Gov’t leader calls on investors to Mekong Delta

The Government of Vietnam always encourages, protects and creates
favourable conditions for organisations and individuals both in and
outside the country to invest in Vietnam and the Mekong Delta
region in particular.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung delivered this message at a conference on investment and
development in the Mekong Delta, which opened in Can Tho city on Sept. 6
with the attendance of more than 700 domestic and foreign delegates.

The leader said he hoped that the conference would
serve as an opportunity for concerned agencies and the business
community to update Vietnam ’s investment policies, projects calling
for investment, as well as obstacles hindering business and investment
activities.

PM Dung urged the regional cities and
provinces to work closely together on mechanisms and policies to attract
more investment, fully tap local potential and strengths and mobilise
all internal and external resources so as to further foster the region’s
socio-economic development and improve local people’s living
conditions.

The government has always paid special
attention to the Mekong Delta’s development through support and
facilitation policies such as a socio-economic development scheme until
2015 with a vision through 2025 and a construction plan for the region
until 2020 with a vision through 2050, he said.

The
government also approved a plan to turn the Mekong Delta into a key
economic region, under which the region is defined as a centre for rice
growing, aquaculture and aquatic product processing of the whole country
and a major hub of energy, the PM added.

The Mekong
Delta encompasses 13 cities and provinces which cover an area of 4
million hectares and boast a population of approximately 18 million,
accounting for 21 percent of the country’s total population.

The region shares a 330-km border with Cambodia and has a 700-km
coastline and territory waters of 360,000 sq.km. It contributes around
18 percent to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) each year.

The Mekong Delta is the largest rice granary and aquaculture region in
Vietnam , making up 50 percent of the country’s rice output and 52
percent of the aquatic product volume. It accounts for up to 90 percent
of the nation’s rice export volume and 60 percent of the aquatic product
export turnover each year.

During the 2006-2010
period, the region has recorded an annual average GDP growth rate of
between 10-12 percent, of which industry and service have contributed an
increasing proportion.

It has also reaped a broad
range of achievements in terms of infrastructure, health care, education
and poverty reduction, while maintaining national defence, security and
social order.

However, the region is still facing
shortcomings and challenges, including the tardy application of
scientific and technological advances in production, the poor
competitiveness of products and businesses, the shortage of high-quality
human resources and the ineffective attraction of foreign investment./.

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Dollar struggles, hovers near 15-year low vs yen

Less-dire-than-expected U.S. payrolls data last week eased market anxiety over chances of a global slowdown and boosted demand for growth-linked currencies

Photo: Reuters

LONDON - The dollar dipped on Monday and looked set to test a 15-year low against the yen after shedding gains made after U.S. jobs data, while better risk appetite kept the euro near a three-week high versus the U.S. currency.

Less-dire-than-expected U.S. payrolls data last week eased market anxiety over chances of a global slowdown and boosted demand for growth-linked currencies like the Australian dollar.

"We are seeing some relief from fears about a double-dip recession in the U.S. helping risk sentiment and the euro," said Gareth Berry, currency strategist at UBS. "But whether this sentiment can be sustained or not is difficult to say."

U.S. non-farm payrolls fell 54,000, a much smaller drop than the predicted 100,000. Private employment, considered a better gauge of labour market health, increased 67,000.

Rising risk appetite has tended to help the euro and higher- yielding currencies in recent months, as investors increasingly see the dollar as a funding currency for investments on expectations of a prolonged period of near zero U.S. rates.

The euro was at flat for the day at $1.2890, having earlier risen to $1.2918, its highest since Aug. 12. Resistance is seen around $1.2932, the Aug. 12 high.

Market participants said they believed Asian central banks, excluding Japan, are converting dollars into euros after they intervene to rein in gains in their own currencies against the greenback, further boosting the euro.

The dollar index was down 0.1 percent at 82.02 with support at 81.82 -- the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement of the index's rise from 80.085 to a high of 83.559, in August.

Yen long positions trimmed

The dollar also ceded ground against the yen, dropping 0.25 percent to 84.07 yen, not far from last month's 15-year low of 83.58. It had risen to 85.23 after the jobs data, but quickly erased the gains.

Dollar/yen has been very highly correlated with U.S. bond yields in recent months. The lower U.S. yields are, the cheaper the dollar is against the yen, as lower yields tend to discourage investment in the dollar from Japan.

In the past month, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note has shed 12 basis points, while the dollar/yen has fallen over 1.5 percent during the same period.

Investors have also bought yen in the past few months as they tend to favor currencies of countries with a current account surplus when they want to avoid risk. The rise had caused headaches for Japanese policymakers battling deflation at home and counting on exports to jump-start the economy.

Speculators trimmed their long positions on the yen last week but still have big yen long positions, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday. Net long positions were cut to 49,904 from 51,069 contracts.

Berry at UBS said hedge funds were selling dollar/yen while other asset managers were emerging as bit buyers. He added hedge funds believed U.S. data would remain soft, putting downward pressure on U.S. yields and dollar/yen.

On Saturday, Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Tokyo would take decisive steps to stem the yen's rise when needed while suggesting coordinated currency intervention in the market was a difficult option.

"For intervention to work, it has to be coordinated and it does not look that the U.S. is prepared for that," said Bilal Hafeez, foreign exchange strategist at Deutsche Bank.

"So going solo by the Japanese authorities could work for a day, but unlikely beyond that. We are looking for the dollar/yen to fall to 80 yen in the medium term."

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Dollar struggles, hovers near 15-year low vs yen

Less-dire-than-expected U.S. payrolls data last week eased market anxiety over chances of a global slowdown and boosted demand for growth-linked currencies

Photo: Reuters

LONDON - The dollar dipped on Monday and looked set to test a 15-year low against the yen after shedding gains made after U.S. jobs data, while better risk appetite kept the euro near a three-week high versus the U.S. currency.

Less-dire-than-expected U.S. payrolls data last week eased market anxiety over chances of a global slowdown and boosted demand for growth-linked currencies like the Australian dollar.

"We are seeing some relief from fears about a double-dip recession in the U.S. helping risk sentiment and the euro," said Gareth Berry, currency strategist at UBS. "But whether this sentiment can be sustained or not is difficult to say."

U.S. non-farm payrolls fell 54,000, a much smaller drop than the predicted 100,000. Private employment, considered a better gauge of labour market health, increased 67,000.

Rising risk appetite has tended to help the euro and higher- yielding currencies in recent months, as investors increasingly see the dollar as a funding currency for investments on expectations of a prolonged period of near zero U.S. rates.

The euro was at flat for the day at $1.2890, having earlier risen to $1.2918, its highest since Aug. 12. Resistance is seen around $1.2932, the Aug. 12 high.

Market participants said they believed Asian central banks, excluding Japan, are converting dollars into euros after they intervene to rein in gains in their own currencies against the greenback, further boosting the euro.

The dollar index was down 0.1 percent at 82.02 with support at 81.82 -- the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement of the index's rise from 80.085 to a high of 83.559, in August.

Yen long positions trimmed

The dollar also ceded ground against the yen, dropping 0.25 percent to 84.07 yen, not far from last month's 15-year low of 83.58. It had risen to 85.23 after the jobs data, but quickly erased the gains.

Dollar/yen has been very highly correlated with U.S. bond yields in recent months. The lower U.S. yields are, the cheaper the dollar is against the yen, as lower yields tend to discourage investment in the dollar from Japan.

In the past month, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note has shed 12 basis points, while the dollar/yen has fallen over 1.5 percent during the same period.

Investors have also bought yen in the past few months as they tend to favor currencies of countries with a current account surplus when they want to avoid risk. The rise had caused headaches for Japanese policymakers battling deflation at home and counting on exports to jump-start the economy.

Speculators trimmed their long positions on the yen last week but still have big yen long positions, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday. Net long positions were cut to 49,904 from 51,069 contracts.

Berry at UBS said hedge funds were selling dollar/yen while other asset managers were emerging as bit buyers. He added hedge funds believed U.S. data would remain soft, putting downward pressure on U.S. yields and dollar/yen.

On Saturday, Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Tokyo would take decisive steps to stem the yen's rise when needed while suggesting coordinated currency intervention in the market was a difficult option.

"For intervention to work, it has to be coordinated and it does not look that the U.S. is prepared for that," said Bilal Hafeez, foreign exchange strategist at Deutsche Bank.

"So going solo by the Japanese authorities could work for a day, but unlikely beyond that. We are looking for the dollar/yen to fall to 80 yen in the medium term."

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Fund sees bargains arise in growing Vietnam, Romania

Templeton Asset Management's Mark Mobius has said he sees big bargain-hunting opportunities in Vietnam and Romania due to good growth prospects, with a large potential in their equity markets.

Mobius, a prominent emerging markets fund manager who oversees about US$40 billion in assets, said he does not see an asset bubble appearing in Asian shares, but investors should watch out for volatility and instability in emerging economies.

The fund manager oversees the Romanian government's compensation fund – Fondul Proprietatea – with a size of 4 billion euro ($5.13 billion) in assets, or about 20 percent of the market capitalization of Romania's stock market.

"We'll be investing probably most heavily in raw materials, oil, gas as well as electric power, because of big demand for electric power in the country," Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, told a news conference.

The Romanian fund is diversified, with the largest holdings in oil companies. The fund also invests in gas and gas transmission companies and property firms, he said.

Templeton is also looking to invest steadily in Vietnam, Mobius said.

"Vietnam's stock market is now down from the peak in '07 and there is a good opportunity now because of low prices," he said.

Mobius said Vietnam's population is increasing by 1 percent a year and the country's stock market is growing at a good pace.

Vietnam has a weighting of 7 percent in the Templeton Frontier Markets Fund, with total assets under management of $442.45 million as of July 31.

The fund sharply outperformed the benchmark over the past year, producing a return of 21.8 percent against the benchmark of 4.8 percent.

"We've been investing in a pretty wide variety of companies (in Vietnam). Liquidity is very difficult and small, so it takes patience," Mobius said.

He said he has been looking at property and harbor firms.

The fund manger was in Vietnam last week to also look at furniture companies.

Templeton does not see an asset bubble occurring in Asian shares, but sees it as hard to avoid volatility in emerging markets.

Investors must be ready for volatility and must be patient, Mobius said.

"We try to encourage people to buy when things look bad when markets are down, because as you can see the recoveries in these bear markets can be very rapid," he said.

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Int’l beverage exhibition to open in HCMC

200 foreign and domestic enterprises will display their products at the Vietfood and Beverage 2010 to be held in HCMC this week

Photo: AFP

Nearly 200 foreign and domestic enterprises will display their products at the Vietfood and Beverage 2010 to be held in Ho Chi Minh City from Wednesday to Saturday.

The exhibition will see the participation of famous producers worldwide such as Lucky Beer (Australia), Goden Nest (US), Hokuto (Japan) and Ta Tung (Taiwan) as well as companies involving in processing, packaging and labeling.

Within the framework of the exhibition, there will be a festival to promote Vietnamese beer and beverage.

According to Bui Duc Duy, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Food and Foodstuff Association, with an annual growth rate ranging from 20 percent to 40 percent, the Vietnamese food and foodstuff industry is holding an increasing important position in the country’s economy.

Vietnam has exported a large number of beverage products, especially fruit juice and health drinks, to foreign markets like Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Holland, the US, the UK and Canada.

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Int’l beverage exhibition to open in HCMC

200 foreign and domestic enterprises will display their products at the Vietfood and Beverage 2010 to be held in HCMC this week

Photo: AFP

Nearly 200 foreign and domestic enterprises will display their products at the Vietfood and Beverage 2010 to be held in Ho Chi Minh City from Wednesday to Saturday.

The exhibition will see the participation of famous producers worldwide such as Lucky Beer (Australia), Goden Nest (US), Hokuto (Japan) and Ta Tung (Taiwan) as well as companies involving in processing, packaging and labeling.

Within the framework of the exhibition, there will be a festival to promote Vietnamese beer and beverage.

According to Bui Duc Duy, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Food and Foodstuff Association, with an annual growth rate ranging from 20 percent to 40 percent, the Vietnamese food and foodstuff industry is holding an increasing important position in the country’s economy.

Vietnam has exported a large number of beverage products, especially fruit juice and health drinks, to foreign markets like Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Holland, the US, the UK and Canada.

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Rice prices in Mekong Delta rise sharply

Continuous increases in the prices of rice in the Mekong Delta over the
past time have excited local farmers as they have driven up farmers’
profits to 30 percent of their production costs.

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) said in many cities and provinces in
the country’s granary, the prices of fresh and dry rice jumped by 25-35
percent compared to late June and early July.

According to Cao Van Ut in Tien Giang province’s Cai Lay district, with
the current prices, farmers can get a net profit of 15-16 million VND
from each hectare of rice.

Experts attributed the high rice prices to foreign countries’ increasing demands for importing Vietnamese rice.

Businesses are expected to export between 700,000 and 800,000 tonnes
of rice in September, equal to the volume of August, said VFA Vice
Chairman Pham Van Bay.

In Vietnam , rice
remains the biggest hard currency earner in the group of agricultural
products. In the first seven months of this year, the average rice price
reached some 485 USD per tonne, representing a year-on-year rise of 4.8
percent.

High export rice prices raised the
country’s rice export turnover in the first eight months to 2.4 billion
USD, up 12.8 percent over the same period last year.

In the period, the country shipped over 5 million tonnes of rice, up 8.2 percent year-on-year./.

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