Visa fee exemption takes effect

Samurai to take local travelers to Japan on chartered flight

HCMC – The visa fee exemption policy took effect on Sunday after the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) had issued guidelines on the policy over weekend.

In a document signed by VNAT’s deputy head Nguyen Manh Cuong, the tourism agency said the exemption of visa fees would be granted between Sunday and December 31 to international visitors.

However, the incentive is limited to only those tourists who buy packaged tours from international travel companies who have registered to join the country’s tourism marketing campaign named Viet Nam – Your Destination. Tourists can find such companies at www.impressivevietnam.vn

The central Government late of last month announced the new policy for international travelers to the country following a request from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Travelers who purchase “Vietnam – Your destination” program’s tours but make their tours after December 31 will not be entitled to visa fee exemption.

The country received more than 383,000 foreign visitors last month, bringing the total number of foreign arrivals to over 3.73 million in the January – September period, up 34.2% year on year.

* HCMC- based Samurai Travel Joint-Stock Company in December will take local travelers to Japan on a chartered flight. The company has promised the cheaper tour prices compared to normal prices because Samurai and APEX travel have cooperated to bring Japanese tourists to Vietnam on the plane.

APEX will handle inbound tours for Japanese travelers to the country.

Samurai’s director Nguyen Van Thanh told the Daily that the outbound tour would start in HCMC on December 28 to take tourists to attractions in Nikko and to celebrate the New Year holiday in Tokyo and other sites. The six-day tour costs US$1,999 per person.

He said tourists would save hundreds of U.S dollars as the two companies have leased the flight for both inbound and outbound travelers.

Thanh said his company was seeking cooperation with other travel companies in HCMC to attract local travelers to the special tour. Samurai and APEX have plans for similar tours on this Lunar New Year holiday.

Tourists can contact the company at 40 Mac Thi Buoi Street, District 1 or via the telephone number 08 3 825 1076 for further information.

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Developers offer incentives to woo homebuyers

HCMC - Two property developers in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces have announced strong incentives, offering installments plans and deep discounts for buyers of villas and row houses in their property projects currently underway.

SetiaBecamex JSC, developer of EcoLakes My Phuoc in Binh Duong Province, has launched the so-called EcoLakes 30/70 Homes Plan, requiring homebuyers to pay in advance a sum equal to 30% of the property in EcoLakes.

Khoo Teck Chong, general director of SetiaBecamex, explained that the program was designed to offer a simple home ownership or property investment plan where homebuyers pay 30% of the price in installments and get a loan for the balance. Homebuyers will not be charged interest during construction until their properties are completed and handed over.

The company said the current high interest rate is a burden for many homebuyers, making many people feel hesitate whether to take out a loan for buying a property. The program will help buyers save from VND70 million to VND200 million once they buy properties in the project

The Malaysian developer plans to launch 227 villas and row houses with prices starting from VND3.3 billion and VND1.2 billion respectively in the coming time.

In another project, Tin Nghia Corporation in Dong Nai Province has slashed prices by between 20% and 50% for a residential project in Bien Hoa City’s Tan Bien Ward in the southern province.

Some 100 villas and row houses from 200 to 250 square meters are offered at VND797 million per unit. Some banks are going along, offering financial support for homerbuyers.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, director of Tinnghia Land, says the program is designed to stir up the market demand as well as to offer the people a chance to buy a house. Construction of these properties has finished and homebuyers can move in.

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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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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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Ba Ria-Vung Tau says no to steel projects

HCMC – The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau will not license new steel projects from now on as such projects consume much electric power and water, which proves a big burden for the locality, said a leader of the province.

Ho Van Nien, vice chairman of the province, told the Daily late last week that because the province is facing a severe shortage of power and water for industrial production, so it will definitely reject new steel projects in the coming years.

As observed by the Daily, Ba Ria-Vung Tau is having the most licensed steel projects in the country with 18 projects, including 10 projects outside the national master plan for steel industry development approved by the Government. Steel projects in the province have a total capacity of some 3.7 million tons of ingots and 3.3 million tons of other steel products.

Nien said that to cut down the unwanted steel projects in the locality, the province has just required related agencies to consider revoking four steel projects that are moving at a snail’s pace. However, he did not mention the names of the four steel projects that will possibly be cancelled in the coming days.

Nien said that the axe could fall on more steel projects beside the four just mentioned, adding that the provincial government would only retain those steel projects that produce high-grade products.

“In the time to come, the province will call investors for projects that consume less power and water due to the limited supply capacity in the province,” he said.

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Auto sales drop 17% in September

HCMC - Sales of locally assembled automobiles in Vietnam fell 17% year-on-year to more than 9,140 units in September, although it was up nearly 500 units from August, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) said.

VAMA reported that in September, sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) were down 19% to about 1,980 units, while the number of passenger cars fell a staggering 21% to 2,754 units. The number of commercial vehicles sold also shrank 14% year-on-year to more than 4,400 units.

Toyota Vietnam saw a slight decrease in sales to nearly 2,630 units last month from more than 2,800 units a year ago, down 6%. However, it still led the market in sales, holding a market share of 28.8%.

Ford, Isuzu, Honda, Visuco (Suzuki), Vinastar (Mitsubishi), GM-Daewoo, Mercedes-Benz and Vinamotor all suffered a slump in sales last month. Isuzu Vietnam sold 133 units, down 46% year-on-year; Honda Vietnam just over 190 units, down 47%; Ford Vietnam 545 units, down 41%; and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam 225 units, down 18%.

However, domestic automakers, including Truong Hai and Vinacomin – Vinacoal, witnessed the sharpest sales increases in September. Truong Hai’s sales increased by 382 units, or over 21%, to 2,190 units, while the little-known automaker Vinacomin – Vinacoal saw sales climb up from 13 units to 23 units.

VAMA members sold nearly 78,180 units in the January-September period, down 3% year-on-year. The SUV/MPV vehicle segment was hardest hit with sales sliding a hefty 14% to more than 16,280 units. Toyota alone sold more than 21,600 units in the nine months.

Similarly, some 4,000 cars were imported to the country in September, worth US$90 million, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) estimate. Compared with last month, the numbers marked a 20% decrease in volume and 2.17% decline in value.

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Auto sales drop 17% in September

HCMC - Sales of locally assembled automobiles in Vietnam fell 17% year-on-year to more than 9,140 units in September, although it was up nearly 500 units from August, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) said.

VAMA reported that in September, sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) were down 19% to about 1,980 units, while the number of passenger cars fell a staggering 21% to 2,754 units. The number of commercial vehicles sold also shrank 14% year-on-year to more than 4,400 units.

Toyota Vietnam saw a slight decrease in sales to nearly 2,630 units last month from more than 2,800 units a year ago, down 6%. However, it still led the market in sales, holding a market share of 28.8%.

Ford, Isuzu, Honda, Visuco (Suzuki), Vinastar (Mitsubishi), GM-Daewoo, Mercedes-Benz and Vinamotor all suffered a slump in sales last month. Isuzu Vietnam sold 133 units, down 46% year-on-year; Honda Vietnam just over 190 units, down 47%; Ford Vietnam 545 units, down 41%; and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam 225 units, down 18%.

However, domestic automakers, including Truong Hai and Vinacomin – Vinacoal, witnessed the sharpest sales increases in September. Truong Hai’s sales increased by 382 units, or over 21%, to 2,190 units, while the little-known automaker Vinacomin – Vinacoal saw sales climb up from 13 units to 23 units.

VAMA members sold nearly 78,180 units in the January-September period, down 3% year-on-year. The SUV/MPV vehicle segment was hardest hit with sales sliding a hefty 14% to more than 16,280 units. Toyota alone sold more than 21,600 units in the nine months.

Similarly, some 4,000 cars were imported to the country in September, worth US$90 million, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) estimate. Compared with last month, the numbers marked a 20% decrease in volume and 2.17% decline in value.

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