Deep water ports magnet for Japanese
investment
Japanese investors are interested in
investment cooperation in building and operating deep water ports in Vietnam,
said Japanese Deputy Minister of Land-Infrastructure-Transport and Tourism
Fujita Takehino.
A number of Japanese firms plan to
take part in bidding for supplying equipment and operating ports after projects
are operational, Deputy Minister Fujita Takehino told Deputy Minister of
Transport Ngo Thinh Duc during their working session in Hanoi on March 9.
Apart from the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port
project in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau which has been
carried out with Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) resource, three
major Japanese firms – Itochu, NYK and Mitsubishi – are conducting surveys to
provide capital for construction of infrastructure and systems to operate Lach
Huyen port in the northern city of Hai Phong.
According to Deputy Minister Duc,
the Lach Huyen port project will be invested under the form of a Public-Private
Partnership (PPP). The first phase will entail to construction of a 700m-long
wharf, capable of simultaneously receiving two 100,000-tonne ships and a logistic
system.
The Japanese International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) agreed to fund the construction of a road and a
bridge linking Lach Huyen port to the Hanoi-Hai Phong highway.
The JICA also agreed to provide
additional capital to increase the receiving capacity of the Cai Mep-Thi Vai
port for 100,000 tonne ships from it’s current limit of 65,000-80,000 tonne
ships.
Wood product exports recover
Vietnam's furniture exports this
year are expected to increase as the industry has been showing signs of recovery,
according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Statistics from the ministry showed
that in the last two months, wooden exports rose strongly, fetching 617 million
USD, which was up 60 percent against the same period last year.
Chairman of the HCM City 's
Handicraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA) Nguyen Chien Thang said most
local producers received furniture orders.
However, the businesses have faced
difficulties with input costs, while export prices have stayed the same.
According to HAWA's deputy chairman
Huynh Van Hanh, the firms are bearing an increasing cost as the price of
materials has increased due to higher oil prices.
Packaging costs also rose by 20 to
30 percent. Producers are also paying 15 to 20 percent more for transport
costs.
The recent adjustment of electrical
and oil prices has also affected the industry.
Hanh claimed that there is a labour
shortage and said that after Tet (Lunar New Year holiday), the situation is
more serious in the south and the central region of the country.
He also said the wood processing and
export companies would probably not increase their prices, unless it was for
new products.
In an attempt to enhance furniture
exports, the industry will have promotional activities at the Vietnam
International Furniture & Home Accessories Fair 2010 (VIFA 2010), which
will take place from March 11 through the weekend.
The fair will showcase wooden items,
handicrafts and assorted materials and services that are related to the
furniture export sector.
Experts claim that Vietnam 's wooden
export industry has been recovering faster than that in other countries
including Thailand , Malaysia and Indonesia because the country has a variety
of wooden products that can meet several different types of consumer demand.
New rules issued on public takeovers
Public acquisition activities
between domestic listed companies is booming, forcing market regulators to
issue new rules on public takeovers.
The latest instruction, issued by
the State Securities Commission early March, requires listed firms to implement
bids through a negotiation system at stock exchanges, while unlisted firms will
have to execute takeovers through the Vietnam Securities Depository Centre.
Under the new rules, bid participants
must also meet minimum tax and bidding fees,
Public takeovers are commonplace in
the global market although locally they have only started to appear since the
bid between Hung Vuong and An Giang Fisheries Import-Export Co last year.
An official from the State
Securities Commission was quoted as saying that the instruction on public
acquisition bids is part of the regulators’ attempt to give more power to
domestic enterprises for M&A activities.” The official added that the
instruction would help ensure shareholders’ benefit from transparent bid
implementation.
Steel, seafood stocks spark rally
The VN-Index fell slightly in early
trading on March 9 but recovered late in the session to close at 527.27, an
overall gain on the day of 1.8 percent.
The results marked the fifth
straight day of rising sessions on the HCM Stock Exchange.
The value of trades reached 2.7
trillion VND (141.4 million USD), an increase of 17 percent over the previous
session’s value on a volume of 61.2 million shares. Sacombank (STB) was the
most-active share on the southern bourse, with over 2.6 million shares changing
hands.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the
HNX-Index also increased by 0.86 percent, ending the session at 172.70. Volume
rose by nearly 15 percent to over 33 million shares, while value advanced by
over 22 percent to 1.14 trillion VND (59.7 million USD).
Notably, investment capital seemed
to shift from finance shares to steel and seafood shares. Sacombank (STB) and
Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) stalled with negligible value increase, while steel
producer Hoa Sen Group (HSG), seafood processor Hung Vuong Corp (HVG),
Mekongfishco (AAM) and Aquatex Ben Tre (ABT) all hit their ceiling prices.
“Steel and seafood shares increased
thanks to recent supporting information such as steel price increase of 600,000
VND (31.4 USD) per tonne from beginning of March and bright export potential of
seafood products,” said Le Hoa, a HCM City-based independent analyst.
Foreign investors continued to be
net buyers on March 9 on the both bourses, responsible for a net buy of nearly
4 million shares, worth a combined over 235 billion VND (12.3 million USD).
Vietnam, China sign a Memorandum of
understanding (MoU) on tourism
Vietnam and China ’s Sichuan province
will cooperate in promoting each other’s tourism by exchanging television
programmes touting their tourism potential.
To this effect, a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) was signed between Deputy General Director of the Vietnam
National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Manh Cuong and Director of the
Sichuan Provincial Tourism Department Zhang Gu in Hanoi on March 9.
Under the MoU, the two sides will
set up a mechanism for exchanging information on tourism development, tourist
sites, new products, investment policies and human resources.
The two sides will propose that
their national airlines open air routes from Sichuan province’s Chengdu city to
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City .
Vu The Binh, Head of the VNAT’s
Travel Department, said the cooperation will create favourable conditions for
both sides to develop tourism.
Sichuan is an attractive destination
for tourists with many UNESCO-recognised world heritages sites such as the
Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area, Huang Long (Yellow Dragon) Valley and Mount Emeishan
which includes the Leshan Giant Buddha.
Project to build golf course,
entertainment facilities
A groundbreaking ceremony for the
construction of a 100 million USD recreation facility and golf course took
place in Hanoi ’s outlying district of Soc Son on March 9.
Invested by the Hanoi Sports and
Entertainment Services Investment Joint Stock Company, the project will feature
recreation facilities, hotels and restaurants, villas, parks, water reservoirs
and an international-standard golf course.
It is one of the few
privately-funded projects listed as key works to celebrate the capital city’s
millennial anniversary to be held in October this year.
Source:
VIetNamNet/VNA