More investments in infrastructure are needed to support continued growth in Asia and the Pacific and combat climate change, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said Saturday in his opening address at the 50th Annual Meeting of ADB’s Board of Governors in Japan. More investments in infrastructure are needed to support continued growth in Asia and the Pacific and combat climate change, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said Saturday in his opening address at the 50th Annual Meeting of ADB’s Board of Governors in Japan. Investment in infrastructure, he said, will remain a priority for ADB as the bank prepares a new long-term strategy to respond to rapid regional changes. ADB’s Annual Meeting, which runs from May 6 to 7, hosts about 6,000 government officials, academics, business officers, civil society representatives, and members of the media. A delegation of Vietnamese leaders and officials led by Vice-Governor of the State … [Read more...]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 4/8
US dollar lending back in fashion Dollar lending has sharply risen in recent months in the face of high dong lending rates and a stable exchange rate. For example, Ut Xi Seafood Processing Joint Stock Company’s deputy general director Nguyen Tuan Anh said the firm sourced dollar loans from state-owned Agribank with a 4 per cent, per year interest rate. “If we had dong lending, the negotiable interest rates might be 20-22 per cent per year,” Anh said. High dong lending rates made scores of firms to turn to using dollars. Banks have also been eager to meet demand as dong loan demand drops. Ho Chi Minh City State Bank branch statistics show that city-based banks took VND819 trillion ($3.95 billion) in deposits by late June 2011, up 1.58 per cent against late 2010. Lending amount also hiked considerably 6.67 per cent in the first six months against late 2010. Particularly, dong lending surged 2.14 per cent and dollar lending soared 18.7 per … [Read more...]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 3/8
Parking lot investors face endless rhetoric Though there is much rhetoric flowing from authorities in Ho Chi Minh City encouraging and pledging support to investors for constructing traffic parking lots, there is not much by way of action. Over the last ten years, city authorities have twice issued regulations relating to construction of parking lots. Initially it issued a decision in 2006, calling on investors to build parking lots and later revised it in 2010 with added incentive of interest free assistance. The Government also promulgated a decision in 2009 to exempt rent for public transport companies who would build parking areas and automobile repair stations. Duong Hong Thanh, deputy director of the Department of Transport said that the city has only one parking lot as a consequence of these policies, but now the investor has little interest in running the parking space and wants to sell it to repay outstanding bank loans. Nguyen Thi Dung, director of … [Read more...]
VCCI: Promoting Business Community Development
VCCI: Promoting Business Community Development With its outstanding achievements in operations from 2009 to 2013 and its contributions to the cause of socialist construction and defence of the country, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) is bestowed the First-class Labour Order by the State President. On this occasion, Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Dr Vu Tien Loc, VCCI President, on this event. Lan Anh reports. After more than 51 years of construction and development, VCCI has now become a powerful organisation with over 100,000 members and its units are very strong. Could you tell us more about this development? VCCI is a national agency assembling and representing the business community, employers and business associations in Vietnam with the purpose of developing, protecting and supporting businesses, contributing to national socio-economic development, promoting economic, commercial, scientific and technological cooperation between Vietnam and … [Read more...]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 1/3
ASEAN Business Forum opens in Bangkok Nearly 600 entrepreneurs and investors from throughout Southeast Asia and the world attended the ASEAN Business Forum 2013 which opened in Bangkok on February 27. The forum entitled “Challenges and Priorities towards AEC 2015: Capturing the value within”, will contribute to improving awareness about the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the competitive edge for ASEAN members, especially Thailand. ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh said that ASEAN is in the process of establishing a common community by 2015 based on the three pillars of political security, economics and culture, with the emphasis on economics. The establishment of the AEC will contribute to ensuring the success of ASEAN’s integration process. Currently, ASEAN is successfully implementing the planned stages of building the AEC. However, there is much to be done and ASEAN member states should double efforts to ensure that the AEC is essentially … [Read more...]
Malaysia, Bangladesh sign for building power plant
Malaysia and Bangladesh have signed a government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding on the building of a power plant in Bangladesh. The MoU allows Malaysia’s Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Powertek Bhd to implement the project worth 1.84 billion USD. It also paves the way for the TNB-Powertek consortium and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to finance and build the 1,320-MW coal-fired power plant in Maheskhali. The trio later signed a MoU on their partnership under which they will jointly conduct a feasibility study for the project and come up with proper development programmes. The study will be carried out within six to nine months, while it will take four years to complete the construction of the plant. Coal for the project will be sourced from Indonesia and South Africa.-VNA … [Read more...]
Vietnam, Thailand military officers join first exchange
Vietnam, Thailand military officers join first exchange The first exchange between middle-ranking military officers of Vietnam and Thailand took place recently in the latter’s capital city of Bangkok with the aim of increasing mutual understanding between the two armies. The Vietnamese delegation with 10 members led by Major General Le Trung Hai visited a number of Thai military units such as the Peace-keeping Centre, the Royal Thai Air Force Museum, and the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, and had exchanges with officers there. The guests also visited the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet, and expressed their hope that it will come to Vietnam in the near future. Defence relations between Vietnam and Thailand have been thriving over the past years, especially since the countries inked a defence cooperation agreement. They have increased all-level delegation exchanges such as a Vietnam visit by Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy Admiral Kraison Chansuvanich and … [Read more...]
How should Vietnam cope with a growing global protectionist trend?
Dr. Luu Bich Ho, former Director of the Development Strategy Institute under the Ministry of Planning and Investment:Careful preparations are needed to overcome protection barriersNational protectionism is rising up spreading worldwide. Many countries are feeling losses from globalization and liberalization, so they are reverting to protectionism and isolation to harmonize national interests. This is not something unreasonable, especially in the context of modern equipment gradually replacing humans at work. However, globalization and liberalization will be a major development trend of mankind in the long term.The Vietnamese government has affirmed its determination not to pursue protectionism as its development depends on the global and regional markets. To cope with the rising protectionist trend, on the one hand, and to remove technical barriers, on the other, Vietnam needs to enhance the competitiveness of the entire economy and of each business by producing quality products at … [Read more...]
Strengthen competitiveness to boost garment and textile exports
NDO – Although half the year has already passed, Vietnam’s garment and textile export revenues have only reached a mere US$14.2 billion, accounting for approximately 45% of the year’s plan at more than US$31 billion. As assessed by experts, Vietnam’s garment and textile industry is continuing to face numerous difficulties this year in the context of the world’s declining consumption demand and fiercer competition among exporting countries. Therefore, together with efforts made by businesses in implementing measures to boost exports, it is necessary for ministries and sectors to issue support policies for enterprises. Confronting numerous challenges According to the statistics provided by the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), Vietnam’s garment and textile export revenues hit US$14.2 billion in the first six months of 2017, representing an increase of 10.6% compared to the same period last year. The United … [Read more...]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 3/11
VN Airlines to sell 2.7% stake in bank The national carrier Vietnam Airlines will sell more than 24 million shares it is holding in Techcombank on December 2, announced the Ha Noi Stock Exchange. This is the second time the corporation has called for the auction after the first auction failed on September 26, as only one investor registered to buy. The shares, accounting for 2.7-per-cent stake in the bank, will be auctioned at the Ha Noi bourse at an initial price of VND10,800 (US$0.51) per share. In the first auction, shares were offered at VND12,100 ($0.57) per share. Although no share sold in the first auction, Vietnam Airlines had successfully sold all of its nearly 828,000 ten-year convertible bonds in the first auction to five investors, earning more than VND109.8 billion ($5.18 million). The selling is part of the road map to withdraw capital from non-core lines of business, in accordance with a restructuring scheme approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for the 2012-15 … [Read more...]