Trade fair opens in Dien Dien Phu

Over 100 businesses nationwide are participating in the 2013 Dien Bien Trade Fair, which kicked off in the city of Dien Bien Phu on November 6.

The event creates a good opportunity for entrepreneurs to seek partners, promote their brand names and penetrate into mountainous and border markets.

Organised by the municipal People’s Committee and Department of Industry and Trade, and Dien Bien Trade Promotion Centre, the fair will run until November 13.

Paris seminar highlights investment in Vietnam

A conference themed “ Vietnam – a new strategic partner of France in Asia” was held in Paris on November 5 to introduce the investment environment in Vietnam.

Jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in France and ESSEC Business School , the event drew the participation of nearly 100 delegates from French leading banks and enterprises such as Total, Technip, Societe Generale, Freyssinet, Carrefour and Avera.

Addressing the event, Philippe Pasdelou, President of ESSEC Business School highlighted the strengths of Vietnam ’s growing economy, as well as the country’s increasing influence and position in Southeast Asia and a stable political environment.

He noted that France is the second largest European provider of development assistance to Vietnam , which manifests France ’s policy of expanding its partnership with the Southeast Asian country.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Duong Chi Dung reviewed the development process of Vietnam since the beginning of its renewal cause in 1986, the comprehensive integration into the international community, as well as the successful implementation of its socio-economic development strategy and policies of attracting foreign investment.

Since 1987, Vietnam has drawn nearly 11,000 projects with total investment of 211 billion USD, earning it the reputation as the third most attractive investment destinations in Asia after China and India , he noted.

Regarding the Vietnam-France economic, trade and investment cooperation, the diplomat said total two-way trade last year was 3.2 billion USD while the figure for the first six months of this year was 1.6 billion USD.

France is among leading trade partners of Vietnam in Europe and has become one of the country’s most important export markets, he said, adding that French companies have invested a total of 3.1 billion USD in 375 projects Vietnam .

The Ambassador stressed that big opportunities are opening up in economic and trade cooperation between the two countries after they upgraded their relations to a strategic partnership during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to France in September this year.

On the occasion, Vietnamese representatives introduced the country’s major export products including rice, coffee, rubber, cashew, pepper, garment and textile, footwear and aquatic products as well as the country’s importing demands.

They also answered questions on Vietnam ’s policies to encourage investment and incentives for investors.-

Vietnamese footwear industry heads for record year

The footwear industry will reach a record export value of 8 billion USD this year, experts have said.

The Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso) said the average export value in the first nine months stood at about 675 million USD per month, and t he record would be reached if this average value continues in the final months of the year.

In the first nine months of this year, the industry earned over 6 billion USD from exports, a year-on-year increase of more than 15 percent.

Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Vietnam Customs showed that in the first half of October, the industry exported nearly 310 million USD, pushing the total footwear export value since the beginning of this year to 6.31 billion USD.

During this time, exports were reported to rise in most markets.

The US led the list with nearly 2 billion USD, surging by 17 percent compared with the same time last year. This figure accounted for more than 32 percent of the industry's total export value.

It was followed by the UK with 400 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 9.3 per cent.

The third biggest market was Germany with 297 million USD, a year-on-year surge of more than 8 percent.

The other markets were Japan, Holland, China, Brazil and Spain.

Experts urged domestic companies to make more efforts to improve quality and productivity.

As the global economy has yet to recover, key markets for Vietnamese footwear have slumped, hence companies must plan accordingly.

This is especially important, they said, because foreign-direct investment companies have contributed more than 76 percent of the industry's total export value.

Currently, about 1,100 enterprises are involved in footwear production in the country, employing 720,000 workers.

In addition, there are thousands of individual producers and handicraft villages that take part in export activities.

With this capacity, the Vietnamese footwear industry is expected to meet export demand.-

Mekong Delta forecasts 18 percent increase in industrial production

The Mekong Delta provinces expect their industrial production value to grow 18 percent this year to reach 495 trillion VND (23.265 billion USD).

According to statistics of the regional industry and trade sectors, industrial production value of the localities for the January-October period stood at over 371 trillion VND (17.43 billion USD). The figure for the last two months of this year is forecast at nearly 124 trillion VND (5.28 billion USD).

According to the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region, in 2013, the Mekong Delta region has focused on renovating the growth model in the direction of improving efficiency and competitiveness.

Besides, the region also concentrated on developing industries of its strength, such as seafood and rice processing for export, garment and textile, beverage production, animal feed, fertilizer and cement.

Nguyen Phong Quang, deputy head of the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region said all provinces in the region have created favourable condition for businesses with equal, transparent environment in line with their integration commitments.

The localities have applied financial policies for private firms to improve businesses’ access to financial sources, he said.

Local businesses have also taken initiative in designing their operation plans and strategies to suit the real situation, renovating technology, upgrading equipment, reducing cost and enhancing the quality of their productions, while strengthening their connectivity with partners to expand their markets, Quang added.

The Mekong Delta region comprises of 12 provinces: An Giang, Bac Lieu, Ben Tre, Ca Mau, Dong Thap, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Long An, Soc Trang, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh and Vinh Long, and one city - Can Tho, with a total area of 40,000 square kilometres and a population of 18 million. It is the largest granary of the country.-

Vietnam-China economic zone to aid trade surge

A trans-national economic cooperation zone connecting Dong Dang (Lang Son, Vietnam) and Pingxiang (Guangxi, China) will benefit both local and national cooperation and mutual development, heard a workshop.

Ma Jixian, Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce of China’s Guangxi, which borders Vietnam’s northern Lang Son province, said it’s time for both sides to build such a zone when addressing the workshop to boost cross-border trade through Lang Son on November 4.

Participants suggested Lang Son develop infrastructure, improve border gate management, simplify customs procedures along increasing customs cooperation with China in the effort.

Over the past years, Lang Son has accelerated its socio-economic reform and strengthened its ties with China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The province’s trade grew 27 percent on average a year in 2005-2010. It reached nearly 2.2 billion USD in 2012, a 35 percent rise from 2010, and is expected to hit 2.4 billion USD this year.

A week-long Vietnam – China Trade Fair is underway in the province’s Lang Son city with the participation of over 330 businesses, including 30 Chinese firms, as part of efforts to increase bilateral trade value.

Firms delay dividends despite making profits

Many listed firms made profits on the books but some have delayed dividend payments for up to four years in a row, seeing many small investors suffer.

Notable is the rise in this behavior, in 2007, the percentage of companies which did not pay dividends was only 2 per cent. However, it climbed to around 40 per cent last year.

Hoang Van Tuyen, a small shareholder of construction company Song Da 7 (SD7), said the firm's share value had been declining so dividends were his only hope to recoup his investment. However, Song Da 7 put his pay-out into arrears until next year.

"I am not sure whether the company will pay me for next year's second quarter or postpone the payment one more time," he said.

According to the company's financial reports, it remained profitable. Sanctions to force businesses to pay out dividends on time remain absent from the legal framework.

Another construction firm – Vinaconex 15 (V15) – is also waiting until next year.

Others halting dividends include Saigon Machinery Spare Parts (SMA) which had not paid out since 2011 and Petro Capital Infrastructure Investment (PTL) which had asked for delays four times so far.

Despite a loss during the first six months of this year, PTL still made profits in 2011 and 2012.

"Although companies reported profits, their cash in hand was actually very low," noted Viet Nam Investment Securities Company analyst Nguyen Huu Binh.

"In addition, companies might forecast a source of income by a certain point of time, but thereafter it could not be accomplished."

The third reason Binh cited was that firms usually prioritised bank debts before paying dividends.

According to law firm Basico's Truong Thanh Duc, the legal framework should be more thorough in terms of making companies comply with serving shareholders interests.

Apart from state imposed administrative measures, if companies are too slow in paying dividends, they will in turn lose investors.

Workshop focuses on food security

About 60 international and domestic decision makers and researchers have debated how to build scenarios for food security, environment and livelihoods for Southeast Asia by 2050.

At a three-day workshop, wrapped up today, held in north-eastern Quang Ninh Province's Ha Long Bay, Deputy Head of the Science, Technology and Environment Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Dinh Vu Thanh said that building the scenarios for Viet Nam, in particular, was believed to be vital for the purpose of the sustainable growth that Viet Nam targeted.

"However, it demanded multi-stakeholder scenarios be built in the context that Viet Nam is one of five countries that would suffer the most from climate changes," he said.

Multi-stakeholder scenarios meant that the scenarios had to provide full analyses of how key socio-economic and governance uncertainties affect food security, environments and livelihoods; and how socio-economic drivers interact with climate change in Viet Nam and across the region, he said.

Le Huy Ham, Director of the ministry's Agricultural Genetic Institute, said that in Viet Nam, under the scenario of 3 degree Celsius rise in global temperatures by 2050, roughly 10 per cent of the country's agricultural land is predicted to be lost, impacting the lives of more than 20 million people.

In the meantime, the challenge in this region was to reduce greenhouse gasses, especially methane from rice production systems, while boosting food production to feed a growing population on less land, with increased vulnerability to flooding, water salinity and increased biotic and abiotic stresses, Ham said.

Leocadio Sebastian, CGIAR's Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Regional Programme Leader for Southeast Asia said that the workshop would try to capture the complex socio-cultural, economic undercurrent of factors – markets, governance, economic and infrastructure developments – in the region that would be crucial for food security and would also be impacted by climate change.

The workshop was co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and several international organisations including Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR); Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).

VN company wins regional award for best cocoa

Puratos Grand-Place Viet Nam has won an international award for producing the best cocoa in the Asia-Pacific region.

The International Cocoa Award, which is part of the "Cocoa of Excellence" programme, was awarded at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris last week.

The award aims to celebrate the diversity of cocoa flavours from all over the world and to recognise overall excellence in processing the beans.

The award is reward for intense R&D work on fermentation and drying started by a team in 2009 with the intention of creating a new chocolate from high-quality beans, company representatives said.

Next week, the company will open a first-of-its-kind Cocoa Collection and Fermentation Plant in southern Ben Tre Province, as well as a Cocoa Development Centre.

SHB to unload $47m in bad debts loans

Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) announced plans to sell VND1 trillion (US$47.6 million) in bad debts to the Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VMAC) this month, following a previous VND400 billion ($19.05 million) sale of the bank's bad loans.

Speaking at the bank's anniversary event on Sunday, General Director Nguyen Van Le said the deal would help SHB reduce its non-performing loan ratio below 5 per cent of its lending by the end of 2013.

By the end of the third quarter, the bank's bad debts stood at 7.75 per cent, a slight decline from the second quarter. In the first nine months of this year, outstanding loans reached over VND65 trillion ($3.1 billion), up 15 per cent from last year.

SHB has been approved by the State Bank of Viet Nam to raise its annual credit growth quota to 20 per cent, allowing the bank to offer an average lending interest rate of 8 per cent to businesses.

The bank's chief said provisional funds of more than VND1.9 trillion ($90.48 million) had been reached this year with expectations to hit VND1 trillion in pretax profits for 2013.

SHB also has plans to open more overseas branches and convert Lao and Cambodia branches into affiliates to pave the way for future expansion.

"We are striving to become one of the leading retail banks in Viet Nam and the region," said Le.

Footwear industry heads for record year

The footwear industry is expected to reach a record export value of US$8 billion this year, experts said.

The Viet Nam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso) said the average export value in the first nine months stood at about $675 million per month.

The record would be reached if this average value continues in the final months of the year, Lefaso said.

In the first nine months of this year, the industry earned over $6 billion from exports, a year-on-year increase of more than 15 per cent.

Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Viet Nam Customs showed that in the first half of October the industry exported nearly $310 million, pushing the total footwear export value since the beginning of this year to $6.31 billion.

During this time, exports were reported to rise in most import markets.

The US led the list with nearly $2 billion, surging by 17 per cent compared with the same time last year. This figure accounted for more than 32 per cent of total export value.

Following was the UK with $400 million, a year-on-year increase of 9.3 per cent.

The third biggest market was Germany with $297 million, a year-on-year surge of more than 8 per cent.

The other markets were Japan, Holland, China, Brazil and Spain.

Experts urged domestic companies to make more efforts to improve quality and productivity.

As the global economy has yet to recover, key markets for Vietnamese footwear have slumped, hence companies must plan accordingly.

This is especially important, they said, because foreign-direct investment companies have contributed more than 76 per cent of the industry's total export value.

Currently, about 1,100 enterprises are involved in footwear production in the country, employing 720,000 workers.

In addition, there are thousands of individual producers and handicraft villages that take part in export activities.

With this capacity, the Vietnamese footwear industry is expected to meet export demand.

Workshop tackles trade fraud

Domestic producers should improve the quality of products and design at reasonable prices to meet customers' demands because this is considered to be one solution to preventing smuggled and counterfeit goods and trade fraud.

The opinion was voiced by delegates at a workshop on market surveillance against smuggling, counterfeiting and commercial frauds among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam held in Ha Noi yesterday.

Truong Quang Hoai Nam, director of the Market Watch Department said the violations have become more sophisticated and complex by applying modern technologies and establishing trans-border smuggling networks relating to several people and businesses.

In the first eight months of the year, the department tackled more than 57,800 violations including over 8,300 in trading and transporting of illegal and smuggled goods; 9,000 cases of fake and poor quality goods and around 40,000 instances of trade fraud, contributing VND220 billion (US$10.4 million) to the State budget.

Violators have taken advantage of difficulties from the economic slowdown to promote fake goods trading and provide unhygienic foods to the market, Nam said.

He added that most of the border and coastal provinces have to deal with smuggling and violations of intellectual property rights.

In the trend of international integration, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar face challenges in preventing counterfeit goods and trade fraud.

He said this required market management forces in these countries, especially those having common borders, to enhance information and professional exchanges and resolve violations.

Sharing this idea, Nguyen Thang Loi, head of the Market Watch Office in northern Lang Son Province, said one reason for the boom in fake goods and commercial fraud is that local producers have not paid attention to building trademark, geographical indication systems and registration for intellectual property rights.

In addition, producers have not well co-operated with authorised agencies in preventing fake goods, even for their own products, Loi said.

He said Vietnamese people are interested in brand name products, but at low prices, thus creating conditions for counterfeit goods to penetrate the market.

"The biggest obstacle for market surveillance is the lack of awareness on how to combat counterfeiting, substandard goods and commercial fraud, which creates a lack of practices for enforcement agencies to follow, even within the same agency," he added.

Phitleudeth Vongvath, a representative from the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce shared challenges to market management in the country including limited human resources, technology, infrastructure, transparency and illegal transport across borders.

He agreed that ensuring transparency, enhancing technology, legal system and education, as well as co-operation among countries, would help prevent violations.

Claudio Dordi, chief advisor of the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP) told Viet Nam News that fake goods has been one of the biggest concerns of foreign investors in Viet Nam.

He said Viet Nam should maintain co-operation with not only Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar but other countries to prevent counterfeit goods and trade fraud.

Viet Nam is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the EU. The countries in the region have paid much attention to the intellectual property issue in Viet Nam, he added.

The workshop, co-organised by the Market Surveillance Agency and the Asia-Pacific Market Department with the support of EU-MUTRAP, aims to improve the capacity of market surveillance forces, simultaneously supporting the sub-regional integration process, and strengthening co-operation between the countries in the development and management of the market towards the goal of establishing the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.

Gazprom discusses oil, gas ties with VN

Chairman of the Russian Gazprom Management Committee Alexey Miller recently stated that the company might provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Viet Nam within the Vladivostok-LNG project.

He was talking with Vietnamese ambassador to Russia Pham Xuan Son in Moscow, reported Vietnam News Agency.

The two also discussed the rules of oil and gas co-operation and issues related to exploitation of hydrocarbon fuels and natural gas for motor vehicles in Viet Nam.

According to Gazprom's website, on October 4 this year, it signed an agreement with the Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) on the basic principles of joint venture activities under a natural gas project.

Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of Gazprom, also planned to sign an agreement with PetroVietnam to deliver oil to Viet Nam and participate in refining operations.

Since 2006, Gazprom and PetroVietnam have been engaged in exploration, production and marketing of hydrocarbons in block 112 of Viet Nam's continental shelf through the Vietgazprom joint operating company.

Dak Nong needs action to attract investments

The Central Highlands province of Dak Nong has not backed its investment attraction policies with commensurate action, experts say.

They put stress on the need to deliver on infrastructure development and a well trained workforce.

Provincial officials agree with the assessment and say shortcomings will be addressed even as Dak Nong makes its latest push to attract more investment so that it better exploit the potential it has to develop its agriculture, industries and tourism.

In the ten years since it was established, the province has attracted 207 projects, most of them in the forestry, industrial and construction sectors.

Bien Van Minh, Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, told the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper that the projects that have become operational have helped Dak Nong boost production, contributed significantly to the provincial budget and created jobs in many localities.

The projects have also contributed a lot to developing the agriculture sector, he said.

The paper also quoted Do Ngoc Duyen, head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, as saying they have started to develop hi-tech agriculture, cultivating many new plants with high income such as Japanese sweet potato, Da Lat daisy, lily, durian and orange with no pips.

Provincial officials have pledged that they would continue to make all efforts, including simplifying administrative procedures and creating other necessary conditions to attract more investment, mainly into agriculture, industry, tourism and infrastructure.

In particular, the province is calling for investment into hi-tech agriculture in Gia Nghia Town and the districts of Dak Mil and Tuy Duc. Priority will be given to projects in food processing, mineral process-ing and support industries, officials told the paper.

They said the province will also pay attention to developing resorts projects, and upgrading transport infrastructure facilities and industrial complexes.

Experts and senior officials have advised the province it needs to remove current shortcomings in order to attract more investment.

The provincial Department of Industry and Trade noted that although the province has recorded many achievements in attracting investment, the project size has been very small, on average.

The average investment for each project was about VND90 billion (US$4.2 million), it said.

Department officials feel that not having big investors with deep pockets has seen 40 per cent of approved projects temporarily suspended or cancelled. But, apart from capital shortage, investors have also faced other obstacles, mainly the slow pace of land clearance.

A study by the HCM City Economic and Law University found that the real support provided by the province to investors was not good enough.

Policies were good, but they were not matched by real action, the study found.

It said poor transport conditions and low-quality human resources also discouraged prospective investors.

Le Van Quang, Deputy Director of the Dak Nong's Department of Planning and Investment, said the province has attracted investment based on its potential.

For instance, it has not paid enough attention to developing local markets and infrastructure, he said.

The province needs to remove these shortcomings, focusing especially on improving its infrastructure, training its work force and promoting trade, he said.

AFD’s EUR700 mil commitment to Vietnam

The Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) is committed to providing EUR700 million to Vietnam in the 2013-2016 period.

The announcement was made by Rémi Genevey, Executive Director of the AFD, at a press conference in Hanoi on November 6.

The funding aims to support projects on modernizing agricultural production and rural infrastructure, boosting productivity and improving vocational training

At the press conference, Mr Genevey reviewed the AFD’s recent support for Vietnam’s projects on water resource management, irrigation, rural development and infrastructure construction.

He affirmed that the AFD will continue to assist Vietnam in the fields of urbanization, agricultural production and rural development, irrigation and environmental protection and vocational training in the next three years

Within the framework of the “Vietnam-France Year 2013-2014” to mark the United Nations International year of Water Cooperation, the AFD has screened films and organized seminars on exploiting, protecting and managing water resources in response to climate change.

Massive amount of Chinese goods smuggled into Vietnam

About 80% of illegally-imported goods on the Vietnamese market are from China.

So said Vuong Tri Dung, deputy head of the Hanoi Market Management Department, at an international seminar held in Hanoi on November 6 to discuss measures against trade fraud and smuggling of counterfeit products into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Vietnam is considered a “hot spot” for illegally-imported products, especially in the last months of the year due to local consumers’ rising demand, they added.

Truong Hoai Nam, Head of the Market Management Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said 89 trade fraud cases were detected in the first eight months of 2013, a huge volume of illegally-imported products valued at more than VND1,058 billion with a total of fines worth VND485.11 billion.

Participants said such products of low quality have caused great losses to both businesses and consumers.

They stressed the need for an effective mechanism for cooperation among relevant agencies, businesses and consumers to combat trade fraud and smuggling of counterfeit products into the country.

Vietnam-UK trade turnover picks up

Total import-export turnover between Vietnam and the UK reached more than US$3 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 29.3% against the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Customs and the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Of the figure, Vietnam’s exports were estimated at US$2.82 billion and its imports at US$420.2 million, up 6.1%.

In the reviewed period, major export items included seafood (US$98.2 million), coffee (US$69.8 million), pepper (US$24.1 million), suitcases and umbrellas (US$31.3 million), plastics (US$62.5 million), wood and wooden products (US$156 million), garment and textile (US$351 million), footwear (US$399 million), computers and components (US$313 million), telephones and components (US$999 million).

In 2010, Vietnam and the UK signed a strategic partnership agreement with the aim of bringing their two-way trade turnover to US$4 billion this year. The set target is within reach.

Da Nang city tops 2012 Justice Index

The central city of Da Nang topped the 2012 Justice Index but it still needs to do more to make sure its legal and judicial system works more efficiently.

The 2012 Justice Index was introduced by the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association and the United Nations Development Programme at a conference in the city on November 6.

As a new approach to the legal and judicial reform process, the index reflects people’s aspirations for a just and democratic society being pursued by the State of Vietnam.

It was built on the feedback from a wide cross section of more than 5,000 people living in 21 provinces and cities on the State institutions’ role in ensuring justice and fundamental rights for citizens.

The Index covered five dimensions of the administration of justice and rule of law as perceived and experienced by the people, in particular accessibility, equity, integrity, reliability and efficiency along with a guarantee of fundamental rights.

Participants in the conference suggested Da Nang authorities re-examine procedures for resolving civil disputes and administrative appeals to ensure effective and quick settlement and raise public awareness of the need to abide by law.

The city’s justice agencies should maintain good relations with voters to ensure their participation in supervision activities at all levels, they said.

Australian, Belgian firms open software centre in Vietnam

The Australian software producer Atlassian partnered with Pyramid Consulting Company of Belgium to launch a software development centre in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City on November 6.

The centre focuses on developing new features and plug-ins of Jira – a leading software in monitoring and managing technical faults, and Confluence – a foundation for information sharing and collaboration.

Atlassian Technical Deputy Director Jean-Michel Lemieux said that in the coming time, the centre will recruit additional 30 engineers, designers and product managers in preparation for the launch of new software products, serving more than 30,000 companies throughout the world, including Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Pieter van Diermen, Pyramid Consulting Legal Director, noted that the partnership will provide Vietnamese software engineers with opportunities to work in an international standard environment where they can learn and apply the latest software development techniques as well as share experience and knowledge with foreign colleagues.

Atlassian specialises in manufacturing software products for more than 30,000 companies around the world while Pyramid Consulting provides outsourced solutions in online media, mobile and software applications.

On the occasion, the two companies presented VND200 million (US$9,500) to the non-profit organisation Room To Read operating in Vietnam. The money will be used to build two libraries for students in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.

European businesses maintain confidence in Vietnam

The 13th quarterly EuroCham Business Climate Index (BCI) survey released on November 6 showed that business confidence and outlook among European businesses in Vietnam remains unchanged for the third time - stagnating at 50.

However, the report said investment plans and business orders are expected to increase, which in turn positively impacts recruitment plans. Another positive development is the expected reduced impact of inflation on business.

Specifically, the rate of respondents expecting to increase investments in Vietnam increased from 34 percent last quarter to 41 percent this quarter. Furthermore, the rate of respondents planning to “significantly increase investments” has doubled from last quarter’s 8 percent, to 16 percent this quarter.

In line with this development, the expected number of business orders has continued to grow – to 67 percent (from 61 percent and 53 percent the past two quarters, respectively).

The positive development in investment plans and expected business orders has translated into increased recruitment plans, with the number of respondents expecting to increase their headcounts remains at 47 percent, it said.

Respondents remain somewhat confident in the macroeconomic outlook, with 47 percent expecting a ‘stabilisation and improvement” of the situation and 35 percent expecting no change.

The initiatives undertaken by the Vietnamese Government to reduce inflation have been effective, which is clearly demonstrated by the BCI findings; the number of respondents expecting inflation to have a “significant or threatening impact” on their business has been substantially reduced (29 percent compared to 43 percent last quarter and 50 percent last year).

EuroCham Chairman Preben Hjortlund commented that it is worrisome to see that the BCI comes out at 50 for the third time. He added that it is interesting to see that so many of the respondents still fear that legislative changes could negatively impact their business in 2014.

“This clearly demonstrates the need to incorporate the business community in the legislative process and to take their opinions into account in order to avoid legislation having perverse effects when implemented. Finally, it is important to note the high level of respondents calling for the Vietnamese Government to take note of the Whitebook 2014, which will be published next week - on November 11,” he said.

Since its establishment with only 60 members in 1998, the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) has grown to represent more than 750 European businesses, counting among its supporters many of the world's leading enterprises.

Holiday rush will raise Q4 GDP growth to 6%

The country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth would hit 6 per cent in the fourth quarter thanks to rising demand in the last months of the year and a stronger macro-economy.

The rise was forecast by the National Financial Supervisory Commission, which added that it would bring the annual GDP growth to 5.3 per cent, still lower than the Government's target of 5.5 per cent.

The commission said rising demand in the lead up to big holidays such as the Lunar New Year would help lift GDP growth in Q4 to 6 per cent.

Improvements seen in the country's macro-economy last month were also expected to boost growth, the commission said.

It further said that the purchasing managers' index (PMI) hit a high of 51.5 in October thanks to rising export orders and that the industrial production index in Q3 also rose to 6 per cent, up from 5.2 per cent in Q2 and 4.5 per cent in Q1.

Exports in October also surged 15.2 per cent while imports were lower than in previous years, although buying of raw materials and equipment for production rose significantly.

The rise of material imports showed that domestic production was stronger, the commission said.

But the commission said it was hard to maintain the high GDP rise in the long term, reasoning that it would not be feasible under the current economic growth model.

The Government should speed up economic reforms within the next 2-3 years to enhance productivity and raise economic growth in the long term, the commission recommended.

It also anticipated that the country's average monthly inflation would jump by 0.6-0.8 per cent from now to the year's end, providing there were no sudden and large changes in prices of commodities controlled by the Government.

It said that commodity prices would post the highest price increases in the last quarter of this year, driven by hikes on food and foodstuffs, higher seasonal purchasing demand in the run up to the New Year and Lunar New Year, plus the possibility of petroleum and gas price adjustment.

The commission forecast this year's inflation would be controlled at around 7 per cent as targeted, provided there was good management and regulations on prices of goods and services.

Inflation had risen 5.14 per cent this year to October.

National brands strut their stuff at fashion event

More than 200 textile and garment companies are marketing their products and services to both domestic and international customers at the Viet Nam Fashion Fair that opened last Friday in HCM City.

The fair, held at the Tan Binh Exhibition and Convention Centre, has 300 booths, up 10 per cent from last year's event.

"We want to introduce to domestic consumers major brands of members of the Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) as well as others in the industry," said Vinatex general director Le Quang Nghi.

"This annual event will also provide opportunities for textile, garment and accessories manufacturers to find trading partners and co-operate in creating supply chains," he said.

Local firms will also have the opportunity to find international partners, he added.

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Ho Thi Kim Thoa praised the textiles and garment industry for creating up to 2.5 million jobs and significantly contributing to national economic development with an annual growth of 15 per cent.

She said in the first eight months of this year, the industry had grown by 17 per cent and its localisation ratio had increased to 49 per cent.

During the six-day event, the organisers, Vinatex and Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, will also hold fashion shows for the latest collections from leading national brands including Viet Tien, Binh Minh Garment, NEM and Hoa Tho.

During the opening session, a national Guiness record was held for the largest jacket, which is 2 metres wide and 3.5 metres long.

The jacket was made by the Nha Be Garment, which has made the garment for many years. From brainstorming and coming up with idea to designing and executing it, it took 10 skilled workers about two months to complete the jacket, using more than 40 metres of fabric, a company representative said.

HCM City firms ready and waiting for Tet goods rush

Enterprises in HCM City have basically completed plans to prepare goods for the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, which falls on January 31, 2014, according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

Le Ngoc Dao, the department's deputy director, said that firms have speeded up production and started stockpiling nine commodity groups that fall under the city's price stabilisation programme.

The department has also encouraged enterprises to increase reserves of other goods like beverages, beers and confectionery, Dao said.

Supply from enterprises taking part in the city's price stabilisation programme will account for 30-40 per cent of goods in the market, three wholesale markets will cover another 40-50 per cent and other enterprises (those not participating in the programme) will comprise the rest, she said.

Many enterprises have said they plan to increase supply for this Tet.

Vissan Company, one of the country's biggest meat processing companies, plans to invest VND600 billion (US$28.4 million) to store meat and processed food for the upcoming festival, 20 per cent more than last Tet.

The Bien Hoa Confectionery Corporation, or Bibica, plans to supply about 1,250 tonnes of confectionery, up 10 per cent over the previous Tet.

Many poultry and egg providers like Ba Huan, Vinh Thanh Dat, Pham Ton and San Ha have said they have increased investments to raise supplies by up to 30 per cent for this Tet.

The enterprises have assured that commodity prices would be stable from now until the holiday. They have also said that they would launch promotion campaigns as the festival nears, as also opening more sales points in crowded residential areas to facilitate purchases of Tet goods.

According to the department, the number of outlets selling price-stabilised goods has increased strongly over the last few years, reaching 7,500 as of September this year from just 2,000 in 2008.

Foreign invested supermarkets have also participated in the city's price stabilisation programme, working with their distributors to stock essential goods and offer good prices to customers.

Market securities firms safeguard Q3 profits

The number of listed securities companies which saw profits in the third quarter this year increased strongly over the second quarter.

Out of 28 listed companies on the Ha Noi and HCM City exchanges which announced their quarterly financial reports, 18 earned profits this quarter in comparison with 11 companies in the second quarter and 63 per cent higher than the same period last year.

HCM City Securities Corporation (HCM) led with revenue of VND140 billion (US$6.67 million) and after-tax profit of VND56 billion ($2.67 million), 24 per cent and 28.5 per cent higher than the same period last year.

Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) reported after-tax profit of 52.6 billion ($2.5 million) in the third quarter, 234 per cent higher than the same period last year.

SSI currently ranked second in the brokerage rate on HCM City with 9.72 per cent of market shares and fourth on the Ha Noi Exchange with 6.12 per cent.

VNDirect Securities (VND) earned after-tax profit of nearly VND23 billion ($1.095 million), doubling the figure of the same period last year.

For the nine-month period, the aggregate profits of VNDirect reached VND117 billion ($5.57 million), 67 per cent higher than the previous year's period.

Bao Viet Securities (BVS) and Kim Long Securities (KLS) were also in the top five for securities companies earning profits in the third quarter.

Securities firms, including Woori CBV, An Thanh Securities and Kenaga Securities, incurred losses in the third quarter, however.

Woori CBV reported a loss of VND1.6 billion ($76,190) in the quarter alone and VND4 billion ($190,470) for the nine-month period. An Thanh and Kenaga reported losses of around VND370 million ($17,700) and VND930 million ($44,280) in the third quarter, respectively.

According to Tran Hoang Son, a strategist at MB Securities, those securities companies with good management, efficient analysis and brokerage would have better business results, especially those backed by banks.

However, Son said that the prospect of securities companies' shares remained unclear, saying that he did not expect breakthroughs this year despite the increases in benchmark indices.

He pointed out that chances were better with shares from other sectors because shares of securities companies often fluctuated with market changes.

Ten-month rice export rakes in nearly $2.5 billion

Vietnam exported over 5.7 million tonnes of rice for nearly US$2.5 billion in the first ten months of this year, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

The export volume included more than 537,000 tonnes shipped in October, about 10,500 tonnes higher than total shipments in the previous month.

However, the price of rice exported last month dropped to $435.37 per tonne from $437.63 recorded in September.

Africa is emerging as a market with great potential for Vietnamese rice exports, according to the VFA.

In the first nine months of the year, African countries imported over 4.79 million tonnes of rice worth $2.05 billion from Vietnam, making the continent the largest importer of Vietnamese rice during the period.

It is followed by Asia , the Middle East , the US and the EU.

Vietnam has lowered bar for its rice export for 2013 to between 7-7.2 million tonnes from the targeted 7.5 million tonnes and is striving to open new markets.

As domestic businesses currently meet difficulties in exporting to traditional markets, promoting exports to new markets such as Africa and Mexico is considered an important solution.

HCM City to have first privately-funded social housing project

Carilon Apartment - the first social housing project in Ho Chi Minh City developed without the use of state budget capital - will be finished and handed over to customers by the end of this year.

The project, launched in November last year at Hoang Hoa Tham street, ward 13 in Tan Binh district, has a total investment of 700 billion VND (32.9 million USD) invested by Saigon Thuong Tin Real Estate JSC (Sacomreal).

Comprising of two blocks with 16 stories and a basement in each, the project offers 484 apartments, including 147 social apartments with an area of 51.6-69.4 square metres, with the same quality as commercial ones.

Customers buying social apartments will be assisted by the Bank of Investment and Development of Vietnam and Vietinbank through loans with an interest rate of six percent per year.

Ngo Vi Hung, General Director of Sacomreal, said the social apartments will be sold to public servants in Tan Binh district.

The company is also finalising documents for the implementation of two more similar projects in district 7 and district 2 with 2,000 apartments, one of which is scheduled to be launched in 2014, he added.

Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR