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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 10/9
Representatives
from about 70 Vietnamese and Egyptian enterprises shared information on
business opportunities at a forum in
In his
remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Dao Thanh Chung highlighted
Emphasising
the comprehensive and friendly collaboration between
He
suggested the two nations’ businesses set up direct contacts to ease risks
caused by conducting business through third parties while actively taking
part in trade fairs and investment seminars.
A
representative of the federation reported that
Tran
Quang Huy, Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Africa, West and
South Asian Market Department, told a Vietnam News Agency correspondent that
Sharing
Huy’s views, CEO and General Director of the Southern Joint Stock Company
Nguyen Van Thanh called on
According
to
Meanwhile,
the Egyptian side ships yarn materials, leather, plastic materials, milk and
dairy products, electronics and sugar to the Southeast Asian nation.
Last
year, the total area of tilapia aquaculture at ponds and lakes nationwide
spanned 16,000 hectares and yielded 125,000 tonnes. The figure is expected to
rise to 21,000 hectares and 150,000 tonnes this year, according to the
Directorate of Fisheries.
Tilapias
for export are processed into skin-on fillets, skinless fillets and frozen
whole fish which have gained popularity.
Professor
David Little from the Institute of Aquaculture under the University of
Stirling of Scotland said Central and Southern American countries are
targeting North America for fresh fillet shipments, adding that wholesalers
are seeking other supplies beyond China, but few are offering competitive
prices.
Consumption
demand is bouncing back not only in the
However,
the sector is also facing hindrances concerning the quality of fries imported
mostly from
Going
behind China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines in terms of tilapia
exports, Vietnam tends to encounter certain difficulties when navigating new
markets, including the US and Europe, he added.
Pham
Anh Tuan, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Fisheries Department, said
70 percent of tilapia is bred in the Mekong Delta and the remaining is in the
north. As many as 455 million tilapia fries are up on the market each year.
Under
a tilapia breeding master plan until 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development encourages institutes, universities and enterprises to
import fries for research and self-produce those suitable to each region’s
climate and soil.
On fry
quality management, Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development need to
conduct regular inspections and quarantines while localities are to crack
down on fish cage farming to prevent pollution.
Professor
Little recommended tilapia farming be up to Global Good Agricultural
Practices standards and developing trademarks to compete with experienced
rivals.
Dong
Nai’s trade with ASEAN gains momentum
The
southern province of Dong Nai posted nearly 800 million USD generated through
outbound shipments to the ASEAN market within the past eight months.
According
to the provincial Customs Department, the sum accounted for almost 10 percent
of Dong Nai’s overall export revenue in the period with key earners including
apparels, agricultural produce, electronic devices and components.
Meanwhile,
the province purchased commodities worth more than 122 million USD from bloc
partners.
A
range of tariff lines in bloc trade have dropped by up to 10 percent since 2010
and will be eliminated with the birth of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)
by the end of 2015.
Experts
said the establishment of the AEC could result in minor changes to local
products and create opportunities for export.
Dong
Nai’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said a stronger link
among producers and the application of advanced technology are key to
maintaining the domestic market and boosting outbound shipments.
The
agency is working closely with the industrial sector to carry out trade
promotion and market research while announcing regular forecasts.
Thua
Thien
The
central
The
project, estimated to cost 310 billion VND (13.8 million USD), covers the
increasing of Wharf No 1’s length from 300 metres to 360 metres, the dredge
an area of 90 metres by 450 metres in front of the wharf and the expansion of
the turning radius from 400 metres to 570 metres.
The
Royal Caribbean International Group splashed out 5 million USD to improve
infrastructure at the port, enabling it to receive super-sized ships and
contribute to the province’s increasingly important tourism sector.
Upon
completion of the upgrades, Chan May port will be able to accommodate the
348-metre Quantum-class ship in sizes up to 158,000 GT and the 360.3-metre
Oasis-class ship in sizes up to 225,282 GT.
From
the outset of this year, the province has received a number of international
liners including Celebrity Millennium of Malta which carried 2,500 tourists
from the
Notably,
the first five-star Voyage of the Seas of the US Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
with over 3,600 tourists on board docked at Chan May last month, the largest
ship to ever anchor at the port. The Voyager of the Seas has 15 floors with
1,306 rooms and is 311 metres long and 48 metres wide.
15th
Vietnam-China int’l trade fair to open in Lao Cai
The 15th
Vietnam-China International Trade Fair will take place from November 12-17 at
the Kim Thanh Exhibition Centre in the northern border
The
trade show expects to host about 1,000 booths for around 350 Vietnamese and
100 Chinese businesses as well as enterprises from several countries in the
region.
At a
press conference in
It
will provide a good opportunity for Vietnamese and overseas enterprises to
introduce their products – such as farming, forestry and seafood products,
machines and equipment, handicrafts and timber products – while exchanging
information and seeking partnerships.
Investment
projects and tours linking Kun Ming (
Deputy
Director of the Lao Cai Department of Industry and Trade Hoang Chi Hien
highlighted province’s key position in regional economic development as it
shares a 182-kilometre border with southwest
The
fair aims to boost exports and imports via the Ha Khau international border
gate in Lao Cai, he added.
Phu
Quoc island draws 164 investment projects
The
Mekong Delta
The
projects, including 21 foreign invested ones, covers 5,630 hectares in the
island district, said the group, adding that the supervision of the projects
will be strengthened in the coming time.
Licences
of projects lagging behind scheduled will be withdrawn, while stronger
measures will be rolled out to support investors during the projects’
implementation.
Phu
Quoc island, dubbed
Milk
and dairy imports drop to US$640 million
The
country primarily imported dairy products from
The
milk and dairy imports showed a decline in some markets and the Danish market
is a typical case in point, down 89.41% or US$872,300.
In the
final quarter of 2015, if the nation maintains milk and dairy imports of
US$63 million per month on average, Vietnam will have to spend US$890-920
million on importing milk and dairy products by the end of 201, Vietnam Dairy
Association (VDA) predicted.
Russia
strengthens trade co-operation with VN
Five
small and medium-sized firms from
Organised
by the Tomsk Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Viet
Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Russia-Viet Nam business
event was attended by 30 Vietnamese enterprises.
Maxim
Golikov, Chief Representative of the Russian Trade Office in
Small
and medium-sized enterprises employ nearly half of the total working
population of the
Russian
Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev told a working session between Russian and
Vietnamese businesses in April this year that the Russian Government has
always supported bilateral co-operation projects.
He
said the two countries have to promote business ties and develop B2B
relationships with more investment and trade projects.
In
May,
Vietnamese
and Russian enterprises are expected to get more opportunities to increase
exports from that agreement.
In the
middle of this month, a business delegation from
In
November, the Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency will organise an exhibition in
At the
same time, business delegates from
Golikov
said the export of raw materials was no longer a key factor in bilateral
trade. Items with added value have become the main export items, accounting
for 50 to 60 per cent of the total imports and exports.
Nguyen
The Hung, deputy head of VCCI in
The
bilateral trade between two countries has increased from $400 million (2000)
to $1.8 billion (2010), $2.7 billion (2013) and $3.7 billion (2014). It is
expected to touch $10 billion by 2020, he said.
He
said trade ties between
Central
SOEs make using each others' products a high priority
As
part of the Government initiative Vietnamese Give Priority to Using
Vietnamese Goods, members of a group of State-owned corporations yesterday
signed an agreement at the central level to accord priority to using products
made by the group's members.
The
pact will cover the period 2015-20.
Speaking
at a conference yesterday, President of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central
Committee, Nguyen Thien Nhan, urged enterprises to enhance product quality
and competitiveness as they create new products to affirm and consolidate
Vietnamese brands.
Nhan
said it was vital that businesses renovate technology and enhance application
of advanced technologies to improve productivity and production capacity.
In
addition, great attention should be paid to establish the distribution
systems in order to ensure Vietnamese products and services to reach more
consumers, Nhan said, adding that co-ordination in distribution or using each
others' products was also important to efficiently achieve positive results
of the ‘Vietnamese give priority to use Vietnamese goods' campaign.
The
campaign must aim at promoting Vietnamese manufacturers, inspiring them to
produce high-quality products, distributors to sell and consumers to choose
such products, he said.
The
priority that State-owned enterprises at the central level must accord to
using products made by each other helps encourage production and use of
domestic products and creates momentum for renovations while increasing local
procurement rate.
Many
members in the group of State-owned enterprises at the central level now have
local procurement rates upwards of 70 per cent, thanks to co-ordination among
members.
The
group has 33 members covering key sectors of the economy, such as fuel,
minerals, railway transport, marine transport, air transport,
telecommunications and garment and textile, with a combined contribution of
one third of the government's budget annually, and together providing 1.3
million jobs.
Gov't
to lower corporate loans to equity ratios
State-owned
and private companies will have to limit their ratio of loans to equity in
order to exclude interests from loans from the company's income tax payments.
This
is a part of a new tax law that the Ministry of Finance is drafting and plans
to submit to the National Assembly's Standing Committee this month.
The
ministry plans to set the maximum ratio of loans to equity at 5:1 for those
in the production sector and 4:1 for those in other sectors. This allows the
interest accrued from loans that a company must pay to be excluded from the
income tax collection starting next year. From 2019, these ratios will fall
to 4:1 and 3:1, respectively.
The
ministry wants to ensure that companies won't borrow too much from banks and
reduce the rate of non-performing loans for the banking sector as well
improve tax collection for the State.
The
finance ministry reported the current Corporate Income Tax Law does not tax
interest payments from loans, even when the loans exceeding the company's
capital.
In
fact, a lot of companies have outstanding loans exceed their capital, causing
losses for them and reducing the taxes collected for the State.
The
drafting law may cause problems for some listed companies that have very high
ratio of loans over equity.
The
draft reported that 11 listed companies have the highest ratio of more than
5:1 and about 20 others have a ratio of 2.8:1 to 4:1, most of which are
construction companies and construction materials producers, including
Vinaconex 5 (VC5) with the ratio of 13.7:1, SMC Trade & Investment (SMC)
and Vinavico (CTN) with the ratio of 7:1 and Construction Co 47 (C47) with
the ratio of 5.3:1.
Vinh
Long Cereal and Food Corp (VLF) topped companies with a loans to equity ratio
of 78:1.
In the
second quarter of this year, VLF reported VND290 billion (US$12.9 million) of
short-term loans while its equity was only VND4 billion ($175,100) due to a
loss of VND153 billion ($6.8 million).
VLF
reported that it hardly found any financial resources as all banks stopped
lending it to buy production inputs, making the company run weakly with most
of its activities in collecting receivables, selling stockpiles and
inefficiently-used assets to pay bank loans.
VLF
was listed as a controlled security on the HCM Stock Exchange as the company
suffered a net loss of VND71.7 billion ($3.2 million) in the first half of
this year.
The
draft also reported that among 57 of 85 State-owned enterprises, two of them
have the ratio of more than 2:1, six of them have the ratio of 3-5:1 and the
rest have the ratio below 3:1.
In
addition, 9,400 foreign-owned companies with total assets of VND2,200
trillion ($105 billion) have the general ratio of loans to equity at 1.2:1
for all sectors and at 3.4:1 for the trading sector only.
Some
firms, however, have to make more loans because their capital is not enough
to run their business. They will suffer more if their loan interest is
included in the tax collection. In order to reduce that ratio, they can
reduce the loans or increase the capital, but it seems too difficult for
those that have low profits.
Equitisation
arm to increase charter capital
The
Debt and Asset Trading Corporation (DATC), an important arm of the
Government's efforts to equitise State-owned companies, will increase its
charter capital from a current VND2.48 trillion (US$110 million) to VND6
trillion ($266 million) starting October 15.
The
announcement came in the form of Circular 135/2015/TT-BTC issued by the
Ministry of Finance.
The
equitisation of State-owned companies remains slow and resolution of bad
debts has fallen below Government expectations. The capital increase was done
as a way to speed up DATC's work.
DATC,
whose capital is fully sourced by the State, handles bad debts and unused
assets of State-owned groups and corporations to improve their financial
condition, restructuring process and transform them into joint-stock
companies.
It
provides financial services such as buying, selling and handling debts and
assets.
The
DATC settles debts by directly retrieving debts, resuming guaranteed assets,
selling debts and changing debts into capital contribution. They also have
the power to officially assign debt responsibility, extend debt payback
period and adjust interest rates.
In the
first half of the year, DATC brought in a total revenue of VND900 billion
(US$39.9 million), including VND700 billion ($31.1 million) from debt
trading.
The
corporation has already dissolved debts and assets at 33 enterprises,
amassing a total revenue of VND62.4 billion ($2.77 million), five times
higher than the first half of last year.
Nghi
Son launches construction of international port
The
Nghi Son Iron and Steel Corporation started the construction of its
VND5.85-trillion (US$260.2 million) international port this morning in the
central
The
port would be an important part of the Nghi Son Iron and Steel Complex, the
company said.
It
will cover 71 ha and will have a storehouse and nine wharves with a total
length of 2,250m. It is expected to receive ships carrying loads up to 50,000
tonnes and will handle 30 million tonnes of goods each year.
The
first three wharves are expected to become operational in October next year,
the next two in 2017 and the construction of the whole complex will be
completed by 2021.
Deputy
Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said at the groundbreaking ceremony of the
port this morning that it was a key project of the Nghi Son Economic Zone,
which is known as the engine for the development of the northern section of
the central region.
The
project would help to connect the sea port with other transport modes to meet
the transportation demand of industries and infrastructure development in the
zone, he said.
A view
of the Nghi Son Economic Zone in
Deputy
PM Hai said the investors and builders should strictly follow the project
plan and ensure labour safety and quality of the work.
He
also asked the relevant agencies, including the provincial People's Committee
and the transport ministry, to help investors address difficulties in project
implementation.
Former
Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu and former President Nguyen Minh Triet
also attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
Jan-Aug
credit grows 9.54%
January-August
credit grew 9.54% compared to the end of 2014, well above the 4.33% of last
year’s same period, according to an updated report the Credit Department
under the State Bank of Vietnam.
The
report said of the five priority sectors, outstanding loans of credit
institutions, excluding Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and Vietnam
Development Bank, for the agriculture and rural development sector had
reached VND811.64 trillion (US$36.07 billion) as of the end of August,
up 9% against last year-end.
Credit
for production of goods for export had stood at VND184.6 trillion by June 30,
up 4.99% against the end of 2014. Meanwhile, loans for hi-tech enterprises
totaled VND25.61 trillion (up 29.12%), supporting industries VND110.62
trillion (up 3.2%) and small and medium enterprises at VND976.73 trillion (up
4.07%).
Despite
the nation’s high credit growth of 9.54% in the first eight months of this
year, HCMC had recorded growth of 6.52% by the end of last month. The city
saw loans in
Outstanding
loans in HCMC as of August had not included bad debt handled via risk
provisions and sold to Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC). If bad debt
was added, growth of outstanding loans in the city was nearly the same that
of the country.
GE
to supply steam turbines for thermal power plant
General
Electric (GE) has announced a plan to supply two sets of steam turbines and
generators for Long Phu 1 coal-fired power plant in the Mekong Delta
The
thermal power facility will use two GE D850 steam turbines, configured to
enhance the construction timeline with pre-assembled sections and
installation features that shorten erection time. The first set of steam
turbines and generators is scheduled for delivery to the plant late this
year.
Russia-based
OJSC Power Machines and Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation are
involved in an EPC consortium to develop the power project of Vietnam
National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).
The
plant is said to be of higher efficiency and more environmentally friendly
compared to conventional subcritical boiler technology, and can generate
1,200 megawatts (MW) once fully online by the end of 2018. The 1,200 MW is equivalent
power needed for around four million Vietnamese households.
The
thermal power plant will help meet growing energy demands in southern
Dong
Nai port’s new pier to handle bigger ships
Dong
Nai Port Joint Stock Co. looks set to put into operation a new pier designed
to handle vessels of 30,000 DWT at Go Dau Port in Long Thanh District in the
southern
The
250-meter-long, 22-meter-wide pier is one of the components of a project
worth VND187 billion (US$8.3 million) invested by the company. The project
also comprises an approach bridge of 32 meters in length and 12 meters in
width, and an onshore 36-meter-long rail and a crane with a lifting capacity
of 40 tons.
The
pier has been constructed since September last year and is the first phase of
Go Dau B Port project. The port currently handles vessels of 15,000 DWT.
According
to Dong Nai Port Joint Stock Co., the new facility will meet increasing
demand of enterprises in nearby industrial parks including Go Dau Industrial
Zone. It will speed up export of alumina produced at Tan Rai facility in the
Central Highlands
Currently,
Dong Nai port complex has nine piers, two barge berths and two warehouses
with a total area of 47.85 hectares. The complex will be developed into a
national-level general port as approved by the Prime Minister.
Wholesale,
retail trade attractive to small businesses
Wholesale
and retail trade accounted for 39.8% of total active micro, small, and medium
enterprises (MSMEs) in
The
proportions were 20.5% for the service sector and 15.7% for the manufacturing
sector, according to the Asia SME Finance Monitor 2014 report covering 20
developing countries in
The
report said
Privately
owned firms account for 97.2% of the total in
According
to the report, regional integration and trade offers opportunities for
smaller firms to explore offshore markets but also expose them to tougher
competition.
The
report stressed the need to provide financial support for
“
SMEs
take an average of 96% of all registered firms and employ 62% of the labor
force, according to the report. However, they contribute only 42% of economic
output.
Governments
in the region need to help SMEs become more competitive and participate in
global value chains. This requires governments to facilitate SMEs to access
new financing, such as supply chain finance.
Limited
access to bank credit is a persistent problem in
Danang
airport planned to handle 13 million passengers by 2020
Danang
airport in the city of the same name will be expanded to serve 11-13 million
passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo by 2020 as envisaged in a revised master
plan approved by the Ministry of Transport.
According
to the ministry’s Decision 3066, the international airport will meet 4E
standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It would
be able to handle big jets like Boeing B747, Boeing B777 and Boeing B787,
Airbus A320, A321 and A350.
The
airport in the economic center of central
The
Ministry of Transport expects the new international facility at Danang
airport will get off the ground early next year and be finished in June 2017.
Earlier,
TAH consortium comprising Thang Long Airport Services Corporation (TASECO),
AOV Investment Corporation and Hanoi Construction Corporation (HANCORP)
proposed building the new terminal to serve four million passengers per year
under the build-operate-transfer format.
The
current passenger terminal at Danang airport with an annual capacity of six
million passengers was put into operation in late 2011. Last year, five
million passengers went through the airport, up 16% compared to 2013.
Three
local and eight international airlines conduct flights to and from Danang.
The airport handles around 100 takeoffs and landings and some 10,000
passengers a day.
Several
taxi enterprises in HCMC will finally cut fares by VND500 per kilometer this
week after a couple of fuel price reductions, according to the chairman of
the HCMC Taxi Association.
Ta
Long Hy told the Daily after local fuel trading enterprises cut the retail
price of gasoline by around VND1,200 a liter last week, Mai Linh and Vinasun
would charge lower fares from tomorrow. However, other members of the
associations have not made a move.
Asked
whether the fare cut is too meager compared to a sharp decline in fuel prices
this year, Hy said a VND500 reduction is acceptable as from May 12 the retail
price of gasoline picked up by a total of VND1,480 per liter before falling a
combined VND3,380 per liter last week, leaving a price differential of
VND1,900 per liter.
A
number of coach operators have adjusted down fares by VND10,000-20,000 for
their services between HCMC and the
Hai
told the Daily that around ten passenger transport companies have informed
the station of fare cuts by 4-10%. For example, Kim Hoang Company now sells
one-way fares for its service between HCMC and
However,
many coach operators have not brought down fares for their inter-provincial
services, especially those from HCMC to the Central Highlands provinces of
Daklak and Gia Lai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.
Offshore
investors may get support
The
HCMC government plans to partly subsidize loan interest for local enterprises
to develop commercial centers and supermarkets in
Interest
subsidies are part of a plan drafted by agencies in HCMC for a revised demand
stimulus program in the city. The city government is expected to announce the
plan this month.
Investors
of the commercial center and supermarket projects will enjoy interest support
if they set aside at least 70% of floor space at their facilities to promote
and sell Vietnamese products and ensure Vietnamese products make up at least
70% of goods for sale there.
As for
domestic projects, the city’s interest subsidies will apply to investments in
livestock farms, slaughterhouses, breeding farms and animal feed production
facilities. Such facilities must meet food safety and hygiene requirements
and do not pollute the environment.
Interest
support will also go to investment projects in health, education, culture,
infrastructure and environment sectors, power grid upgrade, construction of
underground telecom and power cable lines, and investments in wind power/solar
power/renewable energy plants.
Investors
can get full interest backing for investments in production of key industrial
products and supporting industries in the city’s major sectors of mechanical
engineering, rubber, plastics, food processing, apparel, footwear,
electronics and information technology.
The
city government plans to reserve no more than VND12 trillion (around US$534
million) for loan interest support under the demand stimulus program. The
city will not cover interest for investors who fail to repay principal upon
maturity.
According
to the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment, the city has implemented
the demand stimulus program in the past 14 years and provided financial aid
for around 880 projects with investment capital of between VND35 billion and
VND80 billion each.
Rice
exchange proposed for Mekong Delta
The
Mekong Delta should open a rice exchange on a trial basis and enhance
cooperation among government agencies, enterprises and farmers to promote the
consumption of the staple food.
Nguyen
Minh Toai, director of the Can Tho Department of Industry and Trade, proposed
establishing the exchange for rice in the Mekong Delta at a discussion on
solutions to improve the value and spur the consumption of agricultural
products as part of the Mekong Connect CEO Forum 2015 in Can Tho City last
week.
Toai
said the success of the trading floor required the participation of large
groups of farmers who produce rice on hundreds of hectares in total and in
accordance with the same quality process to provide sufficient rice stock for
the exchange.
He
suggested that government agencies help farmers dry and store rice for free
until volume is big enough for transactions on the trading floor at prices
agreed by farmers. Via the exchange, enterprises will know the prices offered
by farmers and origin of the rice products they want to buy.
The
trading floor is expected to bring about win-win deals for both farmers and
enterprises. Toan said once it has become a popular venue for rice sellers
and buyers, the Government could stop its huge funding for annual programs to
buy rice for temporary storage to support domestic rice prices. The funding
will be used to provide farmers with interest-free loans equivalent to 50% of
the value of their rice for the exchange to invest in their farming of
quality paddy.
Economic
expert Le Dang Doanh said the idea of setting up such a trading floor for
agricultural products has been planned for years but certain conditions
should be met to translate it into reality.
The
successful operation of the exchange requires products meeting safety and
quality standards and sufficient rice volumes for transactions. In addition,
the exchange should be established for domestic transactions only in the
initial phase of operation but opened for foreign firms in the long run given
Doanh
emphasized the importance of having clear rules and regulations for rice
transactions at the trading floor.
According
to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Mekong Delta has
about four million hectares under paddy (unhusked rice) production with
around 24-25 million tons a year, accounting for 53% of the country’s total
volume.
In the
past three years,
Data
of the ministry showed
However,
prices of both fresh paddy and rice have been stable in the Mekong Delta in
recent weeks. For example, a kilo of IR 50404 paddy was sold at
VND4,250-4,300 over the weekend while traders bought a kilo of rice at
VND6,250-6,300, equivalent to those early this week.
SME
reforms vital to progress
Local
small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to reform themselves and also
need support from the State to survive and develop as further economic
integration takes place once Vietnam signs free trade deals with partners,
experts said.
Now,
the SMEs account for 96% of the total number of enterprises in
Meanwhile,
economic experts said most of the SMEs did not have much knowledge about
global economic integration and do not know how and what to do as the economy
integrates further with the global structure, the Tin tuc (News) newspaper
reported.
The
SMEs also do not know the demand of the world market, neither do they know
the world quality standards and commercial rules, the experts said.
A
representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Food Association said 80% of the
members at the association are SMEs who did not have access to information
about international economic integration.
Cao Sy
Kiem, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises,
said key issues for the SME as well as local enterprises in general include
the need to improve their competitive ability by diversifying products and
ensuring reasonable selling price.
To
achieve the targets, he proposed that interest rates for medium- and
long-term loans should be at 7% per annum against 9% to help enterprises have
attractive sale price.
Kiem
said the state should come up with ways to enhance the number of skilled
workers in enterprises and use of modern production technology to improve
competitiveness of the enterprises. This was necessary because
CEO
Dang Duc Thanh, head of the Vietnam Economist Club, said
To
reach the targets, the State Bank should adjust credit structures to focus
credit on production, business, rural area, exports, supporting industry and
SMEs, Thanh said.
The
state should build and develop a system of economic policies to support the
SMEs in production and business and credit guarantee funds for SMEs, said
Thanh, adding that the state should also reform administrative procedures and
complete the legal system to protect the SMEs as well as local enterprises in
general.
Dau
Anh Tuan, head of the Legal Department under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, said information, support and consulting for enterprises as
they integrate into the world economy are very important. Therefore, the
state should provide information about what free trade agreements will
involve. That would help local enterprises to take appropriate steps in the
areas of production and business to integrate better with global system.
Sugar
plants in the Mekong Delta have entered their 2015-2016 production season
amid alarming fall of sugarcane area.
The
sugarcane area dropped 50 percent to only 700 hectares in Ca Mau province
last year. Similar condition has also occurred in other provinces of the
delta.
Chairman
of the Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association Nguyen Thanh Long said that
the Mekong Delta’s sugar industry has faced many challenges comprising
sugarcane area drop, which require processing plants to cooperate with
farmers to overcome.
The
association has reported a year on year reduction of 6,000 hectares to only
41,880 hectares in the delta this crop.
A
leader of Kien Giang sugar plant said that practical area might be lower than
that. Kien Giang province alone has less than 2,000 hectares not 4,600
hectares as per the association’s report.
Plants
have also faced difficulties in purchasing materials with regulations on
commercial cane sugar (CCS) by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, that rule that businesses are just permitted to buy sugarcane
reaching at least nine CCS.
Representatives
from Can Tho sugar company and the Department of Science and Technology in
Hau Giang province said that they had conducted many inspections but yet to
find any sample meet the requirement.
Deputy
Chairman of the Hau Giang province People’s Committee Truong Canh Tuyen asked
sugar plants to just start the production season when sugarcane fields have
been mature enough for harvest to ensure high CCS.
Sugar
plants have agreed with paying the floor price of VND860 a kilogram of 10 CCS
sugarcanes, VND119 higher than requirement by the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development.
However,
that price is said not high enough to prevent sugarcane farmers from
quitting.
Phung
Hiep district, Hau Giang province is one of three largest sugarcane zones in
the delta with 11,500 hectares.
Director
of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van
Dong said that sugarcane growers have earned less than rice growers. The
province’s efforts have been able to sustain 10,000 hectares of sugarcane
area, a reduction of 1,500 hectares.
Authorized
agencies should paid attention to control import sugar which has flowed into
local market and to help farmers reduce sugarcane cost prices.
Russia's
Rosneft, Japan Drilling Co ink
Russian
oil giant Rosneft said on September 4 it had signed an agreement to drill
offshore exploration wells in
"We
are expanding our cooperation in the area of exploration and production of
hydrocarbons by executing contracts not only in
Forum
looks to boost farmers' efficiency
An
expected increase in demand for farm produce offers the agricultural sector
in the Cuu Long (
Nguyen
Ngoc Hoa, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade
and former chairman of Saigon Co.op, said there was an increase in demand for
farm produce in both the domestic and export markets.
In
addition, consumers, increasingly concerned about food safety and hygiene and
the traceability of products' origins, are willing to pay higher prices for
safe products.
Nguyen
Lam Vien, deputy chairman of the Business Association of High Quality
Vietnamese Products and chairman of Vinamit Company, said, "The market
needs high-quality produce but there is a scarcity of these products."
With
their small-scale production, farmers in the Mekong Delta had limited market
information and mostly crop based on traders' requirements. They only managed
to get a small percentage of retail prices, he said.
Breaking
down this "trader" culture and helping farmers deploy efficient
practices to improve quality were very important, he added.
Nguyen
Thi Thanh Ha, deputy director of the Thu Duc Agriculture Wholesale Market
Management and Trade Company, said her market got 3,500-4,500 tonnes of farm
produce each night, and up to 7,500 tonnes during Lunar New Year.
But
most products were sold without labels and were piled up for selling, and
this should be improved to win consumers' trust, she said.
Farmers
should join hands to form co-operatives to work with businesses so that they
could get technical support easily as well as fair prices and reduce the cost
of transporting their produce to sales points, she said.
Investment
to mechanise farming and processing was very important, delegates agreed.
To
resolve difficulties related to selling paddy, Nguyen Minh Toai, director of
the Can Tho Department of Industry and Trade, said, "We should set up a
rice trading floor by encouraging farmers to form a co-operative to grow the
same kind of rice with the same production process to enable
traceability."
The
authorities could offer free drying and storage of paddy allowing the farmers
to wait for the best prices to sell, he said.
This
would benefit both farmers and businesses, and even the Government, because
when this model achieved a large-scale, the Government no longer had to
resort to rice buying to shore up prices, he said.
"Measures
to raise value of farm produce and boost their consumption" was part of
the Mekong Connect-CEO Forum that attracted the participation of 600 business
executives, Government officials and experts.
The
Mekong Delta's 13 cities and provinces play an important role in the
country's economy, accounting for 17.8 per cent of GDP, 80 per cent of rice
exports, and nearly 60 per cent seafood exports.
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR
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Thứ Năm, 10 tháng 9, 2015
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