The Mekong Delta is aiming for a turnover of USD3 billion in tra catfish exports by 2020, according to a plan approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The project calls for total output of tra to be raised to 1.5 million tons in 2010, of which 600,000 tons will be exported for estimated revenue of USD1.5 billion. By 2020, total production will reach 2 million tons with export earnings from the fish amounting to USD3 billion. The plan also aims to create jobs for about 250,000 people. Total investment in the project is estimated at VND1.34 trillion (USD72.5 million), of which VND800 billion will be allocated for 2009-2015 and the rest for 2016-2020.

US-based agribusiness and food company Bunge last Wednesday commenced construction of a USD100 million integrated soybean processing plant, the first of its kind in Vietnam. The facility, located in the Phu My Port Complex in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province, will have soybean crushing and multi-oil refining and bottling capabilities when it is fully completed. The first phase of the two-part project includes assembling a 3,000-tons-per-day crushing line with related flat and vertical storage for raw materials and end products. These operations are scheduled to begin production in early 2011. "Vietnam remains one of Bunge’s best growth opportunities,” Bunge Asia’s chief executive officer Christopher White said in a statement.

Ho Chi Minh City will soon auction six of its most valuable land plots coveted by many investors, an official said. Nguyen Dac Toan, deputy head of the infrastructure development division at the Department of Planning and Investment, said the city administration has submitted its land bidding regulations to the central government for approval. Toan said the proposed regulations would be applied to the auctioning of six plots considered “golden land”. Three of them are in District 1 while Districts 3, 9 and Binh Thanh each one plot each, he said. Of the six plots, the one surrounded by Nguyen Du, Dong Khoi and Ly Tu Trong Street in District 1 is the most sought after, with more than 60 investors showing their interest in purchasing it.

The Petroleum Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) will provide dynamic positioning vessel, DP2, for its partner, Talisman Malaysia, to serve the latter operation in the joint PM3-CAA project. A service contract to this effect was signed between the two sides in Kuala Lumpur on December 19. PTSC General Director Nguyen Hung Dung said this is the first time PTSC has won an international bid to provide a DP vessel for Talisman. The USD35 million contract will be valid over five years. The bid winning will help boost bilateral cooperation in the future and also affirm PTSC leading position in providing petroleum services, Dung said.

A number of new direct international flight routes will be launched from the central city of Da Nang in December. Vietnam Airlines, the country’s flag carrier said it will open its first route to Japan on December 21and a second to Hong Kong on December 23. Through the new routes, the airline hopes to establish more permanent, direct air routes in 2010 to promote tourism and investment in the city. Taiwan’s Transasia Airlines also announced that it will start a direct route between Taipei and Da Nang on December 26. In its initial phase, there will be two flights a week. Transasia is the second airline to conduct direct flights to Da Nang after Singapore’s Silk Air.

The Central Highland province of Dak Nong on December 17 held a conference to announce projects in need of investment and incentives for investors. The event attracted more than 200 domestic and foreign businesses to consider the list of 61 projects worth around VND36.4 trillion in total, including 14 agricultural projects valued at VND3.1 trillion and seven eco-tourist projects at VND20.8 trillion. At the event, the Dak Nong provincial administration handed licenses over to investors in five projects capitalised at almost VND1.63 trillion, including a polyclinic in the southern Central Highland district of Dak Mil, an eco-logical tourist site and a waste treatment facility.

Can Tho will host the first Vietnam aquatic festival entitled “Potential, Cooperation and Development”, announced the Can Tho People’s Committee at a press conference on Dec. 17. The event, which is due to take place at the Can Tho International Exhibition Fair Centre, will include a seminar and a trade promotion program to honor the great value of Vietnamese aquatic products. It will also provide opportunities for domestic businesses to seek foreign partners. The seminar scheduled for April 22-23, 2010, will focus on the real situation of aquatic farming, planning and development in Vietnam, promoting aquatic exports to potential markets, building brand names for Vietnamese aquatic products, and supporting services and solutions for the aquaculture sector with the participation of aquatic scientists and businesses.

Vietnam Data Communications (VDC) plans to increase its broadband capacity to over 100Gbps by the end of 2010, local news source Viet Nam News reports. At present, the ISP’s network has a capacity of 45Gbps, which accounts for over 70% of the country’s total. VDC hopes the move will consolidate the leading position of its ADSL ‘MegaVNN’ service. Next year the operator will focus on improving its value added services. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, VDC had an estimated high speed internet subscriber base of 1.59 million at 30 September 2009.

Foreign investors were net buyers of VND48 billion (USD2.6 million) of Vietnamese stocks out of a total VND1.28 trillion traded Monday, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange said. Volume traded totaled 35.2 million shares, with foreigners accounting for 8.3% of that amount, the stock market operator said. In the month to date, foreign investors have been net buyers of VND454.9 billion of Vietnamese stocks.

The Philippines’ National Food Authority said on Tuesday it will buy 474,252.70 tons of rice from a Dec. 8 tender, less than the 600,000 tons it sought to purchase amid high bids. The figure was slightly lower than the 474,272.70 tons that a government source earlier told Reuters would be awarded. The NFA said Vietnam’s Vinafood 2 secured contracts for 249,252.70 tons at prices ranging from USD618.95 to USD692.50 a ton, cost and freight. Trading firms Toepfer International and Daewoo International were awarded deals for the remaining volume.

Vietnam Infrastructure narrowed its net loss for the year to June to USD33.9 million from USD53.4 million. NAV at 30 June was USD261 million, down from the previous USD335 million, representing USD0.65 per share (2008 USD0.84). Cash and equivalents was USD114.5 million, with no debt at the fund level and project level. Chairman Don Lam said, “There remains a huge opportunity within the sector upon which we hope to capitalize in the coming year, with demand boosted by climate change protocol, government stimulus, and a growing economy.” During the year VNI became Vietnam’s largest investor in mobile network infrastructure - BTS towers - and made its first investment in the environmental utilities sector. A total of USD48m of available cash is committed to existing investments.

A tourism festival will be held in the northern coastal city of Ha Long from April 29 to May 2 next year as the city is making every effort to promote itself as a tourism destination and mobilize votes for Ha Long bay as among seven new world nature wonders. According to the Quang Ninh province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, all festive activities will be held in the city centre and the Bai Chay tourist resort. Visitors to the city will have an opportunity to indulge in a vivid and colorful carnival, enjoy delicious food at a gastronomy fiesta and capture various photos of cultural activities such as lion dance festival and Ha Long beauty pageant.

The Petroleum Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) has won a bid to supply ships PSV DP2 to the Talisman Malaysia Limited. The contract worth over USD35 million was signed by the PTSC and the Talisman Malaysia Limited in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 19. The PTSC has thus far exported a lot of technical service packages in the field of oil and gas to the Malaysian market with a total value of up to hundreds of millions of US dollars, making a great contribution to fulfilling its turnover and profit targets as well as increasing the amount of foreign currencies for the country in the context of the global economic recession.

The construction of the Bach Dang Hotel Complex yesterday started on an area of over 6,900 square meters at 50 Bach Dang, Hai Chau district, Da Nang city. The VND 620 billion Hotel Complex will have been completed by 2012. The complex includes a 4-star 28 storey hotel tower, a 20 storey apartment and office tower for lease. The complex aims to serve entrepreneurs and experts as well as to attract talents to Da Nang in particular and the central region in general for living and work.

The construction of the Noi Bai – Lao Cai highway section through Van Yen district(Yen Bai province) has started. The road section, nearly 40 kilometers in length, 24 meters in road-bed, has four lanes. According to the VND 2.41 trillion bid package A6, 18 bridge-related works with a total length of nearly 2 kilometers, a service station and a bus station will be built on this road section. The above-said works will be built by the Republic of Korea’s Doosan Industrial Construction Company – the contractor of the bid package. The construction is scheduled to be completed within 40 months.

Beginning Jan 1, 2010, the ban on smoking in public spaces, approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, will be implemented from January 1, 2010 onwards, VNA reported Tuesday. However, many people still have no idea about this new regulation, the news agency said. In order for the ban to be effective, Doctor Nguyen Ngoc Bich of the Vietnam Public Health Association said that all people must be informed through an organized mass media campaign and other activities held by local authorities. The ban was approved after Ministry of Health statistics revealed that more than 56 percent of men in Vietnam are active smokers, nearly half of them are between 17 and 24 years old. The report also showed that about 60 percent of 13-15 year-old children were passive smokers.