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Vietnam’s exports surge in first nine months
Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of 5.4 billion USD in the first nine months of 2018, with export turnover reaching nearly 179 billion USD, up 15.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.
From January to September, 26 export commodities brought in more than 1 billion USD in export value, making up 90.3 percent of the country’s total export revenue. Five of them grossed a revenue of more than 10 billion USD, accounting for 58.2 percent of the total export value.
Textiles and garments saw the highest growth to hit 22.6 billion USD, up 17.1 percent year-on-year. The sector was followed by phones and accessories; electronic products; and machinery. These increases will create an impetus for the growth in the year’s last quarter.
Quang Ninh builds modern, uniform infrastructure for sea-based economy
Realising that a lack of infrastructure had prevented the province from fully tapping its advantages and potential, the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh set out to research and seek the central government’s permit to carry out many large-scale infrastructure projects in as early as in 2010.
owards the goal of turning the province into a locomotive and an important growth pole of the northern key economic zone, Quang Ninh paid special attention to strategic planning work in the direction of shifting to a green growth model.
The province announced seven strategic blueprints on September 14, 2014, including a master plan on socio-economic development to 2020 with a vision to 2030.
Based on strategic blueprints for the sea-based and navigation economy, Quang Ninh looked for different ways to attract investment from other sources rather than the public budget, including in the form of Public-Private partnership (PPP), in order to build a system of transport infrastructure, helping enhance regional connectivity, creating motive power for economic growth in the northern key economic region and expanding trade linkages with countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the world.
Since 2015, the province has invested more than 30 trillion VND, with 19.8 trillion VND coming from sources other than the budget, into transport infrastructure.
As of 2018, the province has put in place a modern and synchronous network of roads, connecting it with other localities in the northern key economic region such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Thai Binh and Nam Dinh. It has just signed a PPP contract to construct the Van Don-Mong Cai highway worth nearly 11.2 trillion VND (474.4 million USD).
Besides transport infrastructure, Quang Ninh has revised plans for local ports and wharves serving coal transport, thus abolishing small-scale coal wharves and storage sites along the coast of Cua Luc and Ha Long Bays as well as in Cam Pha, Dong Trieu, Uong Bi and Hoanh Bo. New specialized roads have been built for coal transport, while new modes of transport such as railway and conveyor belts are being introduced to reduce pollution.
The province also ended the transport of cement and clinker on Ha Long Bay, and relocated residents in floating fishing villages in the bay to new homes in Ha Phong ward, Ha Long city, thus improving the environment in the bay, which is a UNESCO-recognised World Heritage site.
The standing board of Quang Ninh Party Committee has issued several resolutions on specific programmes of actions to develop the sea-based economy. The resolutions identified the key tasks for the province, which are developing the system of ports, port services and maritime transport; sea-based industries, coastal economic zones and industrial parks; fisheries; sea tourism; science-technology and human resources.
Several investors, both foreign and domestic, have invested in sea ports in Quang Ninh, for example the SSA Holdings International Vietnam Inc which entered into a joint venture with Cai Lan Port Investment Joint Stock Company to build and operate Berths 2, 3 and 4 at Cai Lan Port; and Sun Group, which poured money into the Hon Gai port with the aim of turning it into an international port for cruisers.
In late 2016, the province also licensed the Dam Mac project, which aims to build a complex of sea port and industrial parks in Quang Yen town. The 315 million USD project is invested by the CDC Corporation (Cayman Islands), the Middle Utilities Company Pte. Ltd (Singapore), and the Infra Asia Investment Ltd (Hong Kong).
Some other large-scale port projects have also been submitted to competent agencies for consideration.
Since 2017, the volume of container going through Quang Ninh’s sea ports has risen again. Local sea ports collected 10.3 trillion VND for the State budgets.
So far this year, sea ports in Quang Ninh handled nearly 59 million tonnes of cargo, up 37 percent from the same period last year.
Positive development in Quang Ninh’s sea-based economy is attributable to the provincial authorities’ sound decision to give priority to infrastructure.-
Outstanding credit expected to rise by over 15% in 2018
Vietnam's outstanding credit is anticipated to grow 4.52% in the fourth quarter of 2018 and increase by 15.22% in 2018 in the context of stable deposit and lending interest rates.
The information was revealed in the latest business trend survey conducted by the State Bank of Vietnam in September 2018.
Accordingly, most surveyed credit institutions (CIs) said that subjective and objective factors continued to improve in the third quarter of 2018 but the pace of improvement has slowed down compared to the previous quarter.
The survey results also showed that 80% of CIs expected that their business performance would improve in the fourth quarter of 2018 and 84.2% of CIs hoped for better business performance in 2018 compared to 2017.
CIs said that banking loans, payment and card services, and deposit services would be services attracting the largest number of customers which are estimated to rise 69.2%, 57.5% and 57% respectively compared to 2017.
According to the survey, the liquidity of the banking system by the end of the third quarter of 2018 continued to be "good" for both Vietnamese dong and foreign currencies. Almost all CIs forecasted that the liquidity would continue its positive trend in the fourth quarter and in the whole 2018.
CIs also anticipated that capital mobilisation for the whole credit system will expand by 5.83% in the fourth quarter of 2018 (higher than the expected level for the same period in 2017) and up 15.34% in 2018 (lower than the expected level in 2017).
In terms of employment, 56.8% of surveyed CIs said that they had recruited more workers in the third quarter of 2018 (higher than the rate of 46% recorded at the previous period); 26.6% of CIs said that there is a labour shortage for current job demands while 61.4% of CIs plan to recruit additional workers in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Nam A Bank allowed to open five branches and 30 dealing rooms
The State Bank of Viet Nam gave the nod to Nam A Bank to open five new branches and 30 dealing rooms.
Following the approval of the central bank, Nam A Bank will open five branches in Quang Ninh, Long An, Dak Nong, An Giang and Tien Giang provinces.
Thirty dealing rooms will be opened in ten provinces: Lam Dong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Ninh Thuan, Dak Lak, Phu Tho, Tay Ninh, Can Tho and Kien Giang. Each province will have three dealing rooms.
The central bank asked Nam A Bank to put these new branches and dealing rooms into operation within the next 12 months.
This was a bold move by Nam A Bank to expand its network.
As of June 30, Nam A Bank now has one head office, one centre and 67 branches and dealing rooms nationwide.
Along with expanding the network, Nam A Bank was planning to raise its charter capital from around VND3 trillion (US$130.5 million) to VND5 trillion.
According to Tran Ngoc Tam, general director of Nam A Bank, the bank reported a pre-tax profit of VND335 billion, three times higher than the same period last year and exceeding its target of the full year.
Recently, the bank received “The Best Customer Loyalty Program Bank Viet Nam 2018” award by the UK’s International Finance Magazine.
VN’s fertiliser and pesticide imports from China fall sharply
Viet Nam spent US$839 million to import 2.97 million tonnes of fertiliser in the first nine months of this year, down 17.4 per cent in volume and 13.1 per cent in value compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported.
In the period, SA fertiliser is estimated at 697,000 tonnes with import value of $90 million, a decrease of 11.6 per cent in volume and 3.7 per cent in value. However, the import volume of URE fertiliser was estimated at 360,000 tonnes with the value of $101 million, up 5.8 per cent in volume and 18.7 per cent in value.
Fertiliser imports in the first eight months of 2018 mainly came from China and Russia, accounting for 46.5 per cent of the total import value. However, fertiliser imports from China fell sharply, down 30.4 per cent year-on-year.
Viet Nam also spent $78 million to import pesticides and raw materials in September, lifting total imports of the commodities in the first nine months of this year to $681 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3.9 per cent.
Imports of pesticides and raw materials from January to August were mainly from China, accounting for 49.4 per cent of the total import value. However, the value of imports from China also fell by nearly 17 per cent in the reviewed period. In contrast, the value of imports of these items increased in major markets such as the UK (up 23.4 per cent), India (up 18.2 per cent) and Malaysia (up 17.4 per cent). — VNS
Asanzo Vietnam launched its latest smartphone model, the Asanzo S3 Plus, on October 8, despite incurring hefty losses only one year after penetrating this market segment.
Asanzo Chairman Pham Van Tam said at the launch that the Asanzo S3 Plus offers the latest technology and takes on the trends of fashionable smartphones, such as a monolithic design, chamfered edges, fingerprint sensors and face recognition.
Asanzo S3 Plus devices will be available on the shelves of Asanzo’s 6,000 stores and vendors nationwide next Monday, October 15.
Tam stated that each smartphone is sold for VND2.58 million (US$110). This means Asanzo will accept further losses after launching the product.
Introducing two models, the Z5 and S5, Asanzo made its smartphone debut last April. Soon after that, it launched two other models, the S2 and S3.
With the retail prices of these devices ranging from VND3 million to VND5 million, Asanzo targets middle-income customers.
The lead executive of the firm said Asanzo has so far incurred total losses of more than VND100 billion in this business segment. The first models contained errors in their software and configuration, while their features have yet to match the needs of the youth.
However, Asanzo is still injecting investments into the mobile phone segment, particularly with affordable products that are currently under fierce competition on the market.
Tam said that the market can bring in revenue of up to US$7 billion per year, compared with the key business sector of the firm – television products – earning US$1 billion annually.
Asanzo is one of three Vietnamese smartphone brands on the local market, along with Mobiistar and Bkav. Other domestic brands, including Q-Mobile and HKPhone, have withdrawn from the market due to harsh competition with numerous foreign smartphone producers such as Apple, Samsung, Sony and Oppo.
Asanzo is known for cheap TVs and household appliances. According to market research firm GfK, Asanzo held a TV market share of 16%, as of late 2017, behind Samsung (35%), Sony (25%) and LG (17%). Notably, its brand coverage in rural areas accounted for a staggering 70%.
Thanks to its penetration into the smartphone segment, Asanzo reported record revenue of VND4.62 trillion (roughly US$198 million) last year, VND620 billion higher than the target, and up 1.8 times against 2016.
Enterprises should make changes to their aquatic product processing and manufacturing to serve the domestic market of some 97 million consumers besides export markets, Nguyen Quoc Toan, acting head of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority, said at a seminar on October 8.
Toan also called on experts and leaders to map out measures to boost domestic seafood consumption in the coming period, VietnamPlus news site reported.
Speaking at the seminar, themed “Development for domestic aquatic product consumption,” held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Toan said that Vietnam’s per capita seafood consumption grows every year, amounting to 31 kilograms per person in 2017. The figure could rise to 33-35 kilograms in 2020.
Given over 13 million international tourists visiting Vietnam annually, domestic aquatic product consumption is forecast to surge in the coming period, Toan added.
He suggested enterprises focus on developing the domestic consumption market because of its great potential.
In addition to 600 Vietnamese facilities processing seafood for export, Vietnam is currently home to some 4,000 small and medium-sized seafood-processing firms that turn out more than 540,000 tons of products worth more than VND20 trillion each year and offer jobs to 40,000 laborers.
Moreover, domestic seafood consumption contributed to production stabilization when the country’s exports encountered difficulties in the global market.
Toan highlighted the importance of origin traceability which helps build up consumer confidence in domestic products, proposing enterprises perfect their manufacturing and processing system to serve the domestic market.
It is necessary to review and replace some inappropriate policies, supplement preferential policies and incentives to attract investors and link production and consumption chains to bolster domestic seafood consumption, according to the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority.
Representative of the authority also stressed the need for the enhancement of checks on food hygiene and standards and the application of a quality management system to processors’ operations.
Besides this, localities should foster trade promotion activities so that the aquatic products of traditional villages can access major markets, consolidate and develop farm produce markets to form efficient wholesale markets, monitor product quality and invest in advanced technology and equipment.
Retailers come to aid of Binh Thuan farmers
Several supermarkets in HCM City are planning to help dragon fruit farmers in the central province of Binh Thuan sell their products at better than market prices.
The price in the province, the country’s largest producer of the fruit, has plummeted in the last two weeks from VND10,000-15,000 (US$0.43-0.64) a kilogramme to VND700-2,000 due to bumper yields.
Korean supermarket chain Lotte Mart plans to buy five to seven tonnes of the fruit from October 9 to 14 for its outlets in HCM City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Vung Tau, Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, and Da Nang.
Doan Diep Binh, public relations and brand management team leader at Lotte Mart, said: "Lotte Mart buys dragon fruit weighing at least 450gm and without grey spots on its skin at the farm for VND5,000-7,000 and sells at VND5,900 at Lotte Mart Nha Trang and Phan Thiet and VND8,000 at other places.”
It will also step up promotions to increase consumption, and call on all its employees and partners to buy more of the fruit.
Do Quoc Huy, marketing director of Saigon Co.op, said Saigon Co.op also plans to buy dragon fruit from Binh Thuan and some provinces in the Cuu long Delta.
But experts said these rescue efforts can only be a short-term measure, and the agriculture sector should find proper solutions to resolve the situation and ensure a steady income for farmers and reasonable value for their produce.
Localities should have clear zoning plans for dragon fruit cultivation and develop the value chain for the fruit with the participation of distributors and exporters to enable more exports, they said.
Besides, export markets need to be diversified to avoid too much reliance on the Chinese market, which buys 90 per cent of Viet Nam’s fresh dragon fruit exports, they said.
Farmers who are members of co-operatives and formed a demand-supply “linkage chain” for the fruit are still managing to sell their dragon fruits at high prices and have steady markets, according to Pham Dinh Khiem, vice chairman of the Binh Thuan Co-operative Alliance.
When they are part of production-consumption linkage chains, farmers do not produce randomly and instead base it on orders and partners’ technical requirements.
Thus, their products enjoy steady prices and demand.
Nguyen Dinh Tung, general director of Vina T&T Import Export Service Trading Company, said his company was buying dragon fruit from farmers at VND16,000 per kilogramme (white meat variety) and VND24,000 in case of red meat for export to the US.
The stipulations for buying are that farmers have to join the linkage chain with his company and apply farming methods that meet US standards.
Asked about reports that China had stopped buying Vietnamese dragon fruits, Hoang Trung, head of the Plant Protection Department, said department officials personally went to the China border and saw that exports continuing normally.
"Thirteen thousand tonnes of fresh dragon fruits are exported to China every day through border gates in the north. The border quarantine procedures and regulations for dragon fruit remain normal, there is no change on either side."
But the department had called on farmers to focus more on improving quality since China was raising its hygiene and food safety and traceability requirements for fresh fruits, he added.
Authorities seek ways to promote VietGap vegetables
Cooperatives involved in growing VietGap (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices) vegetables should first build trust with consumers and producers before expanding cultivation, experts have said.
Availabe land to grow vegetables under VietGap standards is abudnant, but many co-operatives only use 50-60 per cent of land because of a lack of buyers, according to a report from the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade.
Nguyen Thanh Cong, director of Susu Cong Thanh Co-Operative in Lam Dong Province, said that his co-operative has a 42ha area for vegetables under VietGap standards, with 13 members and 207 households.
The co-operative supplies four to seven tonnes of vegetables of 56 kinds to three wholesale markets in HCM City daily.
However, in recent years, total output from the cooperatives to HCM City has dropped by 60 – 70 percent.
Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, a representative of HCM City’s Department of Industry and Trade, said that a lack of trust and linkages between consumers and producers was the main reason.
“Customers find it difficult to check the farms and cooperatives producing clean vegetables,” he said.
To improve food safety, HCM City authorities are seeking ways to trace agricultural produce sold through both modern and traditional retail channels.
By the end of this year, the city aims to have all goods sold via modern distribution channels meet VietGap standards, have proper packaging, and be traceable through mobile phones, according to the Department of Industry and Trade.
Since January of last year, the city has been experimenting with various ways to improve produce traceability..
Cu Chi District’s Phu Loc Agricultural Co-Operative has, for instance, been using QR code stamps, which allow customers to see the entire farming and transportation process.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has been organising training classes for farmers and providing them with equipment to upload data about product origins.
In addition, Binh Chanh Province’s Phuoc An Agricultural Co-Operative noted that the reputation of its products improved after they began affixing QR stamps.
However, Phu Loc Cooperative lacks skilled and meticulous supervisors, and the restocking of stamps is costly as well.
In addition, data entry is inefficient, with officials having to meet each farmer to collect data, while traceable produce is not a priority for many retailers and distributors.
The most traditional markets, which account for most of the food distributed in the country, sell goods whose origins are not traceable and do not keep records or receipts.
Many farmers are still struggling to enter data using modern technology, and unstable internet connections in remote areas slow down uploading of data.
A key solution to boost consumption of farm produce would be to increase connections among producers and distributors.
The city has held activities to promote farmers’ products to consumers through trade fairs, workshops and promotions both inside and outside the country.
Better linkages between farmers and businesses will also help both producers and distributors reduce losses, and prevent a big drop in prices due to abundant supply, according to experts.
EVFTA to boost VN competitiveness
The EU – Viet Nam free trade agreement (EVFTA) will help enhance the national competitiveness of Viet Nam, according to a report launched by the European Chamber of Commerce (Eurocham) in HCM City on Tuesday.
The report, titled “The EU – Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement: Perspective from Viet Nam”, found that 80 per cent of 132 respondents, comprising 10 per cent of Eurocham’s membership, agreed that the EVFTA was very likely or likely to enhance Viet Nam’s competitiveness compared to other countries such as China, Japan, Korea and the US.
About 72 per cent of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that EVFTA would help Viet Nam become a hub for EU companies to access the ASEAN market.
Eurocham members hoped that the EVFTA would come into effect as soon as possible in order to benefit, the report wrote, adding that businesses had high expectations for the trade deal.
An overwhelming 93 per cent of respondents believed that the trade deal should be implemented in 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter to be of most benefit to European business in Viet Nam.
“Our members paint a positive, optimistic picture of the EVFTA. The lion’s share said that the FTA would have either a ‘significant’ or ‘moderate’ impact on their business or investment plan in both the medium (78.9 percent) and long-term (85.6 percent),” the report says.
In general, businesses still pay the most attention to trade, tariff and customs-related commitments.
The European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project predicted that, over the implementation period until 2025, Vietnam’s economic growth would be around 7 to 8 percent higher than would have been the case without the EVFTA. Vietnam’s exports to the EU were set to be 50 percent higher in 2020, with imports also seeing significant growth, according to the report.
The report also revealed that businesses believed that the trade deal, besides offering economic benefits, would have a positive impact on a range of social and environmental issues, from welfare (88 percent) and environmental protection (85 percent) to knowledge transfer (88 percent) and workers’ rights (65 percent).
After fourteen rounds of negotiation from June 2012, the two sides concluded negotiations in December 2015 and the trade deal would be presented to the European Commission and European Parliament for signature and ratification.
Once ratified and implemented, the EVFTA will trigger a gradual reduction of 99 percent of tariffs across a range of products, boosting trade even further.
The EU was the fifth-largest foreign investor in Viet Nam with almost 2,500 projects worth around US$44 billion as of 2017, according to statistics of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
In 2017, trade in goods between the EU and Viet Nam totaled around US$54 billion.
Banks expect better business performance in 2018
A majority of credit institutions in the country expect an upward trend in their business this year, according to a survey released on Monday by the State Bank of Viet Nam.
Under the business sentiment survey conducted last month, which covered domestic and foreign commercial banks operating in the country, 88.3 per cent of the respondents expected their profits this year would be higher than last year. Only 5.3 per cent of the respondents forecast their profit to remain unchanged and 6.4 per cent were concerned about a profit decline.
The respondents forecast that profits for the entire banking system in 2018 would increase by 18.63 per cent against last year, higher than the 13.63 per cent reported in the previous survey conducted in the same period last year.
A total of 72.6 per cent estimated that their business performance in Q3 would be improved in the third quarter, while 80 per cent hoped for continuous improvement in Q4. Of this, 15.8 per cent and 23 per cent anticipated “significant improvement” in Q3 and Q4, respectively.
The survey also showed that many banks expected customer demand for banking services in the second half of 2018 and the entire year to increase compared to last year.
Banks expected the banking system’s credit growth to reach 4.52 per cent in the fourth quarter and 15.22 per cent for the entire year.
The respondents also anticipated capital mobilisation of the entire banking system this year would reach 15.34 per cent, of which the increase in the last quarter was anticipated to be 5.83 per cent.
Banks also said the liquidity of the banking system in both Vietnamese dong and foreign currencies was currently “good” and that the positive status would continue for the rest of the year.
With optimism about growth prospects for 2018, banks also forecast the industry’s labour market to see positive changes in the coming months.
Despite more recruitment in the first three quarters of this year, many banks said they are still short of employees, with 61.46 per cent of the respondents saying that they planned to recruit more in the fourth quarter of this year.
VN banks’ shares a better investment than foreign banks: VDSC
An analysis by Viet Dragon Securities Corporation (VDSC) has found that Vietnamese banks’ shares have better returns than shares of foreign banks.
“Up to now, this has been an unhappy year for shareholders of many large banks … unless they have invested in banks in Viet Nam,” VDSC’s report about securities investment strategy in October said.
Looking at fluctuations in the share prices of 32 banks in different regions, including Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, VDSC’s analysis found that Vietnamese banks’ shares were a better investment.
Four Vietnamese banks that VDSC analysed, Vietcombank, Techcombank, BIDV and HD Bank all had positive year-to-date returns, from 5 per cent to 37 per cent.
Among foreign banks analysed, only JP Morgan Chase had returns of 8 per cent. The others were much lower.
Although admitting that comparing shares of banks operating in different countries would be somewhat pointless, VDSC said that stock prices were quite revealing.
VDSC said that the two factors which were the most important to share prices were the vision (development strategy) and trust of investors.
VDSC also said that in Viet Nam, the banking sector might see merger and acquisition deals in the next few years to enable weak banks to meet Basel 2 standards.
Nam A Bank allowed to open five branches and 30 dealing rooms
The State Bank of Viet Nam gave the nod to Nam A Bank to open five new branches and 30 dealing rooms.
Following the approval of the central bank, Nam A Bank will open five branches in Quang Ninh, Long An, Dak Nong, An Giang and Tien Giang provinces.
Thirty dealing rooms will be opened in ten provinces: Lam Dong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Ninh Thuan, Dak Lak, Phu Tho, Tay Ninh, Can Tho and Kien Giang. Each province will have three dealing rooms.
The central bank asked Nam A Bank to put these new branches and dealing rooms into operation within the next 12 months.
This was a bold move by Nam A Bank to expand its network.
As of June 30, Nam A Bank now has one head office, one centre and 67 branches and dealing rooms nationwide.
Along with expanding the network, Nam A Bank was planning to raise its charter capital from around VND3 trillion (US$130.5 million) to VND5 trillion.
According to Tran Ngoc Tam, general director of Nam A Bank, the bank reported a pre-tax profit of VND335 billion, three times higher than the same period last year and exceeding its target of the full year.
Recently, the bank received “The Best Customer Loyalty Program Bank Viet Nam 2018” award by the UK’s International Finance Magazine.
Hải Phòng universities promote co-operation with enterprises in RD
Universities in the northern city of Hai Phong are seeking partnerships with research organisations and enterprises in scientific research and technology development (R&D).
Associate Professor, PhD Nguyen Thi Hien, rector of Hai Phong University, said co-operation with other research organizations and enterprises played an important role in making the university’s innovation products effective.
Hien said the university paid much attention to co-operation with both public and private enterprises and actively participates in sciences and technology workshops and fairs to seek partnerships.
For example, at the start-up festival – Hai Phong Techfest 2018 held late last month, the university introduced a rice variety that meets Viet Nam’s Good Agriculture Practice standard, a machine that can peel 400 kg of sugarcane in an hour and a sales management programme.
Notably, the university’s Smart Truck Project drew much attention as it’s an application for mobile phones and computers to help connect goods owners, transport firms, drivers and storehouses. Thanks to the application, goods owners can find suitable transport service providers, reasonable transport costs and service quality and can track their goods. Meanwhile, transport firms can find goods to carry, better manage operation and drivers.
Dr Pham Xuan Thanh, head of Sciences and Technology Department under Viet Nam Marine University said the university had expanded the co-operative model among university, enterprises and localities. The university also invited experts to join research to carry out multi-sectoral studies.
Thanks to fruitful partnerships, the university had established labs, research centres, start-up development centres and a technological transfer centre.
The technological transfer centre helps nurture research findings into commercial products.
Nguyen Lu Giang, vice head of Sciences and Technology Management Division under the city’s Sciences and Technology Department said there are 20 universities/colleges, 63 scientific organisations and eight sciences and technology firms with total staff of 4,900 in the city.
“Of the human resource for science and technology, more than 4,200 people are working at universities and colleges,” Giang said, emphasising that they played a key role in sciences and technology development.
Vice chairman of the city People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thanh said the city approved a plan to develop an innovative start-up environment in the city.
In the next two years, the city expected the plan could assist 100 start-up projects and at least 20 per cent of the start-up initiatives could receive investments. The city expects to have 50 start-ups in 2020, at least 20 of which would be science and technology enterprises.
Vinfast signs $950m agreement for machinery
VinFast Trading and Production Limited Liability Company (VinFast) has entered into a US$950 million financing agreement guaranteed by Euler Hermes and the German Export Credit Agency (ECA), to support the country’s first automotive and motorcycle manufacturing complex, Vinfast announced in its press release.
The complex, Vinfast’s primary manufacturing base, is located in the Dinh Vu - Cat Hai industrial park in the northern port city of Hai Phong.
The agreement is also supported by Credit Suisse AG (Credit Suisse) and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). Credit Suisse and HSBC are the Joint Mandated Lead Arrangers of this guaranteed term loan.
This landmark transaction is the first ECA-supported facility extended to a private sector company in Viet Nam, further enhancing Vingroup’s track record of pioneering international capital markets transactions.
The financing package is an up to 12-year $950 million Hermes-covered Buyers’ Credit facility for the payment of machinery and equipment from nine German suppliers. The loan allows for an extended tenor and large financing amount at a highly competitive pricing.
Le Hoai Anh, Managing Director, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, said “Credit Suisse is pleased to jointly lead and arrange this significant transaction for VinFast. The capital raised through this financing supports VinFast on its inspiring journey to position itself as a global automotive manufacturer.”
Pham Hong Hai, CEO of HSBC Viet Nam, said “We are proud to be part of this landmark deal with VinFast to support their journey to introduce the first made in Viet Nam cars.”
In August 2018, VinFast also completed syndication of a debut $400 million term loan facility led by four international banks. The syndication was well participated by over ten Asian and European banks, further strengthening VinFast’s position in the international capital markets.
VinFast, a subsidiary of Viet Nam’s leading real estate and retail conglomerate Vingroup was set up to be the largest comprehensive automotive and e-scooter producer in Viet Nam.
Mekong Delta provinces attract more foreign investment
Provinces in the Mekong Delta drew a total of 99 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the first nine months of 2018, said Nguyen Phuong Lam, Deputy Director of the Can Tho branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
During the period, the region absorbed more than 1.5 billion USD, or 10.6 percent of the total FDI capital flow into the country.
The figure only stood at 5-6 percent five years ago, Lam added.
In nine months, Can Tho city alone attracted 72 million USD in five new FDI projects, along with an additional 40 million USD in two existing projects.
As of early October, the Mekong Delta is home to 1,495 valid FDI projects worth a total of 20.95 billion USD.
Lam said that most FDI firms, particularly those from Japan, often pay heed to device manufacturing and technology in the region.
Meanwhile, investment in the agro-fishery sector, which is viewed as one of the strengths of Mekong Delta localities, remains modest.
He noted that the fourth Vietnam-Japan Cultural and Trade Exchange in Can Tho city, which is slated for early November, will offer favourable conditions to introduce the potential of the city’s and other Mekong provinces’ agro-fishery sectors to Japanese investors.
Vietnam’s automobile sales rise 24 percent in September
Automobile sales in September surged by 24 percent from the previous month to reach 25,351 units, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAVA) reported on October 9.
Among the total, the sales of special-purpose vehicles saw the strongest rise at 36 percent from August figures with 513 units, followed by the sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, with the increases of 24 percent and 21 percent to 17,213 units and 7,625 units, respectively.
Sales of domestically-assembled automobiles stood at 17,325 units, up 16 percent from August; whilst that of imported vehicles surged 42 percent, reaching 8,026 units, the association said.
However, the automobile sales in the first nine months of 2018 went down 2 percent year-on-year, reaching only 194,391 units. Sales of imported vehicles dropped as much as 34 percent.
The decrease is attributed to the issuance of Decree No.116/2017 ND-CP on tightening automobile manufacturing and trade, which took effect on January 1, 2018.
From the second quarter to the present, most enterprises have completed the procedures stipulated in Decree No.116/2017/ND-CP, and as such, the volume of imported cars has continued to increase. The supply of imported vehicles is forecast to become gradually more stable.
HCM City’s electricity production up 6.19 percent in nine months
The Electricity of Vietnam Group Ho Chi Minh City (EVN HCMC) produced 18.84 million kWh of electricity in the first nine months of 2018, a rise of 6.19 percent year-on-year.
Of the figure, the agro-forestry-fishery sector used 64.32 million kWh, while the industry and construction sector consumed nearly 7 billion kWh, and the trading and hospitality sector swallowed more than 2.5 million kWh.
Deputy General Director of EVN HCMC Pham Quoc Bao said the city has recorded no major violations and accidents since the beginning of the year.
The company has worked with firefighting police and relevant agencies to inspect the power safety and fire prevention of 798 locations, including high-rise buildings, apartments, and dormitories.
In the remaining months, the EVN HCMC will work to ensure sufficient supply to meet the demand of the city’s socio-economic development and the safe operation of its high voltage network, Bao said.
In addition, it will continue to encourage customers to install rooftop photovoltaic systems. The company has completed 18 solar power works connecting to the national grid and about 690 customers have installed the system to date.
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