Passport holders from Vietnam and Cambodia will be exempt from visa requirements to travel in either country as the agreement to this effect was signed between the two countries last week.

Travel firms in Ho Chi Minh City said the number of locals traveling to Cambodia has been increasing, and will be further bolstered once the visa agreement takes effect.

The majority of local visitors travel via the Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh province for trips to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap for an average four to five days. Current visa charges are 20 to 25 USD.

Stock market bucks global slide

The VN-Index made modest gains on Nov. 13 as global markets continued to fall and oil prices slid to 21-month lows, with fears of global recession deepening.

The VN-Index rose by 3.91 points on the day, or 1.14 percent, to close at 346.24. Eighty-six shares advanced while 40 declined and 42 remained unchanged. A total volume of 14.44 million shares were traded for a combined value of 472.17 billion VND (28.11 million USD).

Sacombank (STB) was the most active share, with orders for up to 2.83 million, followed by Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) at 1.21 million. FPT and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) were also active, trading at about 865,000 and 756,000 shares, respectively.

Foreign investors were net sellers by a substantial margin, shedding 6.2 million shares while picking up only about 2 million.

In Hanoi on Nov. 13, the HASTC-Index paralleled foreign markets more closely, sliding 2.34 points or 2.1 percent to close at 110.64, with 124 gainers, 22 losers and 15 shares inactive. Trading volume was 7.47 million shares for a value of nearly 206.9 billion VND (12.5 million USD).

Hapaco invests in Belarus

Hapaco Joint Stock Company will jointly with a Belarusian business open a joint venture in Belarus with an investment capital of 5 million USD.

Hapaco contributed 3 million USD to the total investment.

The joint venture will involve in trade, services, import and export. It plans to export to Belarus leather shoes, garments and seafood and import automobiles, liquor, fertilizer, and consumer goods.

The joint venture is expected to make its debut in early 2009.

Contract signed for Malaysia-funded power plant

The Malaysian company JAKS Resources Berhad signed a technical service contract on Nov. 13 with the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) Group’s Energy Institute for its planned 1,200 MW thermoelectric power plant in the northern province of Hai Duong.

Institute director Pham Khanh Toan said that the 1.2 million USD contract is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2009. The power plant will be built on around 182 ha of land in Phuc Thanh commune, Kinh Mon district.

Estimated to cost 1.4 billion USD, the coal-fueled power plant will have two turbine groups, each capable of producing 600 MW. It will be powered by coal sourced from mines in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh and is estimated to require 3 million tonnes of coal each year.

The project is expected to be carried out under the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT) or build-operate-own (BOO) in 2009 and completed by 2015.

JAKS Resources Berhad is now awaiting the granting of an official licence for the project from the.

RoK expected to become largest investor in Vietnam

The Republic of Korea (RoK) is set to become the largest foreign investor in Vietnam once a number of RoK-funded projects receive approval, according to a local official.

Since Vietnam and the RoK established their diplomatic ties in 1992, two-way trade has grown steadily, said Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung at a seminar held in Hanoi on Nov. 13 to call for an increase in RoK investment flow into the central province of Thua Thien-Hue .

The RoK now ranks fourth in terms of registered capital committed to investments in Vietnam , but leads the way in sheer volume of projects, with 2,104 projects totalling 16 billion USD.

RoK Ambassador to Vietnam Hong Tae-ion said that the workshop has helped the RoK businesses to better understand the Southeast Asian country’s investment incentives as well as its investment opportunities.

Participants were regaled with the potentials, strengths and benefits of investing in Thua Thien-Hue province.

The event was co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the People’s Committee of Thua Thien-Hue province, and the RoK Embassy in Vietnam.

Vietnamese company to plant rubber trees in Laos

The Ho Chi Minh City Rubber Joint Stock Company is set to grow rubber trees and construct a rubber latex processing factory in Laos’ southern Champasak province.

The company’s representative, Le Van Quang, and the Lao Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Thongmy Phomvixay signed an official agreement relating to the project in Vientiane on Nov. 11.

The project has a total investment capital of 30 million USD and an operational duration of 30 years. It will be implemented in two villages in the Khong district.