Vietnam Industrial Parks InfoGate ! Industrial Zones ! Export Processing Zones ! Business in brief in 29 June

Vietnam, the fourth-biggest rubber exporter in 2010, may ship 65,000 metric tons this month, according to the General Statistics Office, 16 percent more than a year earlier. Exports in the first half of the year were estimated at 407,000 tons, up 41 percent from a year earlier. The nation shipped 75,000 tons in May, up 15 percent from a previous assessment of 65,000 tons, revised figures from the Statistics Office show. Vietnam exported 56,000 tons in June last year according to preliminary GSO data.

Vietnam’s index of industrial production (IIP) rose an estimated 8.0 percent in June from the same month last year, escalating from an annual rise of 6.8 percent last month, the General Statistics Office said on Friday. The index for the January-June period rose 4.5 percent from a year ago, the office said in a monthly report. In June 2011, the ministry-run General Statistics Office started using the IIP in place of a previous industrial output index that used 1994 prices as a base. It gave no value for industrial output.

Vietnam, the world’s second-biggest rice exporter, may ship 750,000 metric tons this month, according to the General Statistics Office, 12 percent more than a year earlier. Exports in the first half of the year were estimated at 3.68 million tons, down 9.4 percent from a year earlier. The nation exported 737,000 tons in May, 1.7 percent lower than a previous assessment of 750,000 tons, revised figures from the Statistics Office released today show. Vietnam exported 668,000 tons in June last year according to preliminary GSO data.

To mark its 16 years of establishment and development, the HCMC-based supermarket chain Co.opMart has unveiled a new logo alongside a promise to improve service quality. Co.opMart has spent two years on the change with the help from brand consulting firm Landor Associates and Left Brain Connectors Co. Ltd, said Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, board chairman of Saigon Co. op, which owns the Co.opMart store chain. The retailer also makes changes to shopping space, staff uniforms, packaging, and employee cards, and adds more customer utility as well as improves service quality by training its staff. The plan will be deployed within three years. By then, Co.opMart will have 100 outlets nationwide. It will first launch the new logo at supermarkets, starting from those in HCMC.

FrieslandCampina Vietnam was one of the top 10 awardees for the National Selection for Competitive and Famous Trademarks prize, which was given recently in Ha Noi for achievements in business and contributions to the economy. The prize was given by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam Department of Intellectual Property, and Vietnam Association of Intellectual Property. Among the winners were HD Bank, PetroVietnam Urban Development Joint-Stock Company (PVC Mekong), Khuong Duy Pharma Co, VPBank and Traphaco.

The Netherlands-headquartered AkzoNobel group officially inaugurated yesterday its latest factory in southern Dong Nai Province’s Amata Industrial Park. With an investment of US$12 million, the AkzoNobel Wood Finishes and Adhesives factory will be able to turn out 36,000 tons of products each year for the domestic market. Currently, the product line covers a full range of conventional and sustainable wood coatings, including nitrocellulose products, polyurethanes, waterborne systems, UV cure and alkyd/urea products. These products are sold primarily to the export furniture market, according to Akzo Nobel Coatings Vietnam’s general manager Ryan Oates.

The Vietnam Northern Food Corporation has received approval from Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai to establish a joint venture specializing in rice processing and exports with a foreign enterprise. On May 9, the corporation asked the deputy prime minister to consider its project to establish the joint venture with Louis Dreyfus Commodities Asia Pte Ltd (LDC) from Singapore. Hai has asked the corporation to read comments from departments and ministries before completing legal documents on the establishment of the company and its operations. LDC, which is the biggest importer of Vietnamese rice, belongs to the European-based Louis Dreyfus Corporation, which plays a key role in the global food market.

Vingroup Corp (Vingroup) has successfully completed an additional US$115 million issue of unsecured five-year convertible bonds by placing bonds with international institutional investors. The international bond sale is considered the second largest convertible bond issuance in Asia so far. It is part of Vingroup’s second convertible bond issue in April 2012 which raised US$185 million, bringing the total amount to US$300 million. Vingroup’s bonds have a five year tenor (from original issue date of April 3, 2012), providing the Group with long term financing at attractive terms and diversifies its sources of funding. The bonds are convertible into new ordinary Vingroup shares at a conversion price of VND88,000. The US dollar-denominated bonds bear a coupon rate of 5% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears. The convertible bonds will be listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, where Vingroup’s stock is currently traded, before going on the Singapore Exchange.