Vietnam’s raw cashew imports surge

Vietnam imported more than 795,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts in the nine months leading up to October, an increase of 11% in quantity against the same period last year and achieving 99.4% of the yearly plan, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas).

Most of the imported raw cashew nuts came from Ivory Coast (297,000 tonnes), Cambodia (102,000 tonnes) and other ASEAN nations.

The sharp increase is attributed to the decline in domestic supply and the delay of many orders from late last year.

Vinacas expects that the weather will enable Ivory Coast, India and Vietnam to harvest their cashew earlier in the 2016 crop.

Shoppers hunt for online discounts

The online shopping event at the website onlinefriday.vn, with more than 63,500 products on sale, drew great interest from consumers yesterday.

Organisers said they had sent 100 million messages to mobile subscribers to inform them of the event. By 6pm, the website attracted 1.1 million visitors.

Nearly 2,000 participating retailers offered generous discounts on high-end clothes, books, watches, digital equipment, tourism products and household utensils.

Swatch and Guess brands gave discounts of up to 70 per cent, while Mango, Nike and Dorothy brands offered a 50-percent discount, as a few to name.

Jose Finch, Managing Director of Zalora Vietnam - one of the leading online fashion retailers, said Online Friday had become a special event of Viet Nam's e-commerce sector which was anticipated by both consumers and businesses.

Apart from participating in the online shopping day, the company has also joined hands with over 50 e-commerce partners and retailers to launch "Online Fever," its biggest-ever online promotion, he said.

In response to the day, eight banks and credit institutions offered cash-back services to online transactions. Also, express delivery firms like VietnamPost and ViettelPost supported online retailers with delivery costs halved.

Experts said online transactions valued at VND154 billion ($6.9 million) were conducted in 2014. The figure was expected to stand at $25 million this year.

They forecast that e-commerce will continue to thrive in Viet Nam in the coming time, especially at a time when the country is accelerating its international economic integration through the signing and negotiation of a range of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

The online promotion, organised by the Vietnam E-Commerce and Information Technology Agency (VECITA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, aims to boost consumer demand and online purchases.

This is also part of the agency's strategy to promote the development of e-commerce in Viet Nam, according to head of the VECITA Tran Huu Linh.

Industrial Zone developer Sonadezi Corporation will sell 131.3 million shares in the initial public offering (IPO) in December 30, the HCM Stock Exchange said.

The shares to be sold in the IPO will be equivalent to 34.9 per cent of the charter capital of the corporation based in the southern Dong Nai Province. After equitisation, the State is expected to own 65 per cent of the charter capital of Sonadezi.

Established in 1990, Sonadezi is one of the most powerful State-owned corporations in Dong Nai. It has developed industrial parks and residential areas in Viet Nam.

Sonadezi has completed nine industrial zone (IZ) infrastructure projects, such as the 488ha Long Thanh IZ, 494ha Amata IZ, 365ha Bien Hoa 2 IZ and 335ha Bien Hoa 1 IZ, besides 347ha Nhon Trach 2 IZ in Dong Nai.

It also developed the 529ha Giang Dien Chau Duc IZ and 2,281ha Suoi Tre IZ in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

It was also building roads, bridges and real estates in the local area.

In 2014, the parent company earned VND558 billion (US$24.75 million) in revenue and after-tax profit of VND130 billion ($5.7 million). As of June 30, 2015, the company earned VND20 billion ($887,311). Sonadezi has total assets worth VND4.250 trillion ($188.5 million).

Pepper export data mixed after banner year in 2014

Viet Nam's pepper shipments to foreign markets performed well, with export revenues from January to November close to that recorded in 2014, reported a conference in HCM City early this week.

According to the Viet Nam Pepper Association (VPA), the country gained a year-on-year increase of 2.8 per cent in export value of pepper at US$1.2 billion in the first 11 months of this year, though the export volume reduced by 17 per cent to 124,000 tonnes of pepper.

In the reviewed period, the average export price of pepper was $9,528 per tonne, up 20 per cent compared with the previous year.

The nation expected to sell about 130,000 tonnes of pepper this year, with earnings of $1.24 billion.

Last year, 156,0000 tonnes of peppercorn were sent to foreign markets, bringing $1.21 billion to the country, representing a 16.38 per cent increase in volume and 34.72 per cent in value, the highest figures recorded so far both in volume and value.

Since 2000, Viet Nam has been the globe's leading pepper producer and exporter, accounting for a 50 per cent share of the world market. It sells peppercorns to 100 countries and territories worldwide with Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United States as its largest buyers.

In recent years, the country's pepper cultivation area has expanded, and is estimated to exceed 100,000 ha in 2015.

However, according to VPA Chairman Do Ha Nam, the pepper sector is seeing difficulties as it has to satisfy stricter requirements on food safety from foreign importers.

This situation requires the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to create master strategies for the sector's development in each locality, Nam stressed, adding that it was necessary to issue support policies and measures to promote pepper production in accordance with the Good Agricultural Practices guidelines.

The association said Vietnamese pepper products would gain an advantage in tariff after the Trans Pacific Partnership deal (TPP) comes into effect because 11 TPP member countries would abolish import tariffs for Vietnamese pepper products under the deal.

To increase further competitive ability of local pepper, Vo Thanh Do, deputy head of the Department of Agro, Forestry and Seafood Processing and Salt Production, said by 2020, the nation did not need to build more pepper processing factories and would focus on reforming technology and equipment and expanding production scales to improve quality of the products.

Nov loan rate slides to 9.3%

Average lending interest rate in November reduced 0.28 per cent to 9.3 per cent per year, the highest slide for the past nine months.

According to a survey of HCM City Securities Corporation (HSC), under the November survey on deposit and lending interest rates, the average lending rate this year cut by 0.74 per cent against January.

According to the survey, ACB offered a rate of 9.26 per cent per year for long-term loans, the lowest level in the whole banking system. Meanwhile, the lowest rate for short-term loans listed at banks was 7.5 per cent.

In November, Vietinbank cut its lending rate between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent per year in many terms while the rate at Vietcombank and Techcombank was also reduced 0.5 per cent.

The declining trend was also seen in Techcombank with a slight reduction of 0.04 per cent for short-term loans and 0.21 per cent for medium- and long-term loans.

Eximbank cut the rate of 0.25 per cent for short-term loans but increased it by 0.5 per cent for long-term loans.

However, some other lenders such as Sacombank and Dong A Bank raised their lending rates between 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent per year.

In contrast to the reduction in lending rate, average deposit rate inched up 0.03 per cent per year in November to 5.86 per cent, after remaining stable at 5.83 per cent in the previous two months.

However, the average deposit rate for the past 11 months reduced 0.18 per cent.

In November, some banks including Vietinbank, ACB and Eximbank increased the rate for short-term deposits between 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent per year.

Some smaller banks such as Maritime Bank, Dong A, and OCB increased their medium- and long-term deposits between 0.1 per cent and 0.7 per cent per year, besides a raise of between 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent for short-term deposits.

However, in the month, BIDV inched down its deposit rate by 0.1 per cent per year for three, six and 18 month terms.

According to HSC, the lending interest rate reduction is good news for businesses but it is bad for banks as it will reduce their profits.

However, HSC also forecast that it could be a temporary trend at year-end as it would make it difficult for the deposit rate to remain as low as it is currently.

The company also anticipated that both deposit and lending rates would inch up 0.5 per cent per year in 2016.

Stable growth continues in retail

Vietnamese retail revenue continued to rise during the first 11 months of this year, reaching 2.95 quadrillion VND (134 billion USD), a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent.

With price increases excluded, the rise was in fact only 8.3 percent, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

In the last 11 months, all four retail goods and services saw an increase over the same period last year. The retail sector taking the lead accounted for 76.2 percent of the total retail sales, bringing in revenue of 102 billion USD, or an increase of 10.7 percent.

It was followed by retail sales in accommodation, restaurant and catering services accounting for 11.5 percent of the total, posting a revenue of 15.353 million USD with an increase of 4.6 percent.

Other service sectors including weddings, funerals, and spa and beauty, accounted for 11.4 percent, bringing total revenue of 6.9 percent, while the tourism sector accounted for 0.9 percent of the total retail sales.

GSO expert Vu Manh Ha said that total retail sales reflects the improvement of purchasing power and stable growth due to falling prices in some consumer goods and many promotional programmes offered by supermarkets.

In addition, the commercial management and price stabilisation policy offered by the State have been effectively deployed to contribute a part in stabilising the market in the remaining months of the year, Ha said.

According to the GSO, the total retail sales may improve sharply in the last months of the year due to the high consumption months with many festivals and holidays.

Vietnamese carriers are constantly upgrading capacity, facilities and air fleets to establish a better position among other Southeast Asian carriers following the regional integration that will be finalized this month.

Vietnamese carriers are constantly upgrading capacity, facilities and air fleets to establish a better position among other Southeast Asian carriers following the regional integration that will be finalized this month .

The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, which is slated for December 31, will lead to the materialization of the ASEAN Open Skies scheme, a new aviation market for the whole region with no barrier to regional carriers.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, better known as ASEAN, is a ten-member bloc which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

The ASEAN Open Skies scheme is the result of the ASEAN Multilateral Agreement on the Full Liberalization of Passenger Air Services signed by the ASEAN member countries on November 12, 2010.

The scheme is recognized as an important part of economic integration of the ASEAN countries, as regional transport linkage, especially in aviation, will facilitate trade, promote tourism and help the regional aviation industry become more competitive.

In preparation for the scheme, Vietnamese carriers have worked on several projects to establish their own positions.

Vietnam Airlines has prepared for this event by upgrading its overall quality of services on the ground and in the air, in accordance with international standards from three to four stars.

In parallel with the service quality improvement is the investment in a modern fleet, as Vietnam Airlines will replace its entire wide-body fleet with 33 planes, including 19 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 14 Airbus A350-900XWBs (both purchase and lease), over the next three years, from mid-2015 to early 2019.

Vietnam Airlines general director Pham Ngoc Minh told government news site chinhphu.vn that the national carrier is ready to welcome the ASEAN Open Skies program, but Vietnamese carriers need a clear roadmap in approaching the scheme because each ASEAN country has different levels of development, and so do other regional carriers.

A spokesperson for low-cost carrier Vietjet Air told chinhphu.vn that the open sky ASEAN region is an opportunity to grow, and Vietjet has taken steps to prepare regarding personnel, air fleet management and financial capacity.

On upgrading the fleet, besides the contract with Airbus to lease and purchase 100 aircraft, Vietjet has ordered six new A321 aircraft, bringing the total number of aircraft to over 107, he said.

The carrier has also implemented a series of cooperation activities with the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of materials and services, he said.

Similarly, Jetstar Pacific has also fully utilized its Airbus A320/A321 fleet, increasing the number of aircraft, opening international routes in the region, enhancing human resource training, improving service quality and providing more convenient facilities while maintaining low fares for customers, according to chinhphu.vn.

Lai Xuan Thanh, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) under the Ministry of Transport, told chinhphu.vn that the scheme will allow regional carriers, which are partners of the Vietnamese ones, to freely decide their transportation plans within the region, and will not face any restrictions from Vietnamese carriers, and vice versa.

For example, after Vietnam signed an Open Sky pact with the U.S. in 2008, American carriers had the right to fly as many flights to Vietnam as they wanted to, Thanh said.

Currently, Vietnamese carriers limit regional routes to a specific number of flights per week, but from the beginning of next year, this will no longer apply, Thanh added.

Moreover, the aviation market following the ASEAN Open Skies scheme will allow regional carriers, including Vietnam Airlines, to freely launch flights between any locations in the region, including between Singapore and the Philippines, he said.

Regional airlines access to the scheme is a milestone for the regional aviation industry, so this is an opportunity for Vietnam Airlines to expand its flight network to other countries in the region.

Meanwhile, connections between destinations throughout Southeast Asia will become more common thanks to the commitment of the governments to the open skies scheme.

CBRE: Luxury apartment supply surges

Supply of high-end apartments in Vietnam has grown sharply in recent years but that of condos for low- and medium-income earners has contracted despite huge demand, according to property services provider CB Richard Ellis Vietnam (CBRE).

CBRE provided figures about apartment supplies in different segments at a seminar on the domestic property market and opportunities for real estate stocks organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) recently.

Le Hoang Lan Nhu Ngoc, an executive of CBRE Vietnam, said apartment supplies have shifted noticeably in the past four years with a plunge in new units for medium-income people and a strong rise in luxury housing.

For instance, medium-cost apartments accounted 46% of the total supply in Ho Chi Minh City in 2012 but only 26% in the first nine months of this year. In Hanoi, the respective figures were 84% to 28%.

Meanwhile, the share of luxury apartments grew from 16% to 36% in Ho Chi Minh City and 4% to 29% in Hanoi in the same period.

The total supply of new apartments in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi next year is estimated at 50,000 and 24,000 units respectively, with luxury apartments making up a significant proportion.

Ngoc said the apartment segment will keep expanding and attracting more investment given positive impact of economic recovery and market policies.

Commenting on the performance of real estate firms in the coming time, chairman of Dat Xanh Group Luong Tri Thin said a potential real estate firm needs to have a lot of land available for new projects, strong finances and an effective business model.

Thin asked investors to carefully look into the history, development strategy and vision of real estate businesses before investing in them as well as the market segment they are focus on.

Emaar joins US$1.34bln Vietnam project

Ho Chi Minh City's authority has assigned a joint-venture between Dubai-based Emaar Properties PJSC and local property developer Bitexco with building a new urban area in the city's east side, local media has reported.

The project is expected to cost at least VND30.7 trillion (US$1.34 billion), covering 427 hectares on the Thanh Da Peninsula, news website Saigon Times Online reported.

One of the leading real estate developers in Dubai, Emaar is known for headlining projects in the UAE city, including world tallest building Burj Khalifa and world's largest shopping mall Dubai Mall.

Bitexco owns the tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City's downtown.

With work slated to start next year, the project's first stage will be completed in 2020.

The Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban Area, as it is officially known, will be home to 45,000 residents when it is completed in 2030, news website VnExpress reported.

It will host a resort and a park, and will be connected with districts 1, 2, 3 and Thu Duc by new bridges, it said.

Located in Binh Thanh District, the peninsula is surrounded by the Saigon River and about eight kilometers from the city's center.

The city first approved the project in 1992. It only managed to finish site clearance in 2004. The original investor, Saigon Construction Corporation, was pulled from the project in 2010 after a long delay.

Maserati launched in Vietnam

Italian car maker Maserati launched all its three makes - Quattroporte limousine, Gran Turismo sports car and Ghibli sport sedan – in Ho Chi Minh City on December 3.

The sport convertible GranCabrio will also be imported by Tan Thanh Do (New City) Group and distributed by Auto Modena.

The three models are on sale this month at Maserati’s first showroom in Vietnam, 1-3 Le Duan Street in HoChi Minh City, pricing from VND4-10 billion (US$117,800-US$444,500).

Fabrizio Cazzoli, regional director of Maserati Asia, said Vietnam is a potential market for luxury cars.

“We believe that in Vietnam, there is a lot of room, space for Maserati,” he said.

Maserati GranTurismo at the launching ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on December 3. Photo: Khanh An

In 2012, Maserati manufactured and distributed over 6,000 cars worldwide. The number increased to 36,500 in 2014, or 6 times in three years.

“Southeast Asia plays a significant part in this increase,” he said.

Cazzoli said Maserati’s target is based on Vietnam’s market share.

“Our expected percentage in the market share is 7%-10% on average. We expect to achieve this challenging target in 3-5 years,” he said.

Tran Lam, CEO of New City Group, said there are about 10-15 Maserati cars in Vietnam imported before the company has an official dealer in the country and these cars will also enjoy the company’s maintenance policy.

Since Maserati got import and distribute licenses in August, five cars have been booked.

Front office, housekeeping workers see more job opportunities in ASEAN

Among professionals of Vietnam’s tourism industry, front office and housekeeping workers would see more job opportunities in ASEAN when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is in place.

According to the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Tourism Professionals, qualified tourism workers in the front office, housekeeping, food production, food and beverage service, travel agency and tour operation fields will be allowed to freely travel for guest work within the bloc, hopefully next year.

The agreement clarifies qualified tourism professionals can apply for jobs in other ASEAN member states, and tourism companies can look for qualified candidates from the AEC to meet their employment needs.

Front office and housekeeping workers would have more opportunities to find suitable jobs in the region, especially at international hotels, Ha Van Sieu, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said at a news briefing on the implementation of the agreement in HCMC recently.

Sieu predicted Vietnamese tourism workers could search for jobs in Singapore and Malaysia where they can earn higher wages than at home.

Sieu did not provide the exact number of Vietnamese tourism workers but said employees at hotels outnumber those in other fields.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh told a question-and-answer session of the National Assembly in Hanoi nearly two weeks ago that the tourism industry employs around 700,000 direct laborers and 1.2 million indirect workers.

Vietnam has yet to complete national standards for the front office and housekeeping workers, so it is impossible to make comparison with those of other ASEAN countries. But Sieu said the standards for the four remaining labor divisions have been completed and are generally higher than the average of ASEAN.

Vietnamese tourism workers can compete well in job skills with their regional peers but might be in a disadvantage when it comes to foreign language proficiency and discipline.

“If local laborers meet the domestic standards, they can work in foreign countries, even in Europe as our standards were prepared with the support of the European side. However, many of them are still weak in foreign languages,” Sieu added.

According to VNAT, ASEAN member states still have much technical work to do for the implementation of the agreement. However, the country has test run a website for Vietnamese to find jobs in the bloc and regional employers to find Vietnamese qualified personnel.

Vietnam asks Uber to set up local company

The Ministry of Transport has blocked an attempt from US company Uber to legalize its ride-hailing service in Vietnam, saying the company needs to set up a branch in the country first.

Deputy minister Nguyen Hong Truong told news website VnExpress that officials could not approve Uber's recent proposal to launch a pilot project to provide transport connection services through its mobile app.

Truong said the proposed plan lacks a legal basis because Uber said its parent firm, Uber B.V. in Netherlands, would be in charge of handling contracts with Vietnamese service users.

This concerns Vietnamese authorities as they are afraid that it would cause difficulties in tax collection and they would not know who would take responsibility in case of disputes, he said.

Dang Viet Dung, general manager of Uber Vietnam, told VnExpress that Uber will set up a legal entity in Vietnam and resubmit the proposal within weeks.

In a meeting with representatives of Uber Asia late last month, deputy minister Truong had already ordered Uber to set up a legal entity in Vietnam, otherwise the transport ministry would not allow it to operate the pilot project.

In October, the government approved a similar project by GrabTaxi to apply connection services to contract based passenger cars with fewer than nine seats in Vietnam (GrabCar).

Under the project, GrabTaxi will “regularly report the list of transportation entities and vehicles” that use its ride-hailing app to help the authorities “manage tax payment and other regulatory responsibilities,” according to a press release.

The two-year pilot project requires participating cars to be equipped with route monitoring devices and have ‘contract-car’ badges.

It will be carried out in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Quang Ninh and Khanh Hoa.

First int’l five-star hotel inaugurated in Vung Tau

AccorHotels has officially inaugurated the Pullman Vung Tau - the first international five-star hotel in the city.

Patrick Basset, AccorHotels CEO in Upper Southeast and Northeast Asia said the brand of Pullman has made a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region. He took pride in introducing Pullman Vung Tau, following the successful inauguration of the three other Pullman hotels in Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City recently.

Mr Basset emphasised that Pullman Vung Tau will be a new famous tourist site. The region’s favourable transport infrastructure takes visitors only half an hour of drive from HCM City.

The hotel will be an ideal destination for meeting, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) tourism.

Raetus Balzer, general manager of Pullman Vung Tau said it is known as a hotel for urban visitors with renovation, creativity and convenience. It is a place for those who want a work-life balance and for local and foreign travellers, especially those who live and work in HCM City.

Vietnamese visitors to Japan growing steadily

The number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Japan has constantly increased, while on the other side Vietnam has failed to pull Japanese holidaymakers.

Ito Kazuhiro, director of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) in Bangkok, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan has risen by more than 53% ompared to the same period last year.

Vietnam is currently among Japan’s top 10 foreign tourist markets and enjoys the third-fastest growth rate, after only mainland China and Hong Kong, in the East Asian country’s tourism sector, Kazuhiro noted.

“Despite the absence of official statistics, our estimates have indicated that approximately 10% of Vietnamese tour buyers return to our country for the second time,” he added.

The JNTO branch director stressed that Japanese travel firms have made a point of promoting their country’s appeal to their Vietnamese counterparts.

All the prefectures home to gorgeous places of interest are keen to welcome vacationers from the Southeast Asian country.

JNTO once sent up to 41 representatives of Japanese prefectures on one single trip to Vietnam for the activity, according to Kazuhiro.

However, he admitted that among five million Vietnamese arrivals abroad each year, only 200,000 are recorded in Japan.

He attributed it partly to visa requirements.

“Though Japan has eased visa requirements for Vietnamese travelers on organized tours, not all applications for Japanese visas are accepted, which lies beyond our power,” he explained.

Kazuhiro pointed to the current lack of direct flights from major Vietnamese airports to Japan as another important reason.

Vietnam is now connected to only four destinations in Japan with a low daily flight frequency.

Vietnamese vacationers mostly tour around Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Nagoya, while there are many other stunning sights to explore elsewhere in Japan.

By contrast, some other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand boast multiple flights per day from their airports to at least six or seven destinations in Japan.

JNTO is slated to organize a clutch of tourism events to better introduce the country’s charm to potential Vietnamese visitors in early 2016.

The organization also plans to hold regular meetings between Japanese representatives and Vietnamese travel firms for this exact purpose.

Speaking about the Vietnamese tourism sector’s failure to attract one million Japanese arrivals in 2015 as planned, Kazuhiro asserted toTuoi Tre that the Japanese do find Vietnamese sights, cuisine and souvenirs alluring.

However, he blamed the poor foreign arrivals on the Japanese economic malaise, which has caused Japanese people to refrain from holidays abroad over the past two years.

“A recently launched direct flight from [the central city of] Da Nang to Tokyo will hopefully boost arrivals among Japanese tourists fond of Hoi An [a UNESCO-recognized ancient town located in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam] in the coming months,” Kazuhiro added.

He also urged that Japanese holidaymakers be better informed of Vietnam’s new destinations and services as well as its tempting cuisine.

Garment, textile exports to expand

The garment and textile sector expects its exports will grow an average of 11.5 per cent per year between now and 2020, the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) said last week.

Vitas reports said the sector is expected to generate export revenue of US$27.5 billion this year, and increase this value to $31 billion next year and $45 billion to $50 billion by 2020.

In the first nine months of this year alone, Viet Nam's garment and textile exports totalled $20 billion, an increase of 10 per cent over the same period last year.

Vu Duc Giang, who was voted chairman of the Vitas at a congress last week, said that global integration will facilitate Vietnamese garment and textile products over the next five years.

Tariffs for these products will reduce from 18 per cent to zero per cent following the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and from an average 11 per cent to zero per cent following the Viet Nam-European Union Free Trade Agreement.

"When these pacts take effect, they will boost the development of the garment and textile industry in the long run," Giang said, adding that accelerating investments in the sector will enhance the value of local products in the global value chain.

Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review) online cited data of the American Chamber of Commerce, forecasting that after taking into account the impact of the TPP, Viet Nam's exports to the United States are likely to reach $51.4 billion, with garment and textile products alone touching $15.2 billion by 2020.

The garment and textile exports to this market may hit $20 billion by 2025.

Viet Nam has been among the top 10 garment and textile exporters in the world for the last 10 years. Last year, it ranked fifth after China, Turkey, Bangladesh and India.

The country exports its products to 180 countries and territories, with the United States, the European Union, Japan and South Korea being major markets. It is also exploiting emerging markets such as Russia and Australia.

Many domestic enterprises have reported significant profitability and market expansion, with some officially recognised as national brand names such as Viet Tien, Phong Phu, Nha Be, Garment 10 and An Phuoc.

VN predicts reduction in shrimp exports

The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has predicted the total shrimp export value for this whole year will drop to US$2.9 billion due to various difficulties.

The association in July cut its target for total shrimp export value from $3.1 billion to $2.9 billion for the whole year, marking a downtrend in the volume and value of shrimp exports in all markets, especially key export markets.

The reduction was mainly attributed to lower demand on the export market, lower competitiveness against shrimp exports from other countries and a decrease in the value of foreign currencies while the Vietnamese dong had remained unchanged, the association said.

According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, Viet Nam's shrimp export value in the first 10 months of this year reached $2.5 billion, a year-on-year reduction of 26.7 per cent.

Shrimp exports to the United States, Japan and the European Union reported this tremendous decline compared to the same period in 2014. In contrast, shrimp exports to the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Malaysia rose 11.1 per cent, 3 per cent and 17.8 per cent, respectively.

During the first 10 months of 2015, the United States was still Viet Nam's top shrimp importer but shrimp exports to the country accounted for 21.8 per cent of the total national exports, falling from 27 per cent in the same period of 2014.

Exports to Japan and the European Union, on the other hand, increased by 1.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.

The total value of shrimp exports to the United States in the first 10 months fell by 41 per cent to $536.5 million over the same period last year.

With lower anti-dumping tariffs in the ninth period of review (POR9) for Vietnamese shrimp and the conclusion of the Trans Pacific Partnership, Viet Nam's shrimp exports to the United States are expected to improve by this year end, the association said.

Japan was the second-largest consumption market for Vietnamese shrimp in the first 10 months. The export value of local shrimp to Japan reached $486.7 million, down 20.8 per cent year-on-year. The decline in the value of shrimp exports to the market was attributed to the yen's devaluation and the economic downturn.

Shrimp exports to the European Union during the first 10 months hit $466.5 million, down 19.7 per cent year on year.

During the same period, the United Kingdom was the only market among the top three markets in the European Union to report growth of 11.1 per cent year on year. This was caused by a rise in import demand for warm water shrimp. Viet Nam's shrimp exports to Germany and the Netherlands, meanwhile, tumbled 18 per cent and 30.2 per cent, respectively.

Shrimp supply by main producers, such as India, Thailand, Ecuador and China, may drop due to an epidemic outbreak, so the shrimp price is likely to inch upwards. In addition, the domestic currencies of large importers, such as the euro, the US dollar and the yen, are more stable than before.

This is good news for Vietnamese shrimp exports for the last months of the year. Meanwhile, higher demand for shrimp during the Christmas and New Year holidays is likely to improve Viet Nam's shrimp exports by this year end.

VASEP said the total export value of shrimp in the last quarter would reach $800 million, a year-on-year reduction of 25 per cent.

Farming model increases profits, lowers emissions

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Huong, a farmer in Tan Hiep District of southern Kien Giang Province, has increased her profit from rice farming by 10 per cent since she applied a new locally developed farming model.

Some 500 farming households from An Giang and Kien Giang provinces have applied a new model to increase productivity, quality, and economic effectiveness. The model means they must used certified rice varieties, and they must use less seedlings, pesticides, fertilisers and water.

If strictly applied, the model would help them reduce post-harvest loss and greenhouse emissions, said Nguyen Van Sanh, Director of the Mekong Delta Development Research Institute.

Ngoc said the farming model required her to reduce 50 per cent of rice seeds compared to old method and use 30 per cent less fertiliser.

"I was quite worried at first, but after 40 days, the rice began to grow well. Our harvests have increased by 10 per cent each," she said.

Hoang Trung Kien, director of Kien Giang Province's Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Centre, said the farming model had brought about significant changes for local farmers.

"Trained farmers have begun to actively cut down on fertilisers, pesticides and water from 30 to 40 per cent compared to how much they used in the past," Kien said.

Phan Huy Thong, director of the National Agriculture Extension Centre, said with its more than 1.8 million hectares of rice farms, the delta contributed more than half of the country's rice output and 92 per cent of rice exports. But farmers' incomes were low due to high costs and unstable prices. Additionally, the old rice farming model produced a lot of greenhouse emissions.

"The overuse of chemical fertilisers and burning straw after harvest from traditional farming methods caused greenhouse gas emissions," he said.

Sanh from the Director of the Mekong Delta Development Research Institute said he hoped the agriculture sector would bring the farming model to a new height to develop a "green rice" national trademark.

"In order to compete with rice from other countries like Thailand, India and Myanmar, Viet Nam needs to build its own national trademark," Sanh said.

More investors show interest in bad debts

Rising interest of investors recently in non-performing loans (NPLs) of credit institutions is expected to help expedite the handling of bad debt.

According to Thoi bao ngan hang (Banking Times) newspaper, after finishing an acquisition deal of a property project listed as a bad debt asset in HCM City in July more successfully than expected, a group of Taiwanese investors is keenly surveying some other bad debts mortgaged by real estate assets in the city for acquisition.

Funds such as Saigon Asset Management (SAM) and Viet Nam Asset Management (VAM) are also negotiating with local banks for some debt assets.

Industry insiders said that it was a good time for long-term investors with a strong financial status to take part in the bad debt trading market thanks to the recovery of the real estate market. Most of bad debts in Viet Nam are mortgaged by real estate assets.

However, they also suggested to the government that it streamline the existing legal framework that hinders measures aimed to recoup mortgaged assets.

Vice Chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC) Truong Van Phuoc said that the shortcomings in the legal framework had hindered foreign institutions from stepping in to purchase NPLs in Viet Nam at market prices.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC) Nguyen Quoc Hung also recommended that the government quickly ratify regulations on debt trading conditions in accordance with Viet Nam's conditions to allow for the creation of a debt trading market.

According to government statistics, more than VND400 trillion (US$17.857 billion) worth of NPLs were settled between 2012 and 2015, of which 28 per cent was covered with provisioning and 45 per cent was sold to VAMC, while 27 per cent was settled through other modes.

However, VAMC, while having taken over 45 per cent of the banking system's total NPL, has just recovered VND8 trillion ($357.4 million) due to the out-of-date legal framework. This means that it has bought large amounts of debt, but still cannot sell it.  

Real estate firm OGC announces third quarter profit

Real estate developer Ocean Group Joint Stock Company (OGC) yesterday reported a profit of VND1.51 trillion (US$67 million) in the third quarter.

The company said in a shareholders' general meeting in Ha Noi that the profit for the first nine months was VND1.4 trillion ($62.3 million). In July, the group reported a loss of VND1.37 billion ($62,844) for the first two quarters.

Since July 2015, the company has been at the warning list of the HCM Stock Exchange due to the losses in 2014 and the first six months of 2015.

Without a profit for the last half of 2015, it would be delisted from the local stock market. So, one of the key elements in the meeting was to select an auditor, said Le Quang Thu, the group's president.

The meeting said profit of Q3 was from selling the Blue Star Company, which owned a ring-road land lot in the southeast part of Tran Duy Hung Road in Ha Noi.

Le Huy Giang, CEO of the company, said OGC will see more profit in the fourth quarter from the sale of apartments from Le Van Luong Project and the cash flow from the restructuring of financial investments.

OGC has faced difficulties and losses since its chairman Ha Van Tham, who was also chairman of the Ocean Bank, was arrested in 2014, for serious violations of Viet Nam's laws on credit quality of credit institutions.

Last year, OGC suffered a loss of VND2.52 trillion ($112 million), and the company's shareholders lost VND2.2 trillion ($98 million).

Ocean Bank was then taken over by the State Bank of Viet Nam while OGC must sell many of its assets to solve the problem.

So far, it sold Ocean Retail JSC, Blue Star Company. It also sold its 50 per cent stake in Lega Fashion House in HCM City.

In the meeting, CEO Giang said they would not sell the project in 25 Tran Khanh Du, which would make a profit for 2016, adding that the group's BOT project of Ha Noi-Bac Giang Highway would be expected to open to traffic on December 31, six months earlier than planned and start receiving toll fees in the second quarter of 2016.

Also, the meeting discussed bigger remuneration for the board in 2015. Specifically, the board's remuneration could be increased to VND2.04 billion ($90,500). The remuneration last year was VND420 million ($18,600).

According to the financial website cafef.vn, all the resolutions of the meeting were passed at the end of the meeting.

OGC shares ended down 4.8 per cent at VND4,000 (17 US cents) each on the HCM Stock Exchange yesterday.

Ha Tinh considers proposal of building seven harbors at Vung Ang EZ

The People’s Committee in the central province of Ha Tinh has tasked the management board of Vung Ang Economic Zone (EZ) to work with departments of Planning and Investment, and Transport to study a Taiwanese company’s proposal of building seven wharfs at Vung Ang seaport at the economic zone, said the committee yesterday.

In a document sent to the committee previously, Taiwanese Wei Yu Engineering Company proposed to build wharfs 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 together with specialized equipment at Vung Ang seaport, Ky Anh district.

These seven wharfs can receive bulk cargo vessels with loading capacity of 50,000 tons.

Total investment capital is expected to approximate US$1.5 billion and the project will be implemented within 70 years.

In the first phase, the investor will recruit 50 foreigners and 500 Vietnamese workers. The second phase will have 250 foreigners and 20,000 Vietnamese.

Wharfs 5, 6, 7 and 8 will have a capacity of 1.2 million TEU a year to meet increasing goods volume at the Vung Ang EZ. Wharf 9 can serve two million tons of bulk cargo a year.

Wharf 10 will receive about six million tons of coal a year for thermal power plants at wharfs 1, 2, 3 and 4.  Besides, coal vessels of 5,000-20,000 tons can load cargo at wharf 11 to supply thermal power plants in the northern region.

Internationally false reports pulls domestic coffee prices down

Local coffee prices have dropped down partly because of false reports by some international press agencies who said that Vietnam has a huge volume of coffee in stock, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Chi Minh City on December 2.

Vietnam reaps a bumper coffee crop with high output this year increasing the inventory level, they falsely informed.

That has seriously impacted coffee export and reduced local prices.

Besides, the price plunge has been because Vietnamese coffee prices are always higher the world’s prices. Meantime, the country has mainly exported raw coffee resulting in low competitiveness.

The low prices have caused coffee growers losses and last year they chopped down about 30,000 hectares to farm other crops such as pepper and fruits.

At present, a kilogram of coffee is paid only VND33,000, a year on year reduction of VND6,000.

Economic experts have advised businesses to invest in processing technologies to improve the product value and competitiveness in the global market.

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