BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 15/4

First shrimp farmer holds exclusive brand name; US$ prices listed by banks and in free market equal; Vietnam, India eye stronger business ties in several fields

World Bank hails Vietnam’s development results

The World Bank has announced a report by its Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), which highlighted recent development results in Vietnam as impressive.

As one of the fastest growing economies in the world - with average annual GDP growth of 7.2 percent during the decade prior to the fiscal year 08-09 economic slowdown - Vietnam has lifted some 35 million people out of poverty, it said on April 14.

The country’s poverty rate fell from 58 percent in 1993 to 14 percent in 2008, it added.

Water supply and sanitation facilities have expanded. Electricity reaches 95 percent of the population and 90 percent of the population is connected by all-weather roads. Health services and living conditions of people in remote mountainous areas have been improved, according to the WB.

The results from the bank’s Vietnam development support programme have been outstanding, based on the IEG evaluations of 34 completed projects. Vietnam has maintained its record of 100 percent of projects having been rated satisfactory, it emphasised.

The WB programme was to improve the business environment and governance, and strengthen social inclusion and natural resource and environmental management in Vietnam .

At the same time the WB stressed the sustainability of Vietnam’s growth will also be challenging, given increasing pressures on the country’s natural resource base, the exposure of large segments of the population to natural disaster risks, and the expected (adverse) impacts of climate change.

Institutional reforms are necessary to ensure the country’s large development agenda meets its objectives of inclusive and sustainable growth, the WB said.

The next few years will be critical for Vietnam in completing the transition to a market economy and creating the foundations of a middle income country, it forecast.

Firm wins 35 mln USD oil transport deal

The PetroVietnam Technical Services Co (PTSC) won two international tenders to provide an oil and gas vessel and services to Talisman Malaysia Co Ltd – Canada’s largest investor in Malaysia.

The two sides signed contracts totalling about 35 million USD on April 13 in Kuala Lumpur.

Under the deals, PTSC will supply a multi-functional DP2 Platform Supply Vessel to Talisman Malaysia and a “braided line” service.

Deputy president of Talisman Malaysia Wee Yiaw Hin said PTSC played a significant role in the building and maintaining of project PM3-CAA and supported the enterprise’s operations well.

PM3-CAA is being implemented in the area between Vietnam and Malaysia under an oil production sharing contract and the vessel will be used for this project.

This is the second time that PTSC has worked with Talisman Malaysia. Last December, PTSC won an international tender to supply a vessel to the partner for a total contract value of nearly 35 million USD.

Previously, the Vietnamese firm also won another international bid to supply a floating storage and offloading vessel, two service vessels and a multifunctional service vessel among others.

PTSC has exported a number of technical-service packages for the oil and gas industry in Malaysia with a total market value of hundreds of millions of US dollars, contributing significantly to its revenue, it stated.

Petroleum Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) is a member of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) providing diversified technical services for the oil and gasindustry inside and outside Vietnam with total assets of nearly 200 million USD and more than 4,000 employees.

Vietnam, India eye stronger business ties in several fields

A delegation of eight leading Indian companies visited HCM City this week to seek cooperation in a number of fields, including energy, industrial machinery, steel, finance, real estate and tourism.

Speaking at the meeting on April 14, the president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Calcutta, V Sharan, said the visit would help promote trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

The delegation members include the RPG Group, SMIFS Capital Markets Limited and Shree Baidyanath Ayurved Bhawan Pvt. Ltd.

Indian companies that have located in Vietnam include the Te Godrej steel furniture factory, the pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy, and the pepper processing plant Vallabhdas Kanji Limited, all of which are located in southern Binh Duong province.

Another Indian furniture manufacturer, Sudima International, has also established a base in Vietnam, along with Nagarjuna International and the KCP sugar plants in southern Long An and Phu Yen provinces.

Vo Tan Thanh, general director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City branch, said two-way trade turnover reached 2.5 billion USD in 2008, a sharp increase from 75 million USD in 1995.

Last year, despite the global economic downturn, two-way trade turnover between the two countries resulted in 2.05 billion USD. Vietnam’s exports to India reached 420 million USD million and imports 1.6 billion USD.

Thanh said last year India had invested more than 201 million USD in 38 projects, ranking 29 out of 79 foreign investors in Vietnam .

“Vietnam is an emerging country, but it has had a stable growth rate of 7-8 percent and has offered open policies to investors, including India . India is expected to rank in the top 10 among investors in Vietnam,” he said.

Handicraft producers seek road to Japan market

Handicraft producers and exporters are showcasing products at an exhibition which opened in Hanoi on April 14 with the aim of boosting exports to Japan.

As many as 26 handicraft importers from Japan visited and made transactions at the exhibition which was held under an initiative by Vietnam-Japan Special Friendship Ambassador Ryotaro Sugi.

The organisers had previously invited two design and marketing experts from Japan to help 46 domestic handicraft companies get a handle on the demands of Japanese consumers and ways to penetrate this market.

As part of the Vietnam Expo 2010, the show was co-organised by the Japan External Trade Organiation (JETRO), the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (VCCI).

US$ prices listed by banks and in free market equal

US$1 in the free market was sold at VND 19,060 yesterday, a reduction of VND 50, as much as the selling US$ price listed by commercial banks for the first time.

The same day, US$ prices quoted by the Vietcombank were VND 18,990 for buying and VND 19,060 for selling, a slight decline of around 20 VND/US$ as against the previous day. Meanwhile, the inter-bank exchange rate listed by the State Bank of Vietnam still stood at VND 18,544 to a US$.

The above-said phenomenon has led to the sharp increase in US$ trading in the free market because many people think that it is difficult for the US$ price to further reduce in depth in the coming time so they decide to buy the currency.

First shrimp farmer holds exclusive brand name

Vo Hong Ngoan has become the first shrimp farmer ever granted an exclusive brand name certificate ‘Clean Prawn Farming Sau Ngoan Vietnam’ by the National Office of Intellectual Property.

He resides in Bien Dong A hamlet, Vinh Trach Dong commune, Bac Lieu town, Bac Lieu province.

Currently, his industrial prawn farming covers an area of over 30 hectares, applied according to a clean and sustainable prawn raising process without using antibiotics and chemicals.

Many EU and Japanese companies have come to his farming to sign contracts to buy prawns at the price which is 15-30% higher than themarket price.

VietNamNet/VNA, Nhan dan