Local developers launch low-cost condos

Some buyers take a look at a blueprint of Binh Duong New City displayed at the sales launching event of TDC Plaza in Binh Duong Province last week - Photo: Dinh Dung

HCMC – Two local property developers have launched their condo projects currently underway in HCMC and the southern province of Binh Duong, offering more options to homebuyers who are searching for affordable homes.

Hai Thanh Trade and Production and Vinaconex Xuan Mai companies announced on Monday to start marketing their affordable condo project named Binh Tri Dong B on Ten Lua Street in HCMC’s Binh Tan District.

The apartment building is in a residential project called Hai Thanh – Ten Lua, which covers some 6.5 hectares and is designed with 104 garden houses, 31 row houses and three 12-story buildings with 352 apartments measuring 52 to 75 square meters each.

The developer said those apartments would be offered at VND10.5 million per square meter. The total value starting from around VND550 million per apartment is believed within the reach of many people, especially white-collar workers.

The company said it had partnered with banks such as Sacombank, HDbank and Techcombank to give financial support to homebuyers, offering loans with a down payment made within 20 years.

The condo project is scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2012.

In another project, Binh Duong Trade and Development JSC late last week launched the second phase of a sales program for its condo project named TDC Plaza under development in the southern province of Binh Duong, some 35km from HCMC.

TDC Plaza is a component in Binh Duong New City, which covers some 1,000 hectares of land encompassing six communes in Ben Cat District and Thu Dau Mot Town in the province.

The project requires some VND1,000 billion for development and is designed with five blocks of buildings with 779 apartments from 82 to 117 square meters.

Doan Van Thuan, general director of the company, said TDC Plaza would hit the market with 150 apartments in the second phase of the sales program, with prices ranging from VND15 million to VND16 million per square meter.

The company wrapped up its first phase with 100 apartments sold out. Nearly half of the buyers came from HCMC, while investors from Hanoi accounted for 30% and the rest was locals.

The developer offers potential buyers down payment of up to eight years, instead of around three years as often seen.

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New Metro wholesale center starts up in Binh Dinh

Randy Guttery (R), managing director of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam, and guests take a tour of the newly opened Metro wholesale center in Binh Dinh Province - Photo: Minh Thuan

HCMC - German-invested wholesale chain operator Metro Cash & Carry on Wednesday opened its eleventh outlet in the central province of Binh Dinh as it is keeping expanding its operations countrywide.

The US$14-million Metro Quy Nhon center, covering over three hectares in Ghenh Rang Ward, Quy Nhon City, is the company’s second on the central coast after the one in Danang City with a total area of 5,600 square meters.

The store stocks more than 25,000 food and non-food items and targets business customers in Binh Dinh Province and neighboring provinces in central Vietnam, according to the company.

Hotels, restaurants, caterers, service companies and offices are the target customer groups of Metro Cash & Carry Quy Nhon, the company said, adding the new center employs 400 people.

“Small and medium businesses play an important role in the emerging economies like Vietnam,” said Randy Guttery, managing director of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam. “The progress of our business in Vietnam proves that the B2B (business-to-business) cash & carry wholesale concept of Metro is unique to the country’s economy and its business communities.”

Metro Cash & Carry opened its first outlet in Vietnam in 2002. Its current 11 wholesale centers are located in HCMC, Hanoi, Haiphong, Danang, Can Tho, Bien Hoa (Dong Nai), Long Xuyen (An Giang), and Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh). There are also two distribution platforms with one in Binh Duong and the other in Lam Dong.

One more wholesale center is under way in Binh Duong Province and it is slated for opening this year.

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IFC eyes An Binh Bank investment

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) plans to forge a long term partnership with An Binh Bank (ABB).

IFC, a financial arm of the World Bank, will provide a long term 75 million USDloan to the bank.

The IFC is considering investing up to 50 million USD in the bank by
purchasing senior and convertible debt instruments. The investment is
expected to help the bank maintain a healthy Capital Adequacy Ratio
(CAR), while improving its loan portfolio.

A reliable
source from An Binh Bank said that the two sides were in the process of
negotiating the 50 million USD investment deal.

The
corporation also plans to provide a 25 million USD loan to the bank to
help support climate change initiatives and enhance financing for
eligible projects in the Energy Efficiency (EE) and Cleaner Production
(CP) sectors. These projects are congruent with the IFC's financial
strategy for Vietnam and are in line with the WB's efforts to use
market mechanisms to mitigate climate change's impacts in Vietnam .

IFC has been working with An Binh Bank on several projects to support
small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and to finance enterprises
that are committed to protecting the environment and conserving energy.
IFC also promises to help An Binh Bank to improve its technological
infrastructure and corporate governance.

By the end of
last month, the bank had total assets worth 36.26 trillion VND (1.85
billion USD) and a total outstanding loan worth 17.95 trillion VND
(920.51 million USD). The bank earned 546.2 billion VND (28 million USD)
in pre-tax profit during the first nine months of the year, a 94.1
percent increase against the same period last year.

An
Binh Bank has 3.48 trillion VND (178.46 million USD) in charter capital,
and the financial institute plans to increase its charter capital to
3.83 trillion VND (196.41 million USD) by the year's end.

Last week the IFC bought 10 percent stake, worth 190 million USD, in Vietinbank./.

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Dragon fruit gains access to Chile, Korea markets

Chile and South Korea have officially opened up their markets to Vietnamese dragon fruit.

President of the Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association Bui Dang Hung on Thursday said only radiated or heat-treated dragon fruit was acceptable for export to the two markets.

Also, dragon fruit farms had to be checked and granted licenses by the two countries’ plant protection departments under the ministries of agriculture if they wanted to export their products, he said.

Currently, businesses in the southern province of Binh Thuan are engaging in the process of receiving licenses from Chile and the South Korea, Hung added.

Early this month, out-of-season dragon fruits in Binh Thuan Province have been shipped to China at a high price of VND8,000 per kilogram.

A seminar is scheduled to take place in the northern province of Lang Son to help Chinese and Vietnamese businesses deal with difficulties when exporting dragon fruits to China in small volumes.

Binh Thuan has 12,300 hectares of dragon fruit trees, of which 2,100 hectares have been grown under VietGAP standards. The province’s main export market is Asian nations, especially China, with 70 percent of market share, followed by the US and European countries.

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Dragon fruit gains access to Chile, RoK markets

Chile and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have officially opened up their markets to Vietnamese dragon fruit.

President of the Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association Bui Dang Hung on
October 5 said only radiated or heat-treated dragon fruit was acceptable
for export to the two markets.

Also, dragon fruit
farms had to be checked and granted licences by the two countries’ plant
protection departments under the ministries of agriculture if they
wanted to export their products, he said.

Currently, businesses in the southern province of Binh Thuan are
engaging in the process of receiving licences from Chile and the RoK,
Hung added.

Early this month, out-of-season dragon
fruits in Binh Thuan province have been shipped to China at a high price
of 8,000 VND per kg.

A seminar is scheduled to
take place in the northern province of Lang Son to help Chinese and
Vietnamese businesses deal with difficulties when exporting dragon
fruits to China in small volumes.

Binh Thuan has
12,300 ha of dragon fruit trees, of which 2,100 ha have been grown under
VietGAP standards. The province’s main export market is Asian nations,
especially China, with 70 percent of market share, followed by the US
and European countries./.

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Binh Dinh to hold first forestry festival next year

HCMC – The central province of Binh Dinh will organize the first forestry festival in Quy Nhon City from March 26 to 29 to create a venue for stakeholders to propose ways to develop the sector.

Le Huu Loc, deputy chairman of the province, said at the press conference in HCMC early this week that the event would be a convergence point for scientists, enterprises and managers to suggest solutions for forestry development from planting to processing and consumption.

This is a joint effort of the province, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the provincial Forestry Association.

The province, Loc said, would also take the occasion to honor contributors to forestry development and promote business links between local exporters and international buyers, probably from North America, Western Europe, Russia, Japan, China and Thailand.

The festival will feature a showcase of forestry products at 700 stands of 400 local and international businesses.

Binh Dinh – which belongs to the central focal economic zone, about 670 kilometers northeast of HCMC and 1,065 kilometers southeast of Hanoi – has 150 wood processors, most of them exporters, with annual output of 150,000 cubic meters of refined woodwork and more than 300,000 cubic meters of chip wood.

Last year, Binh Dinh exports US$250 million worth of wooden goods, 60% of the province’s total export revenue.

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Binh Dinh to host first forest product festival

The first Vietnam Forest Product Festival will take place in Quy Nhon, the central coastal city of Binh Dinh Province, from March 26-29, 2011.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFORES) and the provincial People’s Committee announced the event on Tuesday in Ho Chi Minh City.

Le Huu Loc, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee said that over 400 domestic and international organizations are expected to attend with 700 pavilions.

Besides, seminars to promote trade in this field as well as cultural and culinary festivals will also be held, he added.

Hua Duc Nhi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the festival aims to highlight the contributions of the forestry sector and step up the cooperation among forestry businesses both at home and abroad.

According to the VIFORES, wood products export is scheduled to reach US$3.1 billion this year, becoming one of five major hard currency earners of the country.

Vietnam currently ranks second in Southeast Asia in term of wood products export. Its products are shipped to 120 countries worldwide.

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Binh Dinh to host first forest product festival

The first Vietnam Forest Product Festival will take place in Quy Nhon,
the central coastal city of Binh Dinh province from March 26-29, 2011.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Timber
and Forest Product Association (VIFORES) and the provincial People’s
Committee announced the event on September 28 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Le Huu Loc, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee said
that over 400 domestic and international organisations are expected to
attend with 700 pavillions.

Besides, seminars to promote trade in this field as well as cultural and culinary festivals will also be held, he added.

Hua Duc Nhi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said
that the festival aims to highlight the contributions of the forestry
sector and step up the cooperation among forestry businesses both at
home and abroad.

According to the VIFORES, wood
products export is scheduled to reach 3.1 billion USD this year,
becoming one of five major hard currency earners of the country. Vietnam
currently ranks second in Southeast Asia in term of wood products
export. Its products are shipped to 120 countries worldwide./.

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Funding shortfall hits City highway

A plan to upgrade and expand National Highway 13, which connects HCM City with neighbouring Binh Duong Province, has been postponed due to a lack of capital. — VNA/VNS Photo Quach Lam

HCM CITY — A project to upgrade and expand National Highway 13 has been delayed because the city lacks capital to speed up work, a senior transportation official says.

Meanwhile, many transport companies have complained that the delay is costing them money because of heavy traffic congestion.

The highway is the main road connecting HCM City and neighbouring Binh Duong Province, and it receives a large number of vehicles, including container trucks, everyday.

The upgrade and expansion project was initiated to deal with the heavy traffic congestion on the highway.

However, the city lacks capital for this project because the number of infrastructure projects being implemented in the city are stretching its finances, said Bui Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the city's Department of Transport.

Duong Quang Chau, deputy investment director of HCM City Infrastructure Investment JSC, said the project included four sections.

In its first phase, it would upgrade the Binh Trieu 1 and 2 bridges. In the second, it would expand the highway section from the bridges to the Binh Phuoc intersection; construct a five-street intersection at the beginning of the highway; and expand the Nguyen Xi and Ung Van Khiem streets.

But the last three sections can be completed only if the Binh Thanh and Thu Duc districts finished site clearance work, for which they needed VND5 trillion (US$256 million) from the city budget. The city has allocated the two districts just VND500 million ($26,000) each for the 2010 financial year.

Meanwhile, the highway has become much more crowded since many vehicles are transporting materials to feed industrial park and processing zone construction in Binh Duong.

Dinh Nam Dinh, deputy chairman of the HCM City Cargo Transport Association, said many transport companies were hit hard by the congestion. "A vehicle used to make two trips from HCM City to Binh Duong and back each day, but now it takes three days to do this," he said.

Dang Duc Tiep, director of the Dang Tien Transport Company, said transport companies were suffering losses because cargo owners were levying fines for late delivery. The losses are huge when cargo from Binh Duong to HCM City is too late for marine shipment and we have to ship them by air, he said.

Cuong said capital for this project should be prioritised. The Department of Transport has so far attempted to reduce congestion on the highway by breaking up traffic in several directions, but such measures have not been sufficient to ease the problem. — VNS

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Ceramics festival helps build brands

Visitors view this record-breaking ceramic bowl called “Van Lang” made by Minh Long Co with gold plating - Photo: Hoai Nam

HCMC – Binh Duong Province’s Ceramics Festival that ended on Wednesday set nine new national records for ceramics and helped build brand names and development strategies for the industry.

According to organizers, about 50,000 people a day, mostly from Binh Duong and HCMC, visited the festival called “Vietnamese ceramics – a combination of traditions, texture and development”. A Vietnamese collection of antique ceramics broke one of the nine records set at the expo.

For the first time under one roof, visitors saw ceramics made by artisans across the country and could view the history of their development.

The festival was a first for Vietnam and Binh Duong which has contributed 70% of ceramics exports in recent years. The festival assembled 19 handicraft villages and more than 50 ceramics manufacturers across the country.

Experts and manufacturers at a conference held by the Binh Duong Ceramics Association shared about brand building and market strategy for local ceramics, Tuoi Tre reported.

Vietnamese ceramics have been competing with products from countries including India, Mexico and especially China in import markets such as the U.S. and Europe as well as locally. Hence, having a brand name and a marketing strategy for both export and local markets is vital. Many pottery villages needed to update to more modern technology, the conference heard.

The exhibition was also useful for manufacturers to listen to customers’ feedback.

Some Vietnamese ceramics such as Minh Long ceramics and earthenware and porcelain products from Bat Trang and Bau Truc have already developed a reputation in importing countries.

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Four more detained at debt-laden shipbuilder

HCMC – Ministry of Public Security police have arrested four more former senior executives of the debt-laden shipbuilding giant Vinashin in a high-profile mismanagement case, according to a statement of the ministry.

The statement, which was posted on the Government site at about 3:30 p.m. last Friday, half an hour after Lt. Gen. Hoang Kong Tu, chief investigator of the ministry, called a news conference in Hanoi, says the four are accused of intentionally violating state regulations causing serious consequences.

Tran Quang Vu – who succeeded Pham Thanh Binh as general director of Vinashin shortly after the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Inspection proposed disciplining the then chairman and general director Binh over mismanagement two months ago – is among the four put into police custody last Friday for interrogation.

Late last month Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung signed a decision suspending Vu from the board of directors of the state-owned Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) and asking the board to suspend him from the post of general director.

Tran Van Liem, another board member and chief controller who was also suspended by the Government leader, is the second to be arrested. The other two are Nguyen Van Tuyen, ex-general director of Hoang Anh Shipbuilding Industry Co. Ltd., and Nguyen Tuan Duong, ex-chairman of Cuu Long Investment Co.

The Ministry of Public Security statement says clues were uncovered during the probe into Pham Thanh Binh, who was arrested in Hanoi early last month over intentional violations of State rules on economic management which caused serious consequences and put Vinashin on the brink of bankruptcy. Vinashin’s total debt is VND86 trillion (about US$4.5 billion) while its combined assets are VND104 trillion.

The clues indicate the Prime Minister’s instructions had not been strictly implemented and violations of regulations on economic management causing serious consequences committed in connection with the purchase of a secondhand Italian-built ship locally known as Hoa Sen, the development of Song Hong power station and the sale of a mortgage asset by Nam Trieu Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Nasico).

Tran Quang Vu, while serving as Nasico CEO, was aware that the Government did not allow the buying of used vessels but he and the then Vinashin chairman Binh approved a plan to convert Bach Dang Giang ship, which Vinashin had bought for steel, into a floating hotel.

Vu used the ship as collateral to borrow VND105 billion from Vinashin Finance Co. with funding coming from an international Government bond sale. But finding that the vessel could not be converted, Vu ordered its dismantlement for steel scrap without seeking consent from Vinashin leadership and reporting to Vinashin Finance.

The money gained from the sale of the steel scrap was not returned to Vinashin Finance, according to the ministry’s statement.

Tran Van Liem was assigned by Binh to oversee the project to buy Hoa Sen ship but he did not organize a competitive tender. Even worse, he signed the purchase contract before the project was formulated, and no technical inspection was done before delivery, the acts that went against a Government decree on ship buying.

Nguyen Van Tuyen of Hoang Anh Shipbuilding Industry Co. Ltd., and Nguyen Tuan Duong of Cuu Long Investment Co., together with Pham Thanh Binh, decided to build Song Hong power plant in Nam Dinh Province though they all knew the Government had not permitted it.

Tuyen and Duong bought equipment made in the 1960s from two old power stations in South Korea which stopped generation in 2004, including transformers containing a toxin which was banned from export by South Korea and prohibited from import by Vietnam.

The two even used falsified documentation in the name of the ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, and Industry and Trade to facilitate the import of the equipment.

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Binh Trieu 1 Bridge reopened to traffic

Binh Trieu 1 Bridge is reopened to traffic with Binh Trieu 2 Bridge seen in the background - Photo: Anh Quan

HCMC – HCMC Infrastructure Investment Co. (CII) last week reopened Binh Trieu 1 Bridge to all traffic, doing away with the serious traffic congestion often seen during the upgrade of the bridge.

The bridge had been widened to three lanes from the previous two and its capacity had been increased to allow trucks of 30 tons rather than 16 tons to cross.

Duong Quang Chau, deputy director for investment of CII, said that after the upgrade, which lasted one year, the bridge was open to all kinds of traffic.

The upgrade cost just VND83.6 billion, he said, adding if a new bridge was built, the cost would amount to around VND300 billion.

Contractor Freyssinet Vietnam provides a 30-year warranty for Binh Trieu 1 Bridge.

CII on Sunday began toll collection on Binh Trieu 2 Bridge, which runs in parallel with Binh Trieu 1. The company suspended toll collection for fear that it would worsen traffic jams during the upgrade of Binh Trieu 1.

It is Freyssinet which will be responsible for repairing the Saigon Bridge in October. The HCMC government has chosen Freyssinet Vietnam for the repair project which costs an estimated VND44 billion.

The bridge, which is the main link between the city center and Hanoi Highway and northern provinces, is in bad need of repair as about 40,000 container trucks use it everyday.

Last October, the local government repaired a hole that suddenly appeared in the bridge surface.

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Industrial zones set for completion in 2020

VINH LONG — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) province of Vinh Long's proposal to establish three new industrial zones by 2020.

"The Binh Tan and Dong Binh zones will be constructed in 2011-15 while the An Dinh zone will be built in 2016-20," said Vu Ngoc Tung, deputy director of the provincial Industrial Zones' Management Board.

The management board announced that Binh Tan Industrial Zone was planned to be built in Binh Tan District's Thanh Loi Commune.

"It has an advantageous location because it is near to the highway," said Tung.

"This zone will partner Can Tho industrial zone, providing it with ample opportunity for development," he added.

When finished, the zone will be an ideal location for garments, fine arts, consumer goods, packing, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, construction material, agricultural and aquaculture producers.

The VND1 trillion (US$52 million) Dong Binh Industrial Zone will be located in Binh Minh District, with a focus on hosting agriculture, aquaculture and food processors. It will also welcome companies specialising in packing and chemical industries. — VNS

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