Vietnam: Fish and fishery exports to US, EU continue to lag

Fish and fishery exports to the US and EU markets have continued to lag last year’s figures during the five months leading up to June 2017, reports the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

Overall fish and fishery exports to the US market fell 12.7% year-on-year for the five months January-May reaching only US$461 million while consignments to the EU fared better, down just .7% at US$448 million.

The major stumbling block is with exports of farm raised catfish, which have come under increased scrutiny over safety issues and concern over the lack of adequate inspections by consumers in both the US and EU markets, says the Association.

However, on the brighter side, the Association is attempting to divert attention away from the problem by noting that overall fish and fishery exports to Japan, another key market, have jumped 29.3% year-on-year to US$468 million.     

Vietnamese still struggle to export lychees to Australia

Fourteen years after the country first applied, Vietnamese processors are still struggling to export fresh lychees to Australia.

On June 2, processors shipped the first shipment by air from the current season, which amounted to just 1.2 tons of product, said by Le Nhat Thanh, director of the Plant Protection Department.

It’s the first for the 2017 lychee harvest, which will last until the middle of July, Mr Thanh noted.

Consignments of lychees are permitted by air or sea freight to Australia and must be inspected upon arrival, added Mr Thanh.

Head of the Australian Lychee Growers Association, Derek Foley, from Electra, Queensland, said he was not worried about Vietnamese imports competing with local fruit.

We're not against the import of lychees, it won't clash with our season, which is around Christmas, said Mr Foley.

Australian lychee growers would like to see decent quality lychees coming into Australia. We're only asking for the protocol to be irradiation and reciprocal arrangements for Vietnam to import fruit from Australia.

The Australia lychee industry isn’t worth all that much, as estimates put the annual value at about US$20 million of sales.

This is the second year Vietnamese lychee has been accepted by Australia after last year finally managing to meet Australian market standards for packaging, labelling and radiation treatment.

Philippine firms interested in brand franchisingin Vietnam

The 90-million-strong Vietnamese market is a promising land for famous brands as well as businesses from the region, heard a conference on franchise between Vietnam and the Philippines in Hanoi on June 2.

According to Vo Tan Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ho Chi Minh City, franchise has increased in Vietnam recently, which has not only brought about investment opportunities for enterprises but also created favourable conditions for consumers to access world prestigious brands.

It has also contributed to creating a diverse and transparent environment, he said, holding that franchise with diverse business forms is suitable for those who wish to launch a startup firm.

Currently, many brand names have operated in the form of franchise, including about 40% of catering services.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, about 170 brands have registered as foreign franchises to Vietnam. The field recorded the growth pace of 200% each year thanks to Vietnamese consumers’ support to new products and favourable integration policies.

Many brands from developed countries such as the US, the Republic of Korea, Japan, as well as Asian and Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, have penetrated the Vietnamese market, noted Thanh.

Meanwhile, Noel Servigon, Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam, said that Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, is a promising market for franchise.

Philippine firms wish to seek partnership in franchising with Vietnam based on the sound trade relations between the two countries, he said, noting that currently, Jolibee is a successful brand in Vietnam.

The diplomat added that businesses of both countries are dynamic, thus they will find out partnership chances in many areas such as food, beverage and restaurant.

The conference drew many Philippines firms in food, drinking, fashion, service, spa, education and consultancy in the field.

Hundreds of Chinese corporate leaders head for Hanoi

Hundreds of Chinese business executives will converge in Hanoi this June 15-16 for an annual exhibition aiming to improve trade in mechanical and electrical products between Vietnam, China and the Southeast Asian region.

Last year, more than 300 exhibitors and 10,000 visitors participated in the exhibition, said the executive board, and they claimed it served as an effective platform to improve commercial trade between Vietnamese and Chinese companies.

This year, they expect a similar turnout at the event titled – CA-MEXPO Vietnam 2017 – set to transpire at the Hanoi International Centre for Exhibition at 91 Tran Hung Dao Street of Hanoi.

Entry is free to the event open daily to the public at large from 9am to 5pm. It is jointly sponsored by the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat, Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and the Department of Commerce of Guangxi, China.

Gangwon businesses promote Korean investment in HCM City

Businesses of Gangwon province of the Republic of Korea (RoK) want to set up partnership with and expand investment in Ho Chi Minh City, Governor Choi Moon-soon has said.

He made the remark at a conference on Gangwon – HCM City economic cooperation held by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises and a delegation of Gangwon firms in HCM City on June 9.

The governor said locality-to-locality economic exchanges are an important driving force for the two countries’ economic partnership. 

HCM City is the biggest economic and financial hub of Vietnam and also one of the most vibrant cities in Southeast Asia. It attracts much attention from Korean investors, including those from Gangwon province.

He added that businesses from his province want to access information about growth promotion and investment attraction policies of HCM City. They hope to establish partnerships with local firms to enhance ties in health care, culture, education and tourism.

Sharing the same view, Consul General of the RoK in HCM City Park Noh-wan said Vietnam, especially HCM City, is currently a magnet for foreign investment. Therefore, Gangwon companies should make use of opportunities from investment promotion programmes to connect with local firms, thus creating a long-term growth momentum for both sides.

Valuing the province’s investment promotion plan, Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said his city welcomes and will provide the best possible conditions for foreign investors. It will improve the business climate and support domestic and foreign companies in their establishment and operation.

He added the two localities boast huge cooperation potential, especially in the fields that match Gangwon’s strength and HCM City’s demand such as biotechnology, medical equipment and new materials.

He voiced his belief that cooperation and mutual support will bolster their respective economic development, thus contributing to the prosperity of Vietnam and the RoK.

Star Telecom to build population management system for Laos

Star Telecom, a joint venture between the Laos-Asia telecom company and Vietnam's military-run Viettel telecom group, has won a contract to build a population management system for the Lao government.  

The company signed the contract with the Lao Ministry of Home Affairs in Vientiane on June 9.

The system will store digitised citizens’ data, including birth, death and marriage certificates, and immigration records, thus facilitating management work and cutting time and cost for administrative procedures.

Under the contract, in the first phase of the project between 2017 and 2018, Star Telecom will build the system for the provinces of Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Champasak. Estimated costs amount to about 700,000 USD in total.

In the second phase, the system will be expanded to 14 remaining provinces. 

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Thongchan Sivilay, head of the Lao Ministry of Home Affairs’ household registration department, said the new system will boost quality of population management in Laos, particularly in calculating statistics on family registration to serve socio-economic planning.

Star Telecom director Cao Anh Son pledged to effectively carry out the project, making internet connection available to all units of the ministry and promptly handling all issues arisen during the installation of the new system.

Star Telecom now accounts for 50 percent of the mobile service market in Laos.

Thai budget carrier launches daily Da Nang-Bangkok flights

Thai budget carrier AirAsia has launched a new route between the central city of Da Nang and Bangkok, capital of Thailand, seven days a week, starting from June 9.

The city’s tourism promotion centre said it’s the third airline operating the Bangkok-Da Nang route after Bangkok Airways and Vietnam Airlines.

Daily flights will depart from Da Nang at 12pm and arrive in Bangkok at 1.20pm, while the flights from Bangkok will take off at 10.10am and land in Da Nang at 11.30am.

AirAsia began offering a Kuala Lumpur-Da Nang route, with four weekly direct flights, in 2014.  

According to the centre, the new route would offer more chances for tourists traveling between Vietnam’s central region and Bangkok.

Last year, Bangkok Airways operated four flights per week with 144 Economy class seats on an Airbus 319.

In 2014, local travel firm Viettravel also offered direct charter flights between the city and Bangkok on Thai Vietjet.

According to the city, import-export turnover between Thailand and Da Nang reached 30.2 million USD, of which 28.5 million USD was exports from Thailand.

Thailand has only had one investment project in the city so far.

Da Nang welcomed a mere 24,000 tourists from Thailand – 1.4 per cent of total foreign tourists visiting the city – in 2016.

It has hosted the annual East-West Corridor Trade Fair since 2007, which attracted businesses from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

The city, which is situated at the end of the East-West Economic Corridor – linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, is connected by 25 international routes with over 5.6 million tourists in 2016.

Resort real estate projects attract foreign investment

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the real estate market hit nearly 52.7 billion USD as of May this year, with 65 percent of which or 40 billion USD being poured into resort projects.

According to Phan Huu Thang, Vice President of the Vietnam National Real Estate Association (VNREA), Vietnam attracted 600 million USD in FDI to property projects in the first five months of 2017. 

Vietnam’s resort property is attractive to foreign investors thanks to the country’s popular tourist destinations, 4,000-year history, diverse culture and cuisine, hospitable people, and favourable geographic location, he said.  

Not only foreign investors, many domestic groups are also investing in resort projects nationwide, with famous names such as FLC and VINGROUP, which own luxury resorts namely FLC Sam Son, FLC Quy Nhon, Vinpearl Nha Trang, and Vinpearl Phu Quoc.

Last year, Vietnam’s real estate sector lured about 1.3 billion USD, making up 10 percent of total FDI poured into the country. VNREA has predicted that the market will become busier.-VNA

Ministry to issue codes for for-export pepper growing areas

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will soon issue Production Unit Codes (PUCs) to areas that qualify to produce peppers for export, said Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh on June 8.

Doanh made the remarks at a conference in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong to enhance cooperation in safe and sustainable pepper production.

The deputy minister said provinces where pepper farming is a key industry should back local producers with incentives to encourage production affiliations to develop large-scale, high-quality pepper farms.

The MARD will study feasible policies to support businesses involving in such affiliations, especially input suppliers and pepper producers, he added.

He also stressed the importance to raise awareness of VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards among farmers for made-in-Vietnam farm products to meet increasing demands of foreign markets.

It was estimated that Vietnam has over 126,000 hectares of peppers, mostly in the Central Highlands and the South-eastern region. The country is now the world’s leader in output and productivity.

The Central Highlands posted an average yield of 2.86 tonnes per hectare per crop, the highest in the country while Gia Lai had the highest yield of the region, 41.2 tonnes per hectare per crop. In some farms, yield could reach to 10 tonnes per hectare.

Italian businesses invited to Vietnam’s largest food expo

The Vietnam Foodexpo 2017, the biggest show of Vietnam’s food industry was introduced to business in Italy’s Lazio region on June 8. 

The event was held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy and Lazio region’s trade promotion agency Lazio Innova, at Lazio Innova’s headquarters in Rome. 

Speaking at the workshop, Bui Vuong Anh, Trade Counsellor at the Vietnam Embassy in Italy, said the fair, which is scheduled to run in Ho Chi Minh City from November 15 to 18, is a national-scale trade promotion activity specializing in agri-fishery and food processing. 

On the occasion, Ilaria Turatti, head of Turatti Pacific Co., Ltd – a food processing company operating in Vietnam, shared her experience in investing in the Southeast Asian country.

Participating businesses said they are interested in the Vietnamese market, which they considered a gateway to the Asia – Pacific region.

Italy, as the Country of Honor in the Vietnam Foodexpo 2016, brought to the fair local specialties and food processing machinery, showcased in 40 stalls. 

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Trade Counsellor Bui Vuong Anh said Vietnamese firms and their Italian peers from Lazio have been working together in developing distribution channels and products for wholesale markets.

An agreement on establishing twining relations between Hanoi and Lazio is expected to be signed this year, he added.

Vietjet to host series of activities at int’l travel show in RoK

Low-cost carrier Vietjet will host many interesting activities at the Hanatour International Travel Show 2017 in the Republic of Korea (RoK) from June 9 to June 11 at the Korea International Exhibition Centre (KINTEX).

A lucky draw will offer a chance to own flight tickets priced from only 0 USD, or discount codes of 20 percent and 10 percent, which can be used to book any flight between Vietnam and the RoK, including Ho Chi Minh City / Hanoi / Hai Phong / Da Nang to Seoul and Hanoi to Busan.

Visitors also can take part in the exciting "Fast & Fun" game while enjoy amazing flashmob performance and take pictures with beautiful, friendly crews; live stream on Facebook at Vietjet’s photo booth or hash tag #Vietjet to receive many gifts.

This is the second year Vietjet has participated in the event and earned huge attention of fair visitors by the youthful, dynamic appearance.

Hanatour International Tourist Fair is the largest annual trade fair in Korea. The 11th Hanatour International Travel Fair in 2017 has 1,000 booths with the participation of a large number of travel companies, hotels, airlines, tourism service enterprises ... from many continents around the world.

Vietjet is currently operating five flights from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang to the RoK.

A member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate, Vietjet was named as one of the Top 500 Brands in Asia 2016 by global marketing research company Nielsen and “Best Asian Low Cost Carrier” at the TTG Travel Awards 2015. The airline was also rated as one of the top three fastest growing airline brands on Facebook in the world by Socialbakers.

Currently, the airline boasts a fleet of 45 aircraft, including A320s and A321s, and operates 350 flights each day. It has already opened 63 routes in Vietnam and across the region to international destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, the RoK, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Myanmar and Cambodia. It has carried nearly 35 million passengers to date.

PetroVietnam surpasses production target in five months

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) saw its production surpassing the target set by the Government by 7.7 percent in the past five months.

PetroVietnam said it exploited 2.25 million tonnes of oil equivalent in May, 10.4 percent higher than the set plan, bringing the exploitation of oil equivalent to 11 million tonnes in the five-month period.

Thanks to its higher production of electricity, petrol and oil, and nitrogenous fertilizer, the firm’s total revenue in the Jan-May period hit 204.8 trillion VND (over 9 billion USD), contributing 35.6 trillion VND (nearly 1.57 billion USD) to the State budget.

According Deputy General Director of PetroVietnam Nguyen Quoc Thap, if the price of crude oil continues remaining stable as at present, the firm will complete and surpass the revenue plan set for 2017. 

In the coming time, the firm will focus on strictly managing exploitation activities and applying scientific and technological solutions in order to save production costs and improve production performance. 

Attention will be paid to developing potential fields and enhancing exploration activities in potential areas.

In 2017, PetroVietnam strives to exploit some 23.81 million tonnes of oil equivalent, generate 20.1 billion kWh of electricity, produce 1.52 million tonnes of nitrogenous fertilizer, and about 6.8 million tonnes of gasoline. 

Equitisation plan for Song Da Corporation gets approval

The Prime Minister has given the green light to the equitisation plan for Song Da Corporation in the form of selling parts of state-owned capital and issuing shares to increase charter capital to 4.5 trillion VND (198.3 million USD).

The plan allows the business to launch its initial public offering (IPO) of 450 million shares for 10,000 VND each or 0.44 USD, with the State retaining 229.5 million shares, making up of 51 percent of the charter capital, until the end of 2019. 

State capital in the corporation will be reduced to below 50 percent of the total charter capital in 2020.

Meanwhile, 822,000 preferential shares or 0.183 percent of the charter capital will be sold to the company’s staff and 135 million shares equivalent to 30 percent of the charter capital to strategic investors. Over 84.7 million shares will be put up for public auction.

The Prime Minister authorised the Ministry of Construction to set up criteria to choose strategic investors and asked Song Da Corporation to handle land issues, pay annual land lease frees and implement the management and use of land in line with relevant regulations.

The company’s total labourers at the time of announcing the corporation’s value was 464 people, 412 of whom will move to work at Song Da Corporation-Joint Stock Company and the remainder will leave the company.

Some 55 state-owned companies were equitised in 2016. The country targeted to equitise 137 state-owned enterprises in four ministries and branches, 32 localities and four economic groups will be priotised during 2017-2020.

Exports through Lao Cai Int’l Border Gate surge

The import-export turnover through the Lao Cai International Border Gate in Vietnam-China border exceeded 248 million USD in the first five months of 2017 with an impressive surge in exports, according to the border gate customs office.

Tran Anh Tu, the office’s deputy head, said that as of June 7, the value of exports through the gate reached 110.5 million USD, equivalent to 214 percent of the figure in the same period last year.

Main export staples include iron ore, footwear, farm produce, confectionary, seafood and aquatic products.

To facilitate import-export activities, the office has applied the Vietnam Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System and Vietnam Customs Information System (VNACCS/VCIS), thus speeding up the processing of customs procedures.

The office also extended the working hour to 10pm to support import-export enterprises.

Power supply in north region surges 12.47 percent in five months

The Northern Power Corporation (EVNEPC) has reported that in the first five months of this year, the firm supplied 21.4 billion kWh of commercial electricity, a rise of 12.47 percent year on year and reaching 37.14 percent of its yearly target.

Of the total, the construction and industry sector consumed 64.14 percent, a year on year increase of 15.34 percent.

Particularly, the firm ensured safe and stable power supply in May, when demand for electricity rose strongly during a severe heat wave in 27 northern localities.

Also in May the enterprise put into operation several transmission lines and transformer stations in various localities, raising the grid’s capacity and reliability.

During the month, the EVNEPC provided middle-voltage power access to 168 customers for an average time of 5.58 days each, 1.42 day lower than requirement. 

In June, the corporation will continue with measures to ensure safe and stable power supply and reduce electricity loss, while speeding up the construction of power generation and transmission projects.

Phu Quoc island draws tourism developers

Southern Kien Giang province aims to build the image and brand name of the island district of Phu Quoc to make it a high-end tourism destination by 2020.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Van Huynh highlighted the district’s potential and advantages for tourism, saying that the province will focus on developing infrastructure facilities, promotion work and human resource training for tourism.

According to the provincial Department of Tourism, the locality wants tourism investment in tandem with upgrading and preserving historical and cultural vestiges, landcapes and entertainment areas.

More incentives will be offered to create a favourable business and investment environment.

The province will also issue policies to encourage small- and medium-sized enterprises and households to upgrade their tourism businesses, develop community-based tourism, trade villages and traditional crafts and services.

Focus will be put on training human resources for tourism agencies and improving training quality at local educational institutions and ensuring market-relevant training.

According to the district People’s Committee, Phu Quoc island district has lured more than 220 tourism development projects, accounting for 80 percent of the province’s total investment capital.

Nearly 170 projects have been granted investment licences, worth some 126 trillion VND (5.57 billion USD). 30 of them have been put into operation, with combined capital exceeding 31 trillion VND (1.36 billion USD).

Vice Chairman of the district People’s Committee Huynh Quang Hung said international and domestic investors, including VinGroup, Sun Group, Bim Group, CEO Group and Thai Group have helped create impetus for Phu Quoc to develop.

The island district has such high-end hotels as five-star Vinpearl, five-star Novotel, four-star Muong Thanh, Saigon – Rach Gia, and the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, among others.

Many other large-scale projects are underway and ready to serve tourists, including the An Thoi – Hon Thom cable network. 

Infrastructure facilities on the island have been developed, including the north-south road, streets, seaport and airport, making tourism the district’s economic spearhead.

In the first five months of this year, Phu Quoc welcomed nearly 858,000 arrivals, more than 47 percent of the yearly target, up 21 percent from the same period last year. The figure includes nearly 181,000 international tourists, or 60 percent of the yearly target, up 30 percent year on year.

The tourism sector earned more than 4 trillion VND (195.8 million USD) in the period, or 40 percent of the year’s target, up 24 percent year on year.

Changed taste boosts long-term G-bond trading

Trading of long-term Government bonds (G-bonds) in the first five months of 2017 has seen improvements compared to 2016 due to changing tastes of institutional investors.

The improvements include increasing bond maturity terms, the percentage of long-term bonds over total amount of bonds, which were successfully auctioned, is higher and all yield rates declined in comparison with 2016’s figures.

According to the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), investors have shown more interests in long-term G-bonds as the percentage of issued bonds, whose maturity is over 15 years, is equal to 45.8 percent of the total amount of market’s bonds.

Since the beginning of 2017, the HNX has held 122 bond auctions, raising a total 121 trillion VND (5.38 billion USD).

Of the issued G-bonds, the percentage of 15-year bonds is 17.5 percent, of 20-year bonds is 10.4 percent, and of 30-year bonds is 17.9 percent.

After the first five months of 2017, the Government raised a total 167 trillion VND from bond issuance with five-year bonds attracting investors’ interest, occupying nearly 70 percent of total issued bonds.

The average maturity of G-bonds in the first five months is 13.8 years, an increase of 5.53 percent from 2016’s number.

One of the reasons for the rise of long-term G-bonds, according to HNX, is high interest of insurance-finance companies, which are keen on long-term maturity.

There are three main factors for rising interests of insurance-finance companies in long-term G-bonds, local media reported.

The first is the improvement of Vietnam’s economic outlook in the eyes of foreign investors with the US-based credit rating agency Fitch Ratings in May revising its outlook on Vietnam’s long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings (IDR) to Positive from Stable and affirmed the ratings at "BB-".

Foreign investors have shown more interest in Vietnam on its stable macroeconomic conditions, especially when the Government takes inflation and foreign exchange rates into its major concerns.

Inflation and foreign exchange rates are the two decisive elements that can determine the profits for foreign investors’ G-bond investments as the two factors move opposite to the yield of G-bonds.

Secondly, G-bonds have become a safe haven for both investment funds to keep their portfolios balanced and secure with the inclusion of both companies’ stocks and other assets, especially when the number of investment funds in Vietnam is on the rise to grasp new opportunities on the local securities market, including the derivatives market that is expected to come into operation in June.

Thirdly, the annual yield rates for 20-30 year G-bonds are now ranging between 7.6 percent and 7.9 percent, higher than the yearly Open Market Operations (OMO) interest rates, which stay around 5 percent, offering better interests for investors.

State Treasury raises 6,128 billion VND from government bonds

The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) sold 6,128 trillion VND (266.4 million USD) worth of government bonds at an auction on June 8.

The amount included 1,850 billion VND worth of five-year bonds with an interest rate of 5.05 percent per year, equal to that of bonds of the same term sold at the May 31 session. 

Meanwhile, successful bidders bought 1,950 billion VND worth of seven-year bonds bearing an interest rate of 5.33 percent, lower than that of the previous auction. 

Meanwhile, 1,300 billion VND worth of bonds with 20-year maturity were sold with a winning yield of 7 percent, equal to those at May 24 sale, while 728 billion VND worth of 30-year bonds were sold with an interest rate of 7.5 percent, down 0.05 percent from the previous sale. 

Since early this year, the State Treasury has raised more than 109,524 billion VND worth of government bonds via auctions at the HNX.

Vietnam, Czech hold huge potential to raise trade revenue

Vietnam and the Czech Republic hold a lot of potential to their raise trade and investment revenues in various fields, heard a forum in Ho Chi Minh City on June 8. 

Trade between Vietnam and the Czech Republic reached nearly 250 million USD in 2016, with Vietnam exporting more than 146 million USD worth of goods to the Czech Republic and importing close to 104 million USD from the European nation. 

Speaking at the Vietnam-Czech Business Forum, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vo Tan Thanh said that the Czech Republic has been identified as one of Vietnam’s strategic export markets during 2010-2020. 

According to the official, Vietnam’s major exports to the Czech Republic include footwear, apparels, seafood, coffee and pepper and its imports are chemicals, equipment, spare parts and plastics. 

Vietnam has also been attractive to Czech investors for many areas, but bilateral trade has failed to reflect the two countries’ potential and demands, he noted.

The target of raising two-way trade to 1 billion USD in the time ahead is within reach, especially after the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the EU, to which the Czech Republic is a member, comes into force, he said. 

Echoing Thanh’s view, Jaroslav Hanak, President of the Czech Confederation of Industry, highlighted Czech businesses’ increasing demand for cooperation with Vietnam, explaining that Vietnam is one of the Czech Republic’s most promising markets in ASEAN. 

Through Vietnam, the Czech Republic can access and expand the market to other Asian nations, he said. 

Hailing Vietnam’s economic growth over the past years, Czech Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Jiri Koliba affirmed Vietnam as an important economic partner of the Czech Republic. 

The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade has selected Vietnam as one of the 12 strategic export markets by 2020, with major export items like machines and spare parts which are much needed by Vietnam to serve its spearhead industries, he emphasised. 

He suggested the two countries cooperate with each other in the supply of production lines, food processing equipment, and automatic watering systems in service of high-tech agriculture, and medical equipment. 

The Czech Republic is running 34 projects worth nearly 90 billion USD in Vietnam, focusing on the production of glass, crystal, electric equipment and construction materials. 

The participating Czech businesses expressed their wish to invest in such realms as energy, hydropower plants, nano-bio technologies, waste water treatment, mining, auto manufacturing and metal treatment. 

Czech firms have identified HCM City as one of their strategic investment destinations in Vietnam, Jiri Koliba stressed, listing promising cooperation sectors like city planning, transport management, IT, finance-banking and insurance services. 

Le Thi Huynh Mai, Deputy Director of the HCM City Department of Planning and Investment, pledged that the city always keeps its door open for foreign businesses, including those from the Czech Republic.

HCM City backs direct air route to Czech Republic’s Prague

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said the southern economic hub supports the opening of a direct air route to Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. 

Phong and visiting Czech Minister of Justice Robert Pelikan shared the views on June 8 that the air route would contribute to boosting tourism ties as well as people-to-people diplomacy between the two countries. 

HCM City hopes to enhance cooperation with the Czech Republic as the bilateral economic and trade links still remain modest, the host said. 

He called on Czech businesses to invest in the city in such areas as infrastructure, vehicles, energy, the manufacturing of farming machines and electric equipment, and food processing industry. 

Phong expressed his belief that the Czech Republic, with its role in the EU, will help connect and promote relations between Vietnam and the EU, particularly in trade and investment. 

For his part, Robert Pelikan affirmed that Czech firms stand ready to invest in Vietnam. 

Vietnam holds a lot of potential and opportunities to step up trade ties with the Czech Republic, he said, suggesting the two sides intensify the exchange of information to enable their businesses to go into partnership.

Vinpearl Da Nang named as Vietnam’s leading beach resort

Vinpearl Da Nang Resort and Villas of real estate developer Vingroup was honoured as Vietnam’s Leading Beach Resort 2017 by the World Travel Awards at a gala ceremony recently held in Shanghai (China).

Vinpearl Da Nang nestles in the prime location of Non Nuoc beach, one of the six most beautiful beaches on the planet as voted by Forbes magazine, with the majestic Marble Mountain Range at its back. 

Boasting 200 high-end rooms and 39 villas all with stunning pool and sea view together with top-notch tourism services, the five-star resort is an ideal holiday destination for vacationers.

The World Travel Awards (WTA) is the world’s most prestigious travel awards and touted as the Oscar award in the tourism industry. It was set up in 1993 to acknowledge and reward excellence across all key sectors of travel, tourism and hospitality industry based on comprehensive criteria of landscape, environment, infrastructure and service quality, among others.

The annual WTA is voted on website worldtravelawards.com, attracting leading tourism experts, travel agents and holiday makers all over the world. This year, Vinpearl Da Nang Resort and Villas was nominated for Asia’s Leading Beach Resort, Asia’s Leading Resort and Vietnam’s Leading Beach Resort.

Other Vietnamese hotels and resorts were also honoured at 18 other categories of the WTA.

Thua Thien-Hue pours nearly 52 bln VND into support industry

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue has decided to pour nearly 52 billion VND (2.26 million USD) into the support industry between now and 2025, towards meeting nearly 35 percent and 55 percent of local demand for industrial manufacturing by 2020 and 2025, respectively. 

Accordingly, 24.65 billion VND (1.07 million USD) will be earmarked for 2017-2020 and the remaining for 2021-2025. 

Priority fields will include support industry for garment, leather and footwear; metallic, plastics and rubber spare parts and those used for electricity and electronics. 

In the foreseeable future, an industrial centre for garment sector will be based in Phong Dien industrial park to serve the whole central region and the country. 

The province is calling for building a high-quality factory to churn out parts of shoes as support industry products for the footwear sector, and developing projects on manufacturing fabric and materials for the garment sector. 

By 2020, Thua Thien-Hue endeavours to produce more than 100,000 tonnes of fiber and 20 million metres of fabric. The respective figure by 2025 will be 150,000 tonnes and over 45 million metres. 

Support industry products for the garment sector are expected to meet more than 70 percent and 80 percent of local demand by 2020 and 2025, respectively. The respective figure for medical equipment and electricity-electronics will be over 35 percent and 55 percent. 

The province will also give priority to support industry in service of high-tech industry, including software and services, machinery maintenance and repair, among others.

Vietnam, RoK boost cooperation in mechanics, electronics

Information on Vietnam’s advantages, preferential policies and orientations in the mechanical and electronic field was updated at a workshop in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (RoK), on June 8.

The event was jointly organised by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK, and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), aiming to boost the two countries’ cooperation in this field.

KOTRA Vice President Sun Seok-gi expressed his belief that participants at the workshop shared measures to handle difficulties facing the two sides’ enterprises in order to strengthen bilateral relations in trade and investment.

VIETRADE Director Bui Huy Son said that to bring into full play trade and investment cooperation potential, Vietnamese agencies have focused on intensifying cooperation in strong and priority fields, especially mechanics and electronics.

He told participants that in 2014, the Vietnamese Prime Minister decided to choose mechanics and electronics a priority field in the national industrial development strategy until 2025 with a vision to 2035.

Most recently, the PM continued issuing a programme to develop the supporting industry until 2025, which includes the mechanical and electronic field.

According to Tran Kim Oanh, Director of VIETRADE’s Industry and Trade Development and Investment Promotion Centre, since 2014, the RoK has been Vietnam’s biggest investors in both project number and capital. Of the total capital, 70 percent has been poured into the processing and manufacturing industry.

She highlighted Vietnam’s advantages, including stable socio-economic situation, young population, major consumption market, and numerous export opportunities.

RoK businesses when investing in Vietnam will benefit from these advantages, she said.

Binh Son Oil Refinery receives national environment award

The Binh Son Oil Refinery Co Ltd (BSR) was honoured with the National Environment Award 2017 by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for applying effective solutions in production and business activities, and in environmental protection. 

BSR said its Dung Quat refinery factory No. 4 has four main facilities for treating and protecting the environment, including the residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit, the the sulfur recovery units 1 and 2, and the wastewater treatment system. 

With a total investment of 27.8 million USD and equipped with modern devices from G7 countries, the wastewater treatment system of the factory is working to treat all wastewater discharged from production activities of the plant. 

All post-treatment wastewater parameters of the plant are always lower than the allowed limit of national standard QCVN 40:2011/BTNMT. 

Not only have good performance in the waste and wastewater treatment work, BSR also applies many initiatives to reduce the risk of harm to the environment, and bring high profits to the plant.

Japan shares experience with Vietnam in land appraisal

Japan shared its experience in land pricing and land appraisal to authority of Vietnam during a workshop in Hanoi on June 8.

The event was co-organised by the General Department of Land Administration (GDLA) at the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the Japan Association of Real Estate Appraisers (JAREA) to help Vietnam improve land-related policies and land management capacity.

Speaking at the workshop, GDLA Deputy Director Dao Trung Chinh said shortcomings have remained to hinder the government’s efforts in land administration, such as land appraisal methods unsuitable to reality and lack of transparent information in land prices as well as a database for real estate market prices.

Meanwhile, state appraisers’ limited capability have also affected credibility of land valuation and make it longer, he added.

Chinh noted that the event is important to Vietnam as it provided the country an opportunity to learn from Japan’s practices in the matter.

During the event, Japanese speakers gave attendees an overview of the country’s systems for land valuation and land price announcement, and land appraisal to evaluate fixed property taxes.

Mekong Delta’s winter-spring rice output falls

The Mekong Delta region has completed harvesting this year’s winter-spring rice crop, with the total output reaching 9.62 million tonnes, down 361,000 tonnes as compared to the same crop last year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, diseases and unfavourable weather were blamed for the drop in the rice output.

The strongest falls were seen in Dong Thap province (166,000 tonnes), Long An (96,500 tonnes), Can Tho city (59,100 tonnes), and Kien Giang (50,000 tonnes).

The prices of rice in the region also dropped slightly in May, ranging between 4,400 – 6,300 VND per kilogramme depending on rice types because the crop’s rice was not qualified enough for export due to late sowing.

Besides, several rice import markets face difficulties. The stock levels at processing and export enterprises remain high.-

First batch of Vietnam poultry products to be sold in Japan

The Koyu & Unitek Co. Ltd. expects to export the first batch of 40 tonnes of Vietnamese poultry products to Japan late this year.

According to head of the company’s export project board Nguyen Van Quyen, the group is waiting for the Japanese veterinary agencies to grant the export license.

It took two years for the firm to complete all necessary procedures to export its poultry products to Japan, he said.

The biggest problem is the building of its own monitoring management programme in line with standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Japanese veterinary organisations.

Japan is particularly interested in products originating from poultry without avian flu diseases and antibiotics, Quyen noted.

The building of a safe buffer zone is difficult but the company has received support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the field.

The company has invested in building a chain of production with bio-safety processes and the application of advanced technology.

It counts two seed farms and three commercial ones to serve exports in addition to 6-7 manufacturing farms to meet the domestic demand.

Apart from Japan, the company has studied other markets such as Europe, Australia, and Canada, Quyen said.-