Business in brief in 08 October 2012
The Ministry of Finance has sent a letter to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) importers nationwide asking them to register their sales prices before putting their products on the market. The letter said gas importers must email price changes with e-signatures or fax notifications to the Ministry, and then call to confirm they have been received. Importers are also required to explain reasons for price changes and inform their distribution networks. The move follows a hike in cooking gas prices last week, which spiked by VND16,000 (0.77 US cent) to an average of VND434,000 (US$ 21) per 12kg canister. The new price, a 4 per cent rise over last month, was attributed to high global prices which this month hit $995 per ton, a $45 increase against the previous year. According to the MoF, Vietnam’s imports of LPG accounted for between 30-40 per cent of the local market.
With steel exports reaching US$1.5 billion in the first nine months of the year, the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) hopes that this year’s exports amount to $2 billion. According to Dinh Huy Tam, VSA general secretary, this year’s steel export turnover will be equal to that of last year. He said steel producers had found new markets, including Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The steel inventory has dropped to 320,000 tons, down 14 per cent from the same period last year. Tam also predicted that local steel demand would rise strongly near the year-end as the construction season had started and many projects were now awaiting the final touches for completion. He said that steel consumption in September amounted to nearly 400,000 tons, compared with 350,000 tons in August.
Dubai based Fakih Group, the unique global player in gifts and souvenir sector who is known for items with multinational cultural identities, is looking at exporting locally manufactured products to Vietnam. “Our Group’s Sri Lankan made supplies are selling out in our Dubai showroom, and Abu Dhabi’s sprawling tourist club area fast. I am now preparing to send the first shipment of Sri Lankan supplies to Vietnam this week,” said N.P Fakih, the Managing Director of Dubai based $ 300 million Fakih Group.
Thailand’s Board of Investment (BoI) would like to encourage Thai businesspeople to invest in Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia during the next three to five years, while also looking to the emerging markets of Africa as interesting destinations, according to BoI Deputy Secretary General Vasana Mututanont. Ms Vasana said Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia have bright prospects for investment. Thai agro-industry conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) has invested in Myanmar, she said, adding that Thailand is the second biggest investor in Myanmar after China. During the five years from 2007 to 2012 Thai companies have invested in Myanmar to a combined value of US$5.97 billion. Most Thai-invested industries are mining, petroleum exploration, fisheries, seafood and wholesale businesses.
South Korea has stopped receiving workers from Vietnam since the number of runaway Vietnamese workers who overstay their visas to work illegally in the country has increased steadily and there are no sign of improvement. The statement was released in a document sent by the South Korean Minister of Employment and Labor to the Vietnamese Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. This means no more Vietnamese workers will be sent to South Korea this year, according to Vietnam’s Overseas Labor Management Department. In the document South Korea explained that it is temporarily halting the bilateral agreement on “sending Vietnamese workers to South Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS) program,” since the percentage of Vietnamese workers in the country who are illegal is currently 57 percent.
Vietnam Growth Fund Limited (VGF) and Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL) will have their operations in Vietnam extended until 2015 and 2017, respectively. The decision has resulted from the two funds’ annual shareholders meetings, in which their shareholders had vetoed the dissolution of the funds. Moreover, they have also approved the extension of time between two vote on VEIL and VGF operations from 2 years to 5 years and from 2 years to 3 years, respectively. Thus, the operations of VGF and VEIL will continue to 2015 and 2017 before the shareholders make any new decisions. The shareholders of the two funds, investing in listed stocks managed by Dragon Capital, have also adopted most of the contents proposed by their board of directors.
VietJet Air has announced a major network expansion that will make it Vietnam’s largest low-cost carrier, overtaking Jetstar Pacific, by the end of 2012. VietJet is also poised to beat rival Jetstar Pacific in becoming the first Vietnamese LCC to operate international services. VietJet, which will expand its domestic network from five to nine destinations in Nov/Dec-2012, is looking at launching its first international route – possibly Ho Chi Minh-Bangkok – in late 2012 or early 2013. Jetstar Pacific has been focusing this year on fleet renewal rather than expansion but is planning to resume expansion in 2013. The carrier began a more promising new chapter earlier this year after a 70% stake was transferred to Vietnam Airlines, which previously had been looking at launching its own LCC subsidiary (Jetstar owns the remaining 30% stake in Jetstar Pacific). But Jetstar Pacific may struggle to keep up with much newer VietJet, which is likely to continue expanding at a faster pace than Jetstar Pacific.
The Knorr soup mixes being marketed in Vietnam have nothing to do with the batches of products that have been recalled in England and Germany, Unilever Vietnam, the product’s manufacturer, confirmed Saturday. The Knorr mixes have different recipes based on the cuisine tastes of the nations they are sold in, so those in England and Germany are made from different ingredients from the Vietnamese products, the company said. On June 9, Germany opened a recall campaign on three seasonings of Knorr mixes on the market: Greek pasta casserole, Bologna meatballs, and Tuscany slices. The products, whose expiry date is in November 2013, were found to potentially contain small plastic parts.
The Vietnam General Statistics Office stated that during the January-September period, the country’s exports of rice fell by 3.2 percent from a year ago, in terms of value, reaching USD2.85 billion, reported Xinhua News. However, in terms of volume, the country exported 6.35 million tons, representing a rise of 7.1 percent year-on-year. 67 percent of the country’s rice exports went to Asian countries, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippine, whereas 25 percent went to Africa, and the remainder to other countries. High-quality rice represented around 51.39 percent of the total exports, medium-quality rice accounted for 9.03 percent and low-quality rice comprised 19.68 percent. It is worth noting that in the fourth quarter, Vietnam may export 1.4 million tons of rice, bringing its total rice export volume to more than 7.5 million tons by the end of 2012.
The Prime Minister has approved a plan to upgrade Cat Bi International Airport in the northern port city of Hai Phong so it will be capable of receiving Boeing B747, Boeing B777 and Airbus A321 aircraft. According to the VND5 trillion (US$240 million) plan which was officially announced yesterday, the international terminal will act as a standby for Noi Bai International Airport and also as a dual airfield for both civilian and military purposes. By 2015, it will become a 4E level international airport under regulations from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). By that time, total volume of passengers will reach 2 million per year, along with 20,000 tons of cargo. By 2025, annual passenger numbers are expected to hit 8 million, with 250,000 tons of cargo.
