Mekong delta promotes Agritourism with farmer participation

The travel industry in the Mekong delta has lately taken off with more holiday-makers, increased revenue and more farmer participation.

Dong Thap province at the heart of the Mekong Delta is one of provinces with most farmer participating in agri-tourism. Nguyen Be Tu, owner of Tu ca Linh a 3-hectare agritourism farm in Tam Nong District said in these days, many holiday-makers phoned to experience flood season in Dong Thap Muoi when they can enjoy fishing linh fish and other species of animals.

Before, Tu family just work on paddy fields and lotus field. After he was sent to visit agritourism farm models in other places, he decided to invest in 3 hectare lotus field into homestay tourism farm.

Visitors can live in thatched houses next to lotus fields to breath fresh air and enjoy nature and landscape. Visitors can drain ditches for fish, pick up vegetables and live with kind inhabitants.

Owner Tu engaged in agritourism for his passion saying that he just wanted to introduce more special animals in Dong Thap; accordingly, many travelers find its way to his homestay farm.

Tangerine farmer Doan Anh Kiet in Lai Vung District converted his farm into homestay accommodation for passion to introduce people and specialties of Dong Thap to visitors.

Deputy head of the province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ngo Quang Tuyen said that the province has so far set up models of agritourism such as tangerine farm in Lai Vung District, mango farm in Cao Lanh, watermelon in Thanh Binh District, organic paddy field Tam Viet in Hogn Ngu District, hi-tech flower center in Sa Dec and lotus farm in Thap Muoi.

The Mekong delta province of Ben Tre takes heed to develop agritourism also. A representative from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the province has 39 agritourism villages and 18 handicraft villages where visitors can watch each steps of growing ornamental flower, weaving mattress, knitting and making coconut sweet and cakes.

Farmers in districts Cho Lach, Chau Thanh, Thanh Phu grow organic watermelon, vegetables and orchard for tourism sector.

Tien Giang Province has advantages with agritourism as it has 80,000ha orchard and canals , rivers, special dishes. For years, farmers in isles Thoi Son, Tan Phong have combined growing trees and promoting agritourism to attract many holiday-makers. 16 homestay farms have been opened to meet visitors’ demand.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said that not only Vietnam but also many nations in the world take heeds to agritourism as the industry generate great benefits contributing to push socio – economic growth especially in countryside stably.

Many countries in the world have exploited agritourism which can beef up consumtion of agricultural products by visitors. Thailand, South Korea and Japan are successful in implementing the model of agritourism; accordingly, Vietnam should learn it, said Deputy Head of the Administration Ngo Hoai Chung.

However, tourism sector should design more forms of agritourism or else visitors will find it uninteresting. Deputy head of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in An Giang Pham The Trieu said each province should re-think its strength in developing agritourism and then link with other provinces to launch tours.

Qatar Airways to Launch direct flights to Da Nang

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce the launch of direct flights to Da Nang, Vietnam, starting December 19 2018. The beautiful coastal city will be the third Vietnamese destination on the award-winning airline’s rapidly expanding global network.

The four-times weekly flights will be served with a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of our newest gateway to Vietnam, the beautiful city of Da Nang. This new direct route demonstrates our commitment to expanding our presence in the Far East, a highly-important market for Qatar Airways.

“Our existing services to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are already incredibly popular. Every day, thousands of passengers experience a seamless connection between flights through our state-of-the-art Doha hub at Hamad International Airport, and now we have made it even easier for travellers to reach these increasingly popular Asian destinations. We look forward to enabling our passengers to experience the beautiful coastal scenery of Da Nang, and will continue to explore opportunities to expand further in the Far East.”

Qatar Airways began direct services to Ho Chi Minh City in 2007, and launched its Hanoi service in 2010. Currently, the airline provides twice-daily direct flights to Vietnam’s capital city and 10 times weekly flights to Ho Chi Minh City. 

In October 2017, Qatar Airways announced its interline partnership with Vietnam-based Vietjet Air, allowing Qatar Airways’ passengers to travel to and from points in Vietnam not served directly by Qatar Airways using a single reservation across both airlines’ networks.

Director of Da Nang Tourism Department, Mr. Ngo Quang Vinh, said: “Da Nang is becoming increasingly popular among tourists, and has experienced extraordinary development since 2008. As of June 2018, Da Nang has welcomed the presence of 24 international airlines, operating 15 frequent direct flights to and from overseas destinations. 

We are delighted to welcome Qatar Airways, the award-winning airline playing a crucial role in strengthening the connection of Da Nang to the world. We are looking forward to welcoming more tourists to Da Nang, and we will continue our efforts to transform Da Nang into an outstanding global destination.”

Da Nang, one of the largest cities in Vietnam, is known for its sandy beaches and remarkable history as a French colonial port. This charming city offers magnificent views of Da Nang Bay and its beautiful Marble Mountains, making it an ideal destination for a relaxing summer vacation. 

Da Nang has also seen a tremendous increase in its number of visitors, with a record-breaking 6.6 million tourists in 2017, doubling the figure in 2013. In 2015, the New York Times also listed Da Nang among the top 52 places to visit.

As part of its continued expansion plans, Qatar Airways  plans a host of exciting new destinations throughout 2018, including Gothenburg, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia and Valletta, Malta, just to name a few.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Business Class’ by the 2018 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Business Class Seat’, ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.’

Blockchain can advance Vietnam's global trade role

Blockchain holds great potential to enable Vietnam to become a bigger part of the global trading network and advance the country’s national branding, especially in agriculture, economists from the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub said in a recently-released RMIT report.

Dr Chris Berg, a core research team member at the Hub, said the emerging technology provides many opportunities for Vietnam once the country further develops trade lines and has the capacity to change regulations and policies in line with trends.

“By definition, blockchain is a governance technology for governing ledgers of information,” he explained. “It also acts as a foundational economic infrastructure on which supply chain information, such as provenance and trade finance, can be trusted and coordinated, and this is where it can help governments and economies around the world, including Vietnam.”

Despite the modern creation of standardized shipping containers and trade organizations that aim to reduce costs such as tariffs, quotas, and import restrictions, the way that supply chain information is produced and governed has hardly changed for centuries, he added. “As is the case in Vietnam, or any part of the world, the majority of the information about the characteristics and provenance of goods is paper-based and opaque,” he said.

Dr Berg demonstrated this with an example of a single shipment of goods from Africa to Europe, which “was estimated to include over 200 different communications between over 30 different organizations and individuals.”

“Such a system is error-prone and susceptible to fraud,” he went on. “Reducing these information costs is now critical to usher in the next wave of globalization that Vietnam is a part of.” He believes that this is where blockchain can help. “It is the new way to overcome the information costs and trust problems that are facing Vietnamese and global supply chains,” he said.

“Rather than relying on paper-based communications between supply chain parties, blockchain can act as a public and trusted ledger of information. It can be a centralized point of trusted information to record and maintain information. Each time a good passes hands along a supply chain, information about that good can be updated on a blockchain-based ledger.”

Meanwhile, Professor Jason Potts, Director of the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub and Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs in Melbourne, sees blockchain technology as a chance for Vietnam to not only be a part of the global supply chain but also to take a leadership position by providing high-quality regulatory frameworks to neighboring countries.

“Blockchain is basically a whole new form of economy,” he said. “The hurdle Vietnam faces of figuring out how to use blockchain technology is the same hurdle that everyone else faces in the world, and mostly it is about experimentation, about collaboration between government and firms to try experiments and learn how to use this technology. This provides an opportunity for leadership.”

Dr Berg noted that blockchain is also a powerful technology for Australia, as the country exports a large amount of high-quality agricultural products.

“We can demonstrate things like quality governance, organic aspects, GMO-free, or something like that, to consumers at the end of the supply chain,” he said. “It will bring back value to the original producers of the good, to the farmers, rather than having that value spread across the whole supply chain or captured at the very end, like at restaurants or supermarkets.”

“It will enable Vietnamese farmers to capture more value,” Professor Potts added. “It’s not only a win for farmers, but also for local economies, as the quality of the product depends on the information about the product.”

The two economists believe blockchain presents a huge opportunity for Vietnam to move from basic to advanced manufacturing.

“Blockchain technology allows for much faster and clearer demonstrations of the quality of the product as the country moves up to more advanced manufacturing,” said Dr Berg.

Professor Potts sees this technology as a very powerful tool to leverage country branding as well. “If you are doing good work, this is a good way to demonstrate it,” he concluded.

Vietnam sets target of US$20 billion wood exports by 2025

The timber and forestry products processing industry set a target of earning US$9 billion from wood exports this year and increasing the value to US$25 billion by 2025.

The target was revealed at a launch ceremony of the 16th Hoa Mai (Apricot Blossom) furniture design competition organized by the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA) on October 8.

The exports of wood and forestry products hit a record high of US$8 billion last year. One of the industry’s main targets in its sustainable development process in order to turn Vietnam into a reputable and legal wood production hub in the world is to make the products more competitive through designs, diversify product samples and train young and creative designers.

The Hoa Mai annual competition is one of the most reputable awards of the industry. This year’s event will take place from October 2018 to March 2019. The contest will be held in two rounds: “Design idea” and “Making samples”. The 20 best ideas in the first round will go through to the second round. The jury members will be famous domestic and foreign designers.

HAWA president Nguyen Quoc Khanh said the industry aims to shift from 80% of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) manufacturing to 80% of Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) manufacturing by 2025. He hopes that the competition will find talented designers to improve the industry's competitive capacity.

Vietnam – the leading coffee supplier to Russia

Vietnam was the leading supplier of coffee to Russia in the first half of this year with import volume increasing by 59.3%.

According to the International Trade Centre (ITC), Vietnam’s share in Russia’s coffee market rose from 32.8% in the first half of last year to 49.9% in the first half of this year

Meanwhile in the last eight months of this year, Germany and the US remained the largest consumers of Vietnamese coffee with market shares making up 12.6% and 9.8% respectively.

Strong growth was reported in exports to Indonesia (an eight-fold increase), Russia (over 66.6%) and the Philippines (over 46.6%).

Despite being the largest supplier of coffee to Russia, Vietnam's average coffee price was lower than that in other markets. To secure the leading position in the market, Vietnam is advised to focus on the export of processed coffee rather than Robusta coffee beans.
Derivatives liquidity down in September     

Trading liquidity of the derivatives market fell in September despite the number of trading accounts rising 9 per cent from August, according to the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX).

Market liquidity dropped 15 per cent monthly in September with trading volume reaching 1.6 million contracts, per HNX.

Domestic individual investors accounted for 99 per cent of total transactions while domestic institutional investors accounted for only 0.55 per cent. The figure for foreign investors was 0.12 per cent.

The number of accounts on the derivatives market increased by 10 per cent monthly to 46,556.

Open interest (OI) – the total number of open or outstanding options and/or futures contracts – was down 5 per cent from August to 14,615 contracts.

There are now four futures contracts available for trading, namely VN30F1810, VN30F1811, VN30F1812 and VN30F1903.

The four contracts will expire in October, November and December of 2018 and March 2019, respectively.

In September, the HNX approved the market trading membership for ACB Securities JSC, raising the number of market members to 11 securities firms. 

Big facility management firms merge VN arms     

ADEN, a Pan-Asian facility management company, has agreed to acquire the Viet Nam subsidiary of international facility management company OCS to strengthen its leading position in the country.

The transaction will also enable OCS to focus on its core markets. It is subject to regulatory approval.

Through this acquisition, ADEN will significantly enhance the integrated facility services it offers key account customers in the strategically important Vietnamese market.

“I am delighted that we have reached an agreement with OCS Group,” Joachim Poylo, ADEN Group Founder, said.

“ADEN has had a long-stated ambition of developing its presence in Viet Nam where our group was created in 1997. Both companies and teams share a similar culture and values. Together with OCS Vietnam, we are now in a stronger position to help our clients achieve their missions in Viet Nam.”

Henri-Charles Claude, managing director of ADEN Vietnam, said: “This acquisition will immediately create a strong technical services platform with the right size, strategic intersections, capabilities and innovative concepts.”

OCS Vietnam is a technical and hygiene services provider with major clients in Ha Noi, Da Nang and HCM City.

Shanghai-based ADEN, which provides food service and security solutions in addition to maintenance, cleaning and integrated facility management, will become available to the clients of OCS in Viet Nam.

OCS Group employs more than 87,000 people around the world. 

Agribank filings show less bad debt     

Non-performing loans (NPLs) of State-owned Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) kept at the Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC) have dropped by over VND9.4 trillion (US$401.7 million) to VND9.59 trillion in the first half of this year, the bank’s latest audited financial statement showed.

The largest Vietnamese bank by assets released its audited financial statement for the first half of 2018 last week, much later than other banks. The statements showed the bank’s total NPLs – including debts kept at both VAMC and Debts and Assets Trading Corporation (VND196 billion) – were nearly VND29.95 trillion by the end of June, accounting for 3.2 per cent of the bank’s total outstanding loans. This represents a significantly lower bad debt ratio than past rates – 4.15 per cent at the end of 2017 and 6.38 per cent at the end of 2016.

Experts said the results mean it is feasible the bank will soon be able to bring its bad debt ratio down to below 3 per cent as required by the central bank.

Agribank’s pre-tax profit reached VND3.8 trillion in the first six months of 2018, up 37 per cent from last year. Irregular income surged sharply by 59 per cent to reach VND2.16 trillion, primarily thanks to the handling of bad debts.

The bank’s net income from lending activities increased by 11.9 per cent to VND19.13 trillion for the period, the highest among Viet Nam’s commercial banks. Its net income from services was VND1.61 trillion, up 27.2 per cent.

By the end of June, Agribank’s total assets were 3.9 per cent higher than at the beginning of the year, reaching VND1,197 trillion. The bank’s total outstanding loans increased by 5.6 per cent to VND925.21 trillion while mobilised capital climbed 2.5 per cent to VND1,053 trillion.

Agribank’s chairman Trinh Ngoc Khanh recently announced that his bank will complete the corporate valuation process by the end of the year before launching an initial public offering (IPO) in 2020. 

Domestic consumption of seafood trending upwards     

Seafood consumption in the domestic market is predicted to increase sharply, with the annual average expected to hit 33-35 kilos per person by 2020, said acting director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry’s Agricultural Market Processing and Development Nguyen Quoc Toan.

Speaking at a conference on developing the domestic seafood market in Ha Noi on Monday, Toan said seafood consumption among the country’s 97 million people was 31 kilo per head in 2017. It will likely increase as income and living standards rise.

“Viet Nam also receives more than 13 million international visitors every year, so there is great potential for the market to develop,” said Toan.

Viet Nam has about 600 large-scale seafood processing units for export and nearly 4,000 small- and medium-scale units. In total, the plants produce more than 540,000 tonnes of seafood products annually worth over VND 20 trillion (US $854.88 million), and employ 40,000 workers.

"In fact, products with stamps to certify their origins are well received by consumers,” Toan said. “There are still several problems with our production and seafood raising ponds, and customers like knowing where their food is coming from. This is an opportunity for us to perfect the production process to serve the domestic market.”

In order to boost domestic consumption, Toan said new policies are needed that will attract investors and enhance production chains.

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, seafood export between January and September period was estimated at $6.4 billion, an increase of 7.2 per cent over the same period last year. Vietnamese seafood is exported to 164 countries and territories. 

Dragon fruit prices hit rock bottom     

The price of dragon fruit in the central province of Binh Thuan, the country’s largest producer of the crop, has fallen significantly in the last two weeks.

Although prices are low, traders are still unwilling to purchase this kind of fruit.

In Hàm Chính Commune (Ham Thuan Bac District), many dragon fruit farmers are looking for buyers.

According to some farmers, the price of dragon fruit declined sharply after the Mid-Autumn festival. It fell from a range of VND10,000 to VND15,000 (US$0.43 to $0.64) per kilo to VND700 - VND2,000 per kilo.

Farmer Ngo Minh Hai in Bình An Village, Ham Chinh Commune has 500 trees full of ripe fruit with an estimated yield of over three tonnes.

For weeks, his family has struggled to make ends meet because dealers demand an unreasonably low price or refuse to buy dragon fruit altogether. Hai’s wife said around the Mid-Autumn festival, one trader offered to buy some of their fruit at VND7,500 per kilo but the family decided not to sell until the whole garden ripened.

A week later, the price had dropped to VND3,000 per kilo. Acknowledging their mistake and accepting the loss, the family decided to sell their ripe fruit. But at that point, traders had stopped buying.

Truong Van Ba’s family in Thang Hiep village (Ham Thang Ward, Ham Thuan Bac District) found themselves in a similar situation. With nearly 1,000 trees planted on 1ha area, they also decided to let their fruit ripen before finding a buyer.

Ba said that prices have never been so low in his many years of growing dragon fruit.

Some traders say higher-than-normal yields have caused the price drop. Traders cannot sell fruit as quickly as it ripens, and some markets have started consuming less dragon fruit.

Moreover, according to some export enterprises, the dive in dragon fruit prices is attributed to the decreasing imports from the Chinese market, the major market for Vietnamese dragon fruit. In the past few years, China has also started to grow this kind of fruit to suppy its domestic market, and the country has now started to harvest.

Binh Thuan province has more than 27,000 hectares of dragon fruit with a total output of over 500,000 tonnes per year. It is grown mostly in Ham Thuan Nam, Ham Thuan Bac and Bac Binh Districts.

Dragon fruit is mainly exported to China, Japan, the Netherlands, and the US.

HCM City hosts meet for consumer co-op heads     

The 18th International Co-operative Alliance - Asia Pacific regional workshop for managers opened at Saigon Co.op’s head office in HCM City on Monday.

The three-day event, which has the theme “Management of Consumer Co-operatives in Asia-Pacific”, is being attended by 50 delegates from Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Viet Nam.

In his opening remark, Tran Lam Hong, deputy general director of Saigon Co.op, said the workshop is a continuation of the tradition of the international co-operative movement of sharing the retail experience among members to help each other improve quality and the efficiency of their business.

The workshop will feature discussions on retail sales, pricing, brands, trade and supply chain management, small and medium-sized modern retail models, and specific retail models for each country in the region.

A Saigon Co.op executive will introduce its small-scale retail models such as Co.op Food and Fair Price shops, which it is focusing on growing.

The visiting delegates will visit Coopmart Ly Thuong Kiet supermarket, Bach Ma Co.op Food store in District 10, Co.op Smile convenient stores, and two joint venture models between Saigon Co.op and NTUC Fair Price of Singapore: Co.opXtra Su Van Hanh hypermarket and 24h Cheers convenience store in HCM City. 

Vietnam should boost domestic consumption of aquatic products: Official

Businesses should pay more attention to bolster consumption of aquatic products in the domestic market as it holds great potential, said Nguyen Quoc Toan, acting head of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority, on October 8.

The official made the statement during a seminar on the development of domestic market for aquatic products held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, held in Hanoi.

Through the event, experts are encouraged to put forward solutions to bolster domestic aquatic product processing and consumption in the coming time.

It also offers chances for businesses to adjust production methods to serve the domestic market comprising of 97 million people, the official noted. 

Aquatic product consumption by Vietnamese people sees an increase each year, standing at 31kg per person in 2017, Toan said, adding that the figure could rise to 35kg in 2020. The country also welcomes more than 13 million foreign tourists annually, who also have a special taste for the products.

Vietnam is home to various aquatic product processing firms and facilities. In addition to the 600 facilities processing the products for export, there are 4,000 small- and medium-sized ones and processing villages which turn out over 540,000 tonnes of products worth more than 20 trillion VND (856.55 million USD) each year and provide jobs for about 40,000 labourers.

Domestic consumption has helped stabilise production when exports face difficulties in global market, he added.

Toan also underlined the significance of origin-tracing stamps, saying that products with such stamps record huge consumption.

To boost domestic consumption, it is necessary to revise, supplement and replace inappropriate policies, as well as to add new policies to attract more investors and link production and consumption chains.

The Agro Processing and Market Development Authority stressed the need to increase checks on food hygiene and standards, as well as applying quality management system for operation of processing facilities.

Furthermore, localities should bolster trade promotion activities so that products of traditional villages could reach major markets. They are also advised to effectively monitor product quality and invest in new technologies and equipment.

Concern grows over Tet price hikes

The petrol retail price saw its highest surge so far this year on Saturday, raising concerns over unpredictable impacts to the economy and the possible increase of goods prices during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays, experts said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance raised the retail price of biofuel E5 RON 92 by 675 VND to 20,906 VND per litre.

The price of RON 95 also rose by 577 VND to 22,347 VND per litre, while the prices of diesel and kerosene went up by 485 VND and 403 VND to 18,611 VND and 17,086 VND per litre, respectively. The price of mazut increased by 752 VND to 15,964 VND per kilo.

According to the ministries, global oil and petrol prices surged to 90.63 USD a barrel in the past 15 days. If the price of crude oil climbs to 100 USD a barrel by the end of this year, the country will have to consider action to stabilise prices.

Earlier this year, the National Assembly approved important goals such as growth rate and inflation based on the scenario of the crude oil price staying at 50 USD a barrel. The surging price in the world market will thus certainly affect the economy.

On the positive side, rising oil prices will increase revenue for the State budget through the sale of crude oil. However, the benefits from the sale of crude oil to the economy at this time are not as great as before 2014 because the Government has taken into account sustainable growth scenarios independent of oil prices.

In fact, crude oil production is falling, from 17.23 million tonnes in 2016 to 15.52 million tonnes in 2017.

However, former head of the Central Institute for Economic Management Dr Le Dang Doanh said the most daunting impact was the pressure to increase domestic retail prices, thereby reducing competitiveness, threatening inflation in the economy and causing people’s actual income to fall.

Nguyen Duc Do from the Academy of Finance said the CPI would be under control and remain less than 4 per cent, as set by the National Assembly.

However, rising petroleum prices would have a direct impact on people’s spending, causing inflationary pressures through 2019.

Experts said some products such as food, cosmetics and packages saw a price increase before the petrol price hike due to the increasing input of labour cost, material and exchange rate. There would be a new surge in the future because of the petrol hike.

Le Thi Thanh Lam, deputy general director of Sai Gon Food JSC, was quoted by Lao dong (Labour) Newspaper, saying that their company has striven to keep their products’ prices stable. However, they will have to increase their prices for the upcoming Tet holiday.

The continuous increase in petrol prices would not only affect the cost of transportation, but also increase the input costs. Manufacturers are worried that prices have been locked in for the Tet holiday but that they could apply for adjustments in early March 2019. However, the company must consider only reasonable increases because the price increases always accompanied with purchasing power reduction, Lam said.

Thorakao said they had to increase their selling price starting on September 5. Huynh Ky Tran, Thorakao’s chairman, said the company had to keep their price unchanged for some wholesalers to maintain their market share.

PVTrans’ pre-tax profits soar over nine months

The pre-tax profit of the PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation (PVTrans) hit 540 billion VND in the first nine months of this year, 42 percent higher than the same period last year and meeting the target set for this year. 

Its total revenue reached 5.7 trillion VND (247.8 million USD) which is expected to rise to 7 trillion VND this year. Its member companies such as Pacific, Gas Shipping, NVTrans, and PVTrans OFS successfully fulfilled their revenue and profit targets. 

PVTrans attributed the growth to favourable conditions at home and abroad. During the period, crude oil prices in the world market moved up to 70-80 USD per barrel. 

In particular, the Dung Quat Oil Refinery is working stably, while Nghi Son Oil Refinery holds plans for commercial production in November 2018. 

Since early this year, PVTrans and member units have transported batches of crude oil by very large crude carrier (VLCC) and output products to the Nghi Son Oil Refinery. 

It also invested in PVT Hera – the largest Aframax tanker in Vietnam, and a carrier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for oil transportation in international markets. 

In order to fulfil the set targets this year, PVTrans will continue investing in a Supramax vessel with a capacity of nearly 60,000 DWT, two LPG carriers, and a tanker of chemicals. 

It has also paid attention to governance, inspection, supervision, and risk mitigation. 

Da Nang invests efforts in developing sea-based economy

As a coastal city with considerable sea-related advantages, Da Nang has created breakthrough policies to boost its blue economy development associated with marine sovereignty safeguarding.

The central city of Da Nang is home to an over-70km-long coastline, a fishing ground of 15,000sq.km, and fishery reserves of about 1.14 million tonnes.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Do Tam said that over the 10 years of realising Vietnam’s Maritime Strategy, Da Nang has successfully summoned resources to develop its sea-based economy with a focus on support policies for the fishing community.

Aside from the Government’s support, Da Nang has issued its own “breakthrough” policies to support fishermen over the past few years, including those on managing inshore fishing activities, developing offshore fishing fleets, and protecting and developing fishery resources.

These policies have encouraged fishermen to upgrade and build boats for offshore fishing, thus helping to improve the quality and value of local seafood, he noted.

In 2012, the municipal administration issued Decision No.7068/QD-UBND on policies assisting the industry with building new fishing supply boats. This was considered a “breakthrough” decision and a “revolution”, helping to change the structure of the local offshore fishing fleet.

Under this decision, fishermen received 500 million VND (21,400 USD) in cash to support them in building a new boat with the capacity of between 400CV and under 600CV; 600 million VND (25,700 USD) for building a boat with a capacity ranging from 600CV to under 800CV; and 800 million VND (34,200 USD) for building a boat of over 800CV.

There have been 84 boats built under this decision so far, with total financial aid of more than 66 billion VND (2.8 million USD), raising the number of boats with the capacity of over 90CV to 583 – a three-fold rise from 2010.

Tam added that to capitalise on local advantages and opportunities in the market, the city’s fishing sector is working to improve the fishing community’s access to capital, while improving their offshore fishing skills and the competiveness of processed seafood. Between 2016 and 2020, the sector has been focusing on restructuring the fishing fleet and keeping the catch stable.

Da Nang is also developing vessels supplying fisheries logistic services so as to raise the number of logistics vehicles to 15 by 2020 and 50 by 2030.

It looks to increase the caught seafood volume to 38,000 tonnes by 2020 and 45,000 tonnes by 2030, the official said.

Apart from the aforementioned support policies, the city plans to press on with others to protect and ease the fishing pressure on inshore aquatic resources. It will also further assist fishermen in seafood storage to minimise losses after catching.

In September 2017, the city approved a plan on developing its sea-based economy towards 2025, with a vision to 2030. Accordingly, it has set a target for the tourist number growth rate at about 13 percent between 2016 and 2030, and the volume of cargo handled at local seaports at 12-13 percent by 2025. It also looks to have the output of processed seafood for export rising by 12-13 percent by 2025 and 8-10 percent by 2030.

Concrete activities are being carried out to create new tourism products relating to marine sports and the yacht industry, to perfect coastal tourism infrastructure, and to enhance knowledge amongst tour guides on marine sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the city is also working to turn Da Nang Port into an international gateway with the Tien Sa and Lien Chieu terminals. Tien Sa terminal will specialise in serving passenger ships and cruises, while Lien Chieu terminal will serve cargo transportation.

Resources are being spent on raising the capacity of the local fishery surveillance force, improving the information system for the management of fisheries, and promoting contact with fishing boats to ensure safety for vehicles and workers at sea.

Seafood processing companies have also been encouraged to apply cleaner production technologies to reduce waste, save materials and energy, and effectively treat sources of pollution.

Total capital needed for developing sea-based economy is estimated at over 19 trillion VND (813 million USD) for 2017-2020, 13 trillion VND (556.3 million USD) for 2021-2025, and 17 trillion VND (727.4 million USD) for 2026-2030.

Vietnam has huge potential to develop its blue economy

Boasting a vibrant biodiversity of coastal and marine habitats and ecosystems, Vietnam has immense potential to develop a sustainable blue economy.

The country has an extremely long coastline extending over 3,260km and thousands of islands, with more than 20 typical ecosystem types that are home to some 11,000 sea creatures. In addition, 1,300 unique marine species have been found on its islands.

As coastal ecosystems facilitate the breeding of a variety of marine species, they pose huge potential for biodiversity while also serving as a basis for the stable development of some sea-based economic sectors such as fishing, tourism, and natural preservation. Thus, conservation must be integrated with marine economic development towards building a blue economy.

According to the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, there are approximately 1 million ha of coastal wetlands in Vietnam, most of which have been used for aquatic cultivation.

Fish reserves are estimated at 5.4 million tonnes, with sustainable exploitation potential reckoned at 2.4 million tonnes per year. In 2013, the country took in a yield of 2.3 million tonnes of seafood and earned a total export revenue of around 6.7 billion USD.

In addition, around 35 types of mineral resources have been located in the Vietnamese waters, including fuel, metal, building materials, and gemstones. The Gulf of Tonkin, the Gulf of Thailand, the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, as well as the continental shelf all hold great prospects for oil and gas production exploration. 

Besides, the East Sea is among the four regions in Southeast Asia with huge potential for renewable energies, including clathrate – a clean energy which can be used in replacement of traditional energies like coal, oil and gas. 

Bestowed with 126 stunning beaches, Vietnam has a wonderful opportunity to branch out its coastal and sea-based tourism. 

The country is also just starting to launch its maritime services thanks to its system of international sea ports. 

PVEP’s nine-month budget contribution exceeds yearly plan

The PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP)’s nine-month State budget contribution exceeded its set yearly target thanks to higher oil prices.

The corporation said it paid 7.9 trillion VND (339 million USD) to the State budget during the period, surpassing the 2018 plan by 24 percent.

Its total revenue in the first nine months of this year was estimated at 28.3 trillion VND (1.2 billion USD), an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to the nine-month plan and 10 percent higher than the yearly target.

In the context of favourable developments in oil prices, PVEP has accelerated the implementation of restructuring plan, optimized the efficiency of management apparatus and took measures to remove obstacles in investment management and financial mechanism. 

Thanks to these efforts, the oil and gas output of most oil fields exceeded the set target, with the nine-month figure hitting 3.18 million tonnes of oil equivalent, 10 percent higher than the plan. 

Notably, PVEP put Bunga Pakma field of lot PM3 CAA into production on May 12, 2018 and is working hard to begin tapping oil from Ca Tam field of lot 09-3/12 in January 2019.

The corporation is now implementing 43 oil and gas projects, including 36 domestic and seven foreign ones, and two basic investigation projects.

To fulfill its 2018 tasks, PVEP will continue focusing on close management and supervision of its projects and maintain production to ensure the accomplishment of assigned output targets. It will carry out measures to optimise the exploitation of oil fields, complete drilling and put into use development wells on schedule.

Corporate culture in Industry 4.0: key element for success

At the Forum on Corporate Culture in Industry 4.0 held on October 3 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Deloitte Vietnam, and Hanoi Association for Women Entrepreneurs (HNEW), Gian Tu Trung, principal of the Pacific-Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) College and director of IRED Institute of Education, confirmed that the people earning the most money in Vietnam and over the world rely largely on the values of culture and ethics.

Unless a corporation develops its cultural foundations, its earning will remain limited and unsustainable. Indeed, due to the pressure of competition, many companies have forgotten to develop or maintain a corporate culture.

Gian Tu Trung outlined four reasons for this failure, including a lack of awareness of culture and its role in the sustainable development of corporations; a lack of vision of corporate culture; a lack of measures and solutions to develop a corporate culture in the new era; and a lack of persistence in the process of cultural development.

“Your competitors could copy everything, such as strategies, products, process or recipes. But they cannot copy the culture of your company. This is the most important and most sustainable competitive advantage of a corporation,” emphasised Trung.

Affirming the important role of corporate culture, Ha Thu Thanh, chairwoman of Deloitte Vietnam, said that Industry 4.0 will bring take opportunities to almost all firms, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“SMEs could accelerate and catch up to the trend of Industry 4.0 if they realise that corporate culture is a core value to improve their competitiveness and grow sustainably in the 4.0 era,” confirmed Thanh.

Meanwhile, Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the VCCI, said that a firm has to pay attention to its culture in addition to improve technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “Industry 4.0 is a large wheel that makes the business grow stronger or knock them out of the loop or crush them altogether. Developing a good corporate culture will create harmony and co-operation between people and robots, and seize opportunities of Industry 4.0,” added Loc.

Industry 4.0 has been taking place across the world with great spill-over effects and significant impacts on sectors and business activities. Along with the trend of deep and wide international integration, Industry 4.0 has created many opportunities and challenges, such as improving competitiveness and management capacity and upgrading technical level.

Especially, businesses have to concentrate on corporate governance, a crucial element of which is corporate culture, to ensure their sustainable development.