Vietnam-Cambodia border gate opens to traffic

The Hoa Lu – Trapeang Sre border gate between Vietnam’s southern Binh Phuoc Province and Cambodia’s Trapeang Sre Province was opened to traffic yesterday, under the Road Transport Agreement between the two countries.

Bui Van Thach, deputy head of the provincial People’s Committee, said vehicles from Vietnam and Cambodia would no longer have to stop at the border for transshipment, but are now allowed to pass through the gate into each other’s territories.

This would help reduce transport cost and time, marking a new stage for the eco-social development and cultural exchange between the two countries, he said.

The connected traffic would enable Binh Phuoc to connect Ho Chi Minh City and the Central Highlands with the Cambodian provinces and other neighboring countries.

ATM network Smartlink includes 9 more banks

 9 domestic commercial banks have clinched deals to join ATM network Smartlink, raising the total number of connected banks to 29 nationwide.

The new members are Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB), Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB), Viet A Commercial JS Bank (VAB), Nam Viet Commercial JS Bank (Navibank-NVB), Vietnam Prosperity Commercial JS Bank (VPBank-VPB), Saigon-Hanoi Commercial JS Bank (SHB), HCMC Housing Development Commercial Joint Stock Bank (HDBank), BaoViet Commercial JS Bank (BaoVietBank) and Global Petroleum Commercial JS Bank (GPBank).

The new connection will enable domestic cardholders of the nine banks under Smartlink and members of the 2 organizations, BanknetVN and VNBC, to pay for goods and services at over 50,000 Point of Sale machines throughout the country.

Smartlink is one of the activities of the State Bank of Vietnam's POS system development program.

LienVietPostBank makes debut

LienViet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LienVietPostBank) made its debut in Hanoi on July 29, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

The bank is a joint venture between the Vietnam Post Corporation (VNPost) and Lien Viet Commercial Bank (LienVietBank).

Together with Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), LienVietPostBank has the largest network of more than 10,000 transaction points across the country.

VNPost’s capital in LienVietPostBank is valued at VND997 billion, equal to 14.999 percent of total shares.

All banking services such as cash saving, transfer and automatic deduction will be carried out at transaction points.

UNIDO helps Vietnam implement Stockholm Convention

The application of best available techniques (BAT) and the best environmental practices (BEP) to reduce the unintentional production of the persistent organic pollutants (POP) in Vietnam’s industrial sector was discussed at a seminar in the central coastal city of Da Nang, on July 29.

A two-year project on the theme was carried out with technical assistance from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) at a cost of US$800,000, provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Under the project, pilot projects were implemented in rubbish burning, cement and paper production and steel manufacture.

UNIDO’s technical assistance aims to develop essential human resources and infrastructure for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention to reduce and cut POP.

The project is combined with Vietnam’s national strategies to develop sustainable industry and clean production and improve people’s health and environment.

The two-day seminar was briefed on the results of the BAT and BET application in incinerators and cement kilns.

Participants also assessed the technology to clean up dioxin and studied the impact of the recycling of uncontrolled electronic waste on the environment and people’s health.

Japanese investment in Dong Nai encouraged

A conference on promoting Japan’s investment in southeastern Dong Nai province, particularly in hi-tech industry and agriculture, was held in Bien Hoa city on Friday.

Chairman of the Dong Nai People’s Committee Dinh Quoc Thai said the province would increase the number of its industrial zones from 30 covering 9,500 ha at present, to 34 covering an area of 11,380 ha.

In addition, Dong Nai is building the 500-ha Long Thanh hi-tech industrial zone, the 2,200-ha DOFICO industrial and agricultural complex, and the 209-ha Dong Nai biotechnology application centre, he said.

According to the chairman, almost 1,000 foreign-invested businesses from 35 countries and territories have invested more than US$19.4 billion in the province. Japan ranked third among investors in Dong Nai with 100 projects totalling $1.9 billion.

Dong Nai is using Japan’s ODA capital to implement the Ho Chi Minh-Long Thanh-Dau Giay highway project and the first phase of the Nhon Thach water supply system with a daily capacity of 100,000 cu.m.

Representatives from the Japanese Business Associations in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai highlighted the benefits of a transparent investment environment for foreign investors.

However, they said, the province’s electricity supply has failed to meet requirements and the current upgrade of a number of key roads affected the pace of the projects.

Provincial authorities committed to review investment policies and the environment for foreign investors.

On this occasion, the Dong Nai People’s Committee granted certificates of merit to 10 Japanese businesses, in recognition of their contributions to the province.

Jan-Jul telecom subscription growth slows down

Vietnamese network providers got 5.7 million new phone subscribers in the first seven months of this year, down 30.9 percent against the same period last year, said the General Statistical Office (GSO).

The new data, the slowest growth in the last several years, may due to stricter management of new pre-paid mobile phone subscriptions to reduce the number of unused SIM cards and unreal subscribers.

The total number of landline and mobile phone subscriptions was 36,400 and 5.7 million, down 76.2 percent and 30.1 percent year on year respectively.

But as of July 2011, the country has had about 128.1 million phone subscribers, rising 4.3 percent from the same period last year, including 15.5 million landline users and 112.6 million mobile phone subscribers, up 0.4 percent and 4.8 percent on year respectively.

Regarding internet subscription, the total number of broadband Internet users in Jan-July was estimated to reach four million subscribers, rising 19 percent from the same period last year and the total Internet users by the end of July reached 31.1 million, up 24 percent year on year, said GSO.

Total net revenue of post and telecommunications industry in Jan-July was estimated to reach VND84.1 trillion, a year-on-year rise of 18.9 percent.

Vietnam must reform its economy: expert

In an interview with Tuoi Tre, Doctor Nguyen Dinh Cung, deputy head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said Vietnam must reform its economy if it wants to develop further.

Cung said Vietnam’s sources for development for the last 25 years such as increased investment, cheap labor and natural resources are being used up.

“These sources can only help Vietnam reach its current level of development and we badly need an economic restructuring to develop further,” Cung said.

He said the National Assembly’s Economic Committee has asked the government to gradually reform the economy with such imperatives as boosting investment effectiveness and reforming state-owned enterprises.

Cung said using public investment effectively is particularly important.

“Since public spending always requires huge capital, a reform of it would help improve the business environment and economic effectiveness,” he said.

“The government should not invest in unnecessary and ineffective projects.”

Cung said public enterprises are under no pressure to compete as they have been receiving too many special treatments from the government.

Public enterprises should thus be taken out of the government’s protection to face business risks and challenges as every private business has to, he said.

“A fair and equal government treatment means state-owned businesses can also go bankrupt like private enterprises, instead of being ‘rescued’ by the government whenever they are in trouble,” Cung said.

A reform of public enterprises would also give the private sector more chances to develop, as state-own enterprises have been using up most of the country’s natural resources and business opportunities.

He also urged the government to set economic reform as its top goal in the next five years and choose capable people to manage its reform work.

“The Economic Committee, or another government agency that has adequate authorization, would operate, manage and evaluate the reforming process, to make sure we’re following the right track,” he said.

Competition for produce heats up at border
 
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has ordered border provinces to report on any difficulties that food wholesalers have had in purchasing agricultural produce, following reports that Chinese traders are buying up substantial quantities of meat, seafood, eggs and other products.

However, it was difficult to confirm the rumours since no official statistics were yet available on the number of Chinese traders active in these areas, or on the volumes of Vietnamese agricultural products they were purchasing, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan.

Nong Quang Tam, deputy head of the check-point at the Huu Nghi International Border Gate in the northern province of Lang Son, said over 1,000 Chinese nationals had been permitted to enter Viet Nam via the border gate, with about half declaring commercial purposes.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said that it was normal and lawful for Chinese traders to do business in these areas.

However, Vietnamese traders have complained that Chinese traders were competing with them to buy products and then shipping them back across the border without paying export taxes.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa said the law limited foreign traders who purchase local goods for export to one of four classes.

The first was foreign traders without a commercial presence in Viet Nam who had a right to export goods under Government Decree 90/2007/ND-CP. These foreign traders were required to obtain certificates that they had registered export and import rights to buy Vietnamese goods for export from registered Vietnamese traders.

The second were foreign traders with a commercial presence in Viet Nam and export rights under Decree No 23/2007/ND-CP. They would have a right to purchase goods in Viet Nam for export, and would be named in the customs declaration as the exporter.

The third were the representative offices of foreign traders which were allowed to oversee the execution of export contracts signed with Vietnamese partners as stipulated in Decree No 72/2006/ND-CP.

And the fourth was foreign traders undertaking normal market research. According to regulations, after researching the market, foreign traders would have permission to sign contracts with Viet Nam's partners to purchase and export goods.

Traders in these four classes who violated regulations while purchasing goods in Viet Nam would be fined, Thoa said, reiterating that all exports via border gates were subject to export taxes and fees as regulated. Only individuals bringing a limited quantity of goods across the border were exempt from these taxes, she said.

The ministry would investigate allegations that Chinese traders were exporting via border gates without paying export taxes and would fine violators, Thoa said.

Exporters seek Japan toehold
 
Exports to Japan have surged after the recent disasters but businesses are finding it difficult to enter the market.

Cao Tien Vi, chairman of the Sai Gon Paper Corporation, said quality was always a priority for the Japanese. They were willing to negotiate on prices but never on quality.

Vi said Japanese importers would refuse to accept a whole shipment if one unit had the smallest mistake.

Vietnamese businesses needed to focus on quality to win trust from Japanese partners, he said.

The HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) agreed, saying the presence of Vietnamese products in Tokyo supermarkets was still limited.

Vietnamese enterprises did not really understand the Japanese market, the centre said, adding that it expected to boost trade promotion and to help the processed food and handicraft sectors enter the Japanese market.

HCM City-based software company Greensun Asoft chairman Nguyen Minh Viet said his company had received a large number of orders from Japan since early June and that his company's growth would treble year on year.

Sai Gon Food deputy director Le Thi Thanh Lam said exports to Japan were up 10 per cent in the last four months compared with the same period last year.

Seventy per cent of the company's products, 350 tonnes of seafood, were annually exported to Japan, earning US$1 million, Lam said.

Besides seafood, other commodities including textile and garments, wood products, power cables, equipment and machinery, rice and crude oil have also been exported to Japan.

Export turnover of the textile and garment sector rose by 20 per cent thanks to the positive impacts of the Japan-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.

In recent years, textile exports to Japan increased 12 per cent on average.

Foreign companies under scrutiny
 
The HCM City Tax Department said its efforts to crack down on transfer price abuse by foreign-invested firms have proved successful, with tax revenues in the first seven months increasing by 22 per cent.

It joined battle two years ago with foreign-invested firms that under-reported profits or claimed losses by manipulating transfer pricing and they have begun to take it seriously, it said.

Nguyen Trong Hanh, deputy head of the department, told Tuoi Tre newspaper that the number of foreign-invested firms that had claimed losses for several years but have recently reported profits increased by 8 per cent.

Last year, for instance, 60 per cent of foreign companies in the city reported losses while Vietnamese firms of the same size in their industry were profitable both at home and abroad.

Many achieved this by importing machinery and goods from their parent companies abroad and fraudulently invoicing them at high prices and under-invoicing products they sold to their parents.

But the department was hamstrung because there were a huge number of firms in the city but limited personnel.

In Tan Binh District, for instance, the department had to monitor 14,000 firms with just 40 officials, he complained.

In 2009 and early 2010, the department investigated 40 firms on suspicion of pricing-transfer abuse. Since then, they had been reporting profits.

One of them even reported a profit of VND100 billion (US$4.8 million).

The department had its sights on large foreign-invested firms from South Korea, Japan, mainland China and others.

Recently many cases of abuse had been discovered around the country and punished.Officials admit that the practice continues because of the country's inadequate legal framework.

Real estate floors to go under microscope

The Ministry of Construction (MoC) in co-operation with city and provincial authorities will inspect all real estate trading floors to make sure trading and brokerage operations are in good order, Pham Gia Yen, chief ministry inspector, has said.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said drastic action was necessary because of a recent series of violations involving real estate trading and brokerage activities.

In the first half of the year, the ministry inspected 128 real estate trading floors in Ha Noi and HCM City.

It found many violations in the setting up of the trading floors and their operations. Several floors were found not to have enough staff equipped with certificates of property brokerage and appraisal.

Some housing developers distorted the amounts of capital they had to carry out projects.

The ministry also found several cases of speculation on low-income apartments, loans with exorbitant interest rates and customers defrauded of their properties.

It will impose total fines of VND1.62 billion (US$78,640) on 20 violations.

However, experts said that the punishment was too light because the benefits from illegal activities were huge.

Ministry considers reduction in land-use fees for struggling firms

To help businesses cope with the adverse economic situation, the Ministry of Finance is planning to reduce land rents for production firms who suffered steep rental hikes following recent changes in a decree.

If the proposal is approved by the Government, the businesses, who are now paying 10-30 times more than they did before the hikes, would get 30-50 per cent rental cuts this year and next, Vietnam Economic Times newspaper reported.

Trading and service firms would not be considered, the report said.

The ministry explained that the cut was to help them at a time when the economic situation was difficult and bank interest rates were very high.

With more businesses likely to see their rents hiked this year and next, they will also benefit from the subsidy.

The Vietnam Economic Times quoted Pham Manh Cuong, head of ministry's Department of Public Property Management, as saying more than 300,000 businesses operated on public land but paid a mere VND3 trillion (US$145 million) in rent, or 8 per cent of total Government revenue.

"That is why many of the businesses use the land for wrong purposes. Worse still, many businesses sub-lease the land to others to earn a profit."

Many businesses have complained about the steep increase effected this year.

But Cuong pointed out they had been paying the same low rents for 20 years and that the rents should have been increased every five years.

The ministry's plan also includes rent ceilings for localities to apply but it has yet to disclose them.

Foreign businesses do not have to pay rent advances.

But under decrees 121 and 120, another on the same subject – foreign-invested and domestic businesses are supposed to receive equal treatment.

Firms flout disclosure deadline
 
Only about 210 of the 682 companies on the nation's two stock exchanges have released their earnings reports for the second quarter, in accordance with the July 25 deadline mandated by law. In other words, about 70 per cent of the companies remained out of compliance with disclosure regulations.

Among the leading firms that were late in issuing earnings reports were real estate developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG), Phu My Fertilisers (DPM) and commercial bakery Kinh Do (KDC).

"A lack of time" was a common excuse for late reports, said Binh Chanh Construction Investment Co (BCI) deputy director Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa in an interview with Dau tu Chung khoan (Securities Investment).

Twenty-five days to complete financial reports was pretty tough for businesses, Thoa said.

"A completed financial statement has to come through many stages," agreed Nguyen Thanh Son, deputy director of Sacombank's real estate arm Sacomreal (SCR). "Auditing review alone would take around a week."

Thoa also suggested that it was difficult to collect data in large-scale enterprises, as the parent companies might have standardised procedures and experienced accountants not available to the subsidiaries. A parent company could not easily intervene in a subsidiary in which it held only a minority interest, she said.

However, Le Dat Chi from the HCM City University of Economics said that policymakers had thoroughly considered the appropriate time frame.

"The excuses about a lack of technology or resources are not convincing," Chi said. "Technical expertise in these companies has improved over time, helping make the process of accumulating and publishing financial statements go more smoothly."

Businesses also couldn't blame auditors, Chi said. In fact, only 10 per cent of the second-quarter financial statements submitted to the HCM City Stock Exchange had been audited.

The real reason for the lateness of reports was probably that enterprises were considering how to deal with a potential market backlash from disappointing figures, he added. Sanctions imposed on late financial statements were also not rigorous enough, nor were they strictly applied. So far, no listed companies have been fined for late disclosures.

Among major companies that have posted business results for the first six months of this year, many have earned high profits – all higher than in the same period last year – including Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB), Sacombank (STB), Eximbank (EIB), steelmaker Hoa Phat (HPG) and Vinamilk (VNM).

However, insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) saw a plunge of 21.6 per cent in its first-half earnings against the same period last year, posting a profit of just VND395 billion (US$19.2 million).

China pays slighty lower latex price

The price of natural rubber exported to mainland China has decreased by roughly 1,000 yuan (US$ 155) to 31,000 yuan ($4812) per tonne against early July, according to the Viet Nam Rubber Association.

The decrease has been attributed to an excess supply of rubber at Viet Nam-China border areas and Viet Nam having increased its shipments to China as prices hit 32,000 yuan ($4967).

Exports to Argentina soar

Export activities between Viet Nam and Argentina increased 3.4 folds during the past five years, according to General Department of Customs statistics.

Exports last year recorded revenues of US$917 million compared to only $271.6 million in 2006.

During the first six months of this year, footwear and textile sectors experienced growth rates of more than 100 per cent, earning the country nearly $36 million.

Techcombank wins Bank of the Year

Techcombank has been awarded the Viet Nam Retail Bank of the Year prize from the Asian Banking and Finance magazine.

At the end of May, bank assets totalled VND175 trillion (US$8.5 billion). With nearly 300 branches nationwide, Techcombank provides services to almost 2 million individual customers and 60,000 firms.

Seven new industrial parks open

The Prime Minister has allowed the southern province of Long An to upgrade seven of its industrial zones in order to attract more investors.

Among the seven industrial zones, Hai Son is the largest, covering an area of 366ha, nearly 5 times bigger than the smallest one. Long An Province has 30 industrial zones covering around 10,847ha.

City wants to develop retail sector

The HCM City People's Committee has asked the municipal Department of Industry and Trade to work closely with departments and agencies to speed up construction of traditional markets, supermarkets and commercial centres.

Under the city's 2009-15 plan on traditional markets, new traditional markets will be built in outlying districts and not in the city centre.

Traditional markets built without a licence will be stamped out, while old ones will be upgraded. The city has offered preferential policies on land and infrastructure to encourage enterprises to participate in building, repairing and managing traditional markets, supermarkets and commercial centres.

By 2015, it targets having 233 traditional markets, 204 supermarkets and 193 commercial centres. — VNS

Sacomreal forms useful partnerships

Property developing firm Sacomreal has signed co-operation agreements with eight companies operating in steel production, construction, design, trading and other areas to facilitate work on its projects.

Pomina Steel, Dong Tam, Phan Vu Construction, DP Consulting and four other companies, would provide Sacomreal with products and services at the most reasonable prices and make timely deliveries, officials said.

The products and services will meet Japan Industrial Standards as well as the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 quality and environment management system standards.

New investment centre in HCM City

VinaLiving, owned by the VinaCapital group, opened a property centre in HCM City last week.

The centre will assist customers in making direct investments in VinaLiving's property projects.

Current VinaLiving projects include the Dai Phuoc Lotus, Norman Estates, Sen Phuong Nam, Ocean Villas and the Vina Square.

Ha Noi plans industry forum in August

A real estate forum will be held in Ha Noi late next month to deal with current problems experienced by the construction and real estate industries.

The event is expected to attract 500 domestic and foreign attendees including big name real estate players such as Savills Viet Nam, Vinacapital Viet Nam, CBRE Viet Nam, Cushman & Wakefield, Knight Frank Viet Nam and Colliers International Viet Nam.

Ministry mulls slapping car users two new fees

The Ministry of Transport is seeking government approval to charge car owners four different types of fees including two new ones: fee to use roads and surcharge fee on fuel.

Currently, car owners are being imposed toll fees and fuel fees which experts say are very similar to the “surcharge fee on fuel” that has just been proposed.

The proposal was made by the transport ministry’s Directorate for Roads of Vietnam (DRV) which suggested the “fee to use roads” at VND180,000 (US$9) for every car per month.

DRV also proposed the “surcharge fee on fuel” to stand at VND1,000 and VND330 on every liter of gasoline and diesel that car users buy respectively.

With this fund, DRV suggested eliminating all toll booths across the country, except for around 40 toll stations under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts.

DRV has also proposed setting up a road maintenance fund which needs around VND12.2 trillion (US$610 million) per year. It expects to collect VND4.467 trillion from the newly-proposed fees to use roads.

Around VND5.765 trillion expected to be generated from the “surcharge fee on fuel” is also to be channeled towards this fund.

The government might have to support about VND1.968 trillion to add up.

DRV said this method is more effective than the current fee collection via toll booths.

But it also admitted a drawback in that there are sectors and industries that use fuel for purposes other than for travel, thus it would be unreasonable for them to pay this “fuel fee” which will serve road maintenance purposes.

Nguyen Manh Hung, chairman of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, said “Besides the monthly road use fee and the fuel surcharge, cars have to pay toll fees from the 40 BOT booths that will still be in operation,”

“With cars and buses paying these fees, transport cost would soar”, Hung complained.

“The government is currently collecting a fuel fee of VND1,000 and VND500 per liter on gasoline and diesel… If the road maintenance fund is sourced from the [new] fuel surcharge, consumers would have to pay one more fuel fee” the head of a transport company lamented.

PetroVietnam pumps first oil from Russian field

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and its partner OAO Zarubeznhetf, a member of the Rusvietpetro joint venture company, have pumped the first oil from the Visovol oil field in the Nenets autonomous region of Russia.

The Visovol oil field is located in Lot 2 of four lots of an oil and gas exploration and exploitation project in Nenets.

The first oil field in the project, North-Khosedau ( Lot 1) began production on September 9, last year.

After about 10 months of construction, the Visovol oil field began its exploitation phase on July 29, bringing the project’s total output to 6,000 tonnes or 44,000 barrels a day.

In 2011, Rusvietpetro is expected to extract 1.51 million tonnes of crude oil or 11 million barrels, worth 1.1 billion USD.

HAG likely to receive $120 mln in foreign investment

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group Joint Stock Co (HAG) is negotiating with two partners from Europe and the Middle East for investment through the purchase of $120 million worth of HAG convertible bonds.

They are expecting to buy $60 million HAG convertible bonds each, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon newspaper reported.

Though HAG's chairman Doan Nguyen Duc refused to give specific names of the two investors, as well as the scheduled time for the upcoming convertible bond issuance, he said the investors would have the right to swap those five-year bonds to hold stock of HAG Rubber Corp when it makes Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2015.

HAG Group has recently received about $55 million from the issuance of convertible bonds of HAG Rubber Corp for Singapore-based Temasek Holdings.

So far, HAG has raised about $260 million via bonds issuance to foreign investors, including $90 million from the bond issuance in the Singapore market.

It will invest the money raised from foreign markets in hydropower and rubber projects in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Together with rubber and hydropower, HAG has also established three subsidiaries specializing in the field of mineral, real estate and wood and stone manufacturing.

HAG plans to complete 51,000 ha rubber plantation and hydro power projects with a total capacity of 420 MW by the end of 2012, Duc said.

Academic calls for banking industry reforms

The Vietnamese banking sector needs to be reformed, Dr Huynh The Du, a lecturer affiliated to the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program, has told Tuoi Tre.

Many commercial banks were small and handicapped by poor management and shallow pockets, and could not compete with foreign banks.

“We should set higher operating standards to eliminate unqualified commercial banks and financial institutions.”

Those banks that failed to meet the standards should be restricted to operating on regional or district levels.

“While there are many small banks in Vietnam, there is a lack of banks to provide microfinance to the poor.”

The financial sector was supervised by as many as four government agencies.
The State Bank of Vietnam oversaw banks, the State Securities Commission (SSC) of Vietnam monitored the stock market, the Ministry of Finance managed the insurance sector, and the National Financial Supervisory Committee seemed to consult more than supervise the financial sector.

“This is inappropriate since all of these sectors are included in the operations of commercial banks.”

The National Financial Supervisory Committee should be made the sole financial supervisor while the central bank should be an independent agency playing.

“The central bank will not be responsible for growth targets but only focus on the monetary economy. The government will focus on the economy, boosting production and creating more jobs.”

Asus kicks off expo in town, lures thousands

Taiwanese electronics firm Asus today launched the ASUS Expo 2011 in Nguyen Du Sports Hall in Ho Chi Minh City to promote its own electronic devices in an effort to gain a bigger share in Vietnam.

The annual event, the 3rd of its kind, showcased Asus’ latest high-end gadgets including K series, U/UX/bamboo, N/NX/N-Jay, VX series laptops, Asus EeePad Slider and Transformer tablets, Asus mainboards and graphics cards, LCD monitors, and gaming-multimedia entertainment solutions.

It has attracted thousands of high-tech enthusiasts comprising of over 4,000 registering online and over 1,000 registering via social network Facebook for lucky draws for high-end device prizes including N43 and Eee PC R101D laptops.

The organizer is expected to lure over 10,000 participants to the event in HCMC, tripling last year’s figures.

The same event will be held in the capital city of Hanoi next Friday.

Asus Vietnam said over 1,500 Asus EeePad Transformer tablets had been sold out in Vietnam since June 19.

So, it is pinning high hope on the Asus EeePad Slider tablet which will be on sale soon in Vietnam.

Asus vice chair Eric Chen early this year told the press that the group was targeting to be among the world’s top 3 laptop brands in the next 3 years.

Vietnamese goods strengthen appeal
 
Better product design and quality at a lower price with a better after-sales service are required to make domestic goods more appealing to Vietnamese consumers, a conference in Ha Noi heard late last week.

At the event, aimed at promoting Vietnamese-made products, Nguyen Minh Phong, head of the economics department at the Ha Noi Institute for Social Development Studies, also said a better distribution network was needed to reach customers in rural areas.

Phong added that the customer's interests should be paramount.

Nguyen Bich Hoan, from Trung Thanh Limited Company, suggested manufacturers employ consultants from respected distribution companies to help firms enhance their profile and reputation in the face of foreign competition.

Better quality was also vital to attracting consumers, she said.

Dinh Thi My Loan, vice chairwoman of the Viet Nam Retailers Association, said domestic consumers needed to know more about Vietnamese products.

In addition to drawing up strategies to better advertise products, producers should also concentrate on after-sales services, Loan said.

Two years after the Government launched the "Vietnamese Use Vietnamese Goods" campaign, consumers had a better view of locally made products, the conference heard.

A recent survey conducted by the Institute for Public Opinion, under the Party Central Committee's Commission for Publicity and Education, revealed that 59 per cent of customers surveyed would buy Vietnamese goods. Meanwhile, 38 per cent said they would encourage relatives and friends to use domestically made products, while 36 per cent who used to buy just foreign-made goods said they would buy more Vietnamese products.

The most popular Vietnamese products were textiles and garments, footwear, foodstuffs, fruit and vegetables, household appliances and home decorations, the survey showed.

Another survey by global market research company Nielsen also showed encouraging results.

Its Vietnamese Goods Trend Survey found that 83 per cent of consumers in HCM City and 95 per cent in Ha Noi were aware of the buy-Vietnamese campaign launched in 2009.

The campaign has had some impact on the purchasing behaviour of consumers in the two cities, with 62 per cent of HCM City residents and 49 per cent of Hanoians saying they would probably purchase more Vietnamese goods.

US debt deal drags gold down
 
The domestic gold price retreated to VND39.91 million (US$1,935.96) per tael for the first time in over two weeks yesterday due to a debt ceiling increase and federal deficit cut in the US.

Sai Gon Jewellery, Bao Tin Minh Chau, Agribank Gold, the Jewellery Co (AJC), the Sacombank Jewellery Co, the Phu Nhuan Jewellery Co and Doji quoted prices of VND39.86-39.91 million per tael (one tael is equal to 1.2 ounces).

The gold price jumped to an all-time high of VND40.18 million per tael on July 30 as the global price surged to create an investment haven. Since the beginning of the year, the domestic gold price has surged by 17 per cent.

Nguyen Huu Dang, an AJC senior official, told the Viet Nam News that, while the domestic price increase had followed a global price boosted by the US debt limit, the clinched deal had stopped the surge.

Spot gold, which reached a lifetime record of $1,637 on July 30, yesterday lost 1.3 per cent to $1,607.45 an ounce. Spot gold had increased by 8.5 per cent last month on the back of concerns that the sovereign-debt crises in the US and Europe might derail global economic recovery.

"The market will wait until Wednesday this week before saying anything about the movements of gold," Tran Quoc Quynh, from the Viet Nam Gold Traders Association, said.

Dang predicted that on Wednesday, the gold price would drop a little more before bouncing back to a new record high.

"Many countries are trying to purchase bullions, so there is no reason for gold to lose its value," Dang said.

Thai rice dealers warn against gov't price hike
 
Thai rice exporters are looking for alternative sources of supply in Viet Nam and Cambodia in case the new government makes prices too high for export.

The Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA) has been crying foul about the newly-elected Pheu Thai's announced policy to allow farmers to mortgage their entire harvest for 15,000 baht (US$500) a tonne for white rice and 20,000 baht ($660) for fragrant, or hom mali, rice, the English-language Bangkok Post newspaper reported.

The association's vice president, Charoen Laothamatas, said if the mortgage programme was revived, the free-on-board price of hom mali would reach US$1,400 per tonne, even higher than the price of Indian basmati, currently the most expensive rice in the world.

"œIf Thai exporters cannot buy such expensive rice for export, they may opt for much cheaper rice from Viet Nam, Cambodia, or Burma as they must maintain their market bases and customers," Charoen was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

"With the ASEAN Free-Trade Agreement, such an alternative would be possible."

Some rice exporters and millers had already established trading firms or representative offices in Cambodia and Viet Nam to buy rice, TREA said.

"We have to accept that Viet Nam's rice quality has improved a lot," Charoen said.

Viet Nam's fragrant rice sold at $650 per tonne, $400 to $500 cheaper than Thai hom mali rice and $150 to $200 lower than pathum thani rice, he said.

Competition from Viet Nam had resulted in hom mali's share of traditional markets such as Hong Kong dropping from 85 per cent to just 50 per cent, he said.

Vietnamese fragrant rice had grabbed a 35 per cent share in Hong Kong and 20 per cent in Singapore, he added.

Thailand is at a disadvantage in terms of logistics, since the cost for shipping a 20-foot container to the US is between $1,700 to $1,800 from Thailand but only $1,350 from Viet Nam.

Rice exports shipping to China cost $320 compared to $100 for Viet Nam.

The Honorary President of TREA, Chookiat Ophaswongse, warned Thailand's rice exports could fall to half if the government had no measures to assist exporters.

"The government must support exporters by offering the government's stockpile at special prices or open bidding for the stocks rather than asking only some exporters to bid," he told Bangkok Post.

Thailand exported 6.3 million tonnes of rice in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 58.3 per cent.

It targets whole-year exports of 10 million tonnes.

Prices of rice increased sharply over several weeks due to a surge in the world market's demand for rice, according to the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA).

Across the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta in Viet Nam, paddy prices rose by VND200-300 per kilogramme even though the harvest of the summer-autumn rice crop is in full swing.

Purchasing price of material rice last Friday jumped to VND8,600-8,700 per kilo for five-per cent-broken rice, and to VND8,45-8,500 per kilo for 25-per cent-broken rice, against the previous week.

Price of finished rice also climbed by the same rate, VND300 per kilo to VND10,150 per kilo for five-per cent-broken rice, VND9,850-VND9,950 per kilo for 15-per cent-broken rice, and VND9,350-VND9,450 per kilo for 25-per cent broken rice.

The association said the increase of the domestic rice prices was due to a promotion of purchasing rice for previously signed export contracts of local rice exporters.

The Viet Nam Food Association said prices went up since July 11, when it suspended plans to buy 1 million tonnes of rice for the national reserve.

It attributed this to the inking of new contracts for exports to Asian countries.

"We are informed that Thai exporters have unveiled plans to purchase rice from Viet Nam," Duong Nghia Quoc, director of the Mekong Delta Dong Thap Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, told Viet Nam News yesterday.

"However, so far no rice purchase contract has been signed between Thai traders and Vietnamese exporters in Dong Thap."

Mekong Delta farmers have harvested less than half of the 1.62 million ha they planted for the summer-autumn crop and hope to complete their harvest by early September, according to a meeting held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Can Tho last week.

Exporters have signed contracts to ship 1.3 million tonnes in the third quarter.

In the second half Viet Nam is set to export around 3.2 million tonnes, taking total export of the grain this year to 7 – 7.4 million tonnes.