Vietnam Industrial Parks InfoGate ! Industrial Zones ! Export Processing Zones ! Business in brief in 9 April

Vietnam’s business environment has many favorable conditions for foreign investors, said President Nguyen Minh Triet. President Triet said this while receiving a delegation from the Al Ghurai Group of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), led by its General Director, Saeed Al Ghurai, in Hanoi on July 18. Mr Triet also emphasized Vietnam’s abundant human resources, which can meet the requirements of foreign investors, and the country’s advantages in agricultural development. He expressed his wish that the Al Ghurai group will plan to invest in Vietnam. Al Ghurai said he hoped to invest in Vietnam for a long time. He said that energy and food are strategic issues for all nations in the world, and these are two major fields for cooperation between both countries in the future. He added that the Al Ghurai group is now operating in the fields of oil and gas, finance and banking, and hotels and restaurants. As the General Director of the group, he considers investing in Vietnam very important, especially in the fields of oil and gas.

BIDV Securities Co., known as BSC, will list all of its 86.5 million shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange Tuesday, becoming the second brokerage firm to float on the main local bourse so far, a company official said Monday. The shares will make their debut at VND10,300 each, and on the first day of trade, will be allowed to trade up to 20% above and below the listing price, BSC’s chief analyst, Tong Minh Tuan, said. BSC targets a net profit of VND97 billion this year and VND189.5 billion in 2013, up from VND11.43 billion last year, the company said in a statement. Currently, Saigon Securities Inc. is the only brokerage firm that has its shares listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange

Vietnam is keen to emulate and learn from Malaysia to upgrade its information communications technology (ICT) infrastructure by 2020, says Vietnam Minister of Information and Communications, Dr Le Doan Hop. Dr Le met up with Malaysia’s Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, during a meeting in Vietnam today. Ongkili is currently leading an ICT and biotechnology trade mission to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. A total of 10 memoranda of understanding were reached between Malaysia and Vietnam at a business forum held in Vietnam. Among others, deals were signed between Mimos Bhd and Vietnamese Institute of Information Technology, PIKOM and its counterpart Vietnam Information and Software Association and Tess Innovation Malaysia with financial institution Hanelcom Vietnam.

Vietnam has been ranked 51^st among 125 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2011, jumping 20 places from its 71^st position in 2010. According to the GII 2011 Report, jointly launched by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Business School for the World (INSEAD), Switzerland held first place in the rankings, followed by Sweden and Singapore. The index aims to emphasize the role of technological innovation activities, considered integral to economic growth, job creation and the improvement of economic, industrial and business competitiveness.

Vietnam is interested in attracting investments from Kazakhstan to its oil and gas industry, Vietnamese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Bu Te Hiep told journalists on Monday. The ambassador said that Kazakhstan has only made small investments so far in Vietnam, specifically a cement factory in one Vietnamese city. Hiep pointed out that Vietnam and Kazakhstan have similar strategic goals for the next decade and the leaders of both countries are seeking to become industrialized countries by 2020.

The 18^th Southern African International Trade Exhibition (SAITEX 18) took place in Midrand in the suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa from July 17-18. The fair attracted the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the Vietnam Northern Food Corporation (VNF1), and the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation (Vinacafe). The Vietnamese delegation focused on introducing international friends, particularly African partners, to Vietnam’s key seafood products including basa fish and shrimp, traditional farm produce, rice, coffee, tea and pepper, as well as traditional Vietnamese products such as green bean cake, and lotus seeds. Many partners from Africa and other countries visited the Vietnamese pavilions seeking opportunities for cooperation and signing trade contracts for Vietnamese seafood products.

Enterprises operating within the capital’s industrial zones (IZs) managed a turnover of 1.9 billion USD between January and the middle of July, according to the Hanoi Industrial and Export Processing Zone Authority (HIZA). Turnover represented a 17.6% increase compared to the same period last year. As part of the total figure, more than 1 billion USD came from exports, having increased by 13.1% over last year. Export turnover accounted for nearly 40% of the city’s total export earnings. HIZA expected that its firms will earn a turnover of 2.2 billion USD this year, 1.3 billion USD of which will come from exports.

An existing 304 foreign invested projects, with capital of US$4.62 billion, remain valid in Hai Phong City. The city has licensed 11 new projects, with capital of $39.6 million, in the first half of this year as well as 11 other projects with additional investment capital of $246 million. Most investments have been made in the Nomura and Dinh Vu Industrial Zones. Remaining industrial zones have proved less attractive to investors due to insufficient infrastructure, incomplete sea and river port systems and inadequate electricity and water supplies.

The Ha Tien 1 Cement JSC has called on the Price Management Department of the Ministry of Finance to raise the sales price of PC40 cement to VND150,000 per ton (US$7.14), an increase of VND7,500 per 50kg bag. If approved, the third price adjustment of the year will lead to an accumulated increase of VND600,000 (($28.57) per ton. During recent times, cement output has declined by 20 per cent due to a cooling construction market.

Knight Frank and Constrexim-HOD (the Constrexim Housing Investment and Development JSC), yesterday officially launched their Green Park Tower project, a real estate highlight in the west of Ha Noi. With a total investment of VND900 billion, the Green Park Tower will feature two 25-storey towers consisting of nearly 400 residential units, retail outlets and services centers.

The Industrial Zones Management Board reported that the southern province of Binh Duong has licensed 16 new projects in the first half of the year, with a total registered capital of US$46.7 million. Combined with the province’s 24 existing projects, Binh Duong has increased its additional investment capital of $61.5 million. The province now has 28 industrial zones and is home to 1,113 foreign and domestic investment projects, with a total registered capital of $5.8 billion.

The State Bank of Vietnam has allowed the Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) to sell a 20 per cent stake to France’s BNP Paribas bank. BNP Paribas has become OCB’s strategic shareholder after it acquired a 10 per cent stake of this bank in 1997. OCB was founded in HCM City in 1996. It now has a total charter capital of VND3.14 trillion. BNP Paribas is among the world’s 15 largest banks.

The Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Company (DHG) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corp (PVD) won special awards yesterday at the Fourth Annual Report Contest designed to promote professionalism and transparency among firms listed on stock exchanges in the country. The 37 winning reports were selected from 650 companies.

The Song Hong Corp, operating in construction, aims to earn VND3.7 trillion (US$179.6 million) as part of current year revenues, an increase of 42.3 per cent over last year. The corporation hopes to make VND121 billion in gross profit, tripling last year’s figure, the gross profit of its parent company rising to VND64.14 billion, dividends of which would be paid at 12 per cent. The corporation also plans to issue 11.75 million worth of shares on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange in order to increase its charter capital to VND387.5 billion from VND270 million.

Dongfang Electric Corp Ltd, a power generating equipment manufacturer and seller, has acquired a US$15.5 million worth of contract from PetroVietnam, also known as Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, to start a hydropower project in Vietnam. Pursuant to the contract, Dongfang Electric will provide facilities and technological support to PV Power, a subsidiary of PetroVietnam, to compete construction on the 125-megawatt plant in Dakrinh, Vietnam. However, timetable of the hydropower project has yet been released. Petropower said Dongfang Electric has completed more than six power projects in Vietnam since 2003. Gong Dan, board secretary of Dongfang Electric, said the company had secured RMB 140 billion worth of thermal power orders and RMB 40 billion of nuclear power orders at the end of June, adding that it currently has no financing plans.