Ho Chi Minh City are joining efforts with An Giang and Kien Giang provinces to launch a tourism investment promotion program along with Cambodia’s Sihanoukville and capital Phnom Penh on December 7-9, according to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Vietnamese business people will meet directly with leaders from Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism and several local provinces to look at ways of developing the country’s tourist industry. Discussions will focus on facilitating the flow of tourists through border gates, investing in the infrastructure, real estate and tourist services.

Vietnam is likely to earn between USD900 million and USD1 billion in 2009 from garment and textile exports to Japan, up by 18-20 percent over the previous year, according to Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). Domestic textile and garment businesses have attributed the increase in Vietnam’s export turnover to Japan to the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) which came into force on October 1, 2009 and to a reduction in tax rates on Vietnamese garments and textiles exported to Japan. Over the past ten months, Vietnam’s garment and textile exports are estimated to have reached USD7.5 billion, down 1 percent compared to the same period last year. Despite a sharp fall in the export volume to major markets such as the US and the EU over the past ten months, exports to some Asian countries have kept increasing, such as Japan up by 14 percent.

The Binh Phuoc Cement factory, the largest of its kind in Vietnam, will conduct a trial run in December 2009 and start operating at the beginning of 2010. The plant has a total investment of VND8,000 billion and the capacity to produce 2 million tons of  cement a year. Most of the factory’s construction has been completed. This is one of the largest economic projects in the southern province of Binh Phuoc and is the biggest most modern cement plant in Vietnam so far.

Opportunities for cooperation in the field of fisheries with Indonesia topped the agenda of a workshop in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on November 21. Addressing the workshop, Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Pitono Pornomo said that Indonesia’s economy is recovering with GDP growth estimated at 4.3 percent this year and 5.4 percent in 2010, which will open great opportunities for investors, including those from Vietnam. He also suggested Vietnamese seafood companies either establish their facilities in Indonesia or set up a linkage with import-export companies in the country. Ambassador Pornomo and his entourage to the workshop also answered Vietnamese businesses’ questions on sea boundaries and cooperation in the fisheries sector between the two countries. The fisheries sector is Indonesia’s spearhead economic area, helping the country rake in nearly USD3 billion per year.

Vietnam and the United States have pledged to boost the development of sea ports and transportation services in Can Tho and Houston to raise trade value between the two countries. A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect was signed on Nov. 20 in Texas by General Director of the Port of Houston Authority Aleg Dryer and Director of Can Tho Port Pham Thanh Tien. Speaking at the signing ceremony, General Director Dryer said that the Port of Houston Authority would like to expand cooperation in the fields of economy, trade and sea transportation with many countries, especially in Asia. Vietnam is one of the countries in which the Houston municipal authorities have a keen interest.

The Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group said Monday it has received approval from the government to join the project building the Asia-Pacific Gateway submarine cable system. The 8,000-kilometer system, with an initial bandwidth of 4 terabytes per second, will link South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, VNPT said in a statement. It said the system is scheduled to be operational from the third quarter of 2011. The investors developing the system are China Telecom, China Unicom, Chunghwa Telecom, KT, NTT Communications, PLDT, Telekom Malaysia and VNPT, it added.

National carrier Vietnam Airlines said its daily Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok service will become twice daily starting December 1 as the carrier plans for more passengers from Thailand next year. Do Khoi Nguyen, Vietnam Airlines representative in Bangkok, told Thanh Nien that the new schedule, with one flight in the morning and the other in late afternoon, would be good for the tourist market. The airline wants to prepare for more Thai tourists next year, when Vietnam celebrates Hanoi’s 1,000^th anniversary and the 2010 Hue Festival, he said. Thailand is one of Vietnam’s key tourism markets. According to the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, more than 125,118 Thai tourists visited the country in the first ten months this year, down 18.8 percent from the same period last year.

Hung Vuong Corporation, leading exporter of tra and basa catfish, is expected to get on the board of the HCM Stock Exchange next Wednesday with a reference price of VND55,000. The company, which began operations in 2003, specializes in aquaculture, seafood processing, animal food production, cold storage and real estate businesses. It runs seven factories in the three provinces of Tien Giang, Vinh Long and Soc Trang with a combined processing capacity of 800 tons of materials per day. Hung Vuong Corp’s catfish sales to overseas markets in the first nine months of this year were valued at USD100 million. The figure is expected to rise to USD150 million at the year end. The company has a cold storehouse of 42,000 tons at HCM City’s Tan Tao Industrial Park, and is preparing to develop a commercial and another apartment building project in HCM City.