Vietnam Industrial Parks InfoGate ! Industrial Zones ! Export Processing Zones ! Business in brief in 30 October 2012

Retail sales of goods and services exceeded VND200.93 trillion (US$9.6 billion) nationwide in October, an increase of 1.3% over the previous month, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced yesterday. The gains represented slowdown in growth from September’s month-on-month increase of 2.3%, noted GSO economic specialist Vu Manh Ha, but Ha attributed September’s jump in retail sales totals to an abrupt rise in the costs of healthcare services and rising demand for textbooks and school supplies as the new school year began. Ten-month retail sales reached VND1,917 trillion ($91.3 billion) – an increase, when adjusted for inflation, of around 6.8% over the same period last year. The average annualized growth in retail sale has remained below 6% since April, still a long way from figures in early 2011, when sales were expanding at rates of 7.7-17%, Ha said.

Electricity prices did not rise in October and will not rise in November as planned, Dang Huy Cuong, head of the Electricity Regulating Department said yesterday. Cuong said this was decided after the department found out that production expenses during the past three months were lower than calculated. Power production in October was about 9.9 billion kWh, an increase of 11.8 per cent compared with last year. In the 10 months of the year to date, productivity was about 95.6 billion kWh, an increase of 13.8 per cent compared with the same period last year. Demand for power next year is forecast to be 13 per cent higher than this year. To meet the demand, Electricity Vietnam plans to open six more turbines.

The State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) will audit 26 State-owned enterprises and banks next year, the agency announced in a report to the National Assembly Finance and Budget Committee last week. SAV chief auditor Dinh Tien Dung said that the major State-run groups Vinacomin, Vinatex, PetroVietnam, Electricity of Vietnam, Vietnam Rubber Group, VNPT, and the Airport Corporation of Vietnam were all slated to be audited next year. Banks facing visits from auditors included Vietinbank, Vietcombank, Agribank and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). Dung said that the State Audit was focusing on large companies next year in order to measure the results of their efforts to divest from non-core lines of business, as well as their overall financial effectiveness and governance.

A delegation of 11 French businesses is in Vietnam to seek opportunities in the fields of technology and urban transport. The four-day visit, which started yesterday, is being organized by the French Trade Office, Ubifrance. The delegation, including Alstom Tranport and Gras Savoye, will visit companies and policymakers in Ha Noi and HCM City.

A proposal to impose or increase export taxes on different categories of wood and minerals has been announced by the Ministry of Finance. An export tax of 10 per cent was proposed for exports of rough timber – with or without bark – planks and sapwood, and 5 per cent in the case of some categories of sawn timber, and wood to make plywood of 6mm or less in thickness. These categories are not taxed at present. The ministry proposes a 30 per cent tax on the export of nickel, aluminum, tin, zinc, uranium, wolfram and silver ores – up from 20 per cent at present – to be in line with the current export tax on gold ore. Gemstones and semiprecious stones, which are not taxed at present, would be taxed at 10 per cent.

Tuna exports reached more than US$436 million in the first nine months of this year, a 53 percent increase against the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). VASEP also predicted that tuna exports will continue to see positive signs in the future. The US is currently one of the largest importers of tuna from Vietnam, accounting for more than 44 percent of the total export value, followed by the EU, Japan, Israel, Canada and Tunisia. Economists forecast that the global demand for tuna will continue to rise in the coming time because of measures to limit tuna catches in some fishing areas in the world, which is considered a big opportunity for Vietnamese tuna exporters. However, experts also say that Vietnamese tuna products should develop strong trademarks in the next few months in order to take advantage of this opportunity to promote further growth.

A program to promote trade and investment between Vietnam and Argentina was held in HCM City on October 29. The event, co-organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to strengthen trade ties and offer opportunities for the business communities of both countries. The event attracted around 200 leading Argentine companies and 300 Vietnamese businesses. The business representatives discussed opportunities for cooperation in various fields such as food and beverages, garments, leather and footwear accessories and products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, as well as equipment and machinery, construction materials, household appliances, services and other consumer products.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Hungary reached more than US$80 million in the first half of this year and will most likely continue to increase in the future. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh unveiled the figure at a Vietnam-Hungary Business Forum in Hanoi on October 29, which is being held within the framework of the fourth meeting of the Vietnam-Hungary Joint Committee. Anh said the figure is yet to match both nations’ potential so Vietnamese businesses should grasp any available opportunities to penetrate the Hungarian market. Hungary’s strengths are in pharmaceuticals, light industry, telecommunications, and infrastructure construction. At the forum, Hungarian businesses expressed their hopes that local authorities in Vietnam will help them seek cooperative opportunities for mutual development.

The 21^st Vietnam International Jewelry Fair (VIJF), the largest Gem and Jewelry show of its kind in Vietnam since 1992, will be held from November 1-5 in Phu Tho Stadium in District 11. A model showcases the glitz and glamour of exquisite jewelry at last year’s exhibition. The main aim and purpose of VIJF is to enable a productive interaction between buyers and jewelry manufacturers. The show will have 140 booths, divided into two sections. One will be for local and international jewelry display and the other for display of machinery and material. In addition, event organizers will give away awards for Golden Craftsmanship and 3D Designs to artists. On November 2, there will be a seminar on ‘Knowledge and Understanding of Natural Diamonds and other Semi-precious Stones’. VIJF 2012 is expected to attract more than 80 exhibitors from China, Italy, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Thailand and the US as well as thousands of trade and public visitors.

Vietnam’s rice exports from the beginning of the year to October 25 have reached 6.26 million tons, up about 2.3% from the 6.12 million tons exported during January to October 2011, according to data from the Vietnam Food Association (VFA). In October so far, the country has exported about 402,492 tons of rice, about 46% or 347,000 tons less than 749,479 tons exported in September. However, average prices in October have increased to around $446 per ton, up about 1.3% from $440 per ton in September and almost 13% higher than average prices of around $395 in July this year.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has received an order for power generation equipment for the 330-megawatt O Mon 1 Thermal Power Plant in Vietnam. The plant is being built by Can Tho Thermal Power Co. a subsidiary of Vietnam Electricity. The order was submitted by the project’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor, a consortium formed by Japan’s Sojitz and Korea’s Daelim Industrial. O Mon 1 Thermal Power Plant is located along the Mekong River in southern Vietnam, about 20 kilometers upstream from Can Tho City. The equipment will be used as part of an expansion project of an existing plant, MHI said in a statement. MHI will deliver the steam turbine to Sojitz and the boiler to Daelim. The plant will be commissioned in 2015.

Viet Dragon ACI based in Ho Chi Minh, has started distributing Norel Animal Nutrition products for the swine, poultry, dairy, and aquaculture markets in Vietnam. Viet Dragon Group was established in 2004 by Bui Van Tuan Kiet. Their first company is Dragon Chemical Corp, focusing currently on trading of chemical and additives for cosmetics and food (bakery, coffee, enzymes). Their sales revenue has been constantly going up, with a yearly increase of more than 20% since 2007. Viet Dragon ACI is the new branch of the group, focusing on feed additives and animal health products. Business manager Thinh explained that they already have identified a network of sub distributors to sell to the small feed mills and farms while they will take care of the large feed mills directly. Recently a product training course was organized and customer visits are planned once the first shipment reaches Vietnam.

Hanoi Sales Promotion Month 2012 will take place in November, offering discounts on a wide range of goods such as food, beverages, garments, electronic appliances. The event creates an opportunity for nearly 500 businesses in the city to stimulate market consumption amid difficulties of the national economy. Saturdays and Sundays will be observed as Golden Promotion Days in 25 locations across the city where discounts of 20-50 percent will be applied to the major groups including electronics and machinery, food and beverages. The highlight of the Promotion Month will be an Online Sales Week starting on October 31. Around 100 businesses will offer online shopping services with product prices to be cut by half. Nguyen Van Dong, Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade said that during the month, consumers can log onto the website www.nhungtrangvang.com.vn to purchase goods.

Techcombank has received the “Most Active GTFP-Issuing Bank in Asia 2012” award from the International Financial Corporation (IFC)’s Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP). Techcombank was the only Vietnamese bank nominated by IFC for the award, which acknowledges its contributions to trade finance and supply chain of IFC. GTFP is now witnessing the participation of more than 250 banks across the world, including ten Vietnamese banks. Techcombank was given the titles “Vietnam’s Best Bank in 2011”, “Best Cash Management Bank in Vietnam in 2011” and “Best Trade Finance Bank in Vietnam in 2011”, “Elite Quality Recognition Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2012” and became the first Vietnamese bank to receive the three international awards of FinanceAsia.

The Post and Telecom JS Insurance Corporation officially launched two new member companies in Ha Noi and Hai Duong. The launch of the companies will bring the number of its member companies to 28, with a total of more than 1,000 employees nationwide. Soon PTI will continue the expansion of its network and establish new businesses in the southern region. By the end of this year, PTI will establish its Tien Giang Post Insurance in the southern Tien Giang Province.