Mong Cai border gate to stay open longer

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the extension of customs clearance working hours at the Mong Cai border gate with China to facilitate cross-border travel and trade.

Accordingly, the time for entry and exit activities will span from 7:00am to 20:00pm every day, one hour later than the current 19:00pm, while that for import and export activities will be extended by one hour and a half, from 7:00am to 18:00pm instead of the previous 16:30pm (Hanoi time).

Mong Cai in the northern province of Quang Ninh and China’s Dongxing border gates have become important entrepôts for goods, investment capital and travellers between Vietnam and China.

They are also the only land and sea border gates between the two countries. Dongxing is the most favourable gateway for China’s southern and southwestern regions to trade with Vietnam and other ASEAN countries.

Urban services will attract investors: official

Urban social services play an important role in improving living conditions and in generating funds for urban development, deputy minister of construction Phan Thi My Linh said at a conference last week in northern Hung Yen Province.

Linh said that adequate social services also helped attract investors to urban development projects.

The Construction Ministry is working out a 2020 plan to improve social services in Viet Nam's urban areas. The plan will encompass public services such as education, healthcare and housing provided by governmental or private organizations.

Social services also help perform the needed task of increasing the effectiveness of organizations, building stronger communities and promoting equity and opportunity for residents.

"The move is needed because of the country's accelerating pace of urbanization," Linh said.

A report by World Bank shows that Viet Nam has one of highest urbanisation growths amongst Southeast Asian countries.

Since 1986, Viet Nam's urban population increased from 19 to 34 per cent by 2013 and is projected to reach 45 per cent by 2020.

Viet Nam's cities are expanding in terms of space and population, but also population density in inner-city areas, which means population growth is outstripping spatial and infrastructure growth.

Further complicating matters, urban growth is focused in a few large cities like Ha Noi and HCM City while small or medium cities actually saw decreases in their population.

Deputy minister Linh said that development of new urban areas in the past just focused on technical infrastructure like housing.

"Social infrastructure and social services haven't been developed properly," Linh said, adding that it has really had an effect on people's living standards.

The incompatibility between new urban areas and existing infrastructure caused overloads in hospitals and schools as well as shortages of resources like water.

Linh blamed the incompatibility of the new and old on the absence of comprehensive planning for social services development and policies to encourage investors to work on such projects.

"We still lack the legal framework to regulate quality of services by ensuring service users' rights," Linh said.

Director general of Viet Hung Development and Investment Joint Stock Company, Dao Ngoc Thanh, said that new urban areas changed the face of the country and its major cities. "New urban areas must confront degradation of infrastructure and shortages of social services," Thanh said.

Vice head of the Ministry's Urban Development Department, Nguyen Thi Ha Anh, said that improved regulations on development and management of social services were necessary to increase service users' benefits.

Such improvement could also make conditions more favourable to investors considering social service projects in urban areas, she said.

Quality fruit fetch premium prices

Higher prices do not discourage or disappoint Tran Thi Van Oanh when she buys fruits from supermarkets.

Oanh, who is with the Viet Nam Women's academy, knows that she can get the same fruit for much cheaper in the wet markets or street vendors, but she is willing to pay the price for knowing she is getting a good quality product.

"For example, a big pomelo is sold for VND 200,000 (US$9) in the super market, while I can get the fruit for just one-third that price in the wet market. But I prefer to buy it in the supermarket as the quality is much better," she said.

Oanh's attitude exemplifies growing demand for high quality Vietnamese agricultural produce and products among well-off consumers in Ha Noi.

Nguyen Thi Hau, deputy director of Nhat Nam Company, which owns the Fivimart supermarket chain, said: "Vietnamese agro products are much sought after by our consumers these days because they are of high quality and more reasonably priced compared to similar imported products."

This was echoed by Tran Thi Phuong Lan, deputy director of Ha Noi Department of Trade and Industry. She said that since early 2015, many supermarket chains in Ha Noi had switched to sell Vietnamese agricultural specialty products like Vinh oranges, Ninh Thuan's apples and Dong Thap oranges. And these were selling very well, he/she added.

Lan attributed the increased demand for high quality local produce to successful implementation of her department's "Regional speciality" programme.

Under the programme, many enterprises from 40 provinces have signed memoranda with Ha Noi Department of Trade and Industry as well as supermarkets to supply them with their local/regional specialities.

For example, Fivimart will sell sticky rice from Son La or garlic from Ly Son Island, while Hapro Mart will sell Canh oranges or Dien grapefruits from Ha Noi, Cao Phong oranges from Hoa Binh province and some specialities from the northern mountainous provinces of Cao Bang, Bac Kan and Ha Giang.

According to Ho The Van, deputy director of Can Tho Center for Investment - Trade and Tourism Promotion, Nam Bo - Southern Viet Nam, is well known for many specialities including pomelos, star apples, particularly the purple variety, and mangoes. But due to poor transportation facilities, these fruits cannot go directly to the north.

"We have found ways to transport them to Ha Noi and other northern provinces, as the demand there is very big. Our centre has been looking for distributors in Ha Noi, but so far we've had no luck."

Ha Noi residents are eager to get good quality products from all localities in the country, said Nguyen Tien Vuong, deputy director general of Ha Noi Hapro Corporation. But many producers have not responded correspondingly by paying due attention to packaging and labelling, he added.

Tran Tam, CEO of IPCOM said while packaging and proper labelling were very important elements in capturing consumer interest, producers needed to pay more attention to building recognisable trademarks and brands.

Dragon fruit prices continue to decline

Dragon fruit (Thanh long) growers in the southern Ninh Thuan province are worried about the continuous fall in prices, although the main harvest will arrive only next month.

After the Tet Lunar New Year (February 19), the price of dragon fruit has fallen and was at its lowest five days ago.

The price of 1kg of dragon fruit fluctuated between VND7,000 and VND20,000, down one-third compared to its price in the months before Tet.

Tran Thanh Liem, a dragon fruit grower in Chau Thanh District's Tam Vu Township, said it was the harvest season on his family's two hectares, but the rapid fall in prices in recent days have made him worry.

"I feel great anguish at the losses, estimated to be VND60 million to VND70 million," he said.

Suffering from the same situation, Nguyen Van Vinh in Long Tri Commune of Chau Thanh District said he and several neighbouring orchard owners didn't want to harvest their fruit.

"Though the fruits are ripening, no trader has come to the gardens to buy them over the last one week," Vinh said.

"If the problems of storage and stagnating goods at the China-Viet Nam border gate aren't solved, the farmers will have to suffer the cost of falling prices and lack of consumption," he said.

Tran Quang An, chairman of the Tam Vu Dragon Fruit Co-operative, said the fall in dragon fruit prices happened because after Tet, there was a huge quantity of fruits in storage.

Since last week, the situation of over-supply has caused the fruits to stagnate in the border area.

"The fruit trucks are still being stopped at the border area, while the storage areas in fruit farms in Long An Province are overflowing," An said.

Dragon fruit is a fruit that cannot be kept fresh for a long time, forcing farmers to sell it at any price.

"My co-operative is still purchasing fruits from local farmers, but the price depends on the fluctuation in the export market," An said.

The price fluctuation has affected both the long-term growing plans and the income of the local farmers, Vo Mai, deputy head of Viet Nam Gardeners' Association, said.

Farmers should grow fruits in different periods to reduce stagnancy, he said. The dried-fruit processing industry needs to be developed to provide diversified products for both home and export markets.

The gardeners association will continue to set up technological training courses for dragon fruit growers, to help them meet the criteria for sending exports to Europe.

The fall in dragon fruit prices by VND11,000 per kg is also affecting farmers' income in the neighbouring province of Binh Thuan.

Farmer Tran Van Tam, in Ham Thuan Nam District's Ham Thanh Commune, said a huge amount of fruits was stagnating at the Chinese-Viet Nam border area.

"My family spent a large amount on the initial investment and care of 1,000 dragon fruit trees over four months," Tam said. "With the fall in prices, I estimated there would be no profit in this crop."

Local wholesale purchasers of fruits said the main export market of dragon fruit was China. The price fluctuation has been completely dependent on the Chinese traders at the border gate.

Thanh long is grown in 23,000ha in Binh Thuan now, with a productivity of 550,000 tonnes per year.

Onion farmers suffer as demand falls in Da Lat

Thousands of tonnes of onion in Da Lat City have been harvested, but growers are grappling with low consumption and demand.

Nguyen Van Phap, the owner of a 4,000 sq.m onion farm in Da Lat, in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, said onion prices had dipped to their lowest level and domestic consumption had also been slow.

"The region's onion farmers have never had to deal with slow consumption over the last few years," Phap, 40, said.

The current prices of onion are pegged at VND2,000 to 2,300 per kilogram (kg), and only VND1,000 for dirtier onion. This is the lowest price during the last decade, Phap and some experienced farmers in Da Lat city, said.

Phap's onion farm harvested a record output of 50 tonnes for the domestic market, However, a huge amount of onions had remained in storage the owner was looking for customers.

"No one has come to my garden for a wholesale purchase. I have had to spend a sizeable amount hiring local employees to cut and put the harvested onions in storage," he said.

Despite the current prices, the farmers have reported no profit.

Some garden owners must pay money to build an additional store, hire local people and transport onion.

Compared with previous years, during the harvest season, traders usually come directly to onion gardens to purchase onions at a price of VND5,500 to 6,000 per kg. Onions at many gardens are quickly sold out.

Several owners, who had used considerable capital for long-term investment, had retained a sizeable amount of onions at the store, aiming to sell these products at a higher price in the coming months.

A representative from the Lam Dong Province's Agriculture Department said the onion growing acreage in Da Lat and the two surrounding districts of Don Duong and Lac Duong had increased over the last few years, with total area of 1,000ha.

He said the reason for the increase was that onion growers were not likely to suffer losses because onion could be stored and remained fresh even after three to four months.

The disadvantage for onion growers during this period was the export market, the agriculture department officer said.

During previous years, the two main export markets for Viet Nam's Central Highland region's onion were Singapore and South Korea. But following this year's harvest season, fewer companies in the two markets had come to sign a contract with onion growers.

HCM City's domestic market and neighbouring Cambodia had also stopped short since last week, according to some experienced onion garden owners. They predicted this year's export market might purchase their onions later than previous year.

Government offers incentives to coach station projects

Developers can receive subsidies of at least 20 per cent of the interest rate, when taking loans from banks to develop, upgrade or expand coach stations.

This is part of the incentives that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved to attract the private sector towards coach station projects.

The Prime Minister assigned the People's Committees of cities and provinces directly under the central government, including Ha Noi and HCM City, to make development plans for coach station networks and to invite investors.

The investors will also be exempted from paying land rents for areas used to build compulsory structures such as platforms, waiting rooms, ticket offices and green spaces.

Investors of station projects in disadvantaged districts will be exempted from paying land rent for the whole station area.

They will also enjoy corporate income tax of 10 per cent for 15 years on the income generated from operating the coach station.

The rate is half of that imposed on other areas.

The corporate income tax, reduced from 25 to 22 per cent last year, is expected to drop to 20 per cent next year. Small and medium-sized businesses have enjoyed a 20 per cent rate since the second half of 2013.

At a meeting with the Ha Noi People's Committee on Wednesday, Transport Minister Dinh La Thang said the private sector could help improve the quality of transport services.

He suggested the city should privatise all its coach stations.

General Director of the Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam Nguyen Van Huyen said transparent bidding in transport projects would attract competent investors who would use investment effectively and improve service delivery.

Soc Trang helps new enterprises

A business incubation model was established in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Soc Trang on Wednesday.

The initiative aims to build a "new" generation of enterprises to fuel international integration and actively contribute to local social economic development.

Funded by the Canadian government, the programme is a key activity of the province's development plan for small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The model is expected to help new enterprises or individuals overcome initial challenges in starting businesses in the province.

Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Mai Phuoc Hung said most start-ups face difficulties such as a lack of strategic orientation, underperforming administrative competency and low trade promotion and connectivity skills.

VN attends cyberspace conference

An information and communications ministry delegation, led by Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Hong, attended the Global Conference on Cyberspace, held from April 14 to 17 in the Netherlands.

The fourth such conference was attended by representatives from more than 120 countries, territories and international organisations. Operationalising the Seoul Framework, the conference aimed at exchanging knowledge and ideas on strategic cyberspace issues and developing concrete solutions to urgent problems.

Participants joined international discussions on human rights and privacy issues on the Internet.

In the framework of the conference, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) proposed by the host country will be established. It is expected to be a driving force for building policies on information safety, and will boost initiatives and provide knowledge and experience to member countries, and create a foundation to organise high-level discussions on policy-making.

Viet Nam is one of the 42 countries, territories and international organisations founding the GFCE.

Lifestyle Viet Nam trade fair opens

The four-day Lifestyle Viet Nam trade fair opens today at HCM City's Tan Binh Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Organised by the Viet Nam Handicraft Exporters Association (Vietcraft), it will have more than 800 stalls put up by local and foreign companies to display fine arts and handicrafts products, home decoration items, wooden furniture, household utensils, embroidery works, jewellery, fashion, footwear, accessories, and others.

Held to help local businesses find international partners to enlarge their exports, this year's exhibition has attracted 2,000 international buyers from 30 countries, including 300 each from Japan and Europe, 180 from the US, and dozens more from Australia, Canada, Chile, and Mexico.

It will have exclusive display areas for sustainably-made Vietnamese products and the latest products from France and Sweden.

Vietcraft said it hoped to develop LifeStyle Viet Nam into one of the largest home decor and gift fairs in Southeast Asia, in the process also popularising Viet Nam's products abroad.

Viet Nam, Singapore forge stronger economic ties

Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh and Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang co-chaired the 11th Ministerial Meeting on Viet Nam-Singapore Economic Connectivity in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue yesterday.

The annual event focused on reviewing the outcomes of efforts made in six prioritised fields since the last meeting, held in Singapore in April of last year. It also sought ways to foster economic links between the two countries.

The Vietnamese side proposed that Singapore continue encouraging its businesses to invest in Viet Nam in new areas, expanding the bilateral partnership for mutual benefit.

The meeting is part of the Viet Nam-Singapore Economic Connectivity Agreement signed by the two governments in 2005. The deal focuses on six main areas: finance, education and training, transport, information technology and communications, investment, and trade and services.

During the event, the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism and the Singapore Tourism Board signed a memorandum of understanding on tourism.

At the same time, the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency and Singapore's UOB Bank also signed a memorandum of understanding on investment promotion.

Seminar urges development goal reform

The different orientation and strategies needed to shift from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were discussed by senior Vietnamese officials and international experts at a seminar in Ha Noi yesterday.

Addressing the unfinished MDG agenda must be first order of business for the post 2015 framework, both at the global and national levels, said Pratibha Mehta, United Nations' Resident Co-ordinator in Viet Nam.

"We recognise that Viet Nam is already engaged in this process – through newly adopted action plans for ethnic minority development and for improved health and nutrition."

"While Viet Nam's national scorecard is impressive, significant unfinished business remains, nationally on some MDGs and sub-nationally among some population groups and provinces," she added.

Tran Quoc Phuong of the Ministry of Planning and Investment said that there were many obstacles that had hindered Viet Nam from meeting all eight MDGs by the end of this year.

For example, developing an institutional framework for the goals was difficult because there were differences between global and national criteria and standards. At a time of declining international financial support, mobilising the resources needed for achieving the MDGs became even more of a challenging task.

However, the country's significant achievements should be acknowledged, he said.

Phuong said Viet Nam completed its first goal of eradication of extreme poverty and hunger in 2012, ahead of schedule.

The poverty rate has dropped from 58.1 per cent in 1993 to 9.6 per cent in 2012. Now the rate is about 6 per cent.

The country also achieved universal primary education in 2010 and is on its way toward reaching universal secondary and higher secondary education. By 2012, net enrolment rate for primary education had reached 97.7 per cent.

Viet Nam has also basically met its gender equality and women empowerment targets.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said that the seminar was an opportunity to share results and experiences in the process of reaching MDGs, adding that it would also help the process of setting a foundation for the post-2015 development agenda.

The eight MDGs, ranging from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, was established in 2000 by the United Nations. All goals were expected to be met by 2015.

The new post-2015 development agenda builds on the MDGs. Seminar participants agreed that while enormous progress had been made towards the goals, showing the value of a unifying agenda underpinned by goals and targets, the indignity of poverty had not been ended for all.

They noted that UN members were now in the process of defining SDGs as part of the new agenda that must finish the job of the MDGs and leave no one behind.

This agenda is expected to be adopted at the Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015.

Thomas Grass, assistant secretary-general for Policy Co-ordination and Inter-Agency Affairs with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said that the MDGs were a strategic plan to be able to respond to the most urgent problems in developing countries.

The SDGs are quite different in that after long discussions between 193 countries, they have "come up with not so much a plan to deal with the problem of yourself but much more of a shared vision of humanity in 2030."

Therefore, to achieve the SDGs, "we have to re-orient the whole economy, we have to change the way we are doing business," he said, adding that this would require everybody's commitment and involvement, "so that our economy can grow, but in a way that leaves no one behind and in a way that protects the planet."

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg noted that given Viet Nam's young population, its sustainable development would depend on creating more jobs.

State firms wary of R&D funds

Few State-owned enterprises in HCM City earmark funds for research and development despite the fact that since 2007 the Government has stipulated they must spend 3-10 per cent of revenues on research.

"Demand for research and development funds is real, but few companies allocate them because they are afraid of the cumbersome procedures," Do Huong Duong, deputy general director of the Phu Nhuan Service Joint Stock company, told a conference yesterday on earmarking and using research funds.

All companies were aware of the need for developing and applying technologies amid globalisation, he said.

Though the Ministry of Finance has issued a circular to guide enterprises in the setting up, operation, management and use of a fund for research and development of science and technology, many that have already set up a fund face trouble for alleged misuse.

This was because the ministry had failed to keep the tax authorities in the loop and they applied outdated guidelines while assessing if money from the fund was used as prescribed, Nguyen Thai Son, director of the Sai Gon Tax Consultant company, said.

Enterprises, who are caught in the middle, are understandably wary when it comes to creating a research fund.

Pham Ngoc Minh, deputy head of the Ministry of Science and Technology's southern office, said there were enterprises that had created the fund but did not use money from it, especially because of the tax issue.

The HCM City Taxation Department would inform its offices not to collect tax on the fund, Tran Thi Le Nga, deputy head of the department, said.

She also promised her department would ask the Ministry of Finance and Taxation General Department to issue new guidelines to eliminate the problems.

VN firms struggle to expand in Russia

Two-way trade between Viet Nam and Russia hit US$2.6 billion last year. However, it accounted for less than 1 per cent of Viet Nam's total import-export activity with the world, which was $298.2 billion.

This means that the economic potential between the two nations was not being fully exploited, according to the General Department of Viet Nam Customs.

Enterprises that trade with Russia said that it was difficult for them to expand their markets even though demand for Vietnamese products was high.

They said the main reasons were harsh import regulations and high taxes Russia imposed on some products.

Many goods exported to Russia have to go through a third country in Europe, instead of going directly from Viet Nam to Russia, like wood products.

Vietnamese wood product exports to Russia remain slow despite interest from the Russian market.

Tran Quoc Manh from the HCM City Handicraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA) said that Russia applied a tax for imported wood products based on weight, and wood products are heavy so the taxes are high.

Seafood enterprises also face difficulties. Alhough up to 400 Vietnamese seafood enterprises are allowed to export to the European market, only about 30 are licensed to export to Russia.

For better and more sustainable export results, experts urged Vietnamese enterprises to develop a strategy for production and exports.

Vietnamese enterprises have high expectations on opportunities to exploit the Russian market when the free trade agreement (FTA) between Viet Nam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is signed.

The negotiations were concluded in December last year, and the two sides are preparing for the official signing of the FTA this year.

When the FTA is signed, Vietnamese exports to Russia, including agriculture, aquatic products, garments, textiles, footwear and wood products, will be offered preferential taxes.

Russia's import demand consists of consumer products like garments and textiles, footwear, fine arts and handicrafts, processed food, agricultural and seafood products and building materials.

The two countries target to reach a trade turnover of $10 billion by 2020.

Da Nang signs MoU with Kosice, Slovakia

The central city signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on co-operation and friendship with Kosice City, Slovakia, to boost investment, trade, education and tourism between the two cities.

The MoU, which was inked on Thursday, also marked the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and Slovakia.

Richard Rasi, mayor of Kosice, which is the second largest city of Slovakia, visited the Da Nang FPT Software company in the Van Don Industrial Zone.

Last year, Vietnamese IT company FPT signed its first merger-and-acquisition agreement to buy RWE IT Slovakia.

HCM City plans 2015 SOE divestment

A meeting was convened by the southern city's People's Committee last week to discuss the completion of divestment at State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in HCM City in 2015.

Addressing the event, the Deputy Head of the sub-committee for enterprise reform, Huynh Trung Lam, said 14 SOEs under city governance had been directed to withdraw over VND3.6 trillion (US$171 million) from non-core areas in 2015.

However, the amount divested by the SOEs during the first quarter of 2015 would be a mere VND307 billion ($14.6 million).

According to the city's leaders, the divestment has been delayed by an underperforming stock market, an abundance of stock supplies to businesses, and a myriad of regulations that must be abided.

The Vice Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, Le Manh Ha, has requested that SOEs pledge to complete their divestment process by the end of the year and take action to hasten the process.

In 2014, there were 107 enterprises under the city's management, with 15 of them being restructured.

Steel consumption up in first quarter

The Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA) member companies' domestic steel consumption rose in the first quarter, reaching 2.5 million tones – a 25 per cent increase on the year.

The domestic steel industry produced 2.7 million tonnes in the first quarter, up 17 per cent over last year.

More than half of the steel consumed – 1.29 million tonnes – was construction steel, which saw a year-on-year increase of 10.5 per cent.

Construction steel sold in March hit 651,633 tonnes, increasing 160 per cent over last month and by 14.4 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Nguyen Van Sua, vice chairman of the VSA, attributed the increase in steel consumption to the market's overall growth in March and the first quarter.

The country's gross domestic product (GDP) edged up 6.03 per cent in the first quarter. The industrial and construction sector posted growth of 8.25 per cent.

The Government has promulgated policies to support the country's economic development, including the property market, warming up the construction materials market and helping boost steel consumption, according to the VSA.

Despite positive domestic consumption, the sector exported 390,162 tonnes in the first quarter, a slight decrease compared with 392,132 tonnes in the same period last year.

The domestic steel market would see more change after free trade agreements were signed, economic experts said. They urged the VSA, ministries and agencies to prepare to manage the quality of steel imported to Viet Nam. Trade defence measures were also needed to protect domestic producers.

Enterprises were also advised to improve technology, administrative efforts and competitiveness so they could integrate more effectively in the future.

Milk products' prices continue to decline

The prices of 50 types of milk products for children below 2 years of age will drop by between 0.4 and 4 per cent beginning today.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the new prices were set after the ministry required five milk producers and traders to review and remove advertising costs from the selling prices of products for children below 24 months of age, in accordance with regulations on trading and using nutritional products for infants, under decree 100/2014/ND-CP.

The new rates will be slashed by between 0.4 and 4 per cent, depending on the kind of milk products and the structure of selling prices they are suited for, as declared by the ministry, Head of the Price Management Department of the Ministry of Finance Nguyen Anh Tuan said.

The five companies are enterprises that were asked to set the selling prices of milk products meant for children below 6 years of age, according to existing regulations of the ministry.

These include Mead Johnson Nutrition Viet Nam Ltd Company, Friesland Campina Viet Nam Ltd Company, Nestle Viet Nam Ltd Company, 3A Nutrition Ltd Company, and Tien Tien Ltd Company, which supplies to Mead Johnson Viet Nam.

Moreover, other milk firms must announce the selling prices for their products in provinces or cities.

The ministry received declarations on reducing the selling prices of 50 types of milk products for children below 2 years of age from the five companies, Tuan affirmed.

According to the existing regulations, the ceiling cost of advertising, promotional activities and marketing is 15 per cent of an enterprise's total expenses.

Since June 2014, milk producers and traders reviewed and deducted advertising expenses from the selling prices of 686 lines of milk products for children below 6 years of age, as required by the ministry to stabilise the cost of milk products in the domestic market.

As a result, the selling prices of these products dropped by between 0.1 and 34 per cent, he noted.

This is the second time that the selling prices of milk products in the local market has been reduced, with the new rates coming into effect on April 20, he added.

Market set for Cambodian border

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has approved plans to build a market to improve trade and living conditions of residents along the Viet Nam-Cambodia border.

The Tay Ninh People's Committee said last Friday that the market, the first to be built by Viet Nam at the neighbouring country's suggestion, will be located in Cambodia's Memot district, Tbaung Khmum province, which shares a border with Viet Nam's Tan Bien district in southwest Tay Ninh province.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will work with the Ministry of Finance on the project's capital allocation. In addition, the Ministry of Trade and Industry will work, in consultation with relevant bodies and Cambodia, to issue regulations on the facility's operations.

The government also requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to upgrade the Chang Riec border gate in Tay Ninh to facilitate the supervision and management of trade activities and to ensure social order and security in the border area.

HCMC fair focuses on branding

The 2015 Viet Nam Trademark Forum, which opened in HCM City last Friday, focused on the theme of connecting national brands to improve competitiveness.

Participants urged the National Branding Programme to help them build, market and protect their brand names through practical measures.

Several participants suggested that domestic firms should deliver post-sale services to every outlet and consumer, rather than rely on publicity campaigns.

General Director of Binh Minh Plastics Jsc Nguyen Hoang Ngan has pushed for Vietnamese companies to fix weaknesses in resources to sustain their brands, especially in the adoption of technological advances, to catch up with the current trend of international economic integration.

Last year, as many as 63 firms were honoured with the National Value Awards for strong brands, an increase from the 30 awarded in 2008, Deputy Head of the Trade Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Do Kim Lang said, while presenting achievements of the National Branding Programmes for the 2003 to 2014 period.

Volcafe builds $80m plant

Volcafe Viet Nam, an affiliate of the Swiss ED&F Man Holdings Group, has commenced operations at a new coffee processing plant within the An Phuoc industrial park in the southern province of Dong Nai.

The plant, worth US$80 million, covers a plot of land spread over nearly 4 ha and expects to process some 100,000 tonnes per year.

As one of the leading global coffee merchants, Volcafe is dedicated to quality control, risk management, the logistics of delivery and sourcing, and processing gourmet coffee.

The Viet Nam-based factory is equipped with advanced technology imported from developed countries.

Skilled workforce key to development

Viet Nam will not retain the advantage of cheap labour costs and target developing a high quality and professional workforce, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Tuan Anh, said.

Speaking at a recent meeting with a US delegation of Senator Assistants, Anh said Viet Nam was planning to step into a new development stage. Due to this reason, the country would not only improve its labour intensive economy, but also focus on high-tech industries, including precise mechanisms, electronics, the environment and consumer products within five years of a development plan.

Moreover, Viet Nam had also been conducting privatisation of State-owned enterprises. The percentage of privatised SOEs was expected to be 90 per cent by 2015.

He said that Viet Nam would take specific steps to build and implement international policies and conventions on intellectual property protection for both domestic and foreign firms.

The country would also improve its legal and institutional framework, and ramp up awareness in this area.

At the meeting, the two sides shared their views on how Viet Nam should manage its economic development strategy, and policies for attractive investment, especially since the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was about to come into effect.

They also discussed the country's implementation of its commitment in the field of intellectual property, trade facilitation, customs simplification and the SOE privatisation process.

The US delegation said Viet Nam had the advantage of low labour costs, but it should consider that labour costs in the country would increase when Viet Nam becomes a part of the TPP agreement, which could lead to higher GDP growth. Foreign investors would then seek cheaper markets, such as Laos and Cambodia.

The two sides also discussed a trade facilitation process. The Deputy Minister said Viet Nam had implemented one-shop projects to facilitate import and export activities.

He also confirmed that Viet Nam had always supported the US enterprises in particular and other foreign companies in general for investing in the country.

He hoped that the delegation would also support the promotion of co-operation in industry and trade between the two countries.

Market expects corrections after week of gains

Most stock analysts retained a positive view on the market this week, but predict the market remains turbulent and might see downward corrections in the early sessions.

Also, any downward trend might be due to profit-taking pressures following a week of gains, analysts noted.

Last week, both stock indices closed in the green on the two exchanges, propped up by the recovery of large-cap shares, as well as strong purchases by the foreign sector.

"According to our observation, investors' psychology has improved over each session. Besides, continuous net buying by foreign investors with increasing volume on both exchanges will maintain the market momentum," analysts at SHB Securities Co wrote in a note.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index gained a cumulative 2.58 per cent to close the week at 568.32 points. Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange added 0.76 per cent over the week, ending Friday's session at 83.61 points.

Also, solid gains of blue chips, especially oil and gas shares, provided impetus to the market.

Along with growth in oil prices on the global markets, oil and gas stocks climbed substantially, including PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service Corp (PVD), PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corp (PVS) and Petroleum Equipment Assembly & Metal Structure (PXS).

Other heavyweight stocks, such as Masan Group (MSN), Vinamilk (VNM) and VinGroup (VIC), also had a positive trading week.

The VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity on the HCM City's market, also climbed 2.71 per cent through the week, finishing Friday at 599.12 points.

Liquidity also perked up. The daily trading volume on the HCM City Stock Exchange rose over 4 per cent against the previous week, averaging more than 86 million shares worth nearly VND1.66 trillion (US$76.9 million) per session.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, daily volume increased by 24 per cent over the previous week, reaching 46.5 million shares valued at VND609.4 billion ($28.2 million) per day.

However, the market is likely to undergo an adjustment phase early this week, after a long rally. The Vn-Index exceeded the landmark 570 points several times last week, but demand was not strong enough to provide a further boost to the market.

Profit-taking sell-offs late last week caused many blue chips to decline, building more pressure on the market this week.

"There should be a correction to test the psychological landmark of 560 points. The adjustment phase can happen this week and Monday's trades might see strong fluctuations and likely end in the red," Maritime Bank Securities Co's analysts wrote in a note.

Performance will be mixed on different stocks, depending on the business results of their companies. Analysts said information about first-quarter results and annual shareholders' meetings would continue to influence the market, in the short term.

Foreign trades will likely be a support factor as their net buys, which were worth some VND1 trillion ($46.3 million) on the two markets through last week, contributed largely to the market uptrend.

They poured VND924.5 billion ($42.8 million) into the HCM City's market last week, with a focus on blue chips, such as BIDV (BID), Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), MSN, VIC and PVD. In the meantime, they disbursed VND75 billion ($3.5 million).

Vietinbank issues loan to BTMU

The Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank of Industry and Trade (VietinBank) signed a US$100-million syndicated loan agreement arranged by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) on Thursday.

The foreign banks participating in this agreement include BNP Paribas and Mega International Commercial Bank.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Vietinbank board member Phung Khac Ke said the bank was committed to using the loan for the right purposes and to a rational use of resources to generate the highest return on investment.

The loan will be an additional significant source of foreign currency for VietinBank to meet businesses' demands for production and trade as well as the country's economic development.

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