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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 26/6
Buyers rush
for gold despite downside risks ahead
As local gold
prices have dropped to a two-year low, buyers have been queuing up since
Wednesday at gold trading firms despite risks of further decline.
Gold prices slumped
by an additional VND530,000 a tael at home on Thursday, with the selling
price of Saigon Jewelry Holdings Company (SJC) gold plunging to VND39.4
million a tael. The yellow metal has steadily tumbled in the past ten days,
losing a combined VND1.27 million a tael, or 3.12%.
Meanwhile, global
gold has even fallen more drastically, contracting by nearly US$100 an ounce
or 7% in the same period to US$1,290 an ounce on Thursday. A tael is
equivalent to 1.2 troy ounces.
Gold transactions
in the local market have therefore bounced back given low prices.
Nguyen Cong Tuong,
deputy sales manager of SJC, said his firm sold around 3,000 taels on
Wednesday and some 2,000 taels on Thursday morning, much higher than an
average of 1,000 taels in the previous days.
Nguyen Ngoc Trong,
sales director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ), meanwhile,
said his enterprise sold about 800 taels on Thursday, a two-fold rise over
other normal days.
Unlike previous
years, the gold demand in the local market over a longer period has been low
and this is the reason why PNJ has bought little gold via auctions by the
central bank recently, Trong remarked.
Local gold traders
have recently referred to the winning bids in the central bank’s auctions to
set their own price, meaning firms will use the successful average bidding
price every day with expenses and profits taken into account to calculate
selling prices.
Experts, however,
warn that the global gold price has now entered the downward-sloping of the
price cycle, meaning steeper price falls are projected for the coming years.
Economist Phan Dung
Khanh predicted the global gold price to continue dropping in the next three
to five years after hitting a record high at the end of 2011 as the uptrend
of global gold prices lasting for 12 years has already come to an end.
Many trust funds in
the world are offloading their gold holdings. SPDR Gold Trust, for example,
has sold 350 tons of gold, reducing its holding to some 1,000 tons after
financial institutions had cut their forecast for gold holdings this year.
Therefore, holding
gold now is not a wise decision, said Phan Dung Khanh.
Gold prices
continued falling in the trading session in the European market on Thursday
afternoon. The gold priced quoted at www.kitco.com at 5p.m. on Thursday
slipped to US$1,290 an ounce, a contraction of US$60.5 an ounce versus the
end of the trading session on Thursday.
Local gold prices
now are VND6.6 million a tael higher than global prices.
Vinamilk
invests heavily in dairy farming
After pouring more
than VND4 trillion to construct two processing mills in the southern province
of Binh Duong, Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company, or Vinamilk, will not
build more factories but will focus on developing large-scale dairy farms
from now to 2017, instead.
The Government has
given approval in principle to Vinamilk to set up a joint venture with Thong
Nhat Farming Area to develop a dairy farm in the north-central
The 2,600-hectare
facility will become a big dairy farm with a herd of 26,000 head, or around
ten head for one hectare, with milk-producing cows making up roughly 50%. The
farm whose construction will be divided into many phases will be completed in
five years based on Australian and
Vinamilk has five
dairy farms with a total of over 8,000 head at present, with every facility
owning 2,000-3,000, which will be raised to around 25,500 head in 2015 and
28,000 by 2016 under the firm’s planning. To carry out the plan, Vinamilk has
spent over VND1.5 trillion developing four more farming areas in Thanh Hoa,
Tay Ninh and Ha Tinh provinces.
Besides its own
farms, Vinamilk purchases fresh milk from farming households, which accounts
for up to 60% of the country’s total fresh milk volume provided by local
farmers. The company bought a combined 160,000 tons of fresh milk in 2012,
posting growth of 12% year-on-year.
An executive of
Vinamilk said his enterprise wouldn’t invest in constructing more processing
mills but would concentrate on developing input material zones from now until
2017.
Vinamilk in April
put into operation a powdered milk factory with a designed annual capacity of
54,000 tons and will commission a liquid milk plant at the end of August with
an annual capacity of 400 million liters in the first phase, which will be
doubled in the second phase.
With the existing
factories, Vinamilk is looking to achieve total revenue of US$3 billion in
2017 to enter the world’s top 50 milk companies. Meanwhile, the entity has
set a target of obtaining VND32.5 trillion in sales in 2013 which its leaders
said is achievable due to its remarkable sales growth in the first six
months.
It is noted that
Vinamilk had to scale down its export orders to meet rising local demand and
only when the powdered milk came on stream in April could the firm satisfy
both exports and domestic sales. Vinamilk earlier this year won export
contracts totaling US$230 million, a year-on-year surge of US$180 million.
Phu Thai
launches new retail brand
Phu Thai Group
Joint Stock Company has parted the Japanese retail brand FamilyMart and
developed its own brand: B’s mart.
Speaking to the
Daily on the sidelines of a meeting announcing the establishment of B’s mart
Co. held in HCMC on Thursday, Phan Viet Hung, deputy general director of Phu
Thai, said his firm had taken over all the stakes in Vietnam FamilyMart Co.
to establish the retail brand B’s mart. However, Hung did not elaborate on
the deal.
B’s mart is wholly
owned by Phu
According to Hung,
with the deal in place, most of the FamilyMart stores will be renamed as B’s
mart while FamilyMart still has one store in the city and continue developing
its brand here.
This means
FamilyMart does not withdraw from the Vietnamese market as previously rumored
but has pulled out of the retail venture with Phu
Phidsanu
Pongwatana, general director of B’s mart
B’s mart also
intends to open supermarkets, hypermarkets, bookstores and drugstores.
TAL plans
major textile plant in Vietnam
Hong Kong-based
apparel manufacturer TAL Group plans to boost investment in
Roger Lee, CEO of
TAL Group, revealed this plan at a meeting with leaders of the Ministry of
Planning and Investment this Wednesday.
TAL currently has
25,000 workers at eight factories worldwide. The Hong Kong clothing producer
came to
TAL intends to open
a second factory in
Lee said that
during his visit to
Deputy Minister of
Planning and Investment Cao Viet Sinh said TAL should consider factors like
road access, labor, land rent, assistance from local authorities and the
current situations in some
The planning
ministry is willing to support and offer TAL favorable conditions to expand
investment in
According to
textile-garment firms the chance to attract foreign direct investment (FDI)
into material production to enjoy the incentives offered by the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) and free trade agreements (FTA) is being realized, said the
industry players.
Since last year,
multiple foreign fiber, yarn and textile producers have come to
Large firms like
Texhong and Sunrise of China, Toray International and Mitsui of Japan, and
Lenzing of Austria have expressed interest in forming joint ventures with
Vinatex or its subsidiaries.
Several projects
have been set up. For example, Thien Nam Sunrise Textiles JSC, a joint
venture between Thien Nam Investment & Development JSC of Vietnam and
Sunrise Textiles Co. Ltd. of China, was established in November last year.
The venture will develop a factory in
Recently, South
Korean textile company KyungBang has opened a plant in Binh Duong costing
US$40 million in the first phase to utilize tariff incentives under
After building two
plants in Dong Nai and Quang Ninh, Texhong of China has worked with Vinatex
over its third production facility in
Lenzing of Austria
wants to join hands with Vinatex to develop a system of integrated plants for
production of wood pulp and viscose rayon in
Foreign investors
are coming to
If negotiations
were successful, TPP would come into force in 2015. Then, textile-garment
products made of locally-sourced materials would enjoy a zero tariff when
exported to the TPP markets, urging foreign investors in pour capital into
textile-garment material projects.
With the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) of the European Union, effective from
January 1, 2014, the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) and
negotiations over TPP, the textile-garment industry has great chance of
expanding its markets, said experts.
Rice price
drop forecast to spur trading
Experts have
forecast rice prices will continue the downtrend and trading may be more
active toward the final months of the year.
Among the major
farm items, rice had posted the sharpest drop in export prices by the end of
the first quarter. Some 1.57 million tons of rice was exported in the first
quarter, up nearly 18% over the same period last year, but export prices
averaged out at only US$440 per ton, down 10%, according to customs data.
In the second
quarter, rice export prices have continued sinking, from US$400-410 a ton of
5% broken rice in late April to US$375-385 in May.
In the first half
of 2013, rice prices of
“The downtrend in
Vietnamese rice export prices in the first six months is obvious,” he said.
In the local
market, prices of the dried paddy IR 50404 have been falling since May and
currently stay at VND4,600-4,900 per kilo, versus VND5,000-5,200 in the
beginning of the winter-spring crop. Sometimes rice prices inch up, but the
overall trend is downward.
Bich forecast rice
trading in the world market would be busy again in the final months of 2013,
but prices might dip further.
“From now to the
end of the year, or at least the end of the third quarter, the chance for
global rice price drop is stronger than the chance for price increase,” he
told the Daily.
“Therefore, it seems
almost certain that global rice prices will not rise any time soon,” he said.
Pham Thai Binh,
director of Trung An Co. in Can Tho, said it was possible that rice trading
would thrive in late 2013, especially in the segments of fragrant and
high-grade rice.
“Recently, more
buyers have come and shipments have been sent more frequently. In the last
ten days, Jasmine rice has picked up US$40-50 a ton and fragrant rice can
hardly go down, at least until the year’s end,” said Binh.
However, an expert
from the market research firm Agromonitor said Vietnamese rice export in the
coming time would depend on the demand of the
Earlier, the
Vietnam Food Association (VFA) forecast rice export would grow again from
July onwards as the demand of the major buyers,
Seafood
exports likely to reach US$6.5 bil.
Seafood exports
brought home US$600 million this month, taking the six-month value to a
combined US$2.8 billion, showing a high possibility that the seafood industry
will obtain export value of US$3.5-3.7 billion in the last six months of the
year.
Truong Dinh Hoe,
general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and
Producers (VASEP), forecast that this year’s seafood exports will likely
amount to US$6.5 billion, up about US$300 million from 2012, despite a number
of key products facing export difficulties.
Although tra fish
and shrimp as the two key seafood export products are facing difficulties
given the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs set by the
Tran Van Linh, vice
chairman of VASEP, meanwhile, noticed shrimp exports have also changed for
the better.
The shrimp farming
industry has basically contained the early mortality syndrome (EMS) which has
caused huge damages to shrimp supply for export processing, said Linh, who is
also director of Thuan Phuoc Company in the central
Furthermore, the
tra fish industry has welcomed good news that the U.S. House Committee on
Agriculture already passed the draft agricultural law 2013 with many revised
contents including removing the catfish inspection conducted by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA). The just-removed program is said to have
cost the
Apart from a
year-on-year decline in tra fish exports from January to June, shrimp and
seafood exports all increased. Tra fish exports reached US$800 million in the
first six months, shrinking 7.3% year-on-year, while shrimp exports posted
more than US$1 billion in value, up 1.5% year-on-year.
Bkav on
Gartner's ‘cool vendor' list
Information
technology research and advisory company Gartner recently announced its
ranking of top IT companies in emerging markets, including a listing for
Vietnamese firm Bkav Corporation.
Also featured in
the list are E-Like from
Gartner says Bkav
represents a new competitive force in the network security market for
businesses and consumers who want to be secure against attacks from malicious
software.
The first
Vietnamese firm to be ranked in Gartner's list, Bkav has just shifted to a
joint stock company based on an IT corporation model. It has established a
branch in
Gartner's research
provides a good reference for CIOs and leaders of government agencies, as
well as hi-tech and telecom business and service suppliers and technology
investors around the world.
Social
insurance penalties get teeth
Firms which delay
or turn their backs on paying social insurance will incur severer sanctions.
This will be the
reality if the amended Social Insurance Law comes into force.
Vietnam Social
Security reports have shown an alarming drop off in firms ignoring or delayed
their obligations in paying social and health insurance for workers.
For instance, in
southern Dong Nai province by May, 2013 unpaid social insurance amounted to
VND338 billion ($16 million), more than double that in late 2012.
In northern Hoa
Binh province, this figure leaped from VND13.6 billion ($648,000) in 2010 to around
VND111 billion ($5.3 million) by May 2013, while in central Quang Binh
province, unpaid amounts surged VND20 billion ($960,000) to VND94 billion
($4.5 million) after March and April.
Dong Nai Social
Security deputy director Pham Minh Thanh said from 2007 until present his
organisation brought several dozen violators to the court and won most cases,
but debt collections have proven a tough task.
“In 2012, 28
disobedient firms were brought to the court. Their owed amounts exceeded
VND28 billion ($1.3 million). The collected amount, however, was VND2.4
billion ($114,000), less than 10 per cent of the total,” Thanh said, adding
that this had affected workers’ benefits.
“However, since
sanction measures are not tough enough, firms deliberately appropriate payment
amounts and accept fines of VND30 million ($1,400) maximum,” said Deputy
Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Minh Huan.
Tran Thi Thuy Nga,
head of Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs’ (MoLISA) Social
Insurance Department, said now was the time to get tough and its amended
Social Insurance Draft Law could hike current interest rate (0.05 per cent,
per month) levied on unpaid social insurance amounts.
Accordingly, it is
proposed to triple the interest rate applied to investment activities
involving social insurance funds and double the inter-bank interest rate.
Shippers
leave others in their wake
The globe’s
shipping leaders Maersk Line, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A and CMA
CGM will establish an operational alliance.
According to Maersk
Line, the three firms have in principle agreed to establish a long-term
operational alliance on East – West trades, called the P3 Network. The aim is
to improve and optimise operations and service offerings.
The P3 Network will
operate a capacity of 2.6 million twenty-foot equivalent unit or TEU
(initially 255 vessels on 29 loops) on three trade lanes including Asia –
The P3 Network will
provide customers with more stable, frequent and flexible services. Each of
the lines will offer more weekly sailings in their combined network than they
do individually. As an example, the P3 Network plans to offer 8 weekly
sailings between Asia and
The improved
network is expected to reduce the disruptions for customers caused by
cancelled sailings. In order to provide customers with a consistent service
offering across the network, the lines will establish an independent joint
vessel operating centre.
Declining volume
growth and over-capacity in recent years have underlined the need to improve
operations and efficiency in the industry. This has prompted the creation of
other operational alliances such as G6 and CKYH. Using the P3 Network the
lines expect to be able improve their efficiency through better utilisation
of vessel capacity.
The lines intend to
start operations in the 2nd quarter of 2014, but the starting date will be
subject to obtaining the approval of relevant competition and other
regulatory authorities. In addition, the establishment of the P3 Network is
subject to the lines agreeing on definitive contracts. Finalisation and
signing of the contracts is planned for the 4th quarter of this year.
The P3 Network will
based on existing capacities of each member, initially operate a capacity of
2.6 million TEU (255 vessels)
Maersk Line will
contribute with approximately 42 per cent of the capacity (including the new
Triple-E ships), of about 1.1 million TEU. Maersk Line will continue to offer
the Daily Maersk product to those customers requesting it.
MSC will contribute
with approximately 34 per cent of the capacity, of about 0.9 million TEU of
capacity.
CMA CGM will
contribute with approximately 24 per cent of the capacity equaling 0.6
million TEU.
Vessels contributed
to the P3 Network will continue to be owned and/or chartered by the lines.
Modern
gantry crane put into operation in Hai Phong port
A system of four
rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes and a new container station have recently
put into operation at the Tan Cang Dinh Vu (
This upgrade is
part of the port’s modernisation scheme to increase its capacity to meet the
growing demand for cargo tranport and transform into an international
standard container port in the near future.
With a total
investment of 100 billion VND, the four RTG cranes manufactured by
The new system will
enable the port to manage container goods more effectively and increase its
capacity from 10,000 to 12,000 TEUs.
Brokerages
merge to avoid bankruptcy
Sacombank
Securities Co (formerly listed as SBS on the HCM City Stock Exchange) is
considering a merger with Phuong Nam Securities, according to a recent
document released by Sacombank Securities.
From a company with
a charter capital of over VND1 trillion (US$47.6 million), Sacombank
Securities' accumulated losses as of last year were VND1.77 trillion ($84.2
million). The company delisted in March.
In April, its
chairman Kieu Huu Dung announced it would merge with another company.
Meanwhile Phuong Nam Securities deputy general director Phan Quoc Huynh
became a general director of Sacombank Securities.
Vinatex
divests shares in investment arm
The Viet Nam
National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) will auction its 3.03 million
shares in Vinatex Investment Company next Tuesday, according to the Ha Noi
Stock Exchange.
Under the
restructuring scheme of Vinatex, the Government requires the group to
equitise between the 2013-15 period. Excluding the companies Vinatex owns
outright, it will have to divest from 37 businesses.
Vinatex Investment
Co has a charter capital of VND101 billion (US$4.8 million).
Construction
firm reports profit in first half
Construction
company Song Da No 9 (SD9) estimates its profit in the first six months of
this year will reach VND17 billion (US$809,500).
The amount
represents a decline of around 15 per cent compared to the same period last
year.
It expects a
revenue at VND837 billion ($39.8 million) and a profit at VND65 billion ($3
million) this year.
Government
bond yields edge higher
Around VND200
billion (US$9.5 million) of two-year bonds issued by the Bank for Social
Policy were sold yesterday, yielding 7.6 per cent, higher than the previous
auction by 0.1 per cent.
The bank has raised
over VND5.4 trillion ($257.1 million) through bonds since earlier this year.
On Thursday, bonds
issued by the State Treasury were also bought at a value of VND3.25 trillion
($154.7 million), yielding between 6.68-7.65 per cent, higher than the
previous auction by 0.15-0.35 per cent.
The State Treasury
has raised VND91.67 trillion ($4.3 billion) through bonds since earlier this
year.
The Japanese group
will provide
Their co-operation
agreement aims to help AGPPS independently manufacture modern dryers capable
of producing germinated brown (GABA) rice. This rice variety's abundance of
amino acids is beneficial to consumer health.
PC parts
maker opens in VN
Global solution
provider for PC accessories and PC cooling, Zalman Tech, has entered the
Vietnamese market and named Tan Doanh Service and Trading Ltd Co as the sole
local distributor.
Chris Kim,
Southeast Asia sales manager of Zalman, said the South Korean-based company,
which had focused on major markets like the EU, US and
Zalman hopes to
grab a 70 per cent market share of computer parts like cases, storage
accessories, power supply units, cooling solutions, mouse and keyboard, and
audio products in the country by next year.
US to
provide cutting-edge tools
The US-based
company National Instruments will work with
ASU's Ira A Fulton
School of Engineering will collaborate with NI's office in
HEEAP is
administered by ASU in partnership with the Government of Viet Nam, the US
Agency for International Development, Intel, Siemens, Cadence, Danaher
Corporation and other industry partners.
HEEAP focuses on
transforming theory-based engineering and technical vocational programmes by
modernising higher education programmes and using hands-on instructional
approaches.
VN,
Executives from 40
Vietnamese companies met with their counterparts from 10 Korean firms to
explore co-operation in IT and mobile technology in
The Koreans arrived
as part of a Trade Mission to
The mission is
organised annually by Daegu Technopark Mobile Technology Convergence Centre,
and visits Ha Noi and
The meeting was
followed by the signing of an MoU between the HCM City Computer Association
and the centre to foster business ties between the two countries in the areas
of IT, mobility and data communication.
Intel
unveils 4G core processors
Intel Viet
The 4th generation
Intel Core processors can bring a 50 per cent improvement in battery life in
active workloads over the previous generations.
The core processor
also has two to three times better standby battery life, according to David
McCloskey, Intel Asia-Pacific director of product marketing and business
operations.
This is the largest
generation-over-generation gain in the company's history, enabling over nine
hours of battery life in active workloads for some Ultrabooks based on the new
processors.
The new chips also
offer significant improvements in integrated graphics performance, offering
consumers a better gaming experience, he said.
The new processors
are the first SoCs (system on chip) for PCs with stunning performance and
power for a variety of innovative devices, including Ultrabook, 2-in-1 and
portable all-in-one designs.
"We made one
of the most seismic changes to our road map ever when we built these new core
processors," said McCloseky.
Derivatives
essential for ensuring progress in volatile bond markets
There are virtually
no derivatives in the Vietnamese bond market, says Vietnam Bond Market
Association general secretary Do Ngoc Quynh.
Derivatives include
four main instruments: forward contracts, swap agreements, futures contracts
and option contracts.
Quynh told a
conference in Ha Noi that while derivatives were connected with the
development of the bond market, there were few derivative instruments in
Quynh said the
scale of the local bond market was relatively small and liquidity focused on
bonds with maturities of less than three years.
"At the same
time, because derivatives are not applied, investors have no hedging products
when the market is volatile."
In the Vietnamese
market, investors often bought debt instruments with floating rates and the
transactions took place in the short term, Quynh said.
"Consequently,
they face two major risks of interest rate and exchange rate."
Quynh backed
"I hope with
the Government's restructuring proposals for the stock market, investors will
invest in bonds for the long term," he said.
After more than 10
years, derivatives were still in an infant stage, but the benefits to the
economy were very promising, he said.
Most derivatives
were currently on off-exchange trading. Participants in the market were
mostly foreign banks, large domestic banks and foreign-invested companies.
Meanwhile,
derivatives were essential for businesses, especially exporters who suffered
from price fluctuation risks.
For banks,
derivatives helped diversify products to satisfy customer needs, thereby
improving operational efficiency.
The draft decree on
derivatives was expected to be finished by the end of this year.
Ha Noi
encourages citizens to get online
Ha Noi will attempt
to raise the percentage of broadband internet subscribers to 25 per cent of
the population and the rate of mobile phone ownership to 212 devices per 100
people by 2020.
The director of the
Ha Noi Department of Information and Communications, To Van Dong, annonced
this at a conference to highlight the city's plans to develop posts and
telecommunications in the capital up to 2020.
Dong said that the
total investment needed to implement the plan was estimated at VND7.884
trillion (US$378.4 million), coming from the State budget as well as the
private sector.
According to the
plan, Ha Noi will apply advanced telecommunications technologies to provide
reliable 3G and 4G services.
By 2020, Ha Noi
will have 80-90 per cent of the city centre's telecoms cables and 50-60 per
cent of all suburban cables laid underground to improve the city's landscape.
Dong added that the
department was working with the Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group
(VNPT) to create a number of public Wi-Fi hotspots in places of interest
across the city in the near future to service the demands of tourists.
Shipping
lines form alliance to facilitate global trade
Maersk Line, the
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and CMA CGM, have agreed to establish a
long-term operational alliance on East-West trade called the P3 Network.
The aim is to
improve and optimise operations and service offerings.
The P3 Network will
serve three trade lanes: Asia-Europe, Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic.
The P3 Network
vessels will take part in a joint vessel-operating centre. But the three
lines will continue to have fully independent sales, marketing and customer
service functions.
Each of the lines
will offer more weekly sailings in their combined network than they now do
individually.
For example, the P3
Network plans to offer eight weekly sailings between Asia and
The improved
network is expected to reduce the disruptions for customers caused by
cancelled sailings.
The lines intend to
start operation in the second quarter of 2014, but the starting date will be
subject to approval from authorities. Signing of the contracts is planned for
the fourth quarter of this year.
The P3 Network will
be based on the existing capacities of each member, and initially have a
capacity of 2.6 million TEU (255 vessels).
Maersk Line will
contribute approximately 42 per cent of the capacity (including the new
Triple-E ships), of about 1.1 million TEU. It will continue to offer the
Daily Maersk product to customers requesting it.
MSC will contribute
about 34 per cent of the capacity, of about 0.9 million TEU.
CMA CGM will
contribute about 24 per cent of the capacity equaling 0.6 million TEU.
All vessels used in
the network will continue to be owned or chartered by the lines.
Fertiliser
imports continue to grow
Imports of
fertilisers increased in the first five months of the year to 1.5 million
tonnes totalling US$622 million, up 32 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively
over the same period last year.
Last month alone,
the country imported 438,000 tonnes worth $180 million, increasing 438 per
cent in quantity over the previous month.
Customs statistics
show that in the first five months, sulphate of ammonium fertiliser imports
hit 404,000 tonnes, the highest category, accounting for 26 per cent of the
total, increasing 9.6 per cent.
Last month alone,
377,000 tonnes were imported, increasing 26 per cent over the same month last
year.
Kali fertiliser
imports ranked second with 313,000 tonnes last month, up 240 per cent over
the previous month, bringing its total import in the five-month period to
377,000 tonnes.
DAP (di-ammonium
phosphate) fertiliser followed with an import quantity of 327,000 tonnes, a
76.5 per cent rise over the same period last year.
Ministry
examines e-commerce
The statement was
made by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh at a press
conference held in the capital yesterday.
E-commerce is the
conducting of buying and selling products or services via electronic systems
connected to the internet or telecoms networks.
Anh said that the
growth of e-commerce was an inevitable trend in the current age of internet
technology and, therefore, sufficient regulations to govern it must be
enforced without delay. He argued that the lack of a legal framework had
already hindered the development of the market and the competitiveness of
enterprises.
According to Tran
Huu Linh, director of the ministry's E-commerce and
The ministry
expected to complete the legal framework before the end of the year, with
soon-to-be-released circulars providing guidance about regulations and
information about the punishment for trade violations, he said.
Linh also pointed
out that e-commerce, which is borderless and available 24/7, was a good tool
to aid the operation and expansion of enterprises, as well as improving
customer access, reducing costs and increasing profits.
The ministry said
the e-commerce operations would be subject to tight management. Accordingly,
the registry of websites, changes of registered information and operation
reports must be submitted to the ministry via www.online.gov.vn as of July 1.
Additionally, the
credit of websites will be rated to create consumer trust, and violators will
be named and shamed online.
The decree will
also provide regulations about the security requirements of customer profiles
and transactions.
Linh stated that
informal statistics showed there are about 100,000 websites in
Fisheries
exhibition expected to promote domestic exports
More than 160
companies and organisations will take part in the Viet Nam International
Fisheries Exhibition, or Vietfish 2013, to be held from June 25-27 at the Sai
Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7.
Vietfish, a leading
aquaculture exhibition in
During the event, a
seminar on
VASEP said that one
of its main goals was to promote Vietnamese seafood brands in the world
market.
The event would
also offer opportunities for businesses to exchange information and learn
about market and customer trends, new products and new technologies, said
Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP general secretary.
Many international
organisations and media agencies, including the Canadian Trade Commission,
Sweden Trade Commission, Asian Aquaculture Network, Global Aquaculture
Alliance and a delegate of
Hoe said that
seafood firms were facing several problems, including a shortage of raw
materials, a drop in overseas demand, disease outbreaks among shrimp and
trade barriers that have resulted in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy lawsuits.
Exports had fallen
significantly in the first quarter of the year due to a drop in global
demand, said To Thi Tuong Lan, VASEP deputy general secretary.
Exports, however,
showed signs of recovery in April, with an increase of 2 per cent over the
same period last year, she said.
Seafood export
revenue is estimated to reach nearly US$3 billion in the first half of this
year, Hoe said.
The seafood
industry would likely meet the export target set for this year of $6.5
billion if the rest of the year presented advantageous conditions, Hoe said.
SAV looks
for overseas assistance
The State Audit of
Viet Nam (SAV) yesterday called for more support from development partners to
implement its Action Plan, part of its Strategy to 2020.
Speaking at a
co-operation workshop, Auditor General Nguyen Huu Van said that over the past
19 years, the organisation had affirmed its role in Government management.
Audit results had
been used in planning, policymaking and in the management of public finances,
budget and assets, he said.
SAV has been
planned to become more prestigious and modern with qualified professional
capacity.
Thus it had
collaborated with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to
launch an action plan to implement the State Audit development strategy to
2020, he said.
The plan focuses on
a legal framework for its operation; organisation structure and management of
human resources; audit planning, methodology and management; information
technology application; and international co-operation.
With that in mind,
SAV needed more technical and financial assistance from international donors
and would commit to using aid finance effectively and complying with
agreements, Van said.
World Bank Viet
European Commission
Delegation programme officer Sion Morton said the EU had agreed in principle
to a 4 million euro (US$5.3 million) project to implement the action plan.
He said the project
was aimed at building capacity through staff development and the enhancement
of audit quality and management.
Specifically, it would
help restructure SAV's organisation, train staff and apply information
technology in auditing and management.
The project was
scheduled to start in the first half of next year and the final decision by
the EU was expected to be issued in September this year.
Morton said he
hoped for more dialogue among development partners to avoid overlapping.
SOE reforms
stepped up, snags remain
This direction was
presented in a recently issued conclusion by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van
Ninh after a last month meeting of the Steering Committee on Corporate
Renovation and Development.
The committee and
relevant authorities helped the Prime Minister direct the arrangement,
renovation and improvement of SOEs' effectiveness, which have gained
considerable achievements during last year and the first five months of 2013.
It proposed to the
Prime Minister 28 projects on the corporate renovation policies, taking
account of 78 percent of the 2012 plan and 50 percent of this year's plan.
The Prime Minister
approved 99 of the 101 initiatives on the SOE arrangement and renovation of
ministries, agencies and localities in the 2011-15 period, and passed 17 of
21 projects on the restructuring of State-owned corporations and groups. In
addition to the achieved results, the conclusion also pointed out the
drawbacks of SOE rearrangement, renovation and restructuring such as slow
progress in issuing policies and mechanism, limited results in implementing
SOE renovation projects and difficulties in withdrawing capital.
During its meeting,
the Steering Committee also specifies the plans and tasks of ministries and
agencies for the final months of this year.
In the coming time,
it will focus on completing the policies and mechanism for SOE rearrangement,
renovation and restructuring, aiming to accomplish the plans approved by the
Government and the Prime Minister promptly.
Oil
refinery performs well in first six months
The country's first
oil refinery, Dung Quat, has sold more than 3.1 million tonnes of products so
far this year, surpassing its targeted revenue.
Nguyen Hoai Giang,
chairman of the Binh Son Refinery and Petrochemical Co Ltd (BSR), said the
company continued to process crude oil and expand the scale of its oil
refinery.
This year, Dung
Quat oil refinery is expected to make a profit of VND2.1 trillion (US$100
million).
Companies
to get support from eco-consulting centre
Eight small- and medium-sized
enterprises in
Sponsored by ASEIC,
the project aims to strengthen the green competitiveness of SMEs in
ASEM-member countries, especially in developing countries, by disseminating
and utilising green management and technology in their business,
In 2011, ASEIC
launched its first ASEM SMEs Eco-Innovation Consulting Project for 33 SMEs in
This year, 40 SMEs
in five ASEM-member countries, with new participation from the
An said that 16
SMEs in northern
"This year is
the first time the project was implemented in the south, from June to
October," she said. "As of today, more than 30 SMEs have registered
to take part in the project, but we will choose eight firms to provide
specific consulting services."
Byung Seok Min,
principal consultant at Nemo Innovation Consulting Group, noted that
enterprises must begin to produce products that meet consumer demand in terms
of price, quality and services.
Better technology,
more value-added products, and improved working environments were necessary,
he said, adding that competitiveness needed to be enhanced.
Under ASEIC's
consulting process, after selecting eligible SMEs for the programme, ASEIC in
collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Support
Centre 2 in
Based on the
assessment, both short- and long-term environmental management and cleaner
production strategies will be established, he said.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Ba, 25 tháng 6, 2013
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