Construction begins on Vietnam’s largest offshore oilrig

PetroVietnam Marine Shipyard JSC (PV Shipyard) on December 10 start construction work on the Tam Dao 05 offshore oilrig in Ba Ria Vung Tau.

This is Vietnam’s second offshore oilrig, and spanning 120m, its largest so far. PV Shipyard completed the first 90m rig in June 2012. Vietnam-Russia Oil and Gas Joint Venture (Vietsovpetro) now handles its operations.

Vietsovpetro is also the Tam Dao 05 project’s primary investor. PV Shipyard expects to finish the US$200 million rig within 32 months.

Constructing the modern oilrig testifies to the impressive development of Vietnam’s oil and gas and mechanical engineering sectors.

Vinamilk buys US dairy firm

Vietnam Dairy Products Joint-Stock Company (Vinamilk) has received a certificate for investment worth US$7 million to acquire a 70% share of American company Driftwood Dairy.

Driftwood Dairy- a U.S. dairy business founded in California since 1920, provides fresh milk, fruit juicea and light food for schools, hotels, hospitals, supermarkets and restaurants.

Previously, Vinamilk invested VND179 billion in Miraka Limited Company of New Zealand. Its profit after tax reached VND1,690 billion in the third quarter, up 21.15% over the same period last year. Its earnings per share (EPS) was VND6.076.

By September 30, the company's assets had increased from VND19,698 billion to VND20,660 billion and its undistributed profit after tax from VND5,198 billion to 5.677 billion.

Its total consolidated revenue is expected to hit VND32,500 billion, including VND7,830 billion in profit before tax and 6,230 billion in profit after tax this year.

Mollusk exports to US decline

Mollusk exports to most markets over the past 11 months have earned US$63.565 million- a slight fall from last year’s same period figure.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the US is now the third largest importer of mollusk products from Vietnam, after the EU and Japan due to a sharp decline of 23% to US$4.512 million since early this year.

In the reviewed period, the US mainly imported processed products worth US$3.4 million, accounting for 77.8% of its total mollusk imports from Vietnam.

Vietnam’s fresh and frozen mollusk products exports to the US in the past 10 months dropped by 20.6% and 27.1%, respectively compared to the same period last year.

Against this backdrop, local businesses are shifting their exports to new markets, such as Australia, ASEAN and Taiwan which have achieved two-digit growth.

Exports to Australia grew by 5.8% to US$1.410 million by Mid-November. Despite gaining a small proportion of mollusk export earnings, many local businesses consider Australia as an attractive destination for trade cooperation even through it is a demanding market with strict requirements on food hygiene and safety.

Incentives for Vietnamese investors in Belgium

A seminar was held in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on December 10 to introduce investment opportunities and incentives for Vietnamese businesses who are keen on the Belgian market.

The event, jointly held by the Can Tho city People’s Committee and the Belgian Embassy in Vietnam, made clear advantages for Vietnamese investors in Belgium’s East Flanders province.

Marc De Buck, Deputy Governor of East Flanders province, affirmed that Vietnam, especially Can Tho province, is a strategic partner of Belgium. Belgium will provide assistance to businesses operating in the fields of aquaculture, processing industry, and scientific research, he said.

Marc De Buck praised the effective cooperation between Belgium and Can Tho over the past three decades, particularly the close link between Can Tho University and Gent University.

He encouraged local businesses to attend the 2014 Accenta International Trade Fair in Belgium, which is considered as the largest consumer goods fair in Europe.

Since Vietnam joined the fair in 2006, the country’s fisheries sector has earned a reputation on the world market. At present, Vietnamese seafood is placed third in terms of global market share.

Pham Sanh Chau, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium, said East Flanders is offering plenty of opportunity for local businesses, including those from the Mekong Delta region, which he said should focus on expanding the scope of product markets and strengthening cooperation with Belgium in the field of education and training.

Opportunities and challenges for businesses joining TPP

Local businesses should have a clear strategy to take advantage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and avoid risks of failure, said economists.

They emphasized that Vietnam will benefit most from the TPP which has 12 member states with a total population of 800 million, making up 40% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, the TPP has stricter requirements for businesses than the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Assoc Prof Dr Tran Dinh Thien, director of the Vietnam Economic Institute said that to enjoy preferential tariffs from the TPP, export commodities should obey the rule of origin when exporting to the market.  

Under the TPP’s rule of origin, the yarn used in the garment and textile sector should be originated from TPP members. However, almost all Vietnamese material inputs for the garment and textile sector have been imported from non-TPP nations, which make it difficult for Vietnamese businesses to benefit from the agreement, said Dr. Thien.

Although Vietnam has joined the WTO for six years, businesses are not yet active in the global playground. With its limited members, the TPP has put forth comprehensive commitments, which require businesses to take advantage of opportunities and reduce risks in the challenging playground.

When the agreement is signed, local businesses will have an opportunity to import a diversified source of materials at cheap prices, and high quality machinery and equipment. However, they will face strong rivals in terms of capital, technological knowhow, management capacity and experience in production and business operations.

Tran Kim Lien, President of Management Board of the National Seed Joint Stock Company (Vinaseed) said that the Vietnamese market will have a lot of opportunities but also challenges since commodities from TPP members are more advantageous in term of quality, origin, service and price.

In fact, local businesses, especially businesses in the agricultural sector are operating on a small scale, which have posed a big challenge for Vietnam when joining the TPP, said Ms Lien.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu Trang from the WTO Centre under the Vietnam Chamber of Industry and Trade, when joining TPP, Vietnamese businesses will enjoy a substantial tariff reduction from 92%-95% but they will have to improve their product quality to overcome technical barriers.  

As the TPP is still under negotiation, businesses should study the rule of origin and tariff rates in the context of market development trends in the world.

There is no denying that the TPP agreement will have a strong impact on Vietnam’s business environment and that businesses will have to follow the roadmap for market expansion, devise suitable plans for production and investment and gain a leg on competition in the regional chain of supply.

Export sector likely to exceed its annual growth target

Vietnam’s exports in 2013 are expected to earn US$132 billion, or over 16% higher than last year’s figure, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

The PMI reported that with its imports estimated at US$132.5 billion, Vietnam has a trade deficit of around US$0.5 billion, accounting for 0.38% of its export turnover, but much lower than the set target by the Government and the National Assembly.

Last month’s trade surplus of US$50 million showed Vietnam’s 11-month imports fell to US$96 million.

The State-owned sector’s trade deficit stayed at US$12.3 billion, while the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector had an export surplus of US$12.2 billion, including US$5.6 billion from crude oil.

Key export items were agro-forestry and aquacultural products, telephones, fuels, fertilizers, and garment and textile products.

The remarkable achievements in the export sector were attributed to Vietnam’s recent progress in free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and its active participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in the framework of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

The country is concluding bilateral FTA negotiations with members of the European Union (EU), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the Customs Union, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Local exports to Japan pick up

Vietnam’s export earnings from the Japanese market in the first 10 months of this year rose 2.8% to US$11.11 billion compared to the same period last year.

The garment and textile sector was the highest earner (US$1.94 billion). It made up 20% of the Japanese market share, or 21.8% higher than the same period last year. At present, Japan accounts for more than 13% of Vietnam’s garment export market share.

Vietnam’s key exports to Japan included crude oil, transport vehicles and spare parts, and chemicals, in particular, which rose 56.8% in revenue from a year earlier.

HCM City attracts US$2.5 billion to industrial parks

Ho Chi Minh City has attracted a combined investment of US$2.5 billion in industrial parks (IPs) and export processing zones (EPZs) since 2011.

As of this year, newly-registered and adjusted investment in the IPs and EPZs reached US$590 million, a year-on-year rise of 43.3 percent. Of this, US$370 million is foreign investment, up 78.21 percent from 2012.

Today, the city has more than 1,200 valid projects with investment totalling US$7.5 billion.

The surge of investment, especially in IPs and EPZs, has helped improve industrial production.

In particular, mechanical manufacturing has seen an annual average growth of 6.1 percent between 2011 and now, while that of the electronic-information technology sector was 12.8 percent.

Moreover, the city has managed to attract high-tech projects, notably semiconducting and chip technologies, invested by many multinational corporations such as Intel and Nidec.

The achievements are attributed to the city’s efforts in strengthening administrative formality reform and creating incentives to stimulate its foreign investment inflow.

To attract additional investment next year, the city continues to further improve its business climate and pay attention to high and clean technology projects.

Administrative formality reform will be boosted to help ease local enterprises’ difficulties.

TPP countries miss year-end deadline

Ministers from the 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade talks concluded their four-day meeting on December 10 without a full agreement, missing the year-end deadline.

However, they made substantial progress towards completing the TPP, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Tran Quoc Khanh, head of the Vietnamese delegation to the negotiations, told a Vietnam News Agency correspondent.

So many existing issues hard to deal with at the recent talks for the TPP in Singapore is one of the two reasons behind the ending of the talks without a full agreement, he said.

They include completed issues, such as intellectual property rights and reform of State-owned enterprises.

Another reason of the failure is negotiations regarding goods which did not reach expected outcomes, Khanh added.

According to the deputy minister, talks on goods always play a key role in any trade negotiations, especially to the countries with export interests, including Vietnam.

If the export interests are not satisfactorily met, it is hard to negotiate other fields, he added.

The trade ministers and representatives decided to continue talks next month and will try their best to end it at the earliest time, Khanh said.

Addressing a press conference after their meeting, US Trade Representative Michael Froman said the parties reached a consensus in many issues and identified existing ones for further debate.

Next year, the discussion will focus on the remaining issues such as intellectual property rights and reform of state-owned enterprises, he added.

Regarding the garment sector, one of the important issues of the concerned parties, including Vietnam, he told the VNA correspondent that the US side had discussions with Vietnam and its TPP partners about market access.

The TPP pact, which was at first negotiated by eight countries, now has 12 members, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

If successfully concluded, the pact would encompass roughly 40 percent of global gross domestic product and one-third of world trade.

The latest TPP session came after the World Trade Organisation on December 7 reached an agreement on some of the issues under the long-stalled Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks in Indonesia.

Vietnam, UK share atomic energy experience

Hanoi  hosted a December 9–10 seminar discussing establishing a nuclear atomic energy research program and developing human resources in related fields.

Experts, researchers, and lecturers from some of the UK’s leading atomic energy institutions shared their research and training experiences with Vietnamese scientists.

Participants assessed the reality of current human resource shortfalls in Vietnamese universities and proposed expanding cooperation with the UK to ensure Vietnam’s first nuclear power plants will have the human resources they demand.

Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety Director General Professor Vuong Huu Tan and the British Embassy’s First Secretary Andrew Holt said the seminar offered both sides to clarify bilateral nuclear energy cooperation commitments and help UK experts learn more about Vietnam’s needs.

It also provided a forum for both sides to discuss future long-term cooperative programs.

Singapore offers technical assistance to Vietnamese banking

Singapore has officially launched a technical support program designed to assist central banks in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

With US$250,000 in Temasek Foundation funding and professional contributions from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the program will run for two years, refining the skill sets of central bank in terms of financial principles, monetary policy monitoring and management, and payment and transaction systems.

The MAS said around 190 officials from the four participating Asian nations will travel to Singapore for training. The first 24 officials will arrive in Singapore late this week.

Temasek Foundation Executive Director Benedict Cheong said the program will reinforce the existing banking assistance and guidance cooperation between Singapore and the four Asian nations.

MAS Executive Director Ravi Menon said the program expresses Singapore’s support for Vietnam’s, Cambodia’s, Laos’, and Myanmar’s efforts to deepen their integration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) deeply.

Hanoi, HCMC prepare for Commercial Counselor Conference 2013

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will host the 2013 Commercial Counselor Conference and its associated events from December 16-31.

The information was announced by Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Nguyen Cam Tu at a December 10 press briefing in Hanoi.

Speaking to the media, Tu said the event promotes economic, trading, and market activities abroad, strengthening Vietnamese exports and removing bureaucratic obstacles hindering businesses.

In addition to boosting economic growth, the conference also aims to enhance coordination and support between the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and its state and government counterparts.

These improvements contribute to meeting set national economic development targets and encourage local enterprises to explore foreign partnerships.

The conference’s opening sessions will feature briefings on foreign markets, foreign trade office priorities, foreign investment in Vietnam and Vietnamese investment abroad, and the export activities of associations and localities.

Delegates will also address international economic integration, import-export strategies, Free Trade Agreement negotiation strategies, trade promotion, competition, and international energy, industrial, and chemical cooperation.

Ambassadors and trade councilors will gather at a meeting between the diplomatic and industry and trade sectors to compare notes on their respective approaches to international economic integration. Representatives from People’s Committees, the Department of Industry and Trade, the Trade Promotion Centre, and business associations will meet for dialogues.

A seminar in An Giang will focus on agricultural and seafood product exports from the Mekong Delta provinces.

VPBank offers zero per cent rates

VPBank has launched a preferential lending package, offering an interest rate of zero per cent for the first three months for individual loans up to VND5 billion (US$238,100).

This applies for business and investments, as well as consumer spending for home construction, repair and car purchases, until January 25, 2014.

The bank said it was concentrating on individual customers as a lending strategy. Currently, it has VND5.77 trillion ($274.76 million) in equity and over VND150 trillion ($7.14 billion) in total assets.

OCB provides preferential loans

Ocean Bank began offering businesses preferential lending rates, as of December 5.

The programme was designed to help businesses develop easier access to loans to pump more working capital into their businesses and production, with an interest rate of 7 per cent per year, which is applied for the first 3 months.

After the grace period, the bank will continue to maintain attractive interest rates for businesses. Depending on the movement of the market, the bank can apply for other incentive programmes, it said.

VN looks for Chinese investment

Businesses from China's Guangdong province were urged to promote investment in Viet Nam in support industries, processing industries and energy, as well as increasing bilateral import-export activities.

Viet Nam's Ministry of Industry and Trade has also asked Guangdong authorities to hold regular trade exchanges and ease the way for Vietnamese enterprises operating in the province, said Deputy Minister Nguyen Cam Tu at a trade conference in HCM City on Monday.

According to Guangdong Vice Governor Zhao Yu Fang, Viet Nam boasted a dynamic economy and commercial development, which would be fundamental for promoting bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefit of all businesses.

He added that Guangdong had exerted every effort to create favourable conditions for foreign enterprises to do business in the province, especially in information technology, electronics, architecture, transportation and environment.

Da Nang to host VN goods expo

A trade show displaying Vietnamese goods will take place in central Da Nang City from December 12-16, with the participation of 100 businesses.

Key items on display will include garments, fashions, cosmetics, equipment, household utensils, food, and handicrafts. In addition, there will be stands promoting tourism, office space, education and banking services.

Can Tho City posts 18.4% export growth

Despite global economic difficulties, the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho generated US$1.42 billion from exports in 2013, up 18.4 per cent year-on-year, according to local authorities.

The encouraging results were attributed to greater efforts by local enterprises in revising business strategies with the focus on improving the quality of their products and sharpening their competition in traditional markets, as well as seeking new outlets.

Currently, the city is shipping products, including predominantly processed agricultural goods, seafood, rice, textile and garments, to 80 countries and territories.

Cement industry ships 14m tonnes

Viet Nam's cement exports are expected to reach nearly 14 million tonnes in 2013, the highest level ever exported.

According to the Industry and Trade newspaper, in the first 11 months of this year the country exported 12.5 million tonnes of cement, a year-on-year surge of nearly 65 per cent.

Southeast Asia and the Middle East are the two main markets for Viet Nam's cement, while Malaysia and Indonesia are the nation's largest importers of cement in the Southeast Asian region.

Meanwhile, the country's domestic consumption of cement reached nearly 43 million tonnes in the first 11 months of 2013, up more than 10 per cent year-on-year.

This year, Viet Nam expects to sell more than 60 million tonnes of cement at home and abroad.

Military Bank, Viettel roll out CRM system

Military-run Telecommunications Group (Viettel) and Military Bank (MB) yesterday signed an agreement to launch a new Customer Relation Management (CRM) system.

The deal marks the first roll out of the technology in the banking sector built by a domestic telecommunications company.

The system aims to allow banks to implement multi-channel communication with customers through face-to-face, internet chat, voice, fax, email, website, SMS and social network means. The system will also provide sales support through mobile phones using Android and iOS.

The system has been built with open design to increase customer access to the bank, and will integrate with core banking systems and business process management.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Le Cong, MB's general director said customer growth was forecast to reach 1 million people each year.

"The system is expected to better serve customers while enhancing the bank's management capacity," Cong said.

He said using modern technologies in customer management had been an important work in MB's development strategy during 2010 and 2015.

Tong Viet Trung, Viettel's deputy general director, said the co-operation would help improve the bank's competitiveness in the eyes of individual customers and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs).

The use of the made-in-Viet Nam CRM aims to reduce up to two-thirds of management costs for the bank, compared with imported system.

The banking sector has seen an increasing reliance on domestically produced CRM software, which was previously confined to the SME sector.

Viet Nam helps standardise ODA costs

Representatives of the Vietnamese Government, the UN and the EU in Viet Nam on Monday agreed to the updated UN - EU Guidelines for financing local costs in development co-operation, better known as the UN - EU Cost Norms.

The single set of standardised rates in the Cost Norms continues to be used by all national implementing partners and other counterparts in Viet Nam for the local costs of ODA programmes and projects funded by UN agencies and EU member states.

Since its launch in 2009, the Cost Norms have achieved positive results in reducing transaction costs.

The guidelines are in line with the Ha Noi Core Statement and Viet Nam Partnership Document on Aid Effectiveness and are considered an important tool to promote greater transparency and a basis for stronger alignment and harmonisation between the Government, the UN and development partners.

The agreement, signed by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen The Phuong, UN Resident Coordinator Pratibha Mehta, and the head of the European Union Delegation, Ambassador Franz Jessen, endorsed the use of the UN Guidelines for the Cost Norms.

It is expected that this updated version will better align donor and government cost norms to current market rates and conditions.

The market-oriented rates will attract high-quality human resources, services and encourage full collaboration, yet are flexible enough to accommodate different business models and project requirements.

The rates will be reviewed periodically to reflect changes in market prices.

The guidelines address remuneration for project staff, consultant rates, translation services, travel and meeting costs, and other related project expenses.

Work plans of on-going projects will also be revised to accommodate the new costs, subject to current financial-year budget availability, according to a press release from the UN Communication Office in Ha Noi.

Pepper exports set to hit record high

The Viet Nam Pepper Association said pepper exports are likely to be 130,000-135,000 tonnes this year for a record value of US$900 million, up 12 per cent from last year.

In the first 10 months, 123,000 tonnes were exported for $817 million, an increase of 19.7 per cent in volume and 17.1 per cent in value.

VPA chairman Do Ha Nam said both export volumes and prices had risen this year.

"If a tonne was priced at $900 in 2001, it has now gone up to more than $7,000," he said.

"That was a dream for many pepper growers."

But this is just for raw pepper and processed pepper fetches much more, he said.

In the domestic market, prices have increased by 30 per cent this year to more than VND160,000 a kilo, he said.

"Global pepper supply is much lower than demand, which has kept prices high.

"In this situation, pepper exports would reach $1 billion soon."

Viet Nam, the world's largest exporter, earned $800 million last year.

It exports the spice to more than 80 countries and territories, with the US, EU, and Asia being the largest importers.

The crop is grown mainly in the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Seafood companies eye Australia as potential growth opportunity

Australian customers are buying more seafood from Viet Nam, especially shrimp and molluscs.

Viet Nam is the third-largest seafood exporter to the Australian market, following New Zealand and China.

A report from baodientu.chinhphu.vn, a Government online newspaper, said that Australia buys US$1 billion of 200,000 tonnes of seafood each year from importers.

Of total seafood exports, Vietnamese shrimp exports have turned in the highest revenue.

Last year, Viet Nam earned $101 million from exporting shrimp to Australia, a year-on-year increase of nearly 26 per cent.

Shrimp accounted for 55 per cent of the total Vietnamese seafood export value to this market.

In the first 10 months of this year, shrimp export turnover rose 14 per cent, making Viet Nam one of the biggest shrimp exporters in Australia.

Along with shrimp, bivalve molluscs have also sold well.

While the number of exports had fallen in traditional markets like the US, sales have recently increased in Australia.

Export revenue of molluscs through mid-November rose 5.8 per cent year-on-year, to reach $1.4 million.

Experts said this revenue was remarkable as the value was down in four months of February, April, June and August by between 18.6 per cent and 93 per cent.

In other months, the number of exports of bivalve molluscs significantly surged.

For example, it rose by 146 per cent in January and 281 per cent in March. In the first half of October, it jumped by 241 per cent year-on-year.

With this result, Australia has attracted the attention of Vietnamese seafood exporters, especially with its tax incentives.

However, to win the market, experts said domestic exporters should diversify their products to improve competitiveness and ensure food hygiene and safety.

Exporters must also increase the number of promotions to advertise their products and trademarks.

Decree sets stricter penalties for dealing in fake and banned goods

On November 25, 2013, the Government issued Decree 185/2013/ND-CP on administrative violations related to consumer protection as well as manufacturing and trading in fake and banned goods ("Decree 185").

Accordingly, other than fines for violations related to manufacturing and trade of tobacco and wine, trade promotion and e-commerce, Decree 185 also details penalties for non-compliance with rules regarding business licences and foreign traders.

Some of these include:

Violations related to business licence:

Carrying out business activities beyond those permitted in the business registration certificate ("BRC") or conducting business at an unregistered site shall be subject to fines between VND1,000,000 and VND5,000,000.

Fines between VND5,000,000 to VND10,000,000 will accrue for conducting business operations without a BRC or without a certificate indicating full satisfaction of required conditions for running the business; or a certificate of practice in respect to business sectors subject to certain conditions.

Violations related to the representative office ("RO") of foreign trade:

The RO can be fined up to VND10,000,000 if it fails to begin operations within the period specified in the business licence; or fail to publicise its activities as required by law.

The RO could also be fined between VND10,000,000 and VND20,000,000 for (i) illegally acquiring or subleasing its registered office/site; or (ii) failure to periodically report on its operations to competent authorities as regulated by law.

Decree 185 will take effect on January 1, 2014.

New implementation guidelines for Commercial law

In line with requirements on import and export management enshrined in multilateral and bilateral agreements, on November 20, 2013, the Government issued Decree 187/2013/ND-CP providing guidelines on implementing Commercial Law 2005 with respect to international trading, goods processing and the transit of goods involving foreign parties ("Decree 187"). This decree will replace Decree 12/2006/ND-CP dated 23 January 2006 ("Decree 12") with several updated provisions.

Import ban can be lifted for research, humanitarian aid

Under Decree 187, imported and exported goods must satisfy quarantine, food safety and quality requirements before custom clearance.

Decree 187 also says that an import ban on certain goods can be lifted for the purpose of scientific research or humanitarian aid.

Shipment deadline shortened on goods imported for re-export

Decree 187 stipulates that goods temporarily imported to Viet Nam for re-export have to be shipped overseas within 60 days after customs clearance. This halves the time of 120 days granted by Decree 12.

The temporary importing of export goods is a conditional business (accepted only it meets certain conditions) if it involves (i) goods banned or suspended from import and export; (ii) the goods bearing easily-contagious pathogens or easily-polluted-to environment; or (iii) the goods are charged the excise tax stipulated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Annual procedure of custom clearance for process contract is rescinded:

Like Decree 12, Decree 187 provides that upon the expiration of their process contract, the involved parties must formally liquidate the contract and finalise all customs clearance procedures.

However, the requirement under Decree 12 that a process contract with a term longer than 1 year must finalise customs clearance procedures each year has been rescinded by Decree 187.

Decree 187 will take effect on February 20, 2014.

Cuttle fish, octopus exports fall in 2013

Viet Nam's export value of cuttle-fish and octopus for the first ten months of 2013 fell to the lowest rate in the 10-month period due to the global economic crisis.

The Viet Nam Association of Exporters Producers (VASEP) reports that the total export value of that sea life saw a year-on-year reduction of 14.4 per cent to US$360.5 million for the first ten months of this year.

The reduction in export value was due to slow business in the three key export markets of Japan, South Korea and the EU, accounting for 75 per cent of the nation's total exports of the marine life, the association said.

Many cuttle fish and octopus exporters were worried about their exports, because customers reduced orders and volume, the report said.

Local cuttle fish and octopus exporters said, during the first ten months orders from the EU were sometimes reduced by 50-60 per cent against the same period last year.

Also, cuttle fish and octopus exports to South Korea, the largest export market for Vietnamese cuttle fish and octopus products, also dropped 9 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, exports of those products to Japan increased 3.7 per cent in value in January, but fell between 7.9 per cent and 54.3 per cent for the nine months from February to September, the association said.

The association also reported that shellfish exports to most markets over the past 11 months have earned $63.565 million – a slight decrease from last year's same period figure.

According to VASEP, the US is now the third largest importer of shellfish products from Viet Nam, after the EU and Japan, due to a sharp decline of 23 per cent to $4.512 million since early this year.

In the reviewed period, the US mainly imported processed products worth $3.4 million, accounting for 77.8 per cent of its total shellfish imports from Viet Nam.

Viet Nam's fresh and frozen shellfish exports to the US in the past 10 months dropped 20.6 per cent and 27.1 per cent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Angola calls for VN investment

Vietnamese businesses were urged to make investments in Angola's nine key sectors, including infrastructure, processing, industry and seafood, information technology and communications, as well as hotels and tourism.

During a conference yesterday in Ha Noi, Angolan Ambassador in Viet Nam Joan Manuel Bernardo said Angola has been offering investors many incentives in an attempt to attract more investment in these targeted sectors.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador in Angola Do Ba Khoa highlighted opportunities and challenges awaiting Vietnamese investors in this market.

He also said the Angolan Government would speed the establishment of joint stock companies in trade, construction and heath-care sectors.

Further, bilateral relations, especially in trade and investment, have experienced encouraging growth rates over the past years.

Two-way trade last year reached US$125 million with Viet Nam's exports to the African country, up nearly 70 per cent over 2011. The country's key exports to the market included rice, garments and textiles, footwear, machinery and equipment, accessories and seafood.

In recent years, many Vietnamese firms have invested in Angola in several industries, such as oil and gas, and construction.

During the sixth session of the Viet Nam-Angola Inter-governmental Committee in Ha Noi in October, the two sides reached a consensus in boosting all-round co-operation, particularly in creating favourable conditions for enterprises in Viet Nam and Angola to seek co-operation opportunities and invest in the other country.

Vietnam to reduce role of state-owned enterprises in economy

The government of Vietnam plans to eliminate around 1,000 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that are operating inefficiently by 2020, one official said.

Deputy Prime Minister, Hoang Trung Hai, made the statement at a recent Vietnam Development Partnership Forum. As a result, the number of SOEs in the country would be cut to 600 by 2015 and 300 by 2020.

Currently, SOEs are divided into two groups: Wholly state-own enterprises and companies with at least a 50% stake owned by the state. In time to come, SOEs will be divided into four groups: Wholly state-owned, those with 75% owned by the state, those with 65% and  those that are 50% state-owned.

Several industries would no longer be considered longer wholly state-owned, including some who produce petroleum, food, process oil and natural process gas, airport and road maintenance companies.

The government will only hold over 50% stakes in industries such as tobacco production, environmental sanitation, urban electricity, marine transportation, railway, aviation, finance and banking.

The government will no longer hold controlling stakes in several other industries including the production of science, documentary and cartoon films.

The plan received approval from the majority of economists in the country. Some said that the government should clarify how they would divert capital from SOEs and how to change the status of enterprises that are holding monopolies  their industries, as well as how the move would effect operational efficiency.

Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, acting Director of the Central Insitute of Economic Research, said that diverting government capital would not be an easy task, as last year only 34 SOEs were privatised. State-owned groups and corporations withdrew only VND4.164 trillion (USD197.2 million) out of VD21.796 trillion (USD1.03 billion) worth of capital required for diverting in the first nine months of this year.

According to the National Assembly’s Committee of Economics, the inefficient operations of SOEs has has been a drag on the economy.

Even though SOEs used a lot of capital and resources, their revenues and profits do not correspond. SOEs’ capital demand is nearly double compared to the need of private companies to make the same profits. The lack of transparency and bad management are also of concern.

Economist Dinh Tuan Minh said that it is necessary to set detailed targets for the reduction of the proportion of SOEs in the economy, from 15-17% by 2015, and around 10% by 2020, which is the same as the world average rate.

Rice exports likely to shrink

Vietnam’s rice exports are not likely to reach the set target of 6.7 million tonnes this year, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

Pham Van Bay, President of VFA, said that rice exports were estimated at 6.143 million tonnes in the past 11 months, down 14% in volume and 18% in price compared to the same period last year. The VFA said that the annually target had been adjusted twice to 6.6-6.7 million tonnes due to a sharp fall in rice shipments caused by tough competition in the shrinking consumer markets.

A representative from the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said that rice exports will continue to fall price from now into early next year. He said the state should adopt proper policies for farmers and businesses.

To promote rice exports in 2014, the VFA has asked businesses to ensure the quality of high-valued rice, especially fragrant rice.

The VFA has proposed setting up a fund to support rice exporters in the signing of major contracts with foreign partners.

Nearly 80,000 workers sent abroad in 11 months

As many as 78,664 workers were sent abroad after the first 11 months of this year, equivalent to 92.5 percent of the yearly target.

According to the Overseas Worker Management Department, traditional markets such as Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia remain major destinations for Vietnamese workers.

The number of workers sent to Laos and Cambodia doubled, providing a springboard for fulfilling this year’s target.

The country has resumed the sending of workers to the Republic of Korea (RoK) following a suspension since early this year, with 697 labourers returning to the RoK in November.

The Department has earlier taken labour export management measures, sanctioned and suspended the operation of 14 businesses in the field.

New brewery factory inaugurated in Thai Binh province

The Hanoi Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (Habeco) on December 8 inaugurated its brewery factory in Song Tra industrial zone in the northern province of Thai Binh.

The Hanoi – Thai Binh Brewery Factory, managed by a Habeco’s affiliate, the Hanoi – Thai Binh Beer JSC, is designed to produce 50 million litres of beer per year in phase one.

The factory’s construction was started in October 2011, at a total cost of VND490 billion (US$23.3 million). Its operation is set to create more than 200 jobs.

Director of the Hanoi – Thai Binh Beer JSC Vu Thanh Liem said that all facilities have been completed, and the factory is ready for the increase of its capacity to 100 million litres per year.

Its modern and energy-saving production line is imported from Germany, Italy, the US and some other European countries. The factory is also equipped with a standard sewage treatment system, he said, adding that it will contribute over VND200 billion (US$9.5 million) to the province’s budget in 2014.

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