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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 27/8
Farmers
must benefit from agricultural production, says minister
It’s
time for the agricultural sector to accelerate its restructuring process to
improve product quality and boost farmers’ income, says agricultural minister
Cao Duc Phat.
Raising
the added value of farm products is the key to increasing the competitive capacity
of the agricultural sector, Phat said in a weekly online Q&A session held
by the Government Portal on August 24.
He
said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is implementing
an agriculture restructuring programme towards higher added value of products
and sustainable development.
Agricultural
production will be restructured towards sustainable development
All
localities are required to re-examine their agricultural structure so as to
invest more in areas of highly competitive advantage, especially crop
production and livestock breeding, to make a higher economic value.
They
are encouraged to mobilise agricultural investments from other economic
sectors, boost technology transfer, and introduce support policies for
farmers and businesses in developing these potential areas.
Phat
said scientific and technological advances have been transferred to farmers
in various forms over the years. However, incentive policies are needed to
encourage businesses to get involved in this process to ease the financial
burden on the State.
The
MARD has issued a circular for localities to instruct farmers to change crop
structure and use high yield rice varieties.
He
said the ministry has worked closely with several localities to clarify why
farmers recently abandoned paddy cultivation and switched to other crops.
They initially found that high inputs costs but low prices of products forced
famers to abandon their land.
Minister
Phat confirmed his ministry will help farmers increase their incomes from agricultural
production by growing other crops.
Given
the market economy,
The
Minister went on to say that the MARD will shortly restructure crops planted
on rice soil by selecting appropriate, high-yield varieties for every
locality.
Trade
deficit reaches $456m
The
country exported $5.47 billion worth of goods, of which foreign direct
investment (FDI) enterprises contributed $3.2 billion, accounting for 60 per
cent of the whole country's export value in the period.
In the
first half of this month,
Imports
of goods and services amounted to $5.93 billion, representing a 3.7 per cent
decrease over the first half of last month.
Key
imported products were computers, electronic products and components worth
$704 million, clothes ($328 million), petrol ($280 million), steel ($259
million) and plastic materials ($247 million).
From
January 1 to August 15, the country's total import-export revenue was $158.38
billion, an increase of 16 per cent over the same period last year.
Of the
total, exports were estimated at $78.75 billion, an increase of 15.4 per
cent. This met 62.5 per cent of the $126 billion plan for the year set by the
National Assembly.
The
country imported $79.64 billion worth of goods and services, increasing 16
per cent over the same period last year, making a trade deficit of $888
million in the period.
FDI
enterprises' export turnover in the period was $47.56 billion, increasing 27
per cent over the corresponding period last year.
VN
Airlines offloads Techcombank shares, bonds as part of restructure
National
flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will sell more than 24 million shares of
Techcombank, unloading its entire 2.7-per-cent stake, Viet Capital Securities
announced on its website yesterday.
The
common shares, each having a face value of VND10,000 (US$0.47), will be
auctioned at the Ha Noi Stock Exchange on September 26 at an initial price of
VND12,100 ($0.57) per share.
The
carrier also registered to sell nearly 828,000 ten-year convertible bonds
with a face value of VND100,000 ($4.76) each, through an auction at the
exchange on the same day. The initial bid will be VND132,700 ($6.3) per bond.
Vietnam
Airlines will gain about VND400 billion ($19.05 million) if the transactions
are successful.
Market
observers said these were among the first steps of the carrier in a road map
to withdraw capital from non-core lines of business, in accordance with a
restructuring scheme approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for the
2012-15 period.
Viet
Capital is a consultant and share issuer for the bids. Investors can register
to buy the shares and bonds between August 30 and September 19.
Early
this month, Vietnam Airlines said it planned to launch its long-delayed
initial public offering (IPO) in the second quarter of next year. It is
expected to obtain $200 million by selling 383 million shares at the IPO.
Techcombank
on Monday got a nod from the State Bank to increase its equity by VND30
billion ($1.43 million) to VND8.87 trillion ($421.3 million).
Thai
Binh power plan gets credit
The
Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and its Japanese partners
signed an export credit agreement worth US$141 million in Ha Noi on Thursday.
The
agreement aims to help PetroVietnam purchase equipment for the Thai Binh 2
Thermal Power Plant Project. The credit is funded by the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC), the Bank of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ
(BTMU), Citibank and Mizuho Corporate Bank.
The
money will be allocated to buy steam turbines and other machinery, provided
by the Japan-based Sojitz Corporation.
The
Thai Binh 2 power plant project, which is being built in Thai Thuy district
of the Red River Delta
The
company wants to help ensure a stable electricity supply which serves the
country's economic development and supports the business activities of
Japanese enterprises in
Russians
open trade office
The
Russian Trade Representative Office -
"We
will create the most favourable conditions for the newly established office
to deepen the cooperation between the two countries," said Le Duong
Quang, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.
According
to A. E. Likhachev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the
The
two governments have set a bilateral turnover target of US$7 billion by 2015,
while also aiming to raise cooperation to a new level and to expand the close
trade relations between the two long-term allies.
In
addition, the two sides aim to establish a free trade area in order to boost
the bilateral trade turnover to US$12 billion by 2018.
According
to the RTPO, over 60 per cent of Viet Nam's exports to Russia originated in
southern provinces, the area in Viet Nam that Russian investors and tourists
have traditionally paid most attention to.-
Bitexco
gets nod for new urban area
Bitexco
group, a diversified group, has been chosen to develop the Binh Quoi – Thanh
Da peninsula in
Speaking
at a meeting on Wednesday, Le Hoang Quan, chairman of the city People's
Committee, said the Party Committee and Government have approved Bitexco's
bid.
Binh
Quoi – Thanh Da will be built into an ecological urban area with modern
eco-tourism services, commercial functions, and residential areas.
In the
426-ha park, public works will take up around 100ha, transport and
infrastructure facilities, 48ha, and commercial facilities, 253ha.
To
cost US$3 billion to develop, the area will be zoned to accommodate 30,000
permanent residents.
But at
the meeting, the Department of Architecture Planning called for increasing
the number to 41,000-50,000.
It
also said an area should be earmarked for building a knowledge and technology
centre.
Quan
ordered the Department of Finance to focus on acquiring and clearing land and
compensating the 3,000 households who would be affected by the project.
A
1/2000 scale zoning plan was approved in 2007 and he instructed the
Department of Architecture Planning to work with Bitexco to make changes that
may be required.
He
agreed with a proposal by Binh Thanh authorities to resettle local residents
in apartment buildings and houses with gardens.
People
owning small plots of land that are taken over will be moved into apartments
and those with larger pieces will get houses. The peninsula has many farmers
with large land plots.
Healthcare
hike lifts August CPI
The
Consumer Price Index (CPI) edged up 0.83 per cent in August hitting a 7.5 per
cent year-on-year increase, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced on
Saturday.
The
jump represents a 3.53 per cent increase on last December and saw prices rise
between 0.22 and 4.11 per cent in 10 out of 11 goods categories. The biggest
hike was felt across medicine and healthcare, with the lowest price increase
in household commodities. Prices remained constant in the postal, telecoms
and service sectors.
Petrol
price adjustments in June and July were believed to be behind 0.08 per cent
of the CPI increase, according to the Head of GSO Price Statistics, Nguyen
Duc Thang.
The
price of food and foodstuffs also increased as major storms battered
agricultural yields nation-wide, while education services saw a
month-on-month surge of 0.9 per cent as tuition fees for the new school year
were increased in several cities and provinces.
The
price of gold saw a slight increase while the US dollar price remained stable
at 21,036 VND, he said.
Thang
warned that the country needed to prepare for unexpected price movements
until the end of this year.
The
country's two major economic hubs, Ha Noi and
Manufacturing
continues to lead nation's FDI charge
Foreign
investors poured a total of US$12.63 billion in
The
Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), under the Ministry of Planning and
Investment, reports that as of August 20, nearly 770 new projects were
licensed, representing registered capital of over $7.4 billion, a
year-on-year increase of 12.2 percent.
At the
same time, 296 projects contributed an additional $5.22 billion in capital,
31.7 per cent higher than the previous period.
The
FIA says foreign investment was funnelled into 18 industries, of which
processing and manufacturing took the lead with 370 projects worth $10.817
billion, accounting for 85 percent of total foreign investment capital.
The
real estate sector ranked second with more than $588 million, representing
4.7 percent of the total flow.
Foreign
businesses have invested in 50 cities and provinces across the country, not
including offshore oil projects.
With
an additional $2.8 billion in investment for the Nghi Son oil refinery, the
central
It was
followed by the northern mountainous
FDI
disbursement in the period stood at $7.560 billion, up 3.8 percent from last
year.
The
FDI sector's export earnings surged 21.7 per cent against last year's level
to more than $7.56 billion, accounting for 66.1 per cent of the country's
total export revenue.
It
imported $48.297 billion worth of goods, again representing 66.1 per cent of
the national total and up 25.1 percent on 2012.
VSA:
Steel price-slash wars badly damaging the market
The
Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA) required steel makers to stop reducing the
selling price of their products to make the local steel market healthier.
The
association said that local steel makers slashed their selling price by
VND100,000-200,000 per tonne and even a few producers cut the price by VND1
million, though the rate was lower than production cost.
That
created an unhealthy steel market, said Nguyen Tien Nghi, VSA deputy
chairman.
Additionally,
local steel products must compete with steel products containing boron
imported at cheaper prices from
The
association said last year that the volume of steel products containing boron
imported from
The
large volume of imported Chinese steel products have impacted local makers,
especially now when they have had difficulties in production and business due
to the economic downturn, the association said.
The
producers have new products and they cut selling prices to attract customers.
The association called on producers to stop reducing their selling price to
fight for market share because reductions in selling price create losses and
then they do not have the capital for continued production.
The
producers should cut production cost and balance supply and demand to ensure
adequate production and reduce inventories, the association said. They should
also continue to expand export markets to increase sales.
The
association also suggested that the State cut value-added-tax for steel
products from 10 per cent to 5 per cent to promote sales.
Meanwhile,
steel producers should strengthen improvements in technological production to
decrease production costs and to improve competitiveness.
Steel
consumption in August was expected to reach 360,000-370,000 tonnes but was
395,000 tonnes lower than July, Nghi said.
Red
book grants suffer lengthy delays
Granting
of land use certificates known as "red books" has remained stagnant
despite the Government's efforts to speed up the project.
According
to the Government's plan, the red books are to be issued for residential
projects in the country, but have stumbled due to a lack of provisions.
Statistics
from Ha Noi's Department of Natural Resources and Environment showed that
around 90 per cent of the city's residential projects had not been issued red
books, despite having completed all required procedures.
In Ha
Noi, more than 500,000 apartments had not been granted house ownership
certificates, while in the Viet Hung Urban Area, apartments in HUD 3's
The
chairman of HUD 3, Phan Truong Son, told Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper that a
co-investor quit the project while it was underway, causing further
difficulties in obtaining red books due to the lack of provisions.
According
to deputy director of the Ha Noi Department of Natural Resources and
Environment, Nguyen Huu Nghia, the granting of land use rights and house
ownership certificates had varied, adding that there had been violations of
construction, changes in plans or investors had failed to complete legal
documents and payments to the State as required.
In an
effort to speed up the granting of land use certificates, Tran Hung Phi, Head
of the Registration and Statistics Department under the General Department of
Land Administration, said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
would categorise project issues.
He
added violations would be handled but that the rights of home buyers was
paramount, estimating that 80 per cent of apartments currently without
"red books" in Ha Noi could be granted certificates.
Early
last week, the ministry submitted a report on the difficulties of granting
red books to the Prime Minister, proposing certificates be granted to project
investors who had not completed documents or payments to the State, but were
still compliant with master planning requirements.
At the
Government's meeting early this month, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai
urged localities to complete the granting of red book by the end of this
year.
$180m
ship-building plan nears fruition
Deputy
PM Hoang Trung Hai has agreed in principle to include a shipbuilding facility
in
The
licence for the US$180 million project in
The
50-year project will develop a shipbuilding facility that can build 38,000
and 56,000 tonne vessels.
Oshima
is scheduled to start construction of the 304ha facility in February 2015
after three years of site clearance and ground filling.
When
construction is completed in 2017, the facility will employ some 3,000 local
workers.
The
new plant, set to start operations in 2017, will be able to build twenty four
vessels per year by 2026.
Deputy
PM Hai has asked the Transport Ministry to expedite work on the development
masterplan for the shipbuilding industry and submit it to the Government
soon.
Small
brokers struggle to compete with big players
Brokerage
companies are facing intense competition to win customers as they struggle to
offer the type of low interest loans that are available at larger, more
established brokers.
In
this race, small brokers are always at a disadvantage. The prolonged downturn
on the stock market hit many investors. Therefore, more and more investors
are paying attention to trading costs such as brokerage fees and interest
rates on borrowing.
Current
margin interest rates at securities companies have fallen substantially
compared to five months ago.
Viet
Capital Securities offers the lowest margin interest rate at 14.76 per cent
per year (0.041 per cent a day), lower than the previous rate of 17.28 per
cent.
The
rate at Bao Viet Securities is 15 per cent per year (0.042 per cent a day),
while it is 15.5 per cent per year (0.043 per cent a day) at Maybank KimEng
Securities. The margin interest rate at both HCM City Securities and
Vietcombank Securities is higher at 16.2 per cent per year (0.045 per cent a
day).
However,
investors must borrow at higher interest rates of over 17 per cent per year
at medium-sized and small brokers.
To
stimulate trading, some companies are even provide interest-fee margin loans
for the short term.
VNDirect
Securities Co announced a zero per cent interest in the rate for six-day
margin loans, effective from August 15, while its normal margin interest rate
is 0.048 per cent a day.
Other
companies such as FPT Securities and APEC Securities also offer interest free
two-day margin loans. Their average margin interest rates are 0.045 per cent
a day and 0.048 per cent per day, respectively.
However,
a similar move is unlikely to be made by small brokers.
According
to market insiders, at small securities companies where profits are a few
hundreds of million dong, fees on margin loans are an important revenue
source. Besides, small companies are not able to reduce margin interest rates
below 15 per cent per year because they also have to borrow at 13-14 per
cent.
Small
firms also find it harder to attract customers via professional analysis
reports. Big companies who can invest a few billion dong a year to build
their analysis team can send investors daily reports, updating them on hot
stocks and new economic trends. This is a tall order for small businesses.
Small
brokers can not compete with big players due to a shortage of capital and
human resources. Many of these brokers, such as Au Viet, Sao Viet, Cho Lon,
Delta, Ha Noi and Truong Son, have had to shut down.
There
are over 100 securities companies now operating in the market but experts say
the number should be reduced to 30.
Vung
Ang EZ attracts 79 projects worth $16 billion
The
Vung Ang Economic Zone in the central Ha Tinh Province has attracted 79
projects with registered capital totalling over US$16 billion to date.
According
to Ho Anh Tuan, head of the zone, these 79 projects include 44 domestic and
35 foreign invested ones.
In the
first seven months of 2013, investment licences were granted for 14 projects
in the zone with total capital of more than $500 million.
One of
the largest projects in the zone aims to build a $10 billion steel factory
and sea port invested by Formosa Heavy Industries Corporation from
Firms
based in the zone have so far created over 15,000 jobs with an average salary
of VND4.5-5.5 million ($212 – 260) per month.
Vung
Ang EZ, one of the country's five key coastal economic zones, was founded in
2006, covering an area of 22.78ha in Ky Anh District.
VN
markets remain in the mire
Shares
continued to slide on both national stock exchanges yesterday.
Both
national bourses tumbled as the stock market continued its four day slump.
The
HCM City Stock Exchange fell 1.87 per cent to 486.82 points, with losers
outnumbering gainers by 121-70.
Trading
value increased 22.6 per cent compared to Thursday's level, exceeding VND1.16
trillion (US$54.7 million), while trade volume fetched 54.16 million shares.
The
VN30, tracking the city's top 30 shares, retreated 1.36 per cent to 542.08
points.
Only
three stocks rallied, including Eximbank (EIB), PetroVietnam Drilling
Services (PVD) and Sacombank (STB); while Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Kinh Do
Confectionery (KDC), private equity group Masan (MSN), Vietcombank (VCB) and
Vinamilk (VNM) were among the 26 shares that slid in value.
VNM
yesterday lost VND7,000 (about 5 per cent of its value), achieving the
fastest decline within a year.
With
the exception of software developer FPT (FPT), selling pressure from foreign
investors was the major cause in the fall in blue chips, said Bao Viet
Securities Company analyst Nguyen Xuan Binh.
Similar
to divestment trends in late June, the sell off by foreign investors this
time appeared in emerging markets amid news the US Federal Reserve would cut
its QE3 (quantitative easing) programme.
"However,
the impacts of foreign divestment to the Vietnamese market will not be
large," Binh said, "as the characteristics of
Whilst
the domestic market has experienced a decline since 2009, some economic
indicators have recovered after periods of instability, he added.
He
expected the impacts would last in the short-term.
On the
Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the benchmark HNX-Index slid 0.7 per cent to 61.42
points. The HNX30, representing the bourse's 30 largest shares by
capitalisation and liquidity, also fell 0.54 per cent to 114.32 points.
With
around 21.1 million shares changing hands, trading value slightly increased
to VND176.9 billion ($8.3 million).
Foreign
investors turned to be net sellers on both exchanges yesterday by a total
margin of VND160.15 billion ($7.5 million).
Foreign
investors had been net buyers in Ha Noi for the previous five sessions.
Greater
awareness of EU affairs key to relations
Vietnamese
officials and the general public need to better understand EU affairs,
including the functioning of its institutions in the context of current
events, so as to strengthen
Franz
Jessen, ambassador and head of the EU Delegation to
Shortly
after Jessen's opening remarks, a public lecture on the impact of financial
and sovereign debt crisis on EU institutional reform and foreign relations
was given by Prof Steven Blockmans, senior research fellow and Head of the EU
Foreign Policy Unit at the Centre for European Policy Studies in
He
provided an assessment on the changing roles of EU institutions in its
transformation process, the legitimising mechanisms of the European bloc's
decision-making process and the impact of austerity measures on its global
position.
Students
from several universities in Ha Noi including the Ha Noi National University,
Also
in attendance were representatives from the EU member states' embassies in Ha
Noi.
The
lecture is one of a series of events that the European Union Delegation in
Other
events include a high-level roundtable discussion and a training workshop in
EU affairs for officials in Ha Noi and other provinces.
A
press release from the EU delegation said the events aim to strengthen
knowledge of EU institutional arrangements and decision-making mechanisms
"in the context of recent developments including the implementation of
the Lisbon Treaty - that entered into force in December 2009 - and the impact
of the recent debt crisis".
The
high-level round table discussion on EU-Affairs will take place on August 26.
Senior
officials and leaders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will discuss the
role of the EU in global and regional issues, the principles, values and
objectives of it's external actions and the evolution of its mandate and
powers since the Lisbon Treaty.
A
two-day training workshop providing information on these issues will be held
in central
The
events are part of the EU-Viet Nam Strategic Dialogue Facility, a three-year
programme that aims to support
This
EU-funded Euro 2.9 million project will continue until January 2016.
Experts
urge reform to real estate laws
More
amendments on how to ease house ownership for local people and to develop a
sustainable real estate market were proposed at a seminar on draft revised
laws on Housing and the Law on Real Estate Business on Friday.
Deputies
from relevant ministries, experts and businesses voiced their opinions to
amend regulations regarding the sale, purchase and leasing of houses, and
housing development objectives.
Opinions
were given on how to encourage foreign organisations and individuals to
invest in housing construction or enter into real estate transactions in
Head
of the housing and real estate department under the ministry of construction
Nguyen Manh Khoi said amendments on these laws, which issued in 2005, should
be made in meeting the current demands of socio-economic development.
"The
law on the housing and property business should be reformed in order to
encourage foreign investment in housing and real estate projects, creating
more favourable conditions for healthy and transparent development of the
property market," Khoi said at the seminar.
"The
proposals of amendments about draft laws on the housing and real estate
business also focus on the ownership of houses and apartments in
He
added that representative offices of foreign businesses or individuals would
get the ownership of a house (maximum area of 500sq.m land) or an apartment
associated with land-use right in 50 years and the ownership will be extended
by 50 years.
Khoi
said foreigners should get compensation in case their houses or apartments
were cleared by the State.
He
also said overseas Vietnamese are allowed to buy or lease a house in
Nguyen
Thuy Nhan, general director of HCM City-based Binh Chanh construction
investment company, said he expects that the draft revised laws would be soon
ratified.
"We
are looking forward to detailed regulations on land-use right procedures,
transparent policies and public information on planning from the draft
revised laws," Nhan said.
Deputy
minister of construction Nguyen Tran
"Vast
amendments to the laws have been proposed by deputies from relevant
ministries, businesses and provincial administrations and experts. We want to
hear opinions from all deputies in order to report to the Government before
the draft revised laws will likely be proposed to the National Assembly in
October for ratification next year,"
"We
are also trying to ease the complications of house and apartment ownership
for people, businesses and organisations. Of course, strict regulations will
be set for investors in housing and real estate projects," he added.
Nguyen
Van Phan, deputy head of real estate business department, said the draft
revised laws eyes stricter management of real estate businesses.
"Property
developers must have a minimum legal capital of VND2 billion (US$95,000),
while each real estate business should include at least two professional
agents or occupational certificate of property," Phan said.
He
said the draft revised laws also require that real estate project investors
must take out risk insurance or make a deposit at bank for their housing or
property projects.
"The
stricter regulations aim to protect buyers in case businesses suffer
bankruptcy," he explained.
Phan
also said that prevention of money laundering in real estate has also been
proposed.
"All
real estate transaction from VND2 billion or suspected trade must be
declared."
Vice
minister
He
said the draft revised law also requires that real estate or housing projects
must be assessed by local government for buyers before being sold.
At
yesterday's event, the ministry of construction and
Japanese
investors continue to pour cash into VN market
The
event aimed to commemorate the diplomatic anniversary as well as to discuss
the status of Japanese investment in
The
province is a preferred location for Japanese investment thanks to its
developed oil and gas sector, Thi Vai – Cai Mep deap seaport and the planned
Last
year,
Ba Ria
– Vung Tau is currently home to 18 Japanese-funded projects, capitalised at
$1.7 billion, of those 12 are currently operational, local authorities said.
They
said that the province has closely co-operated with Japanese organisations
such as the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), the Japan
External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and the Japanese Business Association in
The
local body said it would further petition the Government to provide more
incentives to support industries and to build specialised industrial zones
aimed at Japanese investors.
It
also hopes to gain support in improving its investment climate by upgrading
its infrastructure to meet the potential investor's requirements.
Previously,
the provincial authorities signed a memorandum of understanding on
co-operation with
A
further memorandum approved the opening of a representative office in
The
sectors in need of investment are metalworking, mechanical processing,
plastic component production, electrical and electronic components and
software for other industries.
VN
urges US to issue fair ruling
"The
ITC's decision should be in line with the spirit of free and fair trade as
well as growing economic and trade ties between the two countries," Foreign
Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said.
He
made the statement at a press briefing in Ha Noi on Thursday in response to
queries about
"Over
the past many years,
The
decision will take effect when it gets approval from the ITC. Ballots will be
cast on September 19.
MoF
yet to provide investor protection
The
idea of setting up an investor protection scheme was presented to the
Ministry of Finance three years ago by the Viet Nam Association of Financial
Investors. So far, there has been no response.
The
association (VAFI) recently repeated its proposal after the ministry on July
30 issued a circular providing guidance on the use and management of the
insured persons protection fund.
According
to VAFI secretary Nguyen Hoang Hai, the stock market longs to have a
protection scheme for investors.
He
said the ministry's delay was hard to accept.
The
Law on Securities, which came into effect in 2007, requires securities
companies to set up a mandatory investor protection fund to compensate
investors if a company becomes insolvent or bankrupt - or its wrongdoings
cause harms to investors.
Despite
this, nothing has been done. "More than three years have passed since
our proposal was sent, but the authority appears to have made no moves at
all," Hai told the newspaper Dau tu chung khoan (Securities Investment).
"VAFI
will continue to push the proposal to the ministry because it is an urgent
requirement and in line with international practices," Hai said.
Already,
wrongdoings by employees of some securities companies have caused heavy
financial losses to investors. Abuse of investor accounts at Truong Son
Securities Co, Dai Viet Securities Co and Beta Securities Co cost investors
millions, even billions of dong.
When
losses happen, investors do not know where to ask for help.
"We're
very confused. We actually don't know which agency is responsible for
protecting investors when securities companies appropriate our assets,"
said Le Thi Uyen.
She is
one of the victims in the scandal at Dai Viet Securities Co. The company's
employees are accused of abusing investor accounts to steal VND900 million
(US$42,800).
The
discrepancy was discovered in May, but so far nothing has been done.
Hai
keeps his fingers crossed that the Ministry of Finance will eventually create
a legal framework for the establishment and operation of an investor
protection fund.
VN
fertiliser imports on the up
Viet
Nam is estimated to have imported total of 2.47 million tonnes of fertilisers
worth US$968 million in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year
rise of 24.5 per cent in volume and 11.6 per cent in value, the General
Department of Customs said.
In
July alone, the country imported 506,000 tonnes of fertilisers worth $179
million, rising 15.4 per cent and 7.5 per cent against the previous month in
volume and value, respectively, the data showed.
China
continued topping the list of fertiliser suppliers for Viet Nam in the period
with 1.15 million tonnes, up 13.1 per cent on year and accounting for 46.4
per cent of total imports.
The
Philippines came second with 211,000 tonnes, up 28.5 per cent. Other main
suppliers in the period were Israel (164,000 tonnes) and Japan (159,000
tonnes).-
Prospects
dim for VN electronics
Viet
Nam's mechanical electronics industry was lagging behind other countries due
to a lack of facilities and well-qualified engineers, leading industry
experts claimed at a development strategy meeting yesterday.
Dr
Pham Thi Huyen of the Viet Nam Development Forum said growth was a key
motivator for developing countries like Viet Nam to produce equipment and devices
for construction, transport, processing and health sectors, which were
already internationally competitive.
However,
according to experts, the country's mechanical electronics products remain
rudimentary and sub-standard, with low intellectual value.
Viet
Nam has failed to produce high-value components required by the world market,
such as transistors.
The
main issue was the country's total lack of modern laboratories to serve the
industry, said experts, adding that technological assembly lines were backward
and in need of investment.
Moreover,
the country's engineers were just about capable of accomplishing tasks in a
specific sector such as mechanics, electronics or automatics, but could not
serve the mixed and comprehensive industry of mechanical electronics, they
said.
Dr
Tran Anh Quan of Institute of Machines and Industrial Equipments said it was
necessary for the country to invest in creative software designs and the
intellectual values of mechanical electronics products.
Dr
Nguyen Ngoc Son of the National Economics University said the best way to
develop the industry was to focus on training and supplying enough qualified
engineers.
There
was a pressing need to train mechanical engineers who are knowledgeable in
automation theory and other technologies, so that they are able to design and
produce complete products, he said.
According
to the country's development plan for the mechanical electronics industry,
about US$125 million will be invested in the industry up to 2015 and $134
million for the 2016-25 period.
The
industry is expected to earn $18-20 million from its exports by 2015 and
$60-65 million by 2025.
Kaspersky
launches security update
Russia-based
Kaspersky Lab on Wednesday launched new security software for Macbook and
Android smartphones and tablets.
The
company said that the new Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) products combine
traditional anti-virus technologies with "advanced proactive and
cloud-based protection methods".
The
new products provide premium, easily managed security for Mac computers and
Android devices, it said.
With
more people using mobile devices, as well as Macbook, cybercriminals are
taking a greater interest in them, said Nguyen An Minh Thai of Kaspersky Lab
in Viet Nam.
SBV
approves Techcombank plea
The
State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has approved a plan by Techcombank to add VND30
billion (US$1.43 million) of charter capital.
The
additional amount, coming from the bank's retained earnings, will bring its
equity to VND8.878 trillion ($421.3 million).
The
approval will be valid for a year, whereby Techcombank will only be able to
raise capital in that time.-
PV
Oil petrol stations to accept Visa
Customers
buying fuel at 16 PV Oil petrol stations in HCM City and two in Ha Noi can
pay using Visa cards from Wednesday.
OceanBank
has installed the card terminals at the stations.
"This
is the first time you can pay with your Visa cards for your petrol in Viet
Nam," Lorijon Bacchi, the card company's country manager for Viet Nam,
Cambodia, and Laos, said.
Pham
Thi Loi, deputy CEO of PV Oil, said: "With more and more people using
Visa credit and debit cards to pay for everyday purchases, we saw an
opportunity to improve our payment options in such a way that will bring more
convenience to a large number of our customers."
Following
a pilot phase, the card acceptance would be scaled up across the country, Loi
said.
Da
Nang leads in disbursement of $1.42b property life raft
Central
Da Nang City leads the country in disbursement of the State Government's
VND30 trillion (US$1.42 billion) support package for the property market,
according to a report from the State Bank of Viet Nam.
The
report showed that Da Nang accounted for 29.25 per cent of the total
disbursement, followed by Ha Noi with 28.58 per cent, northern Vinh Phuc
Province with 11.85 per cent and HCM City with 10.51 per cent.
As of
August 13, banks committed to disburse about VND65.57 billion ($3.17 million)
from the package to 219 individual borrowers.
Experts
support corporate deposit interests tax
Many
experts have backed the Ministry of Finance's controversial proposal to levy
taxes on corporate deposit interest.
In an
act to amend the corporate income tax law, the ministry has expanded the list
of taxable income. According to the proposal, the government will levy tax on
the deposit interest and even the lending interest of corporations.
The
proposal has been met with strong opposition from enterprises. The owner of
one company said, "The Ministry of Finance should reconsider their
decision because a lot of that interest goes to pay wages and bonuses for
employees."
Meanwhile,
several experts said it is reasonable to levy tax on interest.
Economist
Nguyen Minh Phong said that the proposal might even prevent corporations from
delaying paying salaries, taxes or investments to upgrade member companies to
make profits from bank saving accounts.
Nguyen
Tri Hieu, who has worked for 30 years in the banking sector also agreed.
"Many other countries in the world also levy taxes on corporate deposit
interest. For example, the USA levies a 25-30% tax on deposit interest or
currency trading. This is also a way to improve our current state budget
deficit."
On
early 2013, Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of HCM City Real Estate
Association, proposed imposing taxes on saving accounts of over VND500
million (USD24,038). His proposal was strongly criticised by the public and
not accepted.
Source:
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Hai, 26 tháng 8, 2013
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