WB finances construction of Trung Son power plant

The State Bank of Vietnam and the World Bank on June 28 signed an agreement on loans to build the Trung Son hydroelectric power plant in the central province of Thanh Hoa.

Under the agreement, the WB will provide 330 million USD to help build the plant which has a total investment of nearly 412 million USD. The remaining funding will come from the State budget.

The Trung Son hydroelectric power plant has a designed capacity of 260 megawatt. It will be built on the Ma river in Quan Hoa district of Thanh Hoa province.

The project will be carried out from 2011-2017.

VN attains GDP growth of 5.6 pct in first half

Vietnam attained a GDP growth of 5.6 percent in the first half of the year, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

In the reviewed period, the country; industrial production value was VND418 trillion, a year-on-year rise of 14.3 percent and export revenues of US$42.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 30 percent.

High growth in six-month export revenues were seen in apparels, up 28.4 percent; footwear, up 31 percent; seafood, up 28 percent; and rubber, up 17 percent.

Goods retail and service turnover increased by 22 percent to reach VND912 trillion.

However, the country’s imports were still expanded by 25 percent to an estimated turnover of $49 billion in the reviewed period.

Realised foreign direct investment dropped 1.9 percent compared to the same period last year, totalling $5.3 billion.

In addition, high inflation and interest rates have hindered production and activities of any businesses.

Catfish farmers weighed down by sustainability: conference

Vietnamese catfish farmers have to spend too much money every year to obtain all sorts of unnecessary sustainability certificates, heard a conference held Monday in Ho Chi Minh City.

Speaking at the conference about catfish sustainable development, Nguyen Tu Cuong, an officer of the Vietnam Fishery Society (Vinafis) said catfish farmers are heavily burdened by as many as nine sustainability standards.

Cuong said these standards, which are all based on the four key areas for sustainable aquaculture development proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization - food safety, sustainable environment, animal health and social security - are tools to steal from fishery farmers.

Other analysts said even though these standards are known as “voluntary certificates,” exporters often don’t have any other choice but follow them. “If we don’t follow their required standards, our products cannot enter their markets,” said Nguyen Van Kich, general director of seafood corporation Cafatex.

Kich said many standards that are accepted by Europeans are rejected by Japanese and US importers, who have their own standards.

Kich said even though sustainability standards are not to blame because they contribute to the development of the fishery industry, the world should agree on certain common standards.

He said farmers don’t benefit much although they spend a great deal to follow these standards.

A director of a catfish company which has obtained Global GAP certificates said they haven’t brought any more profit to his products.

On the contrary, the cost of obtaining these Global GAP certificates has pushed his production cost by 20 percent and consequently his products’ export prices.

Lending interest rate to fall from July

The State Bank of Vietnam has said big commercial banks have agreed to cut lending interest rates to 12 to 12.5 percent per annum starting next month, newswire Vneconomy reported.

The agreement was reached in a recent meeting between the central bank’s governor Nguyen Van Giau, representatives of the Vietnam Banking Association (VNBA) and 5 state-owned and other major private commercial banks.

The state-owned banks included Vietcombank, BIDV, Vietinbank, Agribank, Mekong Housing Bank, and the private commercial banks included ACB, Sacombank, Eximbank, Techcombank, Military Bank and VIB bank.

At the meeting, commercial banks’ representatives said lowering lending interest rates to encourage borrowers would fulfill both the government’s goal for streamlining the economy as well as their own interests.

The banks said they had already reduced lending rates for loans to small and medium enterprises operating in agriculture, rural development and exporting.

For instance, Vietcombank and BIDV have offered loans with an interest rate of 12 percent per annum and Vietinbank, Agribank and Mekong Housing have lent at about 12.5 percent.

Other joint stock commercial banks have offered loans at about 13 percent per annum.

Depositing rates offered by VNBA members will also be decreased in the next three months, from the current average rate of 14 percent per annum to 11 – 11.5 percent by August and to 10.2 - 10.5 percent by September.

VNBA will work with other member so that the agreement will be okayed by all member banks before July.

Noodle manufacturers dispute over inaccurate ad

Acecook Vietnam and Masan Food are petitioning the Vietnam Competition Authority for its final word on their dispute over a Masan Food ad that says yellow noodle soup is caused by harmful coloring.

According to Acecook Vietnam, Masan Food has recently launched a new advertisement program for its instant noodle Tien Vua with a message which Acecook Vietnam said could mislead consumers and thus affect its business.

The message, which uses strong images of two different blocks of noodles in light and dark yellow soup, suggests that the noodles that cause the soup to turn to dark yellow contain coloring.

This ad, Acecook Vietnam’s CEO Kajiwara Junichi said, would make consumers misunderstand that any instant noodle other than Tien Vua is unsafe for their health.

He said coloring is just one of various factors contributing to noodles’ color besides ingredients, frying duration and temperature, and processing technology.

When coloring is used, noodles may be dark yellow, but we can never say ‘the dark yellow noodles prove the usage of coloring’ as Masan Food claimed in its ad, he said.
A director of another instant noodle firm said many other firms and manufacturers in the noodle industry also find this ad unacceptable.

As 80 percent of the noodle market is held by big manufacturers who meet the requirements for food hygiene and safety, Acecook Vietnam said Masan Food’s message is causing an unnecessary worry amongst consumers about coloring used in instant noodles.

But Masan Food denied Acecook Vietnam’s charge, saying that its ad is completely legal.

Truong Cong Thang, its CEO, said “Tien Vua would never make its consumers mistake about its quality.”

Masan Food refused to explain the ad content but went on to blame Acecook for badly affecting its business and in turn sued Acecook for violating competition laws.

VCA said it had received the complaints of the two noodle manufacturers but was yet to take any action.

It was too early to make any opinion or conclusion about this dispute, it said.
 
HCMC clears site for US$1.4 bln tourism project

The US$1.4 billion Saigon Sunbay tourism urban project has begun the first phase of site clearance following the deal signed between three partners Can Gio Tourism Ltd  (CGC), Dai Phu Gia Ltd and Singaporean South Construction this Monday.

The project, which is located in Can Gio District, occupies a total 600 hectares including 400 hectares of land and 200 hectares at sea.

By the time it is completed, the project will consist of five-star hotels, spa, shopping and entertainment centers as well as high class villas and apartment to serve up to 31000 residents and tourist.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2015 and the project will be up and running in 2018.

Megastar, Nokia join hand for Transformer 3 launch in VN

Megastar and Nokia Vietnam have jointly launched the blockbuster-expected Transformer 3 sequel and entertainment smartphone Nokia X7 in Vietnam with a party in Megastar Hung Vuong movie theater in HCMC.

The movie, is the 3rd sequel of Transformer sci-fi series about the wars of good extraterrestrial robots and their human allies against their evil rivals on the earth, is available in both 2D and 3D versions.

"We believe that epic action scenes in Transformers 3 will fulfill viewers’ passion for the art of cinematography. That's why we combined the launch Nokia X7 with Transformer 3,” said Brian Hall, chairman of Megastar Media Ltd.

WhileTransformer 3 represents of the artistic creation, the Nokia X7 represents technological invention enabling users to obtain the moments of entertainment anytime and anywhere. So I hope the combination of Nokia X7 and Transformer 3 will create more awe-inspiring entertaining moments,” he added.

Nokia X7, packed in stainless steel cover and plastic unibody frame, is the 1st Nokia device running the new Symbian Anna operating system.

The device houses a 4-inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen with a gorilla glass, a backside 8-megapixel camera with integrated flashlight that is capable of capturing and recording high-quality photo and video at 720p.

Nokia X7 also delivers HD gaming experience on the touch screen with pre-installed games, such as Asphalt preferred 5HD and Galaxy on Fire HD, and software upgrade on the Symbian Anna platform.

The VND10 million ($500) handset will be on sale starting July when the movie is set to be launched nationwide.

VN exports 3.5 mln tonnes of rice in first half

Vietnam exported 3.5 million tonnes of rice in the first six months of this year, earning 1.7 billion USD, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

The VFA reported that farmers in the Mekong delta, Vietnam ’s largest rice bowl, have harvested over 210,000 ha of rice out of the total cultivated area of 1.6 million ha in the  
2010-2011 summer-autumn crop with an average yield of 5 tonnes per hectare, up 0.2 tonnes over the yield in the same period last year.

The provinces of An Giang and Can Tho saw even higher average yields of 6-6.5 tonnes per hectare.

Normal rice was purchased at prices from 5,800 to 6,000 VND per kilogramme, meanwhile the price of high quality rice type was between 6,300 and 6,800 VND per kilogramme. As a result, farmers earned profits of 30-35 percent compared to production cost.

Vietnam forex reserves rise by $3 bln

The State Bank of Vietnam has bought another US$3 billion in the market, increasing its reserves to $16.5 billion, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has reported to the National Assembly's Economic Committee.

With banks buying huge volumes of foreign exchange, the rates have also eased, the report said.

Vietcombank bought the dollar at VND20,580 Wednesday, the lowest level since the central bank devalued the dong on February 11. The rate rose to VND20,630 Friday.

Earlier, between late April and May the SBV had bought around $1 billion worth forex from banks, newswire VnEcononomy quoted central bank governor Nguyen Van Giau as saying.

As of June 10, money supply (M2) only edged up by 2.33 percent from the end of 2010 compared to the full year’s target of 15-16 percent, while total outstanding loans in the system rose 7.05 percent, the report added.

Balance of payments was likely to see a surplus of $1 billion this year, Le Xuan Nghia, vice chair of the Vietnam National Financial Supervisory Commission, said.

In 2009 the forex reserves fell by $9 billion before falling by another $3 billion last year, mostly caused by huge illegal gold imports, he said.

The balance of payments surplus would help ease the pressure on the forex rate, he said, but warned the trade deficit was widening.

The trade deficit in the first half is expected to be $7.5 billion, or 18 percent of exports, higher than the government's 16 percent target.

Demand for dollars would surge during the peak season at the end of the year from companies seeking to repay loans, Nghia added.

Hoi An residents join hands to protect relics

Local residents in Hoi An City are now joining hands to help authorities protect the city’s cultural and historical relics.

The team of locals who will report to the Hoi An Relics Preservation and Management Center will be in charge of propagandizing cultural heritage laws and regulations to other residents in the World Heritage city as well as communicating locals’ concerns to municipal authorities.

The team has so far gathered 33 members from Minh An, Son Phong and Cam Pho wards.

Conference on lucrative minerals development  

The Vietnamese Industrial Minerals Conference was held in Hanoi on June 28, offering an opportunity for international scientists and investors to learn more about Vietnam’s mineral potential.  

The event was attended by 200 delegates from 11 countries also aimed to call in investors to develop the potential industrial minerals wealth in Vietnam.

Speaking at the conference, Nguyen Linh Ngoc, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment said that many of the minerals found in Vietnam, such as volfram, lead, zinc, limestone, iron and apatite were used for refractory and ceramic markets. However, they have not been lucratively exploited.

Vietnam hopes to cooperate with foreign scientists and investors to apply advanced technology to help exploit these mineral more effectively and minimize the risk of environmental pollution, Ngoc said.

At the conference, experts contributed their ideas for developing the sector and proposed issuing new policies to attract foreign investors.

DOC announces tax decision against Vietnamese trafish

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has made a final decision on anti-dumping tax based on the seventh administrative review of trafish fillet products imported from Vietnam between August 1, 2009 and February 15, 2010.

Accordingly, IDI Multinational Development and Investment Joint Stock Company (IDI) and Thien Ma Company will enjoy a zero percent anti-dumping tax.

DOC’s final decision was based on the dossier, evidence, and comments of related parties on its preliminary decision announced on January 25, 2011.

In the last administrative review, DOC chose Bangladesh as the third country to decide its anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese trafish.

Previously, the anti-dumping tax imposed on Vietnamese trafish reached 130 percent when DOC selected the Philippines as the third country for its calculation.

Techcombank wins two FinanceAsia awards

Vietnam’s Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) has come out on top in two important categories of Hong Kong-based FinanceAsia magazine’s awards: Best Bank and Best Cash Management Bank-Best Trade Finance Bank.

According to FinanceAsia magazine, Techcombank is one of the fastest growing commercial banks in Vietnam. The bank has expanded its network by opening  94 new branches, increasing the total number of branches to 300, and operating over 1,000 ATMs.

Techcombank now serves more than 45,000 enterprises and 1.3 million individuals across the country, an increase of 17 percent and 62 percent, respectively compared to the previous year.

Nguyen Duc Vinh, General Director of Techcombank, said the bank has been developing strongly for two consecutive years, 2010 and 2011, and it aims to provide the best service to its customers. It has also been recognised as a prestigious trade name by both domestic and foreign organisations.

Agro-forestry, aquatic exports reach US$12 billion

Export earnings from agro-forestry and aquatic products in the first half of 2011 was estimated at US$12 billion, up 38.7 percent over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In June alone, agro-forestry and aquatic products fetched US$2.1 billion, mainly from key export items like coffee and rubber, which saw a sharp increase in export turnover in the Belgian and US markets.

In the past six months, Vietnam earned US$7 billion from exporting agricultural products, 1.5 times more than the same period in 2010.

Rice exports also contributed almost US$2 billion, thanks to increased volume exported to Indonesia, Cuba and Malaysia.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has taken new measures to promote the export of agro-forestry and aquatic products. It has organised seminars and trade fairs to advertise these products and worked with foreign countries to remove technical and commercial barriers.

The Ministry also asked relevant agencies to effectively implement policies to reduce post-harvest losses and establish Vietnamese standards for seafood processing and preserving.

Large volume of Vietnamese litchi exported to China

Over the past week, Vietnam has exported 400-500 tonnes of litchi to China every day via the Lao Cai international border gate.

The average export price ranged between VND15,000-18,000 per kilo (4-5 Chinese yuan per kilo).

During this year’s litchi season, all Vietnamese litchi products exported to China are packaged in line with international standards.

Agencies at the Lao Cai international border gate are not imposing any taxes on Vietnamese litchi which helps to create favourable conditions for local businesses to export litchi to the Chinese market.

Vietnam, Egypt increase investment cooperation

Vietnam and Egypt are committed to seeking investment and promoting trade, said Deputy Foreign Minister Doan Xuan Hung at the recent Vietnam-Egypt Business seminar.

During his recent visit to Suez province where he met Mayor Mohmmed Hasher, Doan Xuan Hung, who is also the Prime Minister’s special envoy, affirmed his wish to promote cooperation with Egypt, including Suez province in the interests of both nations. He said that the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group is willing to invest in the oil and gas field in Suez province, adding that Egypt will be given top priority in Vietnam’s plans for cooperation with the African region.

Mr Hung said Vietnam considers Egypt a leading partner in Africa while Vietnam is Egypt’s top partner in Asia. Two-way trade turnover will increase sharply compared to the current level of US$200 million. He called on Egyptian businesses to further invest in Vietnam.

For his part, Mayor Suez Mohmmed Hasher affirmed that Vietnam is a symbol in the struggle for independence and economic development. He said that Suez has played an important role in Egypt and the region, especially in such fields as oil and gas and shipbuilding. Businesses of Suez and Port Said are keen to joint efforts with Vietnamese businesses.

Less red tape, more business
 
Investors in central Ninh Thuan Province have been able to have their business applications processed at just one office since last October, saving them time and money, said Truong Xuan Vy, director of the Economic Development Office (EDO).

The EDO, which comes under the auspices of the provincial Planning and Investment Department, was established last October to help investors complete necessary business procedures in a simple no fuss manner, Vy said.

He added that local planning and investment, natural resources and environment, construction departments, as well as district and provincial People's Committees have appointed officers to work at the EDO.

Simple administrative documents can now be dealt with at the office, while those that require higher approval were transferred to appropriate bodies, Vy said.

Last year, the EDO dealt with 135 investment projects, and 830 applications for business registration, tax and seals, Vy said, adding that the one-stop process had helped the province improve its competitiveness.

Dau Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Viet Nam Chamber for Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said Ninh Thuan Province's EDO was a one-door model that should be applied elsewhere.

It has helped create a good business environment at the provincial level, he said.

He said improved transparency, inter-provincial co-operation, information technology application, support mechanisms and regular dialogues between authorities and investors had also helped to improve the business environment.

Administrative procedures pose challenges for both investors and authorities due to their complexity, he said, adding that there was no standard administrative model in Viet Nam.

Vy said that many localities had improved their business environment. He cited the example of southern Dong Nai Province's People's Committee's portal www.dongnai.gov.vn, which is available in five languages. Meanwhile, HCM City has created the www.doi-thoai.hochiminhcity.gov webpage where investors can raise questions and get responses from relevant authorities.

Over the last three years, the World Bank, World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) and VCCI conducted studies on reforms to administrative procedures regarding investment and land and construction procedures in 10 cities and provinces.

The move was in response to complaints by small and medium-sized enterprises over the complexity of administrative procedures and the overlapping of regulations, said Pham Ngoc Linh, IFC's project consultant.

Linh said that at least one-third of documents investors had to submit could be dispensed with.

She also said investors should be given advice on which and when documents needed to be submitted.

The one-door model has now been set out in a handbook, said CIEM deputy director Nguyen Dinh Cung.

Cung urged relevant ministries and departments to design a national standard one-door model for localities to follow.

$4.3 million grant for road maintenance management

Japanwill transfer technologies to help Vietnam enhance capacity in road maintenance management.

This is one of major content of the Technical Cooperation Project which will be signed in Hanoi on July 1 between Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam (DRVN).

The project for “Capacity Enhancement in Road Maintenance” has been formulated to help DRVN enhance its road maintenance capacity through the establishment of a modern information system to manage the national road network, which has now expanded over 16,758 kilometers.

“With the rapid growth of economy in Vietnam, the role and functions of the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam have become more and more important in underpinning the socio-economic growth” said Tsuno Motonori, chief representative of JICA in Vietnam.

“However, to date, much attention has been paid for road construction rather than for road maintenance with less investment in the institutional and technological development for the maintenance. Therefore, the project has been formulated to help the Directorate enhance its maintenance capacity.”

According to JICA experts, the new project does not focus on conventional road maintenance technologies such as road cleaning, road asphalting or water drainage but introduces the application new information technology on managing and monitoring the situation of the road system.

Based on the data input, the software system will analyse and give out assessment on current situation and level of damage of the road, on repair need at different level and estimated budget for road maintenance.

“The software we introduce uses new algorithm developed by experts from Kyoto University,” said Dr Phan Le Binh, JICA’s senior expert.

“In order to function, the new algorithm needs only 20 variables against 150 variables as requested by other similar software. Therefore, the project is highly practical and effective,” affirmed Binh.

Also within the project, the Directorate’s staffs will be transferred with skills and maintenance management technologies through on the job training courses.

The project will be carried out for 2.5 years, starting from middle 2011. The government of Japan provides 345 million JPY (around $4.3 million) as non-refundable aid to the project.

Foreign NGOs assist agriculture

Eleven international non-governmental organisations (NGO) financed almost $2.3 million for nine projects in the fields of agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and irrigation in the first six months of this year.

In a report to the Working Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations on June 27, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said that the projects include a $527,000 aid scheme of Chinfon Group on rural development in Ho Chi Minh City’s Cu Chi district from now until 2013.

The AECID from Spain funds a project on environmental management in aquaculture regions targeting the northern port city of Hai Phong and the Mekong Delta provinces of Bac Lieu, An Giang and Dong Thap.

People in several northern mountainous provinces are benefiting from a technology-transfer project funded by Borda, a German NGO.

In addition to financial assistance, the NGOs also provided support in training, transfer of experience and technology, and pilot models of production with the participation of the community, social and private organisations and governmental agencies.

The MARD proposed that the Committee helps seek for projects in irrigation, afforestation, building sustainable and environmentally-friendly models of agricultural development as well as improving rural people’s capacity to cope with climate change.

Textile cross stitch the industry

Scores of spinning and garment projects will boost local production.

This is the Nam Dan textile garment cluster project developed by Hanosimex in central Nghe An province capitalised around VND1.3 trillion ($62.8 million).

The project will be developed in two phases. Phase one involves three sub-projects valued at VND850 billion ($41 million). Sub-project one relates to building Nam Dan 1 spinning mill with 30,000 spindles producing PE yarn on Asian imported equipment and technology process worth VND350 billion ($17 million) in investment capital.

Sub-project two associates with infrastructure development servicing Hoang Thi Loan Textile Garment Joint Stock Company removal and building an open-end (OE) spinning mill at a cost of VND150 billion ($7.2 million).

Sub-project three involves building Nam Dan 2 spinning mill with 30,000 spindles producing T/C yarn at a cost of VND150 billion.

These three sub-projects were slated for completion in 2013. After that, Hanosimex will embark on phase two construction which involves building Nam Dan 3 spinning mill with 30,000 spindles producing T/C and quality TCD yarns and two knitwear production factories with an annual capacity of 2.4 million items at a cost of VND500 billion ($24 million).

A recently kicked-off $17 million material production project of Phong Phu Corporation’s Nha Trang Textile Garment Joint Stock Company was expected to bolster the textile-garment sector’s production capacity.

Slated for completion in late 2011, the 40,000 spindle mill would turn out quality PE, TA yarns and threat for fabric production serving home market and export demands, said the company’s chairman Tran Quang Nghi.

Hoa Tho Textile Garment Joint Stock Corporation just began the construction of the Hoa Tho suit production factory in Danang city’s Cam Le district, the first of its kind in the central region.

With an annual production capacity of 400,000 quality suits the $4.3 million project set to spend 70 per cent of its capital on purchasing cutting-edge equipment from world well-known manufacturers such as Rieter, Muratec and Jingwei.

Once completed in late 2011, the project would generate over $10 million in annual export value.

Vinatex deputy general director Tran Van Pho said businesses pumping capital into material and accessories production and turning out quality products had been wise decisions to help the garment sector better compete in the world market and develop in a sustainable manner.