HSG exports steel sheets to US     

Steel producer Hoa Sen Group reported that it shipped 17,000 tonnes of steel sheets to the US worth US$14 million on Thursday.

The company has been exporting to the US since 2014 and shipments have been increasing recently.

A company spokesperson said the shipment proves the company’s capacity and global competitiveness since exports to the US and EU have been hit by the trade barriers they have imposed.

Hoa Sen has exported to over 75 nations and territories.

In 2017-18, it produced nearly 1.9 million tonnes of steel worth over VND34.4 trillion ($1.5 billion), up 13 per cent in volume and 32 per cent in value over the previous year.

Revenues from domestic sales were worth over VND22 trillion ($964 million), up 34 per cent, and exports fetched $538 million, up 27 per cent.

Its profit after tax was VND410 billion ($18 million).

It uses advanced technologies to meet the standards expected in international markets like the US, the EU, Japan, Australia, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, it said.

Exports would become easier when it sets up production facilities near ports, it said.

At a ceremony held to flag off the year’s first export consignment, the company signed a strategic agreement with South Korea’s SK Group under which SK Shipping would transport its products to foreign markets. 

Novaland to develop its tourism business     

Property developer Novaland Group on Friday said in addition to focusing on housing, it plans to develop its tourism business called NovaTourism.

It will have three main products, NovaHill, NovaBeach and NovaWorld.

The company said it would collaborate with foreign operators and consultants to create attractive destinations for local and foreign visitors and raise Vietnamese’s profile in global tourism.

NovaWorld will be a complex and resort brand with many attractions and services on areas ranging from 100ha to 1,000ha each.

They are likely to come up in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Phan Thiet.

NovaTourism will focus on eight main products: accommodation in hotels and resorts managed by foreign companies and tourism property projects; passenger carrier services run by NVL itself or in co-operation with transport companies; logistics like hotel services; food and beverage services; shopping centres; attractions like theme parks, safaris and aquariums, golf courses and game centres to encourage customers to stay longer; tours; and promotion of local tourism.

The projects will be in popular tourism destinations like Phu Quoc, Can Tho, HCM City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Phan Thiet-Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Cam Ranh-Khanh Hoa, Quang Nam, and Da Nang.

But this year the company will focus on housing and tourism property projects.

The company expects to bring to the market 4,400 products and handover 5,900 others this year. It also plans to market around 2,300 tourism property products.

The company said it has 2,650ha of land, and would use 26 per cent for its housing projects and the remaining 74 per cent to develop tourism property projects.

In recent years Novaland has tied up with many giant foreign companies like Minor Hotels Group, Greg Norman Golf Course Design, Hoa Binh Group, Ricons Joint Stock Company, Mesa Group, MyLIfe Company, and the Boston Consulting Group.

Last year it put into operation two tourism properties, Azerai Can Tho and Anantara Mui Ne.

Novaland is a major player in the property market with over 40 housing projects and over 26,000 units. 

Cashew sector to focus on adding value this year     

Viet Nam’s cashew sector targets exports of 350,000 tonnes this year, 10 per cent lower than last year, according to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas).

This year it plans to focus on developing highly processed products and exporting products with high value-addition, it said.

According to documents tabled at a seminar in HCM City yesterday to review the performance of the cashew sector last year and set tasks for this year, the domestic supply of raw cashew was inadequate. Meanwhile, the prices of imports were too high and their quality was sometimes poor.

Therefore the sector will not increase exports but focus on raising product quality and promote its products in the domestic market.

Last year it processed 1.65 million tonnes of raw cashew and exported 391,000 tonnes for US$3.5 billion, an increase of 7.8 per cent in volume but a slight fall in value from the previous year.

Speaking at the seminar, Nguyen Minh Hoa, deputy chairman of Vinacas, said: “Viet Nam was still the world’s largest cashew processor and exporter last year, but it was not a good year for Vietnamese cashew exporters since many of them incurred losses, some even went bankrupt.”

The price of raw cashew increased sharply last year while the export prices of the processed nut decreased sharply, he said.

Pham Van Cong, Vinacas chairman, said since the beginning of the crop last year the association had been warning companies to be careful in importing raw cashew because prices were very high. However, many companies, fearing a shortfall, bought large volumes.

Subsequently prices dropped sharply, causing them to incur big losses, he explained.

Viet Nam has around 300,000 hectares under cashew and an average output of 350,000-400,000 tonnes a year, meeting only 25-30 per cent of processors’ demand.

Thus they have to import over 1 million tonnes of raw cashew every year from many countries, mainly in Africa, he said.

To avoid risks this year, Hoa said they should keep a close eye on the market situation and do not import large volumes at the beginning of the year when the harvest season begins.

“Raw cashew is now available around the year.

“Based on lesson learned from last year, firms should change their business plan so as to do better this year.”

Vu Thai Son, general director of Long Son JSC, one of the country’s biggest cashew exporters, concurred, saying the major supplying countries have very large raw cashew stock.

“We are not worried about lack of raw cashew nuts.”

Firms should not buy raw material in large quantities at the same time, he said.

But with supply being higher than demand, prices of processed nuts are unlikely to increase this year, he said.

Son said international roasters and traders expect processed cashew prices to fall and so do not sign long-term contracts with exporters.

“We had many long-term contracts in previous years, but the number of long-term contracts this year is very few.”

With them only signing contracts for two to three months, Vietnamese firms should do the same for buying raw cashew, he said.

Other speakers also suggested that businesses should be cautious when transferring money to sellers’ for buying raw materials because the banks could set them off against sellers’ loans.

Dang Hoang Giang, another Vinacas deputy chairman, said the association would organise an international cashew conference in Hue next March and a business trip to study West Asian markets next June to promote Viet Nam’s cashew products. 

Financial advisory council told to focus on science-technology     

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue asked members of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council to view science-technology as a ‘driver of growth’ rather than just an academic subject in its policy development process.

Deputy PM Hue, who served as the advisory council’s chair, made the request at the first quarter meeting held on Saturday.

He asked the council’s members and scientists to “contribute their knowledge” to the Government’s building of socio-economic development strategy over the next 10 years.

At the meeting, he thanked the council for their feedback and ideas provided to the Government and the Prime Minister, which contributed to the economy’s impressive achievements in 2018 when all 12 targets were met which helped GDP record the highest level in 11 years.

Following the council’s advice, the Government is actively building legal frameworks for the digital economy, sharing economy, intermediate payments and peer-to-peer lending to curb loan sharks, Hue said.

The council members appreciated the Government’s leadership in socio-economic development over the last year, especially with its microeconomic policies and close coordination between agencies along with flexible but concerted monetary policies.

Hoping that 2019 would continue to be a good year for the country’s economy, the council warned that Viet Nam would still need to pay close attention to the risks brought about by the global economy, especially trade tensions, fluctuations in the stock market, and more relaxed monetary policies by central banks that could lead to higher interests.

Slow-paced equitisation of State-owned businesses and delays in the implementation of major projects, improvements in the business environment outmatched by practical demands and constrained budget funding are seen as “internal bottlenecks” that would greatly impact the country’s economy.

The council asked the Government to continue to consolidate macroeconomic and microeconomic well-being, creating a ‘buffer zone’ that could absorb external impacts, not only for the entire economy but also enterprises and financial institutions.

Strict overseeing of the overspending, foreign debts and reforms to State budget expenditure-collection at local levels are also urged.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed the decision to establish the advisory council in June 2016, with finance minister Dinh Tien Dung, chief of the National Financial Supervisory Commission Vu Viet Ngoan, and director of the State Bank Le Minh Hung as deputies. 

Growth targets for 2019 feasible: Experts

Experts say the target growth rate of 6.6 to 6.8% for 2019 set by the National Assembly is feasible. They also said the GDP target was likely to be surpassed due to opportunities from the US-China trade war.

Experts said Vietnam achieved socio-economic targets for 2018 following the success in the previous year.

The Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research estimated the economic growth rate at 6.9%, higher than the target set for 2019 and approved by the National Assembly.

Trade and investment activities are expected to boom together with the official approval of free trade agreements.

Additionally, the ongoing US-China trade war dragging many Western firms away from Chinese supply chains has offered great opportunities for those from Vietnam. However, the country needs to improve its business climate, legislature and labour quality to grow sustainably, experts said.

Vietnamese enterprises ready for trade deal

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will come into effect on January 14, 60 days after being ratified by the National Assembly. What have Vietnamese enterprises, especially those with promising opportunities like footwear and textiles, done to make full use of the trade deal?  

Garment-textile is among a few light industries to benefit from the CPTPP. The sector’s growth rate is forecast to exceed 10 percent thanks to the new trade deal.

The door is also open wide for exporting leather and footwear products to Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico or Canada.

Besides, other export products such as shrimp, tuna and wood furniture will also get benefits from the CPTPP. Other industries depend much on the enterprises’ preparations to benefit from the deal.

Without the CPTPP, by mid 2018, Vietnam’s export turnover passed 233 billion USD and the country enjoyed a trade surplus of 6.89 billion USD. It is expected that the figures will increase this year thanks to the trade deal.

Aquaculture sector looks to sustainable development

The management capacity of the aquaculture sector needs to be improved for efficient and sustainable development and production, heard a conference in Nha Trang, the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, on January 11.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said aquaculture has an important role in the national economy as it contributed 22.5 percent of the country’s total agriculture-forestry-aquaculture export value in 2018 and is the mean of living of millions of people nationwide.

In 2018, bred and caught aquatic products hit 7.75 million tonnes and they have so far been sold in 170 countries and territories. Exports reached over 9 billion USD, accounting for 23 percent of the agricultural sector’s export earnings.

Participants sought to form an infrastructure system linked with the support industry and logistics services for aquaculture to reduce post-harvest losses.

A developed infrastructure for the breeding of young shrimp is needed to improve the quality and output of shrimp, one of the major hard-currency earners of the country, while the ecosystem is still protected, they said.

They talked about the application and transfer of technologies in exploitation and breeding to raise production efficiency and adapt to climate change.

Protecting the coastal resources needs to receive due attention, they said.

Credit institutions expect better performance in 2019: survey

Most of credit organisations expect their business performance will keep improving in 2019 

Most of credit organisations expect their business performance will keep improving in 2019, according to the central bank’s Monetary Forecasting and Statistics Department.

According to the department’s recent survey, 86 percent of local credit organisations perceived that their business situation improved in 2018, and 88 percent hope it will continue to get better this year.

A majority of the institutions also believe the banking system’s liquidity in terms of both the Vietnamese dong and foreign currencies will remain positive in 2019.

They said the rate of non-performing loans out of the outstanding credit balance was kept at a low level last year and tends to decline in 2019. They expect a growth rate at 13.9 percent for capital mobilisation and a credit growth rate at 15.27 percent by the end of this year, with faster growth in mobilised capital and credit in the Vietnamese dong.

The organisations added the business environment for them has been strongly improved since last year and more improvement is expected for this year.

About 77.6 percent of them predict the demand for banking services will increase, and clients will have the biggest demand for getting loans, making deposits and using payment services.

While 63.5 percent forecast overall risks of all client groups will remain stable in 2019, 15.3 percent said the risks are likely to decrease, the survey shows.

Khanh Hoa firm to export puffer fish     

The People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa Province has given approval to Phuoc Tho Private Company in Nha Trang to harvest, buy, process and export puffer fish, a potentially lucrative seafood resource.

The goals of the project are to properly manage harvesting and processing, ensure food safety, raise public awareness about the fish, and use chemicals extracted from the fish’s organs for pharmaceutical purposes.

Between 500 and 600 tonnes of puffer fish are expected to be bought in the province annually, and 200-240 tonnes of puffer fish products are slated to be exported, with value of about VND6 billion (US$258,000) annually.

The sale of puffer fish will occur at four ports and be carefully monitored by provincial authorities.

Phuoc Tho company will train its staff in puffer fish catching and processing procedures to ensure food safety, including proper sorting and the identification of poisonous and non-poisonous puffer fish.

Fishing vessels will have to be inspected by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and provided with a code as part of a supply chain for exported fish. Vessel members will have to be certified for their expertise on puffer fish and cannot consume the fish on board.

Only fish with the proper size and colour specified under prior contracts with buyers will be sold, to either buying vessels or at designated ports.

The puffer fish will be registered and certified, and tested for tetrodotoxin before exporting.

In addition, waste processing activities must be safe for surrounding residents and the environment.

The 2004-16 project for exporting puffer fish to Republic of Korea was piloted in five provinces: Hai Phong, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Kien Giang, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

All provinces except for Khanh Hoa withdrew from the project because they had problems making a profit from the fish, and many of the fish did not satisfy foreign buyers’demands. 

Foreign investors pours $321 million into VSIP Quang Ngai

Four foreign companies will be injecting $321 million of new investments in VSIP Quang Ngai. The investment registration certifications were presented to the companies at the VSIP Quang Ngai Investors’ Gathering and Investment License Presentation event.

Bekaert, a global market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coatings headquartered in Belgium will set up a $125 million steel wire and steel cord manufacturing plant to serve its customers worldwide.

Hoya Lens, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, will set up a $138 million eyeglasses lens manufacturing facility. Happy Furniture from Singapore has committed to invest $48 million in their new production facility while Gesin Viet Nam from Korea will set up a $10 million mattress manufacturing and processing plant.

These new investments will bring the total amount of FDI in VSIP Quang Ngai to $733 million. Upon the completion and operations of all the tenants, the park will create good jobs for over 35,000 workers.

Besides providing solutions that support economic development, VSIP is committed to improve the quality of life of the Quang Ngai local community. Continuing the work from Sembcorp-VSIP Water Initiative that saw the provision of clean water to 14,000 people across 10 sites in Quang Ngai province, 80 scholarships valued at VND100 million ($4,300) were presented to students from Tinh Phong, Tinh Tho, Tinh An Tay and Truong Quang Trong communes prior to and during the event. Together with other CSR initiatives to provide houses for the needy, canteen for the orphanage, financial support for heart surgery and community library, VSIP has contributed a total of VND7.6 billion ($326,800) to the Quang Ngai community.

The Vietnamese government has been directing investments to the central coastal region in an effort to balance economic development across the country, where development has largely been concentrated in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Located in Quang Ngai province, VSIP Quang Ngai broke ground in 2013 in a ceremony witnessed by the prime ministers of Vietnam and Singapore.

With VSIP strong track record and commitments of the local authorities, infrastructure including major roads, Waste Water Treatment Plant, Fire Fighting Station were put in place quickly and foreign investments across major industries were secured. In 2018, VSIP Quang Ngai attracted totally $351 million in FDI, accounting for 93 per cent of the province’s FDI.

“We are heartened to see how far VSIP Quang Ngai has come in the short five years. We are very thankful for the vote of confidence from investors and the strong support from the government. As the park develops, we will continue to work closely with the leaders and people of Quang Ngai to bring sustainable economic and social development to the province,” said Anthony Tan, general director of VSIP Quang Ngai.

Thanh Hoa to expand Nghi Son EZ

The Nghi Son Economic Zone in the central province of Thanh Hoa will be expanded to 106,000 ha, ten times larger than its initial planned size, in order to meet business demand and turn the area into a driving force for the socio-economic development of the province and the north-central region.

The new master plan was announced by the Ministry of Construction and provincial authorities in Tinh Gia District on Wednesday. It includes nearly 66,500ha of land and more than 39,500ha of sea area.

The expanded zone will cover the whole area of ​​Tinh Gia District, the communes of Yen My, Cong Binh and Cong Chinh in Nong Cong District, and the communes of Thanh Tan, Thanh Ky and Yen Lach in Nhu Thanh District.

Chairman of Thanh Hoa People’s Committee Nguyen Dinh Xung said the adjustment would make Nghi Son a multi-sector economic zone with a focus on heavy industry and basic industry, along with effective exploitation of the seaport.

“Nghi Son Economic Zone will be a synchronous and modern industrial urban complex containing services and tourism, with the centre being Nghi Son industrial city and Hai Ninh, Yen My and Thanh Tam urban areas, which will be developed into smart, sustainable areas,” said Xung.

The zone is one of eight important economic zones in Viet Nam. It is also an important transport hub, a gateway for exchanging goods and connecting trade with northern Laos, northeastern Thailand and sub-areas of Thanh Hoa by national and international maritime routes through the Nghi Son road system and seaport.

Xung said the province would continue improving its business investment environment and boosting promotion programmes to attract investments in the economic zone and other industrial parks.

The province will push ahead with the construction of essential infrastructure systems for the zone, Xung added.

In 2018, it contributed VND12 trillion (US$516 million) to the State budget.

Deputy Minister of Construction Phan Thi My Linh said the zone would help solve land shortages for supporting industries, the high-tech industry, light industry and processing of agricultural products and seafood. It should also help develop tourism within the economic zone by adding accommodations.

Linh told local authorities to implement the plan in line with the current legal regulations.

The new plan was approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 7, 2018. It will expand the zone from 18,000ha to 106,000ha, for operation from now to 2035.

The Nghi Son EZ, established in 2006, is some 200km to the south of the capital city of Ha Noi. It houses the Nghi Son seaport and the Nghi Son Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex – the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

ACV wants to be investor of key items at Long Thanh Airport

The Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) wants to become the investor of key items at Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.

In a proposal sent to the Ministry of Transport recently, ACV said it wanted to invest in the passenger terminal, airfield items including the apron, runway, fuel distribution system, parking and cargo terminal.

Chairman of ACV Lai Xuan Thanh said the corporation was willing to invest between US$1 billion and 1.5 billion out of total $5.4 billion investment capital set for the first phase of the Long Thanh Airport.

Thanh said they were working with joint venture JFV, which includes Japan Airport Consultants (JAC-Japan), Nippon Koei (NK-Japan), Oriental Consultants Global (OCG-Japan), ADP Ingenierie (ADPi-France), Airport Design and Construction Consultancy (ADCC-Viet Nam), and Transport Engineering Design Inc Company (TEDI-Viet Nam). The joint venture had completed the update to prepare the feasibility study for the project.

Regarding the design of the passenger terminal, on the basis of the selected architectural plans, the consultant has carried out the design of the passenger terminal facility, complying with the International Civil Aviation Organistion regulations and Vietnamese standards.

It also includes auxiliary items such as office buildings, an emergency centre, cargo terminal and maintenance area.

Long Thanh International Airport project consists of three phases, with total investment of more than $16 billion. Of which, the first phase has investment of more than $5.4 billion focusing on a runway, a passenger terminal and synchronous auxiliary items with a capacity of 25 million passengers per year and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo. It is expected to be completed and put into operation by 2025.

As planned, by June 2019, the consultant will complete the feasibility study.

Vietnam sees export, trade opportunities in Cambodian market

Vietnam’s exports to Cambodia exceeded US$3 billion last year, setting a record high in a decade and opening up opportunities for local firms to capitalise on untapped potential of the neighbouring market, statistics show.

In the past three years, the value of Vietnamese shipments to Cambodia increased continuously from US$2.2 billion in 2016 to US$2.77 billion in 2017 and US$3.4 billion in the first 11 months of 2018.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, during the January-November period last year, the export of steel, petroleum, and garment-textile products to Cambodia recorded significant increases and together accounted for the lion’s share of the country’s total, at 49.63%. 

Notably, 1.2 million tonnes of steel products were exported to the market for over US$796 million, annual increases of 53.04 and 74.36%, respectively. Firms have been advised to continue coming up with business plans to boost construction material shipments to Cambodia.

Fruit export also soared to reel in US$2.4 million in the period, indicating a rosy outlook for the sector. Material plastic and timber-woodwork products also joined the upward trend, bringing in US$15 million and US$9.98 million, up 110.99 and 44.375% on year, respectively.

Recently, upbeat signals have led to a forecast that Vietnamese enterprises will have more chances to make gains from the Cambodian market.

Last year, the Cambodian Government introduced the Rectangular Strategy-Phase 4 which covers a priority of boosting economic development via increasing business activities with major partners and foreign direct investments, as well as improving international trade. It means Vietnam has favorable conditions to invest in the economy.

At the Vietnam – Cambodia business forum held in Hanoi on December 6 last year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the local government has adjusted the investment law to facilitate foreign investors. He added that it also put forth a series of measures to better the country’s business climate, which simplifies and automates customs procedures, and cuts official and unofficial fees to boost import-export.

Official statistics announced at the forum showed that as of November 2018, Vietnam had 210 investment projects in Cambodia with a combined registered capital surpassing US$3 billion. Among the 77 countries and territories worldwide, Vietnamese investors are pouring the third biggest sum of their capital in Cambodia.

F&B procurement startup raises seed capital from Japanese investor

Kamereo, a Vietnamese sourcing platform for restaurants, has raised US$500,000 in seed funding from Japan’s Genesia Ventures and Velocity Ventures Vietnam.

Japanese Taku Tanaka, founder of Kamereo, said the newly acquired money would be used to upgrade the platform’s service offerings and strengthen the customer care team.

"We use technology to solve the buying and sourcing problem, and restaurants can focus on their core business to bring the best culinary experience to customers. In future we will expand our services to other sectors and regions."

From his experience, Tanaka, who moved to Vietnam in 2015 as CEO of a pizza chain, found that procurement operations were mainly labor-intensive and inefficient. 

"We believe that technology can solve this problem, providing solutions to reduce the cost of personnel in a transparent and accurate manner," he said.

The Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered business-to-business procurement platform, established last June, now has more than 4,000 product categories, 120 partner suppliers and 200 registered restaurants.

While Kamereo will focus its resources on Vietnam for now, it is planning a series A round of funding involving a few million US dollars in late 2019 or 2020 to expand in Southeast Asia.

The funding came amid a technology startup boom in Vietnam’s F&B market where delivery platforms such as GoViet and Grab battle for market share down the supply chain.

A report published last October by Vietnam Research said Vietnamese spend more than a third of their income on food and beverages ahead of education and utilities. 

Global research firm Nielsen also considered F&B one of the most attractive industries, with the potential to become a major player in the Vietnamese economy, citing findings from one of its studies which found food and beverages were two of the 10 most bought products online in 2017.

Vietnam mulls $860 million northwestern expressway

A pre-feasibility study is set to be done for the VND20 trillion ($861.82 million) Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway.

The 85-kilometer expressway will run from Hoa Binh town in the province of the same name to Moc Chau District in Son La Province in the northern mountains.

It will link up with an existing highway between Hanoi and Hoa Binh, thus helping reduce the travel time between Hanoi and Moc Chau to just two hours from the current 4-5 hours.

The expressway, to be built by a public-private partnership, will have four lanes and require 870 hectares of land. 

To determine if the expressway is needed, the government has asked the Ministry of Transport for a report on the current state of transport infrastructure in the northwestern region compared to the rest of the country.  

It has also ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to research the impacts of using agricultural and protected forest land for the expressway, including the risks of flash floods and landslides. 

Quang Nam province attracts 5.8 billion USD in FDI

The central province of Quang Nam licensed 26 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with total capital of nearly 300 million USD in 2018, bringing the total number of FDI projects in the province to 169, worth 5.8 billion USD.

At a recent press conference, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Huynh Khanh Toan said the province also granted investment licences to 64 domestic investment projects worth 6 trillion VND (265 million USD) in total.

He said most of the major projects are based in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (OEZ), creating 21,000 jobs for local and neighbouring provinces.

Toan said the province has developed 55 industrial complexes and nine industrial parks to offer investment opportunities.

The province, which is home to UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites such as Hoi An and My Son Sanctuary, as well as world biosphere reserve Cham Islands-Hoi An, hosted 6.5 million tourists, of which 3.8 million were foreigners, marking growth of 21.5 percent over last year.

In 2018, the Vinpearl Group put into operation the first stage of Vinpearl Quang Nam Resort Complex on 179ha in Thang Binh district with total investment of 4.8 trillion VND (212 million USD).

Local Truong Hai Company, in cooperation with Japanese car producer Mazda, also inaugurated the second Mazda plant in the province with total investment of 12 trillion VND (520 million USD), producing 100,000 cars for both domestic and export markets, Toan added.

According to the provincial report, the 4 billion USD Nam Hoi An Integrated Resort, invested by VinaCapital and Gold Yield Enterprises Corporations, will open soon.

Quang Nam also plans to upgrade Chu Lai airport to make the province a key destination and logistics centre for foreign investors in the central region, and link local economic zones with those in adjacent Quang Ngai and Da Nang.

Budget carrier Vietjet Air and US partner Parsons Brinckerhoff have proposed a master plan for upgrading the airport in three phases – from now until 2020, 2020-2025 and beyond 2025 with an estimated 2.5 trillion VND (111 million USD) from the provincial budget.  

Last month, the Government announced the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone as a multi-sector economic zone stretching across 27,000ha, which will host various industries including automobile manufacturing, car support industry, oil refinery, high-tech agriculture, mechanical industry, seaports and urban zones.

Vietnam Int’l Arbitration Centre receives 180 disputes in 2018

The Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) received 180 disputes in 2018, with total dispute value amounting to 9.4 trillion VND (404.2 million USD), heard a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on January 11. 

Statistics show that the concerned parties hailed from 60 countries worldwide and 50 Vietnamese cities and provinces.

It took the centre about 150 days to address each case. Only one percent of the VIAC’s rulings were abrogated over the past five years. 

VIAC Permanent Vice President and Secretary General Vu Anh Duong said the disputes covered different sectors such as trade, investment and services. 

The centre is working on online procedural steps, while striving to improve its operational quality and human resources, towards transparent and effective dispute settlement. 

Chau Viet Bac, VIAC Deputy Director in HCM City, stressed the need for businesses to understand the role of commercial arbitration and mediation. 

VIAC is an independent and non-profit organisation. The objective of VIAC is to promote the dispute resolution method of arbitration or alternative dispute resolutions (ADR). VIAC has a strong desire of building up an objective, impartial and reliable method of dispute resolution which also ensures the effectiveness and convenience. VIAC has been considering as a reputable arbitration institute in Vietnam and gains much of reliance of domestic and international business communities. The organisation has about 170 arbitrators and 50 mediators.

Vietjet Air launches third route to Japan

New-age carrier Vietjet Air launched a service connecting Hanoi and Tokyo, Japan, on January 11.

This is the carrier’s third route between Vietnam and Japan, aiming to not only meet the rising demand for air travel, but also contribute to the development of tourism, trade and cultural exchange between the two countries, Vietjet said in a statement.

The launch of this new route offers a new travel option for people and travellers from Tokyo, and the Kanto region in general, to Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, from where they have easy access to many famous destinations in the country, said Do Xuan Quang, Vietjet’s Vice President.

He added that the people from the two countries and international tourists can also effortlessly transit to other ASEAN countries or destinations across the North Asia region with Vietjet’s comprehensive and constantly expanding flight network.

The Hanoi -Tokyo route operates daily return flights with a flight time of around six hours per leg. 

Previously, Vietjet launched two direct routes to Japan, including Hanoi - Osaka on November 8, 2018 and Ho Chi Minh City - Osaka on December 14, 2018.

For the newest route, Vietjet and Japan Airlines have cooperated to offer a code-share flight service. The two airlines’ code-share service is also applied to Vietjet’s domestic routes, including Hanoi-HCM City, Hanoi–Da Nang and HCM City–Da Nang.

Vietjet is the first airline in Vietnam to operate as a new-age airline offering flexibly-saving ticket fares and diversified services to meet customers’ demands. It provides not only transport services but also uses the latest e-commerce technologies to offer various products and services for consumers. 

Vietjet is a fully-fledged member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. Vietjet was named “Best Ultra Low-Cost Airline 2018 - 2019” and warded the highest ranking for safety with 7-stars in 2018 by the world’s only safety and product rating website AirlineRatings.com. The airline has been also listed in the world's 50 best airlines for healthy financing and operations by Airfinance Journal in 2018.

Currently, Vietjet operates 60 A320, A321 aircraft with more than 385 flights daily, carrying more than 65 million passengers to date, with 105 routes covering destinations across Vietnam and international destinations such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), mainland China, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia.

The airline has plans to expand its flight network across the Asia-Pacific region and has signed contracts to buy new-generation aircraft from prestigious global plane manufacturers.

Dak Nong expects boost in investment attraction

An investment promotion conference on January 14 is expected to create a boost in the investment flow into the Central Highland province of Dak Nong. 

Nearly 1,000 delegates and businesspeople at home and abroad will attend the event, the biggest of its kind so far, which is held as part of activities to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the province (2004-2019).

Luu Van Trung, Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, said the locality wants to call for domestic and foreign economic groups to invest in the fields of hi-tech agriculture, mining, renewable energy, and tourism, in line with the province’s  development direction for 2015-2020. 

The 11th congress of the province’s Party organisation for the 2015-2020 tenure defined three breakthroughs for the local economy, which are mining-energy, processing-hi-tech agriculture, and tourism-service.

According to Trung, at the conference, the provincial People’s Committee will grant investment licences and sign commitment minutes with total registered capital of over 48 trillion VND (over 2 billion USD).

Dak Nong is a gateway to the south of the Central Highlands. It shares a borderline of 130km with Cambodia with two border gates.

The province has large areas of fertile land and mild climate suitable for agriculture, especially industrial crops and fruit trees.

Dak Nong is rich in mineral resources, particularly bauxite. It also has great potential for tourism development thanks to beautiful landscape and the rich culture of local ethnic minority communities. 

Local authorities have put forth a number of specific policies and mechanisms to draw investors, including the approval of a resolution in August 2018 to encourage and attract investment in the province.

Besides accelerating administrative reform, the province has promoted the application of information technology and improved the business investment environment.

As a result, hundreds of investment projects in mining, hydropower, agro-forestry processing, and tourism have been carried out.

The province has put into operation two industrial parks on a combined area of 327.5 hectares and it is making a planning scheme for Nhan Co 2 industrial park on over 800 hectares to facilitate investment in mining and aluminium processing projects.