Air Mekong to sell fares online from Thursday

Air Mekong fares are available on the web for guests to book - Photo: Binh Nguyen

HCMC - Vietnam’s private airline Air Mekong has loaded airfares on its website on Thursday for its domestic flights departing from October, with a one-way fare starting from VND400,000 (US$20.5).

Truong Thanh Vu, director of commercial service at Air Mekong, told the Daily on the phone on Wednesday after the airline held a press conference in Hanoi to announce its air routes that the VND400,000 was for a single trip from HCMC to Con Dao, Phu Quoc, Pleiku and Buon Ma Thuot from October 9. Other fare levels are VND800,000 and VND1.2 million for longer-haul services.

Initially, guests can book Air Mekong’s fares on its website at www.airmekong.vn and its ticketing office at the Syrena building in Hanoi on Thursday and a ticketing counter at Tan Son Nhat Airport on Friday. They are allowed to use Visa, MasterCard, JCB and Amex credit cards, ATM debit cards and cash to pay online or at ticketing counters.

Vu said 12 types of ticket would also be available for sale at nearly 200 agents in cities and provinces of Vietnam.

Air Mekong will use four three-year-old Bombardier CRJ-900s configured with 10 Deluxe-class and 80 Economy-class seats for 26 daily flights. Vu said the start-up carrier would increase its daily frequencies to 34 flights on 10 air routes in November, a time when demand for air travel begins to pick up within Vietnam.

The airline will conduct four services between HCMC and the resort island of Phu Quoc, two on each of the HCMC-Hanoi and HCMC-Con Dao routes. Vu said the carrier would offer passengers various options to fly between HCMC and Hanoi via a stopover in Pleiku, Buon Ma Thuot or Dalat in the Central Highlands region.

The routes via a stopover will be exploited only by Air Mekong.

“This differentiates us from other airlines. Our new routes will stimulate new demand for air travel, and at the same time we focus on the routes on which the demand has not been fully met,” Vu said.

Business and leisure travelers are among Air Mekong’s target passengers. Vu said Air Mekong was operating as a traditional airline, so it would serve guests foods and drinks aboard all the flights.

Air Mekong will be the country’s sole operational private airline since Indochina Airlines was grounded in late October. Other passenger carriers currently in service are Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiary Vietnam Air Service Co. (Vasco) and Jetstar Pacific.

Related Articles

• Vietnam attends World Travel Fair in Japan
• Plan to sell goods in rural areas succeeds
• Deputy PM and FM Khiem chairs IAMM
• Vietnam Air accepts web check-in for int’l flights
• AIPA-31 General Assembly wraps up in Hanoi

European free trade deal lifts bilateral trade

The negotiations and signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between
Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are a foundation
for enhancing bilateral trade ties, said a seminar in the central
coastal city of Nha Trang on Sept. 23.

The
seminar on the FTA between Vietnam and EFTA, “Negotiation
possibilities and prospects for trade ties”, drew more than 40 delegates
from Vietnam businesses, State management agencies and policymakers
and representatives from Norwegian and Swiss embassies in Hanoi .

Vietnam – an emerging economy with a considerable improvement
in infrastructure and political stability – has an annual average GDP
growth of 7-8 percent.

Vietnam ’s consumption is predicted to post a 10 percent increase each year and to triple the current figure by 2025.

The trade relationship between Vietnam and the four EFTA members –
Switzerland , Norway , Iceland and Liechtenstein – has
recorded progress.

Vietnam is expected to
export goods worth around 2.3 billion USD to Switzerland and import
goods worth around 559 million USD from the country.

First Secretary of the Norwegian embassy in Vietnam Thea Ottmann said
that EFTA countries have a total population of 13 million people but
achieve a GDP of nearly 1 trillion USD per year and EFTA is the
third-largest partner of the European Union.

EFTA has signed free trade agreements with 31 nations and territories in
seafood, pharmaceuticals, machinery, service and other sectors, she
said.

Vietnam is a potential partner of
EFTA, said Thea Ottmann, noting that both sides have established a joint
group to study the feasibility of setting up the FTA and the content of
negotiations.

Vice President of the Vietnam
Garment and Textiles Association Le Van Dao said that Vietnam ’s
garment and textiles sector posted export revenues of 9.2 billion USD
last year, contributing 15 percent of the country’s GDP and more than 17
percent of the nation’s total export revenues.

The signing of the FTA with EFTA would facilitate Vietnam ’s garment
and textiles exports as EFTA connects with the EU, the major market of
the sector, he said./.

Related Articles

• European free trade deal lifts bilateral trade
• Cashew traders yet to embrace trading center system
• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• Exhibitors hopeful of deals at healthcare show
• Vinachem cuts deal to supply chemicals to Unilever

Mapletree builds logistics park in Bac Ninh

The Singapore-based Mapletree company held a ground-breaking ceremony
for a new international logistics park at Vietnam-Singapore Industrial
Park (VSIP) in the northern province Bac Ninh on Sept. 23.

Once completed, the 140 million USD Mapletree-Bac Ninh logistics park
will provide 310,000 sq.m for warehousing to meet the company’s demand.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, Mapletree Chief
Investment Officer Chua Tiow Chye said Vietnam was an attractive
investment destination to Mapletree as it was an important market in
Asia.

The Mapletree Bac Ninh project is part of the company’s strategy to expand business and investment in northern Vietnam.

Mapletree started its investment in Vietnam in 2005 with a 23,000 sq.m
logistics park in VSIP I in the southern province of Binh Duong.

The company has developed two new projects in Binh Duong province – a
68-ha logistics park in VSIP II and a 75-ha hi-tech industrial complex
area.

The operation of Mapletree Bac Ninh project will offer
good service for VSIP Bac Ninh and other IPs in the province, creating
an attractive and synchronous investment environment in the province,
according to Deputy Head of Bac Ninh IP management board Bui Hoang Mai.

Bac Ninh IPs have so far licensed 435 projects, including 189 foreign-invested, worth 3.3 billion USD in total, Mai said./.

Related Articles

• Greenback firmer on signs of rising demand
• City grapples with zoning plan
• Turning Bac Ninh into industrial city
• Banks scramble for mid-level managers
• Drink Of Nature

Indonesia's Telkom eyes acquisitions in SE Asia

JAKARTA - PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Indonesia's biggest phone firm, said on Thursday it is looking at acquisitions in Southeast Asia as it sees its domestic market maturing.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, has become one of the world's most crowded telecommunications markets, with 11 operators fighting for custom in a population of 237 million.

"Telkom is looking for acquisition opportunities in Southeast Asia, including mobile phone providers as our market is starting to mature," said CEO Rinaldi Firmansyah.

"We need a new market but we will not go to Africa. It's too far...But in Asia we're open for any acquisition possibilities," he said on the sidelines of a conference.

Telkom, which rarely comments on regional expansion, tried last year to acquire a stake in Iran Telecom but failed as it lacked backing from Indonesia's government.

Firmansyah did not say how big the firm's warchest would be, but said earlier on Thursday that it sees capital expenditure in 2011 at about US$2 billion.

"We see the same capex for next year at about $2 billion to finance our infrastructure projects as well as maintenance," said Firmansyah.

Telkom needs to invest heavily in telecoms infrastructure such as towers, and is also shifting its focus to data services to earn higher profits as Indonesian subscriber growth slows.

Related Articles

• City culture houses elicit tepid response
• AIPA, observers discuss wide-ranging issues
• Foreign sea leases deprive locals of living
• Civil servants to enjoy State housing
• Enterprises lauded for work on HIV/AIDS prevention

MobiFone tops list of biggest tax contributors

A customer trials Mobifone 3G Mobile Internet service

Photo: Tuoi Tre

MobiFone, a mobile service operator under the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group, has topped the list of 1,000 largest corporate income tax payers in Vietnam, according to a report released Wednesday by Vietnam Report Co and newswire VietnamNet.

This is the first profile ever compiled for publication of Vietnam's top corporate income tax contributors. The ranking aims to recognize and honor enterprises for their good business performance and for their significant contributions to the country's budget over three consecutive years.

Information to compile the business profiles was collected from business results and individual data by the Vietnam Report Company in co-ordination with Taxation magazine of the General Department of Taxation, and domestic and foreign consultants.

Rankings are based on the total corporate income tax paid over three consecutive financial years between 2007 and 2009.

The following are the top 10 corporate income tax contributors: * Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Co (Mobifone) * Military-run Viettel Corp (Viettel) * PetroVietnam Gas Corp (PVG) * Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) * Petrovietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) * Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) * Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) * Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) * Prudential Vietnam * Phu My Hung Corp

Related Articles

• Assoc insists on power price hike despite protests
• Vietnamese short stories introduced in Germany
• Preparations for congress reviewed
• Giant embroidered picture on display
• Hanoi model wins Miss Vietnam 2010

Nissan, Renault to develop platform: report

Photo: AFP

TOKYO - Japan's Nissan Motor and its partner Renault of France will jointly develop a platform for at least 10 models of vehicle to consolidate suppliers and cut procurement costs, a report has said.

The two companies, which intend to design the common platform for medium-sized sport utility vehicles and sedans, also plan to standardize 70 key components, including windows and brakes, the Nikkei business daily said.

The key components account for about 80 percent of the total cost of parts and materials, the report added.

With bulk purchasing leading to lower unit prices, the automakers expect to eventually cut parts procurement costs for midsize vehicles by about 30 percent, or several billion dollars a year, Nikkei said.

Renault owns 44 percent of the number-three Japanese maker, which also has a 15-percent share in the French firm.

Nissan and Renault produce the Micra at a joint venture in India.

The common platform and standardized parts will be used in vehicles from 2013 and account for about 1.5 million units a year -- roughly a quarter of the total that the two firms sold globally last year, the daily said.

Nissan's X-Trail and Dualis SUVs and Renault's Fluence sedan and Megane are among the models that will share the platform and components, Nikkei added.

The partners have begun examining possible suppliers for the standardized parts, with final selections to be made starting this fall.

Nissan moved under Renault's umbrella in 1999, and the two firms established a joint procurement organization in 2001.

They began buying all materials and parts through this entity in April 2009. But because the two share only eight types of components, including air conditioners and batteries, the cost benefits so far have been limited.

Related Articles

• Party reports come in from provinces
• Preparations for congress reviewed
• PM foresees bright future for co-operation with Africa
• Turning Bac Ninh into industrial city
• Assoc insists on power price hike despite protests

Piaggio targets Asia expansion for margin boost

MILAN - Italy's Piaggio SpA, best known for its Vespa scooters, plans to expand in Asia to take advantage of higher growth and margins than in mature European markets, it said on Thursday.

In a business plan, Piaggio, which produces motorbikes, scooters and light vehicles, set a target for its core earnings margin of 15 percent, up from 13.2 percent set for 2012 in its previous plan, and in line with expectations.

"The plan is focused on new industrial plants in India and in Vietnam, on strengthening the commercial presence in Asian markets via new products and on development of new technologies for European and American markets," it said.

Analysts were expecting a margin target in 2013 for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of between "over 14 percent" and "over 15 percent".

In the first half, Piaggio's EBITDA margin was 14.3 percent.

In India, Piaggio plans a new plant for scooter and motorbike models with the launch of Vespa models in 2012. In Vietnam, the existing plant will be expanded to satisfy demand on South East Asia markets.

In China, the plan targets further development of joint ventures operating on this market, it said.

Piaggio gave no details on investments but said net debt is targeted at 300 million euros in 2013. At the end of 2009, net debt was 352 million euros.

Piaggio shares were down 2.22 percent at 2.42 euros off a recent 20-week high. The STOXX Europe 600 auto index was up 0.6 percent.

Related Articles

• Hanoi official vows to boost ties with Vientiane
• Naval forces boost global co-operation
• Vietnamese, Ukrainian leaders meet to promote ties
• Treatments With Lotus Leaves
• MPs and public act for people-oriented ASEAN