Coffee prices to be stable in 2010-11 crop

Experts have predicted little changes in the prices of Vietnamese coffee in the 2010-2011crop with prices between VND24,000-29,000 (US$1.2-1.5) a kilogram.

By the end of September, 2010, coffee growers in the Central Highlands of Tay Nguyen, Vietnam ’s largest coffee-growing area, sold their beans harvested in the 2009-2010 crop for VND31,000 a kilogram - the highest price recorded in the past two years.

According to the Vietnam Coffee and Cacao Association (Vicofa), although output of a large coffee-growing area in Vietnam, which is currently the world’s second largest coffee exporter, is likely to be affected by dry October weather and ageing.

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) has forecast that the world’s coffee output in the 2010-2011 crop is likely to reach 133 million 60-kilogram bags, a rise of 7 million bags compared with the 2009-2010 crop.

In the past nine months, Vietnam shipped abroad 925,000 tons of coffee beans for US$1.32 billion, which represented rises of 4.2 percent and 0.9 percent in terms of volume and value year on year.

Vietnam’s largest coffee market is Germany, accounting for 13.5 percent of total export volume, followed by the US, which takes 12.7 percent of Vietnam’s coffee exports.

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Garment exports on target

Workers make clothes for export at a factory in the northern province of Ninh Binh. The textile and garment industry is on track to reach its annual export target of US$10.5 billion by November. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

HA NOI — The textile and garment industry will meet its annual export target of US$10.5 billion by November, said vice chairman and general secretary of the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) Le Van Dao.

Dao estimated that the industry would earn more than $1 billion each month in the fourth quarter.

September was the third consecutive month the industry fetched more than $1 billion from exports, bringing the sector's total export value in the first nine months of this year to more than $8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20.6 per cent, according to the General Statistics Office.

Dao said many garment exporters had orders for the end of this year and even for the beginning of next year.

Over the past nine months, exports to the big markets have recorded high growth. Exports to the US increased 22.1 per cent to $3.94 billion while the rising figures to the EU and Japan were 6.7 per cent and 14.3 per cent to $1.18 billion and $691 million, respectively.

Exports to North Korea surged 64 per cent thanks to the impact of its Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN.

However, Pham Xuan Hong, Vitas deputy chairman, said the garment industry was facing a shortage of labour and an increase in the price of transport and power.

A surge in the price of cotton on the world market also had a negative impact on the industry. A tonne of cotton has risen 45 per cent since the same period last year to $1,900-2,000 while the industry has to import up to 95 per cent of its cotton. The industry imported 260,000 tonnes of cotton in the first nine months of the year and estimates that figure will reach roughly 370,000 tonnes by the end of the year.

Hong said garment exporters were seeking new sources from Japan and ASEAN countries in order to enjoy preferential taxes.

To fulfil the target of $19 billion from exports by 2015 and $25 billion by 2020, the garment sector is actively implementing programmes related to cotton cultivation to increase domestic supplies and develop human resources to meet the increasing demands of the sector.

The sector is also promoting its trademark and setting up distribution networks nationwide to take a firm foothold in the domestic market. — VNS

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Foreign firms look to raise City investment

HCM CITY — Small- and medium-sized foreign firms in HCM City are looking to increase their capital because they see potential for expansion and growth.

The Dau Tu (Viet Nam Investment Review) newspaper quotes the HCM City Department of Planning and Investment as saying 65 FDI projects operating in the City have raised their investment capital to US$168.9 million in the first nine months of this year.

These projects are mainly in the manufacturing, industrial, service and retail sectors.

Fastfood chain Lotteria Viet Nam Ltd Co has decided to invest an additional $7 million to expand its chain, while sporting goods manufacturer Adidas Viet Nam has decided to raise its investment by a million dollars to $3.9 million.

Retailer Giant South Asia has poured an additional $15 million into its distribution network and warehouses, raising its total investment capital to $20 million.

Lu Thanh Phong, DPI deputy director, said FDI businesses in the city had, compared to previous years, increased investments in manufacturing, processing and industrial production over the last two years.

Nguyen Tan Phuoc, deputy head of HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Park Authority, said the capital increase showed trust in the market's development potential and stability.

Yuki Viet Nam Ltd, a company that produces industrial sewing machinery, has invested an additional $5 million this year, bringing its total investment capital to $20 million. This is the third time it has increased its capital investment in the city.

Tsunoda Shinji, general director of the company, said the increase in capital aimed to expand its domestic market share, instead of focusing on exports. Currently, the company earns $16 million per year from the domestic market, and it aims to increase this to $24-26 million a year in the near future.

A representative of Australia's RMIT University said it had invested more than $15.1 million to build a dormitory for its students in Viet Nam.

Merilyn Liddell, director of RMIT Viet Nam, said the investment aimed to expand the school area by 2013 to meet rising demand for international standard education in Viet Nam.

However, many FDI businesses had also complained that they were hampered by the lack of skilled workers, and were having to provide the needed training by themselves, the newspaper reported. — VNS

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Gear up for printing your own invoices, firms told

HCM CITY — Businesses should immediately begin preparations to print their own invoices so that they can begin to use them in 2011, a tax official said.

Decree No 51, which takes effect next year, allows most businesses to print their own invoices instead of having to obtain them from tax agencies.

The HCM City Taxation Department said it would call a halt to the sales of the "red invoice" issued by the Ministry of Finance starting from January next year.

It also asked companies using them to report the number of invoices they are likely to use until year-end to avoid waste.

They would be allowed to use their invoice until the end of the first quarter next year but should make preparations to print on their own, it said.

Tax agencies will continue to sell the invoices until the end of next year to non-commercial organisations and businesses in poor areas that cannot afford to print them.

Those eligible must ensure the software used for the printing must be secure, among other things, said Tran Thi Le Nga, head of the department's Publicity and Tax payers Support Office.

Businesses were required to inform tax agencies about plans to begin using their own invoices and send samples of the invoices at least five days before they begin, she said.

Failure to do so would mean the invoices would be treated as illegal, she warned.

Printing firms were allowed to take orders to print invoices if they had certain equipment like automatic numbering equipment, but many do not, the department said.

HCM City has more than 1,000 printing presses but only a few of them met the requirements, it added.

The General Taxation Office and the city Taxation Department would publicise the list of presses eligible to print invoices soon so that businesses could sign contracts with them. Starting on October 14, tax agencies in the city would organise training courses for workers involved in printing invoices, Nga said. — VNS

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Nation’s longest avenue opened to traffic in Hanoi

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung joins government officials and Hanoi City leaders pose next to the Thang Long Avenue sign at the inauguration of the country’s longest avenue in Hanoi yesterday on the occasion of the 1,000th anniversary of the capital city - Photo: TTXVN

HCMC - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Sunday opened to traffic Thang Long Avenue, the country’s longest and most modern, marking a strategically significant development toward Hanoi’s western part.

Speaking at the inauguration, the Government leader highlighted the role of this new modern thoroughfare, saying it would make important contributions to the capital city’s development, the Vietnam News Agency reports.

He praised the Ministry of Transport, the city authorities and constructors for having completed the road at a time when Hanoi is celebrating its 1,000th birth anniversary.

Thang Long is the first urban expressway that has been designed and built entirely by local experts and contractors. The road, measuring 30 km in length and 140 m in width, cost over VND7.5 trillion.

The avenue connects the heart of Hanoi with satellite urban areas such as Xuan Mai, Mieu Mon and Son Tay, and tourist attractions including Ba Vi, Suoi Hai, and the Vietnam Ethnic Cultural Village.

With one end at Ho Chi Minh National Highway, it also links Hanoi with other provinces.

In particular, Thang Long Avenue is expected to facilitate the development of the Lang-Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, one of the country’s largest scientific and technological centers.

According to the city government, the city had to clear more than 500 hectares of land and relocate over 8,000 families and some state agencies and organizations along the road.

Neighboring Hoa Binh Province has started work on a road connecting to Thang Long Avenue which has 51 overpasses.

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Market to stay flat again this week, brokers

Local stock investors follow prices on the electronic quotation board of a securities firm in HCMC. Securities companies have forecast the market will remain flat with the key index moving between 443 and 460 points this week - Photo: Le Toan

HCMC – Since investors are still worried about huge share supplies in the future while cash flow remains weak, many securities enterprises forecast the market to remain flat with the VN-Index oscillating within 443 and 460 points this week.

The market closed the first week of October with a modest change of the stock index but a strong decline in trading volume. On the southern bourse, the VN-Index gained a slight two points, or 0.44%, against the previous week to close at 451.71.

Liquidity, meanwhile, tumbled as there was an average 37.1 million shares worth VND1 trillion traded daily, dropping by 20.4% and 21.3% against the previous week respectively. With three rising and two falling sessions, the market saw 64 stocks advancing, 174 stocks closing down while 25 others moved sideways at the end of the week.

Last week brought positive information of the macro economy, including strong growth rates of total retail and service revenue and gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter and the first nine months of this year. However, local investors were very cautious and decided to stand back to gauge the huge supplies in the last quarter of 2010, according to Vietnam International Securities Co. (VIS).

Foreigners, after a strong purchase on Thursday to beautify the third quarter financial reports, suddenly decreased trading the next day. The investors were still net buyers for around 7.1 million shares worth VND314 billion during the week.

“Foreigners are net buyers for a tune of over VND9.5 trillion this year, suggesting that they have bought a large number of stocks given narrow trading on the local market. They are expecting at a long-term index rally when both domestic and international economies actually recover,” VIS said.

Fiachra Mac Cana, managing director of HCMC Securities Corp., said the third quarter earnings season is of course about to begin and with strong credit growth seen this quarter, investors expect on the whole results will be positive. “We note that credit growth is a good leading indicator of corporate activity and even profitability and we suspect most earnings surprises will be positive,” he said.

“However, it must be said that equity markets are slipping into inactivity once again characterized by tight trading ranges and low volumes. It was not surprising really with gold markets popping and attracting retail interest while the bond market sprang into life last week and drew attention from banks. We had thought we might see a short term bounce this week but clearly it has not happened. The short-term risk is slightly to the downside. We keep our view that medium to long term investors can continue to pick up stock at these levels,” Mac Cana added.

The Hanoi market also witnessed three rising and two falling sessions last week, with the HNX-Index losing 3.82 points, or 2.95%, against the previous week to close at 125.81. The market’s liquidity was sharply low with the average daily volume of 28.4 million shares worth VND660 billion, falling by 22% and 26% from the week earlier respectively. VIS said the market would see seesaw trading this week.

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Travel show ends with positive feedback from business

Tran Thai Nguyen (L), assistant director of sales and marketing of the five-star Rex Hotel, discusses with a foreign visitor at the International Travel Expo in HCMC late last week - Photo: Dao Loan

HCMC – The sixth International Travel Expo closed in HCMC last Saturday with positive feedback from local tourism services providers given a rise in foreign buyers and promising deals at the event.

The organizers of the three-day exhibition at the Saigon Convention and Exhibition Center in District 7 are still taking formal reports from exhibitors but what local exhibitors have said indicates better results than last year’s event.

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, marketing manager of Saigontourist Travel Service Co., told the Daily that the tour operators met 55 potential buyers who pledged to cooperate, send tourists and hold more talks.

“We met product managers and people in charge of market development and will have more negotiations later,” she said, adding many buyers in previous events came to seek information only.

According to the organizing committee, there were around 170 local exhibitors and about 150 foreign buyers at the event, up by nearly 50 from the last travel expo.

Other local sellers told the Daily that in the previous shows, many foreign people posed themselves as buyers but just visited the events to sell their products and services.

“The event did not attract as many buyers as professional events in foreign countries but we met real buyers there. It’s better than the last events,” said Nguyen Minh Quyen, deputy director of Ben Thanh Tourist Travel Service Center.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism joined hands with IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd and VINEXAD to organize the expo.

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