Can Tho strives to become Mekong Delta economic hub

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho is striving to become the economic hub of the region by 2020, said Tran Thanh Man, Secretary of the city’s Party Committee.

It aims to further raise the share of industry and trade-services in the economy to 48.8 percent and 47.9 percent, respectively, reducing agriculture’s share to only 3.3 percent, according to Man.

The city will also work towards becoming the socio-economic, education-training, science-technology, health, culture, and sports centre, as well as the key domestic and international transport connection, of the Mekong Delta region, he added.

Chairman of the city’s People’s Committee Le Hung Dung said in order to realise the goals, the city will focus on measures for intensive development.

It will improve its investment climate to attract more domestic and international funding while expanding its connection with Ho Chi Minh City and other localities and organising high calibre human resources training to further its international integration, Dung said.

Priority will be given to trade promotion activities to expand its consumption market both locally and internationally.

Over the past 15 years, the city has made significant achievements in socio-economic development.

The production value of industry, trade and agro-fishery reached 181.5 trillion VND (8.4 billion USD) last year, a ten-fold increase from 2000, raising the annual income per capita to 3,298 USD; the highest level in the Mekong Delta region, according to Dung.

Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Minh Toai said Can Tho has worked with Ho Chi Minh City and other regional localities to develop infrastructure facilities and leading sectors, including agro-aquatic product processing, garment-textiles, footwear, handicrafts, mechanics, and advanced technology electronics.

As a result, total investment capital of the city exceeded 38.5 trillion VND (1.78 billion USD) with 868 million USD in foreign capital, 166 times that of 15 years ago. Total export values from the city hit 1.35 billion USD, Toai said.

The substantial economic growth has fuelled improvements in education, healthcare facilities, and other social services, reducing the local poverty rate to 2.8 percent, down from 11 percent in 2000.

Investment promotion targets specific sectors

The country's investment promotion activities this year will focus on infrastructure development, support industries, agriculture, and high-tech industries, according to baodautu.vn.

These activities are expected to make best use of the imminent free trade agreements (FTAs) and the potential Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, the site reported.

Top priority for investment promotion will be given to several key partners such as Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Taiwan (China) and Singapore and to European countries such as Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, as well as Italy, the online newspaper quoted Do Nhat Hoang, Director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency, as saying.

For Japan, the promotion activities strive to attract Japanese investment in high-tech agriculture, while for some of the reviewed EU partners, the activities are aimed at catching up with the influx of investment capital that could follow the signing of the Vietnam-Europe FTA in the near future, especially in the areas of industry, energy and infrastructure.

Exploitation of investment opportunities with RoK businesses after the signing of the Vietnam-RoK FTA, which was slated to be effective as of the first half of this year, would also be included in these plans, Hoang told the newspaper.

Attracting investments from small- and medium-sized enterprises was also a point of focus, besides attracting large-scale groups, as these firms would make effective contributions toward fostering the development of domestic support industries, not only through manufacturing and supplying products for domestic and export markets but also by helping to bolster local enterprises' capacities via partnerships and business alliances, he noted.

Statistics from the agency showed that Vietnam attracted 20.23 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, an increase of 19 percent against the target.

The RoK led the 60 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in 2014, with 7.32 billion USD in investment capital, accounting for 36.2 percent USD of the country's total FDI capital. It was followed by Hong Kong with 3 billion USD, or 14.8 percent; Singapore with 2.79 billion USD, or 13.8 percent; and Japan with 2.05 billion USD, or 10.1 percent.

FDI in Vietnam was forecast to increase significantly this year, as many large foreign-invested projects were expected to be issued licences in the next few months, the Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) newspaper reported.

Experts said that licensed projects worth billions of dollars had so far helped Vietnam attract many other supporting projects. This was in accordance with the government's sustainable growth strategy involving enhanced investments to high-tech industries and the creation of value-added exports and supporting industries.

Footwear sector takes steps into New Year

A successful 2014 and the promise of bigger export opportunities has given the domestic leather and footwear industry the confidence to set a 14 billion USD export target for this year.

Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, General Secretary of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso), told Vietnam News that the new target marks a year-on-year increase of 15 percent.

She said last year was a successful year for the industry, with its presence in 47 global markets seeing the total leather, footwear and handbags exports rise 22.5 percent over 2013 to 12.74 billion USD, accounting for 8.5 percent of the nation's total export turnover.

Impending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will attract new investments into Vietnam's leather and footwear industry, she said.

"We think the agreements will create remarkable growth in export turnover in the coming years," Xuan said, explaining that the ensuing reduction in tariff barriers will make it easier for Vietnam to export to large markets.

When the TPP comes into effect, the current taxes of 3.5 to 57.4 percent will be slashed to zero percent, which will support exporters looking to expand production and make better products, experts said.

However, in upcoming years, the sector might have to face stiff competition from India, the second biggest footwear producer in the world, Xuan said.

India has the advantage of having lower wages and production costs than Vietnam, and the Indian government has issued new preferential policies for foreign investors.

Other experts have also pointed out that when the market opens, foreign footwear makers will utilise Vietnam's preferential tax policies. If domestic firms do not respond quickly, opportunities will be lost and market shares reduced, they have warned.

The US market, which was Vietnam's largest footwear importer last year, will set up more non-tariff barriers, mainly on product safety standards, aiming to protect its own sector when the TPP is signed, the Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam (Vietnam Economic News) quoted Nguyen Hong Duong,  

Deputy Director of the American Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), as saying.

Duong advised firms to continuously update themselves on policies and market information so that they can protect themselves better. They should express their concerns through Lefaso to the Government and seek solutions, he said.

Leather and footwear exports last year saw a year-on-year growth in most of its markets. The US ranked first with imports of 3.3 billion USD, up 26.71 percent over 2013. It was followed by Belgium with 659 million USD, up 27.68 percent, and Germany with 600 million USD, up 31.19 percent.

Xuan attributed the growth to many leading footwear brands shifting orders from China and Bangladesh to Vietnam in recent years, enhancement of the country's production capacity and its competitiveness capacity, and increasing foreign investment in the sector.

Space remains for local retailers in domestic market

Vietnam’s retail market has recently witnessed the emergence of numerous foreign businesses as they make acquisitions and expand operations. While some fear the loss of Vietnamese brand names, others believe there is still substantial room for local firms to develop.

Thai billionaire Sirivadhanabhakdi’s retail conglomerate Berli Jucker last year announced its plan to buy all 19 supermarkets of Vietnam’s Cash & Carry wing of the Germany Metro AG for nearly 880 million USD, the biggest retail acquisition in Vietnam’s history. Metro Cash & Carry  

Vietnam generated more than 690 million USD in revenue in 2013.

In late 2014, the Central Group of Thailand’s richest family, Chirathivat, declared that its Power Buy Company had purchased 49 percent stake in the NKT New Solution and Technology Development Investment JSC, which owns the Nguyen Kim electronic shopping centre chain – one of the top Vietnamese retailers with 21 supermarkets nationwide. Earlier in the year, the Central Group opened two Robins outlets selling high-end products in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Over the past decade, Vietnamese consumers have also become familiar with big names from other countries such as Big C from France, Lotte from the Republic of Korea, Parkson from Malaysia, and Aeon from Japan.

A survey released in November 2014 by market research firm Kantar Worldpanel showed that 68 percent of Vietnam’s population live in rural areas and contribute to 60 percent of the national domestic product. Looking forward, their income and living standards are on the rise.

Chairwoman of the Association of Vietnam Retailers Dinh Thi My Loan said nearly all FDI businesses have poured their money into modern retail facilities such as super- and hyper-markets and shopping malls. These mega-facilities account for just 25 percent of the retail sector, leading to strong competition between domestic and foreign firms in this channel.

She added that rural areas are a largely untapped market, though a number of domestic retailers have recently been working to increase their presence in rural areas.

Meanwhile, HCM City is also seen as a lucrative market with a population of more than 7.8 million and strong purchasing power.

Local businesses such as the Saigon Union of Trading Cooperatives (Saigon Co-op), the Saigon Trading Group (Satra), and the An Phong  

Investment Joint Stock Company (the owner of Maximark supermarket chain) are currently dominating the city’s market. They also plan on spreading their reach to rural areas across Vietnam.

For example, the Saigon Co-op has initiated a plan to extend its operations with 28 supermarkets in HCM City and 42 others in localities nationwide along with a network of convenience and department stores.

It has also cooperated with Singapore’s NTUC FairPrice Cooperative to open Co-opXtra Plus, the first hypermarket in HCM City. An additional five hypermarkets are expected to be operational in 2015.

The General Statistics Office estimated total retail sales and customer service in 2014 at 2,945 trillion VND (over 140.2 billion USD), an annual increase of 10.6 percent.

FTAs provide plentiful opportunities for agriculture

An array of free trade agreements (FTAs) coming into effect this year will open up a wide range of new blindingly bright opportunities for the agricultural sector leading to improved investment opportunities along the entire value-chain, reported The Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

A more perplexing dilemma however, is determining the best business model and strategy to lift agriculture from the production of low value staple food commodities higher up the value chain to make the best of the opportunities.

It was not by chance that the 45th World Economic Forum (WEF) held recently in Davos (Switzerland) placed the issue of food security for more than 7.2 billion people in the world to the forefront of its agenda.

This fact clearly shows the increasingly important role that food producers and suppliers play and most notably highlight Vietnam’s critically important role in ensuring food security in the world.

However, despite being one of the world’s leading agro-forestry-fishery exporters, Vietnam's agriculture reveals weaknesses— low value products at cheap prices, inefficient use of land and natural resources, limited agricultural investment and poor hygiene and food safety.

With the current status of productivity and quality of agricultural products, Vietnamese farmers and businesses are in a pickle to take advantage of the coming golden opportunities absent extensive investment and renovation. Thus, opportunities could be missed and leave Vietnam stagnant, producing low value commodities.

Investors from the Republic of Korea, Australia and Japan are actively looking for favourable investment opportunities and have embarked on a number of land lease projects for production, processing and exports in Vietnam.

If Vietnamese farmers are off the mark in negotiating these agreements they could find themselves simply working as farm labour for foreign investors, or in other words – they will just be employees on their soil.

In the face of limited agricultural investment, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in agriculture are invaluable. Therefore it is critically important that these agreements be structured in a manner that enables local farmers and agro businesses to team up with foreign investors on an equal partnership basis.

On a positive note, in recent times, a series of big enterprises across many fields have shifted their investment in the agricultural sector to large-scale agricultural projects based on high-tech models which have brought higher efficiency.

The expanding capital inflows into the agricultural sector show that sufficient resources to restructure the sector are available – it’s just a matter of sitting down at the negotiating table and working out the details.

To this end however, businesses need the support of the government and more incentives to help entice foreign investors to fund land and infrastructure purchases as well as acquire the necessary technologies to revamp the agriculture sector.

To call for more agricultural investment, the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has been working hand in hand with multinational groups to implement the public–private-partnership (PPP) model.

Additionally, the MARD, last year, drafted a strategy for attracting FDI in the agro- forestry- fisheries sector until 2030 for submission to the Prime Minister for approval.

Agriculture is the biggest advantage of Vietnam’s economy and it logically follows therefore that agricultural restructuring is crucially important in negotiating free trade agreements. Restructuring is seen as a monumental opportunity that will benefit the whole national economy.

Successful restructuring will not only enable Vietnam to become an agricultural power, but also serve as a promoter of the industry and service sectors in furtherance of transforming into an industrialised and modern nation by 2020.

Companies to battle for top talents in 2015

Companies in Vietnam will compete for the country's top talents in 2015, revealed the latest annual Global Salary Survey launched in Hanoi by recruitment firm Robert Walters.

The survey showed that employers will have difficulty with recruitment because of the shortage of candidates resulting from the availability of job opportunities in multiple sectors. Therefore, firms have recently turned their focus to attracting Vietnamese professionals working overseas, giving them an advantage over local candidates.

Jon Whitehead, Country Manager of Robert Walters Vietnam, said that compared with other countries, Vietnam has large gaps in top, middle and entry-level management. He said that Vietnamese people working abroad can break this gap because they have international experience, cultural awareness and professional skills.

"Their international exposure, diverse skill sets and bilingual abilities can create a dynamic workforce for Vietnam," he remarked.

Whitehead noted that there will be more job opportunities in Vietnam when the country attracts more foreign investors in 2015.

"The market is not the only thing that I have seen growing in Vietnam; the people are as well," he said. "A lot of Vietnamese workers want to grow and take jobs. Vietnamese people want to stay in the country, while foreigners are not like that. Localisation is the key issue for businesses."

Figures from the survey indicate that employees who switched jobs last year could command an average salary increment of 10-25 percent. The trend is likely to continue in 2015, mainly in accounting and finance, human resources, and pharmaceutical sectors.

This year has also seen a rising demand for information technology specialists in cloud computing, mobility engineering, big data, business intelligence and information security. Vietnam will continue to be a preferred destination for software outsourcing companies because of the country's competitive labour costs.

Besides this, there is a rising demand for procurement, supply chain and engineering professionals due to expansions of factory operations.

Meanwhile, firms tend to hire replacements more often than they recruit for new roles in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Last year, Vietnam saw negative growth for the first time in a decade in FMCG with cautious approach of consumers to the purchase of luxury goods.

Vietnam-UK trade slightly decreases in 2014

Trade between Vietnam and the United Kingdom in 2014 was valued at 2.8 billion GBP (4.5 billion USD), a 2 percent decrease from the previous year, as announced by the Commercial Office at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK.

Vietnam’s exports to the UK during the year earned 2.46 billion GBP (3.95 billion USD), generated primarily though phones, valued at 740 million  

GBP; garments at 373 million GBP; footwear at 362 million GBP; wood and wooden products at 168 million GBP; computers and spare parts at 117 million GBP; and aquatic products at 101 million GBP.

Automobiles and pharmaceuticals accounted for the majority of Vietnam’s imports from the UK.

To further develop trade between the two countries in 2015, the Vietnam Commercial Office suggested domestic stakeholders organise market-relevant trade promotion events to connect potential partners, especially at the Vietnam-UK Joint Economic and Trade Commission  

(JETCO)’s eighth session to be held in London in March.

Vietnam’s economy: time for acceleration

New free trade agreements are opening up promising avenues for the Vietnamese business community to expand their operation but also present numerous challenges, forcing domestic enterprises to take a new approach, Nhan dan (People) newspaper reported.

The Vietnamese economy experienced a year full of difficulties and pressures in 2014 but thanks to the efforts of the Government to pursue a consistent economic regulation policy, figures have revealed a brighter picture regarding the performance of the Vietnamese economy.

The positive outlook is further underlined by a recent survey by company data firm Vietnam Report suggesting that only 7.1 percent of enterprises are pessimistic about their revenues in 2015, compared with 9.1 percent seen in 2013 and 21.9 percent in 2012. So what are the grounds for such confidence? First and foremost, the optimism comes from their performance in 2014.

One of the most impressive sets of data is the revenue of Vietnam’s ten largest firms in 2014 which reached nearly 2,354 trillion VND (110.6 billion USD), up 14.8 percent from a year earlier. The rise in revenue was coupled with higher return on assets and return on equity. This economic optimism is further strengthened by the largest and best-performing enterprises.

Enterprises’ confidence in their accelerated growth reflects great opportunities and likely leads to a boom for the Vietnamese economy in 2015.  

In the other direction, an economy with promisingly higher growth will also be the cornerstone for enterprises to fare better in an increasingly competitive market.

The year of 2015 is anticipated with optimistic forecasts, particularly open opportunities from international integration.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan emphasised that this special moment for the Vietnamese economy, when various trade pacts will come into effect this year, will be a moment that has never been seen before. The commencement of the ASEAN Economic Community will create a common market with enormous potential. Enterprises are waiting for the expected opportunities of a larger market and sharp reduction in input costs, product prices and intermediary costs when all markets in the regions are unified. The new appeal of investment destinations in the region has been expected to create a new hub to attract the world’s investment flows.

And beyond the region, the Trans-Pacific Partnership with negotiations expected to finalise in 2015, will generate large flows of commodities and money between continents. Therefore the year of 2015 is expected to create an unlimited area for development and boundless opportunities for the Vietnamese business community.

Kangaroo Group President Nguyen Thanh Phuong has been preparing for opportunities in 2015 for the past several years.

He said when trade barriers are removed, the reduced time for cargo traffic only is a win for enterprises, especially those exporting to ASEAN countries.

Phuong added he has seen the future in 2016 when domestic enterprises make a breakthrough in the ASEAN market with products labelled Made in Vietnam. However, it should be noted that opportunities only open up for enterprises demonstrating their dominance and influence on the market.

There is a clear trend that if the whole market was to be viewed as a cake, it would be currently divided into large portions rather than cut into small pieces. The positive side is that enterprises of a large enough scale can join the global production and distribution chain in a more convenient way. But this uneven division has presented a considerable challenge for the entire business community.

A survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry shows that among Vietnamese enterprises currently in operation, large and medium-sized companies only account for 2 percent respectively, while the remaining 96 percent are small and extra-small businesses.

The number of extra-small enterprises, defined as having less than ten employees, accounts for up to two thirds of total enterprises. If household businesses are included, the percentage of extra-small enterprises can amount to 99.9 percent.

With such a small scale, there are very few Vietnamese enterprises capable of taking part in global production networks. Therefore it is not easy to connect with larger enterprises to share bigger portions of the cake. Moreover, there is not a whole lot of change to the fact that enterprises are becoming smaller and smaller.

According to the World Bank’s update on Vietnam’s recent economic developments, domestic private firms have yet to overcome challenges facing them over the past several years.

“Domestic private firms are clearly being impacted by the constrained access to finance, subdued domestic consumer demand and an uneven playing field”, Nhan Dan quoted the World Bank as saying.

The above-mentioned shortcomings make it difficult for domestic enterprises to move up the value chain, creating two groups of enterprises with separate operations, namely domestic enterprises and foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises.

From a comprehensive view, there are increasingly less opportunities to acquire market share when one of the economy’s greatest challenges is the decreasing size of enterprises. Looking at it in another way, the lack of enterprises capable of taking part in the global value chain has led to the domestic supply chain becoming broken and fragmented. The risk here is that potential investors will not come to Vietnam when there are not enterprises strong enough to support their operations. This weakness will worsen when labour costs – the main factor that attracts foreign investment into Vietnam – are rising.

Nevertheless, instead of taking on a pessimistic outlook for domestic enterprises, many analysts say that this is the golden moment for enterprises to shift from the position of dealing with difficulties to adapting to changes.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan made the comment that macroeconomic stability plus numerous laws on business activity, investment environment and market mechanisms coming into effect will force enterprises to be more proactive in their integration plan rather than simply managing to work around difficulties such as what happened more than a year ago.

There have been numerous institutional changes in recently adopted laws with a greater emphasis on the role of market forces. However, the gap between laws and their implementation remains a formidable barrier to an improved business climate in Vietnam. 2015 will be quite a challenging year for not only enterprises but also the Government in its effort to build a healthy and resilient economy, standing firm against difficulties and ready to integrate with the world.

Grape growing contributes to Ninh Thuan’s development

The central province of Ninh Thuan has the largest grape growing area in Vietnam, and grapevines will be a key plant for Ninh Thuan in the coming years thanks to its high productivity and economic value, The Voice of Vietnam reported.

Grapevines cover 3 percent of Ninh Thuan’s farming land and provide 13 percent of the province’s total agricultural production value.

The local government has taken steps to encourage farmers to grow grapes along with other plants, establish big vineyards, and apply advanced technologies as part of the province’s new rural development.

Thanks to the local authorities’ financial and technical support, Nguyen Van Moi from Phuoc Thuan commune, Ninh Phuoc district, who has been growing grapes for more than 30 years, now owns big vineyards providing the market with grapes and grape products.

In addition to a 1.5 ha vineyard that follows Vietnam’s Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) standard, he has 10 satellite vineyards. The “Ba Moi Grape” trademark has gained a firm foothold in the market.

"VietGap represents the current trend of the grape industry. Once farmers apply the VietGap model, they will no longer suffer from market fluctuations. Application of the VietGap model protects both consumers and producers," Moi told VOV.

He has also helped other local households involved in grape growing to apply the latest planting technologies and find stable outlets for their products.

Farmers in Ninh Hai district have applied the VietGAP model in growing grapes since 2014.

Under this model, they receive financial and technical support to ensure product quality prior to harvest. With this model, their vineyards’ productivity has increased 25 percent, earning them a profit 30 percent higher. This model also helps them cut costs by replacing fertilisers and pesticides with compost, which is more efficient and environmentally friendly.

To promote the high economic values of grapes, the Ninh Thuan provincial People's Committee approved a plan on safe grape cultivation until 2020. It hopes to have a grape producing area of 2,200ha with an annual yield of 40,000 tonnes by 2015, and 2,500 ha with an annual yield of 60,000 tonnes by 2020.

According to Chau Thang Long, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, to fulfill this target, the province will continue to expand grape cultivation areas, invest in new grape varieties, and improve all the old grapevine trellises.

The province will also boost trade promotion of Ninh Thuan grape products, Long said.

Dong Nai province takes steps to attract Japanese investors

The southern province of Dong Nai has carried out a number of promotion programmes to attract foreign investment, receiving special interest from Japan in the local business environment.

According to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, Japan is currently running 183 investment projects worth nearly 3.4 billion USD in Dong Nai, ranking third after Taiwan ( China ) and the Republic of Korea , and accounting for 15.7 percent of the total foreign direct investment (FDI).

Director of the department Bo Ngoc Thu said the capital inflow from Japan has comprised the majority of FDI in the support and hi-tech industries in the province in recent years, citing up to 95 percent of Japanese investment projects focusing on the two sectors since 2012.

Between 2011 and 2014, the province attracted 102 new projects, accounting for 55.7 percent of the total Japanese investment projects and 37.4 percent of the total FDI projects nationwide. Thus far this year, it has attracted nearly 1,500 FDI projects from 35 nations and territories worldwide with a combined capital of 25.5 billion USD.

The substantial increase was attributed to provincial efforts to improve industrial park and transportation system infrastructure.

Additionally, the province has concentrated on green production by increasing the proportion of energy-saving and environmentally-friendly hi-tech and support industries since 2012.

Local authorities have also devoted attention to reforming administrative formalities, taxes, and customs to improve the investment climate and focus it towards the one-stop-shop model at the district level, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Minh Phuc.

Jingi Osamu, Chairman of the Daikan Limited Company in Bien Hoa city, said the local favourable business environment led his company to plan for future operation expansions.

Dong Nai is now home to 80 training facilities capable of providing tens of thousands of skilled labourers annually. The province has also worked to ensure social order and security for businesses and design specific regulations and incentives to facilitate business operations.

Eateries, coffee shops and supermarkets reopen early

After nearly a week sampling Tet dishes, Nguyen Hong Mai's family in District 1 decided to return to their familiar eatery for breakfast on Sunday, the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

There were no empty seats so they chose another eatery, which was also full. Finally, they took their seats at a pho eatery in District 5.

Lan, owner of the small shop, had decided to keep her stall open since the second day of the New Year, and it had been full every day.

Like Lan's shop, many eateries resumed their service from the second or third day of Tet, with many of them overloaded with customers.

Many coffee shops and restaurants have also been crowded.

Hung, owner of the Milano coffee shop on Luy Ban Bich Street in Tan Phu District, said normally his shop served about 100 customers a day, but during the holiday the number had risen to 150 a day.

He was short of staff as many of his helpers had returned to their hometown to enjoy Tet, he said.

To meet the purchasing demand of consumers, many supermarkets have resumed their operations from the second day of the New Year.

Prices of goods at supermarkets remained stable, with fresh food and vegetables the bestsellers.

Co.opmart stores in HCM City opened from 8am to 12pm from the second day to the fifth day of the New Year. They begin normal hours today.

Vo Hoang Anh, marketing director of Saigon Co.op, the owner of the Co.opmart chain, said the supermarket opened early to meet customers' demand for fresh foods such as vegetables, seafood, animal and poultry meats.

Prices of commodities were the same as normal days, with beef ranging from VND150,000 (US$7) to VND300,000 ($14) per kilo, chicken about VND87,000 ($4) and fish VND30,000-VND120,000 a kilo. Price-stabilised goods sell for lower than market prices.

Besides offering discounts of 10 to 20 per cent on fresh food, the supermarket prepared more than 100,000 red envelopes to present to shoppers from Sunday to today, Anh said.

Cashew crop sets record

Viet Nam's cashew industry exported more than US$2 million worth of the kernels in 2014 - for the first time.

This made it the world's top cashew exporter for the ninth straight year.

The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) reported that roughly 306,000 tonnes of locally produced cashew kernels were shipped abroad in 2014, generating more than $2 billion and representing an annual increase of 17.4 per cent. Annual revenue grew by 21.9 per cent.

Including the export of by-products, such as shell oil and other value-added products, total industry revenue reached $2.2 billion, Vinacas said, noting that the cashew export price averaged $6,553 per tonne in 2014, up nearly 3.8 per cent from the previous year.

Vietnamese cashew is currently exported to 50 countries. Thirty per cent of total exports go to the United States, 25 per cent to Europe and 20 per cent to China.

Domestic enterprises also imported around 700,000 tonnes of raw cashew to ensure supplies for processing and export, raising the total volume of processed cashew kernel last year to 1.2 million tonnes, the association said.

Such high figures make the cashew a staple agricultural export of Viet Nam, following rice, rubber, and coffee.

However, Vinacas chairman Nguyen Duc Thanh forecast an array of difficulties in 2015, such as the depreciation of some foreign currencies which would probably affect exports, India and China's new cashew processing industries in Africa, and stricter hygiene and quality requirements.

To further expand markets, Vinacas plans to step up promotional activities in the US, help its member firms improve product quality and hygiene, and organise an international cashew conference this year.

It targets 350,000 tonnes of cashew kernel exports and $2.5 billion in revenue in 2015.

Ta Quang Huyen director of Hoang Son Limited Company in Binh Phuoc Province said last year, his company received many orders from the European Union and Australia.

However, because of currency depreciation in those countries, this year importers in these markets have ordered less.

Investment promotion targets specific sectors

The country's investment promotion activities this year will focus on infrastructure development, support industries, agriculture, and high-tech industries, according to baodautu.vn.

These activities are expected to make best use of the imminent free trade agreements (FTAs) and the potential Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, the site reported.

Top priority for investment promotion will be given to several key partners such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore and to European countries such as Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, as well as Italy, the online newspaper quoted Do Nhat Hoang, director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency, as saying.

For Japan, the promotion activities strive to attract Japanese investment in high-tech agriculture, while for some of the reviewed EU partners, the activities are aimed at catching up with the influx of investment capital that could follow the signing of the Viet Nam-Europe FTA in the near future, especially in the areas of industry, energy and infrastructure.

Exploitation of investment opportunities with South Korean businesses after the signing of the Viet Nam-South Korea FTA, which was slated to be effective as of the first half of this year, would also be included in these plans, Hoang told the newspaper.

Attracting investments from small- and medium-sized enterprises was also a point of focus, besides attracting large-scale groups, as these firms would make effective contributions toward fostering the development of domestic support industries, not only through manufacturing and supplying products for domestic and export markets but also by helping to bolster local enterprises' capacities via partnerships and business alliances, he noted.

Statistics from the agency showed that Viet Nam attracted US$20.23 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, an increase of 19 per cent against the target.

South Korea led the 60 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam in 2014, with $7.32 billion in investment capital, accounting for 36.2 per cent of the country's total FDI capital. It was followed by Hong Kong with $3 billion, or 14.8 per cent; Singapore with $2.79 billion, or 13.8 per cent; and Japan with $2.05 billion, or 10.1 per cent.

FDI in Viet Nam was forecast to increase significantly this year, as many large foreign-invested projects were expected to be issued licences in the next few months, the Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) newspaper reported.

Experts said that licensed projects worth billions of dollars had so far helped Viet Nam attract many other supporting projects. This was in accordance with the government's sustainable growth strategy involving enhanced investments to high-tech industries and the creation of value-added exports and supporting industries.

Companies draft strategies to increase 2015 earnings

After ending last year on a high note, many listed companies have started to plan for more profit growth in 2015.

TMT Automobile Company (TMT) expressed high hopes for 2015 that are reflected in its ambitious financial targets. The company expects to sell nearly 7,900 vehicles this year, almost triple its 2014 sales of over 2,900.

Revenue is also projected to more than double from last year, rising from VND1.38 trillion (US$64.5 million) to nearly VND3.1 trillion ($144.1 million). Its 2015 net profit prospect climbed from VND62.2 billion ($2.9 million) in 2014 to VND150 billion ($7 million) by this year-end.

Tan Tao Investment Industrial Company (ITA) posted impressive performance last year with pre-tax profits expected to reach VND108 billion ($5 million), a rise of 20 per cent over its yearly goal. This year, the company aims to double or triple revenue and profit, in addition to achieving dividend payouts of 12-15 per cent.

The company has completed negotiations with partners from Taiwan and Japan to lease land at its two industrial parks, Tan Tao and Tan Duc. The land handover is expected to finish early this year.

HCM City Infrastructure Investment Company (CII) has also approved its 2015 business plan, which sets a revenue goal of nearly VND3.15 trillion ($147.2 million) and aims for VND462 billion ($21.6 million) in after-tax profit.

At the end of 2014, the infrastructure developer expected to earn VND380 billion ($17.8 million) in after-tax profit, surpassing its yearly target of 63 per cent, and predicted paying at least 20 per cent in dividends this year.

Imexpharm Corporation (IMP) hiked its 2015 revenue growth by around 16 per cent, rising from over VND907.5 billion ($42.4 million) to VND1.05 trillion ($49 million). Its pre-tax profit is expected to hit VND130 billion ($6 million).

Last year, the pharmaceutical company reported net profit of VND85.5 billion ($4 million), an increase of 41 per cent over the target.

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