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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 18/5
‘Shareholders
need better protection'
The
rights of investors in
Speaking
at the seminar — on the role of the stock market in the economy — Nguyen Duy
Hung, chairman of Saigon Securities Inc., said companies listed on the
country's two exchanges in
He
described as unfair the tax on securities investments while bank deposits
were not taxed, adding it encouraged people to put their money in banks
rather than buy stocks.
Nguyen
Thanh Long, vice chairman of the State Securities Committee, said the
watchdog had been focusing on investors as a key factor in the market, and
derivatives were a positive tool for protecting and diversifying investments.
The
Government had recently issued a decree on derivatives and the derivative
market — to take effect on July 1 — which was expected to boost the market.
Listed
firms needed to abide by international accounting and auditing criteria to
provide accurate information to investors, he said.
Vu Viet
Ngoan, chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Committee, said investor
protection was one of the key factors in the healthy growth of the market as
were policies related to corporate bankruptcy, access to capital, and
implementation of the law.
Tran Du
Lich, deputy head of the HCM City National Assembly delegation, called for a
tax cut for public companies to stimulate firms to go public, which would
improve their transparency and the market's.
The
seminar, organised by HOSE and Saigon Securities Inc., is among programmes to
celebrate the 15th anniversary of
According
to HOSE chairman Tran Dac Sinh, more than 300 companies are listed on his
exchange with a market capitalisation that adds up to 25 per cent of the
country's GDP.
On
average, firms had doubled their chartered capital after listing in
More
than 350 companies had their IPOs at HOSE, including some big names like
Vietcombank, Vinamilk, and Bao Viet.
The
exchange had average daily trading of VND2.1 trillion last year.
New
e-commerce website launched
PeaceSoft
Group, the leading group for e-commerce and payments in
Consumers
are now able to shop for high quality products from the
WeShop
provides a complete cross-border shopping process, allowing Vietnamese
consumers to experience online shopping from foreign websites as simply and
easily as from local sites.
WeShop.com.vn
currently supplies more than 200 million diversified products from large
brands in the United States, like Amazon, 6PM, Forever21, TopShop, Disney and
ToysRus.
Amigo,
MB sign contract to deploy data
Amigo
Technologies Joint Stock Company (Amigo Technologies) and Military Bank (MB)
signed a contract to deploy a data warehouse on Wednesday.
The
project will play an important role in the finance and banking sectors,
aiming to help the Bank develop a database and strong IT infrastructure. It
will also help the bank to raise management, supervision and risk management,
and adhere to international standards.
Taxi
companies set to raise fares in HCM City
The
Vinasun taxi company yesterday increased its fares from between VND400-500
(US$1.84-2.3 cents) per kilometre.
Other
taxi companies operating, including Mai Linh, Hoang Long and 27/7 are also
planning to adjust their fares, but are waiting for verification from
relevant agencies.
The
increase is expected to be between VND500 to 1,000 (2.3- 4.6 cents) per
kilometre.
Ta Long
Hy, chairman of the HCM City Taxi Association, said many members were keen to
raise fares following an increase in global prices.
Hoa
Phat complex to add thermo power plant
The Hoa
Phat Energy Joint Stock Co signed a contract to provide equipment to Trung
Khoa International Trade Co., Ltd for the construction of a thermo-power
plant (phase 3) in the Hoa Phat iron and steel complex in northern Hai Duong
Province.
The new
facility, which will cost VND300 billion ($13.8 million), will have a
capacity of 15MW.
The new
work will lift the power generating capacity of the coke and thermo-electric
plant to 52 MW.
Nam
A Bank profit up by more than double
Nam A
Bank earned VND3 billion (US$142.86 million) in pre-tax profit during the
first quarter of this year, nearly 2.5 times more than its figures for last
year's Q1.
This was
achieved without extracting any provisional funds during the quarter, the
bank said in its latest financial report.
Nam A
Bank's net revenue expanded 65 per cent at VND198 billion ($9.43 million)
during Q1. Except for securities trading suffering a loss of VND11 billion,
other financial norms posted healthy growth, the report said.
India's
Exim Bank seeks collaborations with Dong Nai
A
delegation from the Export-Import Bank of
The
province is currently inviting investments to the industrial parks, he said,
noting that Exim Bank would help encourage Indian enterprises to invest in
Dong Nai.
The
delegation's visit aimed to study local investment policies and locations for
possible Indian investments, especially in the field of textiles, dyeing,
electronics, and health equipment.
The bank
proposed Dong Nai to allot 50 hectares in an industrial park for Indian
businesses to build their textile and dye factories.
Waterway
could cut road traffic between City-Ca Mau
The
The
Traffic Development and Strategy Institute said the upgrading would help
reduce the load of road traffic from
Total
cargo is expected to reach 93.5 million tonnes by 2020, a year-on-year rise
of 7.7 per cent in the 2016-20 period.
Of that
amount, transport by road accounts for 25.3 million tonnes (27.1 per cent);
inland waterway, 62.3 million tonnes (66.83 per cent); and river and sea 5.67
million tonnes (6.07 per cent).
The
institute said the country should issue incentives and favourable policies on
land, taxes and interest rates for enterprises, including shipowners,
shippers, and sea transport-service providers, to build or upgrade container
ports and other facilities at ports.
According
to the institute the country also needs to call for the private sector to
invest in building or upgrading ports and seaports as well as storage
facilities in Tien Giang, Can Tho, An Giang, Kien Giang, Ca Mau and HCM City.
Urgent
work includes the upgrade of the waterway from
Large-scale
river ports also need upgrading in order to upload containers at storage
centres to collect and ship cargo. Ports include
Shipping
facilities for carrying containers (types: 36, 54, 72, 120 TEU) are also
needed. Improvement of facilities to upload containers on inland waterway
should also be carried out, the institute said.
The
second phase of the project would upgrade the Cho Gao canal, and dredge and
widen the flow of canal to 80 metres for container barges of more than 2,000.
The
institute said the country should soon put into operation transport routes such
as Binh Thuan – Kien Giang and link with ports in
The
institute also urged the completion of the project Quan Chanh Bo that would
receive vessels of 10,000 DWT and 20,000 DWT.
As for
roads, the country would need to improve the capacity of road traffic to
transport and collect cargo, and transport goods to inland river ports in Can
Tho, An Giang, Ca Mau, An Giang, Ca Mau and Kien Giang.
Seminar
told Long Thanh airport hub is long-term strategic issue
The
Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam on Thursday held a seminar in HCM City
to discuss the issues facing the proposed US$8 billion Long Thanh
International Airport near the city.
Lai Xuan
Thanh, head of the CAAV, said building an aviation hub or entrepot was a
long-term strategic mission of his agency.
The
airport would also help resolve the issues facing
"In
future Tan Son Nhat will no longer meet the demands of airlines flying to
Even if
Tan Son Nhat was expanded to double its current size, it would remain a
traditional terminal, and in any case, due to its urban location, expansion
was impossible, he said.
"The
regional hub cannot always be
Le Manh
Hung, general director of the Airports Corporation of
To expand
its capacity to 40-50 million, an additional 641ha of land would be needed in
Tan Binh, Go Vap, and Phu Nhuan District and 500,000 people would have to be
relocated, he said.
"The
location selected for building the international airport has adequate conditions
for establishing a transit international terminal that will be competitive in
the region."
Dr Tran
Dinh Ba, the man who had proposed the much-debated straight-line air route
between
Deputy
Minister of Transport Pham Quy Tieu said it was imperative to quickly build
Long Thanh airport, adding it would give a boost to the country's economic
development.
Long Thanh,
approved by the Government in 2011, is scheduled to open in 2020 with a
capacity of 25 million passengers a year, according to authorities in
To be
built in three phases, it is expected to be fully completed by 2035 with a
capacity of 100 million passengers.
Construction
is scheduled to begin this year.
Vietnamese
lychees meet
Nguyen
Huu Dat, Director of the Post-Import Plant Quarantine Centre, said on May 15
that 2015 will be the first year Vietnamese lychees will be freighted to US
and Australian markets where there are strict quarantine regulations on
fruits.
Six
approval codes were given to lychee growing areas in northern Bac Giang
province and two to neighbouring Hai Duong province where production has
satisfied safety standards, he said.
Technical
solutions from sector authorities have finally paid off, Deputy Head of the
Plant Protection Department Hoang Trung said, regarding the result as a
breakthrough for the domestic lychee industry which will pave the way for the
Vietnamese tropical fruit to enter other foreign markets.
This
year’s lychee crops will be transported to
Indian
State-run bank keen on collaboration with Dong Nai
A
delegation from the Export and Import Bank of India (EXIMBANK) on May 15 paid
a fact-finding tour to the southern
During a
working session with the delegation, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s
Committee Nguyen Phu Cuong said the locality has zoned off 31 industrial
parks, 27 of which have been put into operation.
Currently,
the province is calling for investment into the parks, he said, proposing
that the EXIMBANK Indian will help encourage Indian enterprises to invest in
Dong Nai.
A
representative from the Indian delegation said as a State-run agency tasked
with assisting Indian enterprises in investing abroad and exporting, the delegation’s
visit aims to study local investment policies and locations for possible
Indian investment, focusing on textile, dyeing, electronics and health
equipment.
The bank
proposed that Dong Nai put aside 50 hectares in an industrial park for Indian
businesses to build their textile and dyeing factories.
The
provincial leader suggested that the investors should construct their textile
and dyeing factories in Nhon Trach and Nhon Trach 6 industrial parks in Nhon
Trach district.
Vietnam
farm products introduced in Indonesia
A forum
to introduce Vietnamese agricultural products and promote trade between the
country and
At the
event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Nguyen Xuan Thuy gave an overview
of the economic cooperation between
Meanwhile,
Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) Juan
Gondokusumo pointed to the government’s policies towards small- and
medium-sized enterprises, including those from agricultural and aquatic
sectors.
Event
participants were also introduced to
Representatives
from the Lotte Mart Corporation, which owns a chain of foods and shopping
services in
Steel
imports from
Chinese
steel landing in
According
to a VSA report,
Domestic
steel billet capacity reached 11 million tonnes, yet demands for these
commodities only stands at 6.5 million tonnes this year.
The VSA
leader said that there has also been a significant escalation in the amount
of imported Chinese so-called alloy steel products, including steel rod,
steel wire and galvanised steel, exports of which are tax free from
Meanwhile,
there is surplus of those products from Vietnamese enterprises.
Sua highlighted
that steel enterprises need to implement reforms while making efforts to
increase product competitiveness as there is currently no practical solution
to address this issue.
In a bid
to control the import of alloy steel from
Workshop
on improving export business awareness in trade remedies
Enterprises
should grasp and effectively apply trade remedy measures to develop
sustainably and overcome economic integration challenges, trade experts said
at a workshop themed “
Trade
remedy lawsuits—anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguard measures—usually
take a long time, at least two years, to solve, and they usually result in
serious damage to export businesses’ trademarks and finances, said Pham Chau
Giang, an official from the Vietnam Competition Authority under the Ministry
of Industry and Trade.
According
to Director of the
As a
result, Vietnamese export businesses need a comprehensive overview of the
signed FTAs and issues related to trade between the country and its partners,
said Wong Chian Voen, Consulting Director of Mayer Brown company from
She
added that businesses should actively prepare necessary strategies and
policies to minimise the possibility of trade remedy cases.
Ideas
for
Domestic
and foreign economists offered helpful ideas about mid-term financial policy making
to
Consultant
Paul Beckerman said national spending, balance of payment, foreign debts and
currency accounts should be considered in making mid-term financial
forecasts.
A
representative from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) also
stressed the need to design a mid-term financial framework, saying forecasts
on budget account movements over the next couple of years will be useful when
designing budget estimates.
Dr. Vu
Sy Cuong from the
However,
he also pointed out existing weaknesses including the limited capacity of
statistics, analysis and forecasts, macro-economic fluctuations and
insufficient legal frameworks.
Piloting
four mid-term financial plans for six ministries and four provinces from
2006-2011,
The
event was hosted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Japan
commits to more ODA provision for Vietnam
Japanese
Vice Foreign Minister Nakane Kazuyuki made the statement at a meeting with
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Cuong in
Cuong
said
The two
sides discussed measures to deepen bilateral relations across fields,
especially agriculture.
They
consented to maintain regular delegation exchanges at all levels and improve
the efficiency of the current exchange and cooperation mechanism.
The host
and guest also reviewed regional and international issues of mutual concern
and agreed to increase cooperation at multilateral forums and negotiations to
forge regional economic links, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
agreement.
State
President Truong Tan Sang has proposed
Speaking
at the Vietnam-Azerbaijan business forum on May 14, the President highly
valued the bilateral trade, which topped 422 million USD in 2014 or a
year-on-year increase of 30 percent.
He noted
potential for stronger cooperation in labour, construction, healthcare and
transport.
The
State leader also informed businesses about a number of contents reached by
leaders of the two nations, including delegation exchanges and trade
promotion in respective markets.
He
described bilateral cooperation in oil and gas as a long-term, strategic
priority.
Earlier
the same day, the President met with veteran Azerbaijani civilian and military
experts who once helped
He said
he is pleased with progresses in the two countries’ relations, especially in
the political and economic fronts, which have been strengthened via regular
high-level delegation and trade exchanges in recent years.
He spoke
in length
For
their part, veteran
On May
15, President Truong Tan Sang met with the Vietnamese community in
He asked
the Vietnamese Embassy in
Experts:
trade facilitation committee urgently needed
The
establishment of a national committee on trade facilitation is essential to
enhance customs management, simplify export and import procedures and boost
economic growth.
Experts
at a conference held in
Pham
Thanh Binh, a consultant for the USAID’s Governance of Inclusive Growth (GIG)
project, said the results of a survey released by the world customs
organisation in April this year showed 23 of 66 member nations had committees
or organisations addressing trade facilitation.
In
Limitations
on infrastructure are leading to lags in goods transportation between inland
areas and border gates, Binh said.
She said
that the formation of a national committee on trade facilitation in
The
committee will help increase customs management effectiveness, reduce
declaration time and increase international customs cooperation.
It also
brings benefits to enterprises such as reducing declaration time and cost,
thus increasing competitiveness and promoting exports and expanding markets,
Nguyen Toan, head of Vietnam Customs’s International Relation Department,
said.
According
to Pete Faust, an international expert on trade facilitation at the GIG
project, the participation of private enterprises is important in the
formation of the committee to ensure its operations meet demands from
businessmen and the enterprise community.
Tran Huu
Huynh, a representative from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
said the formation of the committee will help honour
Activities
and programmes by the committee help reduce trade costs, increasing job and
income opportunities and ultimately promoting economic growth, Huynh said.
It needs
the participation of all ministries, sectors, business communities,
associations and media agencies, he added.
Kien
Giang lures over 240 tourism projects
The
Mekong Delta
Those
projects focus on four key tourism areas including Phu Quoc, Ha Tien – Kien
Luong, Rach Gia – Kien Hai and U Minh Thuong.
Some 37
projects with a total investment of over 1.8 trillion VND (83.4 million USD)
have gone into operation, mainly hotels, resorts and shopping malls. A
highlight is the 300-hectare Vinpearl Resort Phu Quoc which offers a 750-room
five star hotel, an entertainment complex and a world class golf course.
This
year, the province expects to have 370 accommodation options with 7,750 rooms
and suites, 12 of which are 3-5 star hotels, located primarily in Phu Quoc,
Rach Gia and Ha Tien.
Kien
Giang has also been developing tourism infrastructure with the construction
of the Rach Gia Port, An Thoi Port, Bai Vong Port, Phu Quoc International
Airport and a number of highways and roads in line with the upgrades to Rach
Gia Airport. Several islands, such as Phu Quoc and Hon Tre, have also
received access to the national power grid.
The
province has worked hard to attract visitors with a wide range of tour
offerings and festivals, such as eco-tours, tours to local beautiful beaches
and islands as well as to folk villages that produce traditional fish sauce,
sim wine (wine made from Rose Myrtle), peppers, pearl products and
handicrafts made from stone, timber and gastropod shell.
Additionally,
the locality has worked with other cities and provinces, including An Giang,
Can Tho, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu, to link tours with several popular
destinations.
The
province has earned over 6.1 trillion VND (280.6 million USD) from around
18.4 million tourist arrivals over the past four years, including 874,000
from overseas, and expects over 6 million domestic and foreign visitors in
2015 alone.
The
locality has welcomed 1.9 million tourists during the first four month of
this year, fulfilling 31.6 percent of its yearly target.
Malaysia
investigates dumping of steel coils from Vietnam
The
Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has launched an
investigation into alleged dumping of steel coils imported from Vietnam and
China, following a petition filed by FIW Steel Sdn Bhd (FIW).
In a
prepared statement, the MITI said it has received the petition from the
Malaysian producer, requesting the imposition of dumping duties on imports of
pre-painted, painted and colour coated steel coils from both Vietnam and
China.
The
petitioner alleges these steel coils are being dumped into the Malaysian
market at prices much lower than those prevailing in the domestic markets of
Vietnam, China or Malaysia.
Further,
the petition alleges the anti-competitive practices are the direct and
proximate cause of both the Malaysian steel coil industry and the petitioner
specifically suffering material injury.
In
addition, the petition alleges the absolute volume of the imports from
Vietnam is causing irreparable material injury to the domestic industry and
serves as a basis for the imposition of anti-dumping import duties.
The MITI
has determined that there is sufficient prima facie evidence of dumping,
injury and causal link and therefore has initiated a preliminary
investigation on imports of pre-painted, painted and colour coated steel
coils.
In
accordance with Malaysia’s Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Act of 1993
and related regulations, the MITI said an investigation will be undertaken
and a preliminary determination made within 120 days from the date of
initiation of the action.
If the
final determination is affirmative the government will impose an anti-dumping
duty at a rate necessary to prevent further injury to the domestic industry
the MITI statement concluded.
In
connection with the investigation, MITI will provide a set of questionnaire
to interested parties (importers, foreign producers, exporters and associations).
Other interested parties may request for the questionnaires no later than May
14, 2015 and may also provide additional supporting evidence to the MITI on
or before May 28, 2015.
In the
event no additional information is received within the specified period, the
government will make its preliminary findings based on all available facts.
According
to the petition, for the period October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014 Vietnam
exported an estimated 37,950 million tonnes of steel coil to Malaysia, accounting
for 68.2% of market share.
The
period of investigation is October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014. However,
for the purpose of analysing injury, data of the previous two years from
October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2013 would also be considered, it added.
The
petition lodged by FIW – a Singaporean and Japanese joint venture based in
Malaysia – alleges the dumping margin amounted to 13.68%.
Ho Nghia
Dung, President of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), in turn stressed that
the association is working with domestic enterprises to coordinate an
appropriate response to the petition.
Dung
advised any interested party to cooperate fully in supplying information to
the MITI to expedite the dispute resolution process and bring about a
favourable resolution.
Vietnam
property market on rebound, says economist
Vietnam's
real estate market will likely yield better returns this year than the stock
and gold markets, but investors should be cautious in the rebound, a leading
economist said.
Vo Tri
Thanh, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, told
a conference in HCM City on real estate investment opportunities over the
next five years, that the property market was rebounding.
He said
buyers were becoming more careful in the market and had better legal
knowledge.
A rising
number of approved property developments in Hanoi and HCM City were helping
the rebound.
Vietnam’s
demand for housing is forecast to sharply increase as economic growth rises,
with GDP expected to grow by between 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent over the
next two decades.
The
rental market was also expected to benefit from the property upturn, he said.
Thanh
said 2015 would unlikely be good for either gold or stock investors due to
foreign exchange rate uncertainties and sluggish progress towards
privatization of state-owned enterprises. But the government remained
concerned about overheating the property market.
In the
first quarter of this year, there were 8,000 transactions in the real estate
market, up some 30-40 percent on the previous year.
“Speculation
may help boost market liquidity, but there are dangers if it becomes too
strong. Investors should always be aware of risk," Thanh said.
HCM
City sees overdue loans inching up
Bad debt
had edged up to 5.53% of total outstanding loans in HCMC by March 31 this
year from 5.31% late last year, according to an updated report of the central
bank’s city branch.
The
report showed overdue loans at banks and non-credit institutions in the city
had amounted to more than VND60.88 trillion as of the end of March though
over VND6.1 trillion was settled in the first quarter of this year.
Nguyen
Hoang Minh, deputy director of the branch, told a meeting between deputies of
the National Assembly and representatives of banks in HCMC Tuesday that
overdue loans rose slightly with the potentially irrecoverable debt (group 5)
accounting for the biggest proportion.
Minh
said joint venture banks and financial firms made up a majority of bad debt
and the bankruptcy of small-and medium-sized enterprises gave rise to the
rising bad debt in the city.
Meanwhile,
the bad debt ratio of a dozen commercial banks based in the city was a mere
2.45%, which is lower than the central bank’s target of 3% this year.
The bad
debt ratio of the banking system in HCMC started to swell at the end of last
year due to several ailing banks including Vietnam Construction Bank
(VNCB) and violations at the Mac Thi Buoi branch of Agribank, prompting bad
debt to go up by VND10 trillion.
In
addition, bad debt inched up due to the central bank’s Directive 02 on
strengthening bad debt, which requires banks to follow stricter requirements
by the Credit Information Center for loan classification.
Le Thanh
Trung, deputy general director of HDBank, said all banks have bad debt but it
is important to have effective measures to keep it at safe levels and know
where bad debt comes from.
Bad debt
settlement requires a joint effort of banks and their borrowers, relevant
ministries and agencies. If agencies can help companies find markets, the
latter will have money to pay bank loans.
Despite
rising bad debt, there were positive signs for capital mobilization and
lending at banks in the city in the first four months of this year.
Minh
said capital mobilization increased 1.91% to more than VND1,300 trillion,
buoyed by individual deposits which grew 6% and accounted for 55% of the
total capital mobilization at local banks.
More
deposits of over one year enabled banks to increase their medium- and
long-term loans for enterprises.
The
first four months saw credits up 4.14% compared to end-2014 to VND1,120
trillion. Of the total amount, loans in Vietnam dong rose by 4.5% to VND944
trillion and those in foreign currencies grew 2.12%, and loans for production
and trading making up 80%.
Such
credit growth was higher than the same period of previous years, with only
0.79% last year, 2.11% in 2013 and minus 0.64% in 2012.
Medium-
and long-term loans in HCMC were up 7.66% in January-April and made up 53.5%
of total outstanding loans in the city. Meanwhile, short-term loans edged up
0.36%.
Nguyen
Minh Tam, deputy general director of Sacombank, said corporate deposits at
banks dropped this year, suggesting that more capital went to production and
trading.
Fuel
price hikes likely on falling price stability fund
Another
fuel price hike is in sight as the rising prices of crude oil-based products
on world markets have widened the gap between the base price and retail
prices while the national fuel price stabilization fund is depleting.
According
to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Singapore fuel prices have remained
high since May 5, with RON92 gasoline hovering around US$81.68 per barrel on
May 6, the highest in six months. Meanwhile, kerosene and diesel were priced
at US$80.2 and US$80.3 per barrel respectively.
At the
trading session on Tuesday, the respective prices of RON92 gasoline, kerosene
and diesel dropped to US$80.25, US$77.84 and US$78.63 per barrel. But these
prices were higher than the 15-day average used to set the base price and adjust
retail prices on May 5.
A source
from a fuel trading firm told the Daily that the current base price of
gasoline was VND1,800 per liter higher than the retail price. Fuel trading
firms lose over VND300 for each liter sold as they get VND1,427 a liter from
the fuel price stabilization fund.
According
to the ministries of finance and industry-trade, the fuel price stabilization
fund had VND2.843 trillion left in the first quarter of this year, down more
than VND1 trillion compared to late last year.
The
source said the fund at his company and other fuel trading firms have
declined dramatically compared to the end of quarter one as spending has been
much higher than revenue in the past year.
In
particular, since May 5, the national fuel price stabilization fund has spent
VND1,427 on each liter of gasoline sold but retailers have got only VND300.
Besides, it has spent VND322 and received VND300 for each liter of diesel
sold.
The new
base price is expected to be announced on May 20. If the world oil price stays
high, another bout of fuel retail price spikes will be a matter of time as
the fuel price stabilization fund is shrinking.
No
merger of DongABank and ABBank in sight
A plan
to merge DongABank and ABBank may not materialize anytime soon as
negotiations have been put on hold due to unsolved differences, a source told
the Daily.
Major
shareholders of both sides have failed to reach common ground. When talks
resume remains unknown, the source said.
In
December 2014, there were rumors that DongABank with chartered capital of
VND5 trillion (US$230 million) would be merged with ABBank capitalized at
nearly VND4.8 trillion.
The deal
would mark the second stage of the Government’s banking sector restructuring
scheme. Merging the two private lenders does not fall in the category of nine
ailing banks subject to forced restructuring in the first stage.
At
ABBank’s 2015 annual general meeting late last month, chairman Vu Van Tien
said aside from internal restructuring since 2012, ABBank would prepare for a
merger with an appropriate credit institution this year.
According
to its report at the end of 2014, the group of shareholders including Vietnam
Electricity Group (EVN) held a 17.27% stake at ABBank while that involving
Geleximco owned 19.88%. Tien and related persons owned a 5.23% stake.
Foreigners
had a 30% stake at the lender, including 20% of Maybank and 10% of
International Finance Corporation (IFC).
For
DongABank, Tran Phuong Binh, vice chairman and general director, held a 3%
stake at the end of last year while shareholders associated with Binh owned
6.7% and the bank’s trade union 0.9%.
Phu
Nhuan House Trading & Construction Co. Ltd. owns 2.14% of DongABank, Ky
Hoa Trade & Tourism Co. 3.78% and Phu Nhuan Jewelry Co. (PNJ) 0.77%.
As for its
board of directors, Nguyen Dinh Truong held 0.013%, Tran Van Dinh 0.14% and
Nguyen Thi Kim Xuyen 0.34%.
According
to bankers, the halt to negotiations over the deal between the two banks is
not a surprise. As one of them is in the north and the other in the south and
they have different approaches to business.
Their
registered capital is almost equal, making the merger tough and
time-consuming.
Vietnam
spends big on unprocessed seafood imports
Despite
its huge fish farming sector, the country still has to spend some US$800
million a year importing unprocessed seafood to turn out products for export.
According
to the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, 80%
of the amount goes to unprocessed shrimp imports, and Ecuador and India are
the main suppliers of shrimp for Vietnam.
Seafood
imports are currently subject to high duties. According to the Vietnam
Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), import tariffs are
10-15% for shrimp, 12-24% for tuna, and 10-17% for squid and octopus.
However,
VASEP said Vietnam will have to lower the duties on unprocessed seafood
imports soon as committed to its trade agreements with other countries.
VASEP
proposed the Ministry of Finance cut the tariffs on seafood material to 0% to
support domestic exporters to improve their competitiveness as prices of many
Vietnamese seafood products are now higher than in regional countries.
Nguyen
Hoai Nam, deputy general secretary of VASEP, said the import tariff exemption
would help local seafood processors to boost exports.
Nguyen
Thi Bich, a market analyst at VASEP, said with annual shrimp exports of
500,000-600,000 tons, Vietnam is among the top shrimp exporters in the world.
Bich
said that last year shrimp export revenue of China reached US$2.5 billion,
India US$3.7 billion, Thailand US$2 billion and Vietnam US$3.95 billion. “The
figures indicate Vietnam was the biggest shrimp exporter in the world,” she
said.
Statistics
of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that the country
netted nearly 1.1 million tons of seafood in the first four months of this
year, 6% higher than the same period last year. Of this volume, fish catches
exceeded one million tons, up 6.1% year-on-year.
Fish
farming yielded 750,000 tons in January-April, inching up 1.5% against the
same period last year.
VASEP
said Vietnam obtained seafood export revenue of some US$1.4 billion in the
first three months of this year, including over US$261 million (19.16%) from
the United States, US$251 million (18.4%) from Europe, and US$193 million
(14.15%) from Japan.
Seafood
shipments to South Korea accounted for US$119 million (8.76%) of total
revenue and ASEAN nations US$106 million (7.81%).
HCM
City okays multi-million-dollar velodrome project
The HCMC
government has approved Vietnam Sports Platform Limited (VSP) to develop a
velodrome project at Rach Chiec National Sports Complex in District 2.
VSP will
partner with a unit assigned by the city government to build the velodrome at
a cost of US$150-200 million in An Phu Ward.
The
Department of Planning and Investment is assigned to coordinate with the
department of finance and culture-sports to propose a partner for VSP, the
joint venture model, investment capital, capital for site clearance and
compensation for the city government for consideration.
Meanwhile,
the Department of Culture and Sports will work with VSP to draft a memorandum
of understanding in investment and development for the project.
During
their visit to Busan later this year, officials of the city plan to visit the
velodrome of this South Korean city.
Besides,
HCMC will report the project and pilot sport betting to the Government and
the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for consideration.
Dong
Nai active in integrating into ASEAN Economic Community
Enterprises
in the southern province of Dong Nai have been advised to innovate
manufacturing technology, improve their brand names and boost trade promotion
to anticipate opportunities offered by the formation of the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC) by the end of this year.
Talking
about the AEC at a workshop in the province on May 14, Director of the
provincial Department of Industry and Trade Le Van Danh said that once
established, the AEC will help Vietnam expand its market, penetrate ASEAN
partners’ markets, and participate in the global value chain.
The
establishment will also eliminate most tariff and non-tariff barriers while
helping Vietnam speed up reform and improve its economic institutions and
international trade policies, and increase national competitiveness.
However,
the increased opportunities are coupled with increased competition in product
price and quality. The gap in incomes between AEC countries will force
Vietnam to manage the free movement of goods, capital and skilled labour
within ASEAN.
Twelve
types of goods will receive integration priority, including farm produce,
aviation, automobiles, electronics, tourism, and garment-textiles.
Dong Nai
is home to around 20,000 enterprises. To anticipate opportunities and
surmount challenges posed by the integration process, many have actively
invested in expanding production scales and applying new technologies in
business and production management.
Source : VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Hai, 18 tháng 5, 2015
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