Vietnam Industrial Parks InfoGate ! Industrial Zones ! Export Processing Zones ! Business in brief 18 April 2013

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a VND2.070 trillion (US$96 million) plan to train officials and young talents abroad in the next seven years. Under the plan, Vietnam aims to provide Master’s degrees to college lecturers at higher education institutions, employees of research centers, and those working for government ministries and other state agencies. The country will also send young people with special talents for science and other specializations to undergraduate programs in foreign countries. It has set a target that 1,650 such people will graduate with a Master’s and 150 others with a university degree between 2013 and 2020. Priority will be given to universities in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia. The plan notes that these people will be enrolled in “high-quality programs” overseas.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Vietnam Retail Market Outlook 2017" report to their offering. The Vietnam Retail Market Outlook 2017 anticipates that the retail sales of goods and services will continue to grow at a double digit rate in coming future with food retailing to account for two-third of the market. The packaged food market will fuel the growth in food retail sales as the industry is heading towards modern trade. An important development reflects that the modern retail chains are not only restricting themselves to big cities like Hanoi and HCM but have also extended their arms to small provinces. The study, spread across 90 pages also portrays the market dynamics in key provinces. Besides, retail market segmentation by ownership and by retail formats has also been studied. Consumer behavior shaping the retailers’ strategies is also incorporated in the report. In this way, the research is expected to prove vital for the corporate and investors to take critical decisions.

Vietnamese goods of different kinds are now on sale in many markets and supermarkets in Myanmar. Vietnamese Trade Counselor to Myanmar Tran Phuoc Anh said that local consumers are looking for Vietnamese products which are better in quality and cheaper in price than those imported from China and Thailand. Many Vietnamese businesses have already set up their representative offices and opened a number of retail shops in Myanmar, Anh added. According to Anh, last year Myanmar exported over 1.2 million tons of rice in 2012, and is expected to ship 5 million tons abroad by 2020. This will open up a good opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to export fertilizers and strains to Myanmar’s rice growers. He also proposed that Vietnamese investors focus on other potential areas such as tourism, food processing, consumer goods, and construction materials production. (VOV)

Nearly 70 Brazilian businesses attended a recent seminar in Sao Paolo state to seek opportunities for economic, trade and investment cooperation with Vietnam. Representatives of Brazilian companies asked for more contacts with their Vietnamese counterparts to early make fact-finding tours and take part in specialized exhibitions and trade fairs in Vietnam in 2013. Brazil is a large market of more than 190 consumers in South America who have great demand for consumer goods imported from other countries. This is a great chance for Vietnam to penetrate this lucrative market. Two-way trade between Vietnam and Brazil last year reached US$1.73 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.5 percent. Of the total, Vietnamese exports were valued at US$710 million, up 19 percent. (VOV)

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has finalized a new plan for automobile development until 2020 with a vision to 2030 for Government approval. At a meeting in Hanoi on April 17, the related ministries and departments agreed that developing automobile industry is necessary for Vietnam to help limit the trade deficit in the current process of national industrialization and modernization. Participants reviewed the results of automobile industry development in the 2000-2012 period, which showed an annual growth rate of 15-18 percent. The domestic automobile industry is capable of producing or assembling 500,000 vehicles per year, but it can turn our less than 100,000 units only. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai emphasized that the focus will be on developing the automobile industry into one of six key strategic sectors in the future. (VOV)

Vietnam’s trade turnover was estimated at more than US$22.6 percent in March (up 57.1 percent), including US$11.57 billion in import value (up 59.9 percent) compared to the February figures. The General Department of Vietnam Customs said total exports earned US$11.03 billion (up 54.3 percent). In the last two weeks of March alone, the trade deficit reached US$460 million, accounting for 8.7 percent of export earnings in this period. As a result, Vietnam’s total trade turnover in the first quarter hit US$29.76 billion, showing a year-on-year increase of 19.8 percent. Imports in the first three months were valued at US$29.49 billion (up 17.7 percent) compared the same period last year. The direct foreign investment (FDI) sector boasted US$16.06 billion, or 54.5 percent of the country’s total import value, representing a year-on-year increase of 24.7 percent. (VOV)

A US-funded project to help connect and support Vietnamese small-and-medium sized businesses was launched in Hanoi and HCM City on April 17. The project will run until January 3, 2014 under the auspices of the Embassy of the United States in Vietnam. It is one of just 36 projects around the world that was selected for funding by the US Department of State, after careful consideration of more than 700 applications registered worldwide. It will be carried out by lecturers and students from the Fulbright and Humphrey Scholarship Programs, and the International Visitor Leadership Program. It will target young entrepreneurs who are facing difficulties in starting up their business. The project will create opportunities for young leaders to meet, exchange and learn from each other through consulting methods imparted from the advisory board. The project for the northern region will be held later in the year. It will take enrollments from April 17 to June 10, 2013, at their website www.smevietnam.org. (VOV)

Vietnamese and Singaporean businesses are discussing the possibility of cooperation in finance, property, medical services, tourism, and logistics, at a joint forum in HCM City from April 17-19. Leading experts, lawmakers and business leaders will present opinions on investment and business opportunities to assist the two business circles to seek out new partnerships. A range of activities are taking place within the framework of Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum (VSBF) 2013, such as an exhibition and fact-finding tours of industrial zones and hospitals in the southern region. VSBF 2013 aims to help the Singaporean businesses stay abreast of Vietnam’s macro-economy and investment policies. The forum, being held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), is part of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-Singapore diplomatic ties. (VOV)

More than 100 companies from 10 countries are displaying products on laboratory technology, biotechnology and diagnostics at an International Analytical Exhibition that opened on April 17 in HCM City. The analytical Vietnam 2013 has attracted many companies from Japan, India, and Germany, France, Spain, the US, Singapore, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea and Switzerland. High-tech equipment in the areas of chemical, electronics, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and environment are showcased at the exhibition. During the biennial event, a two-day seminar is scheduled to take place, during which the world’s leading scientists will speak about the latest developments in the field. The three-day exhibition, the third of its kind in Vietnam, was organized by Messe Munchen International Corporation and its subsidiary International Fair and Exhibition Service, and Vietnam’s National Agency for Science and Technology Information. (VNA)

Local companies are expected to sign dozens of export contracts at an international home decor, gift and housewares fair that opens today in HCM City, according to the fair’s organizer, the Vietnam Handicraft Exporters Association. Lifestyle Vietnam 2013, held at the Tan Binh Exhibition and Convention Centre until April 21, includes 850 booths from 400 local and international exhibitors. The US-based TigerTrade, which specializes in export promotion, will send a delegation of 15 US wholesalers to seek business partners at the fair. They are expected to sign a total of US$1 million in orders. Of the 15 wholesalers, nearly 80 per cent of them are new customers, according to Tiger Trade. Importers are interested in buying wooden products, lacquer, porcelain, wall decoration and other items. (VNS)

A market displaying new technologies and equipment ready for production opened in HCM City yesterday. Techmart Daily, at 79 Truong Dinh, District 1, displays innovations by research institutes, schools, and enterprises that are ready for use, Phan Minh Tan, director of the city Department of Science and Technology, said. Set up by the city-based Centre for Science and Technology Information, it will also help researchers commercialize their results, he said. At the moment it features 58 technologies and equipment made by 31 different agencies, including those in fruit processing and preservation, fuel from waste plastic, solar energy, and waste-water treatment. (VNS)

In April several events will be organized to mark the 40^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan. In Ho Chi Minh City the consulate will celebrate with the Oishi Nippon Fair from April 23 to 28 at Tokyo Town restaurant. There will also be a Japanese stall at the Food and Hotel Vietnam Fair from April 24 to 26, where visitors can try some popular Japanese dishes. Earlier, on April 14, Japanese folk band KAIENTAI made its first appearance in Vietnam with a performance at the Ben Thanh Theater in District 1, HCMC. Hanoi will see a two-day Vietnam – Japan Spring Festival at the Giang Vo Exhibition Center on April 20 and 21. Two exhibitions with nearly 200 artifacts opened on April 15 at the National Museum of History in Hanoi and Kyushu Museum in Japan, and will go on until August. (VNS)