Business in brief 6 May 2013
Vietnam has won a bid to provide 187,000 tons of rice for the Philippines in 2013, according to the Vietnamese Trade Mission at the Philippines’ National Food Authority. The Philippines awarded the supply to the Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood II) with a price offer of 459.75 USD per ton, lower than that of Thailand. The rice stock under the tender is long grain white rice with 10 percent and 25 percent brokens. The volume will be delivered to the Philippines in the next few weeks. Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) Truong Thanh Phong said that the VFA targets 1.5 million tons of rice exports in May and June. In the first four months, the country’s rice export surpassed 2.1 million tons, up 23.4 percent over the same period last year. However, prices dropped by nearly 30 USD per ton during the reviewed period, due to low demand. The decline in rice prices also led to the cancellation of a number of contracts with a total volume of 280,000 tons in the mentioned time. (VNA)
Vietnam’s rice exports in the first four months surpassed 2.1 million tons, up 23.4 percent over the same period last year, the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) has reported. However, prices dropped by nearly 30 USD per ton during the reviewed period, due to low demand as well as the pressure to sell rice for rotating capital facing rice businesses. Successive drops in rice prices led to the cancellation of a number of contracts. In the mentioned time, contracts for a total of 280,000 tons of rice were cancelled. The VFA projected the export of around 2.2 million tons of rice in the second quarter of this year, bringing rice export volume in the first half to about 3.65 million tons. (VNA)
Vietnam’s exports in April rose 9.1 percent from a year earlier to USD 9.7 billion. The exports were boosted by exports of mobile phones and components, which rose 92.3 percent year-on-year to USD 5.8 billion. Other high-volume categories included garments and textiles with USD 5.1 billion (up 20.3%) and electronics and computers with USD 3.2 billion, up 46.1 percent, VNA reports. Total exports in the first four months of the year are estimated at USD 39.4 billion, up 16.9 percent over the same period last year.
The import tax on used cars of nine seats and more will be increased since June 20, according to the Prime Minister’s Decision 24/2013/QD-TTg. Accordingly, for cars under 1,000 cc, the tax rate will be 5,000 USD while cars from 1,000 cc to 1,500 cc will be subjected to the tax rate of 10,000 USD. The current tax rates are 4,200 USD and 9,600 USD, respectively, according to the Ministry of Finance’s Circular 28/2013/TT-BTC which took effect since April 29, 2013. (VNA)
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers informed on May 4 that foreign importers from the EU, the US and Japan have highly appreciated Vietnam’s seafood quality. Statistics from the three largest import markets in the EU, Japan and the US show that quality of Vietnamese seafood exports has improved a lot compared to previous years, despite undergoing several difficulties since the beginning of this year, causing even export turnover to fall marginally. At present, 130 Pangasius breeding farms on more than 2,800 hectares in the Mekong Delta have the ‘Certificate for Sustainability’, and account for nearly 40 percent of the region’s total breeding area. More than 50 percent of the fish processing plants have got quality certificates like Global Gap and ASC (Agriculture Stewardship Council). The seafood farming area meeting food hygiene and safety standards of Europe, the US and Japan has also increased. (SGGP)
Vietnam and Japan have agreed to promote bilateral co-operation in the field of agriculture. The agreement was reached at a meeting in Ha Noi on Saturday between Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hyashi, who is on a working visit to Vietnam. Under the agreement, the two sides will co-operate to increase agricultural production and productivity and promote agricultural diversification. They also agreed to boost rural development, enhance farmer capacity and production, strengthen forest management and aquaculture development in a sustainable manner and use sea resources effectively. At their meeting, the ministers said they highly valued the bilateral co-operation so far and said that it should be strengthened. (VNS)
German food and drink exporters see Vietnam as an ideal export destination and an increasingly important market. "Vietnam, especially in the south, is developing quickly and so we are optimistic about the future," Jan de Graaf, general director of German Food Asia Company Ltd, said. In recent years, German food and drink exports had grown faster in Vietnam than in other countries, he told Vietnam News. In 2012, export value in Vietnam doubled to 85 million euros ($111.8 million), compared to 2010, when it was 44 million euros (US$57.9 million). German food and drink exports grew only 20 per cent in China during the same period. "The biggest part of the increase was due to the rise in products of animal origin," Jan de Graaf said. In addition, because Vietnam is developing quickly and the standard of living is rising, the country wants to diversify its food imports to include products from other countries, such as Thai and Western food. Germany’s food industry is the largest in Europe. (VNS)
Vietnam’s steel industry saw imports of more than US$2 billion in the first four months of this year. An imbalance in the steel industry’s development strategy led to an increase in the import of high-value steel, while the domestic supply mostly included popular products, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA). Steel export earnings in the past four months were estimated at $500 million. (VNS)
The north central and central coastal provinces took the lead in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first four of this year. According to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), Vietnam has attracted more than US$8.2 billion in FDI capital in the reviewed period, a year-on-year increase of 17 percent. Notably, FDI has shifted from the Red River and Southeastern regions to the north-central and coastal central region, with the total capital pouring in the central and coastal central region increasing by 15 times over the same period last year. The high value was largely contributed by Japan’s US$2.8 billion Nghi Son oil refinery project in Thanh Hoa province and Russia’s US$1 billion bus assembly plant project in Binh Dinh province. Experts believe that incentives for infrastructure construction and local and overseas investment promotions are the main factors in luring FDI to the central region. (VOV)
The second generation version of Tata Indica, the Vista, has been spotted in Vietnam. This makes it evident that, the debut of Tata in Vietnam is not far away from happening. Tata is more likely looking to sell its cars in southeastern Asian countries to maintain the capacity utilization at Indian plants without piling up the inventory. Tata has been probing Vietnam with the Nano as fifty LHD versions of the small car were reportedly sent in late December 2012 to familiarize with the dealers and prevailing climatic conditions of the country. In a couple of months ago, the LHD version of the Indica and Nano were spotted in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. It was the eV2 that was spotted alongside the Nano. It is more likely that the Vista will be the first car to be launched for the Vietnamese market and the Nano is expected to arrive a little later. There are chances that both the Indica generations could be launched in Vietnam alongside each other and placed in a different price bracket.
Export processing zones (EPZs) and industrial zones (IZs) in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho have attracted 204 investment projects, capitalized at more than US$1.84 billion, according to the Can Tho EPZs and IZs Authority. Of the total, up to US$810 million has been disbursed, accounting for 44 percent of the total. Among these projects, 23 are from foreign investors, valued at US$181.4 million. The remainder, worth more than US$1.66 billion, have been funded domestically. The encouraging results were attributed to great efforts by local authorities in speeding up administrative reforms, improving infrastructure facilities and providing investors with incentives. These include reductions in land-rental fees and corporate income tax as well as assistance in training unqualified workers. During the past four months, businesses in the city’s industrial zones have posted US$528 million in turnover, an increase of 1 percent year-on-year. (VNS)
The Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) has proposed upgrading the commercial relations between Petrolimex and Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) by signing a long-term oil and gas supply contract between Petrolimex Singapore and CPC. According to Petrolimex website, Bui Ngoc Bao, Chairman of Petrolimex Board of Management, made the suggestion to Sri Lankan Minister of Petroleum Industries Anura Priyadharshana Yapa during the minister’s May 3 working visit to Petrolimex headquarters in Hanoi. At the meeting, the two sides informed each other of their respective capacities, development orientations, requirements and desire for cooperation in the fields of petroleum and related goods and services. Petrolimex also hopes to increase the supply of goods produced by the group’s affiliates to Sri Lanka such as lubricants, petrochemical products, paints and specialised petroleum equipment, as well as services such as petroleum installation and transport. (VNA)
Vietnamese businesses will enjoy an opportunity to showcase their products and gain visibility into foreign markets at three international IT exhibitions to be held in Singapore in June. The CommunicAsia, EnterpriseIT and Broadcast Asia exhibitions will feature a wide array of the latest technology innovations and business updates across the ICT and broadcast industries on June 18-21. Organized by the Singapore Exhibition Services Pte. Ltd., the event allows business leaders to gain insights into the latest issues and challenges facing the international ICT industry. According to the Vietnam 2012 ICT White Book issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications, the country’s ICT sector saw total turnover of US$13.7 billion in 2011. The figure was a year-on-year increase of 79 percent. By the end of 2011, mobile phone subscribers reached 127.3 million and internet users 30.5 million. In 2011, more than 16 million people used 3G mobile networks in Vietnam, accounting for more than 80 percent of all broadband internet users. (VNA)
The Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) will allocate up to 5,000 billion VND (approximately 23.9 million USD) to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a preferential lending program titled “Accompany SMEs’ development 2013”. Under the program, which started on May 1, SMEs have the opportunity to borrow short-term loans at preferential interest rates which are three-percent lower than the normal annual rate, for a term of up to six months. Additionally, the bank will create favorable conditions for enterprises to access capital more easily and quickly to meet their production and business demand; as well as give attractive special offers for businesses using Internet Banking services. Both new and current customers with effective operation, secured finance and meeting the bank’s requirements will be eligible for participating in the program. The activity aims to help enterprises overcome difficulties during an unstable period of global economy. (VNA).
