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A report recently released by Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) showed that Vietnam’s economy would be more stable as interest rates in Vietnam dong (VND) were following a downward trend. HSBC said that the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to reduce demand seemed rather successful. In March, the prices of petrol and gas increased by 10 percent, but the rate of inflation dropped to 14.2 percent from 16.4 percent in February. Judging from the current low level of domestic demand, HSBC forecast that inflation would continue to slow down this year, and the State Bank of Vietnam might reduce interest rates in VND by 1 percent each quarter. HSBC predicted Vietnam’s economic growth rate at about 5.7 percent this year as domestic demand would drop to a level lower than expected.
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Almost 6,000 businesses were dissolved or temporarily stopped operating in Ho Chi Minh City in the first quarter of this year. Of these, 930 already completed procedures for dissolving and more than 5,000 businesses announced a temporary suspension of operations. The HCM municipal People’s Committee has instructed banks to reduce lending interest rates, and create favorable conditions for small-and medium-sized enterprises, particularly involved in import-export businesses to access loans from now until the end of this year, which are estimated at VND400,000 billion in total.
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The Vietnamese Embassy in the US held a meeting with the Vietnamese Business Association (VBA) to introduce Vietnam’s current policies and its investment environment. Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Cuong praised the association’s role in helping US businesses to invest in Vietnam and Vietnamese businesses to seek opportunities in the US. The VBA spoke highly of Vietnam’s investment environment and encouraging policies for investors. They said political stability has helped investors do business successfully in Vietnam. However, there remain some obstacles, such as weak foreign currency management, poor infrastructure and some cumbersome procedures. Two years after its establishment, the VBA has 125 members across the US.
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Vietnam-Myanmar two-way trade is estimated to reach $45 million in the first three months of this year, increasing 17.8% from the same period of 2011, according to the Myanmar’s customs office. In details, Vietnam earned $20 million from exports to Myanmar, up 16.8% on year while it spent $25 million to import goods from Myanmar, up 18.6%. Vietnam’s export staples to Myanmar include steel, garment and textile’s accessories, mosquito nets, fertilizers, construction materials, electric equipment, tires, written stationeries, plastic roof tiles and plastic materials. Vietnam and Myanmar have gained positive progress in trade promotion recently. However, Vietnam’s exports to the Myanmar still ranked the 12th level after Singapore, China, Indonesia, Japan, USA, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, India, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the Vietnam Trade Office in Myanmar said.
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Thailand's leading developer of industrial park facilities Amata Corp, alongside fellow investors, plans to pump a massive US$20 billion into an integrated industrial estate in Long Thanh Commune, Dong Nai Province. The Amata Express City will cover 1,300ha close to the new Long Thanh international airport in HCM City and Dong Nai River. The project would include a 760ha urban area next to the river, a 420ha high-tech industrial area and another 105ha urban site, said General Director of Amata Vietnam Huynh Ngoc Phien. With design complete, construction is scheduled to commence early next year, first phase development expected to finish by 2015.
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Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Ministry of Transport, Ba Ria-Vung Tau authorities, and PetroVietnam Group to hand over land for the project to build a large petrochemical complex in the province. In his dispatch, Hai requested these agencies and the project investor to agree on the amount of funding for construction of resettlement areas and roads to Long Son industrial park. The Southern Petrochemical Complex has a total investment of nearly US$4 billion and a design capacity of more than three million tons of products per year. It will be built on an area of 400 hectares inside Long Song industrial park, next to the Long Son oil refinery. Once operational, the complex is expected to meet 65 percent of the country’s demand for polyethylene and polypropylene and stabilize the supply of input materials for the petrochemical industry.
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Nearly 500 Vietnamese and Chinese businesses attended a forum on economic cooperation in Yunnan province on April 3. The event, co-organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Yunnan provincial People’s Committee, aimed to provide opportunities for businesses to build mutual trust and bring bilateral relations to a new height. At the forum, seven cooperation projects were signed in connection with purchasing 220,000 tons of coffee from Vietnam, building a coffee processing chain with an annual capacity of 5,000 tons, setting up a wood furniture company with an estimated capitalization of US$30 million, and developing a scientific and technological base for production at a cost of US$12.77 million.
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Domestic airlines have announced new local and international flight discounts for April. National carrier Vietnam Airlines will cut 40 per cent off its two-way flights from HCM City to Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Phu Quoc Island. The reduced fares will apply to flights undertaken from April to the end of December. Meanwhile, Jetstar Pacific will apply cuts to flights purchased between April 1 and 5. One-way Ha Noi-Singapore flights will be priced at VND950,000 (US$45.2), HCM City-Kuala Lumpur flights at VND645,575 ($30.7), Ha Noi-Manila flights at VND1,816 ($86.5), HCM City-Jakarta flights at VND794,051 ($37.8) and Ha Noi-Hong Kong flights at VND2,145,199 ($102).
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Vietnam has become one of the top 10 countries in the world to build international standard jack-up drilling rigs. A ceremony to transfer Tam Dao 3 rig to its owner, Vietsovpetro, was held on March 30 at the PetroVietnam Marine shipyard in southern Vung Tau City. With a 145m jacket, the rig is able to drill wells up to a depth of 6,100m. The Vietnam Shipping Registration Agency and the American Bureau of Shipping approved construction on the rig.
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The Ha Noi Stock Exchange is promptly working out specific plans to facilitate the development of Vietnam's bond market, of which a variety of new systems to be installed in the first half of the year, according to leaders of the exchange. The exchange in May will allow new types transactions on treasury bonds. In June, they will likely launch electronic procurement, yield curve and bond index. Market members have asked the Ministry of Finance, the central bank and the State Securities Commission to come up with a road map for the development of the bond market through 2020, and come up with a legal framework that would guide the issuance of treasury bills, listings and trading, as well as the introduction of new products, such as futures and sales and re-purchase agreements.
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Provincial authorities in Ca Mau will revoke licenses associated to long-delayed real estate development projects, according to People's Committee Chairman Pham Thanh Tuoi. The projects cover a total area of 500ha as part of a residential area development scheme. Delay has been attributed to insufficient investor capital.
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The 22nd Vietnam International Trade Exhibition kicked off in Hanoi on Wednesday. The expo showcases 600 goods stalls by 450 companies from 20 countries and regions with various kinds of products on display. Rated as the biggest scale of its kind in Vietnam, the expo was held under the theme "Vietnam - Cooperation for Development", showcasing 600 goods stalls by 450 companies from 20 countries and regions with various kinds of products on display. More than 200 businesses from China's Yunnan province attended the annual expo, displaying products from Yunnan at a large pavilion. South Korean businesses and Indian companies also showcased their items respectively.
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Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, or PetroVietnam, said Wednesday that it has signed with SK Holdings an MoU under which the South Korean firm may join PetroVietnam's energy projects. PetroVietnam said in a statement that it encourages SK Holdings to participate in the projects to develop coal-fired power plants as well as oil exploration & production and oil processing, it said in a statement. The deal was signed in Seoul during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's visit to South Korea late last month. PetroVietnam also signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea National Oil Corp. to expand the two companies' cooperation in oil exploration, production and storage, it added.
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Construction of a 30MW wind power plant started on April 3 at the Nhon Hoi Industrial Park in central Binh Dinh province. Clean Energy JSC and CP Phuong Mai Wind Power JSC will invest a total of 1.2 trillion VND (60.25 million USD) in Phuong Mai Wind Power Plant No 1. The plant, covering 143ha, will be located on Phuong Mai Peninsula where the IP is situated. Operating in an average wind speed of 12 meters per second, the 12-turbine plant will be able to generate 82 million kWh per year. Investors in the plant have signed a contract to sell electricity to national power utility Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) for 1,600 VND per kWh. The plant will make a major contribution to the development of clean energy in Vietnam when it starts operations in the second quarter of 2012.
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Vietnam is estimated to have produced a total of 26 billion kwh electricity in the first quarter of this year, making a year-on- year rise of 15.1%, the government’s General Statistics Office (GSO) said on its website. In March alone, the country’s electricity output is estimated at 9.6 billion kwh, up 17.9% on year, the data showed. Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) targeted to increase produced and imported electricity amount to 120.7 billion kwh in 2012, up 10.9% from 2011.
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