Vietnam Industrial Parks InfoGate ! Industrial Zones ! Export Processing Zones ! Business in brief 25 March 2013

Foreign direct investment inflows into Vietnam reached $2.7 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 7.1 percent from the same period in 2012, a government agency said. New investment pledges in the January-March period also rose 2.2 percent from a year ago to $2.93 billion, the Planning and Investment Ministry said in a report. Manufacturing industries have attracted most of the new pledges, followed by the real estate sector and the retail and wholesale sector, the report said. Foreign direct investment, a key source of foreign exchange for Vietnam along with overseas remittances, has fallen since peaking at more than $60 billion in 2008, after which the economy started to slow as the government battled high inflation. (Reuters)

The two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Chile hit more than US$606 million in 2012, up 24.5 percent compared to last year’s figure. In 2012, Vietnam’s exports to Chile earned US$189.8 million, a rise of 27 percent, while the country’s imports from the South American nation reached US$416.2 million, accounting for a year-by-year increase of 23.4 percent. Key export items included footwear, garments and textiles, cement, frozen fish, coffee and rice. It is expected that the trade exchange between the two countries will rise sharply in the near future after the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and Chile takes into effect. (VOV)

The Ministry of Information and Communications has urged the country’s largest telco VNPT to focus on its core business and tap its potential to stay profitable in the increasingly competitive market. The ministry, which recently took control of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT) under Government circular 90/2012/ND-CP, said it would carry out inspections of most of VNPT branches. The move follows turbulence in VNPT over recent years. The country’s oldest telecom service provider last year for the first time was surpassed by its rival military-run Viettel in profit and turnover. VNPT in January adjusted its profit in 2012 to VND8.66 trillion (US$412.38 million) from the previously reported VND8.5 trillion (US$404.76 million). However, the adjustment was unable to help VNPT to regain its crown as Viettel earned a profit of VND27 trillion (US$1.3 billion), up from VND20 trillion (US$953 million) in 2011 and triple VNPT profits. (VNS)

The Japanese government has agreed to grant 202.926 billion yen (more than US$2 billion) in official development aid to Vietnam in the 2012–2013 fiscal year. The agreement formalizing the pledge was signed in Hanoi on March 22 by Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Tanizaki Yasuaki and Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh. Under the agreement, 12 Japanese-funded projects, worth a total US$2.16 billion, are seeking the participation of Japanese bidders. Eleven of these projects are expected to receive investment capital through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), about to sign its own funding agreement with the Vietnam Ministry of Finance. The remaining project—the first phase construction of the O Mon 3 thermal electric power plant—will need to wait for loans because of certain procedures as yet incomplete. (VNS)

The HCM City Semi-conductor Industry Association was established with the aim of boosting the semi-conductor industry and using it to foster economic development. Prof Nguyen Luong Mo, an Overseas Vietnamese IC (integrated circuit) expert based in Japan, was elected honorary chairman of the association for the period from 2013 to 2018. Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy director of the city Department of Information and Communications has been named chairman. Ngo Duc Hoang, head of the HCM City National University’s Integrated Circuit Design Research and Education Centre is the association’s general secretary. A conference that marked the association’s formation was also attended by representatives of the HCM City People’s Committee, the Japanese consulate in HCM City, the Kyushu Economic Research Centre in Japan, and the associations of semi-conductors of Japan and Singapore. The association signed MoUs with the two foreign counterparts on the occasion. (VNS)

The HCM City Stock Exchange will host the conference Invest ASEAN – Viet Nam 2013 on March 30. The conference will hear a presentation about co-operation on the ASEAN capital market delivered by a working group from ASEAN’s stock exchanges. They will introduce the transaction model, clearing system and technology infrastructure used in the bloc. The conference will also draw the participation of many securities companies in ASEAN who will present an overview of the regional market. (VNS)

The Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo 2013 (ITE-HCMC 2013) will be held in the city on September 12-14, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. As the most established travel event in Vietnam and the Mekong, the annual expo is designed to promote Vietnam’s image at key foreign markets. It also aims to lure more visitors to new tourist destinations of Vietnam as well as its neighbors of Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, advancing towards the establishment of “Five countries-One destination”. The expo will offer an opportunity for local travel companies, especially small- and medium-sized ones, to sign business cooperation contracts with foreign partners. ITE-HCMC 2013

will feature a wide range of activities, including a seminar for buyers and sellers of tourist products, a conference for mayors of twinning cities and a workshop on the Indian market as well as programs for the public and consumers. (VNA)

ANZ Vietnam, an affiliate of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), has been recognized as the “Best Retail Bank in Vietnam” by the Asian Banker magazine. ANZ Vietnam outstanding performance in 2012 involved a remarkable improvement in its retail financial performance thanks to upscaling its sales and operations while keeping costs and risks well managed. ANZ’s consistent leading position in the wealth management space and strong growth in its mortgage and credit card businesses helped ANZ maintain its winning edge over its peers. ANZ was one of the first international banks to operate in Vietnam, establishing a Vietnamese office in 1993. It has expanded to its 10 current Vietnamese branches and transaction points that offer a full range of services including retail banking, institutional banking, and commercial banking catering to small, medium, and emerging businesses. In February 2013, ANZ won the Visa Vietnam “Leadership in Card Activation” Bank Award. Trade Finance Magazine voted ANZ Vietnam the “Best International Trade Bank in Vietnam” in 2012. (VOV)

The Vietnam unit of Samsung Electronics Co. has started building a $2 billion plant in northern Vietnam, as it seeks to expand its production base in the country, a provincial official said. Samsung Electronics Vietnam Ltd. on Monday started construction on the plant in Yen Binh Industrial Park in Thai Nguyen province, which is expected to be operational from the end of this year, said Duong Ngoc Long, the chairman of the province. Mr. Long said the plant will mainly produce mobile phones, cameras and laptops. Company executives weren’t immediately available for comment. The plant will produce 10 million products a month, according to a report in the Dau Tu newspaper, which is run by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. This will be Samsung’s third plant in Vietnam, after a $1.5 billion electronics plant in Bac Ninh province and another in Ho Chi Minh City, the report said. It added that Samsung Vietnam Electronics is targeting exports of $16.5 billion this year, up from $12.7 billion last year. (Dow Jones)

Innovative Engineering Ventures (IEV) on March 22 said it will enter the renewable energy business through biomass production in Vietnam, as part of its efforts to explore opportunities in the Asia Pacific region. “The company plans to construct its first plant to manufacture pellet forms of rice-husk biomass in the middle of the Mekong Delta, the Rice Bowl of Southern Vietnam”, according to a press release issued by IEV in Singapore. The company hopes to achieve first pellet-production in the first half of 2014. It is currently in the process of finalizing its plans in Vietnam and obtaining tenders for the construction of the plant. “Biomass is a renewable source of energy that is expected to be more economical than fossil fuel and its worldwide demand has been increasing significantly,” said IEV President and CEO Christopher Do. (VNA)

Software giant FPT posted revenue of 3.5 trillion VND – a 5 percent increase – in the first two months of this year. The corporation’s pre-tax profit reached 326 billion VND, achieving 100 percent of its two-month plan. Its after-tax profit stood at 270 billion VND. Shareholders are due to meet in Hanoi early next month. FPT Telecom is recognized as one of the top 10 service providers in telecoms and television in Vietnam.