Toshiba to launch 'world's first' glasses-free 3D TV

TOKYO - Japanese electronics giant Toshiba on Monday said it will launch the first liquid crystal display 3D television that does not require users to wear special glasses.

Toshiba will offer 20-inch and 12-inch Regza GL1 Series sets in Japan from the end of December, the company said.

The 12-inch model is expected to sell for about 120,000 yen (US$1,400) and the 20-inch model will carry a price tag of 240,000 yen, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Current 3D-capable televisions require viewers to wear glasses that act as filters to separate images to each eye to create the illusion of depth.

Makers have turned to 3D sets in a bid to boost demand for new TVs and halt a slide in prices, but the key challenge has been how to enable groups of viewers to all see 3D from different angles at the same time without glasses.

Toshiba's screens use processing technology to create depth-filled images from any angle.

The company added that it planned to offer larger screen models that use glasses as well as smaller personal screens.

Rival Sharp earlier this year unveiled a small glasses-free LCD touchscreen that shows 3D images for use in mobile phones, digital cameras and games consoles such as Nintendo's 3DS, to be released in Japan in February 2011.

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Banks turn cautious about rate cuts

HANOI - Banks in Vietnam have received another call to lower interest rates, but neither the lenders nor the central bank are expecting any cuts to be large, said economists.

The Vietnam Banks Association, which acts as a mediator between the State Bank of Vietnam and lenders, called on banks last Wednesday for the third time in the past six months to cut dong deposit rates, this time to 11 percent from 11.2 percent by Oct. 15.

The association referred to amendments the central bank made to a new set of banking safety rules last Tuesday, suggesting that they would make it easier in future to raise deposits.

But the industry association had previously urged banks to slash deposit rates to 10 percent and lending rates to 12 percent by the end of September, and the new target of 11 percent appeared to reflect an understanding that macroeconomic developments were making it hard to bring rates down by much.

The association's request came as the Ministry of Planning and Investment said economic growth would reach 6.7 percent this year, exceeding the official target of 6.5 percent.

September annual inflation hit 8.92 percent, quickening for the first time in half a year.

"With current market movements, the recent decrease in interest rates is positive, but they cannot drop much more," the newspaper Vietnam Investment Review quoted government adviser Tran Du Lich as saying.

Many lenders considered the central bank's original set of safety rules too stringent. Lich said the amendments may not have a direct impact on rates, but they aimed to give banks with low liquidity more time to prepare for new requirements.

The central bank was also urging lenders to cut rates to help spur economic growth, but its enthusiasm appeared curbed by the 1.31 percent surge in consumer prices in September.

"Monetary policy needs to guarantee the two targets of boosting economic growth and containing inflation are met. It is necessary to cut interest rates, but it requires time and gradual steps", Nguyen Dong Tien, deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, said last week.

But Le Dang Doanh, an independent economist, warned that a minor cut in rates would not be enough.

"Vietnam's economic growth this year has been fueled by public investment and an increase in exports. If interest rates remain high, businesses, especially those in the private sector, will feel the heat early next year," he said.

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Garment exports on target

The textile and garment industry will meet its annual export target of
10.5 billion USD by November, said vice chairman and general secretary
of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) Le Van Dao.

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

September was the third consecutive month the industry fetched more
than 1 billion USD from exports, bringing the sector's total export
value in the first nine months of this year to more than 8 billion USD, a
year-on-year increase of 20.6 percent, 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 percent to 3.94 billion
USD while the rising figures to the EU and Japan were 6.7 per cent
and 14.3 percent to 1.18 billion USD and 691 million USD, respectively.

Exports to the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea surged 64 percent 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 percent since
the same period last year to 1,900-2,000 USD while the industry has to
import up to 95 percent 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 USD from exports by 2015 and 25
billion USD 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./.

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Cement makers hit by coal shortages

Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem)'s member companies need
more coal to produce cement, officials from the group have said.

Le Van Chung, chairman of the corporation's management board, said
cement factories at the corporation's member companies needed 5,000
tonnes of coal a day for production, but the Vietnam Coal and Mineral
Industry Group (Vinacomin) provided half of their demand at 2,500-3,000
tonnes per day.

"We had to halt operations
temporarily, and if we don't receive an adequate supply of coal in the
coming days, many Vicem factories will stop production," Chung said.

Factories in Hoang Thach, But Son, Bim Son, Tam Diep, Hoang Mai, Hai Phong and Ha Tien are experiencing coal shortages.

Hoang Thach Cement Company director Dao Ngoc Binh said his company had
three kilns that consume 1,200 tonnes of coal, but the company had to
stop using one kiln on September 27 due to a lack of coal.

The company has about 600 tonnes of coal in stock, which is not enough
to keep the remaining two kilns operational, Binh said.

Cement producers But Son, Bim Son, Tam Diep and Hoang Mai have between
5,000-10,000 tonnes of coal for production for the next 5-15 days.

The factories acted on their initiative to get more coal for their
production, but at the moment, the member companies within Vinacomin did
not have enough coal to sell to cement factories, Chung said.

Vicem estimated that the cement industry needed 4 million tonnes of
coal to supply the factories for the remainder of the year, he said. /.

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BP CEO says may sell Vietnam assets to TNK-BP

Photo: Reuters

NEW DELHI - BP may sell its main Vietnam assets worth around $1 billion (631 million pounds) to its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP , without inviting other parties to bid, Chief Executive Bob Dudley said on Monday.

"It could be transferred to one of our affiliates," Dudley told reporters, adding TNK-BP was such an affiliate.

TNK-BP decided on Friday to make the British major an offer for its Venezuelan and Vietnamese assets, a source familiar with the decision said.

PetroVietnam, Vietnam's state oil and gas company, has said it may be interested in buying the assets, as has India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp.

Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) is also interested in buying the stake in the Nam Con Son gas project off the coast of Vietnam, a Vietnamese newspaper reported on Friday.

BP has a 50 percent stake in TNK-BP, Russia's third-largest oil producer, and a private sale would allow BP to raise cash to help pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, while retaining an interest in the assets.

Dudley told reporters it was too early to say how much the safety measures BP was introducing in the wake of the oil spill, which some US lawmakers have said was caused by the company's cost-cutting measures, will lift BP's operating costs going forward.

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High gold price fails to deter shoppers

Demand for gold jewellery on the domestic market has not significantly
changed despite the fact that the cost of gold has climbed to its
highest ever level, according to industry experts.

"In recent days, we have had a large number of customers across the
country, " said General Director of Bao Tin Minh Chau Joint Stock
Company Vu Minh Chau.

Chau added that as the wedding season approached, his company had seen no change in customer volume.

Sai Gon Jewellery Holdings Company (SJC) reported business had remained unchanged.

"The number of people buying wedding jewellery still remains high.
However, the number of customers shopping for everyday jewellery is down
20 percent," said Tran Thi Ngoc Suong, head of SJC's Jewellery
Department.

To maintain customer volume, gold companies have designed a variety of new products comprising less gold.

"Our company has introduced many new products. We cut down the gold
weight so that more customers can afford them," said Chau.

He added that with only about 1 million VND (52 USD), customers could buy a wedding ring.

"We use modern technology, which helps us produce light weight gold jewellery," he added.

The company has also organised a number of discount promotional programmes.

These new methods seem to be working for the gold companies, attracting large numbers of mid-income earners.

"It is a clever choice to buy cheaper wedding jewellery with good
design when the gold price is so high," said Van Anh, a customer.

The price of gold on the domestic market has significantly increased.
Yesterday afternoon, it climbed to 31.64 million VND (1.600 USD) per
tael (1.2 troy ounces)./.

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Shares plunge on active trades

The volume of trades on the nation's stock markets picked up on Oct. 4,
but benchmark indices closed down on both exchanges.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index slid 1.3 percent from Oct. 1's
close to end Oct. 4's session at 445.83 points. But volume increased by
nearly 39 percent over Oct. 1's level to 49.45 million shares, with a
value of almost 1.19 trillion VND (61 million USD).

Ocean Group (OGC), which operates in the fields of banking and real
estate development, continued to be the most-active share, with over two
million traded. OGC closed off 4.74 percent to 30,100 VND (1.54 USD).

Of the 10 leading shares by capitalisation, only
three – Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) and Hoa Phat
Group (HPG) – posted gains. Overall, decliners outnumbered advancers by
an overwhelming 219-18.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange,
the HNX-Index plunged by 3.89 percent to close at 120.92. However,
market volume rose by 92 percent to over 44 million shares, while the
value of trades increased by 68 percent to 931.1 billion VND (47.8
million USD).

Shares declined in value across the
board, with losers outnumbering gainers by 279-19, with all of the 10
leading shares by capitalisation declining in value.

PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) continued to be the most-active share
nationwide, with 5.3 million exchanged, but PVX declined by nearly 4
percent on Oct. 4 to close at 22,000 VND (1.13 USD) per share.

The number of new shares issued in the third quarter was nearly on par
with those issued in the first half of this year, the State Securities
Commission has reported. The value of shares made through public offers
reached more than 34.6 trillion VND (1.77 billion USD).

Foreign investors continued as net buyers on both exchanges on Oct. 4,
picking up over 4.8 million shares, worth a combined 162 billion VND
(8.3 million USD)./.

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