Vietnam Industrial Parks InfoGate ! Industrial Zones ! Export Processing Zones ! Business in brief in 17 Aug 2012

Vietnam exported US$44.2 million worth of shrimp to Australia in the first half of this year, up 63 per cent year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP). During the period, exports of processed shrimp accounted for 77 per cent of Vietnam’s shrimp export turnover from the market, which means the market looks promising for the Vietnamese shrimp industry.

Higher local demand plus negative information on corn and soya bean in the U.S. market have pushed up input material prices among animal feed producers at home. According to Agromonitor specializing in forecasting and analyzing the farm produce market, producers in Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces now are buying corn at VND6,750-6,800 a kilo, up between VND200 to VND250 a kilo from last week.

A recent report of the General Department of Customs indicates the total value of temporary imports for re-export had sharply picked up from 2006 to 2011, Vietnam News Agency reports. The country spent a mere US$1,333 billion on the imports in 2006 but the figure shot up to US$6.29 billion in 2011, with re-export turnover staying at US$782.1 million in 2006 and soaring to US$6.64 billion last year.

Immediate and long-term strategies on building sustainable financial structures were examined at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City by the Investment Bridge Magazine. At the seminar, business leaders, bankers and economic experts agreed that over the past decade, loosening credit and easier lending policies have made businesses dependent on bank loans. As a result, the corporate finance structure has not been strong enough to cope with economic difficulties. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of Public Policy of the Fulbright Economics Program, pointed out the shortcomings of the structure which, he said, have led to the risk of bankruptcy and use of a financial black market, now worth trillions of VND. Economic experts also introduced safe solutions to help businesses withdraw from real estate to minimize losses.

Japan’s energy firm Idemitsu Kosan Ltd, Co. has established a subsidiary in Vietnam for production and sales of lubricant oil for motorbikes, meeting the growing demand of this product. The company announced on August 16 that it has invested about US$23.3 million in Idemitsu Lube Vietnam Co., which is located in the northern port city of Haiphong. The plant, to be built on a six-hectare area, is expected to start operation in January 2014. The company aims to sell around 20,000 kiloliters of

Industrial production value in the first seven months of the year in northern Bac Kan Province saw a 7-per-cent increase over the same period last year. The mining industry is valued at VND74.3 billion (US$3.5 million) while the processing industry is valued at VND73.1 billion ($3.4 million).

Japanese FINECS Group has announced its plan to bring a computer components plant into operation in Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park 1 in southern Binh Duong Province. Construction began last December on the US$7 million project, which would produce 5 billion products per year.

Luxury Travel Co Ltd has won a 2012 Guide Award, marking the fifth consecutive year that the company has been recognized by luxury travelers for excellent performance. Presented by the Guide Magazine, a Vietnamese travel and hospitality magazine, the 13^th batch of awards aimed to honor the travel providers offering the best products and services to travelers, hotel guests, diners and shoppers in Vietnam. The awards are sponsored annually by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Vietnam Economic Times newspaper. In 2012, newspaper readers and travelers chose Luxury Travel Co for their unique products. Established in 2004, Luxury Travel Co is the first luxury tour operator in Vietnam. The company sees an annual growth of 30% and serves some 10,000 travelers each year.

The French-owned Big C supermarket has launched a promotion offering discounts of up to 40% on nearly 1,200 products until September 3 in response to HCM City’s annual promotion month in September. The promotion is also part of its 14th anniversary celebrations in Vietnam. There will be lucky draws with attractive prizes for customers.

Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam (Doosan Vina) announced on Wednesday that eight Rubber Tired Gantry Cranes (RTGCs) have been shipped to Singapore. With the latest shipment, the company has supplied 36 of the total order of 39 cranes placed by PSA Corporation Ltd. The remaining three units – Rail Mounted Quayside Cranes (RMQCs) – are nearing completion. Each of them weighs about 145 tons, is 27m high, 25m long and 11m wide. The RTGCs have a lift rating of 40 tons while the larger RMQCs are designed for a maximum load of 56 tons. These two types of cranes are at the center of global logistics and are in use at ports worldwide.

The 2012 Mobile Vietnam exhibition and seminar will take place in Hanoi from October 18-21 under arrangement of International Communication Co-operation, the Telecommunication Agency under the Ministry of Information and Communications, VCCI Exhibition Service Co., Ltd and Media Number 1 JSC, Vietnam News Agency reports. The event is expected to attract 50,000 visitors and over 100 corporate participants.

The General Department of Customs on Wednesday announced total export value of the country as of last month reached US$63.55 billion, up 20% year-on-year, Phap Luat reports. Those products exported in high numbers are mobile phones and computers and related components with a year-on-year rise of around 123% and over 80% respectively. Meanwhile, total import value of these products in the same period has also sharply increased, up by some 95% year-on-year, or US$6.8 billion.

The Ministry of Finance in Circular No.133/2012/TT-BTC stipulates the new rates for the issuance of licenses to establish representative offices in Vietnam for foreign companies effective from early October, Thanh Nien reports. New licenses are subject to VND3 million each while the adjustment and extension fee is fixed at VND1.5 million.

Vietnam imported more than US$4.2 million worth of grapes from Chile in the first six months, a year-on-year increase of 24%, far exceeding the total value of fruit the foreign partner had exported to Vietnam during 2011, reports VietnamPlus.

Dong Nai Province authorities yesterday organized a seminar on deploying the overall training project for labor force development from now to 2015, according to Vietnam News Agency, citing over VND250 billion set aside for four programs. The province targets to have 50% of local workers equipped with vocational training certificates by 2015 and to provide postgraduate courses for potential candidates in the locality.

Fuji Xerox Co. announced Aug. 16 it will establish a new manufacturing site—Fuji Xerox Hai Phong Co.— in the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park in Hai Phong. Construction of the facility will begin in December and operations will start in November 2013. The total investment in the project is 9 billion yen ($113.6 million). The plant will mainly manufacture digital color multifunction devices and small-sized light-emitting diode (LED) printers. Its manufacturing capacity will be around 2 million units per year. The plant will also manufacture components for these devices, such as printed wiring boards and drum cartridge components.