VASEP rejects new shrimp tariffs

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has protested against the final decision by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) to impose subsidies on frozen shrimp imports from Vietnam.

DOC announced that Minh Qui Co, a subsidiary of Minh Phu Seafood Corp, will be taxed 7.88 per cent on frozen shrimp, while Nha Trang Seaproduct Co will pay 1.15 per cent and others around 4.52 per cent.

VASEP said that DOC's decision was unfairly hard on Vietnamese shrimp exporters and producers who follow a market mechanism.

"The Vietnamese shrimp industry has not received any State subsidies for many years," said the report.

Anti-subsidy duties will directly impact the lives of more than 600,000 people involved in the Vietnamese shrimp industry, and US consumers who will have to pay higher prices for shrimp imported from Vietnam.

"Imports account for more than 90 per cent of the total supply of shrimp in the US. In 2012, the US shrimp industry achieved significant growth in both output and price. This shows that imported shrimp is not a threat to the US shrimp industry," said the report.

VASEP has asked the US International Trade Commission to consider the case and come to a sound and proper decision.

In the first four months of this year, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the US amounted to US$123.7 million, accounting for 21.4 per cent of total shrimp exports during that period.

The US is the second largest market for Vietnamese shrimp after Japan.

Wood processing sector still lacking in support industry

Even with its annual export revenue surpassing US$4.5 billion, the wood processing sector still suffers from support industry deficiencies.

Every year around US$700 million is spent on importing miscellaneous parts including wood glue, paint, padlocks, screws, and hinges.

Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (Vietfores) Vice Chairman Nguyen Ton Quyen said the imported parts make up 30­–40 percent of the production cost for each product on sale.

In the first half of this year, the wood processing sector surpassed the agriculture, forestry and aquaculture sector by fetching US$2.46 billion in export earning, up 12.5 percent on 2012.

However, the industry had to import US$689 million worth of materials and US$360 million on miscellaneous parts.

Nguyen Manh Dung, Head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MARD) Wood Processing Department, said integrating Vietnam’s wood processing into the global value chain will require a much more effort in support industry.

The glue used in producing plywood is the most important determinant of its quality and international competitiveness.

On average, one cubic metre of plywood uses 100kg of urea-formaldehyde glue.

A cubic metre of particle board needs 90–100kg of glue, 8–10kg of silica gel, and 2kg of ammonium chloride, while the same amount of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) requires 80–100kg of glue, 10kg of paraffin, and 1.7–2kg of ammonium chloride.

From 2016–2020, the MARD plans to turn out 100,000 cubic metres of particle board, 1.5 million cubic metres of plywood, and 500,000 cubic metres of other man-made wood products.

Achieving such targets it annually needs at least 250,000 tonnes of glue, 5,000 tonnes of ammonium chloride, and tens of thousands of tonnes of silica gel.

Each square metre of wood surface requires 250gr of paint and other finishing chemicals,  and there is an urgent need for hundreds of thousands of tonnes each year.

In fact, only 10 percent of the total volume of such materials can be domestically produced, but the remainder has to be imported at annual cost of US$400 million.

Almost no Vietnamese factories specialise in manufacturing spare parts for wood processing industry.

The limited quantity of padlocks and handles manufactured domestically are of substandard quality.

Compensatory Chinese imports are unacceptable for use in luxury or export timber products.

Vietnam has no clear-cut policy to develop support industry for wood processing sector and the Prime Minister’s support industry development decision is still on paper.

In the forestry sector’s 2016–2020 strategy there is no mention of support industry for wood and timber processing.

The Department of Processing and Trade for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries and Salt has only outlined orientations for developing such an industry in future.

The focus will be on encouraging domestically manufacturing wood glue for man-made board and furniture construction by 2020.

The chemical industry will be asked to produce non-toxic paints and metallic finishes to reduce the reliance on imported materials and improve the quality of wood products for export.

Vietnam will cooperate with Japan and the Republic of Korea in researching and improving the sustainable growth of standards of the wood processing sector.

Vietnam’s EU exports hit US$13.5 billion in seven months

The two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the EU reached US$19 billion over the past seven months, with Vietnam’s trade surplus hitting US$13.5 billion, up 24.2 percent over last year’s period.

In the remaining months of the year, the volume of Vietnamese goods exported to the EU increase is predicted to increase as Western European nations like Germany, the UK and the Netherlands have boosted the import of Vietnamese goods over the past months.

Notably, some foreign markets with high import turnover, include Austria (up 121.23 percent), Slovenia (up 49.62 percent), Luxemburg (59.49 percent) and Latvia (up 50.65 percent). In addition, Eastern European nations are on the right track for economic recovery and will increase imports from Asian nations including Vietnam in the future.

At present, Vietnam’s EU exports enjoy advantages thanks to legal corridor of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The country will benefit from the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be signed in the future. At that time, Vietnamese businesses will get better access to the EU market as 90 percent of tax lines for export products will be reduced to zero.

800 businesses join second Vietbuild international exhibition

Nearly 800 businesses from 18 nations and territories around the world joined Vietbuild 2013, the second international exhibition on real estate, interior and exterior design, and construction materials which opened in HCM City on August 14.

2,160 pavilions feature the latest designs and building materials from China,  the Republic of Korea, the US, Japan, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Several real estate projects were introduced during the event in order to meet the housing demand for low-cost earners and civil servants.

In the context of the economic downturn, the event has contributed to boosting trade promotion and construction investment activities, the transfer of science and technology as well as speeding up the international integration process in the Vietnamese market.

At the exhibition, the organising board considered awarding the VTOPBUILD golden cup and medal with the aim of encouraging businesses to apply advanced technology in producing high quality products to serve the construction and property market.

The first VIETBUILD was held in HCM City in June. The exhibition will run through to August 18.

Experts discuss ways to lure FDI to Mekong Delta

Experts gathered at a conference in Can Tho city on August 13 to explore measures needed to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) to the Mekong Delta.

They cited poor infrastructure, inadequate labour skills and low productivity as the main reasons behind the regional limitation to draw in foreign investors.

They held that the geographical distance between the region and seaports and national economic centres such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City also made it difficult to persuade overseas businesses to invest.

In addition, Can Tho, the centre of the region, dropped to 38th place in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (CPI) rankings for 2011.

VCCI Can Tho Chairman Vo Hung Dung told the conference that to see a reverse in fortunes, the Mekong Delta must improve its infrastructure system and investment environment while increasing labour productivity.

He stressed that attracting FDI is not just a matter of advertising the region’s large agricultural sector but the region should mobilize scientific and technological resources and further improve investment promotion.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Promotion Department, the Mekong Delta attracted a total of 575 FDI projects worth over US$10.7 billion from 1988 to 2012, making up a mere 5.16 percent of the country’s total FDI.

Many banks are expecting only modest profits this year as bad debt ratios continue to increase while lending sees only slight rises, according to Dau Tu Chung Khoan (Securities Investment) online.

Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) general director Nguyen Dinh Tung told the website the bank was accelerating lending cautiously, and it would be hard for credit growth to reach high levels by the end of the year without real economic stability.

The bank's lending grew by about 6 per cent in the first half and it was likely that growth would reach the 12-per-cent target this year.

"If the economy grows well, we'll ask for State Bank permission to raise our credit quota. But generally looking, there's little hope for breakthroughs in outstanding loan expansion during the remainder of the year," he said

Tung said this was the reason why OCB didn't expect significant profits this year, adding that the bank achieved nearly half of the whole year's profit target, earning VND154 billion (US$7.33 million), in the first six months.

According to Dau Tu Chung Khoan, many other banks were also forecasting unsatisfactory business results.

SouthernBank earned a profit of about VND637 billion ($30.33 million), mainly from securities trading and other investments, with lending value dropping 1.6 per cent in the first half.

Eximbank's six-month pre-tax profits reached only a fourth of the quota for 2013.

An unnamed chairman of a medium-size joint-stock bank in HCM City said if the lending situation didn't improve in the next few months, it would be likely that profits would be so low that they could only cover provisional funds for bad debt risks.

During the first seven months of the year, the bank had a profit of VND800 billion ($38.1 million), far lower than the year's target of VND3.2 trillion ($152.38 million), and thus, the bank would not be able to pay dividends for shareholders according to plans it had set at the beginning of the year.

DongA Bank general director Tran Phuong Binh said the bank's business performance was satisfactory in the first half, but whether profit targets would be fulfilled could only be clear after all provisional amounts were fully figured out at the end of the year.

He added that the bank had to add about VND140 billion ($6.7 million) into an existing provisional fund worth VND900 billion ($42.86 million) to ensure operational security.

Sacombank chairman Pham Huu Phu said persisting economic difficulties required banks to assure operational safety first, and thus, establishing provisional funds against risks was necessary although this would whittle profits away.

The bank last year had to reserve over VND1 trillion ($47.6 million) as provisions for its affiliate, Sacombank Securities Co, and the amount was not expected to be refunded into this year's profits. The funds were needed to ensure its health in the next few years, he said.

With bad debts still on the rise, businesses struggling to clear inventories and demand weakening on the market, the banking sector saw falling profits ahead, according to another unnamed bank official.

At the end of May, the total value of provisions against credit risks in the banking sector reached VND71.7 trillion ($3.4 billion), up by nearly 12 per cent over the end of last year, according to the central bank.

Call to boost export of building materials

Export are one of the emergency measures the Viet Nam Association for Building Materials has suggested to the Government to overcome the difficulties caused by oversupply.

The association said the industry's capacity in the next few years would be 20-30 per cent higher than domestic demand.

Without immediate measures, the situation would worsen since production capacity keeps increasing, Tran Van Huynh, chairman of the association, told Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review).

According to the association, some sectors are running at just 50 per cent capacity.

But some companies like Vuong Hai V-Block and Tan Ky Nguyen E-Block have managed to increase their output to 60-70 per cent of capacity by boosting exports.

Dang Le Viet, chairman of Khang Minh Brick Joint Stock Company, told Dau Tu that by exporting 35 per cent of its output his company managed to escape the worst effects of the stagnant demand.

So far this year, 7 million tonnes of cement have been exported, more than 150 per cent up year-on-year.

Hoang Xuan Vinh, general director of the Cam Pha Cement Company, was quoted as saying that this year his company plans to export 750,000 tonnes of cement, or as much as 30 per cent of its capacity.

Another measure the association has proposed to the Government is to boost domestic consumption by making it compulsory for public projects to use domestically produced construction materials.

It also suggested reducing value-added tax for the industry.

For long now the construction-materials industry has been in a slump due to low demand, high inventories, and high input costs, forcing many companies to close down.

This is despite a doubling of exports since 2010 to more than US$1.1 billion last year.

Building exhibition opens in City

The largest national exhibition of the construction sector, Vietbuild, is being held for the second time this year in HCM City.

The exhibition, titled Property – Internal and External Decorations – Construction Materials, has attracted nearly 800 firms displaying their wares in more than 2,160 booths.

On show are their latest property products and services, building materials, internal and external decorations as well as hi-tech gadgets.

Nearly 400 of the participating firms are domestic enterprises. There are 191 joint-ventures firms and 212 foreign businesses from 18 countries and territories including China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Italy, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Australia, Germany, the US and Netherlands.

One of the participating firms with a large booth, Son Ha International Corporation, said it had obtained good results from participating in the June edition of Vietbuild.

Dang Tran Hieu, marketing director of the company, said they had chosen Vietbuild as a place to introduce many new products including plastic water tanks, BK water tanks for industrial purposes and stainless steel pipes.

Especially, the plastic water tank's raw material is made from polyethylene imported from Thailand and produced under Australian technology. Unlike other water tank, its structure has three layers that can prevent totally sunshine and avoid development of seaweeds and mosses.

Hieu said the company believes the new products will satisfy local demand and hopes to find many partners during the event.

Exhibition organisers said that in the current gloomy context for both the construction and real estate sectors, the event can be a valuable opportunity for businesses to popularise their images and products in overseas markets.

Nguyen Dinh Hung, general director of Vietbuild Construction International Exhibition Organization Corp, said the previous edition of Vietbuild 2013 (June 13-17) was very successful with contracts worth a total of VND4 trillion (US$190.4 million) signed during the event.

Vietbuild is an annual event held by the corporation in collaboration with the Ministry of Construction's Information Centre.

The exhibition will remain open until August 18 at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre.

HCM City promotes Vietnamese goods

Over 150 exhibitors from across the country are highlighting their wares at an annual trade fair in HCM City to promote Vietnamese goods.

Processed foods, household utensils, handicrafts, cosmetics and machinery are just some of the products on display.

Held by the HCM City Union of Business Association's and the city's Department of Industry and Trade, the August 13-18 event marks Vietnamese Entrepreneurs' Day, and supports the campaign "Vietnamese priortise using Vietnamese goods".

It is hoped that the fair will help the exhibitors to expand their networks and seek out new partners while marketing their products to the public.

Demand for Government bonds rises

Demand for Government bonds from commercial banks started to increase thanks to an excess in liquidity in the system.

The State Treasury announced it had sold a large amount of two-year bonds without increasing bond yields. In its two auctions in August, it sold VND1.75 trillion (US$82.5 million) bonds with 7 per cent interest rate, the same as in late July.

On the secondary market, transactions earlier this month improved nearly 100 per cent compared to late in July, hitting VND5.7 trillion ($268.8 million).

Although transactions focused on bonds of short terms (one to two years), it has shown that banks found government bonds attractive again. Banks are the main buyer of bonds.

Saigon Securities Inc analysts said in a report, "Banks started to buy bonds, expecting that the market would rebound after the money market stablised."

In July, bonds auctions almost failed because banks wanted to bid at high yields while the Ministry of Finance tried to keep rates low. In August, however, banks bought regardless of bond yields.

In fact, the return of investors to bonds was predicted by the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam. As the stock market declined, the bank said, demand would come to bonds as bank liquidity improved and the economy had not signalled prosperity.

Foreign investors also contributed to the rally of bonds. After unloading a net value of VND10 trillion ($471.7 million) in June and July, as of August 9, they were net buyers with VND204 billion ($9.6 million).

Unity key to product dominance

Co-operation between domestic universities, research facilities and businesses has dramatically improved the competitiveness of Vietnamese products.

The assessment was released by a research and development project between Ha Noi University of Science and Technology (HUS&T), Rang Dong Light Source and the Vacuum Flask Joint Stock Company.

Since 2007, HUS&T has provided technological advances to improve domestic production for the Vacuum Flask Joint-Stock Company. Initially, technology was provided for producing materials for bulb production, which previously had to be imported.

The company then expanded technology transfer to compact fluorescent lamps – also known as ‘energy-saving lamps'.

Late last year, the company worked with university lecturers to produce light-emitting diode (LED) lamps which met international standards.

Such ventures in technological-innovation have provided a welcome boost to company growth and profitability, said Company Director Nguyen Doan Thang.

Currently, two laboratories have been set up at the company and the university to facilitate the collaboration.

He added the company had been fortunate in its partnership with the university, which has provided leading experts who have transformed inventions into real products.

"Mutual trust has played a key role in the success of the co-operation between inventors and enterprises," said assistant professor Do Xuan Thanh, also Director of the company's Research and Development Centre.

"Enterprises need to trust the capacity of scientists. They can make important contributions to enterprises who want to engage in joint ventures," he said, emphasising that both parties needed to be pro-active about long-term collaborations.

He urged that leaders needed to be aware of technological innovation and the vital role it plays in the survival and competitiveness of enterprises.

Lecturer Nguyen Van Hieu from Ha Noi Univesity of Science and Technology, said substandard research activities were preventing further collaboration between enterprise and universities.

According to Hieu, the current mechanism for the approval and funding is limiting research.

"Most school studies produce results that are not applicable or are yet to be applied in real life," he said.

The principal of Ha Noi Agriculture University, Tran Duc Vien, believes that more needs to be done to provide training programmes that produce qualified employees that meet company requirements.

According to a survey of 150 gardening enterprises run by the university five years ago, an overwhelming number cited a mismatch between what students were being taught and what was needed in the marketplace.

This explained why gardening attracted few Vietnamese students while in Europe, it was one of most "attractive" faculties at agriculture universities, he said.

Director of the Centre for Business Studies and Assistance Vu Kim Hanh said that although more enterprises wanted to collaborate with research centres, information on the opportunities available was difficult to access.

A different survey of 200 domestic enterprises revealed that while 60 per cent of enterprises got information on technological innovations through trade fairs, 27 per cent received information from companies offering to collaborate, Hanh said, adding that more needed to be done.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Nguyen Quan, said that technological innovation was part of the revised law on Science and Technology, which will provide a much needed boost to cooperation between science and enterprise, and significantly improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese products.

He advised that the co-operative model between Rang Dong Company and Ha Noi University of Science and Technology needed to be expanded.

"Scientists can work with enterprises or run their own business to make their inventions applicable," he said.

Shadow lingers in construction materials market

The construction materials market has just received its first optimistic signs with business results in the first six months of the year showing slight improvement, however, poor demand, high inventory, and an increase in power price continue to challenge manufacturers.

Data of the Vietnam Cement Association shows cement consumption across the country rose compared to the same period last year. In the first six months of the year, the country consumed 29.5 million tons of cement, with domestic consumption of 22.7 million tons, accounting for 100.9 percent year-on-year, and exports of 6.8 million tons, up 67 percent year-on-year.

Other sectors also achieved positive results. Steel production rose 9.24 percent and consumption climbed 6.8 percent in the first half of this year as local producers promoted exports to countries in the ASEAN.

Statistics by the Ministry of Industry and Trade also showed that in the first seven months of this year, sales of roll steel touched 1.6 million tons, up 24.5 percent year-on-year; steel bars and equal angle steel were estimated at nearly 2 million tons, up 8.4 percent year-on-year. Ceramic tiles and sanitary porcelain exports surged 12 percent and 6 percent, respectively, year-on-year. However, local demand continued to slump.

According to Vietnam Association for Building Materials, total capacity of reverter-furnace cement production lines in the country was at 70 million tons annually. However, in the first half of this year, production of cement plants was merely 25 million tons, or 70.5 percent of total capacity. Some production lines, such as Thanh Liem, Ang Son 1, and X77, even halted operations. Meanwhile, cement consumption increased thanks to export which accounted for 23 percent of total cement consumption but the export price for clinker was at US$36-37 per ton and at $50-55 per ton for cement, much lower than selling price in domestic market.

Similarly, Vietnam Steel Association said that steel demand in 2013 was expected to rise by 2-3 percent compared to the previous year. However, supply soared when several new steel plants started operations, not to mention fierce competition from cheap Chinese steel.

Other sectors, including ceramic and porcelain, architectural glass, and unbaked materials, were also struggling. Data by the Vietnam Association for Building Materials showed that total tile capacity was at 435 million square meters, and sanitary porcelain at around 13 million items. However, in the first six months of this year, although tile production was barely at 70 percent of total capacity, its inventory level hit the production level in one and a half months. Architectural glass production merely touched 50 percent of total capacity whereas its inventory level was up to the production level in two or two and a half months. Concrete block production was at around 30-40 percent of total capacity, and below 20 percent of total capacity for autoclaved aerated concrete production line. Meanwhile, most cellular lightweight concrete production lines stopped production.

While firms still failed to resolve high inventory levels and earn profits from export, an increase of 5 percent in power price was a critical hit for steel and cement producers. With a 5 percent increase in power price, the cost of cement will climb by VND13,000-15,000 per ton.

According to Tran Thi Minh Anh, deputy CEO of Vicem, the power cost for cement production has risen upto VND200,000 per ton. Increasing power price will seriously affect cement industry as cement producers are not able to raise their price anymore. Therefore, their profits will drop significantly.

As for steel, on an average, a ton of steel requires about 600 kWh of power, hence, the cost price of steel will surge. Meanwhile, in July, steel producers had lowered price by VND200,000-250,000 per ton in order to stimulate demand. Like cement, it seems impossible for steel producers to increase selling price as consumption remains low.

The Vietnam Association for Building Materials continued to send proposals to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and the Ministry of Construction asking for export promotion, for no building new cement plants, trade defense measures, and the enforcement of Resolution 2 to help building materials industry overcome difficulties.

The results were disappointing, it reported.

The inspection revealed that all of the projects have fallen behind schedule and lacked infrastructure which were indispensable for the people to live in.

Almost all of the investors blamed the stagnation on the depression in the real estate market, citing problems and difficulties related to site clearance.

One example is the Dai Kim-Dinh Cong new urban area project in Hoang Mai District, backed by an investment from the Ha Noi Housing and Urban Development Business JSC.

With a commitment to complete construction by 2007, 3,426sq.m of space still remains to be cleared from the 24-ha project.

Infrastructure systems are also left open, while construction of 1,117 out of the 1,125 villas and three apartment blocks of the project have been completed.

In another large scale, 189.7-ha project, the Nam An Khanh new urban area, backed by investor Song Da Urban and Industrial Zone Investment and Development JSC, is also on red alert in regard to progress.

According to Tran Duc Hoc, Deputy Director of the Municipal Construction Department, the project was implemented in 2004, but at the time of inspection only 588 of the 1,620 low-rise apartments have been built.

Worryingly, the project planned to use 8.3ha of land for the construction of public buildings and schools, but none of them have been developed yet.

Explaining the causes behind the project's prolonged implementation, investors in the Nam An Khanh urban area and Ha Noi Garden City said that they had to adjust the planning many times, which affected the investment opportunities of their projects.

Additionally, the downturn in the real estate market also makes it more difficult to raise capital.

While not denying some responsibility for the delays, investors suggested that the city authorities should focus on settling the existing shortcomings, especially site clearance.

The city should have a mechanism to remove obstacles blocking compensation for the support and resettlement of residents, they said.

Investors also need specific guidance on determining the project's land use fees and rents by using land valuations based on market prices.

The Ha Noi People's Committee has been asked to handle 131 projects that have been delayed due to site clearance issues in the city by the end of this year.

These projects cover a total area of more than 1,618ha.

The Municipal People's Committee asked relevant authorities and agencies to determine the causes behind the delays and to find measures for handling them within the year.

Of the projects, 30 were reported to have difficulties related to policies, 28 encountered complaints from residents, 16 suffer a shortage of capital or relocation and 16 others on hold until the city completes its planning.

Under the city's 2009 plan for speeding up slow projects, there were 291 projects which had land handed over for implementation; however, delays in site clearance remained and only 160 projects have completed land clearance to date.

Powdered milk firms buoyant

National milk companies have increased powdered milk production to meet a higher demand on the domestic market.

Le Nguyen Hoa, deputy chairman of Dong Tam Nutrition Food Company (Nutifood), said the powdered milk market has recorded VND2.36 trillion (US$111.3 million) in revenue for 2012, which included 300 trademarks, mostly foreign.

However, Hoa said, imported powdered milk was costly and domestic products were up to 60 per cent cheaper and producers had better distribution systems.

That was why Nutrifood was building a powdered milk factory in Binh Duong Province with an annual capacity of 50,000 tonnes, he said.

Another firm, Viet Nam Dairy Company (Vinamilk) also seems to be reaping boom benefits. Vinamilk chairwoman Mai Kieu Lien said the company's powdered milk factory in Binh Duong Province had a capacity of 54,000 tonnes a year, which included products for children and the elderly and hospital patients. It had cornered 25.8 per cent of the market for children, she said.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam Customer Protection Association (Vinastas) deputy general director Vuong Ngoc Tuan said local powdered milk products met hygiene and quality standards and were much cheaper.

Viet Nam's titanium miners to work closer together

The Vietnam Titanium Association will push for closer co-operation between its members. One proposal is that the products of one company be used as the inputs for another. Under the association's target, by 2020, its members will focus on investing in processing and large-scale projects.

The association reported during its annual meeting on Saturday, that the titanium industry had developed dramatically and now has the capacity to produce 1.2 million tonnes of titanium ore per year. Viet Nam's titanium reserves could amount to 440 million tonnes and currently 89 mines are operating around the country.

During the first six months of this year, the association's 44 members exported $85 million and contributed VND300 billion ($14.1 million) to the State budget.

Yola Institute praised for increase in Internet use

The Yola Institute, an educational service provider in Viet Nam, is the only one in the country to be mentioned in a new report released by the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC).

AIC is an industry association, formed by global Internet giants eBay, Facebook, Google, Yahoo! and Salesforce.

The report "Trade in the Digital Age: helping small businesses think big," highlights the Yola Institute's use of the Internet to "strengthen classroom activities, connect with customers, manage human resources and prepare for its regional expansion," Yola said in a press release yesterday.

It said the report highlights the importance of the Internet in "driving record increases in productivity, inspiring innovation and creating rapidly emerging markets as well as transforming traditional commerce."

Paylink payment machines installed in Phu My Hung

Forty Paylink payment machines have been installed in Phu My Hung urban area in HCM City and its Crescent Mall following a joint initiative between the Taiwanese property developer and the Viet Phu Payment Support Service Company (Mobivi).

The machines enable people to pay bills and for goods and services.

A Mobivi spokesperson said that following the signing ceremony last Thursday, the company will install another 80 machines in Phu My Hung in the next month. Mobivi now has partnerships with more than 20 banks in Viet Nam.

Disease ravages Delta fruit

Yields in many citrus fruit and dragon fruit orchards in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta have fallen after they have been infected by new diseases.

Nguyen Van Tam's 4,000-sq.m grapefruit orchard in Tien Giang Province's Cai Lay District has seen its output fall by one-third in the last harvest season compared to previous seasons because of the destruction caused by a worm, Citripestis sagittiferella, known locally as nam hong.

Tam says he has lost about VND10 million (US$470) from the yield decline.

About 405ha of Tien Giang's 10,721ha of citrus fruits have been infected by the worm. The province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development estimates the infection rate at 10-20 per cent of the trees in each orchard.

The worm, which penetrates citrus fruits and damages them, has been seen in the Delta provinces of Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Hau Giang and Dong Thap only since 2011, according to the Southern Fruit Research Institute.

The institute has instructed farmers to apply several measures to protect their grapefruits, including using plastic to cover the fruit and painting the tree trunks white with lime.

Some orchard owners said they have also used nets with lights that attract insects, but they have not been able to catch the worm.

A new disease has also attacked dragon fruit orchards in Tien Giang, infecting young branches and fruits.

Le Van Minh in Cho Gao District's Dang Hung Commune said 80 per cent of his 2,000sq.m orchard were affected by the disease in the last harvest season.

Nguyen Van Sinh, head of the Tien Giang Province's Plant Protection Department, said the disease has been identified as the brown spot disease caused by the Neoscytalidium dimidiatum fungi.

The disease spreads rapidly, especially in the rainy season, and in orchards that maintain poor hygiene and use too much nitrogenous fertiliser and other chemicals to stimulate growth, he said.

The disease, which cannot be treated, has affected both the quality and yield of dragon fruit, he added.

In Long An Province, about 967ha of 2,200ha of dragon fruit orchards have been infected by the disease.

The disease was first appeared in the south central province of Binh Thuan, the country's largest dragon fruit producer, in 2009.

Local officials have told farmers that they need to drain water from dragonfruit orchards, destroy disease-infected branches and fruits and use fertilisers properly to restrict the disease from spreading.

Besides the new diseases, many fruit orchards, including those growing milk apple, mango and sapodilla have suffered because of the roots of many trees have rotted and the leaves and branches of others have dried up.

Many orchard owners attributed it to fake fertiliser, while others blamed it on inclement weather, stagnant water and the soil losing nutrition because of the building of closed dyke systems to control floods.

However, local officials say orchard owners applying techniques to force their trees to produce many fruits is the major reason for the damage.

Trinh Cong Minh, deputy director of Tien Giang Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the price of milk apple and sapodilla was high in previous seasons and many orchard owners had applied techniques to make the trees to bear fruits during their off season.

"This has caused the weakness of fruit trees, causing many trees to die," he said.

The department is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's South Plant Protection Department to find measures to rescue the trees and orchards, he said.

To ensure sustainable harvests, orchard owners should not apply techniques that have used in the past to increase yield, he said.

Agencies agree on agriculture push

Sixteen Government agencies, agricultural associations and companies, and others signed an agreement yesterday to work for sustainable development of the country's agriculture.

They will join hands to make good produce and improve the quality control from the farm to the dining table to ensure better health for consumers.

They also agreed to promote and consume each other's products, Le Duy Minh, chairman of the Viet Nam Agricultural Enterprise and Farm Association, one of the 16 signatories, said.

Vo Mai, deputy chairwoman of the Viet Nam Gardening Association, said since the Government began to encourage good agricultural practices (GAP), the number of samples with pesticide residues has reduced.

But the application of GAP remains modest in the country, she said, calling for an increase.

Relevant agencies should organise training courses to raise awareness among farmers about GAP so that it becomes second nature to farmers, she said.

Authorities should conduct periodic checks of GAP-certified organisations like co-operative to ensure they comply with GAP standards, and ensure outlets for GAP-certified products, she said.

The 16 signatories include the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Agriculture Extension Centre, Viet Nam Co-operative Alliance, the Viet Nam Agricultural Enterprise and Farm Association, the Viet Nam Gardening Association, HCM City Farmers Association, HCM City Union of Business Associations, Agriculture Business Incubation Centre of HCM City, and Nguyen Binh Manufacturing Trading Service Co Ltd.

Recently, the agriculture ministry has also promised to improve monitoring of food safety and hygiene to root out unsafe food.

The public would also be informed about unsafe food when they are found, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat told a recent online meeting his ministry held with food-safety agencies in provinces and cities.

Reports from local authorities show that the public is worried about the quality of food, he said.

With many safety and hygiene violations — such as adding toxic substances to noodles and rice — having been discovered recently, how assured could the public be, he asked rhetorically.

PetroVietnam spurns environment damage claim

State-run PetroVietnam, the investor of the 1,200 MW Thai Binh 2 thermal power plant, has faced down criticism from the Export-Import Bank of the US over the project’s environmental impact.

PetroVietnam last week sent a document to creditor Ex-Im Bank arguing that the $1.6 billion plant used a popular coal-fueled steamer, which is “an environmentally friendly technology that meets Vietnamese and international standards on emissions”.

Two weeks ago, Ex-Im Bank voted not to proceed with the financing of US exports to help build the coal-fired power plant in Vietnam, following a plea from US environmental groups to stop the project. The groups claimed that the project used outmoded subcritical boiler technology.

A source from PetroVietnam, the investor of the plant, who declined to be named, said the Thai Binh 2 thermal power plant was using technology from the US-based Babcock & Wilcox Company.

According to a report by Hong Kong-based environmental, health and safety consulting group, ERM, the Thai Binh 2 power plant meets the standards of the IFC, the World Bank Group’s financial arm.

Chairman of the Energy Association Tran Viet Ngai, a life-long power sector professional, also told VIR that the Thai Binh 2 power plant was using technology that complied with international standards on emissions.

“The total expected loan from Ex-Im Bank is only about $40 million. It will not have an adverse impact on the arrangement of capital and the construction progress of the $1.6 billion Thai Binh 2 thermal power plant if this bank refuses to lend,” Ngai said.

The source from PetroVietnam also revealed that a Japanese bank was poised to inject about $150 million into the project.

Located in the northern province of Thai Binh, the 1,200 megawatt Thai Binh 2 power project is a part of the Thai Binh thermal power centre, with a total output of 1,800MW. Covering a 254.2 hectare area, the centre consists of the Thai Binh 1 and Thai Binh 2 thermal power plants. The Thai Binh 1 thermal power plant, with a total designed capacity of 600MW, is being developed by the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

Construction on Thai Binh 2 began in 2011, with the first turbine expected to start generating power in 2015 and the second turbine coming online in 2016. When commissioned, the plant will contribute about 7 billion kWh per year to the national power grid.

Firms face power shock

Electricity of Vietnam, the sole power distributor in the country,  suddenly announced a 5 per cent electricity price hike last week that will surely burden enterprises with increased production costs.

EVN received approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade on July 31 to increase power price to 1,508 VND (7.3 cents) per kWh, explaining the new move was aimed to compensate for increased expenditure on coal and gas.

“Coal price has risen by 37-41 per cent since mid April 2013,” it claimed in a press release last week.

The power price hike is bound to affect enterprises in all sectors who will naturally pass some of the burden onto consumers.

Vietnam Small and Medium-sized Business Association chairman Cao Sy Kiem told VIR such a 5 per cent rise, which “is too surprising for enterprises to get prepared”, would be a “strong blow” to cash-strapped small and medium-sized enterprises as it would result in price rises on a series of goods and services.

“Both electricity and gas prices have increased which will see a rise in production costs and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in August,” said Kiem.

Deputy general director of Vinausteel Joint-Venture Company Lai Quang Trung agreed with Kiem’s opinion.

“The power price hike will definitely bring about increased costs, however, the steel price cannot rise in this market context,” Trung said.

“We will be unable to change the prices previously agreed with partners,” he added.

The cement sector also faces such difficulties, especially when its inventories remained bloated, according to Vietnam Cement Association chairman Nguyen Van Thien.

“Other sectors also want to increase their prices, however, only electricity has the priority. Since 2009, EVN has increased its price seven times always with the rationale of keeping up with the region’s electricity price. But how can Vietnamese cost of living compare with other countries’ in the region,” said Thien.

Senior economist Pham Chi Lan said neither a lack of capital nor EVN’s debts were reason enough to raise power prices, especially at a time when there is a lack of clarity about input costs and power pricing mechanisms.

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