sua predicted, “Steel ingot price will likely surge to VND12.7 million per tonne, thus the price of steel products would continue moving up this month.”

Last month, the local steel industry produced 13 million tonnes, an increase of 17.4 per cent compared with the same period last year. Of the total, 11 tonnes were sold in the local market, 14.9 per cent higher than August 2016.

Viet Nam also exported 2.98 million tonnes of steel products from January to July, earning revenue of $2 billion, a rise of 27 per cent in volume and 50 per cent in value against the corresponding period. 

HCM City farm, consumer goods fair promotes local produce     

A farm produce, food and consumer goods fair which opened at the Tan Binh District Culture and Sport Centre in HCM City on September 12 seeks to promote production and consumption of Vietnamese products.

The six-day fair has 200 booths displaying a wide range of agricultural products, foods, fashion items, jewellery, handicrafts, wooden products, household utensils and other consumer goods.

Visitors can enjoy music shows every night and try a range of cuisines.

It is organised by the district People’s Committee together with the Dong Nam Advertising and Commercial Promotion Joint Stock Company.

At the opening ceremony, the organisers gave gifts to 50 disadvantaged children from the district. 

HCM City farm, consumer goods fair promotes local produce     

Farm produce, food and consumer goods fair which opened at the Tan Binh District Culture and Sport Centre in HCM City on September 12 seeks to promote production and consumption of Vietnamese products.

The six-day fair has 200 booths displaying a wide range of agricultural products, foods, fashion items, jewellery, handicrafts, wooden products, household utensils and other consumer goods.

Visitors can enjoy music shows every night and try a range of cuisines.

It is organised by the district People’s Committee together with the Dong Nam Advertising and Commercial Promotion Joint Stock Company.

At the opening ceremony, the organisers gave gifts to 50 disadvantaged children from the district. 

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNEVET