Business

Chu Van An, deputy CEO of Minh Phu Seafood, speaking at a recent forum to discuss the proposal, said during the peak season his company receives a lot of orders and needs to increase workers’ overtime hours. This is not something that businesses are keen on since they have to pay 1.5-3 times the normal salary for overtime hours, but find it inescapable. Other export businesses also voiced support for the proposal by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to extend the overtime limit for from 300 hours a year to 400. Phan Thanh Xuan of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association said that since workers in the leather sector are paid by output, the more they work, the higher their salary is. "The relationship between an employer and an employee is symbiotic," and an increase in work time would raise a business’ competitiveness, she added. Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), which represents businesses, said over … [Read more...] about Businesses support overtime cap increase for workers

The Health Ministry and businesses in the liquor industry are at loggerheads over efforts to regulate and reduce alcohol consumption in the country, with the latter seeing no need to further tighten current regulations. Speaking at a seminar held on May 25 last week in Hanoi, Nguyen Van Viet, chairman of Vietnam Beer, Alcohol, and Beverage Association (VBA), said that Vietnam’s alcohol production and consumption rate was “at a moderate level.” The industry has not seen any growth for the past three years, he said. With a per capita annual consumption of 6.6 liters, Vietnam is ranked 94 among 194 countries by the World Health Organization (WHO). Tran Thi Trang, Deputy Head of the Health Ministry’s legal department, countered Viet’s claim, saying the average figure of 6.6 liters included non-drinkers above 15. She noted that alcohol consumption among females and males was at 11 percent and 77 percent respectively, compared the corresponding world figures of … [Read more...] about Spirited argument on liquor consumption between Vietnam’s health ministry, businesses

Part of Khai Quang Industrial Zone in Vinh Yen city, Vinh Phuc province In a recent symposium shedding light on the investment potential of Vinh Phuc province to businesses from the EU and the US, Ywert Visser, vice chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Eurocham), noted that it is by no means difficult to name successful European businesses operating in Vinh Phuc, like Piaggio from Italy and De Heus from the Netherlands. Significantly, De Heus Vietnam has made it among the top 5 animal feed makers in the country, with remarkable contributions to the agricultural development of Vinh Phuc and Vietnam. In the words of Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang, with a strong presence of overseas investors, in the past years Vinh Phuc has succeeded in shaping out an enabling ecosystem for industrial development matching the requirements of investors and businesses from Europe and the US. These investors wield significant capital and require support from … [Read more...] about Vinh Phuc charms investors with pro-business environment

Starting next year, the city will formulate plans on its own and call for investment later, the city's party leader Truong Quang Nghia said at a Tuesday meeting with almost 1,000 city residents. He said reviewing the city's general urban plans has been a key task undertaken by the municipal administration for the past two years. Earlier this year, the city had hired Singaporean consortium Sakae Corporate Advisory-Surbana Jurong as consultants to make adjustments to its master plans from now until 2030 and with a vision until 2045. Based on advice from the two firms, Da Nang, considered the third major city in Vietnam after capital Hanoi and southern metropolis Ho Chi Minh City, will make development plans on its own. It will invite businesses to invest in projects that have already been designed instead of "letting investors tell the city to do this and that and the city revising its plans following their proposals as has been done before," said Nghia. "Every project will be … [Read more...] about Da Nang to keep businesses at bay from urban planning

Amid opinions that Vietnam’s aviation market has developed too rapidly, Mr. Dinh Viet Thang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), said that the aviation market has been posting good growth and under control with ensured safety and profits for carriers. The Vietnamese aviation market still reflects correctly rising demand of the economy and is in line with annual economic growth rate. However, representatives of state management agencies, experts and enterprises thought that although the development of Vietnam’s aviation market is still under control, rapid development has been causing intense pressure on infrastructure. If this issue is not solved soon, it will cause lots of consequences. Among the network of 22 airports, overloading situation mainly happens at two major airports Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat, of which the situation is worse at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Mr. Lai Xuan Thanh, chairman of the Board of Management of the Airports Corporation of … [Read more...] about Congestion in aviation infrastructure needs resolving