Local bidders want change as foreigners often win

Local bidders are calling for the removal of the lowest-cost bidding criteria to prevent foreign contractors, especially the Chinese, from winning bids for most of the projects by offering extremely low prices while failing to ensure the quality of their construction work.

At the conference held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to deliberate possible revision and amendment to the bidding law, Doctor Vu Gia Quynh, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractor (VACC), said there was almost no local contractor who could outbid the Chinese.

“And the price we pay for this is so many poor-quality construction projects,” he said, adding the law should be carefully revised.

Nguyen Quoc Hiep, general director of the Global Petro Invest Corporation, said Vietnamese contractors had little chance of winning bids for projects financed by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank or ODA funds.

Moreover, he added, the Chinese bidders even dominated projects funded by local investors or the state budget in the cement, power and bauxite sectors.

He pointed to most investors’ selection of the contractors on the basis of pricing criteria as the main cause of this.

“They do not care about the origins of the equipment and machinery,” he said.

“The law should be fixed to prevent the Chinese contractors from manipulating the domestically-funded projects by slashing their prices and bidding at extremely low prices.”

Pham Sy Liem, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Construction Association, quoted a Chinese survey on Vietnam’s construction market as saying that Vietnam spent around US$10 billion of public expenditure on infrastructure construction and any projects worth more than $250,000 in investment are required to choose the contractors through the bidding process.

“This enables many foreign contractors to bid in all projects and in all sectors, including projects to build the people’s committee headquarters.

“But with the selection criteria being set up in such a way that only foreign contractors can meet, local bidders have practically been excluded from these projects,” he said.

Phan Vu Anh, head of the legislation of Vinaconex Corporation, suggested that the bidding law must require the foreign contractors to cooperate with their local counterparts.

“The law should also impose strict penalties on any fraudulence in bidding,” he added.

Vietcombank ratings unaffected after Mizuho’s acquisition: S&P

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that its ratings – BB-/Negative/B – on Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) are unchanged following the bank's capital and business alliance with Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd.

“We believe that, while the capital infusion will provide immediate capital strengthening, the bank will continue to require more capital to support its high growth in loans,” according to Reuters.

“The alliance could also provide Vietcombank with an enhanced products and services offering, and accelerate the alignment of the bank's risk management system and processes with international best practices.”

“However, in our opinion, the alliance may face some difficulty in execution, given the difference in risk culture and operating norms in the two organizations.”

As part of the alliance, MCB will subscribe to 15 percent of Vietcombank's shares through a private placement of equity.

The alliance will also involve provision of technical support, mutual cooperation, and opportunities for business partnerships with all Mizuho Financial Group companies.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and the capital infusion is likely by the first quarter of 2012.

Fruit prices slump on big harvest, again

To many farmers in the Mekong Delta region, the bumper fruit harvest this year just means massive losses since prices have dropped by more than a half after foreign importers stopped buying them.

In Ben Tre Province’s Cho Lach District, the Mekong Delta’s fruit basket, most farmers are unhappy with their bountiful rambutan, dragon fruit, and coconut crops.

Le Van Hieu of Vinh Binh Commune said his three-hectare rambutan crop is ready for harvest but he was unable to find a trader willing to pay an acceptable price.

One trader had recently offered VND1,700 (US$0.08) a kilogram, a rate at which he said he would make a big loss.

“The daily wage for a laborer to pick the fruit is VND160,000 and a person can pick 150 kilograms a day at most.

“How could I make profit with the VND95,000 left?”

From the 12 tons of rambutan he would harvest he would earn VND8 million, while his expenses had been as much as VND20 million, he said.

Nguyen Van Sam of Vinh Thanh Commune was forced to sell his 80 tons of rambutan at just VND1,800 a kilogram.

Worse, with the trader buying only two tons a day, it would take him 40 days to sell his crop which would rot within 10 days, he said.

A fruit wholesaler in Cho Lach said rambutan had been exported mostly to Cambodia and China, but these two countries had recently stopped buying.

With prices slumping to just VND3,000 a kilogram, blue dragon is sharing the same fate.

Huynh Hong An, chairman of the Tien Giang Province-based Cho Gao blue dragon cooperative, said farmers were incurring huge losses since they could only break even at around VND5,500 a kilogram.

Many farmers now used the fruit as fertilizer, he added.

Coconut prices have plunged to VND30,000-40,000 a dozen, down by half from a few months ago.

“Traders said prices have fallen since people drink less coconut water during the rainy season and demand in the north has also slumped,” Tam, a farmer in Ben Tre, said.

Traders said fruit farmers and prices are heavily dependent on the Chinese market.

Nguyen Xuan Huy, director of the Tien Giang-based Long Giang Agriculture Food Processing Co, said Chinese traders were not buying Vietnamese rambutan and blue dragon.

“Many trucks carrying these fruits have even crossed over the border but [they] still refuse to buy.”

Nguyen Thi Hong Thu, director of the Ben Tre-based Chanh Thu Food Import Export Co, said amid the bumper harvest, demand in major domestic markets like Hanoi and the central region had also remained unchanged.

But she said the fall in prices during times of big harvests was not a new phenomenon.

Most farmers grow crops without any direction from authorities.

“They rushed to grow rambutan and blue dragon a few years ago when prices were high, resulting in this surplus,” she said.

Bui Thanh Liem, head of the Cho Lach Agriculture and Rural Development Office, said some farmers did not have any information about the market.

“They need a market research agency to guide them.”

175 outstanding entrepreneurs and businesses honoured

175 outstanding entrepreneurs and businesses were honoured at the Vietnamese Entrepreneur Festival 2011, which was held on October 1 at the Muine Bay Resort in Phan Thiet city in the southern province of Binh Thuan.

Enterprises in the fields of real estate, hotel, restaurant, medical treatment and healthcare services were recognized for overcoming the challenges of the global economic downturn to develop strongly and make significant contributions to national socio-economic development and social welfare.

The event, organized by Cong Thuong (Trade and Industry) newspaper under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, aimed to celebrate Vietnam Entrepreneur’s Day (October 13).   

The festival drew the participation of press agencies and nearly 200 entrepreneurs and businesses from across the country.

Phu Yen cooperates with Japanese firms in tuna processing

A joint venture between Vinh Sam company in Phu Yen province and five Japanese firms will be established this month to process tuna for export.

The joint venture will have a charter capital of US$2 million, and is expected to process 2,000-3,000 tonnes of tuna each year.

The Japanese side will send a refrigerated vessel to Vietnam to process and preserve tuna free of charge in the first two years.

Currently, the price of tuna hovers somewhere between US$12-20/kg, providing a great source of income for local fishermen.

VND100 billion to build Quang Ngai trade centre

A ground-breaking ceremony took place in central Quang Ngai province on October 2 for construction of a trade centre at an estimated cost of VND100 billion.

The three-storey building will cover an area of more than 21,300 square metres with 70 kiosks and 1,000 shops, generating jobs for more than 1,100 local households.

The project is scheduled to be completed and put into operation in November 2013.

HCM City leaders meet with young businesspeople

Leaders from Ho Chi Minh City held a meeting with more than 100 young businesspeople on October 1.

Despite facing a number of difficulties, Ho Chi Minh City still achieved a growth rate of 10 percent, thanks to efforts to contain inflation, stabilise the macro-economy and ensure socio-welfare.

Young businesspeople contributed to these achievements, city leaders said.

At the meeting, they pointed out obstacles and difficulties, such as the high cost of input materials, high interest rates, cumbersome procedures and the lack of labour forces, and urged the leaders to find solutions for them.

The city leaders expressed their hope that young businesspeople will continue to contribute to the city’s economic development and promised to do their best to deal with obstacles in the future.

Le Manh Ha, Vice Chairman of the City People’s Committee, said the city has devised some measures to help promote and develop business

Taiwanese ICT makers keen on VN market

Taiwan considers Vietnam an important market in Asia for its technological products, said Deputy Chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council Wayne W. Wu.

At a forum on Taiwanese brand names of information technology and communication (ICT) in Hanoi on Sept. 29, Wayne affirmed that Vietnam’s ICT sector has conditions to develop thanks to a large population and consumers’ interest in hi-tech products. Those are opportunities for domestic and foreign enterprises to invest in the upstart market.

Many of Taiwan’s leading ICT brand names have been in Vietnam like Acer, ZyXEL, HTC, Transcend, D-Link and MSI.

According to IDG Vietnam regional director Truong Van Anh, Vietnamese people are fond of world popular technological products like Apple computers, mobilephones of Iphone, HTC, Blackberry and cameras by Cannon and Nikon.

A recent survey conducted by IDG Vietnam showed a growing trend towards high-tech products.

However, reasonable price is still the key factor for local consumers in making decision of purchase due to economic conditions.

Firm caught red handed

A big Japanese-backed firm has been hit by giant tax in arrears bills twice due to trade fraud.

Sanyo Ha Asean (SHA), which produces washing machine, refrigerators and air-conditioners, was said by Dong Nai province’s Customs Agency to have to pay VND7.2 billion ($360,000) in tax in arrears for its air-conditioner component packages imported from March to July, last year. So far, SHA has yet to pay back this sum.

The firm, which was unavailable for comment when contacted by VIR, was reported by the agency to have another electrics firm, namely Gree Vietnam, disassemble completely-built air-conditioners into separate components outside Vietnam and then import them into the country via Binh Duong and Dong Nai customs offices. Gree Vietnam then resold the components to SHA.

A Dong Nai Customs Agency official explained to VIR that separated components were subject to much lower import tax rates than completely-built units.

This is not the first time SHA has reportedly resorted to trade fraud. Between 2007-2008, this firm was discovered to have incorrectly declared tax codes for its sets of imported air-conditioner components.

Specifically, the firm must imported sets of components into Vietnam and then reassembled them into completely-built air-conditioners. However, it disassembled the sets into separated components and then imported into Vietnam via Dong Nai’s customs office in different points of time. However, the firm’s actions were detected and it was forced to pay tax in arrears worth total VND66.9 billion ($3.345 million). SHA already paid the sum.

The Ministry of Finance said the firm had not yet fully understood Vietnamese law. However, the customs official said: “It is the firm’s importing separate components into Vietnam to enjoy low tax rates that has reflected a fact that the firm has studied the country’s tax law very carefully.”

He said the firm should be imposed a heavy penalty.

He added that there had been some other cases similar to SHA’s in Dong Nai. All were foreign invested enterprises.

An industry insider told VIR: “The firm’s action is definitely wrong. When doing business, one should follow the market’s regulations, even if the regulations are tough. Doing business also means that we have to pay taxes. Why did the company try to violate the regulations? The answer is that such trade frauds can bring more profits.”

Garment makers face slowdown

The garment industry may well face slow development despite experiencing export growth of 28 per cent in the first nine months of this year, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

Textile and garment exports, one of Vietnam's biggest hard-currency earners, could reduce significantly due to the economic downturn in the US and Europe, the industry association has warned.

The VITAS said orders from the two markets for the next months were already 10 per cent down.

An apparel firm executive said usually his company received plenty of orders in the three last months and first two months of a year. But this year it did not have enough orders even for December, he said.

VITAS chairman Vu Duc Giang said the American market was Vietnam's biggest and it is now expected to face many risks possibly due to that government's monetary tightening policy.

The economic meltdown taking place in some European countries in recent years had also affected Vietnamese apparel exports, he said.

Jackets were the most affected items, with many firms seeing orders plunge 30 per cent. Exports to Europe were forecast to decline by 10-15 per cent.

Apparel exporters had to switch to other markets like Japan, the Republic of Korea, some other Asian countries, and Canada.

In addition, apparel exporters also faced other difficulties like high input costs since they had to import 80-90 per cent of feedstock.

The minimum wage hike for workers to take effect in October would create more pressure on them since salaries made up 65 per cent of their costs.

Nevertheless, Giang affirmed that the industry would surely reach its annual target of $13.5 billion in 2011, up 10 per cent over 2010.

Advertising the need to change

Out of control advertising has sparked an urgent need for stringent regulations in the new Advertising Law.

At the National Assembly’s Standing Committee meeting last week, National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment head Phan Xuan Dung said that the draft law, which was under discussion and would oust the Advertising Ordinance, would tackle advertising not reflecting the true quality of products.

According to the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children the law, expected to be approved next year, needed to stipulate clear responsibilities of advertising firms and advertisement owners, and specific procedures for addressing consumers’ complaints. These issues failed to be mentioned in the Advertising Ordinance, issued in November, 2001.

“Our committee’s supervision results show that there are too many false ads in the media, while consumers affected don’t know where to send complaints,” said this committee’s head Dao Trong Thi.

National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs’ head Truong Thi Mai said: “Consumers are being seriously misled by advertising. The law must include regulations to curb untrue advertising to protect consumers.”

Thi’s committee found that the Advertising Ordinance had become unsuitable.

For instance, Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee reported that over the past nine years, the municipal authorities seized about 18,000 illegal advertising boards and ribbons and stopped the use of over 1,000 telephone advertising service numbers. The authorities also fined nearly 6,000 violators. In Hanoi, the city’s authorities last year imposed a total fine of VND451 million ($451,000) on 109 violators.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the number of Vietnam’s advertising firms augmented from over 1,000 in 2002 to nearly 7,000 now, whose revenue was estimated at $900 million last year. Vietnam now has 30 foreign invested advertising firms and over 30 overseas advertising firm representative offices, which occupy 80 per cent of the country’s market share.

Foreign investors find mixed reception
 
Many foreign portfolio investors have come recently to Viet Nam to explore opportunities but their reaction has been mixed about the country's short-term prospects.

Last month a large US delegation comprising executives from 38 companies and nine funds came but said the current scale and quality of securities on the stock market did not offer them opportunities.

Vu Tu Thanh, chief representative of the US-ASEAN Business Council in Viet Nam, said investors realised Viet Nam's potential challenges and wondered if the measures applied now would bear fruit in the coming 12 to 18 months.

But they were optimistic Viet Nam would eventually be able to fix all its problems, he added.

Korean company Kim Eng Securities brought in a delegation of asset management firms including Matthews International Capital Management and UBS Global Asset Management.

Michael Kokalari,Kim Eng Securities' head of research, said major funds would take at least six to nine months to reach a decision about investing in the country.

He said inflation was falling and the stock market had bottomed out and showed positive signs.

Le Xuan Nghia, vice chairman of the National Committee for Financial Monitoring, admitted that the lack of depth in the stock market and the low quality of its offerings were obstacles to foreign capital flows.

The investors expected the equitisation of State-owned enterprises to be hastened from early next year and to have opportunities to invest in major corporations and groups in areas like aviation, telecom, and mining.

"However if the State divests only insignificant stakes of around 5 to 10 per cent, they will also give up on investing in Viet Nam."

This was because then they would have no opportunity to influence a company they bought into.

They wanted 30 – 40 per cent of initial public offerings to be allocated to the public or foreign strategic investors.

They also expected equitisation of major State-owned corporations and groups to be accompanied by their listing to improve transparency, and for the enterprises to adopt international corporate governance standards.

A gradual abolishment of pricing intervention and market monopoly would help the enterprises prepare for international competition.

"If the equitisation process is not accelerated, Viet Nam may well miss the opportunity to attract significant foreign investment since there are forecasts that the US and European economies will recover strongly in 2014."

Taiwanese out to court hot local partners

A heavy-weight Taiwanese businesses delegation has arrived in Hanoi to hunt trade and investment opportunities in Vietnam.

The 72 enterprises, operating in green energy, consumer commodities, electronics, beauty services and health protection, and industrial products, want to introduce high-value products to Vietnamese partners.

“Over many years, Taiwan has been a leading trade and investment partner to Vietnam. Presently, Vietnam has 500,000 businesses ready to cooperate with the Taiwanese business community,” said Pham Gia Tuc, vice chairman of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

The VCCI pledged to support Vietnamese and Taiwanese business community cooperation, he said.  

Meanwhile,  Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hanoi chief representative Huang Chih Peng said: “Taiwan is the biggest foreign investor to Vietnam. Besides inland China, Vietnam is the most attractive destination for Taiwanese investors, which has shown that Vietnam’s investment climate appeals to foreign businesses.”      

Teresa Huang, sales manager of Yue Seng Industrial, said: “Vietnam is a potential market for our products. We have exported to the country for 10 years and will further increase shipments to the Vietnamese market in the coming time.”

Yue Seng ships some 100 tonnes of hot and cold rolled (HR/CR) steel sheets to Vietnam per year. The company is seeking to export other products such as stainless steel, HR/CR coils, plate and stainless steel welded pipe and tubes to Vietnam.  

 Sharlene Yeh, marketing and sales representative of Camsco Electric, said: “Vietnam has great potential for electrical components. We now have clients in Ho Chi Minh City and are looking for market expansion to Hanoi for our products.”  

Over the eight months of this year, bilateral trade between Vietnam and Taiwan climbed over $6 billion, including Vietnam’s $5.1 billion imports from Taiwan, up 34 per cent on-year and $960 million exports to Taiwan, up 22 per cent on-year.

Vietnam’s key imports from Taiwan are petroleum, cloths, plastics, iron and steel while its main exports to the foreign market are garment and textile, rubber and aquatic products. Taiwan is also one of the leading foreign investor in Vietnam with 2,400 projects, capitalised at more than $23 billion.   

A great appetite to expand

Germany’s Fresenius Kabi, a market leader in infusion therapy and clinical nutrition, last week opened its first production facility in central Vietnam to expand its business in Southeast Asia.

The new plant in Binh Dinh province’s Quy Nhon city, with investment cost totalling €20 million, which took two years to build, will help Fresenius Kabi almost double its manufacturing capacity for infusion solutions and liquid medications.

Ulf Mark Schneider, CEO of Fresenius - the mother company of Fresenius Kabi, said: “Over the past decade, Vietnam’s economic growth has been amongst the highest in the world, achieving average annual growth rate of 7 per cent while per capita gross domestic product has trippled over the past 15 years. And even though the growth rate has come down slightly in the wake of the global financial and economic crisis, Vietnam’s economy successfully continues on its growth path.”

He said: “Vietnam is one of Fresenius’ key growth markets and will continue to play a significant role in our Asia-Pacific strategy. As a result of the country’s strong growth and overall momentum, it is logical to build our own presence here in Vietnam.”

Jan Walter, managing director of Fresenius Kabi for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, told VIR that over the last three years, the company’s sales in Vietnam had grown by more than 20 per cent, per year. “The new plant in Quy Nhon will significantly increase our production capacity and has the country’s most advanced production equipment for infusion solutions and liquid medications. So we are well equipped for the further growth that we expect to see at Fresenius Kabi in Vietnam over the next few years,” Walter said.

The new facility, to be run by Fresenius Kabi Bidiphar Joint Stock Company - a joint venture founded three years ago between Fresenius Kabi and local firm Bidiphar, covers 15,000 square metres. Its manufacture of infusion solutions is already certified in line with good manufacturing practice guidelines as set down by the World Health Organization.

Chip Sang sets up joint venture with Russian firm

Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) on Thursday awarded an investment certificate to ChipSang and Ashmanov Co. Ltd. to develop projects and services in the field of information technology.

ChipSang and Ashmanov is a US$600,000 joint venture between Brilliant Chip Joint Stock Company, or Chip Sang, and Ashmanov & Partners Joint Stock Company of Russia to design and develop software; and provide solutions, services and information technology products, telecommunications and e-commerce.

With the advantage of technology for natural language processing, the company will provide solutions and services such as web filtering solutions based on the contents; search engine optimization services; general solutions and classifications of information; marketing contextual services; and virtual dialogue solutions.

It will also offer solutions and services in the field of online advertising such as search engine optimization services, integrated solution and classified information, and marketing contextual service for businesses interested in advertising on the Internet.

Chip Sang said on its website that last year it signed a strategic agreement with Ashmanov and Partners Company for developing projects and services in online marketing, e-commerce and e-content.

Collaborating with Ashmanov and Partners is a step in Chip Sang’s strategic plan to promote and enforce projects on online marketing, e-commerce and e-content.
 
Vietnam urged to step up export of aqua-products, coffee to Germany

Vietnam’s export sector holds great potential of meeting high German demand for quality aqua-products and coffee, said the State Secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.

Robert Kloos told reporters at the Food and Hotel Vietnam 2011 in HCMC on Wednesday that German consumers wanted aqua-products from different markets, including Vietnam. Therefore, he called for Vietnamese companies to speed up exports, particularly basa fish, to the German market.

Kloos said Vietnam’s basa was one of the products that German consumers favored.

Coffee is one of Vietnam’s major export earners in its trade with the biggest economy in Europe. Kloos said Germany was also interested in buying Vietnamese coffee.

Kloos demonstrated Germany imported more than 500 million euros worth of goods from Vietnam last year, including 160 million euros worth of aqua-products and 250 million euros of coffee. Sales of these two products rose 6% and 15% respectively over 2009.

Shipments of Germany’s agricultural products to Vietnam are still low compared to other markets in Asia. Last year, the European country earned about US$70 million from exporting food and beverages to Vietnam while Germany shipped agricultural goods worth around US$250 million and US$500 million to Hong Kong and Japan respectively.     

Therefore, Kloos said there remained much potential in the expanding Vietnamese market for German companies to tap and export more dairy products, meat and bread and other products. This is why he and other officials of the German government as well as German companies are taking part in the Food and Hotel Vietnam to promote products of their country.

Kloos pinned high hopes that Germany’s participation in the food and hotel show and his trip to Vietnam would help create a breakthrough in trade in this area between Germany and the emerging economy in the Southeast Asia.

Kloos said he had discussed with Vietnam’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development about use of high technology for the agricultural sector and that Germany was ready to assist in this area.

However, Kloos said Vietnam needed to meet certain conditions if the country wanted to develop a hi-tech agricultural sector. An example is a farm with about three employees and several cows is unable to apply high technology and should not do this, he noted.

Kloos also underscored the importance of greater efforts for human resource development in Vietnam for the agricultural sector and having consultancy from the countries owning high technology in agricultural production, and Germany had experiences in this.

Kloos said Germany had an advanced agricultural sector as it started to develop its agricultural sector 20-30 years ago. During this period, German companies have applied technological advances to diversify and turn out products that match consumers’ increasing demand for quality.
 
Binh Duong property market still bustling

While the condo market remains sluggish, those for street houses and villas in the southern province of Binh Duong seem to be more bustling as property investors keep launching new products there.

Becamex Urban Development Joint Stock Co., or Becamex UDJ, on Thursday inked a deal with Kim Oanh Real Estate Joint Stock Co. to develop the Golden City project and introduce it to buyers.

The two enterprises will invest around VND350 billion in the project, which will cover a total area of seven hectares along the My Phuoc-Tan Van Expressway, one of the most important roads in the province.

The project will offer around 460 villa and house land lots. Each one is measured from 100 to 300 square meters and priced from VND1.6-2 million each square meter.

Earlier, Kim Oanh Co. has cooperated with Binh Duong Trade and Development Joint Stock Company, or Becamex TDC, to develop City Garden project in Ben Cat District with the total investment of VND100 billion. The project will cover 7.5 hectares with 339 houses priced from VND1.6-2.2 million a square meter.

Kim Oanh said it sold all land lots of the project within just a month during two sales in August.

Meanwhile, Malaysia-based S P Setia Group will on Friday launch the sale of EcoXuan Lai Thieu residential area with villas and commercial areas.

The investor will focus on houses and villas with the prices of VND2-4 billion each.

A market survey of Savills Vietnam shows that 10 projects with 1,800 condos and land lots were launched in Binh Duong as of the end of August. The province now has 68 projects in both primary and secondary markets, providing 22,700 condos and land lots. Of which, land products makes up 56% of the total market, concentrating in Thu Dau Mot, Thuan An, Di An, Ben Cat districts and Binh Duong new city.

The price of houses and villas there averages at VND43.5 million per square meter while that of land lots is VND3.3 million a square meter. House prices are in a rising trend while land lot prices stay unchanged from early this year.

Savills expects to see around 5,600 condos and land lots from 16 projects launched onto the market in the coming time.
 
Star Cruises to make regular calls on Chan May Port

Chan May Port in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue will welcome 30,000 tourists to the locality via 25 weekly cruises of the Malaysia-based Star Cruises from November to March next year.

The five-star cruise ship will visit Thua Thien-Hue with most passengers coming from China by laissez-passers, said Ngo Hoa, vice chairman of the province.

At the same time, other localities such as Danang and Quang Ninh will welcome a number of voyages from the same five-star cruise ship departing from Hainan Island, China.

“Since this is the first time Star Cruises has run its scheduled routes to Hue with such a great number of travelers, we will definitely apply some priorities for Saigontourist Travel Service Co., which has arranged for the presence of Star Cruises,” noted Hoa.

The number of customers that Star Cruises will carry to Hue is more than the total number of visitors to the locality by sea in the first nine months of the year, which was 19,300 tourists, up 13.6% year-on-year.

According to Hoa, the local authority and Saigontourist will meet on October 18 to work out incentives for the latter as well as mapping out more attractive tourism programs in the locality.

Apart from the 30,000 Star Cruises visitors, Chan May Port is expected to welcome 10-15 international cruises with 350-400 visitors each time under the arrangement of Tan Hong Tourism Co., Ltd.

Thus, Thua Thien-Hue is petitioning the Government for the construction of a second quay at Chan May Port.

Star Cruises formerly had scheduled routes to Vietnam.

PV