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VND - RV - DO THE MATH

SpyGuy007

By SpyGuy007,
in Foreign Currencies

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SpyGuy007 Newbie

SpyGuy007

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Wage and salary in Vietnam are very dissimilar across occupations and contrast starkly between urban and rural areas. The average wage per person in Vietnam is around 3.2 million VND ($150) a month and differentiated by many factors.

 

Has anyone heard of the SBV taking the larger dems off the streets ?  NO they are not...

 

 We have been hearing that the CBI has been limiting the Dinar with their auctions and even rumors that the 25K notes are all gone.

 

 

 

Well lets do the math and think....

 

The average person in Vietnam only makes $150 a month. ( I got that figure this morning from the web ) There are Trillions and Trillions of VND in circulation. I bet we as Dinarians have at least a Trillion VND between us.  

 

Now if a million VND that you can buy in Vietnam is $ 43.00 per million when it revalves to lets say a .01 to our american dollar. That is now $43,000 worth of VND for the average worker that was making $150 a month now they are very very rich. How many people over there would quit their jobs !!!! ALL OF THEM!!!!

 

Put yourself in their shoes if you were making about $1800 a year and you now have a mininum of $43,000 in your pocket what would you do???????

 

 

There lower end jobs over there would be no more... EVERYONE WOULD QUIT WORKING...

 

SO the pumpers are saying that this magical basket we are waiting for will have the IQD and the VND in it....

 

There will be a LOP in Vietnam.. The zeros will have to be cut....

 

So this is my opinion and I want to hear from Adam what he thinks about this.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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JoeB Newbie

JoeB

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Posted (edited)

SO the pumpers are saying that this magical basket we are waiting for will have the IQD and the VND in it....

 

 

That "magical basket" is completely a Guru invention. It does not exist in the real world.

 

The same goes for the "Global Reset" where every currency in the world suddenly will be worth much more. The question is: Much more what?

Edited by JoeB
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willy1der Newbie

willy1der

Posted
Posted

Wage and salary in Vietnam are very dissimilar across occupations and contrast starkly between urban and rural areas. The average wage per person in Vietnam is around 3.2 million VND ($150) a month and differentiated by many factors.

 

Has anyone heard of the SBV taking the larger dems off the streets ?  NO they are not...

 

 We have been hearing that the CBI has been limiting the Dinar with their auctions and even rumors that the 25K notes are all gone.

 

 

 

Well lets do the math and think....

 

The average person in Vietnam only makes $150 a month. ( I got that figure this morning from the web ) There are Trillions and Trillions of VND in circulation. I bet we as Dinarians have at least a Trillion VND between us.  

 

Now if a million VND that you can buy in Vietnam is $ 43.00 per million when it revalves to lets say a .01 to our american dollar. That is now $43,000 worth of VND for the average worker that was making $150 a month now they are very very rich. How many people over there would quit their jobs !!!! ALL OF THEM!!!!

 

Put yourself in their shoes if you were making about $1800 a year and you now have a mininum of $43,000 in your pocket what would you do???????

 

 

There lower end jobs over there would be no more... EVERYONE WOULD QUIT WORKING...

 

SO the pumpers are saying that this magical basket we are waiting for will have the IQD and the VND in it....

 

There will be a LOP in Vietnam.. The zeros will have to be cut....

 

So this is my opinion and I want to hear from Adam what he thinks about this.... 

Adam does a weekly chat. You might consider submitting this question in his weekly chat.

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4aprofit Newbie

4aprofit

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Whatever Vietnam can or cant do...who knows...but why did it take .17 cents of U.S. Dollars, to buy 1 VND....yes, that's $170,000.00 per million VND...before the Vietnam War...and now it's 20,000 to 1...so, what I'm getting at...is if it can fall this much...from where it was 40-50 years ago...with nothing happening in Vietnam back then...then why is it almost worthless now...with everyone from all over the world over there doing business now?...I know, I know..they're keeping their currency devalued for a trade advantage...but how long can this go on...while the trade advantage that they are using as a bargaining chip via their currency...is going against fiat currencies for the most part...IMO...when or if the fiat party is over...we may see a real rate as per what countries true net worth is...and yes, via their currency...thus reflecting it...

 

Note: Just from knowing the above, I guess the powers that be...can do whatever they wish huh?..so if we see the VND come in one day at a penny...not so bad huh?...But what if it is 17 cents again?...What if the dollar fails..or eventually falls even further..could this force emerging market countries currencies to rise...IMO..it should, but when is the million dollar question!..

 

P.S..IMO...Holding the VND is just another hedge against what could happen to the USD...we will see...



Just another gander at the signifigance of emerging market countries currencies....from a former critic and basher of the IQD & VND...

 

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4aprofit Newbie

4aprofit

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UPS becomes 1st global express firm to be 100% owned in Vietnam
Updated : 03/27/2013 14:46 GMT + 7
 
vdTRdseu.jpg
 

 

UPS has become the first global express delivery company to be wholly-owned in Vietnam, following its acquisition of the 49 percent interest of VN Post Express in the two companies' express delivery joint venture, the company has announced.
The change will allow UPS to better connect Vietnam's rapidly expanding economy to world markets through the UPS network.
"We are excited about this new opportunity,” said Brendan Canavan, UPS Asia Pacific President. “With UPS now wholly-owned in Vietnam, our customers in this growing market are better connected to the world through the UPS global network. We would also like to thank the government of Vietnam for its support in recognizing express delivery services as an enabler of trade and commerce. ”
As a part of its global growth strategy, UPS has invested in new facilities and technology in key commercial and industrial centers across Vietnam, including Ba Ria, Binh Duong, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh provinces. The new centers are strategically located in key business districts where there is a high demand for logistics services. They provide Vietnamese businesses and exporters in these areas greater access to UPS logistics services and capabilities.
In addition to the new centers, UPS has made other significant investments in Vietnam during the last two years including the introduction of a Preferred LCL (less-than-container-load) Ocean Freight service that provides service that is up to 40 percent faster than traditional LCL services to the United States from the port of Ho Chi Minh City. In 2012, enhanced shipping and tracing solutions - such as Internet Pickup and UPS Quantum View Manage - were made available in Vietnamese on UPS.com, further demonstrating UPS’s continued commitment towards serving the needs of Vietnamese companies.
“UPS has served Vietnam since 1994, offering its wide range of logistics solutions to multinational corporations and small and mid-sized enterprises alike,” said Jeff McLean, General Director of UPS Vietnam. “We have seen the transformation of the country to the dynamic export-oriented economy it is today and UPS has grown in parallel with the market. Wholly-owned operations will give us the flexibility to further expand our operations and grow in partnership with Vietnamese businesses.”
UPS has enjoyed solid growth in Vietnam since it started its operations in 1994. With the country’s increased economic activity last year, UPS Vietnam’s export volume growth grew by more than 20 percent in 2012.
 
 
 
 
 
Vietnam posts modest GDP growth in Q1
Updated : 03/27/2013 11:36 GMT + 7
 
XyFGLZgt.jpg
 
It is estimated that Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 4.89 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2012, the Ministry of Planning and Investment announced Tuesday.
The rate is slightly higher than the 4.75 percent rise recorded in Q1/2012.
The growth is mostly contributed to the expansion of the service sector, which went up 5.65 percent in Q1 and accounted for 2.6 percentage points of the total growth.
The agro-forestry and fishery sectors rose 2.24 percent against the same period last year, the lowest increase over the last few years due to the difficulties in the seafood and husbandry sectors.
Meanwhile, the industrial and construction sectors increased by 4.95 percent, and 4.79 percent, respectively.
The index of industrial production (IIP) jumped 4.9 percent in the first three months of the year. It rose 3.19 percent month-on-month in March, and 5.6 percent compared to the same period last year.
The unsold inventory index also grew 16.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
The economy is thus expected to face challenges in the second quarter without firm and timely resolutions from the government, the planning ministry said.
 


 
 
 
Vietnam, Netherlands boost cooperation in fruit and vegetables
 
27/03/2013 | 20:43:21
 
A round table conference on the establishment of the Vietnam –Netherlands Cooperation Forum was held on March 27 in Hanoi to intensify cooperation in the field of fruit and vegetables between the two countries.

The establishment is in line with the two sides’ expectation, bringing about new opportunities for the two sides’ agricultural cooperation, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam.

Although Vietnam is one of the world’s five leading exporters of fruit and vegetables, the sector does not reflect the country’s potentiality and strengths, which requires support from governmental agencies, state-owned enterprises and international organisations, he added.

For his part, Netherlands Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation Hans Hoogreveen expressed his hope that the private sector will take initiative in the cooperation forum focusing on training, processing and technology for sustainable development and climate change adaptation.

At the event, Director of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute Trinh Khac Quang made several suggestions to further both sides’ cooperation and research in the field.

Vietnam now exports its fruit and vegetables to 40 countries and territories. In 2012, the export turnover of fruit and vegetables topped 800 million USD.

The two sides are expected to sign a cooperation agreement on the field on March 28.-VNA
 

 
 
 
Nation sees Q1’s agriculture export surge
27/03/2013 | 11:14:00
 
Export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products in the first quarter of the year surged 6.2 percent against the same period last year, to hit 6.56 billion USD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The export turnover of forestry products rose 16.3 percent to 1.24 billion USD while those of agricultural and fisheries products declined 5.4 percent and 5.9 percent respectively.

The rise in export value of forestry products was attributed to the growing demand from foreign markets, According to Director of the Ministry's Information and Statistics Centre Nguyen Viet Chien.

He said that the Chinese market saw the highest rise of 63.08 percent, and other markets including the US , Japan and the Republic of Korea ranged between 13.18 and 27.55 percent.

The decline in export value of agricultural and fisheries products was due to a reduction in both export volume and value of many key staples, he explained.

Rice exports, for example, had grown 34.3 percent in volume, but the turnover was down 5.7 percent to reach 616 million USD, with prices falling 14 percent to 450 USD per tonne, he noted.

Mainland China remained Vietnam 's largest rice importer, accounting for 40.2 percent of Vietnam 's total rice exports.

Singapore , the Philippines and Hong Kong followed with 8.83, 6.23 and 5.47 percent, respectively.

Export volume of rubber in the first quarter declined 36.9 percent to 200,000 tonnes, down 15.9 percent at 526 million USD.

Tea export value surged 2.5 percent to 43 million USD, although export volume was down 14.1 percent at 29,000 tonnes.

Another key agricultural export item, coffee, also experienced a decline in both value and volume. Value was down 18 percent at 909 million USD while volume fell 21.2 percent to 447,000 tonnes.

Germany and the US are currently Vietnam's largest coffee consumers, representing 12.51 and 11.31 percent of the country's total coffee export turnover.-VNA
 
 
 
 
Multi-billion dollar projects unnamed in official reports
Last update 27/03/2013 (GMT+7)
 
VietNamNet Bridge – It’s unclear why many huge foreign invested projects capitalized at multi billion dollars have not been updated in the state management agencies.
 
20130327094416-project.jpg
 
The information about the EPC signing contract appeared on all big local newspapers
 
In late January 2013, the involved parties of the Nghi Son petrochemical refinery project completed necessary procedures to be kicked off. The procedures included the EPC contract signing ceremony and the license to increase in the investment capital by 2.8 billion dollars.

The information about the EPC signing contract appeared on all big local newspapers. However, it was not updated in the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) report.

The information about the project only appeared in the February 2013 report of the ministry. However, the report showed that the project had the investment capital of $630 million, while the project’s investment capital was much higher after it got the permission on the capital increase.

Finally, MPI has updated the new investment capital. However, the late updating led to the misunderstanding that the foreign direct investment (FDI) increased in the first quarter of the year.

Nghi Son project, which has been listed as the registered project in March, together with the Samsung’s $2 billion project in Thai Nguyen province, were the reason that has made the FDI registered capital in the first quarter soar to $6 billion, which means a sharp increase in comparison with the same period of the last year.

The MPI’s Foreign Investment Agency then “forgot” to release the FDI report for March 2013. Instead of the figures for March, FIA has only released the report for the whole first quarter.

The report showed the 63.6 percent increase in the FDI capital registered in the first quarter of 2013 over the first quarter of 2012, a figure which can show the “great achievements” in attracting FDI. The noteworthy thing is that the information about the great achievements was released just some days before the conference reviewing the 25-year Foreign Investment Law takes place, slated for March 27.

With the investment capital increase of Nghi Son project, Thanh Hoa has become the leader in terms of attracting FDI in the first quarter of 2013. Meanwhile, if the figure had been updated timely, the first position should have belonged to Thanh Hoa in January 2013 already.

The story about Nghi Son has reminded people about the story about Ha Tinh province. In late 2012, Nghe Tinh province ranked the 34th in the official reports among the biggest FDI attractors, with $31.53 million worth of registered projects.

And Ha Tinh has unexpectedly jumped to the second position after the latest updated report with $2.148 billion worth of registered FDI projects. Of the amount, more than $2 billion worth of capital was found as the added capital of the Formosa steel complex in the Vung Ang economic zone.

When reporters contacted Formosa, they were explained that the capital increase decision was made a long time ago, and the approval for the capital increase was also made a long time ago already, which means that this was not “new news.”

However, since MPI forgot to update the project, no one knew about capital increase before.

The Foreign Investment Agency has been criticized for the tardiness in updating figures. Meanwhile, the agency explained that it does not have the power big enough to ask local authorities and ministries to submit reports on schedule. As a result, it cannot have necessry details to provide reports with the most updated information

TBKTVN
 
 
 
 
 
VN gives nod to personal overseas loans
Updated : Wed, March 20, 2013,11:50 AM (GMT+0700)

 

Vietnamese individuals will be allowed to borrow loans from overseas as of next year, under an amended Ordinance on Foreign Exchange recently approved by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

 

Specifically, individuals will be allowed to borrow foreign loans through their own initiative, and must be responsible for their debt. The amended ordinance will also ensure the right of members of the public to use foreign currency.
It is normal for local businesses and the government to borrow foreign loans, but this is the first time the door has been opened for personal overseas liability.
This permission was in fact stipulated in the Ordinance on Foreign Exchange released in 2005, but it was never realized as the State Bank of Vietnam refused to release guidance for rule implementation.
Local residents, however, still managed to mobilize capital from overseas over the last few years, either via remittances or underground transactions.
The loans were used to help the borrowers buy houses, land, or invest in securities and realty, and were not included in the country’s national foreign debts.
Some US$10 billion worth of remittances were sent to Vietnam last year, a large amount of which was in fact lent to locals, according to some commercial banks.
Payback issue
Prior to the new ordinance, local residents were only allowed to receive foreign currency under the form of remittances, but cannot send the foreign currency back to other nations, in case they want to repay their debts.
Hence, the borrowers have to illegally transfer the foreign currency to their overseas lenders, which insiders say is very risky.
Moreover, as personal overseas lending is not legally recognized, the lenders are also at risk of losing their money as the borrowers may refuse to repay. They cannot take the borrowers to court as the transaction is illegal.
Many overseas Vietnamese asserted that a number of houses and properties owned by local residents have been bought from their loans, but they still cannot ask them to pay them back.
Now that such borrowing has been legalized, insiders said it will help reduce the risk of underground transactions between local borrowers and overseas lenders.
Accordingly, local borrowers will be allowed to pay back foreign currency to their overseas lenders via bank services. Borrowers will be able to buy foreign currency at banks if they present valid papers for their foreign loans.
As the lending is legally recognized, if the borrowers hesitate on repayment, the foreign lenders can call on local legal agencies to intervene and protect their rights. The borrowers may face lawsuits and have their properties liquidated for debt clearance.
Pros and cons
Truong Van Phuoc, CEO of Eximbank, appreciated the idea of legalizing personal overseas loans, while pressing the central bank’s role in managing these foreign debts.
The central bank should request that local borrowers register the amounts and terms of their lending for management, he said.
“When the borrowers transfer money back to their foreign lenders, they should also be required to sell the foreign currency to the central bank in order to increase the national foreign reserves,” he added.
Meanwhile, many insiders have expressed concern that the national reputation may be affected when local borrowers default on, or fail to repay, their debts.
But Dr. Vu Dinh Anh, from the Institute of Economy, said this concern is unconvincing.
“The borrowers are requested to be responsible for their own loans, not the government,” he said, adding that it is better to have the transaction legalized.
“Without official permission, local residents still illegally borrow from foreign lenders,” he explained.

 

Read more: http://tuoitrenews.v...3#ixzz2O7Egp4v4


 
 
PM launches airport expansion project
 
 
March, 20 2013 10:56:00
 
 
images860120_1u.jpg
Cat Bi Airport in Hai Phong City.—Photo Baohaiphong.com.vn
 
HAI PHONG (VNS)— Approximately US$176 million will be poured into the expansion of Cat Bi Airport in Hai Phong City.
At a ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction process yesterday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked Hai Phong City and the stakeholders to ensure that the project would progress according to the original plan, both in terms of timing and quality.
He spoke highly of the city and relevant units' efforts to overcome difficulties in land clearance to start the project as scheduled.
New landing routes are expected to launch in May 2015, by which time the airport will be handling 2 million passengers per year – equivalent to 800 passengers per hour at peak time –and 20,000 tonnes of goods.
 
dung.jpg
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ask Hai Phong City and the stakeholders to ensure that the project would progress according to the original plan, both in terms of timing and quality.—VNA/VNS photo
 
After the expansion, Cat Bi will accommodate all types of aircraft, including B777s and A321s.
The airport saw average growth of over 38 per cent during the 2005-11 period – the most growth of any airport throughout the country. Soon it will reach the record of one million passengers per year.
Funding for the government-approved project will be drawn from auctions of land usage rights, the city budget and other sources. The Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam, the Ministry of Transport and ACC Airport Construction Company Ltd. will be partners in the construction process. — VNS
 
 
 
 
 
 
Developing IC industry
 

26/03/2013 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City has kicked off the project to develop the IC industry, planning to make investment in all phases from training, designing to production and commercialization.
 
20130325100322-scitech1.jpg
 
High risks, but big opportunities

Vice Mayor of HCM City Le Manh Ha admitted that this is a venture project, but it is a must because of the urgent domestic demand for IC products.

Ha said the city’s authorities would disburse money for the industry in 2013, while trying to attract high qualification workers, experienced domestic and international experts.

The clients of the IC industry prove to be profuse. The first orders to come would be the ones on the apps to solve the urban problems, such as the chips for traffic control, bank card, telephone SIM card.

In the long term, Ha said, HCM City would gather its strength on the industry, considering it the important foundation for the development of the information technology.

The HCM City’s program on developing the IC industry is a part of the national program on technology renovation in product development and high technology. The state has promised attractive investment incentives to the investors in the fields, including the ones on bank loan access and preferential interest rates.

However, according to Ha, the biggest worry for the project developers now is the market for their products. They wonder if their products can be consumed in the domestic market, and the technical barriers are strong enough to protect local production. Meanwhile, it is very costly and risky to make investment in developing high technologies.

HCM City has decided that it would obtain the turnover of $100-150 million by 2017 from the IC industry, train some 2,000 workers and incubate some 30 businesses in the field. The works would be started as soon as possible to be sure that everything would be ready, including the workforce, for the IC factory to be invested by the Saigon Industry Corporation which is expected to kick off in 2014.

The market awaiting hi-tech products

Investors have been shown the big scale of the domestic market, which analysts believe could have the value of US$2 billion a year, which means that the investors would have great opportunities to make and sell their products.

The investors have also been convinced that the HCM City authorities would do everything they can to facilitate their projects’ development. An analysis showed that if electronic and telecom products using domestically made IC, the production costs of the products would reduce by 15-30 percent.

The market segment alone, according to the estimates, would bring the turnover of $120 million a year at minimum by 2020. Experts believe that in the immediate time, investors don’t need to spend big money to use the most advanced technologies, but they just need to make popular products for the domestic market which is now much in demand.

In the long term, Vietnam’s IC industry should strive to develop high technology electronic chips to serve the national defense. All countries want to make the chips themselves to ensure the national security.

The experts have forecast that wifi 4G chips would be marketed by 2014 within the framework of a Vietnam-Japan cooperation project. Saigon Track plans to make 20,000 devices using 8-bit chips for motorbike and car positioning.

Dr. Le Hoai Quoc, Director of the HCM City High Tech Park, said the State should be the big client for the products to encourage investors to develop their projects.

SGTT

 

http://english.vietn...than-never.html



Government bond market in 2013: high demand, high supply
 

18/03/2013 (GMT+7)

 
VietNamNet Bridge – Government bonds have been selling well since the beginning of the year. This remains a favorite investment channel for big institutions and foreign investors in 2013.
 
20130318085626-images.jpeg
 
In principle, when the supply gets profuse, the goods prices would reduce, while buyers may shrink back and cancel their purchase plans. However, this does not happen with the government bond market.

Demand would be high

The investors’ worry that the government may set limitations on the amounts of bonds to be issued in 2012 has been lifted. The State Treasury has announced that it may issue VND150 trillion worth of bonds this year, which is higher than the last year.

Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, a Member of the National Advisory Council for Monetary Policies, has also reassured the investors that no need to worry about the volume of shares to be issued in 2013.

In 2012, the State Treasury issued VND141.3 trillion worth of bonds, while the limit was VND60 trillion, not including the money used to offset the 2011’s budget deficit.

If noting that the government needs VND90 trillion to cover the budget deficit this year, estimated at 4.8 percent, one would see that the bond volume would not be a small figure.

This seems to be anticipated by commercial banks which do not worry that they may have no goods to buy.

VinaWealth fund management company, the first open-end fund set up in Vietnam, the limitation on the credit growth rate in 2012 has led to a higher demand for bonds as the alternative investment channels.

It is expected that 2.8 billion dollars worth of government bonds and government-guaranteed bonds became matured in 2012. This means that a huge sum of capital is now ready to be injected in investment channels, and it’s very likely that the investors would use the money to buy bonds again.

Economists believe that buying bonds would be a good choice for commercial banks in 2013. The current conditions and the economic scenarios do not show that banks would be able to push up lending. Therefore, government bonds remain a profitable and safe investment channel.

However, the economists think that commercial banks are likely to reduce the bond purchases in the second and third quarters when they have gather strength on dealing with the bad debt settlement.

In other words, if the credit growth and the bad debt settlement go slowly like it did in 2012, commercial banks would put more money into bonds, which would make the bond market bustling.

The other players in the playing fields

Though believing that commercial banks would still be the main players in the government bond market, economists say more players would appear on the secondary market.

The investors’ transaction value reportedly amounted to 26 percent of the total trading value in the secondary market in the first two months of the year. Foreign investors not only shown their interests in short term 1-3 year bonds, but in long term 5-year bonds as well with the net purchase volume in January reaching VND2.1 trillion, the 3-year high since September 2011.

The positive forecasts about the Vietnam’s economy in 2013 and the reasonable interest rates, inflation and exchange rate policies all have prompted foreign investors to buy dong bonds. They bought VND86 million worth of bonds in January, the highest level since 2007.

DDDN
 

 

 
 
 
 
US$57 million Diamond field project launched
  • 3/15/2013 6:06:43 PM
 
(VOV) -Petroleum Equipment Assembly and Metal Structure Joint Stock Company (PVC-MS) has officially launched the Diamond field development project in Vung Tau on March 15.
 
The US$57 million project is a Petronas Carigali Vietnam Limited (PCVL) investment. PVC-MS has assumed a general contractor role for EPCC (engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning).
The field is expected to enter operation on May 19, 2014.
Addressing the ground breaking ceremony, PVC-MS General Director Nguyen Dinh The committed the company—with its professional engineers and modern equipment—to ensuring the project’s safety, quality, and strict adherence to deadlines.
 
 
 
 
Vietnam-EU FTA under discussion

3/15/2013 6:20:32 PM

(VOV) -Ho Chi Minh City hosted a March 15 seminar to discuss the contents of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (VEFTA) that Vietnamese businesses need to consider.
 
The event was co-organized by the European Trade Policy and Investment support Project (EU-MUTRAP) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
 
The VEFTA is a comprehensive free trade agreement drafted to benefit both parties and honour their obligations as World Trade Organization members.
 
exports_copy.jpg
 
Under the agreement, Vietnamese exports will enjoy exemptions from at least 90 percent of EU taxes, helping to direct the attention of EU capital towards Vietnam.
But Vietnam will also face challenges arising from opening its service market, clarifying its business and investment regulations, and complying with the zero import duty commitments applicable to most taxes.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MoIT) Multilateral Trade Policy Department Deputy Head Le Trieu Dung said the VEFTA negotiations cover not only commodities and services but also intellectual property, public procurement, and sustainable development.
Dung believes Vietnamese businesses should follow the progress and contribute their opinions to the VEFTA negotiations in order to protect their legitimate rights, prepare for the tax reduction roadmap, and effectively take advantage of their preferential positions after the agreement is signed.
Jean-Jacques Bouflet—Minister-Counsellor for the European Union’s Delegation to Vietnam—said the VEFTA is mutually supplementary rather than competitive. The future signing of the agreement will offer opportunities based on a market approach that will benefit both sides.
Stronger Vietnam-EU economic relations in recent years have helped Vietnamese exports surge. Exports in 2012 represented a 22.5 percent increase over 2011. EU import growth recorded rates of 18 percent in 2011 and 13.3 percent in 2012.
Vietnam’s primary EU exports are electrical engineering equipment, garments and textiles, footwear, coffee, and seafood, while its major imports include advanced technology products, machinery and equipment, and transport vehicles.
 
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Lao Cai has new hydropower plant

 

15/03/2013 | 11:18:29
 
 
 
The Northern Power Cooperation of Vietnam and China ’s Yunnan Power Grid Company on March 14 put on operation the Seo Chong Ho hydropower plant in Ban Ho commune, Sa Pa district, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai .

Construction of the 21 MW facility began in 2008 at a cost of over 700 billion VND.

The plant has two turbines, which produce nearly 100 million kWh of electricity for the national grid annually.

It is the second largest of its kind built in Sa Pa district, following the 34.5 MW Su Pan 2 hydropower plan, which was put into service in early 2011.

The disparity of water levels between the plant and its main dam stands at 833 metres, the largest one measured in Southeast Asia .

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Secretary of the Lao Cai Party Committee Nguyen Huu Van said the province holds a great potential for hydroelectricity development.

Lao Cai always creates favourable conditions for businesses both at home and abroad to invest in the locality in various areas, including the building of small and medium-scaled hydropower plants, he affirmed.

Van highlighted the Seo Chong Ho hydropower plant’s contributions to the province’s socio-economic development and boosting the friendship between Lao Cai and Yunnan.-VNA
 


Alumina plants’ capacities may be doubled

09 March 2013 - 06:24 PM

Last update 09/03/2013 (GMT+7)
0 0 12345
 
 
VietNamNet Bridge – The capacities of Tan Rai and Nhan Co alumina plants will remain unchanged from now to 2015, but they could be doubled thereafter if transport infrastructure was good enough, a ministry official said.
 
 
Illustrative image. (Source: SGTT)
 
On January 4, after listening to a report on revisions in the plan for development of the bauxite industry delivered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Prime Minister said the industry should be developed step by step, from trial to large-scale operation.
As requested by the Prime Minister, the two alumina plants Tan Rai and Nhan Co will have their capacities unchanged during the trial period from now to 2015, said Nguyen Manh Quan, director of the Heavy Industry Department under the trade ministry.
By 2020, their capacities would be doubled if traffic infrastructure conditions were sufficient, he said, referring to the Government’s instruction.
Later, if the two plants put in good performances, other alumina projects with a capacity of 2-3 million tons per year would be developed, Quan said at a press conference on industry and trade in the first two months on Monday.
The plan for development of the bauxite industry will be submitted to the Politburo in the coming time for guidance and then forwarded to the Prime Minister for approval.
The Tan Rai bauxite project with an annual capacity of 650,000 tons is scheduled to start operations this June.
Quan said the total investment cost of the project had risen 30%. Alumina price was around US$326 per ton in December 2012, versus some US$365 in September 2009 when the project was approved.
He ascribed the price drop to the economic crisis, making not only aluminum production but also production of other metals significantly slow down.
“Given the current mechanism and the alumina price in late 2012, this project is not cost-effective and has a high risk,” he stated.
Some policies regarding the Tan Rai bauxite project should be adjusted. For example, the project owner Vinacomin has suggested compensation for land acquisition for bauxite exploitation should be reduced to VND250 million per hectare from VND800 million.
In addition, Vinacomin wants the environmental protection fee to be lowered from billion.VND30,000 to VND5,000 per ton, saying that it has already spent much on environmental protection.
“With adjustments in mechanism and price on the uptrend, the Tan Rai bauxite plant is forecast to be efficient,” said Quan.
Earlier, Vinacomin has signed a contract with a local firm to sell alumina at the mine at US$340 per ton, a little higher than the price in late 2012.
In the coming time, the group will collect red sludge to extract iron. Every ten tons of red sludge can provide 2.5 tons of iron for production of steel billets.
Quan said international organizations had predicted alumina price would go up in line with aluminum price. From now to 2020, alumina price is expected to rise to US$450 per ton, and thus the Tan Rai project might achieve higher economic efficiency.
Source: SGT
 
 
 
IIB cooperates with Vietnamese banks

01 March 2013 - 04:34 PM

01/03/2013 | 22:10:00
 
 
 
The International Investment Bank (IIB) signed cooperation agreements with several Vietnamese banks within the framework of a visit by the bank’s delegation.

Under a comprehensive cooperation agreement between IIB and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), IIB will provide BIDV with a 50 million EUR credit in the medium and long term for project and trade assistance.

The two sides also committed to cooperating in savings and foreign exchange transactions.

The IIB also became a partner of the Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank) in many fields of business activities. It is a favourable condition for the two sides to strengthen information exchange and propose cooperation opportunities.

They pledged to organise more joint conferences, seminars and meetings to seek partners and discuss consumers’ demand of banking services.

On March 1, representatives of IIB and the Agricultural Bank of Vietnam (Agribank) signed an agreement, under which the two sides will exchange views on cooperative possibilities in the coming time and facilitate joint projects between the two banks.


Established in 1970, the IIB used to be a common bank of former socialist countries with the headquarters in Russia’s Moscow and now includes 10 member states. The aim of the bank is to build an effective mechanism of support for small and medium-sized businesses in the member states, and to participate in large infrastructure projects.

It has provided 7 billion EUR worth of loans for about 200 projects in many countries.-VNA
 
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Banks optimistic about inflation
  • Updated : 3/8/2013 11:23:42 AM

 

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At least 90 percent of local banks believe that inflation will stay in the single-digits this year, according to a survey conducted by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

Nearly 70 percent of banks predicted that the savings and lending interest rates would go down by about 2 percent, the SBV’s Monetary Statistics and Forecasting Department said.

The survey also indicated that the price adjustment managed by the State would present the biggest risk to inflation control this year, followed by the change in monetary and financial policies.

Participants forecast that the average inter-bank exchange rate between the USD and VND would rise by 1-3 percent.

Although the macro-economic situation remains weak, 90 percent of banks are still confident in the country’s business outlook.

Half predicted the economic situation would improve this year and most expect pre-tax profits to increase, although they do not see gains rising above 20 percent.

Most banks predicted credit growth would also improve compared to 2012, with gains between 10-20 percent.

Capital mobilisation is expected to grow in line with banks’ credit growth. However, capital mobilisation in VND would be much higher than that of foreign currencies.

Banks are also expected to continue allotting capital to prioritised sectors such as agriculture and rural development, export and support industries in order to spur the country’s economic growth.

While many banks still take a cautious view of both the country’s economic condition and their business results in 2013, they have found reasons to believe the situation will improve. Many expressed hope that the central bank would continue to cut interest rates, strictly handle any violations of the ceiling interest rate and create a healthy climate for currency trading performance.

 

 


Fruit and vegetable exports continue to grow

09 March 2013 - 07:01 PM

 

 

(VOV) - Vietnam earned US$119 million from fruit and vegetable exports in the first two months of 2013, up 16 percent on last year’s same period.

The result continues the sector’s 10 year streak of consecutive export growth.

This year’s fruit and vegetable export turnover is expected to hit US$1 billion, making it possible to join the US$1 billion club if the steady growth is maintained in the remaining months.

The country’s 13 primary markets with import turnover of exceeding US$10 million included China (US$218.1 million), Japan (US$54.6 million), the US (US$ 39.9 million), Russia (US$28.4 million), the Republic of Korea (US$22.6 million), and Thailand (US$20.4 million).

Large volumes of specialty fruits are being shipped abroad, such as longan, mango, orange, grapefruit, lychee, banana, and dragon fruit.

Vietnam still spends significant amounts on fruit and vegetable imports. They totalled US$294 million in 2010, US$293.5 million in 2011, US$335 million in 2012, and US$51 million in the first two months of 2013— up11.2 percent on the previous year.

Sustainable export growth will require Vietnam to focus on improving quality, controlling illegal imports, and ensuring food hygiene and safety.

 

 

 
 
 
High value crops to boost exports
March, 01 2013 10:30:55
 
 
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Farmers in the central province of Binh Thuan pack dragon fruit for export. Viet Nam’s fruit and vegetable industry aims to earn US$1 billion from exports this year, an increase of 30 per cent over last year. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue
 
HA NOI (VNS)— Viet Nam’s fruit and vegetable industry aims to earn US$1 billion from exports this year, an increase of 30 per cent over last year, said general secretary of Viet Nam Vegetables and Fruit Association (Vinafruit) Nguyen Van Ky.
To reach this target, Vinafruit will increase its growing areas and shift from inefficient rice production in the Cuu Long Delta, Song Hong (Red River) Delta and Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) to planting more high-value crops. In addition, Vinafruit plans to establish wholesale and marketing networks as well as a farm produce trading floor, said Ky.
The general secretary predicted that reaching this target would not be difficult, as Thailand –the country’s biggest competitor in 2012 – has now become one of the top 10 importers of Viet Nam’s vegetables. He attributed the change to Thai farmers’ shift to planting orchids, which bring them higher profits than produce.
This year, Vinafruit member companies plan to increase exports to specific markets.
Vinafruit will focus on China, a major importer. But exporters plan to sell Vietnamese fruit and vegetables at supermarkets there rather than only selling directly to importers.
The two biggest importers of Vietnamese produce - the US and Japan - mainly import dragon fruit, followed by mushrooms, maize, sweet potatoes, onions and ginger.
Last year, Japan was the largest importer of vegetables from Viet Nam. Imports are predicted to increase this year thanks to the growing number of vegetarians in Japan, Ky said.
Last year, exports were slower than previous years, but the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry still achieved high export turnover of US$770 million. In recent years, Viet Nam has been ranked among the top five fruit and vegetable exporters in the world. — VNS

 

http://vietnamnews.v...st-exports.html


 


2,000 workers to be trained for Vietnam’s first nuclear power project

01/03/2013 (GMT+7)
 

 
VietNamNet Bridge – The Song Da Corporation will send 2,000 workers and engineers to Russia and Japan for training with a major on nuclear power construction from 2-3 years, starting from 2013.

Mr. Le Van Ton, a senior official from the Song Da Corporation, said that these people will be the major labor force of Vietnam who joined the Russian and Japanese contractors to build the Ninh Thuan 1 and Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plants in the coming years.

In early February, Song Da 5 signed a contract with Russian company NIAEP to send some Vietnamese workers to Russia to build Russia's Rostov nuclear power plant. This is a major project of Russia, with 4 turbines with a capacity of 4,000 MW. Two of them have been operating and the remaining two turbines are scheduled for completion in 2015.

Song Da 5 is the contractor in the field of hydro power, urban infrastructure, industrial parks. It has participated in the construction of large power projects such as Son La, Lai Chau and Song Bung 4.

According to the decision of the Prime Minister, by 2030 Vietnam will build 13 nuclear power reactors.

In the first phase, from now to 2015, Vietnam will complete the approval of investment projects, the location, the selection of contractors, preparation of core technical experts to start building the first nuclear power plant.

It is expected that by 2020, the construction of the first turbine of the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant will be completed, with a capacity of 1,000 MW and the second turbine will be put into operation in 2021.

At the same time, construction of the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant and the preparation for finding locations for the construction of other nuclear power plants will be kicked off.

The plan by 2025, the total capacity of nuclear power plants will reach about 8,000 MW and will increase to 15,000 MW by 2030 (accounting for 10% of the total power output).

TBKTSG

 

http://english.vietn...er-project.html


 
 
 
 
Banks ready to pump capital into real estate sector

28/02/2013 (GMT+7)
 

 
VietNamNet Bridge – Commercial banks can find all favorable conditions at this moment to run the credit programs to fund house purchases: the government has turned the green light on, while the demand is believed to increase significantly in the time to come.
 
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Commercial banks have stated they are ready to provide loans to fund house and apartment purchases. The statement has been made after the government encouraged banks to pump low-interest rate loans to the low-cost housing market segment.

The government, in the plan to stimulate the demand in the real estate market, has decided that about 20-40 trillion dong would be injected in the market this year.

In fact, commercial banks themselves also want to disburse money to the real estate market, once the limitation on the real estate credit has been removed. In the past, real estate was listed as the business sector which banks were discouraged to pump capital into. However, the regulation has been amended.

Eximbank has launched a credit package worth VND5 trillion for the real estate market. Under the program, customers would be able to borrow money at the fixed interest rate of 12 percent per annum for the first two years.

Truong Van Phuoc, General Director of Eximbank, said the credit packages to be launched by commercial banks would have positive impacts on the real estate market which has been frozen for a long time. He said Eximbank would focus on providing loans to individuals to fund their house purchases.

Sacombank’s General Director Phan Huy Khang also said the bank intends to push up the lending to the real estate sector. He said the real estate credit now just accounts for 15-20 percent of the bank’s outstanding loans, which means that the bank still has many opportunities to disburse money to the sector.

Sacombank not only provides loans to individual clients to fund their house purchases, but would also provide loans to feasible real estate project developers.

Sacombank has announced the VND1 trillion credit package with the preferential interest rates, which would be disbursed to the individuals who want to borrow to buy or repair houses from now until the end of May 2013. Clients would be able to borrow 100 percent of the values of the houses, or up to VND10 billion for 10-15 years.

The interest rates to be applied to the loans would be 9.9 percent per annum, to be applied for the first two months. After that, the interest rates would be calculated by the deposit interest rate plus 2 percent per annum for the next 10 months, and by the deposit interest rate plus 4 percent for the next years. The clients who borrow money to buy houses have been promised about the one-year grace period, while those who borrow to repair houses would enjoy the 6-month grace period.

OCB also said it is seeking the projects with high feasibility to fund. The bank has decided to reserve VND80 billion to fund Ehome 3, an apartment project for medium income earners.

Banks have always been encouraged to provide loans to fund the production and business, rather than to the real estate sector. However, bankers have admitted that the capital demand from businesses is very weak, since they still have to struggle to clear inventories and don’t intend to scale up business now.

Therefore, though it’s really a risky business to provide loans to the real estate sector, banks still try to find good projects to fund.

Phuoc Ha

 

http://english.vietn...ate-sector.html



Three energy “giants” establish strategic partnership
  • 2/27/2013 4:24:26 PM
 
 
The three State-owned giants in the energy sector have inked a strategic cooperation agreement with the aim of ensuring national energy security.
The general directors of the National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) signed the agreement at a ceremony in Hanoi on February 26.
Under the agreement, the three groups will cooperate in developing a master plan for the sector as well as in investing in the building and operation of power plants, the exploitation and transportation of coal both at home and abroad. They will also share the use of services and coordinate their communications activities.
President of the Vietnam Energy Association Tran Viet Ngai said the cooperation between the three groups over the past time has contributed to ensuring national energy security.
However, Ngai pointed out the fact that there is yet a master plan for the energy sector as a whole, with the coal, power and oil industries each having its own development plan.

This fact hinders the implementation of projects included in the national power development plan, he noted, adding that the newly-reached strategic cooperation between the three major energy industries is expected to help address this problem.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, PetroVietnam President Tran Dinh Thuc asked EVN to enhance cooperation in the operation of PetroVietnam’s gas-fuelled power plants, especially during the rainy season.
He called on EVN to speed up the negotiation and signing of contracts with PetroVietnam’s power plants such as NhonTrach 1&2 power plans, Vung Ang coal-fuelled power plant, Dakring hydroelectric plant and Phu Quy wind power plant while speeding up the construction of the 220 kV Duyen Ha-Doc Soi power line connecting Dakring hydroelectricity plant and the national power grid.
On this occasion, Thuc suggested Vinacomin leaders accelerate the negotiation of coal selling contracts with PetroVietnam thermal power plant.
 
 
 
Travel firms report Tet "bountiful crop"
27/02/2013 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge - Though people have to cut down expenses, they still spent money to travel on Tet days.
 
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Localities benefiting from the influx of tourists

According to Vietravel, this firm served more that 34,000 inbound tourists, 25% more than last year, from the first to the ninth day of Tet. The number of tourists booking tours to foreign countries, especially Southeast Asia nations, suddenly accelerated in the last minute. There were about 2,000 inbound tourists and over 2,100 outbound ones in the busiest days.

Lien Bang Travelink also confirmed that their outbound tours increased about 20% compared with the previous Tet, while inbound tours only raised 12%. As for Saigontourist Travel Service Company, the number of Vietnamese tourist traveling internally and externally increased 30% and over 50% respectively.

Other travel firms said that the outbound tour growth rate was higher than inbound ones, yet the total number of inbound tours still dominates.

Besides, many families decided to travel in the self-sufficient way to nearby areas in order to minimize the expenditure. Khanh Chi, living in Bien Hoa city, said that she together with other six members of her family took a two day trip to Vung Tau – Long Hai. The trip was a great pleasure for them and it only cost 10 million dongs. Chi’s family was not the only family to choose this kind of traveling. According to Ho May tourist area management, 60% of 30,000 tourists came with their families in the self-sufficient way.

Although travel firms in HCMC and Hanoi had stopped accepting new bookings of Nha Trang tours very early due to the massive numbers, the high number of tourists traveling on their own still made all beaches there overcrowded, especially from the third to the seventh day of Tet.

Vietnamese Tet holiday attracting foreign tourists

The great number of international tourists contributed to the tourist revenue growth in many localities. That Vietnamese traditional Tet had been promoted as the most fascinating tourist season for foreign visitors brought travel firms satisfactory results.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the number of foreign tourists in Year of Snake Tet approximately increased about 8% compared with the last year. Travel firms that had the highest growth rate of international tourists were JTB, Saigontourist, Vietravel, Ben Thanh, Fiditour, Hoa Binh Viet Nam and Apex. As a result, their revenue from foreign tourist rose about 7%.

Saigontourist Travel Service Company’s two favorite tours “Visting Mekong Delta in Tet holiday” and “Spending Tet with Saigon people” attracted 40% more foreign tourists than last year. Overall, there were 46,000 foreign tourists in 68,000 tourists that Saigontourist served this Tet.

The number of tourists visiting Hue in five days of Tet was 52,000, increasing 32.8% compared with last year, including 30,000 foreign ones. Travel firms in Hue held some new special tours to help tourists understand more about local customs like visiting and praying at Hue Pagoda, trying playing folk games, visiting Thanh Tien paper flower village, joining Huyen Tran temple festival, etc.
Bao Han
 


How luxury cars come to Vietnam?

 

27/02/2013 (GMT+7)

 

 
VietNamNet Bridge – Most of the luxury cars have been imported to Vietnam as the assets of Viet Kieu repatriates. There are the rings that bring the cars to Vietnam under forged documents.
 
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Kim Q, the owner of a nail shop in Portland City of Oregon State in the US, said that she was once asked to join a ring which created forged documents about Viet Kieu repatriates and brought luxury cars to Vietnam.

Q said that her family once needed a big sum of money to start up a business. HS, a Vietnamese in Australia then called her, saying that she could earn some money by “lending the names and information.”

The man said that if she just left Vietnam and still did not have the US citizenship, she would need to show the passport granted by the Vietnamese administration and the “green card.”

After following necessary procedures, a company in HCM City would contact Q and buy her an air ticket for her flight to Vietnam, where she would stay for four weeks.

After arriving in the Tan Son Nhat airport, Q would receive an advance of $2,000 on fee from the company. If the cars can safely come to Vietnam, the company would pay the remaining $6,000.

However, Q then decided not to join the ring, after she called a relative in HCM City to consult with him about the deal. She was told that the police were making investigation on similar cases.

Q was not the only one who was asked to “lend the name” to help bring luxury cars to Vietnam. Thanh Nien newspaper reported that the General Department of Customs discovered some abnormal things with the Viet Kieu returning to Vietnam.

The abnormal things were that though the Viet Kieu had modest income, they always brought with themselves to Vietnam very expensive cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The police have also requested the General Department of Customs to provide relating documents to clarify the car imports that it believed were smuggled to Vietnam with the declarations that these were the assets of Viet Kieu repatriates.

Luxury cars arrive in Vietnam in masses

Under the Circular No. 118 of the Ministry of Finance, every Viet Kieu repatriate can bring with himself to Vietnam a car that he is using. The car would be exempted from the import tax and the VAT.

The preferences, plus the tightening over the car imports both have prompted people to forge documents of Viet Kieu repatriates to evade tax when bringing luxury cars to Vietnam.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has noted the sharp increase in the number of luxury cars imported to Vietnam recently. In the first 11 months of 2012 alone, 70 luxury cars of Viet Kieu repatriates were allowed to enter Vietnam, the number that 4.7 times higher than that in 2011 and six times than that in 2010.

The ministry has also pointed out that 90 percent of the Viet Kieu repatriates’imported cars are luxurious models with the brands of Lexus, Porsche, BMW, Audi, Land Rover. Especially, these also included super cars such as Bugatti Veyron, Bentley Continental Flying Spur.

Opinions from the well informed circle said that of the 70 super cars present in Vietnam, only two have been imported through the official channel, while the others have been declared as the assets of Viet Kieu repatriates.

Lao Dong
 
 
 
 
 
Vietnam to host 19th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat

27 February 2013 - 03:14 PM

  • Updated : 2/27/2013 6:45:23 PM
(VOV) - Vietnam will host the 19th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Retreat and related meetings from March 6-9 in Hanoi.
This was announced at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s press briefing in Hanoi on February 27.
The event will be attended by the ten ASEAN Economic Ministers, the ASEAN Secretary General and the EU Trade Commissioner, along with researchers, representatives from the business community, and ASEAN and EU media agencies.
The Retreat is one of many contributions from Vietnam to the establishment of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015.
Economic integration is the spearhead of ASEAN cooperation and also the area in which ASEAN has achieved great success.
 
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The 19th ASEAN Economic Minsters’ Retreat is an important annual event of ASEAN economic cooperation which gives participants the chance to discuss essential initiatives to boost regional economic cooperation and set incremental goals towards the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015.
As the 2015 deadline approaches, greater effort is required by members to turn ASEAN nations into a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region and a region of equitable economic development with full integration into the global economy.
Within the framework of the 19th AEM Retreat, the 12th Consultative Meeting between ASEAN Economic Ministers and the EU Trade Commissioners will be held on March 9. The participants will discuss the programs and initiatives to promote economic cooperation and trade and investment relations between the two regions. Vietnam is well placed to contribute to the dialogue as it is currently the coordinating country for ASEAN-EU economic cooperation.
The 3rd ASEAN-EU Business Summit will also be held on March 9, offering an opportunity for regional policy makers and the business community to compare notes on inter-sectoral issues and share business experience to tap the full potential of trade and investment between the two regions.
ASEAN and the EU are Vietnam’s most important trading and investment partners, with ASEAN currently standing as Vietnam’s third largest export market after the US and EU. Conversely, ASEAN is the second largest supplier of goods to Vietnam, behind China.
Vietnam’s trade turnover to ASEAN member countries reached more than US$38 billion in 2012. Meanwhile, the EU is the second largest export market and is a major investor in Vietnam.
As the coordinating country for ASEAN-EU economic cooperation and the host of the 19th AEM Retreat and Related Meetings, Vietnam expects to make constructive contributions to the ASEAN economic integration process, as well as to the strengthening of ASEAN-EU trade and investment.
 

 


SMEs reap fruits from e-commerce

01/03/2013 (GMT+7)




VietNamNet Bridge – Experts have pointed out that more and more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) utilize e-commerce in doing business. They have also noted the increasingly high popularity of the e-marketplace.

 

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KOS, the briefcase shop on Huynh Van Banh Street in Phu Nhuan district of HCM City launched the website valikep.vn in early August 2012.

At first, the website had a simple interface where the images of products, telephone numbers and the address of the shop were shown. Meanwhile, customers still could not place orders or make payment online.

After two months since the website was launched, KOS reportedly obtained the turnover of VND40 million, which meant that it could sell products to 20 customers and it nearly could not make profit.

Nguyen Khanh Duy, the owner of the shop, said at that time, he did not really pay attention to the sale via Internet. This was why valikeo.vn did not receive the appropriate attention. Duy, for example, did not spend money on optimizing the SEO – search engine optimization, a technique that allows putting the website on the top position in the Google’s list of search insults.

In October 2012, KOS decided to spend six million dong a month to apply SEO. And Duy has been very satisfactory about the business result. Since more customers know about KOS, the shop receives some 150 orders a month, while the turnover has jumped to VND200 million.

Banh My Viet (Viet bread) at banhmiviet.net, at first, did not spend much money on online marketing, because it thought it could take full advantage of the ad pieces it could post free of charge on some forums like Dia Diem An Uong, Otosaigon.com or hoclamgiau.vn.

However, the managers of the chain later realized that the marketing on the forums did not bring high efficiency. The free ad pieces on the forums just brought 10 percent of the total customers of the chain.

Le Van Cuong, the manager of Banh My Viet chain on Phan Xich Long Street in Phu Nhuan district, said that only one year after the chain’s debut, in October 2012, did the company have its own website and begin spending money on online marketing.

“Banh My Viet now cooperates with some websites which allow to place orders online such as Foodpanda.com, Vietnammm.com, Eat.vn, Chonmon.vn… The cooperation has brought big benefits to the shop chain,” he said.

The above said websites follow the policies which assume responsibility for the quality of the services of the providers they suggest to customers.

Cuong went on to say that nowadays, the shop can sell 1,000 loafs of bread, and most of the customers, the expats, place orders online.

Nguyen Kim Loan, Director of Festival center belonging to Festival travel firm, said the firm began selling tours via Internet in 2007.

Loan said the firm has been satisfactory about the business result, with the number of customers from online channel at relatively high level, accounting for 30 percent of the total clients and bring ¼ of the total turnover of Festival.

Having realized the important role of online marketing, Festival has decided to allocate a bigger budget for the work. Not only trying to do marketing via emails, Facebook and social networks, the firm has also spent money on Google Adword to make its website more easily found on Google’s search engine.

Experts said that if websites are considered the “head offices” of enterprises, hosting should be seen as the land plot for the head offices to be built on. Therefore, they said it would be better to use the hosting provided by international providers, for which they have to pay $100 a year. Meanwhile, in order to possess a Vietnamese domain name, one would have to pay VND830,000 a year.

TBKTSG

 

http://english.vietn...e-commerce.html


 
 
 
Starbucks doesn’t see Trung Nguyen a rival
01/03/2013 (GMT+7)
 
 
VietNamNet Bridge – While some businessmen call Dang Le Nguyen Vu, the owner of Trung Nguyen coffee brand a “Vietnamese pride” because he dares to “challenge the US Starbucks to a duel,” others say Vu should prove his ability by his business results, not by boasting.
 
 
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The US Starbucks coffee chain officially joined the Vietnamese market on February 1 by opening its first shop in HCM City.

When John Culver, Starbucks’ President in China, Asia – Pacific, announced Starbucks would set foot in the Vietnamese market, Vu sniggered, saying that Starbucks does not deserve to be a rival to Trung Nguyen.

“Some people may go to Starbucks because they want to prove that they are modern and stylish. However, those who are the connoisseurs in coffee, would come to Trung Nguyen,” Vu said.

Not only making the impressive statements, Vu frankly sneered at US Starbucks. "They (Starbucks) are great at implanting a story in consumers' minds, but if we look into the core elements of Starbucks, what they are doing is terrible. They are not selling coffee, they are selling coffee-flavored water with sugar in it," he said when giving an interview to a Reuters’ reporter when he was in Switzerland.

Especially, Vu believes that the success of Starbucks lies in the display technology, not in the quality of products.

While Vu does not spare any opportunity to criticize Starbucks on mass media, the US giant has not made any replies. It simply has said that Starbucks does not think Trung Nguyen is its rival.

“Starbucks consider them (Trung Nguyen – reporter) as the like-minded friends. Imagine what will happen if only Starbucks exists in the world. It would be very boring. But things would be quite different if there are also the friends like Trung Nguyen,” said Nguyen The Khoa, the commercial manager of Starbucks Vietnam.

“I am also a Vietnamese, and my family members also grow coffee. Therefore, I would applaud Vu’s plan to bring Vietnam’s coffee to the world market. However, instead of calling us the “rival,” he could consider us the friends,” Khoa said.

Meanwhile, Vu Quoc Tuan, Public Relations Director of Nestle Vietnam, when asked about the presence of Starbucks in Vietnam, simply said that the principle Nestle follows is that it would not make comments about the rivals.

“It’s the business culture of the big companies that they never make comments about the rivals. It is also the principle of Nestle or Starbucks,” Tuan said.

“As you may see, though Trung Nguyen has given bad comments about Starbucks’products, Starbucks still keeps quiet about Trung Nguyen. And you would see that they (Starbucks) would not say something like “your coffee is bad,” or “our cafes are better.” They would never do this,” he continued.

While local newspapers warned about a “war” to occur in Vietnam, Tuan said the word is unsuitable in the context. In a war, some people would kill others. Meanwhile, in this case, all the market members still can co-exist.

“Apple and Microsoft are also the rivals, but they still have been developing well,” Tuan said.

Vu Vinh Phu, Chair of the Hanoi Supermarket Chain, agrees that Vu’s statement could be seen as a behavior of conducting unhealthy competition, because Vu has defamed Starbucks.

Local newspapers have also published some comments by big businessmen who say it’s always easier said than done.

DNSG
 


Folks, there are literally thousands of articles like these...as per the progress being made in Vietnam......

 

IMO...It would seemingly stand to reason...that with all the progress happening over there...that eventually they would have to have a higher valued currency...especially if they have before...even when the place was a in a primitive mode..at least as per now in comparison...we will see...

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mr john Newbie

mr john

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It won't happen in my lifetime. I'm in Vietnam every couple of months and the people couldn't deal with a RV. Huge separation of classes there. The rich will continue to get richer, and the poor will stay poor. 

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JJ7 Newbie

JJ7

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Whatever Vietnam can or cant do...who knows...but why did it take .17 cents of U.S. Dollars, to buy 1 VND....yes, that's $170,000.00 per million VND...before the Vietnam War...and now it's 20,000 to 1...so, what I'm getting at...is if it can fall this much...from where it was 40-50 years ago...with nothing happening in Vietnam back then...then why is it almost worthless now...with everyone from all over the world over there doing business now?...I know, I know..they're keeping their currency devalued for a trade advantage...but how long can this go on...while the trade advantage that they are using as a bargaining chip via their currency...is going against fiat currencies for the most part...IMO...when or if the fiat party is over...we may see a real rate as per what countries true net worth is...and yes, via their currency...thus reflecting it...

Note: Just from knowing the above, I guess the powers that be...can do whatever they wish huh?..so if we see the VND come in one day at a penny...not so bad huh?...But what if it is 17 cents again?...What if the dollar fails..or eventually falls even further..could this force emerging market countries currencies to rise...IMO..it should, but when is the million dollar question!..

P.S..IMO...Holding the VND is just another hedge against what could happen to the USD...we will see...

Just another gander at the signifigance of emerging market countries currencies....from a former critic and basher of the IQD & VND...

Its pretty simple. Before the Vietnam war they sent have 3 quadrillion dong in their money supply. It's the most basic principle of economics, the more there is of something, the less it's worth. Do you not understand that?

Its pretty simple. Before the Vietnam war they sent have 3 quadrillion dong in their money supply. It's the most basic principle of economics, the more there is of something, the less it's worth. Do you not understand that?

Didn't have, not sent have, stupid phone.

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