Vietnam Industrial Parks InfoGate ! Industrial Zones ! Export Processing Zones ! Business in brief 16 Sep 2011

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance asked local fuel retailers not to adjust prices of petroleum products and to ensure the balance of supply and demand, the government said in a statement on its website. Companies including PV Oil Co., Vietnam’s state-owned oil marketing company, had submitted proposals for a price hike, according to the statement.

Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) on September 15 signed an EPC contract worth $1.27 billion with Korea-based Hyundai Engineering and Construction contractor to build the main plant of Mong Duong 1 thermo power plant project. Mong Duong thermo power plant on an area of 55 hectares with an estimated capacity of 1,080 MW and an annual electricity output of 6.5 billion kWh will be built in zone 3, Cam Pha. The plant will generate electricity to the national grid through Mong Duong double circuit 500kV line, 500kV substation, Quang Ninh province. The plant will use about three million tons of coal a year. The first generator is expected to start operations after 40 months in Q1 2015 and the second one is expected to be in operational after 46 months of construction, Q3/2015.

Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan said yesterday that Vietnam wanted to work together with European experts to upgrade the nation’s capacity for urban planning. Nhan was speaking by videolink to the opening of a "green" conference in HCM City organized by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), in partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Investment & Trade Promotion Centre in HCM City (ITPC). The two-day event, the second GreenBiz Conference and Exhibition on European Green Business Solutions (GreenBiz 2011), will discuss climate change, sustainable cities, environmentally friendly technologies, green investments and sustainable strategies for transport and manufacturing. Seven specialized conference sessions will be held throughout the event, including ideas and concepts for sustainable cities, green manufacturing, climate change and energy supply.

Vietnamese inflation may have peaked in August as a result of the government’s “tight grip on monetary and credit policy since February,” Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) said in a research report. Economic growth next year may reach 5.9 percent, up from 5.8 percent this year, and down from a previous forecast for 2012 of 6.2 percent, wrote Santitarn Sathirathai, a Singapore- based analyst at Credit Suisse, in a research note dated and received today, and extracted from a report dated yesterday. The global economic downturn and the lagged impact of Vietnam’s tightening will weigh on growth, Santitarn wrote.

Vietnam’s coffee output in the 2011-12 crop year beginning in October, is expected to be 18 million 60-kg bags, a Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association official said Friday. The figure is 5% below an earlier estimate due to bad weather, the association chairman Luong Van Tu told Dow Jones Newswires. "Heavy rains have inundated many coffee growing areas, causing the young beans to drop prematurely," Tu said. The country’s coffee output in 2010-11 was 18.5 million bags.

DNN Joint Stock Company under DNN Motorbike Accessories Corporation on Sunday held a ceremony to announce a new industrial zone (IZ) in Long An province. DNN-Tan Phu Industrial Zone located in Duc Hoa District covers an area of 363 hectares with investment capital of VND510 billion. The project is divided into two phases and site clearance work is basically completed. The industrial zone is classified into two sections: mechanics and biology. They are both synchronously developed in a bid to attract domestic and foreign investment, as well as adapt to new production techniques and advanced management process worldwide, Huynh added. DNN-Tan Phu Industrial Zone is hoping to create economic ties between Mekong Delta provinces and HCMC and pave the way for export growth.

The Philippines and Vietnam have agreed to support each other’s entry to the search for the new Seven Wonders of the World. The decision was reached during the East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF) standing committee meeting. The commitment to support the Philippines’ Subterranean River in Puerto Princesa, Palawan and Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay was part of the joint declaration of the EATOF, which is held at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC). EATOF seeks to promote tourism in 12 Asian provinces, including Cebu and Quang Ninh Province in Vietnam, where Ha Long Bay is located.

The People’s Committee of Hau Giang province has asked Hong Kong-based Lee&Man Paper Manufacturing Limited to give a progress report on two paper and pulp projects by September 20. The two paper and pulp projects, located in Song Hau Industrial Zone in Chau Thanh District, reportedly failed to meet the requirements set by local authorities and were stalled for a long time before work resumed in April. If there is no response from the investor as of September 30, 2011, the province has pledged to revoke the project’s investment license.

The auditing enterprises operating under a limited company model need to possess legal capital of at least VND3 billion (US$144,000), according to a draft decree on legal guidelines for independent auditing. Under the draft decree, the members as organizations could contribute money to the company, with a maximum amount set as 35 per cent of the company’s charter capital. A foreign auditing enterprise, which conducts its auditing activities in Vietnam, needs to have an owner’s equity of at least $500,000.

The Department of Vietnam Customs has requested that the Customs Department of Quang Ninh Province check the operations of provincial bonded warehouses. Bonded warehouses found to be without goods for a period of six months will be closed. Others will be forced to decrease their stocks if they appear overloaded. The managers of bonded warehouses will be required to report on warehouse operations and the state of stored goods to customs agencies.

The State Bank of Vietnam has allowed five foreign bank branches in HCM City and Ha Noi to increase their capital. In HCM City, Woori Bank increased its capital to US$67 million, First Commercial Bank to $40 million, Industrial Bank of Korea to $115 million and NA Bank to $77 million. The Korea Exchange Bank in Ha Noi was also allowed to increase its capital to $67 million.

Beginning Wednesday, Vietcombank, ACB, Sacombank and Eximbank have allowed their cardholders to transfer money between banks through ATMs. This service permits customers to transfer money from anywhere, at anytime with no extra fee. In the past, customers of a bank could only transfer money to certain individuals via a transaction office or internet banking services. By the end of this year, cardholders will be able to transfer money among any of 10 participating banks.

The Ha Noi People’s Committee has decided to give a second-stage advance of VND155.5 billion (US$7.4 million) to enterprises in order to stabilize prices of essential commodities in and around the city. The money, which was taken from the city’s reserves, will help 12 enterprises to maintain prices of products including rice, pork, chicken, eggs, seafood and cooking oil. The funding is expected to stabilize prices in the city’s markets until April 2012.