Showing posts with label million. Show all posts
Showing posts with label million. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Market plunges for third straight day

Investors watch stock prices at Vincom Securities Co. The VN-Index lost 3.34 points, or 0.73%, from a day earlier to close at 454.25 on Tuesday - Photo: Le Toan
HCMC – The local market declined for the third consecutive session on Tuesday, with the VN-Index shedding 3.34 points, or 0.73%, from the day earlier to close at 454.25 although liquidity improved sharply.

The market opened briefly higher again but subsequently fell back into negative territory and traded lower during the second matching phase to hit a low of 451.82 before rebounding slightly at the close.

On the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, demand surged 27.5% against the previous session to 53.8 million shares while supply rocketed 42.7% to over 64 million shares. Closing the day, the market’s total trading volume was 33.5 million shares worth VND884 billion, up 26% and 28% from a day earlier respectively.

Only 32 stocks advanced on Tuesday while 192 others closed in the red, including one stock hitting its ceiling price and 26 issues dropping to the floor prices.

Ocean Group Co. (OGC) took the lead in terms of liquidity but it lost 3.7% to VND28,200 per share on volume of 1.6 million shares. Vietnam Mechanization Electrification & Construction Co. (MCG) was the second biggest traded stock, adding 2.4% against the previous day to VND20,000 with 1.3 million shares changing hands.

Saigon Machinery Spare Parts Co. (SMA) began to trade over eight million shares on the bourse on Tuesday and it closed at VND15,000 against the reference price of VND16,200 with only 3,200 shares traded.

Foreign participation also recovered as investors acquired 3.8 million shares worth VND148 billion and offloaded 1.8 million shares worth 67 billion, making up 16.7% and 7.6% of the market’s buying and selling value respectively.

The Hanoi market also suffered three losing sessions in a row on higher turnover of VND587 billion. The HNX-Index fell 2.33 points, or 1.96%, against the previous session to close at 116.56.

There were 42 stocks rising while 258 others dropping back, of which one stock touched the ceiling price and 24 stocks plunged to the floor prices. Foreigners were slight net buyers again, accounting for 1.9% and 1.2% of the market’s buying and selling value respectively.

Vietnam International Securities Co. (VIS) in its report said investors once again became impatient and boosted selling towards the end of the session.

“We see that they were too cautious and declined to acquire shares at high prices, mostly because of strong fluctuations of gold and dollar prices. The Hanoi market also failed to improve as most investors still stayed on the sidelines,” VIS said.

HCMC Securities Corp. (HSC) said the buying size was more likely positioning than a major wave of buying. “However, with foreign limits in a host of blue-chips close to being full the smart money is picking up shares now while they can. We keep our positive medium and long-term stance while remaining cautious short term,” HSC said.

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Volume up, shares off in HCM City

The Wall Street rally overnight could not prevent the VN-Index from shedding 0.73 percent on Oct. 19 to close at 454.25.


About 198 of 268 listed stocks on the HCM City Stock Exchange declined
will – 22 hitting the floor price. They were Hari Hamico Mineral (KSS),
down 1.5 percent to 29,400 VND; Sao Vang Rubber (SVR) and Tai Nguyen
Corp (TNT), each down 1.2 percent to 24,300 VND and 23,500 VND,
respectively.


Only three blue chips managed to gain,
including property trader Vincom (VIC), up 3.17 percent; Masan Group
(MSN), up 0.9 percent; and Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), up 0.79 percent.
Foreigners were the main force behind stock rallies, buying 187,190 BVH
shares, 97,250 VIC shares and 23,630 MSN shares.


Total volume on the day's trade on the southern market rose to 32 million shares, worth 880.2 billion VND (45.1 million USD).


In Hanoi , the HNX-Index surged 1.96 percent to 116.56 points, with decliners outnumbering advancers by 253 to 39.


No blue chips gained, while only two stocks hit the ceiling – Hanoi
Textbooks Printing (TPH), up 0.5 percent to 8,700 VND; and PetroVietnam
Southern Gas (PGS), up 2.5 percent to 38,300 VND.


Volume
of trade reached 27.8 million shares, up from 17.3 million on October
18, posting a turnover of 587.5 billion VND (44 million USD).

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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Indices slip on sluggish trade

Shares closed off slightly for a second day on the HCM Stock Exchange,
with the VN-Index slipping by 0.17 percent on Oct.18 to end the session
at 457.59 points.


Trades continued sluggish, with only 26.4 million shares changing hands, worth just 686.5 billion VND (32.3 million USD).


Vietnam Mechanisation Electrification and Construction (MCG), the
most-active share on the day with 1.6 million traded, was also the day's
top gainer, closing up 4.8 percent as its shareholders commenced a
planned purchase of 3.2 million shares.


Buying by
foreign investors began slowing down, as they just picked only a net of
about 100,000 shares on the HCM City market, worth a net of 11 billion
VND (564,102 USD). They were net buyers on the Hanoi market, but by
a volume of just 354,100 shares, worth only 8.2 billion VND (420,512
USD).


On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index
also fell for a second day, ending the session down 0.67 percent to
118.89 points.


The value of trades grew by 4.2
percent over Oct. 15 to 371.2 billion VND (19 million USD), on a total
volume of 17.3 million shares. PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) was the
most-active share on the northern bourse, with 1.7 million traded.


Ocean Bank deputy director Nguyen Hong Hai said that stock markets
were coping with shortage of new capital inflows as both major
institutional investors saw not many changes in market situation.


Tightened credit contributed to limit capital inflows, even as the
number of shares listed on the market was expected to continue
increasing through the end of the year, Hai said.


Vietnam International Securities Co analysts predicted that indices
would fluctuate with a narrow band this week, as economic fundamentals
were sound enough to prevent a steep dip in the market./.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Demand for essential goods to increase

Demand for 12 essential goods items is forecast to increase next year, including for steel, cement, oil products and coal.


Based on Vietnam 's economic growth expectations from 2011-15, the
Ministry of Industry and Trade estimated demand for steel products to
increase 8-10 percent to 12.5-12.8 million tonnes in 2011.


The demand for cement next year was predicted to go up by 10 percent to
55-56 million tonnes while total output to reach 60 million, thus
meeting demand and keep price stable.


Demand for petrol
and oil products was forecast to be 17 million tonnes next year, to be
met by 6 million tonnes of domestic production and 11.6 million tonnes
of imports.


The nation would balance the demand for 44 million tonnes of coal by producing 47.3 million tonnes, the ministry said.


Paper demand would increase to 2.35 million tonnes next year, to be met
by 1.77 million produced locally and 700,000 tonnes from imported.


The nation's consumption of 28 million tonnes of rice in next year
would be supplied by the expected harvest of 31.6 million tonnes.


The demand on medicine, food and fertiliser was also expected to increase next year.


Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called on ministries,
agencies and municipal and provincial authorities to implement
strategies to stabilise the market and boost production.


Directive No1875/CT-TTg, released last week was designed to ensure the
country's growth rate reaches 6.5 percent, while the consumer price
index did not rise above 8 percent.


Dung said the economy,
which typically suffers during the final months of the year, would also
have to weather capital shortages, rises in the price of essential
goods, power shortages and potential animal epidemics/.

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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Sacomreal to list 100 million shares in Vietnam, chairman says

Sacomreal to list 100 million shares in Vietnam, chairman saysSaigon Thuong Tin Real Estate Joint- Stock Co., a unit of the fourth-biggest bank on Vietnam’s main stock market, plans to list 100 million shares on the Hanoi Stock Exchange next month, the unit’s chairman said.

The shares will start trading on Nov. 9, Dang Hong Anh said in a telephone interview Thursday.

Vietnam’s stock market debuts, 75 percent of which rose in the first eight months of the year, have all dropped bar one since September, amid concerns that high interest rates will crimp lending and the currency will fall further. The benchmark VN Index dropped 6.9 percent this year and closed at 458.66 today.

Sacomreal, as the Ho Chi Minh City-based property developer is known, plans to go ahead with the listing as “we still believe in our future because we target a 30 percent increase in profit a year from 2011 to 2015,” company General Manager Thai Van Chuyen said Thursday.

Sacomreal, whose businesses include real-estate, property consulting and office rental, has since 2008 started construction on projects including Sacomreal Hoa Binh Residential Building, Office Building General Limex and Tan Thanh Urban Area in Ho Chi Minh City, it said in a statement on its website.

The company had a pretax profit of VND668 billion ($33.4 million) in the first nine months of the year, exceeding the target of VND650 billion for the whole of 2010, Chuyen said.

Demand for office space in Ho Chi Minh City continues to grow, though rents are expected to come down, especially in buildings with lower occupancy, according to the third-quarter report from CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.

The unit of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank is trading from 30,000 dong to 40,000 dong per share in the so- called over-the-counter market, Chuyen said. Companies don’t have to set initial prices for the first trading day on the country’s second-biggest bourse.

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Business briefs

* Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group, known as Vinacomin, hired Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Credit Agricole CIB and Citigroup Inc. to help advise it on a possible dollar bond sale, according to two people familiar with the matter. Vinacomin has been seeking approval from the government to sell US$500 million of bonds overseas this year.

* Overseas remittances to Ho Chi Minh City from January to September reached $3.04 billion, up 17.94 percent from the same period last year and nearing $3.15 billion for the whole of 2009, Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the central bank branch in the city, was quoted by Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper as saying. The value for the whole of 2010 is forecast to rise 20 percent, he said.

* Power prices in Vietnam will be adjusted four times a year in accordance with changes in input prices and the exchange rate starting from March 1 next year, the Vietnam Economic Times reported, citing an Industry and Trade Ministry document on implementing a market-oriented mechanism for power prices.

* Vietnam increased its rice export forecast for this year to 6.1 million tons, higher than a previous estimate of 5.9 million tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Shipments from the world’s second-biggest producer may be more than 1 million tons in the fourth quarter, according to the document, which was posted on the ministry’s website.

* Vietnam National Petroleum Corp., known as Petrolimex, will buy 140,000 cubic meters of gasoline and diesel from Dung Quat Oil Refinery this month, said Nguyen Hoai Giang, general director of Binh Son Refinery & PetroChemical Co., which runs the refinery. Previously a Dung Quat official said domestic petrol distributors may not be able to use up the refinery’s inventory by the end of this year and it may face an inventory of more than 720,000 tons of products.

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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Foreign investors drive market

Active trading by foreign investors helped the VN-Index register a
second day of gains, closing the day's trade at 458.66 points.


The index rose 0.21 percent, with 84 of the 267 listed stocks on the southern market advancing.


Many blue chips continued to rally thanks to consolidation by foreign
investors, such as Phu My Fertilisers (DPM), up 0.6 percent; Bao Viet
Holdings (BVH), 1 percent; the Corporation for Financing and Promoting
Technology (FPT), 0.5 percent ; and VietinBank (CTG), 1.06 percent.


Foreign investors on Oct. 14 pumped 114.96 billion VND (5.9 million
USD) into the southern market to own 3.03 million shares, including
144,350 BVH shares, 221,380 DPM shares and 188,120 REE shares.


Yet, the total trading volume stayed low at 23 million shares, down
3.7 percent from on Oct.13, for a meagre value of 594.4 billion VND
(30.5 million USD).


The Hanoi Stock Exchange's
HNX-Index inched up 0.05 percent to close at 120.45 points, helped by
rallies of banking and securities stocks.


They
included Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), up 0.36 percent; APEC Securities,
3.20 percent; Bao Viet Securities (BVS), 1.60 percent; Kim Long
Securities, 0.72 percent; and Sai Gon-Hanoi Bank (SHB), 0.88 percent.


Trading volume reached only 19.5 million shares, worth a total of 421.6 billion VND (21.6 million USD)./.

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HCM City hosts ports, logistics confab

The Vietnam Container Ports and Logistics 2010 conference offers
delegates the opportunity to exchange information on port and logistics
management and operations amid the global economic recovery.


Speaking at the two-day conference which opened in HCM City on
Oct. 14, Vuong Dinh Lam, chairman of the Vietnam Maritime
Administration, set out the ambitious agenda: Foreign and local firms
discuss a comprehensive plan to develop shipping and ports in Vietnam
.


In the last two years, despite the economic
crisis, port and logistics operations in the country were encouraging
due to the Government's effective economic management and the efforts of
the maritime sector, he said.


From handling 197
million tonnes of freight in 2008, the sector's output increased to 251
million tonnes last year, he said.


From 1,199
vessels weighing 4.38 million DWT in 2007, the county's fleet increased
to 1,598 ships and 6.3 million DWT last year, he said.


The target for the maritime industry by 2020 is to be the largest
component of Vietnam 's sea-based economy which is expected to
contribute 53 percent to 55 percent of GDP, he said.


The Government continues to promote maritime administrative reform and
is drafting legal documents and strategies that comply with the
country's laws and international conventions, he said.


Vietnamese companies provided an insight into infrastructure and port
development around the country to support cargo transport.


Executives from major industry players like Antwerp Port Authority,
Maersk Line Asia Pacific, and the International Association of Ports and
Harbors, NYK Line Vietnam , Maersk Vietnam , Cai Mep
International Port , Sai Gon New Port , Global Maritime and
Port Services, APL-NOL Vietnam , and YCH Group gave presentations
and held panel discussions.


They were joined by officials from the Ministry of Transport and the Vietnam Maritime Administration.


There was a pre-conference workshop on Practical Strategies to
Optimise Port Operations, Planning and Logistics highlighting strategies
for sustainable port development and addressing the demands of
efficient container and general purpose terminals./.

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

City hosts ports, logistics confab

HCM CITY — The Viet Nam Container Ports and Logistics 2010 conference offers delegates the opportunity to exchange information on port and logistics management and operations amid the global economic recovery.

Speaking at the two-day conference which opened in HCM City yesterday, Vuong Dinh Lam, chairman of the Viet Nam Maritime Administration, set out the ambitious agenda: Foreign and local firms discuss a comprehensive plan to develop shipping and ports in Viet Nam.

In the last two years, despite the economic crisis, port and logistics operations in the country were encouraging due to the Government's effective economic management and the efforts of the maritime sector, he said.

From handling 197 million tonnes of freight in 2008, the sector's output increased to 251 million tonnes last year, he said.

From 1,199 vessels weighing 4.38 million DWT in 2007, the county's fleet increased to 1,598 ships and 6.3 million DWT last year, he said.

The target for the maritime industry by 2020 is to be the largest component of Viet Nam's sea-based economy which is expected to contribute 53 per cent to 55 per cent of GDP, he said.

The Government continues to promote maritime administrative reform and is drafting legal documents and strategies that comply with the country's laws and international conventions, he said.

Vietnamese companies provided an insight into infrastructure and port development around the country to support cargo transport.

Executives from major industry players like Antwerp Port Authority, Maersk Line Asia Pacific, and the International Association of Ports and Harbors, NYK Line Viet Nam, Maersk Viet Nam, Cai Mep International Port, Sai Gon New Port, Global Maritime and Port Services, APL-NOL Viet Nam, and YCH Group gave presentations and held panel discussions.

They were joined by officials from the Ministry of Transport and the Viet Nam Maritime Administration.

There was a pre-conference workshop on Practical Strategies to Optimise Port Operations, Planning and Logistics highlighting strategies for sustainable port development and addressing the demands of efficient container and general purpose terminals. — VNS

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Monday, February 7, 2011

Market barely inches up, trade low

HCMC – The southern stock market made a fractional gain in the second straight rising session on Thursday, in line with rallies in the world, but liquidity remained depressed. The VN-Index rose a mere 0.96 point, or 0.21%, from the day earlier to 458.66.

Demand on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange dropped 13.7% against the previous session to nearly 49 million shares while supply rose 6.3% to 49.4 million shares. Closing the day, only 23.2 million shares worth VND597 billion changed hands, falling by 7.2% and 14.5% against the session earlier respectively.

The market opened higher and quickly jumped to above 460 points before sellers stepped in, pushing the index down to 457.88 at the end of the continuous matching phase. The market then recovered slightly and finally closed in the positive territory.

The number of losers was still higher than that of gainers at 105 to 84, of which six stocks ended the day at their ceiling prices and nine others plunged to the floor prices.

Vietnam Mechanization Electrification & Construction (MCG) became the biggest traded issue, jumping 4.7% to VND17,900 per share with over one million shares traded, followed by Société De Bourbon Tay Ninh Co. (SBT), which closed flat at VND11,800 on the volume of 717,000 shares.

Foreigners were still net buyers as they bought 3.1 million shares worth VND115 billion and sold two million shares worth VND40 billion, accounting for 19.4% and 6.7% of the market’s buying and selling value respectively.

The Hanoi market moved higher on Thursday but turnover remained low at VND421 billion. The HNX-Index inched up a mere 0.06 point, or 0.05%, from the previous session to close at 120.45.

There were 172 stocks rising versus 85 others falling, including seven stocks hitting the ceiling prices and seven others dropping to the floor prices. Foreigners were net buyers to the tune of around VND6 billion worth of shares.

HCMC Securities Corp. (HSC) it its comment said the only difference with Wednesday’s action was that buyers and sellers were much more in balance.

“Holders became relatively insensitive to further small losses, while buyers only placed small orders just in case. With an absence of economic, monetary and corporate news, there was no wonder that investors moved to the sidelines, waiting for something to happen somewhere,” the stock broker said.

Everyone was waiting for the other investors to pull the trigger and very few investors were actually doing anything, it said.

“On Friday again we saw the resilience of a number of stocks that don’t really go down anymore on days where the index loses ground, while they do move upwards if there’s an absence of bad news. Besides, these stocks can be found among the large caps as well as the smaller segment of the market. Solid companies with good fundamentals are certainly out there and don’t even come at a premium these days,” HSC said.

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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Market participants still lukewarm despite rally

HCMC – The local market bounced back on Wednesday given supporting news of interbank and lending rate cuts, with the VN-Index gaining 3.38 points, or 0.74%, from the previous session to close at 457.7. However, participation was still lukewarm, with the trade volume dropping and value merely inching up.

The market opened on a slightly weaker note and dropped 1.09 points to 453.23 after the first matching phase.  It recovered slightly from the second matching phase and then moved higher to close at the highest level of the day.

Liquidity stayed low with 25 million shares worth VND698 billion traded, dropping by 17% in volume but increasing by 12% in value against the previous session respectively. On the southern bourse, bids rose 5.7% to 56.7 million shares while offers plunged 20% from the day earlier to 46.4 million shares.

Up to 135 stocks closed the day higher while 71 stocks lost ground, of which 11 issues hit their ceiling prices and three others closed at the floor prices.

Ocean Group Co. (OGC) remained the most active traded stock, advancing 2% to VND30,100 per share on the volume of 1.2 million shares, followed by Agribank Securities Co. (AGR) that jumped to its ceiling price of VND12,800 with around 950,000 shares traded.

Foreign trading improved as the investors bought 4.3 million shares worth VND162 billion and offloaded 2.5 million shares worth VND63 billion, making up 25% and 10% of the market’s buying and selling value respectively.

HCMC Securities Corp. in its comment said on Wednesday’s gain was important in technical terms as the market broke through all major moving averages. “But with volumes at these levels we should not put too much fate in technical moves like these. Investor interest remains very low and it seems that risk tolerance is extremely low at this moment,” said the stock broker.

“Although on Thursday’s move could gather some momentum over the coming days and put price a bit higher, we believe that there are other factors such as the large supply overhang that continue to keep a lid on equity prices. Therefore, any rally is likely to be short-lived for the moment and probably for the coming weeks. With valuations and dividend yields at very reasonable levels, especially if we compare them to a number of other markets in the region, we continue to recommend investors to accumulate positions on any correction,” the broker added.

The Hanoi market also recovered on Wednesday but turnover kept moving down to just VND370 billion. The HNX-Index inched up 0.58 point, or 0.48%, from the previous day to 120.39.

Out of the 344 listed stocks, 134 closed the day higher and 121 stocks closed down, of which four stocks hit the ceiling prices and seven others closed at their floor prices. Foreigners were net buyers to the tune of VND4.6 billion worth of shares.

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Saturday, February 5, 2011

Indexes rebound on low volume

The VN-Index gained 0.74 percent to close on Oct. 13 session at 457.7 points.


Blue chips had an impact, with Bao Viet Holding (BVH) up 4.20 percent,
VietinBank (CTG) 0.53 percent, the Corporation for Financing and
Promoting Technology (FPT) 1.40 percent, Hoa Sen Group (HSG) 0.1 percent
and the most daily active stock, Ocean Group (OGC), 2.03 percent,
despite a meagre volume of 1.2 million shares.


Meanwhile, the trading volume of the market stayed low at 24.2 million
shares worth 637.1 billion VND (32.7 million USD).


BVH was the highlight on Oct. 13. Foreigners bought 151,890 BVH shares, accounting for 85 percent of the share's trading.


The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange inched up 0.48 percent to
120.39 points, on a total volume of 16.9 million shares.


Trading remained lacklustre with only 370.1 billion VND (18.9 million
USD) changing hands. PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) saw the biggest
volume traded, with 2.05 million shares.


The
Government late on Oct. 12 asked the State Bank to draw up a plan for
commercial banks that would tighten money circulation, which would help
ease inflation pressure and stabilise the economy by the end of the
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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World Bank arm eyes stake in ABBank

The World Bank’s International Finance Corp said in its website that it is plans to invest in An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank.

It will buy convertible bonds for around US$50 million and provide a $25 million loan to the bank, including $5 million from its Clean Technology Fund.

The investment will help ABBank, as An Binh is known, ensure capital adequacy which has recently been raised to 9 percent of assets, the international norm for banks under the Basel II agreement.

The $25 million loan is meant to help businesses undertake environmental protection and energy saving activities, and is consistent with the World Bank’s goal of using the market mechanism to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Vietnam.

ABBank has a tie-up with the IFC for two programs -- consultancy for small and medium-sized enterprises and support for firms committed to environmental protection and energy saving.

IFC also pledged to provide supports on technique, customer consultancy and improve corporate management for the local bank.

ABBank has a chartered capital of VND3.5 trillion ($179.5 million) which is likely to rise to VND3.83 trillion following a proposed bonus issue at the end of this year at the rate of one share to every 10 held.

Its main shareholders include the Electricity of Vietnam Group with 24 percent, Malaysia’s Maybank (20 percent), and its chairman, Vu Van Tien (17 percent).

The bank has assets of VND36.26 trillion and outstanding loans of around VND18 trillion.

In the first nine months it reported a pretax profit of VND546.2 billion, a year-on-year rise of 94 percent.

Last week the IFC also signed a memorandum of understanding to invest in the Vietnam Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank).

VietinBank said the IFC plans to buy a 10 percent stake for $190 million.

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Friday, February 4, 2011

Southern metro set to welcome 3.3 million visitors

In the first nine months of 2010, the number of international arrivals to Ho Chi Minh City reached 2.2 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 13 percent.

The city expects to receive at least 3.3 million foreign visitors in 2011, earning VND48 trillion (US$2.4 billion), according to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

At this growth rate, the southern economic hub hopes to welcome the 3 millionth visitor in mid-December this year.

HCMC targets 2.8 million foreign tourists this year but the real figure may exceed 3 million.

The city’s tourism sector accounts for 60 percent of international arrivals to Vietnam , 45 percent of the country’s tourism revenues and 5.5 percent of its GDP.

Vietnam has organised tourism promotion programmes and cultural exchanges in China, Japan, the RoK and Cambodia in addition to roadshows in Australia , Norway and West European countries, they added.

The nation has targeted 4.5-4.6 million foreign tourists this year, a year-on-year increase of more than 17 percent.

Travel agencies will continue with tourism promotion and sales discount programmes in August and September in a number of key tourism cities and provinces.

Hanoi plans to organise tours to a number of ancient Vietnamese capitals, museums and homestays to attract more tourists to the city.

The Vietnamese tourism authority said it expected about 1 million Chinese holidaymakers to visit the country this year, double last year's number.

VNAT attributed the rise to a series of promotional campaigns run in major Chinese cities over the last two years.

the number of Chinese holidaymakers visiting the south of the country was rising by 25 percent annually.

Travel firms have also reported significant growth in visitor numbers from China. Lien Bang Travelink said the number of tourists using the company's services had increased by 30 percent since the beginning of the year compared to the same period in 2009.

However Vietnam could not compete with regional countries such as Bangkok or Singapore in terms of shopping malls or medical facilities.

 

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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Jan-Sept aviation market growth put at 20%

Passengers wait for reclaiming their luggage at Noi Bai Airport. Vietnam’s aviation market is poised to post strong growth in 2010 as more people travel by air in the country - Photo: Mong Binh
HCMC – The country’s civil aviation market registered strong growth in the first nine months of the year, with both passenger and cargo segments picking up over 20% year-on-year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV).

CAAV’s preliminary figures about the market released on Tuesday indicate more than 15 million passengers went through Vietnam’s airports in the period, up more than 20% from a year ago.

Of the number, Vietnamese carriers were responsible for more than 11 million, up 24% year-on-year. The number of passengers on domestic and international flights of the flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines exceeded nine million, up by a whopping 34% compared to the first nine months of last year.

Jetstar Pacific still took small domestic market share, transporting some 1.5 million passengers in the first three quarters. This low-cost carrier has only 40 daily flights while the number of Vietnam Airlines domestic and international services is more than 290.

The strong expansion of Vietnam’s overall aviation market in the period was credited to Vietnam Airlines’ aggressive launch of new domestic and international air routes and its increase of flight frequencies.

In the period, Vietnam Airlines started to fly on HCMC-Danang-Dalat and HCMC-Can Tho-Phu Quoc runs, and from Hanoi to Vinh and Chu Lai in central Vietnam. On the international front, the airline began services from Hanoi to Japan’s Osaka, China’s Shanghai and Myanmar’s Yangon among others.

The more promotional air tickets offered by the two local players, Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar Pacific, stimulated demand for air travel in January-September. Growth in international arrivals also backed the aviation market.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Vietnam (VNAT), international visitors to Vietnam in the first three quarters jumped 34.2% year-on-year to 3.73 million. Air travelers to the country numbered nearly three million, up 32.7% over the same period last year.

As for the cargo segment, CAAV said domestic and foreign carriers transported 340,000 tons from January till September, a significant year-on-year increase of more than 36%.

The nation’s aviation market is expected to gain faster growth in the fourth quarter, as private airline Air Mekong entered the market on October 9 and the fact that more foreign airlines will launch their services to and from Vietnam.

CAAV has permitted Turkish Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines to fly to Vietnam later this year while Qatar Airways is gearing up for new flights to Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi and more services to Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC.

Air Mekong operates eight routes using four Bombardier jets and will increase the number to 10 in November this year with around 34 daily flights to the airports in Hanoi, HCMC, Danang, Con Dao, Pleiku, Buon Ma Thuot and Phu Quoc.

Vietnam Airlines is targeting 12 million passengers for its domestic and international flights this year compared to just over 9.34 million last year.

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Stock indices continue to decline

Blue chips tumbled on Oct. 12 on the HCM Stock Exchange, despite a rise
overnight in the US stock market, dragging the VN-Index down 1.09
percent to close at 454.32.


The volume rose 28.5
percent over the previous day to 28.3 million shares while the value
increased by 22 percent against Oct. 11 to 683.8 billion VND (35.1
million USD).


Decliners outnumbered advancers by
185-30, with nine out of the 10 largest capitalised shares declined.
Only insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) remained unchanged.


The vast majority of the gainers were mid-cap and penny stocks,
including Ben Tre Aquaproduct Import and Export (ABT), Cuu Long Fish
(ACL), Godaco Seafood (AGD), Agribank Securities (AGR), logistics
Gemadept (GMD), HCM City Metal (HMC) and Tay Bac Minerals Investment
(KTB).


Ocean Group (OGC) reclaimed the position of
most active stock with 1.46 million shares changing hands, but it slid
nearly 2 percent to close at 29,500 VND (1.51 USD) per share.


On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell by 1.2 percent to close at 119.81, a fourth successive day of loss.


Market volume advanced by 25 percent over Oct. 11 to 23.1 million
shares worth 526.1 billion VND (27 million USD), but losers still
largely outnumbered gainers by 238-51.


Blue-chips tumbled and of the 10 leading shares by capitalisation, only Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) closed unchanged.


PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) was still the most active with 2.4
million shares changing hands, closing down 1.35 percent to an average
of 21,900 VND (1.12 USD) per share.


Foreign investors picked up a net buy of 35 billion VND (1.8 million USD) worth of shares on Oct. 12 on both exchanges./.

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Saturday, January 29, 2011

Tax changes to save firms money

The General Department of Taxation (GDT) is mulling a tax reform
programme that will help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) pay
dues more easily while saving time and money by reducing the amount of
paper work required.


Under the programme, the GDT will
set a tax threshold. Firms whose revenue turnover is below the stated
threshold will be exempted from paying value-added tax.


The taxes levied, which include value-added and special consumption
taxes, will be declared and paid every quarter instead of once a month,
as is the case now.


Businesses whose earnings are above
the exemption level but below the VAT threshold, will have two ways of
calculating the tax owed.


They will be able to declare
value-added and income taxes on a defined percentage of their revenue or
they will be allowed to pay a fixed rate for the entire year.


The GDT expects to submit the new tax procedures to the Government and
Ministry of Finance for approval next year as part of a general tax
reform administrative programme.


If approved, the new
policies will directly affect more than 290,000 companies, 1.8 million
family-run businesses and millions of workers who pay income tax, while
helping to save about 600 billion VND (30.7 million USD) per year.


According to the GDT, SMEs have a total turnover of less than 300
billion VND (15.4 million USD) each. SMEs account for 92 percent of all
Vietnamese companies, but pay just 24 percent of the total corporate
income tax amount.


The GDT has simplified 271 out of 330
administrative tax procedures, which has helped to save 1.9 trillion VND
per year (97.4 million USD). One of the most significant changes was to
allow companies to print and use their own invoices, which alone helped
to save 400 billion VND (20.5 million USD) per year.


Meanwhile, the GDT is modifying 24 new draft amendments and supplements to Circular 130 relating to corporate income tax.


The GDT said that under the current Corporate Income Tax Law, companies
were allowed to deduct losses caused by natural disasters, epidemics
and force majeure from their tax bills if they do not receive
compensation.


The new draft circular requires businesses
who lose property to contact the tax office directly about losses
incurred. Companies must state their property's value and the value of
the goods lost according to the valuation council.


They must also state what insurance compensation they had received or were likely to receive and the insurance companies used.


Those records must be certified by commune-level police or the ward or commune people's committee chairman.


The draft states that a firm must state what losses have been incurred
from fines or breach of contract. These costs will be tax deductible./.

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Friday, January 28, 2011

VietinBank sells 10% stake to IFC

HCMC – Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade, or VietinBank, on Sunday evening inked a cooperation deal with International Finance Corporation (IFC) including the sale of a 10% stake to the foreign institution at the value of US$190 million.

Pham Huy Hung, chairman of VietinBank, confirmed the information above with the Daily via the phone on Sunday.

In addition, the deal also includes a loan worth US$110 million from IFC to VietinBank with a term of ten years and interest rate equivalent to the Libor rate plus 1.5 percentage points a year, said Hung. After the stake transfer, the chartered capital of VietinBank will increase to VND21 trillion, or some US$1.05 billion, he added.

As of late June, the bank got approval from the State Securities Commission to issue 392 million shares, including 76.9 million shares to pay dividend existing shareholders and 315.1 million shares sold to shareholders.

Hung also told the Daily that by the end of this year, VietinBank will also sell another 15% stake to Canada-based Bank of Nova Scotia, bringing its chartered capital to about VND26 trillion.

VietinBank is the second State-owned bank of Vietnam going public after Vietcombank. It completed the initial public offering in July last year and then listed on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange under the code of CTG. The bank shares were traded at VND18,700 each last Friday, compared to VND40,100 each on the first trading day on July 16 last year.

In the first half of this year, VietinBank obtained nearly VND2.2 trillion in pre-tax profits.

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VietinBank sells 10% stake to IFC

HCMC – Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade, or VietinBank, on Sunday evening inked a cooperation deal with International Finance Corporation (IFC) including the sale of a 10% stake to the foreign institution at the value of US$190 million.

Pham Huy Hung, chairman of VietinBank, confirmed the information above with the Daily via the phone on Sunday.

In addition, the deal also includes a loan worth US$110 million from IFC to VietinBank with a term of ten years and interest rate equivalent to the Libor rate plus 1.5 percentage points a year, said Hung. After the stake transfer, the chartered capital of VietinBank will increase to VND21 trillion, or some US$1.05 billion, he added.

As of late June, the bank got approval from the State Securities Commission to issue 392 million shares, including 76.9 million shares to pay dividend existing shareholders and 315.1 million shares sold to shareholders.

Hung also told the Daily that by the end of this year, VietinBank will also sell another 15% stake to Canada-based Bank of Nova Scotia, bringing its chartered capital to about VND26 trillion.

VietinBank is the second State-owned bank of Vietnam going public after Vietcombank. It completed the initial public offering in July last year and then listed on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange under the code of CTG. The bank shares were traded at VND18,700 each last Friday, compared to VND40,100 each on the first trading day on July 16 last year.

In the first half of this year, VietinBank obtained nearly VND2.2 trillion in pre-tax profits.

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