HCM City hosts trade and technology conference

Vietnam’s Trade and Technology Conference 2010 opened in Ho Chi Minh
City on October 13, attracting 200 representatives from businesses
operating in technology, banking and finance.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Information and
Communications Tran Duc Lai said that over the past 10 years, Vietnam’s
Information Technology and Communications (ICT) sector has thrived and
obtained an annual growth in revenue of over 20 percent. This year, the
sector is expected to earn 8.8 billion USD.

According
to Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Van Lang, the focus
of the development strategy on science and technology for the 2011-2020
period is to build and develop a sustainable sector, tap into the
country’s human resources, culture and natural resources and ensure the
country fully integrates into the international scientific community,
helping to improve local human resources in the long term.

During the two-day conference, the participants will take part in
group discussions on important issues for the future of the Vietnamese
technological sector, including the States role in developing
technologies and introducing the necessary legislation and tax policies.

Leaders from leading technology companies discussed
global technological trends in the next five years and shared their
views on opportunities and challenges that the companies are facing in
emerging markets.

The conference also witnessed the
signing of two cooperative agreements, between Hoa Lac Hi-tech Zone and
the company SAVVi and between the IDG Venture Investment Fund and DFJ
Vina Capital./.

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South Korea unveils huge clean energy investment plan

Photo: Reuters

SEOUL - South Korea Wednesday unveiled a five-year plan to spend US$36 billion developing renewable energy as its next economic growth engine.

The plan, approved at a meeting chaired by President Lee Myung-Bak, aims to transform South Korea into one of the world's five top players in renewable energy.

South Korea will spend about 40 trillion won -- seven trillion won in state money and 33 trillion won from private businesses -- on new renewable energy projects by 2015, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.

It hopes to export renewable energy worth 36.2 billion dollars in 2015.

The ministry predicts the global market for renewable energy will grow rapidly from 162 billion dollars last year to an estimated 400 billion dollars in 2015.

Asia's fourth largest economy, which imports almost all its oil, has tried to cut dependence on fossil fuels and diversify energy sources.

In addition to the 40 trillion won, the ministry said the government will spend nine trillion won to build an offshore wind farm in the Yellow Sea by 2019, generating 2.5 gigawatts per hour of electricity.

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S.Korea unveils huge clean energy investment plan

Photo: Reuters

SEOUL - South Korea Wednesday unveiled a five-year plan to spend US$36 billion developing renewable energy as its next economic growth engine.

The plan, approved at a meeting chaired by President Lee Myung-Bak, aims to transform South Korea into one of the world's five top players in renewable energy.

South Korea will spend about 40 trillion won -- seven trillion won in state money and 33 trillion won from private businesses -- on new renewable energy projects by 2015, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.

It hopes to export renewable energy worth 36.2 billion dollars in 2015.

The ministry predicts the global market for renewable energy will grow rapidly from 162 billion dollars last year to an estimated 400 billion dollars in 2015.

Asia's fourth largest economy, which imports almost all its oil, has tried to cut dependence on fossil fuels and diversify energy sources.

In addition to the 40 trillion won, the ministry said the government will spend nine trillion won to build an offshore wind farm in the Yellow Sea by 2019, generating 2.5 gigawatts per hour of electricity.

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Int’l research firm sees potential in VN’s solid waste market

Research and Markets company has affirmed that solid waste management
industry in Vietnam was potential and the industrial solid waste
management market would continue to grow fast.

In a
summary report posted onto http://www.researchandmarkets.com, the
leading supplier of international market research and market data wrote:
"Vietnam is currently one of the fastest growing and untapped solid
waste management markets in the Asia-Pacific region" and "The share of
urban population further increased which infused municipal solid waste
generation growth to reach new height."

The report
showed that fast industrialization and urbanization has been promoted in
Vietnam with urban population rising to 31.7 million and accounting for
37 percent of the national population in the first half of 2009. This
trend has intensified in 2010.

It added that among
the sectors, industrial solid waste is growing at the fastest rate in
the country. Sectors including, food and beverages, wearing apparel,
tanning and dressing of leather, wood and products of wood, fabricated
metal products are the backbone of Vietnams industrial sector and
together represent 65 percent of all industrial employment and 57
percent of all industrial firms in the country. Amid the fast
developments in industrial production, the industrial solid waste
generation has reached an estimated 5.7 million tonnes in 2010 and has
been anticipated to post phenomenal growth at 19 percent during
2011-2014.

It wrote: "The government has approved
the waste management strategy outlining specific plans to 2025. The plan
states that any organization or individual releasing waste that causes
pollution must pay for damages. By 2025, the government aims for
developments of solid waste recycling plant in all cities for households
to dispose and treat their waste. In addition, to control pollution,
100 percent of solid waste from urban areas and toxic and non-toxic
industrial solid waste will be collected and treated. Besides, 90
percent of construction solid waste and rural residential solid waste
also aimed to be collected and treated."

According
to the Research and Markets company, the business and social environment
in Vietnam has become favourable for foreign investments owing to the
WTO accession and relaxed regulatory policies./.

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Steel sales slip in September

Steel sales in September surprised experts by dropping 41 percent over August to 283,000 tonnes.

"September's decline was not expected. We forecast that the price of
steel ingots would go through the 600 USD per tonne mark but instead it
dropped to 580 USD," said the Vietnam Steel Association's Deputy
Chairman Nguyen Tien Nghi.

Nghi added that due to
the low price of pig iron on the world market, Vietnamese consumers are
still waiting for further reductions.

Because of this, the decline has continued into the first few days of this month.

Meanwhile, he added, traders have been selling off their steel stocks.

Due to the situation, many companies and agencies have cut prices by
roughly 300,000 VND (15 USD) per tonne to stimulate the market.

According to a report by the association, the price, excluding
value-added tax, is now standing at about 13.6 million VND (697 USD) per
tonne.

The association said the situation would
steady itself in the second half of October, as the rainy season ends
and demand for construction steel picks up.

"In
addition, when steel stocks are sold out, traders will be forced to
renew their supplies and consumption will increase," Nghi said.

He added that demand on the world market is also increasing which would help push the price back up.

Talking about sales for the whole year, Nghi optimistically said that they would increase by 15 percent over last year.

"Because of high consumption in previous months, the dip in September
will not affect sales for the whole year," he explained.

Last year, the country consumed nearly 4.2 million tonnes of steel./.

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Stock indices continue to decline

Blue chips tumbled on Oct. 12 on the HCM Stock Exchange, despite a rise
overnight in the US stock market, dragging the VN-Index down 1.09
percent to close at 454.32.

The volume rose 28.5
percent over the previous day to 28.3 million shares while the value
increased by 22 percent against Oct. 11 to 683.8 billion VND (35.1
million USD).

Decliners outnumbered advancers by
185-30, with nine out of the 10 largest capitalised shares declined.
Only insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) remained unchanged.

The vast majority of the gainers were mid-cap and penny stocks,
including Ben Tre Aquaproduct Import and Export (ABT), Cuu Long Fish
(ACL), Godaco Seafood (AGD), Agribank Securities (AGR), logistics
Gemadept (GMD), HCM City Metal (HMC) and Tay Bac Minerals Investment
(KTB).

Ocean Group (OGC) reclaimed the position of
most active stock with 1.46 million shares changing hands, but it slid
nearly 2 percent to close at 29,500 VND (1.51 USD) per share.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell by 1.2 percent to close at 119.81, a fourth successive day of loss.

Market volume advanced by 25 percent over Oct. 11 to 23.1 million
shares worth 526.1 billion VND (27 million USD), but losers still
largely outnumbered gainers by 238-51.

Blue-chips tumbled and of the 10 leading shares by capitalisation, only Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) closed unchanged.

PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) was still the most active with 2.4
million shares changing hands, closing down 1.35 percent to an average
of 21,900 VND (1.12 USD) per share.

Foreign investors picked up a net buy of 35 billion VND (1.8 million USD) worth of shares on Oct. 12 on both exchanges./.

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Top mining company to de-list shares

Sai Gon Quy Nhon Mining Co (SQC) will seek shareholder approval to
suspend its listing on the Hanoi Stock Exchange due to unfavourable
business conditions.

The company's general director,
Tran Trieu Thanh, told a press conference on Oct. 11 that production
at the plant has been suspended due to the imposition of high export
taxes.

The company operates the Sai Gon Quy Nhon
titanium slag plant, the first plant in Vietnam to produce titanium
slag at a purity of 93 percent.

The export tax
levied on titanium slag is currently 15 percent – down from an earlier
18 percent but still too high for the company's exports to remain
competitive.

To cope with the high tarriff and
attempt to cut its losses, Sai Gon Quy Nhon Mining Co began reducing
capacity at the plant in July this year, Thanh said.

Suspending the loss-making slag production operations entirely actually
would improve the company's bottom line, Thanh said, hinting that
production could resume in the first quarter of 2011, when tarriff
changes could be possible.

Meanwhile, the suspended
operations are having a negative impact on share value, prompting the
management's decision to de-list, pending shareholder approval.

The company's leading shareholder, Dang Thanh Tam, said the blue-chip
shares had a large impact on movements of the HNX-Index.

In response to the concerns of small shareholders, Tam said, the
company's management board plans to buy back shares from any investors
that no longer wish to invest in the company.

Changes in tarriff policies would be decisive as to how long the listing would be suspended, Thanh said.

"I believe the State will soon realise our difficulties and make proper changes to support our production," he added./.

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