The company has signed a four-month contract with Japanese Nikken Sekkei group for the development of a detailed plan for the IP.

Once completed, the 130ha Megastar Yen My II will house a wide range of industries, including electric and electronic assembly, agricultural product processing and steel production.

UK companies eye Vietnamese market

A group of UK entrepreneurs arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on November 3 to conduct research into the local market and seek partners.

The delegation of t he North West International Trade Centre of the UK Trade & Investment includes representatives from companies operating in electronics, finance, services, engineering and printing/packaging technology.

The leader of the delegation, Peter Thompson, said all of the delegates hope to establish trading relations with Vietnamese partners, especially those in import-export and services.

The North West of England – a 111 billion GBP economy – is the 12th largest in Europe with a population of nearly 7 million and 230,000 businesses. Services and industry are its key sectors.

The trade delegation will be in Vietnam until November 8.

Financial services firm lists in HCM City

PetroVietnam Finance Corporation (PVF) began its first trading day at the HCM Stock Exchange on November 3, becoming the 163 rd company to list on the board.

The price for PVF was established at 24,000 VND (1.42 USD) compared to the reference price of 30,000 VND, falling at the 20 percent fluctuation limit.

The company’s operations include investment activities, corporate and individual financial services, loan arrangement and money trading.

PVF has chartered capital of 5 trillion VND, with PetroVietnam representing the State holding 78 percent and Morgan Stanley, 10 percent.

Under their agreement, the two major shareholders will not release their stake in three years, and only the remaining 12 percent, equivalent to 60 million stocks, are eligible for trading.

The company targets to increase its capital to 1 billion USD by 2015 and focus its activities in areas including petroleum, energy, real estate and high-end tourism.

In the first nine months of the year, PVF posted a turnover of almost 2.9 trillion VND (174 million USD), completing 58 percent of the year’s target, up almost 50 percent over the same period in 2007.

PVF has gained a gross profit of 497 billion VND (29.8 million USD), with 50 percent of the volume it expected for the year.

VN-Index up for fourth straight day

The VN-Index on November 3 posted its fourth straight day of modest advances, adding 0.46 percent to close at 348.64 points.

Prominent gainers included blue chips FPT, Hau Giang Pharmaceuticals (DHG) and dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM).

The day’s trading saw 16.13 million shares change hands, for a value of 477.89 billion VND (28.45 million USD).

“Pressure from the financial crisis has eased off as hopes have risen for policy efforts to dampen the crisis,” said Nguyen Quynh Nga, an analyst from a Hanoi-based securities firm. This week, Nga noted, economic indices for inflation were also sending positive signals.

Late on November 3, the State Bank of Vietnam decided to further cut the prime interest rate by 1 percentage point to 12 percent, effective on November 5. Nga said that the news should spur trading and gains in the next couple of sessions.

The State Securities Commission, meanwhile, recently stated that net sales by foreign investors had not had any substantial impact on the domestic stock exchange as foreign currency reserves remained significant.

“This confirmation has also helped calm investors from panicking about a foreign withdrawal from the market,” Nga said.

Foreign investors on November 3 increased their buying, picking up a total of 1.34 million shares, approaching their selling volume of 1.93 million.

In Hanoi , the market failed to track HCM City ’s gains, as recent flooding and continued heavy rains continued to dampen spirits and slow trading volumes.

“Everything has begun to cost more day by day, power has been cut off and water has covered houses and streets all over the city,” said Nga. “All of these things have distracted investors from normal trading.

The HASTC-Index stood at 112.88 at the end of the day after losing 1.74 percent or 2 points.

About 8.55 million shares changed hands for a turnover of 219.61 billion VND (13.07 million USD). The centre saw 89 losers on the day, 51 gainers, and remaining shares unchanged.

Italy’s magazine hails Vietnam’s economic development

Italy’s magazine L’espresso has run an article on economic development in Vietnam ahead of an Italian biggest-ever business mission’s visit to the Southeast Asian nation early this month.

Entitled “Good morning Vietnam”, the article by reporter Massimo Morello said Vietnam is changing everyday and is considered as a potential market for foreign investors thanks to its high annual economic growth rate.

The country has completely changed with many facilities built and major projects under construction, the article said, citing Luc Le Jeune, a French with Vietnamese origin who has returned to Ho Chi Minh City to invest in.

Besides, Vietnam’s development helped it to be elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2008-09 term, the article added.

The 150-member Italian business mission, headed by Minister of Economic Development Claudio Scajola will visit Vietnam from November 4-7 to seek partnership and business opportunities.

The Italian businesses specialised in food processing, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, leather shoes, garment and textile, household utensils, wooden product and toy production, construction materials, auto spare parts and machinery.

Hong Kong-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce makes debut

The Hong Kong-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce (HKVCC) made its debut on November 3 at the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, HKVCC Chairman Jonathan Choi said the chamber’s establishment is a necessary step following the foundation of the Hong Kong-Vietnam Business Association.

The chamber will act as a bridge, helping both sides’ businesses to seek opportunities for promoting trade and economic cooperation between Hong Kong and Vietnam, he affirmed.

Vietnamese Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau Pham Cao Phong stressed that after more than 20 years of renovation, Vietnam has become an attractive and safe destination for foreign investors. He attributed the advantages to Vietnam’s high economic growth rate and its young and skilled population.

Trade and investment between Vietnam and Hong Kong have been booming in recent years, he said. Bilateral trade turnover stood at more than 3 billion USD in 2007, a year-on-year increase of 43.7 percent. In the first nine months of this year, the figure reached 2.72 billion USD, up 25 percent as compared with the same period last year and is expected to be 3.5-3.6 billion USD for the whole year, he added.

Hong Kong is Vietnam’s seventh largest investor with 6.3 billion USD worth of investment in 494 projects.

Consul General Phong expressed his hope that bilateral trade and investment would be promoted with the establishment of the HKVCC.

A workshop on investment in Vietnam was held right after the opening ceremony, attracting Hong Kong businesses, including those operating in real estates and securities markets.

Ninh Thuan leads the country in FDI attraction

Southern central Ninh Thuan province is leading the country in terms of FDI inflow as it attracted 16.8 percent, or 9.79 billion USD, of the total foreign investment capital into the country in the first ten months of 2008.

The figure does not include the capital of seven oil and gas exploration projects, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Following Ninh Thuan are southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province with 9.3 billion USD and Ho Chi Minh City with 8 billion USD.

Foreign investors poured a total of 59.3 billion USD into new projects in the country over the past 10 months.
The country has also signed with international donors agreements on Official Development Assistance (ODA) provision worth more than 3.1 billion USD, including 2.9 billion USD in loans and 206 million USD in grants.
The MPI reported that close to 1.6 billion USD in ODA capital had been disbursed in the January-October period of this year.