Business in brief in 13 March
Leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on March 13 met with department officials and over 300 businesses to iron out snags in their operations. More than 20 speakers proposed measures to help businesses borrow more bank loans for production and real estate development, give priority to the key projects that have completed 70 percent of the set targets, and grant tax exemption to a number of businesses.
Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in March is forecast to rise more than +1% from February, driven by gas and petroleum price hikes, analysts with Viet Capital Securities (VCSC) forecast. March increase is expected to rise by 15.2-15.3% on year, lower than that of 16.44% on-year rise in Feb,VCSC said in its report. The domestic liquefied gas prices rose by 7-8% on-month in March and increase in prices of eating outside will directly affect this month CPI increase, according to VCSC. Vietnam’s decision to raise petroleum prices from 4pm, March 7(Hanoi time) will let the March CPI to edge up around 0.37%. However, the direct impact of petroleum price hike for April will be much higher than that of March, VCSC stressed.
Quality honey is eligible to be imported into the US market, Nguyen Thi Hang, vice-chairwoman of the Vietnam Bee Raising Association, has said. Hang’s clarification follows news that US importers late last year rejected 600 tons of honey from Vietnam. Hang said the US remained the country’s major importer of honey. In 2011, Vietnam exported 27,000 tons to the US, she said. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the honey was rejected because it exceeded the permitted level of the anti-fungus additive carbenzamin. The rejection affected 35,000 beekeepers throughout the country. However, the ministry said the mistake was not directly that of beekeepers. The herbicide was used in rubber, cashew and coffee farms in the region where bees pollinated. The ministry said it was willing to invite authorized US representatives to Vietnam to clarify the origin of products as well as examine quality control processes for exported honey.
The Vietnamese embassy in Canada and the Hanoi-based Ky Nguyen Tourism and Trading Company are participating in the 18th Canada Tourism Expo, which opened in the Ottawa Conference Centre on March 10. The two-day event saw the participation of around 200 travel agencies from nearly 60 countries and territories across the world and thousands of visitors. According to the Vietnamese Ambassador Le Sy Vuong Ha, the Embassy will, from now on, invite other Vietnamese travel agencies to take part in the big tourism fair to promote the country’s tourist products in Canada. At the event, several Canadian and international leading travel agencies such as Tours Hai International and Voyages Symone also introduced to visitors their tours in Vietnam.
Gelato franchise business Gelatissimo is planning further overseas expansion with Vietnam and Japan initial targets for growth. The Middle East and South Africa are also on the company’s radar. The company has appointed Global Franchise Partners to handle international franchise opportunities. Gidon Rosing, head of global business development at GFP said “We believe there are four reasons Gelatissimo will succeed internationally; the fresh products make it attractive to all areas in our region; the quality of the product is superior; Gelatissimo margins are high, and this is essential in the current global economy as people are looking for excellent investments and Gelatissimo has these margins.
Vietnam’s central bank said yesterday it was slashing a key policy interest rate for the first time in nearly three years after double-digit inflation eased in the country. The State Bank of Vietnam will cut the refinancing rate — which it charges on its loans to commercial banks — to 14 per cent from 15 per cent with effect from today The central bank last cut the rate in April 2009 to seven per cent. Since then, it has repeatedly hiked rates, most recently in October 2011, in a bid to rein in soaring inflation, which peaked at an annual rate of 23 per cent in August of last year.
A new transnational route linking south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Vietnam will open in August, further boosting border trade between the two countries, authorities with the local transport department said Sunday, Xinhua News Agency reported. To promote trade development and people-to-people communication between China and Vietnam, the route linking Baise, Guangxi, and Cao Bang, Vietnam, has recently been approved by China’s Ministry of Transport. The route is expected to begin operating in August, allowing people and cargo moving from Baise to Cao Bang, and vice versa, to travel directly along the route, the news agency said.
The Thanh Hoa General Materials Joint Stock Company broke ground on a cassava powder processing project in Bolikhamsay, Laos on March 12. Covering an area of 26.78 hectares, about 400km far from Vientiane capital, the factory has an estimated capitalization of US$4 million and a design capacity of 100 tons of products per day. After 18 months of construction, the factory is scheduled to go into operation in late 2013, creating jobs for 100 laborers.
Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang has approved a plan for the industrial development of the Lang Son – Ha Noi – Hai Phong – Quang Ninh economic corridor until 2020, with a vision to 2025. The plan focuses on developing eight industry groups. For example, northern Lang Son Province will improve its mining sector, cement production, electricity, auto assembly, timber processing, electronics and so on. Bac Ninh and Ha Noi will develop electronics, technology, pharmaceuticals and food processing. Ha Noi will also establish centers, such as high-tech zones and industrial zones, in order to facilitate projects to produce and assemble consumer goods. Hung Yen and Quang Ninh provinces and Hai Phong City will join hands to become a center of thermal power in the north.
The An Binh Joint-Stock Commercial Bank (ABBank) has launched an e-savings service to allow customers to make transactions through a deposit or A+ account with On-line Banking Services. Intended for the Vietnamese dong only, this service includes money transfers, withdrawals and account monitoring, among others. E-savings is oriented towards businesspeople who work frequently with computers.
Talentnet Corporation, a representative of Mercer company in Vietnam, plans to conduct its annual Vietnam Total Remuneration Survey. With 329 participants from prestigious local organizations and foreign companies and remuneration data from 90,282 employees and 1,197 positions, last year’s remuneration survey was acknowledged as the most comprehensive salary-survey report ever made in Vietnam. The Total Remuneration Survey report provides information on salary increase rates, common allowances and bonuses by industry, employee turnover rates, the most difficult positions to attract and retain, and the compensation mix for each level of staff. Companies participating in this survey will be given advice on how to evaluate salaries and jobs in accordance with the Mercer standard, an international standard system.
Texhong Textile Group, a China-based company that is among the leading suppliers of cotton fabrics in the world, has invested US$ 300 million to set up a new yarn plant in Quang Ninh province. To be set up on 30 hectares of land in the Hai Yen Industrial Zone, the new plant will have a capacity of 200,000 cotton spindles and will produce cotton core-spun yarns. The project is being given a key priority by Quang Ninh authorities who have assured creation of favorable conditions for investors. Texhong Textile Group is mainly engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of quality yarn, grey fabrics and garment fabrics. Currently, the Group has more than 1,600 customers in China and abroad, and has a sales network spread across S. Korea, Bangladesh and Europe, besides China and Hong Kong. Texhong Group at present operates 11 manufacturing plants within the Yangtze River Delta region of China.
