Viglacera to auction 120 million shares in May   

  

Ceramic maker Viglacera Corporation (VGC) will put up 120 million shares for sale, equivalent to 39 per cent of total outstanding shares, on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange on May 29.

The starting price is set at VND12,300 (54 US cents) per share.

Viglacera is expected to collect nearly VND1.5 trillion ($65.8 million) from the public sale, which will be mainly used to invest in the expansion of the Yen Phong Industrial Park and develop the ultra-white float glass manufacturing factory and sanitary ware plant Viglacera My Xuan in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

Viglacera has 307 million outstanding shares, equivalent to charter capital of VND3.07 trillion. The company’s charter capital will increase to nearly VND4.73 trillion following the sale.

It is listing 65 million shares on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, some 39 per cent of its total outstanding shares, at a price of some VND15,500 per share.

Viglacera holds 40 per cent of the market share of building glass, 12 per cent of sanitary ware, 5 per cent of ceramic tiles and 3 per cent of bricks, according to a report by the Bao Viet Securities Joint Stock Company (BVSC).

The construction materials company owns some 390ha of urban land and 10 industrial parks with total area of 3,560ha in six provinces, mainly in the north, which have attracted 200 enterprises.

There could be a possible dilution of the share price after the sale in the short term, but this will be offset by the company’s strong potential for growth following investment, BVSC’s report said.

Viglacera reported profit of VND242 billion in the first quarter, surpassing its quarterly target by 69 per cent. It aims to earn total pre-tax profit of VND888 billion this year, a rise of 16 per cent year-on-year. 

Sabeco reports 18% rise in profit     

Sai Gon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) announced its net profit in the first quarter of 2017 rose 18.8 per cent year-on-year to VND1.12 trillion (US$49.78 million).

Sabeco also reported its total revenue increased by 4.9 per cent yearly to VND7.48 trillion, with pre-tax profit up 18.2 per cent to VND1.45 trillion.

By the end of March 31, Sabeco’s total assets reached value of VND18.75 trillion, a decline of 2.3 per cent from the beginning of this year with the biggest proportion bank deposits, which reached value of VND6.64 trillion.

Sabeco said in the quarterly financial report released last week that revenue increased sharply because selling prices rose in the first quarter, making the percentage of total selling cost in the company’s revenue decrease significantly.

In the first quarter, Sabeco sold its entire 0.46 per cent stake in the Viet Nam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank), which was recorded at VND36.6 billion on January 1.

The divestment helped increased Sabeco’s financial income by 1.5 times to VND145 billion.

Sabeco remained the shareholder of nine other companies, including some financial and banking institutions that are the Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB), DongA Bank, PVI Southern Insurance Company and Sabeco Packaging Joint Stock Company.

Among those companies, the biggest investments are in the OCB and DongA Bank with initial values of VND216 billion and VND136 billion, respectively.

Sabeco is listed on the HCM Stock Exchange under code SAB. The company’s shares ended Wednesday at VND199,900 per share.

New director arranged

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has approved Nguyen Thanh Nam becoming the General Director of Sabeco, representing the ministry in managing the use of the State capital in the brewer.

Nam is now the deputy general director of Sabeco and also a member of the company’s management board. He was elected to his current position during Sabeco’s extraordinary shareholder meeting held in February.

Nam will take the responsibility from Le Hong Xanh, another deputy general director that has been the acting general director at Sabeco since August 2016 and managed the company’s board of directors.

After the decision comes into effect in May, Xanh will remain as a deputy general director at Sabeco and will retire in July. 

Phu My Hung introducing second phase of Japanese complex     

Phu My Hung Development Corporation on Thursday introduced The Symphony, the second project in its Phu My Hung Midtown in the South District of Phu My Hung City Centre in HCM City’s District 7.

The event attracted nearly 600 customers, indicating that The Symphony promises to be hugely attractive to buyers after the highly successful launch of the 1st project - The Grande with 100% sold out.

Phu My Hung Development Corporation showed off show houses on Tran Van Tra Street in the Phu My Hung City Centre.

This is Phu My Hung Development Corporation’s first project in collaboration with Japanese partners.

The show houses were designed by Malaysia’s Artsy Expression Company.

One model measures 113sq.m and is designed in Japanese style.

The other has a size of 85sq.m and a modern design.

Angelia Lee Peng Peng, director of the design company, said the designers and developers of the show condos were inspired by many famous international designers. All their interiors and furniture were imported from places like the EU, Thailand, and Malaysia.

It has sparked interest among foreigners living in HCM City because it has an excellent living environment that is being developed to international standards by Phu My Hung Development Corporation.

Phu My Hung said The Symphony would have a very beautiful location when it directly links to the first Sakura Park in Viet Nam.

Furthermore, it will be built with a very good floor area ratio – of about 5.88 -- which will ensure plenty of green for the project.

The Symphony will have 319 condos in two parallel blocks, each has two towers. The first one is a 9 and 17 storeys tall.

The second block, which will be on the opposite side, will have 14 and 20 storeys. This design, the developer said, would ensure that all condos in all four towers get wind and natural light.

The Symphony will be developed with many amenities. In each part of the project, amenities will be available on the ninth and 14th floors. By taking the elevator to these floors, residents can enjoy many amenities including a swimming pool, gym, sauna and massage room, and library.

To meet the needs of occupants, Phu My Development Corporation is developing infrastructure and services including new schools and malls.

Vingroup opens hotels, golf course and malls     

Vingroup has opened 15 new business establishments in 11 provinces and cities to expand its presence nationwide and affirm its position as the country’s leading private economic group.

Seven Vinpearl hotels, one Vinpearl golf course, two Vinpearl Land entertainment areas and five Vincom shopping centres were opened at the end of last month.

Vingroup currently has 11,000 hotel rooms, three golf courses, five entertainment areas and 37 shopping malls across the country.

With the opening of Vinpearls and Vinpearl Lands last week, Vingroup has penetrated five new provinces and cities - Hai Phong, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Nam’s Hoi An and Khanh Hoa’s Cam Ranh.

Vincom’s shopping centres, which have a presence in 20 provinces and cities, house retail brands such as VinMark, VinPro and VinDS.

Vingroup expects that the opening of its hotels, shopping centres and amusement parks will contribute to promoting socio-economic development and high-quality tourism.

On this occasion, Vingroup is offering attractive promotions and gifts until the end of this month.

April has most new enterprises in past year     

April had the highest number of newly-established enterprises in the past 12 months, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s National Enterprise Information and Registration System.

Viet Nam’s newly-established enterprises in April rose 8.9 per cent month-on-month to 13,102 units, bringing the total number of newly-established enterprises in the first four months to 39,580 units, with total registered capital of VND369.6 trillion (US$17.4 billion).

These figures for the first four months marked an increase of 14 per cent in the number of enterprise and 48.9 per cent in capital.

During the four months, average registered capital per enterprise surged 30.6 per cent year-on-year to VND9.3 billion.

In the same period, existing enterprises registered an increase of VND455.7 trillion, bringing total registered capital of both existing and new enterprises to VND825.3 trillion.

The ministry said the number of newly-established enterprises surged 237.2 per cent in the information and communication sector; 66 per cent in the property trading sector; 30.4 per cent in the education and training sector; 16.2 per cent in the sector of science and technology, consulting, design services and advertisements; and 14 per cent in the sector of accommodation and catering services.

It reported 4,057 enterprises were dissolved in the four months, 7.9 per cent higher than the same period last year. Further, some 27,400 enterprises suspended operations, a year-on-year increase of 9 per cent. 

Phu Quoc on track to be ‘smart city’ by 2020     

The Kien Giang Province People’s Committee has approved making Phu Quoc a smart city by 2020.

The project will be based on the Viet Nam Post and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT)’s information communications technology infrastructure and the province’s e-governance.

It seeks to develop Phu Quoc island into a smart, hospitable and safe city that attracts tourists, improve the quality of services available to local residents and tourists and urban management.

The most important factor in making Phu Quoc a “smart” city is information and telecommunications infrastructure, which must be capable of supporting all functions of e-government and smart services in tourism, transport, environment, healthcare, education and finance.

The project will invest in an optic-fibre network, develop and expand 4G services in the island, provide free wi-fi, usher in e-governance, set up online management of visitors, and offer online management of healthcare and education, among other things.

“The project will improve the quality and effectiveness as well as reduce the cost of State management; provide convenient services and ensure safety for tourists and locals and create breakthroughs for the socio-economic development of Phu Quoc Island,” Mai Van Huynh, deputy chairman of the Kien Giang People’s Committee, told the Dau Tu (Viet Nam Investment Review) newspaper.

VNPT has signed many agreements and worked closely with agencies in Kien Giang and Phu Quoc Island and ministries.

For the online management of visitors, VNPT has trained over 90 police officers and workers in 200 guest houses and hotels on the island. Hotels no longer need to take guests’ passports to the local police station for registration.

For monitoring the environment, VNPT has collected information to monitor water bodies, air and noise, and carried out studies to build stations to monitor household wastewater treatment, air and seawater.

VNPT has already installed 20 cameras and wifi equipment in six places around Duong Dong Town and two others in An Thoi Town.

For e-governance, VNPT has reviewed the current e-government model in Phu Quoc, updated it and provided training to staff so that they can migrate to the proposed new emodel.

“VNPT is in various stages of implementing ‘smart city’ projects in eight provinces around Viet Nam,” Luong Manh Hoang, deputy general director of VNPT, said. “We will build the best smart city in Phu Quoc.”

Vietnam's Jan-April rice exports fall to 9-year low - govt

Vietnam exported an estimated 1.84 million tons of the grain in the first four months of this year, down nearly 9% from a year ago and the lowest volume for the same period in nine years, the government said.

April shipments were estimated at 550,000 tons from the world's third largest rice exporter, up 21% from a year ago and similar to March when volume hit its highest monthly level in a year, the General Statistics Office said in its monthly report released at the weekend. 

January-April's shipment volume was the lowest since 2008, based on government data. 

Low export volume in the first two months of 2017 pulled down the four-month average. Vietnam exported 337,000 tons in January and 402,700 tons in February, below the monthly average of 409,000 tons last year, based on government statistics.

A US Department of Agriculture report late last month said preferential import taxes in Eastern European countries and Russia and an extended supply agreement with the Philippines may help boost Vietnam's rice exports this year by around 9% to 6 million tons.

The Mekong Delta food basket has finished harvesting its key winter-spring rice crop, with paddy output easing 2% from last year to 9.8 million tons, the statistics office said.

The agriculture ministry blamed higher rainfall for the lower output.

The winter-spring crop is the delta's largest among the three crops it grows each year, and most of the grain is exported.

Despite a slightly smaller crop, Vietnam's rice export prices stood stable at the end of last month and were cheaper than Thai grain. The Vietnamese benchmark 5-percent broken grade stood at US$350 a ton, free-on-board (FOB) Saigon Port, little changed from US$347-350 at the end of March.

Thai rice of similar grade stood at US$360-375 a ton, FOB Bangkok, at the end of April, Reuters cited Thai traders as saying, while the Thai Rice Exporters Association priced the 5-percent broken grade at US$387 a ton on April 26, FOB basis, up 3.5% from a month ago.

JYSK expands Scandanavian quality and style in Vietnam

Amid the growing local demand for Scandinavian-style interior décor, Denmark’s JYSK Group, a well-known international retail chain, has once again expanded its local operations.

JYSK recently opened a new store on Hanoi’s Lang Ha street, marking its fifth store in the capital city and sixth in the country since the company entered Vietnam in 2015.

Doan Hong Hai, chairman of NeatClean, JYSK’s franchise partner in Vietnam, told VIR, “With a total area of about 700 square metres, the new facility together with other JYSK stores brings a unique and homey Scandinavian style to Vietnamese households, including products of furniture, bedding and decoration.”

These stores are part of JYSK’s plan to open a chain of 10-20 stores in Vietnam by 2020 to capitalise on steady growth rates, a growing consumption base of more than 90 million people, a strategic location in Southeast Asia, a young population, and fast-growing middle class.

“We are seeking favourable locations for four to five other stores in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City this year to meet the growing local demand for lifestyle and interior décor products,” Hai added.

In recent years, Scandinavian-style interior décor has been popular and favoured by Vietnamese consumers.

“I love JYSK products as they are very safe, elegant, and beautiful. JYSK products are now present in every corner of my house,” said Tran Thi Nhung, a 35-year-old resident of Hanoi.

Like Nhung, her friends and colleagues have tended to choose Scandinavian-style interior décor products amid growing concerns about unsafe products in the market.

JYSK and other European companies in Vietnam are also looking forward to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which  comes into effect in 2018.

“This FTA will enable us to enjoy import tariff cuts, helping us to reduce prices and gain competitiveness in the Vietnamese market, which has become a magnet to a number of foreign players in the field,” Hai noted.

NeatClean, which was established in April 2015 by founders operating in retail, trade, import-export, and interior décor, has helped develop JYSK’s retail network in Vietnam.

As a leader in the European market of affordable home furnishings solution, JYSK currently has over 2,448 stores in 48 countries across the globe.

The turnover in the financial year 2015/2016 was €3.12 billion (US$3.41 billion), according to JYSK’s website.

Cargill Vietnam inaugurates new aqua feed line

Cargill Vietnam has inaugurated and put into operation its 10th aqua feed line in Vietnam, which is also the second one in the north.

With a production capacity of of 3,000 metric tons a month, the modern line focuses on high quality extruded feed for tilapia and other local fish species to meet the increasing demand for floating fish feeds.

It will also help Cargill Vietnam further access customers in Hanoi, Ha Nam, Thai Binh and the north-central region where farmers are rapidly switching from extensive to intensive farming practices.

Cargill products also enable farmers to raise healthy fish, increase their output, and lower their production costs while reducing impact on the environment.

Vietnam is an important market of Cargill, said Chad Gauger, managing director of Cargill Aquaculture Nutrition Asia South. The inauguration of the sixth plant in Vietnam demonstrates Cargill strong growth not only in Vietnam, he added.

The first aqua feed line was set up at Cargill Bien Hoa Plant in 1998. Currently, Cargill Vietnam has more than 2,000 staff working at 23 its units across the country.

IIP rose 5.1% in last four months

In the first four months of this year, the national index of industrial production (IIP) increased 5.1% year-on-year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported.

That metric was far below the growth recorded in the same period in 2016 but higher than the increase of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2017, GSO’s economic experts said.

In the January-April period, the processing and manufacturing sector’s production surged 9.2% and the water supply and waste treatment industry was up 6.3%, while mining fell 9.7%.

A number of sectors enjoyed a surge in IIP, including metal production (47.5%), metal product manufacturing (13.3%), weaving (12.5%) and engine vehicle production  (10.9%).

Meanwhile, the industries of food production and processing, medicine and pharmaceutical chemistry, electronic, computer and optical product production witnessed slight IIP increases at 6.4, 4.5 and 4.2%, respectively.

According to GSO, in April, the national IIP was estimated to rise 7.4%. This index of the mining sector saw a drop of 5.6%, while that of the processing and manufacturing industry rose 11.1%. Electronic production and distribution was up 9.9% and the group of water supply and waste treatment increased 6.5%.

The northern city of Haiphong led the country in IIP growth with 20.4%, followed by Thai Nguyen with 17.7%; Danang, 12.1%; Hai Duong, nine per cent; Binh Duong, eight per cent; and Dong Nai, 7.4%. This indexes of HCM City and Hanoi rose 7.1% and 5.9%, respectively.

GSO said to continue growth in industrial production in the future, the industrial sector should increase the index of consuming products to reduce inventory because the inventory index of the sector in the first four months witnessed a year-on-year surge of 12.7%.

Sectors with higher inventory than the country’s average included engine vehicle production at 158.9%, metal production at 54.5%, beverage production at 45.4%, cement production at 39.7% and paper and paper product production at 32.8%.

Reference exchange rate goes up 6 VND

The daily reference exchange rate for VND/USD was set at 22,355 VND per USD on May 4, up 6 VND from the previous day.

With the current trading band of + /-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is 23,025 VND and the floor rate 21,685 VND per USD.

The opening hour rates at commercial banks also went up slightly. Vietcombank raised both its listed rates by 15 VND, to 22,710 VND (buying) and 22,780 VND (selling) for one USD.

The buying rate at Techcombank was increased by 15 VND to 22,700 VND and the selling rate increased by 25 VND to 22,800 VND.

At BIDV, the buying rate was listed at 22,705 VND and the selling rate 22,775 VND, both up 10 VND from May 3.

Shares upbeat after holiday weekend

Shares advanced during the first session on May 3 after the National Reunification and International Labour holidays as investors remained positive about the market outlook.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange edged up 0.25 percent to close at 719.54, the highest level since April 14. The southern market index has expanded 1.7 percent in the last four sessions.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index increased 0.32 percent to end at 89.82 points, lifting the growth of the last four sessions to over 2.2 percent.

Financial stocks like banks, insurers and securities companies were among the major movers. They included Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Vietinbank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB), Vietcombank (VCB), Sacombank (STB), Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) and HCM Securities Corp (HCM).

The securities sector recorded average growth of 1.64 percent, followed by the banking group with a rise of 1.3 percent and the insurance sector up 0.73 percent, vietstock.vn revealed.

Large-cap stocks saw big divergence with 16 of the largest 30 shares by market value and liquidity on the HCM City’s bourse rising while 11 declined.

Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp (REE) was the biggest gainer with a maximum daily rise of nearly 7 percent, settling at 29,750 VND (1.31 USD) a share.

On the other side, oil and gas stocks slumped along with global oil.

Major listed energy shares such as PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drillings and Well Service (PVD), PetroVietnam Drilling Mud (PVC) and PetroVietnam Technical Service (PVS) declined, with PVD dropping to the floor price of 16,500 VND a share.

However, analysts from BIDV Securities Joint Stock Company warned of a possible downward movement with the VN-Index approaching the resistance level of 720 points given large divergence of major large caps.

Liquidity increased with total trading volume reaching 278.5 million shares worth a combined 5.2 trillion VND (229.1 million USD) in the two markets, up 29.3 percent in volume and 23.8 percent in value compared to daily average figures of last week.

Foreign investors were net sellers in HCM City’s market on May 3 for a net value of 263 billion VND while they picked up shares worth a net value of 1.4 billion VND on the Hanoi bourse.

Retail sales, services revenue up 6.7 percent in four months

The country’s total retail sales and services revenue reached 1,267.9 trillion VND (56.7 billion USD) in the first four months of this year, a year on year increase of 6.7 percent.

The growth rate was lower than the growth rate of 7.8 percent in the first four months of 2016, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported.

GSO’s domestic trade expert Vu Manh Ha said purchasing power of the people decreased in the first four months, making growth rate of total retail sales and services revenue in this period lower than the growth rate in the same period of 2016.

Meanwhile, the average consumer price index (CPI) growth rate for the first four months of this year at 4.8 percent was higher than the rate of 1.48 percent for the correspondent time of 2016. That was one of the reasons for lower growth rate in total retail sales and services revenue during the four-month period.

However, reduction in purchasing power did not affect the retail sector. Retail sales and services revenue of this sector gained a year-on-year increase of 9.7 percent to 955.8 trillion VND.

Revenue of accommodation and catering services in the first four months surged 11.3 percent year-on-year to 153.4 trillion VND.

Revenue of the tourism and travel sector, accounting for 0.8 percent of total revenue, had the lowest growth rate at 6.3 percent year-on-year in the first four months of 2017.

Work starts on farm product processing factory in Tay Ninh

The Lavifood Joint Stock Company held a ground breaking ceremony for its agricultural product processing factory in Go Dau district of the southwestern province of Tay Ninh on May 2.

Covering 15ha, the Tanifood factory is being built with total investment of 1.5 trillion VND (about 66 million USD). Its products, including processed fruits and canned juice, will be shipped to American and European countries, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Australia.

The factory is expected to begin operation in late 2018, said Pham Ngo Quoc Thang, General Director of Lavifood. It is capable of processing 500 tonnes of local fruits per day, helping to reduce losses after harvest and raise incomes for local farmers.

Pham Van Tan, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said that leaders of the province have studied agricultural development and conducted market research in countries like the US, Japan and the RoK.

The factory will be promptly contribute to sustainable economic development of Tay Ninh province, he added.

Vietnam Airlines offers discount on Hanoi-Sydney flight

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is offering a 30 percent discount for 1,000 first online bookings of flights on the Hanoi-Sidney route until May 5.

The bookings must be made on the airline’s official website, available at www.vietnamairlines.com, using the promo code PR30SYD117 and for travel until June 30.

The national carrier launched the new direct service from Hanoi to Sydney in March, using new-generation aircraft Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. 

The 4-star flight, which takes about 9 hours and 35 minutes, will be operated three times per week, bring the total number of its flight to Australia to 17 per week.

The flight will depart from Hanoi at 23:55 on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays and return from Sydney at 15:15 (summer time) or 14:15 (winter time) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Dong Nai earns over 5.2 billion USD in export in four months

The southern province of Dong Nai shipped 5.2 billion USD worth of goods abroad in the period from January-April, up 12.8 percent from the same period last year.

The locality also imported 4.78 billion USD worth of goods in the period, according to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

The department said the trade surplus can be attributed to local businesses’ efforts to seek domestic supply of materials and goods.

Stronger connection among domestic enterprises has also helped reduce import while allowing domestic enterprises to enjoy tax incentives when shipping their products to the markets with which Vietnam has signed free trade agreements (FTAs), including the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan, Chile, and ASEAN nations.

Export revenues from traditional markets recorded good growth, such as an 88 percent increase year-on-year in the RoK market, nearly 13 percent in Japan, over 9 percent in France, and nearly 8 percent in the US.

The province’s major export products were footwear, machinery and equipment, vehicles, and fibres.

A number of agricultural products saw their export price rise in the period, such as cashew nut, coffee bean, and rubber latex.

The locality aims to look for more export markets while developing brand names of agricultural products to increase export revenues.

Jetstar Pacific receives int’l operation safety audit registration

Jetstar Pacific Airlines has been registered under the international operation safety audit (IOSA) of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The low-cost airline has been added to the list of IOSA-achieved airlines of IATA.

The IOSA programme is an internationally-recognised safety evaluation system, designed to assess the operation management and control of safety standards within an airline.

According to Jetstar Pacific Chief Executive Officer Nguyen Quoc Phuong, the airline cleared over 900 standards and recommended practices outlined in the programme to get the certification.

Jetstar Pacific is now using the Safety Management System (SMS) approved by Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and based on standards of IATA, the International Civil Aviation Organisation and Australia’s Qantas Airways.

Lotte chosen to build smart complex in Thu Thiem urban area

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has selected the Republic of Korea’s Lotte group as the investor of a smart complex project in the city’s Thu Thiem New Urban Area.

The project is set to cost the investor 20.1 trillion VND (nearly 884 million USD), excluding site clearance expenses.

It aims to develop a multifunctional finance-trade-service and residential centre in which finance, trade and service functions play a crucial role in the core area of Thu Thiem.

Roads and technical infrastructure inside the complex and connecting with other areas in Thu Thiem will also be constructed under the project.

The project is scheduled to be carried out in 72 months since the approval of the investor and will be operated in 50 years by Lotte.

The Thu Thiem New Urban Area is located on the east of the Saigon River, facing District 1, with a total area of 657ha. It is expected to be a new centre of finance, commerce, services, along with culture and entertainment of HCM City.

Fishery output exceeds 1 million tonnes in four months

Vietnam’s fishery output in the first four months of this year exceeded 1 million tonnes, up 5.7 percent year-on-year thanks to favourable weather, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Of the total, the offshore catch’s output was 959,700 tonnes, a rise of 6 percent compared to the same period last year, while the output caught in inland rivers and lakes was 46,000 tonnes, a fall of 0.6 percent.

The MARD attributed the results to high seafood reserves, along with stable prices, smooth distribution and support policies employed by coastal localities.

The three south central provinces specialising in tuna fishing – Phu Yen, Binh Dinh and Khanh Hoa - caught 8,545 tonnes of tuna, up 6.4 percent year on year. Tuna prices at ports range between 90,000 VND and 115,000 VND per kilo.

According to the ministry, the aquaculture output in the first four months of 2017 reached 865,000 tonnes, up 2.1 percent year on year, including 335,300 tonnes of tra fish raised in the Mekong Delta region. At the same time, tra fish price is increasing due to high demand. 

Meanwhile, brackish tiger prawn production in Mekong Delta localities was estimated at 55,600 tonnes, up 3.4 percent year on year, along with 32,400 tonnes of white-leg shrimps.

More than 1.1 bln USD worth of G-bonds raised in April

The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) raised 25.083 trillion VND (1.103 billion USD) worth of government bonds, down 23.9 percent from March during 18 bidding sessions last month. 

The five-year bonds offer an annual interest rate of 5.1-5.22 percent while seven-year ones yield 5.43-5.48 percent, up 0.12 percent and 0.05 percent from March, respectively. 

The others with 10-year, 15-year, 20-year and 30-year maturity have respective coupon rates of 5.99 percent, 6.74-6.79 percent, 7.1-7.36 percent, 7.63-7.85 percent, marking month-on-month decreases of 0.06 percent, 0.11 percent, 0.35 percent and 0.27 percent.

On the secondary market, the total volume of outright trading topped 640 million bonds, or 67.6 trillion VND (2.97 million USD), down 16.5 percent in value over last month. 

The trading volume through repurchase agreements (repos) was more than 883 million bonds, equivalent to 85.9 trillion VND (3.77 billion USD), down 2.6 percent month-on-month. 

Foreign investors made outright trading worth in excess of 5 trillion VND (220 million USD) in purchase value and 4.3 trillion VND (189.2 million USD) in sales value. They also made repos selling of upwards 190 billion VND (8.36 million USD) and had no repos purchase during the month.

Sumitomo Mitsui encouraged to invest in Vietnam’s infrastructure

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has suggested the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) invest in infrastructure construction in Vietnam while meeting with an executive of the Japanese bank.

Sumitomo Mitsui is currently holding 15 percent of the charter capital of the Vietnam Export-Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank) and used to support Japanese and Vietnamese businesses with capital and financial services. 

It has expressed the intention of expanding operations in small- and medium-sized enterprises development and infrastructure building in the country.

At the meeting in Hanoi on May 3, Deputy PM Hue applauded Sumitomo Mitsui’s investment and business partnership in Vietnam.

He said about 700km of a north-south expressway is set to be built in the country from now to 2020, and the construction will cost some 200 trillion VND (8.8 billion USD). SMBC and other investors from Vietnam and other countries can make investment in the form of public-private partnership.

Hue also voiced his hope that with its experience in financial management, SMBC will help turn Eximbank into a strong credit organisation and further take part in the equitisation and restructuring of State-owned enterprises in Vietnam.

For his part, SMBC Managing Director Ryuji Nishisaki said his firm is interested in the restructuring of credit organisations in Vietnam and will keep working to successfully restructure Eximbank in the near future.

He also highly valued Vietnam’s development of the derivatives market and the bond market to diversify capital mobilisation channels.

SMBC is ready to send its affiliates working in securities to enter the derivatives market of Vietnam, he added.

HCM City growth rate stable in 2017

HCM City’s growth rate maintained a steady pace for the first four months of the year.

The city’s total State budget collection was VNÐ125 trillion (US$5.5 billion), nearly 36 per cent of the entire year’s target and an increase of 22.4 per cent in comparison with the same period last year.

Total export turnover of enterprises in the city was around $10.9 billion, an increase of 16.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2016.

Export value increased in various markets, including Singapore with 91.5 per cent, Malaysia 86 per cent, Myanmar 66.7 per cent, Spain 65.2 per cent and Australia 59.7 per cent. But lower export figures were recorded in the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Canada.

Exports for rubber, coffee, computers and electronic equipment, and transport vehicles  remained high, increasing by between 25.7 per cent and 70.9 per cent.

Import value was $13.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent, especially in raw materials and equipment for production activities. Electronic appliances and equipment saw a growth rate of 44.8 per cent, metal 29.7 per cent, and automobile equipment 21.4 per cent.

The service and retail sector expanded by 10.6 per cent (compared to 7.5 per cent a year earlier) and industrial production increased by 7.1 per cent (6.2 per cent a year earlier).

The city’s four key industries namely engineering and automation; electronics, chemicals, rubber, plastics; and food processing, continued to perform strongly with the growth rate of nearly 10.25 per cent. The result was because they expanded market shares, invested in technology, and improved quality and competitiveness.

“Engineering and automation grew by nearly 19 per cent with domestically made machines whose production costs are equivalent to 60 – 70 per cent of that of the imported ones,” Nguy?n Hoàng Minh, deputy director of the municipal Planning and Investment Department, said at the meeting held yesterday (April 27).

Meanwhile, the electricity sector intensified investments in completing its national grid for production activities and daily use which was estimated at 7.36 billion kWh, an increase of 1.9 per cent over the same period last year.

The electricity leakage was about 5.28 per cent, lower by 0.52 per cent than last year. And electricity savings amounted to 141 million kWh, or 39 per cent of the yearly plan.

For the first four months, a total of VNÐ964.3 trillion ($43 billion) was spent for construction, an increase of 8.1 per cent year-on-year.

Around 12,100 new companies with the legal capital of VNÐ214.5 trillion ($9.5 billion) received business licences in the first four months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 59.1 per cent.

The city attracted nearly $896 million in FDI, up 43 per cent.

During the first four months, the city provided employment for 98,600 people, 35 per cent of its yearly plan, up 0.61 per cent.

“Though we have achieved such positive results in the first four months, more efforts will be needed to realise the yearly targets,” said the chairman of the city People’s Committee Nguy?n Thanh Phong.

Toyota Vietnam produces 400,000th car

Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV) completed the production of its 400,000th car on April 27, marking the company’s development milestone in the Vietnamese market.

At a ceremony in celebration of the event, TMV President Toru Kinoshita said his company has been working on the improvement of assembly lines and product quality.

This is the reason why Toyota is listed among favourite brands in Vietnam’s domestic auto market.

TMV started production in Vietnam in 1996, with two cars per day on average. Now, the figure is 170, with cumulative sales as of 2016 exceeding 412,000 cars.

Jetstar Pacific launches Quang Binh-Hai Phong service

Jetstar Pacific commenced its low-cost service between the central province of Quang Binh and the northern port city of Hai Phong on April 29, offering more choices for passengers in the north central and northern coastal regions.

Before the inauguration started, the first flight between Hai Phong’s Cat Bi and Quang Binh’s Dong Hoi had landed at Dong Hoi airport.

This is the first time that Quang Binh and Hai Phong have set up an air route with low-cost services to meet the travelling demand of people between the two regions.

The carrier will conduct three round-trip flights a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday using 180-seat Airbus 320 aircraft.

The flights from Hai Phong will depart at 17:35 while the return leg will take off at 19:10. 

The total flight duration will be one hour.

Quang Binh is scheduled to coordinate with Jetstar Pacific to launch an air route to Chiang Mai (Thailand) in June 2017, which will be the first direct route between Vietnam and Chiang Mai.

Viglacera to form joint venture with Cuba

The Vietnam Glass and Ceramics for Construction Corporation (Viglacera)’s annual shareholder meeting recently highlighted the company’s plan to implement investment activities in Cuba.

The company plans to set up a joint venture in ceramic and porcelain tiles with chartered capital of nearly 40 million USD and total investment of some 61.8 million USD.

In the first phase, Viglacera will contribute capital by providing technical services, spare parts replacement and cash to renovate two factories to serve Cuban market demand and export and invest in new production lines of sanitary ware and floor tiles.

In the field of tourism and hotels, Viglacera is also cooperating with domestic partners to attract capital to establish a company, expected to have charter capital of some 3 million USD, to cooperate with Cuban partners.

In addition, the corporation plans to set up a company in Cuba to implement real estate projects, initially to invest and upgrade two hotels owned by two groups in Cuba, at the same time seeking new investment projects.

Viglacera also plans to invest in industrial park infrastructure, with a 168ha project in Cuba’s Mariel Special Economic Zone.

Last December, Viglacera entered into a joint venture partnership with Cuban giant developer Geicon to manufacture building material in the Caribbean island nation, of which, Viglacera is responsible for upgrading two existing ceramics and sanitary ware plants and investing in two more, four years after the joint venture is operational.

Promoting Vietnam’s green brand names

To catch up with the trend of sustainable development, managers and businesses have to develop national brand names of green products.

A survey by Nielson Vietnam shows that 86% of Vietnamese are willing to pay higher prices for environmentally and social friendly products and green and clean brand names. Consumers care more about information publication and will boycott products which are harmful to the environment and health. Producers have to adjust their develop strategy toward green production, friendly materials, energy saving, and reasonable prices. 

Vu Tuyet Nhung of the Association of Vietnam Organic Agriculture said “Organic farming is a new trend and there has not yet been sufficient policies and instruction to help farmers apply these new methods. The Association has consulted international organizations in countries that have advanced organic agriculture. We intend to help farmers produce and register green products.”

An eco-labeling program called Vietnam Green Label has been implemented over the past decade to promote the production and consumption of environmentally-friendly products and the sustainable use of natural resources. The application for Vietnam Green Label designation is simple and free. Businesses with Vietnam Green Labels are committed to social responsibility, which boosts their competitiveness and profits.

Do Kim Lang, Deputy Director of the Trade Promotion Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the Ministry will work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to help business develop green brand names. 

“We’ll add eco-factors to the criteria list of the National Trademark Program. Businesses will have to meet the tougher conditions of the national competitive strategy”, said Mr Lang. 

The state has to create conditions that promote green trademarks, while managing and monitoring to ensure transparency and consumers’ rights.

Government Inspectorate urged to probe giant pulp project

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has urged the Government Inspectorate to investigate a giant pulp project in Nghe An Province which has been left idle for years.

Tan Hong pulp plant at Con Cuong District has a total investment of VND1.25 trillion (USD545.4 million). The plant’s production lines were imported from China and would have an annual capacity of 45,000 tonnes.

The planning for the plant’s material zone was approved in 2009 and was built in 2010.

In the 2011-2012 period, due to the production and business difficulties, the plant stopped buying material from local people.

After being left idle for seven years, the Nghe An Department of Planning and Investment has asked the provincial people’s committee to stop the operation of the plant.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has called on the Government Inspectorate to probe the case to report the government before May 25.

Moody's changes outlook on Vietnam's ratings to positive

Moody's said on April 28 it has affirmed the Vietnamese government's B1 issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings and revised the outlook to positive from stable.

The positive outlook is based on Moody's expectations that strong foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, fostered by ongoing economic reform, will continue to diversify the economy and enhance economic performance compared to rating peers. 

“FDI allows Vietnam to diversify its economy and gain market share in international trade, contributing to prospects of sustained strong GDP growth,” the company commented.

Macroeconomic and external stability will be maintained, and in turn, strong growth and a stable macroeconomic environment will help stabilize government debt around current levels, according to the bond credit rating company.

Concurrently, Moody's has raised Vietnam's local-currency (LC) bond and deposit ceilings to Baa3 from Ba1.

The country's foreign-currency (FC) bond and deposit ceilings remain at Ba2 and B2, respectively.

In addition, the short-term FC bond and deposit ceilings were unchanged at "Not Prime.''

Vietnam's improving competitiveness and reform impetus have supported net FDI inflows averaging 5.2% of GDP between 2014 and 2016, higher than the B1-rated median of 3.6%, according to Moody’s.

The Southeast Asian country has also benefited from its entry into several free trade agreements in recent years, which have spurred the liberalization of the economy.

As a result of improvements to the investment climate, Vietnam's ranking rose to 60th out of 138 countries in the 2016-2017 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index, up from 70th in 2013-2014, while its showing in the World Bank's Doing Business Indicators similarly rose to 82nd out of 190 countries in 2017 from 99th in 2014.

Robust FDI inflows have spurred gross fixed capital formation, allowing export growth to outperform regional and rating peers amidst slow global trade and lower commodity prices.

Vietnam has become a more important node in the regionally dispersed supply chain for electronics, especially for mobile phones, as foreign investments have helped to diversify the economy towards higher value-added manufacturing.

As a result, Vietnam has gained market share with its share of world exports nearly doubling to 1.2% in 2016 from 0.7% in 2013.

“With ongoing improvements to infrastructure, rapid growth in the population of working age, and the government's continued focus on reform to support FDI, we expect economic growth to remain robust at around 6.3% per annum through 2019, nearly twice as high as the B1-rated median of 3.3%,” Moody’s said.

Moody’s also explained that Vietnam's B1 issuer rating incorporates credit strengths, including the size and diversity of the country's economy and its robust growth performance relative to similarly-rated peers.

These strengths are balanced against low GDP per capita, as well as the vulnerabilities posed by wide fiscal deficits and the accumulation of debt over the past few years.

Nevertheless, sizeable financial support from official creditors at concessional terms has prevented a marked deterioration in debt affordability.

The banking system continues to pose prominent but manageable contingent risks. The recovery of domestic demand since 2015 has coincided with rapid credit growth, challenging a system still encumbered by poor capital adequacy and legacy non-performing loans.

Nevertheless, the benign inflation outlook and somewhat stricter underwriting standards as compared to previous credit booms mitigate financial stability risks.

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