Thứ Tư, 19 tháng 8, 2015

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 19/8


Vingroup's first half revenue at $560 million
Vingroup’s consolidated income in the second quarter was VND6.031 trillion ($272.9 million). Profit from financial activities was VND2.132 trillion ($96.47 million) and pre-tax profit VND572 billion ($25.88 million). In the first half of the year consolidated revenue totaled VND12.426 trillion ($562.27 million), with profit from business activities of VND4.375 trillion ($197.96 million) and pre-tax profit VND1.264 trillion ($57.19 million).
Revenue from real estate fell against last year because, in the second quarter, only Vinhomes Times City and Vinhomes Royal City earned revenue. Although Park Hill and Vinhomes Central Park received significant sums from customers, revenue from the two projects will be recorded in the third quarter.
The second quarter also saw the growth in revenue at subsidiaries, such as Vincom Retail (7 per cent) and Vinpearl (34 per cent). Vinschool earned revenue of VND93 billion ($4.2 million), a 289 per cent increase year-on-year. Retail networks such as VinMart and VinPro earned revenue of VND796 billion ($36 million), accounting for 13 per cent of the group’s total.
As at June 30 total assets were VND110.533 trillion ($5 billion), an increase of VND20.624 trillion ($933 million) compared to December 31, 2014. Equity was VND30.543 trillion ($1.38 billion), an increase of VND3.258 trillion ($147.4 million).
Masan Group releases Jan-Jun business results
The Masan Group has reported revenue in the first half of the year of VND10.414 trillion ($471.23 million), a 52 per cent increase year-on-year.
Revenue from its food and beverage business and from its animal protein business were VND5.881 trillion ($266.11 million) and VND3.332 trillion ($150.77 million), respectively.
Masan Nutri-Science, one of the largest animal protein suppliers in Vietnam, contributed VND3.332 trillion ($150.77 million) to consolidated revenue and grew the strongest among the group’s subsidiaries after focusing on the domestic market.
In the second quarter revenue increased sharply, reaching VND408 billion ($18.46 million). Revenue from the group’s joint venture companies totaled VND149 billion ($6.74 million).
In the first half the revenue of Masan Resources stood at VND1.201 billion ($54.34 million), a 4.9 per cent increase year-on-year. It has simplified the structure of its enterprises and optimized its asset structure. It established Masan Consumer Holdings (MCH) to manage consumer goods, including food and beverages.
In the second quarter MCH issued ten-year bonds with a total value of VND9 trillion ($407.25 million), with funds used to pay loans and provide investment capital. In August the group completed a $175 million loan.
The Group also announced that Mr. Michael H. Nguyen has been appointed Chief Financial Officer, Deputy General Director, and Head of the Business Department.
HAGL Agrico's revenue rising
HAGL Agrico’s revenue in the second quarter reached VND1.566 trillion ($70.86 million), a three-fold increase year-on-year.
Revenue from its financial business grew significantly, from VND17 billion ($769,250) in the second quarter of 2014 to VND89 billion ($4.02 million) in the second quarter of this year. Spending also grew dramatically, however, with financial spending, cost of sales, and spending on enterprise management rising 22, 51 and 105 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
After-tax profit in the second quarter was VND486 billion ($21.99 million), a 115 per cent increase year-on-year.
As at the end of June Agrico’s revenue for the first half was VND2.072 trillion ($93.75 million) and after-tax profit more than VND592 billion ($26.78 million), increases of 63 and 5 per cent, respectively, year-on-year. The company’s asset value stood at VND20.688 trillion ($936.13 million).
HAGL has strong financial resources and professional management and is making tremendous strides forward in expanding its operations overseas. In its orientation for 2013-2015 the Group has focused on developing the agriculture and real estate sectors.
Bao Viet Holdings releases first half results
Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) earned revenue of VND9.7 trillion ($422.4 million) in the first half of year, a 7 per cent increase year-on-year, with after-tax profit of VND731 billion ($33.07 million), a 13 per cent rise compared with the same period last year.
It has targeted revenue of VND18.9 trillion ($855.67 million) for the year as a whole and after-tax profit of VND1.14 trillion ($51.58 million). Its first half results therefore represent 52 and 64 per cent of the targets.
Among its subsidiaries, BaoViet Life Corporation earned the most revenue, increasing 25 per cent year-on-year. BaoViet Insurance Corporation’s revenue and profit increased 5 and 31 per cent, respectively. Business seeing stable growth included fire insurance, special risk insurance, healthcare insurance, and motor car insurance.
The BaoViet Securities Joint Stock Company (BVSC) earned revenue of VND146 billion ($6.6 billion), a 5 per cent increase year-on-year.
The BaoViet Fund Management Company, meanwhile, recorded profit of VND9 billion ($407,250), or 60 per cent of the annual target.
Viet Capital Bank launches new version of app
Viet Capital Bank has introduced a new version of its Viet Capital Mobile Banking app that has more benefits for users. The app helps customers transfer money 24/7, including public holidays, and can transfer money to accounts at eleven banks in the Banknet network, such as Sacombank, BIDV, PVcomBank and ABBank.
The new version also provides other benefits such as showing interest rates and exchange rates when customers are offline. It can track the location of a customer and direct them to the nearest transaction point or ATM of the bank. The smart filter of the app monitors customer transactions every week and month. Users can also pay their mobile phone bills via the app and top up the accounts of others in their contact list.
To use the new version of the app customer only need to register for the bank’s mobile banking service and have a mobile phone using IOS 6.0 or Android 4.0 or higher.
Hanoi green lights $219.46 million apartment project
The Hanoi People’s Committee has approved the construction of an apartment project in Nam Tu Liem district with total investment capital of $219.46 million. With an area of 176,300 sq m the project will house some 8,760 residents and is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2019.
The Hanoi Department of Construction will manage the project, guiding investors on understanding construction policy and safety matters and monitoring progress.
It will also work with related agencies to clarify the source of investment capital and assist investors in completing land procedures and supervise the use of the land and other resources in the project.
The Hanoi People’s Committee recently approved real estate projects in 233, 233B and 235 Nguyen Trai Street in Thanh Xuan district that will build a modern urban area whose architecture is suitable with the landscape.
Foreigners and overseas Vietnamese eyeing housing
More than a month has now passed since the new Law on Housing and the Law on Real Estate Business expanded the right of home ownership to foreigners. According to Novaland Group, overseas Vietnamese have accounted for 10 per cent of transactions in its projects and they mainly target high-end apartments in a favorable location.
At D’.Le Roi Soleil, on the corner of Xuan Dieu and Dang Thai Mai in Hanoi’s Tay Ho district, the Tan Hoang Minh Group has also recorded significant interest from foreign homebuyers due to the project’s favorable location. “D’.Le Roi Soleil has already received 230 registrations for purchasing apartments,” Mr. Tran Nhu Trung, Deputy Director Managing of Tan Hoang Minh, told VET. “Among customers registering to buy our apartments are many from Malaysia and Singapore.”
From July 1 to August 8 the Phu My Hung Development Corporation has also conducted more than 100 transactions by overseas Vietnamese and foreigners in its projects.
The remainder of the year will start to show the effectiveness of the new laws, Mr. Marc Townsend, Managing Director of CBRE Vietnam, commented in the recent CBRE Vietnam report. “Foreign investors have complained in the past about how unfair the market has been for the past 15 years,” he said. “Now we will see whether they will really embrace it, whether they are actually happy with the new laws or whether they are still looking at how to get money in and out of Vietnam.”
The real estate market continued to see positive growth signs in July. There were about 3,550 successful housing transactions in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, an increase of 3 per cent compared to June, according to figures from the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency under the Ministry of Construction.
Vietnam sugar inventory tops 390,000 tons
Vietnam had 390,000 tons of sugar in stock at the end of June, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In the crop of 2014-2015, the country’s sugarcane area reached 305,000 hectares with an average productivity of 65.3 tons a hectare and total output of 20 million tons.
Provinces and cities with sugar processing plants had 293,000 hectares, of which the plants have signed contracts to consume over 255 hectares accounting for 87.3 percent.
Meantime, sugarcane prices swung from VND750,000-900,000 a ton, down VND110,000-150,000 over the previous crop.
Sugar price has been reducing for the forth consecutive crop. A kilogram of white sugar type 1 was priced only VND11,000-13,000. With this price, many farmers have broken even or suffered losses.
The ministry has proposed the sugar plants to coordinate with farmers to re-plan sugarcane farming area, supplement new sugarcane varieties, mechanize production and reduce post-harvest losses.
Businesses to build safe pork chain in HCMC
Vietnam Meat Industries Limited Company (Vissan), De Heus Ltd and Fresh Studio Innovations Asia signed a cooperation agreement to build up a safe pork supply chain in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday.
Director general of De Heus Gabor Fluit said that his company together with Fresh Studio Innovations Asia would organize drilling courses for about 200 pork farm owners in the neighboring province of Dong Nai about breeding pigs, feed and Dutch farming technology application.
Afterwards, they would select about 50 out of the 200 farm owners to attend in the supply chain.
The Dutch Government will assist the companies with a part of capital and experts for farming technique consultancy.
Pork quality will be supervised from farming, slaughtering to distribution for clear origin, permissible level of antibiotic residue and no bacterial contamination.
MoC to review plans for areas prone to flooding
The Ministry of Construction said it would issue a document requiring localities to review the planning and construction of residential areas and infrastructure to minimise the loss of lives and property, and prevent damage from natural disasters.
This move follows inspections done by a working group Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung led to parts of the northern province of Quang Ninh affected by the recent storms. They assessed the resulting floods' impacts on various construction projects.
Mountainous provinces such as Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Cao Bang, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang and Son La also suffered in the wake of the floods. The provinces' losses revealed many shortcomings in infrastructure planning and allocation of residential areas.
After visiting areas affected by the landslides and floods in Quang Ninh, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces, the State Agency for Construction Quality Inspectorate also said project quality, urban planning and allocation of residential areas were inadequate.
The coal industry's plans and preparations were not synchronised with master plans in Quang Ninh Province and Ha Long City.
Water supplies and sewage systems also proved problematic. The floods lasted a long time despite the fact that Ha Long City is right on the coast, and thus should drain quickly.
Pham Huu Sy, a member of the State Council for the Acceptance of Construction Works, said that immediately after disasters local authorities needed to work with experts to draw out maps indicating areas or spots affected by natural disasters like landslides.
In addition, localities needed to determine which kinds of infrastructure were a main priorities and how much investment projects needed.
Officials from the Ministry of Construction also urged local authorities to check the quality and operations of dyke systems, ensuring the safety of people and property. Landslides needed to be inspected and repaired promptly to assure traffic ran smoothly on main roads, they said.
After the flooding, it was necessary to identify high-risk areas and ensure residents' safety.
The recent flood in August left 17 dead, 32 injured and more than 30,000 workers temporarily out of work, according to a report from Quang Ninh Province's People's Committee. The losses were estimated at about VND2.7 trillion (US$122.1 million). The coal sector accounts for VND1.2 trillion ($54.3 million).
Rice growers switch slowly to cash crops
The conversion of low-yielding rice fields into land growing high-value cash crops has helped farmers around the country improve their earnings, but the pace of change has been slow, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Last year rice farmers in the north switched to more lucrative crops like vegetables, corn, soy bean and sesame on more than 17,100ha.
Many cash crops yield earnings of VND400-500 million (US$19,000–23,800) per hectare a year, or five to 10 times the income from rice, the ministry said.
The south-central coast and the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) region converted more than 10,200ha last year.
In the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country's rice granary, farmers switched to cash crops on 78,000ha last year and earned 20-30 per cent higher profits than from rice.
Of the delta's converted areas, vegetables account for 24,000ha; water melon, 16,000ha; corn, 15,000ha; sesame, 13,000ha; and other crops for the rest area.
Can Tho city, Dong Thap, Long An, An Giang, and Tien Giang provinces in the delta have converted large areas.
However, the process of switching has been slow in the delta because of certain difficulties, according to local agriculture officials, who listed reasons like lack of stable outlets and price volatility.
Cao Van Hoa, deputy director of the Tien Giang Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said farmers seeking to replace rice with cash crops in low-yield fields have to first confirm demand.
With every province getting in on the act, supply could exceed demand, he warned.
Farmers can store rice they cannot sell but not vegetables, he pointed out.
The Government agreed to provide financial support of VND2 million per hectare in 2014-15 for delta farmers to buy corn, sesame, soy bean, peanut, water melon, and vegetables seeds for growing in low-yield rice fields.
However, many provinces in the delta are yet to benefit because of the lengthy procedures involved, which has been acting as a drag on the conversion.
The Government should soon provide funds, Hoa said.
"The Government should extend the [programme] to encourage farmers to grow cash crops in low-yield rice fields."
The delta plans to grow cash crops on 80,000ha of such lands this year.
Ma Quang Trung, head of the ministry's Plant Cultivation Department, said the ministry targets conversion of 700,000-800,000ha nation-wide by 2020.
"The ministry is instructing provinces to draft detail plans … and upgrade irrigation systems to serve the conversion."
The ministry has also petitioned the Government to provide similar support to farmers in the north, south-central coast and Tay Nguyen, he said.
HCM City taps potential for technological growth
The city needs special laws and policies to exploit the city's potential and advantages for stronger development, delegates heard at a meeting organised on Thursday by the HCM City Party Committee.
Vuong Dinh Hue, member of the PCC and head of the PCC's Economic Commission, said that HCM City was often the country's leader in finance, stocks, insurance, capital, investment, science and technology markets.
But in the time ahead, that HCM City should be the South East Asian centre for economy, trade, science and technology, he continued
To make the target become reality, HCM City must become a smart city, with pilot programmes like the Thu Thiem new urban region.
In addition, more focus should be given to foreign investors, he said.
"Viet Nam will soon sign seven to eight new Free Trade Agreements. It should have strategies to attract multi-national corporations to do business here," Hue said.
Le Minh Tri, deputy head of the PCC's Internal Affairs Commission, confirmed that HCM City were evaluating and approving big projects related to finance and investment.
"PCC should decentralise administration, which would allow the city to actively implement and take responsibility for investment approval based on the Government's master plan," he said.
Leaders of the PCC's Commissions agreed that careful preparation had been made for the political report submitted to the city Party Committee's 10th Congress.
A wide range of contributions from different people were collected for the report, they said.
According to the city Party Committee's Standing Commission, the 10th Party Congress will define core values to build a civilised, modern city, which will develop with the country.
The city will apply international standards to public administration and business management to bring the biggest benefits for local residents and the business community.
"This is a new target that the 10th Party Congress aims to gain. The city will not only mobilise investment resources via money but also encourage local residents to help create stronger development," said Vo Van Thuong, deputy secretary of the city's Party Committee.
Income tax sector expands online payment services
The General Department of Taxation (GDT) officially signed agreements yesterday with 15 domestic and foreign banks to allow electronic tax payment services.
According to the department, with 27 banks having signed earlier, the total number of banks now involved in e-tax payment services has reached 42.
Reviewing the results of the implementation of the e-tax service, Bui Van Nam, general director of the department, said the service had been put in place in 63 cities and provinces in over 700 districts and communes across the country.
There are more than 398,000 businesses already engaged in using e-tax payment services, with more than 327,000 businesses successfully registered for use of the service with banks, he said.
Further, according to Nam, the total amount of taxes collected through portals for online payment services has reached VND40.7 trillion (US$1.87 billion).
With the majority of joint-venture and foreign banks participating, the department's leader said businesses would have more choices when paying taxes.
In the near future, Nam said the tax sector planned to expand its e-tax payment service to the remaining banks in the country.
The department would also bring this service to all businesses, to ensure 90 per cent of the nation's businesses participate in the service in 2015, as directed by the Prime Minister, said Nam.
The 15 banks signing the agreements yesterday included Ocean Bank, VietBank, ANZ Vietnam, HSBC Vietnam, Standard Chartered, Shinhan Vietnam, Vietnam-Russia bank, VID Public bank, Indovina bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Mizuho bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia (BIDC), Bangkok Bank Ha Noi branch, and BNP Paribas HCM City branch.
SSC addresses foreign ownership
At a meeting held by the State Securities Commission (SSC) on Thursday, investors and domestic companies gathered, raising concerns and offering advice about Decree 60, which was passed in June.
The decree raised limits on the level of foreign investment allowed in businesses, which would become increasingly important with major foreign trade agreements recently signed and on the horizon.
Participants were largely confused by whether or not they could or should change the amount of foreign stakes in their charter capital, especially problematic for multi-sector companies with conditional businesses on their license.
The SSC advised that listed multi-sector companies should try to keep foreign stakes at their current level until a detailed solution is provided.
According to the 2014 Investment Law, there are 267 business sectors with government-imposed conditions, including national security, defence, transportation, telecommunication and banking sectors.
These conditional business sectors have restrictions on the level of foreign investment allowed, which could range from 49 per cent to none at all.
Participants were therefore concerned since many multi-sector companies have a conditional business registered on their license, meaning they are unable to raise the foreign ownership in line with Decree 60.
Nguyen Thanh Long, SSC Vice Chairman, reiterated that companies with newly acquired conditional businesses or others caught in-between Decree 60 and the 2014 Investment Law should wait for further instruction before reducing or raising foreign stakes.
Long said the SSC and finance ministry had been working hard to find a solution to satisfy all players in the market.
Companies could also consider removing some of the conditional business sectors from their registrations in order to avoid conflicting with the Government's policies, he said.
He suggested that companies review their businesses carefully as the Government has plans to free up some of the conditional businesses for more foreign investment.
Long said that the SSC and the Ministry of Finance would work hard to find a solution and complete the guiding circular for Decree 60, which is set to go into affect in September.
Singapore investors dive into local market
Regulatory reforms to create more open policies are making the domestic property market more attractive to foreign investors, including those from Singapore.
Winston Lee, product manager of Property Guru, one of Singapore's leading property sites, was quoted by Dau Tu Bat Dong San (Property Investment) as saying that a recent survey of Singaporean developers on the attractiveness of property markets in the Asia – Pacific region had ranked Viet Nam third, placing it after Malaysia and Australia.
The attractiveness of Viet Nam's property market stems from a combination of factors, including the country's economic recovery and regulatory reforms, especially with the amended Law on the Real Estate Business and Housing taking effect from the beginning of July with loosened policies for foreigners buying houses.
He said rich Singaporeans were seeking opportunities to invest in property abroad as opportunities in the home market were narrowing. Singapore has an estimated 105,000 millionaires.
According to Anson Tay, manager of international markets at Property Guru, Singaporeans saw Viet Nam's property market as an attractive market in Southeast Asia with an anticipated rising demand for housing due to the country's growing population with many young people.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Construction estimated that Viet Nam needed some 100 million sq. m of housing space each year by 2020.
An expert from International Enterprise Singapore said Viet Nam's rapid urbanisation coupled with its gradually improving legal system had created opportunities for Singaporean businesses to invest in property projects, especially in the housing market.
Currently, many Singaporean property firms are present in Viet Nam, including major players such as CapitalLand, Keppel Land, Sembcorp and Mapletree.
Statistics from the Foreign Investment Agency showed that to date, Singapore was the biggest investor in Viet Nam's property sector, with 75 projects, worth a total of US$10 billion, accounting for 16.4 per cent and 20.6 per cent of the number of projects and the total registered capital in Viet Nam's property sector, respectively.
Nguyen Manh Ha, Director of Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department, at a recent meeting said that with measures tackling the difficulties faced by the property market and with the improved legal framework in the property sector and housing development, Viet Nam was becoming an attractive destination for foreign property developers, especially with the market showing signs of recovery after years of being frozen.
At a recent meeting in Singapore with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, leading Singaporean firms showed interest in investing in many sectors, including the property sector of Viet Nam.
Moreover, many other foreign investors, besides Singaporeans, are also showing interest in Viet Nam's property market.
Japan's Creed Group, at the end of last month, inked a deal to invest $200 million for a 20 per cent stake in Vietnamese property firm An Gia Investment.
Toshihiko Muneyoshi, Creed Group's chairman, was quoted by the newspaper as saying that the Vietnamese economy was making a strong recovery and was deeply integrated in the global economy, adding that there was plenty of room for property investments in the country.
Still, experts urged authorities to implement more transparent policies to encourage a higher foreign investment inflow into the property sector.
The property sector ranked second in FDI attraction in the first seven months of this year, with total registered capital of $1.69 billion, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of the country's total FDI.
Opportunities to expand export markets for agricultural products
Despite the reduction of agricultural exports since the beginning of this year, Vietnam’s agricultural products have made breakthroughs entering leading markets and supply chains in the world.
The coffee industry has seen the sharpest decline in the export revenue, both in volume (33.9%) and values (33.7%), meanwhile its prices on the futures exchanges and in the domestic market remain at a low.
However, in the last week of July, the official website of Starbucks, an internationally well-known coffee supply chain, announced that the Arabica coffee in Cau Dat district, Da Lat city, Lam Dong province in Vietnam had been selected as one of seven kinds of Arabica coffee to be displayed and sold at its 21,500 stores in 56 countries around the world.
In order to be served in Starbucks’ stores, Vietnam’s coffee met rigorous standards called ‘Starbucks C.A.F.E Practices’. In addition to Vietnam, Starbucks selected six other countries as suppliers of Arabica coffee including Indonesia, Kenya, Ruanda, Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala.
Additionally, in May and June, Vietnam’s fresh fruits, especially lychee, successfully entered the most difficult and stringent markets, including the United States, Australia and Canada. Japan has also become a big exports market for Vietnamese mangoes.
Exporting to big foreign markets will surely not only bring high profits to enterprises but also create a stepping stone for Vietnamese agricultural products to open up to new markets.
It was not easy for Vietnam’s coffee to be selected by Starbucks, or lychee and mangoes to enter difficult markets. It took 12 years for Vietnam to bargain and negotiate with Australian authorities to export lychee to this market.
Furthermore, Vietnam still faces challenges to keep these markets, particularly the competition of other potential countries in the region.
In order to enter and keep potential and difficult markets, it is necessary for Vietnam enterprises to fully adhere to rules of hygiene and quarantine of import countries, especially pesticide and antibiotics residues.
If their products have high pesticide and chemical residues, they will be destroyed at the gates of the host country and the credibility of the enterprises will decline.
It must be said that, just being exported to markets with high demand and facing many major challenges, Vietnamese products, particularly agricultural products, can create a strong foothold in the international market, elevating Vietnamese brands.
Korean firms suggest waste-to-power plant in Mekong
A consortium of three South Korea investors operating in Vietnam proposed developing a waste-to-power plant in the Mekong Delta at a meeting with the Southwest Steering Committee in Can Tho City on Wednesday.
The consortium groups Woojin Construction, Kunhwa Engineering and Construction, and Hyundai Rotem.
Choi Hyeong Suk, director of Woojin Vietnam, said the Korean companies have strong financial capability and a wealth of experience in energy production, and waste and wastewater treatment in some countries, including Vietnam.
“We want to develop the facility in Hau Giang Province to process waste to be collected from nearby cities and provinces such as Can Tho, Vinh Long, An Giang, Soc Trang, and Bac Lieu,” Choi said.
In a report sent to the committee, Choi said the best solution to deal with solid waste is burning. However, with a small volume of nearly 500 tons of waste per day, a project to burn solid waste would not be feasible in terms of finance, and that seeking capital for it would be difficult.
Therefore, the consortium suggested gathering waste from nearby localities for treatment at a large-scale plant using advanced technology, a solution which has been applied to handle waste in South Korea for over 30 years.
The consortium will need an area of 150 hectares to implement the project and will prepare the feasibility study for the project if they get approval from relevant authorities.
Nguyen Phong Quang, deputy head of the Southwest Steering Committee, threw support behind the project.
Quang said treating waste in the Mekong Delta’s 13 provinces is urgent as thousands of tons of waste is not treated properly every day.
The inner area of Can Tho City alone discharges over 500 tons of garbage per day and the figure is 250 tons in Vi Thanh City of Hau Giang Province but no advanced waste treatment facility is in place in the area, he said.
After the meeting, Quang and representatives of Hau Giang and Bac Lieu provinces guided representatives of the Korean firms to survey a site in Hoa An Commune, Phung Hiep District in Hau Giang for the planned waste-to-power plant.
Woojin Construction, Kunhwa Engineering and Construction, and Hyundai Rotem are carrying out a wind power project worth US$750 million and having a capacity of 350W in Tra Vinh Province. They are also studying building a wind power facility worth up to US$1 billion with the same capacity in Bac Lieu Province.
The firms are about to get approval to invest in a 120MW wind power plant in Ben Tre Province and have finished a wastewater treatment project in An Giang Province.
In Can Tho City, they have completed a project to supply water for Vinh Thanh District and built a Can Tho-South Korea industrial technology incubator.
Safeguard duty on monosodium glutamate imports sought
The Vietnam Competition Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said Vedan Vietnam Enterprise Corporation Limited (Vedan Vietnam) has proposed a probe into and a safeguard duty on imported monosodium glutamate.
The agency on Wednesday called on local monosodium glutamate producers to provide information about their output, and asked whether they would agree on a probe into monosodium glutamate imports after it got Vedan’s proposal in June.
The authority said the comments of local monosodium glutamate makers would be used when it considered the proposal of Vedan before Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang made a decision.
Apart from monosodium glutamate, the agency is also working with relevant parties over the possible dumping of U.S. frozen chicken on the local market after the Southeast Livestock Association requested relevant ministries to launch an investigation into import of the product.
Statistics of the customs agency showed that Vietnam imported over 98,600 tons of chicken worth US$104 million last year. However, the volume amounted to some 70,000 tons valued at US$64 million in the first half of this year.
The U.S. is Vietnam’s biggest supplier of chicken, followed by Brazil and South Korea. In 2014, U.S. companies sold around 54,400 tons of chicken to Vietnam, accounting for over 55% of the country’s total chicken imports.
In the first six months of 2015, the U.S. exported over 41,800 tons of chicken to Vietnam, making up 60% of the country’s total.
So far, Vietnam has filed only two lawsuits to take self-defense measures against float glass and vegetable oil and conducted a dumping probe into cold-rolled stainless steel though local firms have had to deal with more than 80 safeguard and anti-dumping cases filed against local firms by foreign markets.
Illegal chemical facilities abound in city
Almost half of chemical trading facilities in HCMC have not been licensed or granted certificates for operation in this field, the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade said at a meeting on chemical management on Wednesday.
The illegal chemical trading facilities are causing concern over food safety and heightening the risk of fires and explosions in residential areas in the city. Loose management of agencies in this field is also to blame, heard the meeting.
Data of the department showed of 638 chemical trading facilities in the city, around 400 sell industrial chemicals and the remainder trade in other chemicals like food additives and health chemicals. Industrial chemical trading facilities mainly operate in Districts 5, 10, 11, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, Go Vap and Binh Tan.
Fires and explosions in residential areas in the past time sparked concerns over chemical production and trading facilities in those areas. A tragic explosion caused by chemicals at Dang Huynh Co. in District 12 last November is a case in point.
According to the department, chemical trading management in the past years has not produced effective results due to overlapping regulations and the use and storage of hazardous chemicals has not been under control. Besides, the city has yet to zone an area for chemical production and trading.
Diep Dang Khoa, deputy head of the southern office of the Vietnam Chemicals Agency, said around 8,000 kinds of chemicals were available on the market. Of which, 1,056 chemicals are classified as conditional business and must be approved by local authorities, 212 restricted chemicals licensed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and seven explosive precursors.
Khoa attributed ineffective controls on chemicals to the large number of chemicals sold on the market and the involvement of many agencies without clear responsibilities. If a concentrated chemical trading center is developed in HCMC, it can help reduce risks in residential areas.  
Ngo Hong Y from the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade told the Daily on the sidelines of the meeting that the city government last year planned to allow Saigon Trading Group (Satra) build a chemical center but the location had yet to be decided.
The city now plans a site in the outlying district of Thu Duc for the chemical trading center.
Nguyen Gia Hoa, deputy head of District 5’s economic division, said the district has 17 stalls selling chemicals at Kim Bien market and around 70 chemical facilities near the market. Inspections at those facilities are a tough task for relevant agencies as there are too many types of chemicals.
On June 30, the HCMC government issued a regulation on joint management of chemical trading among agencies in the city.
The departments of industry-trade, health and agriculture-rural development were assigned to map out a plan to develop the chemical center and coordinate with districts to relocate hazardous chemical facilities out of residential areas.
Becamex IDC to develop industrial-urban complex in Binh Dinh
Becamex IDC Corporation would invest in an industrial-urban complex covering thousands of hectares in the central province of Binh Dinh.
A source from the Binh Dinh Investment Promotion Center told the Daily that leaders of Becamex IDC and the provincial government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the complex to go up on 2,370 hectares in Canh Vinh Commune of Van Canh District.
The investor would coordinate with relevant agencies and the province to do a feasibility study for the project as soon as possible.
Binh Dinh said it would speed up infrastructure construction to connect the complex to other parts of the province.
Canh Vinh is a poor commune in Binh Dinh but has solid soil appropriate for the development of a big industrial project like the industrial-urban complex of Becamex IDC.
Becamex IDC has partnered with a Singapore consortium led by Sembcorp to develop a number of industrial park projects under the VSIP brand in the country.
But Becamex IDC does not mention Singaporean partner’s capital in the project in Binh Dinh.
Amata Corp., Thailand’s developer of industrial estates, earlier explored opportunities to invest in an industrial-urban complex covering thousands of hectares in the same province.
Sources said Amata saw good business prospects in the province as a multi-billion-dollar refinery and petrochemical complex project involving Thailand’s PTT and Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco would go up at the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone in the same province.
Bac Ninh industrial park welcomes high FDI inflow
The Yen Phong Industrial Park in the northern province of Bac Ninh has drawn 7.5 billion USD in investment, including 7.2 billion USD from foreign investors.
It recently welcomed a three-billion-USD project invested by Samsung Display Vietnam to build a Research and Development (R&D) plant, marking the second biggest project from the Republic of Korea’s Samsung Group in Vietnam.
The facility is expected to create jobs for 20,000 labourers and earn 60 billion USD in 2020.
The 246-hectare Yen Phong IP, invested by the Vietnam ceramics corporation Viglacera has also made significant contributions to the province’s export value.
In the first seven months of this year, firms in the park earned 10.3 billion USD, accounting for 40 percent of the province’s expected export value of 25 billion USD this year.
Cuba market expansion opportunity for Vietnamese businesses
Besides computers, electronic components, investments in real estate and luxury resorts are seen as potential fields for Vietnamese investment in Cuba.
Last year’s total trade volume between the two nations reached nearly US$205.4 million, still far below their full potential.
Soon after the US eased its embargo against Cuba, the Caribbean nation’s market has gone into full swing, offering a wealth of opportunity for Havana to expand tourism, trade and lure more overseas remittances thus helping bolster economic links between Cuba and many countries, including Vietnam.
Hanel Ltd Company- a pioneer investor into Cuba- is carrying out a luxury resort project, addition to exporting computers and electronic components to the market.
The company’s Vice Director General Bui Thi Hai Yen said the Special Economic Development Zone of Mariel with around 200 projects involved in bio-technology, packaging and electronic industry, have enjoyed tax incentives given be the Cuban Government.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s American Market Department Deputy Head Tran Duy Dong, said as a result of loosened US embargo, Cuban banks’ opening of their accounts in the US makes payment much more convenient rather than before when all transactions with Cuban partner were paid in Euro via a German bank.
In the coming time, the MoIT is to launch more trade promotion programmes in the new market through international fairs, economic forums and seminars aiming to enhance business connectivity, Dong said.
VDB to give US$15.7m to Indian sugar factory
Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) will lend VND330 billion (US$15.7 million) for a project to increase the capacity of KCP Vietnam Industries Limited (KCP VIL) in central Phu Yen province.
The loan will help increase the processing capacity of Son Hoa Sugar Factory from 5,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes of sugarcane per day by 2018.
It will also help reduce the time needed to cultivate sugarcane from five or six months to 120 days.
K V S R Subbaiah, general director of KCP VIL, said the company has developed 17,000 hectares of sugarcane farms in the districts of Son Hoa, Phu Hoa, Dong Xuan and Song Cau.
He said the company had also invested in biofertilizer, ethanol and power factories to use the by-products of sugar production.
The wholly foreign invested company from India, with a total investment of US$42 million, started operating in the province in 2001 with an initial capacity to process 2,500 tonnes of sugarcane per day for making export-quality refined sugar and white sugar.
As scheduled, the expansion and the increase in production capacity of the factory will take place in Cung Son and Son Ha communes of Son Hoa District during the 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 periods.
Rubber industry needs bounce
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh urged Viet Nam Rubber Group to come up with a strategy to boost the rubber industry's development rather than focusing purely on rubber plantations.
Ninh was speaking at a meeting yesterday about the group's progress in restructuring in HCM City.
Ninh said the strategy should aim to safeguard the domestic rubber industry from fluctuations in global prices of rubber and latex which have been witnessing a steep decline since 2012.
"Viet Nam Rubber Group and relevant ministries need to study a development strategy for the rubber industry," Ninh said, adding that the sector must seek a way to reduce dependence on prices.
Ninh said priorities should be fixed to enhance the competitiveness of products, improve productivity and efficiency. The industry must apply advanced technology in production.
"Those tasks are difficult but are must-dos for sustainable development," he said.
Regarding the group's restructuring, Ninh asked the group to determine its member companies' value within the third quarter and complete the privatisation process this year.
The group said the value of five member companies, namely, Binh Long, Phu Rieng, Loc Ninh, Ba Ria and Tan Bien, would soon be disclosed.
The group also collected VND1.188 trillion (US$54.5 million) from capital withdrawal out of non-core businesses by the end of the second quarter of this year, VND141 billion ($6.46 million) higher than book value.
However, the group has been encountering difficulties in withdrawing capital from investments in irrigation, industrial zones and hydroelectricity, worth totally VND700 billion ($32.11 million).
Any difficulties must be reported to the government for solutions, Ninh said, adding that divestment must follow a roadmap to ensure the highest capital efficiency.
Viet Nam Rubber Group expected to earn a total revenue of VND21.5 trillion ($986.23 million) this year, including revenue from wood processing and leasing industrial zones.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR

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