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The Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE) has announced to present the Sustainability Reporting Awards to listed enterprises with remarkable contributions to environmental and social issues given the framework of the 2013 Annual Report Awards (ARA).
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the awards will be granted for the first time in this year’s competition. The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Britain-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) will be in charge of professional aspects and send judges to evaluate related contents in listed firms’ reports.
On Tuesday’s 2013 ARA launch also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the ARA’s organizing committee, IFC and ACCA.
Following its success over the past five years, the ARA contest is co-organized by HOSE and Vietnam Investment Review’s sister publication Dau tu Chung khoan and sponsored by fund manager Dragon Capital. This year, over 700 annual reports of listed firms are expected to join the contest.
Launched in 2008, ARA has attracted many investors and listed companies. Between 2008 and 2012, the organizers honored 129 reports out of over 1,700 entries, including 299 qualified for the final rounds. The ratio of winning reports out of the finalists increased steadily from 13% in 2010 to 17.8% in 2012.
Lower inflation pulls down interest rates
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has decided to lower interest rates by between 0.5% and 1% beginning from March 26.
Interest rates for short-term deposits in VND will be cut to 7.5% per year
The SBV's decision followed a fall in the country’s consumer price index (CPI) by 0.19% in March.
As a result, the cap for deposits at banks and financial institutions in VND with terms of from one month to one year would be reduced from 8% to 7.5% per annum.
The maximum interest rates for deposits of less than one month will be maintained at 2% per year.
For People’s Credit Funds, deposit interest rates, with terms from one to 12 months, will be lowered from current 8.5% to 8% per year.
Financial institutions and banks are allowed to set interest rates for deposits with terms of more than a year based on market demand.
The SBV will require a 1% reduction in interest rates in some financial services.
Annual interest rates on refinancing services and the overnight rate will also be cut by 1%, to 8% and 9% respectively.
Interest rates on rediscounted loans will be cut to 6% per year, from the previous 7%.
The cap of 11% for lending interest will be applied to industries, including agriculture and rural development, production and trade in exports, production and trade for small and medium-sized enterprises, supporting industry, and high-tech applications.
Local People’s Credit Funds and microfinance institutions will be allowed to apply a ceiling lending interest rate in VND for these industries, at 12% per year, the SBV said.
According to the SBV, apart from lower inflation rate, lending at banks and financial institutions is still modest, encouraging it to further cut interest rates.
Even though the SBV applied six interest rate cuts last year, many enterprises continued to find it hard to get bank loans amid economic difficulties.
Work begins on Samsung's largest cell phone factory
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday applauded Samsung's decision to expand operations in Vietnam, adding that it would contribute to the strategic partnership between Vietnam and South Korea.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on March 25 attended a ceremony of the Samsung group to begin construction of a 3.2 billion USD high-tech complex in the northern province of Thai Nguyen
The complex, which will house Samsung's largest mobile phone factory, is expected to provide jobs for thousands of local people.
It will also contribute tens of billions of US dollars to the country's annual export turnover, while boosting the development of the electronics support industry in the northern region of Vietnam.
Dung spoke highly of South Korean businesses' operation in Vietnam and pledged to create favourable conditions for them and other foreign businesses to do business in the country on the basis of friendship, co-operation and equality.
The same day, the Prime Minister held a working session with provincial leaders where he urged Thai Nguyen Province to use its potential and advantages in agro-forestry and industry.
Dung affirmed the Government's policy of creating the best possible conditions for Thai Nguyen to develop into an economic, political, cultural and educational centre in the northern midland and mountainous region.
On the province's famous tea trees, the leader said Thai Nguyen should develop industrial-scale processing for the product, which was key for the locality's poverty reduction.
He also urged Thai Nguyen to improve the investment environment, reforming administrative procedures and attracting high-tech projects.
Last year, the province recorded an economic growth of 7.2 per cent, generated jobs for 22,600 people and reduced the percentage of poor households by 2.93 per cent.
Particularly, tea trees have been a lifeline for poor families in the province with the crop growing on a total area of 18,500 hectares.
Singapore firm TCI has transferred the entire stake it is holding to Protrade, its local partner in the Song Be golf course in the southern province of Binh Duong.
The Singaporean investor has sold its 75% stake in the 27-hole golf course to Protrade, and the deal was finalized about one moth ago but no information on its value is available.
The golf course covering more than 100 hectares along Binh Duong Boulevard in Thuan An Town’s Lai Thieu District came into operation in 1994 with 18 holes after two years of construction. Some 13 years later, the course was upgraded into the 27-hole facility.
HCM City calls for investors into wastewater project
HCMC is calling for capable investors to develop a project for treating wastewater along the Tham Luong-Ben Cat-Nuoc Len Canal basin with a capacity of 150,000 cubic meters per day.
The project called Saigon West Wastewater Treatment Plant will be built on 11 hectares in Binh Tan District at a cost of some US$80 million, said Luu Van Tan, head of the wastewater management department under the Steering Center for the HCMC Urban Flood Control Program.
The city wants this project to be developed under the format of build-transfer (BT) or build-operate-transfer (BOT). The plant is scheduled to start operation in 2015 to handle wastewater for the Tham Luong-Ben Cat-Nuoc Len Canal basin running through District 12, Tan Phu District and Binh Tan District.
As planned by HCMC, there will be three wastewater treatment plants along the Tham Luong-Ben Cat-Nuoc Len Canal basin, namely Saigon West, Tham Luong-Ben Cat (with a daily capacity of 250,000 cubic meters) and Binh Tan (180,000 cubic meters).
Attracting investors into the wastewater treatment projects along this basin has proved very difficult for the city. Most investors are lukewarm to these three projects, while those who are interested face financial distress.
Slow site clearance is another headache. It is the reason why the Tham Luong-Ben Cat wastewater treatment project in District 12 is three years behind schedule. It is expected that the cleared site will be handed over in early 2014, so not until 2016 will the plant be operational.
The plant covering 13 hectares is developed by Phu Dien Construction Investment and Trading Company under the BT form.
Meanwhile, the Binh Tan wastewater treatment project has not been included in the list of priority projects yet due to the difficulty in attracting investors.
Among the seven wastewater treatment facilities in HCMC, only Binh Hung Wastewater Treatment Plant with a daily capacity of 141,000 cubic meters has been put into operation.
In HCMC, over 1.2 million cubic meters of untreated household wastewater is dumped every day. Due to the lack of treatment facilities, most wastewater is directly discharged into the city’s canals and the Saigon River.
Vietnam attends 2013 MITT in Russia
The Vietnam General Department of Tourism, Vietnam Airlines, Viettravel and over 10 Vietnamese tour operators have attended the 20th Moscow International Exhibition for Travel and Tourism (MITT) which opened on March 20.
Their stalls turn the spotlight on the country’s land and people, its beautiful scenery, tourism services and unique culinary arts.
At a press briefing held on the occasion Vietnam Airlines announced the opening of Moscow-Nha Trang direct air route as of April 5.
This is part of Vietnam’s plan receive about 250,000 Russian travelers this year and 300,000in 2014.
MITT is the largest tourism fair in Russia and listed among the five most prestigious events in the world.
This year’s event attracted over 1,000 travel agencies, consultancy and service companies, airlines and insurance firms worldwide.
Handicraft exports to hit US$1.6 bln in 2013
Vietnam’s export of handicraft products in 2013 is estimated at US$1.5 or 1.6 billion, equal to last year’s figure and about 1.5 percent of the global market share, according to the Import-Export Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Domestic producers and exporters are urged to seek new outlets in the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, along with traditional markets, namely the US, EU and Japan.
Experts said local businesses should apply modern technology in handicraft production for a higher output of premium products having additional designs.
They should also create conventional design to meet current trends.
With Government support, they should form a group of qualified designers and market researchers as a driving force behind the business.
RoK, Japan to build a thermal power plant in Vietnam
An international delegation led by the Korea electric power Corporation ( KEPCO) has won a 2.3 US$ billion contract to build a thermal power plant in Vietnam recently.
Under the contract, the plant is scheduled to be operational by 2018 with an annual capacity of 1.2 million kWh.
The coal-fired power plant is expected to generate a US$ 15 billion profit for the KEPCO in 25 years before it is handed over to Vietnam.
The KEPCO and Murabeni Corporation of Japan hold an equal share of 50 percent.
Japanese consumers keen on Vietnamese goods
Vietnam’s share of the Japanese consumer market remains modest, making up just 1.3 percent of its total import demand.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said in the past two months, the country’s exports to Japan reached US$1.87 million, up 0.84 percent against the same period last year.
Among major items were crude oil, seafood, rice, garments and textiles, timber and wood products, and electric cables.
Since 2005, Vietnam’s export earnings from Japan has risen 159.9 percent, from US$4.41 billion, to US$13.05 billion by the end of last year.
Vietnam’s key competitors in the market are China, the Republic of Korea and Indonesia.
In recent years, Vietnam’s garment and textile exports to Japan have grown by 12 percent on average to become the third largest supplier to Japan, just after the US and the EU.
According to the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Japanese consumers have a huge demand for up to US$3.7 billion worth of clothes, of which only five percent are made in Japan. But they are keenly interested in the quality and design of consumer goods for convenience rather than fashion.
Trade surplus expands 700 million USD
The nation’s trade surplus so far this year reached 700 million USD by March 15, according to statistics from the General Department of Customs.
The country’s export value in the period hit 24.5 billion USD, up 23 percent over the same period last year while import value surged 17.9 percent to nearly 23.8 billion USD.
During the first two weeks of March, exports of such product as precious stones and jewelry, textiles and garments, mobile phones and components, crude oil and wood products saw significantly increasing value against late February, with turnover hitting 80 million USD to 350 million USD each.
Imports of several products including refined petroleum, animal feed, and machines and equipment also surged sharply, ranging between 90 million USD and 230 million USD for each type of product.
On March 21, the Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Office released estimates indicating the city enjoyed a 1.32 billion USD trade surplus for the first quarter of this year, including a 440.3 million USD trade surplus in March.
The city earned a total of 6.58 billion USD from exports in the first three months, up 12.8 percent year on year, of which key export staples included rice, sea-food, milk, garments and textiles, footwear and crude oil.
Meanwhile the city spent 5.26 billion USD on imports of goods and services during the period, a rise of 7.8 percent compared to last year.
Meanwhile, the Hanoi Statistics Office estimated the capital city had a 2.9 billion USD trade deficit in the first quarter of 2013, with exports inching up 0.3 percent to 2.4 billion USD while imports increased 2.9 percent to 5.35 billion USD.
The office attributed the insignificant export increase to low import demand from Vietnam’s key export markets -- the US, China and Europe.-V
US equity firm eyes VN opportunities
TPG Growth, a member of US private equity investment firm Texas Pacific Group, said it is looking for further investment opportunities in Vietnam, with the market poised for substantial growth.
Finishing the firm’s two-day annual limited partner meeting in Hanoi on March 21, TPG Group founder ad managing partner William McGlashan highlighted Vietnam’s potential to his company’s investor from around the world.
This is first time TPG Group has held its annual meeting abroad and Hanoi was selected to be the venue.
“We chose Vietnam because we have a very successful history investing here with FPT (software developer) and Masan Group (private sector group), McGlashan said.
He added that Vietnam is an interesting country for investors, with a young consumer population and reforms taking place in the financial sector and state-owned enterprises.
“We did a survey of our investors and Vietnam is a country that they are all interested in understanding,” he added.
Unlike country funds, TPG Growth allocated its portfolios to companies. “For us what really matters is whether we can find companies with potential to become bigger, more valuable and more productive, and Masan is an example.”
According to the investment fund founder, a good company is one positioned to take advantage of the maker context.
After divesting from FPT, the US-based firm has maintained its investment in Masan since 2009 and is eager to invest elsewhere in Vietnam .
When considering an investment opportunity, he looked at two criteria: the quality of corporate management and the economic sector the company is operating in, McGlashan said.
“I think the Vietnamese market is looking substantially better today,” he said.
TPG Growth manages 4 billion USD in capital, focusing on middle markets and growth equity. In October 2006, it purchased stake in FPT for 21.5 million USD. However, the partnership ended the following year. The transaction with Masan in 2009, valued at up to 35 million USD, was the largest private equity deal at that time.
Meanwhile, Masan Group is Vietnam’s premier private sector group, whose subsidiary Masan Consumer recently received 200 million USD from investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.Da Nang confident of tourism demand
The central coastal city of Da Nang will put an additional 1,800 new hotel rooms into operation this year, but it is not worried about a guestroom oversupply.
Da Nang had 10,570 rooms at 326 hotels last year, and the number of rooms is expected to rise by around 5,000 by 2015.
There have been many famous hotel brands entering Da Nang, such as Pulchra Resort, InterContinental, Melia and Brilliant.
The city had 2.7 million tourists last year, up 12 percent from the previous year, including nearly 631,000 foreign visitors.
In 2013, Da Nang will organise several tourism events, including the Da Nang International Fireworks Competition 2013 and the Da Nang International Marathon held by US-based World Marathon Tour Inc.
Vietnam to produce cheap smartphones and tablets
Vietnamese consumers may have more choices when the first locally made smartphones and tablets are unveiled at around just USD50, one official said.
Thieu Phuong Nam, CEO of Qualcomm in charge of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, announced that the company is cooperating with Vietnamese producers and network providers to realise the plan.
According to Nam, mobile phones are a new technology trend that could change the lives of people in Vietnam and many other countries in the world.
“3G and mobile devices have become a common part of people’s lives when they find more affordable to normal mobiles,” he noted.
He said that Qualcomm planned to intensify its operations in Vietnam this year in a bid to bring 3G technology to almost every resident in the country.
“While there are around two billion 3G subscribers in the world, Vietnam has only 20 million 3G subscribers, according to the Ministry of Information and Communication. We see a great potential for 3G development in Vietnam in the time to come,” he said.
He forecast that people would switch from feature phones to smartphones this year while more people, including those who live in remote areas, would use 3G services during the year. Mobile computing technology would continue to strongly develop in the education sector thanks to the wide use of tablets.
“Demand for smartphones in Vietnam and some regional markets increased by 400% last year. Of the total smartphone users, over 60% have preferred cheap devices at less than USD200,” John Stefanac, President of Qualcomm in charge of Southeast Asia -Pacific commented.
Stefanac said that Qualcomm will cooperate with Vietnamese producers to make cheap smartphones and tablets for local consumers.
Currently, Qualcomm is cooperating with FPT to launch the first made-in-Vietnam smartphone, FPT IV at VND4.5 million (USD214.7). Such devices are to serve medium-income people.
He added that it would take a certain period of time to release smartphones at USD50.
Banks cut deposit rates as liquidity improves
Many Vietnamese banks in HCM City have lowered deposit interest rates since early March as deposits continue to rise.
The interest rate of Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) has been lowered from 8% to 7.5% for one to three months loans. Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) also lowered their rates for less than one year loans.
Other banks have also indicated that they would also start to lower their rates.
Bank leaders said although the rates had not increased after Tet and despite credit growth falling 0.16% compared to late 2012, deposits still grew.
"When the cap for deposit interest rates for less than one-year terms was limited to 8%, we thought the customers would withdraw their money to investment, but it has proven otherwise," a bank president said.
The interest rates on the interbank market have remained low with most of the activities centred around deposit transactions as bank liquidity improves from the increased deposits.
According to the SBV, most of the transactions on the interbank market are less than three months terms so the interest rate for those terms increased slightly by 0.60%.
Moreover, banks have increased their purchases of bonds while restructuring their capital so they can lower deposit rates.
An expert in HCM City said lending activities could only be improved when banks were able to ensure a strong level of capital. Lending rates may then fall and boost the business.
Vietnamese firms look forward to a brighter year
Many Vietnamese enterprises expecting more growth this year as foreign investment increases.
In the last five years, many domestic companies have sold their controlling shares to foreign companies, with perhaps the most high-profile sale being that of the brand Highlands Coffee to the Philippines’ Jollibee Foods Corporation. The Thai building materials firm, Siam Cement also acquired an 85% stake in Prime Group, one of Vietnam's largest brick-makers.
Recently the Vietnam Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) sold 20% of its stake to the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ at the price of USD750 million. This acquisition was limited because Vietnam law only allows foreign partners in Vietnamese credit institutions to hold a maximum of 20% stake.
A number of Vietnamese experts have warned that, while foreign investment is important for the country's economic development, that many foreign groups seek to take control over Vietnamese companies. They have said that domestic firms should be aware of this and balance the need to attract foreign capital with the importance of retaining control.
Over the last six months, a number of private foreign investment deals have taken place which allow the domestic firms to keep control. KKR & Co., the private equity giant has invested an additional USD200 million in the Vietnamese retailer Masan Consumer.
Another US private-equity giant Texas Pacific Group (TPG) is going to organise a limited partners conference in Hanoi. This is the first time this conference will be held outside of the US, creating optimism among the business community here.
The return of foreign private capital has been taken by many as a sign of recovery in the Vietnamese economy. For many firms, this is an important source of capital as banks tighten credit.
Shrimp exports to South Korea face ethoxyquin tests
South Korea, a big market for Vietnam’s shrimp in Asia, will test the ethoxyquin contents in shrimp shipments from now until the year-end.
According to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad), Vietnam’s shrimp exports to South Korea will undergo the ethoxyquin test in one year. The level permitted by South Korea’s Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency (QIA) is 0.01mg/kg, equivalent to Japan’s standard.
Speaking to the Daily, Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Producers and Processors (Vasep), said that the decision about the ethoxyquin tests was made as many South Korean firms also processed shrimps imported from Vietnam before exporting them to Japan.
Therefore, the ethoxyquin tests are imposed on Vietnam’s shrimp exports to avoid potential difficulties of South Korean firms in the Japanese market.
Regarding the Japanese market, there were 30 local firms detected violating the antibiotic residues from June 12, 2012 to February 7, 2013.
However, according to Nafiqad’s Document 421 sent to seafood firms, South Korea did not say how many shrimp shipments from Vietnam would be tested. Previously, with the ethoxyquin residues, Japan at first tested 30% and then 100% of Vietnam’s shrimp export batches.
Currently, shrimp export to Japan is still in difficulty due to the tests although the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has worked with Japan for several times to address the problem. In addition, Vietnam’s shrimps are facing a risk of anti-subsidy tax in the U.S. market.
Difficulties in the importing markets may make the fishery export target of US$6.5 billion set by the ministry unobtainable.
According to Vasep, seafood export in the year’s first two months dropped by 0.6% to US$779 million, with shipments to the U.S. declining by nearly 10%, EU 33%, Japan 33%, Mexico 55% and China 23.5%.
VietnamWorks and Nick Vujicic to motivate Vietnamese jobseekers
VietnamWorks, Vietnam’s leading jobsite, has announced that the famous motivational speaker, Nick Vujicic, will be guest appearing at its jobseeker events in Ho Chi Minh City on May 23 and in Hanoi on May 24, as part of its ‘Choose to Succeed’ campaign.
The campaign kicks off on the March 19 with the launch of the microsite, www.vietnamworks.com/chonthanhcong, which will be focussed on helping Vietnamese jobseekers to make the best decisions for their career futures. Jobseekers can take part in an online quiz, get career advice and update their CV on the microsite.
“Being successful in work and life is not something that just happens, you first have to make the choice to be successful,” said Carlton Pringle, CEO of VietnamWorks. “Choosing to do or be something means that you do not stop until you have achieved it. Our mission is to provide you with the tools and support on your path to success that is why we have developed the microsite and the reason we are bringing Nick and his amazing story to Vietnam’s jobseekers.”
Nick Vujicic was born with no arms and no legs, and has overcome immense difficulties to live an exceptional life. As well as addressing audiences across the world, Nick has published two books, a DVD, starred in an award-winning short film and appeared on the world famous The Oprah Winfrey Show. In February last year he married his fiancée and last month his first child was welcomed into the world.
“Nick has done more and seen more than most able bodied people. He is truly an inspirational person and has a story which will stop you in your tracks. It is a story that we would love to share with you and that is why we are making this possible. At VietnamWorks we are committed to helping you become successful and by giving you the opportunity to hear Nick’s story we will enable you to take stock of your journey so far and make all those important decisions for your career path. In order to be part of Nick’s story you first need to take control of your own. We will reward those who choose to succeed with a ticket to hear Nick,” added Carlton.
The event will be held in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, and tickets to both events will be available free of charge to jobseekers who register on website www.vietnamworks.com/chonthanhcong.
VietnamWorks is the largest online recruitment provider in Vietnam with more than 80,000 people visiting our website vietnamworks.com every day. VietnamWorks has more than 4,000 new jobs every month from biggest companies in Vietnam and the finest resources for career advancement to help jobseekers get their dream jobs.
For employers, VietnamWorks provides online recruitment solutions and a searchable database containing over 400,000 CVs to help them get the right talent to grow their businesses.
Credit growth bounces back in February
The State Bank of Viet Nam said February’s credit grew by 0.26% against January but in the first two months the growth rate fell by 0.28%.
The decrease was attributed to the shrinkage of foreign currency credit, which is in line with the Government’s effort to prevent dollarized economy.
In early February, liquidity of credit organizations fell sharply but it has improved quickly after the central bank used open market tool to support their seasonal capital demand to satisfy businesses’ capital need during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Thanks to high liquidity, inter-banking interest rates are slightly lower against the beginning of the year while deposits are bouncing back with a 2% increase in the first two months. This is sign of restored confidence in credit organizations.
The lending rates for agriculture, rural areas, exports, small and medium-sized enterprises are kept at 9-12%/year and for other fields at 11-15%.
The foreign currency market has also been stable, said the State Bank of Viet Nam.
The above signals shows that macro-economy and monetary market are on the right track, the bank noted.
This year, the Government targets a 12% credit growth and focuses on dealing with non-performing loans. Earlier this year, the Government issued Resolution 02 on solutions to remove difficulties against production and business, support the market and deal with non-performing loans.
Binh Duong's billion dollar project opens apartment sales
Becamex Tokyu Company Ltd, a Viet Nam-Japan joint venture, began selling apartments in its first real estate project in the country on Wednesday.
On offer are more than 400 apartments at Sora Garden 1, one of three high-rise condominium projects being built under an overall project called Sora Gardens.
The first stage of selling will last until April 18 in the form of capital contribution contracts for a limited number of customers. From April 19, it will be open to all.
Sora Garden 1 is being built on an area of more than 9,000 sq.m with two 24-storey buildings. It is a complex that combines residential, commercial and retail centres. The apartments on sale are 67sq.m to 105sq.m in size. The average cost of the apartments is around US$1,000 per sq.m.
Construction of the project began in November 2012 and is expected to be handover in 2014.
Also on Wednesday, the company signed an agreement with Vietcombank, Vietinbank and Eximbank to provide client support for those buying apartments inSora Garden 1.
Sora Gardens is one part of a US$1.2 billion-Tokyu Binh Duong Garden City Project.
With this project, total foreign-direct-investment (FDI) coming into the province increased more than 2.5 times over the previous to $2.8 billion last year. It pushed the southern province to first place in the country in attracting FDI.
The project is an important part of the Binh Duong New City, which is planned as a new green and clean urban area that will become the core political, economic, cultural and social centre in the province by 2020.
Population of the new city is expected to increase rapidly once the provincial government offices are moved to a new location at the heart of the city this year.
Viet Nam fishery sector faces major challenges
Viet Nam's fish and seafood exports have seen more and more rejections by three out of four major global markets.
Viet Nam was a relatively poor performer in the fishery export sector, said Professor Spencer Henson from the UK's Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at a scientific workshop in Ha Noi yesterday.
He explained his conclusion by drawing the participants' attention to the relative rejection rate, which measures the ratio of a country's share of total rejections to the share of total imports.
"In other words, Viet Nam's share of rejections is more than its share of imports in all major export markets (including the EU, the US and Japan) except for Australia," he noted.
Financial losses stemming from these rejections average an estimated US$14 million per year, the workshop heard.
While the main reasons for rejection differed across export markets, bacterial contamination was frequently cited, as were veterinary drug residues (a problem for the EU market), hygienic conditions and poor labeling (the US) and other contaminants such as chemicals and "foreign bodies" (Japan).
Certifying tra fish would be an important step towards reducing such rejections, said Nguyen Hoai Nam, Deputy Secretary of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
So far, 103 tra fish farms nationwide have been certified, accounting for 40 per cent of the total tra fish aquaculture area, according to VASEP.
However, during the last few years, importers have imposed increasingly complicated safety standards related to chemical and drug residues and certification.
There are more and more voluntary certificates (GlobalGAP, ASC, BAP, to name a few) which have many advantages, but also raise production costs, reduce consumers' trust and even create misunderstandings between producers and major consumption markets, Nam noted.
He also emphasised the fact that domestic production costs (including salary, electricity, water, packaging, chemicals and testing) are increasing while export prices tend to stand still, discouraging farmers.
It is too costly for farmers to satisfy these standards if they are not rewarded with higher prices for their products, he stressed.
Many other challenges also pose difficulties on seafood imports from Viet Nam, such as diseases, international anti-dumping and anti-subsidy lawsuits, competition from other countries and the impact of climate change as well as strict market regulations on food safety, tracing, environmental responsibility and resource protection.
The major problem facing the Vietnamese tra fish and shrimp industry was contamination, mainly due to the improper usage of feed and veterinary drugs, according to studies conducted by lecturers Aya Suzuki from Tokyo University and Vu Hoang Nam from Viet Nam's Foreign Trade University with assistance from VASEP and other local researchers.
UNIDO's Asian Report proposed that Viet Nam support the development of leading firms and provide necessary technical and financial support to those entering international markets for the first time.
This would lead to the expansion of contract farming, improving product quality, it added.
Technical assistance and information services for farmers and producers are also necessary for them to understand the changing market environment, workshop participants said.
These would help them understand new food safety standards (both mandatory and voluntary) and help them use drugs and chemicals appropriately, they pointed out.
Participants also commented that to preserve the position of small-scale farmers in the value chain, public labs should be established. International efforts to create standardised certifications could also help the situation.
The workshop was held by the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in co-ordination with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Japanese Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO).
Guam visas on tap for investors from Viet Nam
Pitching Guam as a great investment, travel and education destination for Viet Nam, Eddie Calvo, Governor of the US-governed island said it would offer special FDI investor visas for interested Vietnamese businesses.
He was speaking at a meeting held yesterday in HCM City as part of a week-long trade mission to Viet Nam.
"Guam's convenient location in Asia – where America's day starts, favourable tax and incentive environment, similar climate, and proximity to HCM City makes the island an unrivaled destination for Vietnamese outbound investment," Calvo said.
During their stay here, Calvo, along with representatives from the Guam Visitors Bureau and the Guam Economic Development Agency, are meeting with Vietnamese officials and business leaders in Ha Noi and HCM City to discuss potential co-operation opportunities.
VinaWealth wraps up IPO of open-ended fund
VinaCapital's VinaWealth Fund Management JSC has concluded the IPO of its VinaWealth Enhanced Fixed Income Fund (VFF), the first open-ended domestic fund licensed for public offering by the State Securities Commission.
It has a face value of VND1 million.
As of March 12 more than 150 investors had subscribed a total of over VND50 billion (US$2.4 million), most of them domestic investors.
The VFF will have a target net asset allocation of at least 80 per cent in bonds, including in Government-guaranteed bonds, treasury bills, corporate bonds, money market investments, and others.
Roy Fong, the fund's director of fixed income, said: "We target to outperform the average HSBC 12-month deposit rate."
Sebastian Subba, CEO of VinaWealth, said: "We are happy with this first success.
"It is not about the amount we raised but through this exercise, we had a chance to meet and talk directly with the investors to better understand their needs and expectation from us.
"We have been able to discuss, deliberate, and provide our professional advice on the merits which the product provides investors including diversification for corporates in cash management and individuals who see the VFF fund as a proxy for their retirement savings.
"All of the activities and meeting presentations we have done indicates that we are going in the right direction. We are optimistic that once the IPO is launched more investors will invest in the VFF, especially foreign investors."
VFF is not listed on the stock exchange. The fund will deal directly with it through distributors.
Japan bank targets PPP acceleration
Financial institutions could help boost the implementation of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in Viet Nam, said Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh yesterday at the first high-level meeting on establishing a dialogue framework for accelerating PPP projects between the ministry and Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC).
The country was making efforts to innovate public investment in infrastructure development, shifting from heavy reliance on the State budget to mobilisation of private resources, said Vinh. Thus, international experiences would be useful, particularly as the country's first regulations on PPP were not as fruitful as expected.
While the country needed about US$15-16 billion each year for infrastructure development, public spending could only provide about 50-60 per cent, he said.
"The engagement of the private sector in infrastructure projects not only generates economic benefits but can also help improve investment efficiency and project quality," he said, emphasising that PPP could be a driving force for the country's socio-economic growth.
CEO of JBIC Hiroshi Watanabe said that Viet Nam was the fifth-most promising country for overseas business in the medium-term and long-term as measured by a survey of 160 companies.
A majority of respondents said that Viet Nam was promising for overseas operations because of the future growth potential of the local market and inexpensive labour. However, the country also faced issues of underdeveloped infrastructure, a frequently changing legal system, difficulty in securing management-level staff, rising labour costs and intense competition.
Over the last decade, Japanese companies that came to Viet Nam prospered, Wantanabe said, noting that since 2002, the bank provided $8.5 billion for public-private co-operation projects including Phu My 2 and three combined-cycle gas-fired power projects.
However, its funding for other southeastern nations including Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore was much more significant.
Minister Vinh said that though Viet Nam had become a middle-income country, the country's investment environment had many limitations including bureaucracy, cumbersome administrative procedures and unstable policies.
Moreover, the country faced a barrier that few countries did: the practice of relying heavily on the State budget, which did not prepare the nation to co-operate with private partners in infrastructure projects, Vinh pointed out. Therefore, Government-appointed investors, usually State-owned companies, took on many commercial bankable projects that should have been carried out under the PPP model.
The country was also revising PPP regulations so that they were more like international ones and thus more attractive to investors, he said.
In the next two years, Viet Nam planned to allocate VND20 trillion ($952 million) to PPP projects, Vinh said, adding that the large sum could potentially increase if the projects did well.
Also at the meeting, representatives from the ministry and the bank inked a Memorandum of Understanding to boost co-operation on PPP.
Exporters get top trade advice
One of the world's leading law firms, Mayer Brown JSM (formerly known as Johnson Stokes & Master) and Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce in HCM City today offered local companies advice on how to handle trade remedies.
More trade-barrier cases are being brought by Viet Nam's trading partners, especially anti-dumping and countervailing cases.
Vietnamese manufacturers face increasing competition from the growing number of goods being unfairly imported into Viet Nam.
Since late last year, warnings have been arising concerning the initiation of trade remedy cases against several Vietnamese exports, including steel products exported to Thailand, cashews to India, and cement to South Africa.
More than 170 representatives from Vietnamese enterprises, business associations, media and related authorities attended the seminar.
The speakers at the seminar are leading trade experts and include Ambassador Susan C. Schwab, former US Trade Representative and current strategic advisor to Mayer Brown; Nguyen Duy Khien,director of America Market Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade; and Matthew McConkey, partner in charge of Mayer Brown's Global Trade Group in Asia.
The seminar is expected to provide Vietnamese exporters with the opportunity to gain useful and practical knowledge of trade remedy matters that could have a direct effect on their production and export activities.
Mayer Brown JSM, the seminar's sponsor, is one of the few global law firms to have a team that specialises specifically in government and global trade.
The team has participated in negotiations concerning most of the material agreements and trade incentives over the past 30 years, such as the agreements on establishment of the WTO, GATT, APEC, and NAFTA, and the negotiations for the accession of Viet Nam and other countries to the WTO.
In Viet Nam, Mayer Brown JSM has been acting on behalf of Vietnamese exporting enterprises since 2000 in the antidumping cases against catfish and warm-water shrimp.
Currently, Mayer Brown JSM is representing a large number of Vietnamese seafood enterprises in a frozen-fish fillet case.
Hotel rooms aplenty in Binh Thuan
Over-investment in Binh Thuan Province's hotel-resort segment over the past years has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of hotel rooms.
According to the Binh Thuan Tourism Association, last year the province had 1,000 new hotel rooms, up 12.5 per cent from the previous year compared to the 10 per cent rise in the number of tourists coming to the province.
Although there were periods when hotel rooms in the province were fully booked, the average occupancy rate reached only 58 per cent in 2012.
The province welcomed over 3.14 million tourists last year.
JICA supports tourism info centre
The new Tourism Information Centre of Phuoc Tich Village, a destination in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, has now been completed and is open to serve visitors, thanks to the support of the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).
The 550-year-old village contains 24 very old houses, of which the oldest was built in the 1850s. All the homes were constructed 3.5m above sea level to minimise damage caused by the annual flooding that has always plagued central Viet Nam. They are surrounded by gardens and orchards. Tourists visit the village to explore these historic buildings and to buy local traditional handicrafts.
JICA sponsored VND700 million (US$33,000) for Phuoc Tich to build the tourism centre, which will manage tours to the village, provide services for visitors and offer a place for them to rest.
Handicraft exports to hit US$1.6 bln in 2013
Vietnam’s export of handicraft products in 2013 is estimated at US$1.5 or 1.6 billion, equal to last year’s figure and about 1.5 percent of the global market share, according to the Import-Export Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Domestic producers and exporters are urged to seek new outlets in the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, along with traditional markets, namely the US, EU and Japan.
Experts said local businesses should apply modern technology in handicraft production for a higher output of premium products having additional designs.
They should also create conventional design to meet current trends.
With Government support, they should form a group of qualified designers and market researchers as a driving force behind the business.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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