July suggests prolonged gloom
 
Shares declined again on both national stock exchanges yesterday as investor pessimism grew.

"Investors are extremely pessimistic, since economic data has been more disappointing than was expected," wrote FPT Securities Co analysts on the company's website yesterday. They predicted the market was unlikely to rebound in the near term because of weak cash flows.

On the HCM City City Stock Exchange, dull trading in the afternoon erased all of the morning's gains with the VN-Index closing off by another 0.57 per cent on the day to 410.73 points. Volume fell by nearly 40 per cent from a day earlier to 27.6 million shares, while the value of trades decreased 50 per cent to just VND355 billion (US$16.9 million), the lowest point in the past six months.

Of the 30 leading shares by market capitalisation and liquidity, only five saw gains, driving the VN30 Index down 0.31 per cent to 485.42 points. Sacombank (STB) was the most-active share with 1.7 million traded before it closed up by 0.9 per cent to VND22,200 per share.

July is usually the weakest month of the year for the market, according to HCM City Securities Co. Since 2001, the VN-Index rose in July in only two years while seeing its biggest monthly losses of the year in other years, with an average loss of 4.4 per cent. HCM City Securities Co analysts forecast that shares would continue to suffer in July this year.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange yesterday, the HNX-Index fell 1.63 per cent to 68.08 points. Market value was bleak, totalling just nearly VND226 billion ($10.8 million), on a volume of only 25 million shares.

Decliners edged advancers by 166-63.

PetroVietnam Construction (PVX), with over 2.9 million shares changing hands, was the most-active code, but PVX plunged by 3.3 per cent to close at VND8,700.

Foreign investors concluded yesterday as net sellers on the HCM City market, unloading shares worth a net of nearly VND4 billion ($191,000), but they remained net buyers on the Ha Noi exchange, picking up shares worth VND5 billion ($238,000).

Through June, the Viet Nam Securities Depository Centre reported granting new trading codes this year to 15,787 foreign investors, of which 1,849 were institutional investors and 13,938 were individual investors.

Tra breeders sell at a loss

Farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces have exported 287,000 tonnes of tra fish worth US$862 million since early this year, equivalent in volume to the amount of fish exported in 2011, but profits have been hit by falling prices.

The regional Steering Committee for Tra Fish Production and Consumption said the fish price had fallen by US$0.1-0.2 per kilo in comparison with 2011.

Last April, tra catfish were fetching VND27,000-VND28,000 per kilo. Farmers are now selling their fish for VND19,500-VND20,000 per kilo. Meanwhile, the cost price of producing tra for export is estimated at VND23,000 to VND25,000 per kilo.

Deputy Chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers Duong Ngoc Minh blamed falling prices on tightened bank lending and high interest rates, which have forced farmers to sell at a loss.

The Delta region has nearly 3,900ha of tra fish farms, a reduction of about 20 per cent compared with the same period last year, causing many tra fish processing factories to cut production.

Minh said the committee said Delta provinces would help to alleviate the financial difficulties incurred by fish farmers. Meanwhile, supervision would be stepped up to ensure quality, prevent disease and reduce environmental pollution, he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Monday also submitted to the Prime Minister an assistance package for tra fish breeders in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces.

Under the plan, tra fish breeders would be given bank loans so that they can continue raising fish in their ponds and lakes until the end of this year. While processing factories were short of tra raw fish for production and export, many farmers have stopped raising the fish because fish feed prices have increased and farmers have had difficulty accessing bank loans, according to the ministry.

The region's main export markets are Europe, Southeast Asia and the US. Exports meanwhile to eastern Europe and Mediterranean countries have been expanding.

Electricity rate hike worries businesses

The Ministry of Industry and Trade alongside Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) has said a 5 per cent rise in electricity prices would not greatly impact production, business activities or living standards.

However, both experts and enterprises have expressed concern about the price increase.

Electricity is currently sold at an average price of VND1,369 (6 US cents) per kWh, up VND65 per kWh over the previous level, pursuant to a ministerial circular issued last Friday.

EVN estimated households using 100-400kWh per month on average would have to pay additional costs of VND4,200-38,950 (US$0.20-1.87).

Senior economist Le Dang Doanh said the move might be unreasonable as it was likely to cause struggling enterprises even more difficulties, generate a domino effect on the prices of many other goods and intensify inflationary pressure which had eased over the last few months.

According to Viet Nam Steel Association Chairman Pham Chi Cuong, electricity prices make up about 6-7 per cent of total steel production costs. It takes 600kWh of electricity to produce a tonne of steel, so the 5-per-cent rise would lift total costs by around VND39,000 ($1.88) per tonne.

A maker producing 40,000 tonnes of steel per month on average would have to pay VND1.56 billion ($75,000) more every month, he calculated.

This would heap up difficulties for firms, which were struggling with falling purchasing power and increasing inventories.

The Viet Nam Fertiliser Association said the electricity price hike would directly push up fertiliser production costs by 1-1.5 per cent, not including possible material price increases.

Viet Nam Cement Association chairman Nguyen Van Thien said the move, together with a variety of unfavourable conditions related to coal and oil prices, interest rates and loan access, was causing utmost difficulties to the cement industry.

"While inventories have amounted to 6 million tonnes, the electricity price hike has proved a great shock to cement enterprises," he told Lao dong (Labour) newspaper, noting many cement producers had suffered losses and cut production this year.

Garment company Kyung Viet's General Director Nguyen Quoc Lap told the same newspaper his firm would now have to pay an electricity charge of VND200 million ($9,615) per month in stead of the previous months' average of VND160 million ($7,692).

"In order to maintain operations, we will have to enhance labour productivity and minimise wasting electricity," he said, noting that electricity bills accounted for up to 25 per cent of the company's total costs.

Nguyen Van Son, from waste treating company Moi Truong Xanh (Green Environment), said besides affecting business activities, the price increase would directly affect labourers.

"The move will significantly affect people's lives; households will not only have to pay greater monthly electricity bills, but also bare higher prices when consuming goods and services as their pockets become increasingly empty," economist Nguyen Minh Phong said.

Economic expert Nguyen Quang A agreed, saying the price adjustment was likely to affect the nation's economic growth. "EVN has continuously reported losses, but I think there are many ways to cut down on this such as enhancing management in stead of raising prices," he was reported to have said.

According to Government direction, the country will establish a competitive wholesale electricity market over the next 10 years. Some experts said this period was too long and the roadmap should be sped up for the sake of the market.

In the meantime, the electricity industry should publicise more business data to show the society how it had saved costs, local press commented.

Economic expert A said the price increase was good, to some extent, as it would force enterprises to strive to improve technology to save power.

Oil import taxes up, petrol prices down

Import taxes on some petroleum products yesterday increased by 2 per cent, the Ministry of Finance announced. It was the fifth time that fuel taxes have changed this year.

According to Circular 109/2012/TT-BTC, tariffs on RON 97 Oil, naphtha, reformate and alpha olefin rose from 10 per cent to 12 per cent.

Diesel tax was increased to 10 per cent from 8 per cent and the tariffs on aeroplane fuel and kerosene also rose by 2 per cent to 12 per cent.

On Monday, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance cut retail prices of petrol, kerosene and oil on the domestic market following a fall in world oil prices. The price for A2 petrol dropped by VND600 per litre to VND20,600 (US$0.98) and by VND300 per litre to VND17,650 for fuel oil.

Diesel oil prices fell by VND200 per litre to VND19,900 – and kerosene fell to VND20,050.

Tran Ngoc Nam, deputy general director of the Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex), said on Monday that on the world market, the price of crude oil fell by 1.73 per cent to $83 per barrel against the previous day, the lowest rate since April last year.

Forum aims to boost trade with Portugal

A business conference was held in Ha Noi yesterday to boost co-operation between Vietnamese and Portuguese companies.

Organised by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the event attracted 20 businesses from the two countries.

Two-way trade had increased significantly in recent years, from US$100 million in 2008 to $170 million in 2011, said Vu Anh Duc, a spokesman for the chamber.

The figures, however, failed to match potential, Duc said. They needed to be higher.

"Viet Nam is speeding up economic reforms with a focus on facilitating the development of the private sector, perfecting legal frameworks and improving infrastructure," he said. "During the process, we will create good conditions for foreign businesses."

Helena Ramos, manager of business services for the Portuguese Entrepreneurial Association, said the two business communities needed to meet to develop projects and seek trade partners.

During the event, Vietnamese and Portuguese firms discussed publication, food processing, recycled industrial products, construction machinery, plastic films and the production of animal feed.

Albano Martins, sales manager of Casfil, a Portuguese company that makes flexible film for packaging, said: "Viet Nam is a big market for the packaging sector and we came here to find potential partners."

Property developer saves cash

Property developer Hoang Quan Corp (HQC) will divest from four of its affiliates to improve its current cash portfolio. If the divestment is successfully implemented, it is estimated that Hoang Quan Corp will earn at least VND67.6 billion. Meanwhile, the company reported it had less than VND6 billion worth of cash and cash equivalents by the end of the first quarter.

Accordingly, Hoang Quan Corp will sell a combined volume of 3.8 million shares in three companies in Binh Thuan, Can Tho and Vinh Long provinces at prices between VND10,000-30,500 and 8 per cent of Hoang Quan Appraisal Co's charter capital at the minimum price of VND440 million.

Japan helps Viet Nam boost competitiveness

Japan will help Viet Nam to promote fair competition in the country's business market through a JPY140 million (US$1.75 million) project which started this week.

The four-year project, signed between the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and Viet Nam Competition Authority (VCA), will help the VCA to amend the Competition Law to suit increasing economic activities, strengthen investigations, and promote advocacy of laws and policies in Viet Nam.

These goals will be achieved through several activities, including training courses for VCA investigators and dissemination campaigns for Government members, enterprises, consumers and academics.

Firm to increase charter capital

Natural resource explorer Tai Nguyen Corp (TNT) plans to increase its charter capital by 3.5 times from VND85 billion to VND300 billion via issuing 21.5 million shares. The company aims to invest VND150 billion in its project in the northern province of Hoa Binh and use VND50 billion in working capital.

With the plan, it expects to achieve a net profit of VND12.75 billion this year compared to the level of VND353 million last year.-

Plastics industry urged to modernise

Experts have urged the plastic sector to buy advanced technology and use more automated procedures to meet quality, hygiene and safety standards of both Viet Nam and other countries.

Viet Nam Plastic Association (VPA) told attendees at its congress held last Saturday in HCM City that the industry should gradually eliminate outdated technology and machines.

They said companies needed to increase investment in large-capacity production chains to make high-value products and to produce more raw materials and components in Viet Nam to increase the localisation rate.

Advanced technology investment would create high quality and environmentally friendly products to compete in domestic and foreign markets, they said.

Currently, most plastic companies import machines and technology from other Asian countries. In 2008, the import turnover of Vietnamese plastic sector's machines was US$363.76 million.

Speakers at the congress urged the sector to develop new products to meet the increasing demands of domestic and international markets.

They also said that Viet Nam should focus on building national trademarks to compete in the international market.

The plastic sector has an important role in the economy, and it should develop in accordance with the country's industrialisation and modernisation, the VPA urged.

The plastic sector aims to reach export turnover of $3.2 billion by 2015 and $7 billion by 2020.

Currently, the country has about 530 plastic exporters. Vietnamese plastic products are present in more than 150 countries, with the 10 largest import markets being the US, Japan, Cambodia, Germany, the UK, Netherlands, France, Taiwan, Malaysia and Philippines.

Experts urged the industry to produce more technically advanced plastic for the automobile, motorbike and electronics assembly industries for the 2016-2020 period.

By 2025, the country should aim to have waste-recycling or processing factories for plastic products and plastic raw materials, according to several speakers at the congress.

Companies should try to use more recycled plastic as a source of raw materials, not only for environmental reasons but also because of lower prices and savings in foreign currency for imported materials, they said.

According to the VPA, the country would save more than $600 million per year and increase export turnover by 25 per cent if it used 35-50 per cent of recycled plastic raw materials.

The VPA also plans to promote the image of the country's plastics sector in international markets through media, websites, foreign magazines and fairs. It will also organise more business trips for local companies to survey new and potential markets.

Manufacturing slowdown continues

June data pointed to a further worsening of business conditions across the Viet Nam manufacturing sector, and the rate of deterioration accelerated to the fastest in four months, according to the HSBC Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which was issued yesterday.

This was highlighted by a drop in the seasonally adjusted HSBC Viet Nam Manufacturing PMI from 48.3 in May to 46.6 in June.

The index has now posted below the neutral 50.0 value for three consecutive months.

The overall deterioration in business conditions reflected a marked decline in new order intakes during June.

Incoming new business fell for the second successive month and at the joint-fastest rate since the survey began in April 2011.

Anecdotal evidence widely suggested that the global economic slowdown had resulted in a squeeze on spending among clients.

Latest data pointed to a marginal reduction in new export work, which was attributed to softer demand from both developed and emerging markets.

Lower levels of new orders resulted in reduced production requirements in June, with output volumes declining for the third consecutive month and at the steepest pace since February.

Manufacturers sought to utilise spare capacity in June by reducing their levels of work-in-hand (but not yet completed).

Outstanding business dropped at the joint-fastest pace in 15 months of data collection.

Post-production inventory levels increased at a solid rate in June, reversing the downward trend seen in May.

A number of manufacturers noted that lower-than-expected sales had resulted in unwanted inventory building.

This, in turn, encouraged efforts among firms to alleviate pressure on working capital by reducing their input buying.

June data signalled a sharp drop in purchasing activity and a steeper fall in pre-production inventories than was recorded in May.

Poor infrastructure hinders freight firms
 
The lack of co-ordinated port, airport, depot and road infrastructure together with low capacity in the flow of goods and materials (logistics) have held back the sector's development, according to the Viet Nam Freight Forwarders Association.

Domestic logistics enterprises occupy only about 25 per cent of market share although numbering nearly 1,000, more than ten times the number of foreign firms operating in Viet Nam.

Up to 80 per cent of domestic freight transport companies are small in scale while around 30 of the world's leading forwarders currently offer services in the country.

Director of SGN Logistics Ta Thi My Linh told Nguoi Lao Dong (The Labourer) newspaper it was hard for domestic logistics enterprises to compete with foreign ones.

She added that the cost of logistics services in Viet Nam was high compared to other countries in the region and the world, which has lowered local competitiveness.

Meanwhile, as scheduled, Viet Nam would have a fully open logistics market by 2014 on which competition between local and foreign firms would drastically increase.

Jonathan Beard, managing director of GHK International (Hong Kong), said at a recent meeting on supply chains in Ha Noi that Viet Nam has yet to become a "marine country" despite having a more than 3,260-km coastline and an advantageous location.

He pointed out that the port system in the northern part of the country was still small in scale and dispersed, failing to meet increasing freight transport demand.

According to VIFFAS Chairman Do Xuan Quang, a comprehensive development strategy for Viet Nam's logistics to 2020, with a vision to 2030, is essential.

Focus should be placed on training human resources in logistics services, Quang proposed.

According to the VIFFAS, there is a current shortage of qualified logistics staff, with only 40 per cent of demand met.

Besides, information and communications technologies should be applied to logistics services to increase quality, he added.

With the Prime Minister's Decision 175 on local service development approved last year, logistics is regarded as a key factor in promoting the distribution of other service goods as well as import and export.

Vietnam Airlines to fly new China route

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) launched its new direct flight route from Ha Noi to China's Chengdo late last week with the frequency of three flights per week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Trinh Hong Quang, deputy head of Vietnam Airlines, said that this new route would help increase opportunities of economic, cultural, tourist and educational exchange and co-operation between Viet Nam and southwestern China. There are currently 36 direct flights weekly between the two countries.

Parasite kills 60 million snout otter clams in Quang Ninh
 
A parasite has killed an estimated 60 million snout otter clams, worth VND200 billion (US$9,5 million), in Van Don District, in northern Quang Ninh Province, according to the municipal department of rural development and agricultural.

The disease, which was first reported in April, has devastated the incomes of some 650 households in the district, the report said.

The National Centre for Veterinarial Diagnosis said there was no known cure for the internal Perkinsus parasite.

The department and the municipal authority have asked local residents to stop farming snout otters for two years until the disease disappears.

The province said it would work closely with the municipal department of finance to give financial assistance to farmers.

Farming of snout otter clams began last year. They were due to be harvested this month.

Luxury imports decline due to restriction

Import turnovers of several luxury commodities that fall under a restriction set by the Ministry of Industry and Trade have experienced a downward trend over the first half of this year, according to the General Department of Statistics.

Complete built unit (CBU) automobiles saw the sharpest fall -- 54.7 percent against the same period last year, followed by motorbikes at 44 percent.

The country imported 14,000 CBU automobiles worth US$285 million in the first six months of the year, and 2,000 vehicles in June alone.

In the first five months of the year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said, import turnovers of the commodities under supervision, including fruits and vegetables, confectionary, and precious metals dropped by 21.7 percent, while the restricted category, consisting of mobile phones, sedans, motorbikes, and consumer goods, declined by 10 percent year-on-year.

Classified as a luxury commodity, mobile phones saw a steep decline of 49.3 percent in import turnovers.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade last year decided to step up efforts to control the trade deficit by more tightly restricting the import of luxury or unnecessary goods, especially cars, mobile phones, cosmetics and wine.

In a statement released earlier this year, the ministry reiterated that it will further restrict luxury imports in a bid to keep the trade deficit at roughly $13 billion.

The ministry has said it will try to limit luxury goods to 5.4 percent of the country's total import value, or roughly $6.6 billion.

Meanwhile, businesses in the southern region said that as consumers have been cutting spending, firms have cut import turnovers through their own initiative over the slumping demand.

Shipments of beer and wine have also declined over the last six months, according to the customs agency at Ho Chi Minh City’s Cat Lai Port.

Jan – June import turnover of wine was worth $691,400, while the figure was as much as $1.35 million in the same period last year.

Similarly, beer import turnovers dropped by 46.8 percent year on year to only $221,000 over this year’s first half.

Fewer firms, better prices, catfish exporters say

With many catfish exporters repeatedly dumping the market by offering to sell at dirt cheap prices, other local catfish processors and exporters have demanded that strict requirements should be set to ensure that only capable and honest businesses can join the export market and help reverse the slumping prices.

At a meeting Monday, catfish businesses reached a consensus that only exporters that have processing plants and are granted with a code to sell to the EU market should be eligible to ship catfish, a proposal they said will be petitioned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnamese catfish have been on the world market for more than 10 years, but prices have also constantly fallen over the last decade.

Prices seemingly bottomed out last week, when some exporters attending the Vietfish 2012 exhibition offered to sell at only US$2.2 a kg, a rate other firms said is “incredibly low,” as prior to the fair they had shipped the fish to the EU at $2.8 a kg.

“The throwaway prices have ‘killed’ the reputation of Vietnamese catfish on the global market,” said Nguyen Phat Quang, chairman of Acomfish.

Exporters attending the meeting also urged that a minimum, or floor price, should be levied on catfish exports to every particular market.

Commenting on the proposal, Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), said a floor price will be slapped on catfish shipments to the US.

“There are currently few exporters to this market, and their product quality is quite consistent,” he explained.

Hoe said the minimum export price for the US market will become applicable in early August, while the floor for other markets will take effect a month later.

“As of August 1, catfish export contracts to the US will need to be approved by VASEP for supervision on prices and quality,” he added.

The floor price for the US market has been agreed upon at $3.4 a kg, according to Duong Ngoc Minh, CEO of Hung Vuong JSC.

“However, we will conduct market research in the US and set an official price on July 15, which will be applied for shipments in August,” he added.

As for other markets, the exporters have agreed that the minimum price should be $2.6 a kg for white-flesh catfish filets.

The minimum price, however, is only the first step on the long road to regaining real value for Vietnamese catfish, delegates said at the meeting.

Vo Dong Duc, CEO of Caseamex catfish exporter, proposed that new requirements should be set to eliminate unqualified exporters from the market.

“They do not meet enough conditions for exporting, but have been dumping the market nonetheless,” he said.

“The market has become a mess due to certain brokerage firms who do not have processing plants but are willing to sell at dirt cheap prices.”

Duong Viet Thang, deputy director of South Vina Co, agreed, and reiterated the case of the Brazilian market.

“[Brazil] is an appealing market, but some brokers have totally destroyed it by offering poor quality products at throwaway prices, thus helping to turn customers away from Vietnamese catfish,” he said.

“Some brokerage firms are willing to swindle customers to export several containers of catfish, and shut down their operation, something a real exporter will never do,” he added.

Hoe of VASEP said if the proposal to apply the new requirement on catfish exporters is approved, the number of catfish exporters will be reduced from the current 200 to 65 (those who have processing plants).

“As these 65 firms account for 80 percent of the catfish export turnover, there will be no impact on domestic catfish consumption,” added Hoe.

Ho Chi Minh City loses $134,000 in water daily

Water loss in Ho Chi Minh City is down from four years ago but still costs VND2.8 billion, or US$134,400, a day under the current clean household water price.

Fees vary by location, but if officials calculated efficiency using the highest cost of VND11,000 per cubic meter, the loss would more than double to VND6.4 billion, or $307,000, experts say.

Of the city’s daily 1.53 million cubic meters of water, 38 percent goes to waste, according to a report by the Saigon Water Corporation, or Sawaco.

In 2008, the percentage was 43, before Sawaco embarked on a campaign to bring down that number.

“If Sawaco can better cut the water loss rate, it will not need to earmark trillions of dong to set up a new water plant, while it can save a huge amount of money from the reduced water loss,” one expert said, adding Sawaco could pass that savings onto customers.

Under a development plan to finish in 2015, Sawaco is adding a water plant, Tan Hiep 2, that can supply roughly 300,000 cubic meters of water a day.

That’s half the amount of water that is wasted.

The Ministry of Finance last week released a new price table for water that increases the highest fee by 50 percent.

Starting July 11, water costs will be capped at VND18,000 per cubic meter in major cities.

The increase was calculated to help suppliers recoup water losses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, insiders say.

In the latter city, prices have increased steadily since 2010, according to Directive 103, issued by the city’s People’s Committee in 2009. The rate of increase, 10 percent, will continue next year.

Ho Chi Minh City loses $134,000 in water daily

Water loss in Ho Chi Minh City is down from four years ago but still costs VND2.8 billion, or US$134,400, a day under the current clean household water price.

Fees vary by location, but if officials calculated efficiency using the highest cost of VND11,000 per cubic meter, the loss would more than double to VND6.4 billion, or $307,000, experts say.

Of the city’s daily 1.53 million cubic meters of water, 38 percent goes to waste, according to a report by the Saigon Water Corporation, or Sawaco.

In 2008, the percentage was 43, before Sawaco embarked on a campaign to bring down that number.

“If Sawaco can better cut the water loss rate, it will not need to earmark trillions of dong to set up a new water plant, while it can save a huge amount of money from the reduced water loss,” one expert said, adding Sawaco could pass that savings onto customers.

Under a development plan to finish in 2015, Sawaco is adding a water plant, Tan Hiep 2, that can supply roughly 300,000 cubic meters of water a day.

That’s half the amount of water that is wasted.

The Ministry of Finance last week released a new price table for water that increases the highest fee by 50 percent.

Starting July 11, water costs will be capped at VND18,000 per cubic meter in major cities.

The increase was calculated to help suppliers recoup water losses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, insiders say.

In the latter city, prices have increased steadily since 2010, according to Directive 103, issued by the city’s People’s Committee in 2009. The rate of increase, 10 percent, will continue next year.

FDI disbursement stable despite lower pledged capital

The disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) is still on track, though pledged capital has recently witnessed an inevitable decline given the gloomy global economic outlook and the ambition of Vietnam to raise capital quality, said a senior state official.

Registered FDI totaled $6.4 billion, and FDI disbursement reached $5.4 billion, in the first half of 2012, compared to $8.83 billion and $5.3 billion in 2011, and $10.5 billion and $5.4 billion in 2010, respectively, said Do Nhat Hoang, head of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

The latest FDI disbursement figure, a 2 percent year-on-year increase, has signaled that disbursement appears to have remained stable over the past few years, which is fairly encouraging, particularly in the context of the global economic recession, said the chief of FIA under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

However, the actualized FDI capital in June is estimated to have reached about $890 million, the lowest level in four months, creating a downward trend of monthly FDI disbursement.

Meanwhile, newly-pledged FDI capital in June is also estimated to be equal to the figure of the previous month, reaching approximately $1.06 billion.

However, the downward trend can also be seen in this figure, since it is the fourth drop in a row.

In the January-June period, the total newly-registered FDI capital is estimated to have reached more than $4.76 billion for 452 newly-registered projects, down nearly 25 percent in both volume and value year on year.

As many as 123 ongoing FDI projects have registered to add investment capital, exceeding $1.62 billion, equaling a half in volume of projects and about 64.5 percent in pledged capital over the same period last year.

Totally, Vietnam has attracted nearly $6.4 billion worth of newly-registered and raised FDI capital from the beginning of the year, down 27.3 percent year-on-year.

Notably, 100 percent of foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) accounted for 73 percent of FDI capital ($4.639 billion).

The manufacturing and processing industry sectors still showed the most attractiveness, with about 63 percent of the total pledged FDI capital, followed by real estate with nearly 25 percent, and the wholesale and retail and repairing sectors.

Japan took the lead amongst foreign investors in Vietnam with $4.159 billion invested in Jan-Jun, accounting for 65 percent of the total FDI attraction. It was followed by the British Virgin Islands, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Binh Duong province attracted the most FDI capital, worth $1.788 billion, or 38 percent of the total in the first half of this year.

In the January-June period, the foreign-invested sector posted an export value of $32.7 billion year-on-year. It also recorded an export surplus of $4.7 billion.

Recently, the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported a 20 – 30 percent increase in FDI flows into Thailand and Indonesia over the first six months of the year.

However, Japanese and European investors now tend to head for destinations other than Thailand on concerns of political instability and remaining economic difficulties in the wake of the disastrous flooding of late 2011, said Hoang.

The manufacturing industry that attracted 64 percent of last year’s registered FDI is expected to account for 65.3 percent of that this year.

Similarly, the proportion of funding for agriculture has edged up from 0.4 percent in the previous year to 0.9 percent in H1/2012.

What is noteworthy is that the Japanese are pouring $1.2 billion into the Tokyu project in southern Binh Duong Province, which makes up around 20 percent of the total first-six-month registered capital of $6.4 billion.

Given the current conditions, the year target of FDI attraction could be within reach, and disbursement is projected to reach $10 billion, Hoang said.

According to a draft circular recently released by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, state authorities will check that foreign- invested enterprises and projects conform to investment licenses, development plans, and investment incentives, as well as regulations related to capital attraction, land use, ground clearance and compensation.

They will also check on matters such as taxation, capital contributions, project progress, wage mechanisms, treatment of workforce and environmental protection activities.

City bank refuses to receive Vietnam coins

While many local residents consider the Vietnam dong coins inconvenient and rarely use them in daily trading activities, a transaction office of Asia Commercial Bank received complaints for having refused to receive coins from a customer.

Bui Van Duc said he has borrowed loan from an ACB transaction office in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 8, and has to pay VND942,000 worth of monthly interest.

On the morning of June 30, he went to clear the interest as usual. He paid VND 900,000 in banknotes, and tried to clear the remaining VND42,000 in coins of VND2,000 and 5,000 denominations.

“But the bank turned it down and told me to exchange them for paper banknotes at the State Bank of Vietnam,” he said.

A bus driver, Duc said the coins came from his customers, and he in fact had difficulty using them at shops or stores, and even repaying the bus-goers as change.

“And now, even when I attempted to return [the coins] to the bank, they also rejected me,” he said.

In response, ACB deputy chief Nguyen Thanh Toai said it is not the bank’s policy to refuse coins.

“The transaction office has breached our regulation and will thus receive disciplinary action,” he said, adding that the bank will apologize to Duc.

The Vietnamese coins were reinstated in late 2003, under the government’s bid to increase automatic payment for vending machines. The new coins are in denominations of VND200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000.

Local residents were at first excited to see the coins reappear after many years, but soon considered them troublesome as the coins easily drop out of pockets or become tarnished.

The SBV stopped issuing new coins in 2010 due to rising steel prices, which made it costlier to produce coins than polymer banknotes, and because coins in denominations of VND200 and 500 are of little use amid this time of skyrocketing prices.

In late May it was rumored that the central bank would recall the Vietnam dong coins and stop their circulation as of May 27.

But an SBV official later confirmed that this was false.

A paradoxical result of real estate market

Houses and apartments in major cities have gone up in price, three or four times higher than the per capita income growth rate.

During the 2000-2011 period, house prices saw a tenfold increase, compared to the value of gold (7.3 fold), the US dollar (1.5 fold), saving interest rates (2.2 fold) and the CPI (2.2 fold).

This has been put down to the lack of transparency in management as well as speculation.

Dr Le Xuan Nghia, former Head of the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC), argues that speculation is not a reason for real estate price hikes in a long time.

Speculation can only cause a 10-15 percent spike in a short period of time, he says, adding that the lack of transparency in the management of real estate market is the root of the problem.

International experts underscore other reasons such as poor planning to meet migrant workers’ demand for accommodation, and slow progress in housing projects for low-income earners.

Complicated procedures and land-grab scandals also contribute to driving up real estate prices in Vietnam to a world record high, they say.

Bui Duc Trung, Deputy General Director of the Petrowaco Joint Stock Company, cites another factor that is too much time spent on preparations for real estate projects to get off the ground.

Judging by the current situation, many real estate investors have offered buyers special discounts, but this is of little help to improve the liquidity of the market.

Le Hoang Hoan, General Director of the VietLand Group, says the supply of houses and apartments is still far from meeting the demand of low- and middle-income people.

Most people can only afford to buy small apartments at the price of less than VND1 billion (US$50,000) while there is an abundant supply of luxury apartments worth VND2-3 billion (US$100,000-150,000), he says.

The lowest price of land in Hanoi hovers around VND70-80 million per sq.m. This means that the average income earner (US$1,200 per year) will have to work 90 years without spending if he wants to own 30 sq.m of land in Hanoi, Hoan notes.

A Deputy Minister of Construction says even a Minister has to save money in 40 years for the purchase of an apartment.

What’s lacking here is credit policies to support employees in need of housing.

Vietnam has a house price to household income ratio of 26.6, much higher than other countries in South Asia (6.25), East Asia (4.14), Africa (2.21), Europe, the Middle East and North America (2.38).

According to the UN, the ratio should be just 3 or 4 percent.

The Ministry of Construction estimates that as many as seven million people in cities need houses or apartments covering 150 million sq.m.

Hanoi alone has to build 110,000 apartments (totaling 5.5 million sq.m) for workers in industrial parks, the ministry says.

According to a recent survey of CBRE, the world's leading commercial property and real estate services adviser, in the first quarter of this year, apartment prices in Hanoi plunged to a five-year record low and more than half of apartments on sale were at less than VND20 million (US$1,000) per sq.m.

In the second quarter, all the newly-built apartments were priced at less than VND30 million (US$1,500) per sq.m and half of them at less than VND20 million (US$1,000) per sq.m.

HCM City:Trade expo attracts foreign businesses

More than 400 enterprises from 20 countries across the world are taking part in the Vietnam International Precision Engineering, Machine Tools and Metalworking Exhibition (MTA), which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on July 3.

The four-day expo features 10 international stands showcasing the high quality machine tools, precision engineering and metalworking industries, as well as advanced technological solutions by leading enterprises from Vietnam, Singapore, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the UK.

The exhibition aims to enhance business cooperation between domestic and foreign enterprises and also to create an international trade forum to connect manufacturers, suppliers, and buyers with Vietnam's industrial sector.

It is expected to help improve the competitiveness of small-and-medium sized businesses and facilitate the support industry’s operation.

Vietnam, Portugal tighten trade ties

A Vietnamese-Portuguese business meeting was held in Hanoi on July 3 to boost economic cooperation between the two countries.

The event, held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), was attended by many Vietnamese and Portuguese businesses who were keen to study the local market and seek trade partners.

Local businesses had an exchange with Portuguese leading firms operating in the fields of publication, food processing, recycled industrial product distribution, construction machinery, plastic films, and animal feed production.

Since Vietnam and Portugal established their diplomatic ties in 1975, two-way trade turnover has grown significantly, from US$100 million in 2008 to US$170 million last year.

Nguyen Tuan Hai, an official from the VCCI, said Vietnam always attaches importance to strengthening cooperation with Portugal - a key trade partner of the Southeast Asian country. Businesses from both countries should plan the leading role in bringing bilateral trade to a higher level, Hai said.

Helena Ramos, an official from the Portugal Business Association, said the two countries should fully tap their potential to tighten economic ties in a more dynamic manner for mutual benefits.

Water supply projects remain unattractive to private investors

Urban water supply projects will require around VND63.5 trillion from now to 2015 but a failure to attract private investors will hinder their development, speakers said at a seminar in HCMC on Monday.

Urban water supply projects are now mainly funded by official development assistance (ODA) capital and developed by local State-owned water supply companies, said Tran Tuong Lan, head of the Department for Infrastructure and Urban Centers under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

ODA is an important source of capital, he noted but when Vietnam becomes a middle-income country, donors’ requirements will be changed, lending rates will pick up and local capital will become a major source.

“Therefore, the investment policy for urban water supply must be renewed towards encouraging the private sector to participate and develop infrastructure, gradually reducing the involvement of the State corporate sector,” said Lan at a seminar on private sector participation in water supply projects held by the ministry and the World Bank.

Given the huge capital demand in the next years, Vietnam has to promote other investment formats such as built-operate-transfer (BOT) or public-private partnership (PPP).

However, Lan stressed the mechanism must be attractive enough to lure private investors into urban water supply projects. Water prices should be revised to ensure profits of private firms involved in such projects, he said.

“The Ministry of Planning and Investment is working with the World Bank to establish a research office for pilot PPP projects, currently studying a number of projects like bridges, tunnels, expressways, hospitals, and power projects. In the coming time, water supply will be included in the list of PPP projects to be studied,” Lan told the Daily on the sidelines of the seminar.

The planning ministry forecast the demand for water use of urban areas and industrial parks would be some 8.8 million cubic meters per day by 2015. Until then, some VND27 trillion will be needed to build new water plants and expand the capacity of the current ones, VND32 trillion to develop the water supply pipeline network and VND4.5 trillion to replace old pipes and reduce water leaks.

The planning ministry is mapping out a circular on investment demand and promoting the participation of private investors in the projects.

According to the Ministry of Construction, there are some 15 large-scale urban water supply projects awaiting investors nationwide, with a total capital demand of US$500 million.