Business in brief 10/08/2009
The World Bank said on Friday (07 Aug 2009) it will lend Vietnam USD 350 million to prop up the budget this year as part of a poverty reduction credit scheme and to help Hanoi cope with the economic slowdown. The funds were more than double what the World Bank gave Vietnam under a similar scheme last year, a response "to the country’s request for additional resources to combat the negative impacts of the global financial crisis" and to help fund its economic stimulus measures, the World Bank said in a statement. The USD 350 million budget injection comes in the form of a 40-year interest free loan, a World Bank spokesman said. Since 2001, the World Bank has provided USD 1.325 billion and mobilized USD 817 million from other donors for Vietnam for poverty reduction and economic development efforts under the PRSC scheme. Last year, the World Bank gave USD 150 million, its data showed.
The Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) and the Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) Ltd. signed Saturday (08 Aug 2009) an agreement that allows the latter to expand its banking coverage in Vietnam by using ACB’s branch network. UK-based Standard Chartered said the agreement aims to provide cash management services to its corporate customers in the country. ACB’s network covers all major cities and provinces of Vietnam. Standard Chartered’s corporate customers will be able to access ACB’s branches to make cash deposits or withdrawals. The two banks also introduced a new cash management service called “Active Cash Collection,” which allows Standard Chartered’s corporate customers, as payees, to request the two banks to directly debit accounts of the payers who are customers of either bank.
The China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) free trade area is expected to be launched by this year. “The free trade zone will cover a population of 1.9 billion and involve about USD6 trillion in gross domestic product,” Lu Kejian, director of the ministry’s Department of Asian Affairs, was quoted by Xinhua during the opening of the fourth Pan Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The ASEAN is China’s fourth biggest trade partner after the European Union, the United States and Japan. Last year, bilateral trade between China and ASEAN amounted to US$231.1 billion.
The attraction, mobilization and use of ODA have shown positive signs recently thanks to close co-operation among relevant ministries, agencies and donors, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). The MPI said, from the beginning of the year through July 15, the total value of ODA capital via signed agreements reached nearly USD2.2 billion, up 35.4% from a year earlier. The total amount included over USD2 billion in loans and USD92.4 million in aid. It added that 7-month ODA disbursement capital was estimated at USD1.5 billion, making up 78% of the annual plan. Recently, the MPI has co-ordinated with the World Bank (WB) to inspect 20 WB-funded projects, and worked with development banks to implement proposals including 12 solutions and action plans. It has also cooperated with the Partnership Group for Aid Effectiveness (PGAE) in carrying out the program on the efficient use of funds.
Cat Bi airport in northern Hai Phong city will be upgraded to be capable of accommodating Boeing 767 and A321 for international flights by 2015. Under the plan, sealed at a recent working session between the municipal economic and budget department and the airport leadership, the parking lot will be expanded to have eight assorted planes at a time.
Hanoi is now focused on boosting goods which only takes up small percentage of export revenues but have a greater added value, high development rate and bigger potential for export such as furniture, building materials and handbags. It also indicates to businesses the best consumer markets, including the EU, the US, Japan and China. Hanoi is reforming in its customs processes and refunding the value added tax on exported goods. The city’s export turnover is expected to reach USD6.936 this year.
Vietnam will take part in a technical project to help implement the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Human Resource Development Strategic Framework and Action Plan, announced the Government Office on August 6. The office said that Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has approved Vietnam’s participation in the proposed regional policy and advisory technical assistance (R-PATA) project. Deputy PM Nhan assigned the Ministry of Education and Training to coordinate cooperation activities between relevant Vietnamese agencies, including the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the institutions of the GMS countries involved in human resource development.
Dai A Bank, or DaiABank, reported Monday a net profit of VND4.1 billion in the second quarter ending June 30, compared with VND5.5 billion in the year-earlier period. In the first half of this year, the bank had a net profit of VND16.4 billion, down from VND27.3 billion a year earlier, the bank said. DaiABank, based in the southern province of Dong Nai, has registered capital of VND1 trillion. The bank’s total assets were VND3.56 trillion at the end of June, compared with VND3.1 trillion at end-2008.
CIMB Investment Bank Bhd has signed a shareholders’ agreement with Vietnam Shipbuilding Finance Co (VFC) for their respective rights and obligations as shareholders of Vinashin Shipbuilding Finance Co Securities LLC (VFC Securities). Under the agreement, CIMB Investment will subscribe to an initial 10 per cent equity in VFC Securities for some RM6.7 million, and has the option to increase its shareholding to 40 per cent for up to RM39.2 million capital contribution. VFC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin), the largest shipbuilder and an industrial conglomerate in Vietnam.
A private company in the northern province of Thai Nguyen will invest 2 trillion VND in building a thermo-electric power plant in the locality, making it the largest locally-invested project in Thai Nguyen so far. On August 6, the provincial authorities handed over an investment license to the investor - the An Khanh Thermo-electric Power Joint Stock Company. According to the company, the 100 MW An Khanh thermo-electric power plant will be built on 22.7 ha in Dai Tu district’s An Khanh commune. The plant will use locally-available coal and it is expected to generate jobs for 400 residents. The investor said it will kick off construction of the An Khanh plant in early 2010, aiming to generate power for the national electricity grid by 2012. The An Khanh plant is the second thermo-electric power plant in Thai Nguyen. The first was the Cao Ngan plant of the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group which began operating in 2007.
The government will allow foreign-invested businesses to distribute and export rice this year in line with Vietnam’s WTO commitments, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said Friday (07 Aug 2009). The Government Office notified the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies of Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai’s approval of the measure last week. According to Hai, the trade ministry should also ask the government to adjust legal frameworks and regulations to ensure long-term transparency in state management of rice trading.
The third Da Lat Flower Festival will be delayed until New Year’s Day 2010 to coincide with activities marking Hanoi’s 1,000-year anniversary as the capital of Vietnam, according to local authorities. The festival, initially scheduled for December 18- 23, will instead be held for four days beginning January 1, 2010 in the famous resort town of Da Lat, said the People’s Committee in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. The government has asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Hanoi People’s Committee to cooperate with Lam Dong authorities to organize the event, the first in a nationwide series of festivals kicking off the anniversary celebration. The biennial flower festival was first organized in 2005 and has since attracted thousands of local and foreign tourists.
Emerson Network Power is taking customer and partner service up a notch by announcing the appointment of CMC Distribution Co. Ltd as distributor for its enterprise-class solutions in Vietnam. Emerson Network Power (Vietnam) and CMC Distribution will jointly deploy total customer solutions – power, cooling, rack, monitoring & services– for IT resellers in order to maintain a complete power network with high reliability for all business segments. CMC Distribution is a leading provider of IT and telecommunication products in the industry. Its product and service offerings range from desktop PCs, laptops, equipment and networking security, Internet access, wireless communications to data center solutions.
