Saturday, November 27, 2010

Shares stall on inflation data

The nation's two stock exchanges opened down on Sept.21 on news late
Sept.20 that the nation's inflation rate had heated up in September,
with one-month increase in consumer prices in both Hanoi and HCM City of
nearly 1 percent.


On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index
closed down by nearly 1 percent to 453.32, although the value of trades
rose by 16 percent to 1.7 trillion VND (87.2 million USD), on a volume
of nearly 57.2 million shares.


Of the 10 leading shares by
capitalisation, only Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and Masan Group (MSN) saw
gains on the day. Overall, losers outnumbered gainers on the HCM
City market by 142-56.


Ocean Group (OGC) surprised for
the second day as the most-active share, generating a record volume of
over 14.3 million shares – about 26 percent of overall market volume.
But the shares, after declining early in the session, soared to their
ceiling price by the end of the session, closing at 37,600 VND (1.93
USD).


On the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Sept. 21, the
HNX-Index slid 1.31 percent to end the session at 131.57 points. The
volume of trades dropped 23 percent to about 40.4 million shares, worth
just over 1 trillion VND (51.3 million USD).


Declines outnumbered advancers by five-to-one, while seven of the 10 leading shares by capitalisation declined.


PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) remained the most heavily-traded share
on the northern bourse, with 5 million traded. PVX closed down 2 percent
to 24,300 VND (1.25 USD) per share.


Foreign
investors were net buyers by value on the HCM City market on Sept.
21 of 13.2 billion VND (676,900 USD) worth of shares, while they were
net sellers in Hanoi of shares worth 1.65 billion VND (84,600 USD)./.

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Plastics expo kicks off in HCM City

The 10th Vietnam International Plastics, Packaging, Printing and
Foodtech Industry Exhibition – VietnamPlas 2010 will open today (Sept.
22) at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center.


The event will features products from the plastics and rubber, pack and print, food technology, and printing sectors.


This event will welcome 225 professional exhibitors from 15 countries
and territories who will exhibit advanced and hi-tech machinery,
including inflatable tubular filmmaking machines, plastic-injection
moulding machines, plastic woven bagmaking plants, turn-key equipment
for mold&die manufacturing plants, and various equipment related to
packaging, printing, and food processing.


Organisers,
including Vietnam National Trade Fair&Advertising Joint Stock
Company (VINEXAD), Taiwan 's Chan Chao International Co. and Hong
Kong 's Paper Communication Exhibition Service, said this event would
also be the platform where knowledge and experience can be exchanged.


Seminars will be held daily during the exhibition for industrial
improvement and expertise exchange where experts in the industry will be
sharing the latest trend with the attendees.


Among them will be improvement for Vietnam 's natural rubber processing capacity and rubber quality.


Another expo, the Linkage Vietnam, will be concurrent with VietnamPlas
2010 with around 130 exhibitors from 12 countries. It focuses on
engineering and industrial automation energy and environmental
protection.


It will also take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center./.

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Mini-condos attract investor attention

The prices of mini apartments in Hanoi has surged after a decision
to grant ownership titles to individual small apartments.


The decision was meant to help low-income families to buy their first
property, but demand increased dramatically after the decision, with
home buyers and investors attracted to the prospect of capital gains,
analysts said.


Also, mini apartment sales don't have to go through a property transaction centre.


To qualify as mini apartments, there must be at least two floors to the
building with two or more apartments measuring at least 30sq.m on each
floor.


"Demand for mini apartments increased by 40
percent and the price increased by about 20 percent,"
www.batdongsan.com.vn director Le Xuan Truong said.


Prices were now between 750 million VND (39,000 USD) to 1.2 billion VND (60,000 USD), Truong said.


Each apartment could bring the developer a profit of between 150
million VND (7,800 USD) and 200 million VND (10,000 USD)," he said.


The high demand has attracted investment from small developers.


Developer Dinh The Toan said he built a five-floor mini apartment
building with 12 apartments on an area of 150sq.m. After the decision
was released, the apartments increased in value by 300 million VND
(15,000 USD) to around 900 million VND (45,000 USD) each.


Quang Minh Construction and Investment Joint Stock Company spent 10
billion VND (526,000 USD) to buy 200sq.m of in Cau Giay district to
build 20 apartments.


We predicted demand would increase and we have not been disappointed, the company's marketing director Pham Manh Duong said.


Former deputy minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Hung
Vo said the decision may relieve the accommodation shortage and provide
an opportunity for low income families, but we may live to regret it.


He said such high-density living down small lanes was not accompanied
by the development of extra infrastructure, such as water, electricity,
sewerage, roading, extra schools, medical centres and open spaces.


They may turn into slums or ghettos in the future, Truong said./.

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Gold deposit interest rates increase

Interest rates for gold deposits suddenly soared, ranging from a low of 0.5 percent to a high of 1 percent in response to a dramatic rise in the global gold market last week.

The trend of increasing gold deposit interest rates was initiated by large banks but is now picking up in smaller banks.

The highest increase, 1.1 percent per year, in three-month gold deposit interest rates came from the Asia Commercial Bank (ACB).

Phuong Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank raised their interest rates to 1 percent, from a stable 0.55 percent, based on a different set of terms; Sacombank has doubled its three-month gold deposits interest rates to 1 percent; and Dai A Joint Stock Commercial Bank hiked up their interest rate to at least 0.15 – 0.6 percent.

An official at a small commercial bank revealed that his company needed to increase gold deposit interest rates in order to stave off competition from other banks.

Deputy Director of ACB Do Minh Toan said that many customers believed that the price of gold was too high and expected gold prices to drop soon. As a result, they borrowed gold with a low lending interest rate. To avoid risks, some customers paid premiums to buy insurance for gold borrowing.

General Secretary of the Vietnam Banks Association Duong Thu Huong said that increasing interest rates may be a mechanism for banks to comply with the State Bank of Vietnam's new guidelines requiring banks to raise their capital adequacy ratio from 8 to 9 percent.

Senior consultant of the World Gold Council Huynh Trung Khanh said that commercial banks and investors should be cautious as gold prices will continue to increase due to high global demand for gold.

Experts said gold was in short supply because businesses collected gold in their domestic markets for export. According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam exported US$1.34 billion worth of gold, equivalent to about 36 tons.

In August alone, Viet Nam exported $768 million in gemstones and precious metals, most of which was gold. However, gold imports were scarce in comparison leading to a gold supply shortage in the domestic market.

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Mexico-Vietnam Business Committee holds first session

The first session of the Mexico-Vietnam Joint Business Committee (MVJBC)
and a seminar on bilateral trade took place in Mexico city on
September 21 as part of a working visit by a Vietnamese Defence Ministry
business delegation.


The events were attended
by Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Pham Van Que, Deputy Director of the
Vietnamese Defence Ministry’s Economic Department Colonel Pham Viet
Thich, President of the Mexico-ASEAN Business Committee Enrique Michel
and President of the Asia-Pacific Directorate of the Mexican Business
Council for Foreign Trade Sergio Ley.


Speaking at
the events, Sergio Ley expressed his belief that the first meeting would
help Mexican and Vietnamese businesses strengthen mutual understanding,
thus laying the foundation for their effective cooperation agreements
in the future.


Enrique Michel spoke highly of the
Vietnamese economy’s firm progresses, reflected by its improved
infrastructure, international tourism, food production and export, and
international trade.


According to Michel, two-way
trade between Mexico and Vietnam sharply increased from 60 million
USD in 2001 to 714 million USD in 2009.


He,
however, noted that the Mexico-Vietnam trade relation still faces many
challenges ahead that require both sides’ consensus and joint efforts.


Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Van Que said he was
pleased to see that today Vietnamese consumers have better understanding
about Mexican goods and vice versa.


Mexico is
now Vietnam ’s largest trade partner in Latin America and the two
countries have overcome geographical and language obstacles to further
their bilateral ties, he added.


The first MVJBC
session is the start of a long-term and mutual trust partnership for
sustainable development between the two countries, the ambassador
stressed./.

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Friday, November 26, 2010

Macro-economic instability a national concern

How to keep the macro-economy growing steadily topped an on-going workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, where economists pointed out differing trends in the national economy that are difficult to forecast.

Dr. Tran Dinh Thien from the Vietnam Economic Institute said that the national economy was looking good as GDP growth has been high for consecutive years and in the third quarter it is likely to reach 7.18 percent, with inflation under control at 5.08 percent in the first eight months.

He warned however, at the two-day workshop on September 21, that the macro-economy has shown uncertain signs and was very difficult for economists to forecast.

He also complained of slow reforms in the internal structure.

Thien, urged immediate reforms in the State budgets, public investment and State-owned economic groups.

He also called for the State Bank of Vietnam to hold an independent position, and more efforts to develop the supporting industries and regional economies.

Salary reforms in the State economic sector and improving the handling of the macro-economy were the other steps that the senior economist urged to be taken.

Dr. Vo Dai Luoc pointed out the nation’s illogical macro-economic developments that need to be addressed, such as high inflation, the highest interest rates on deposits and loans in the world and an inflated Vietnamese dong amidst fixed exchange rates.

To address these problems, Luoc called on the State to introduce economic adjustments.

The State should also ensure reasonable growth and control inflation when handling the macro economy, he emphasised.

The World Bank’s Acting Economic Head, Keiko Kubota, recognised Vietnam’s efforts to reach to the world’s average income level of US$1,100 thanks to its drastic economic growth.

However she pointed out that the development was based on the renewal process which has been losing its momentum and has been threatened with emerging challenges in management as well as poverty and imparity.

The Vietnamese economy is still highly competitive and has yet to fall into the income trap, the senior economist from the world’s largest development bank said.

She called on Vietnam’s development strategy to focus its economic growth on the private sector and prevent the real estate market from overheating.

Top priority should be given to pre-empting crises and supporting productivity including human resources, urbanisation and infrastructure, the WB economist concluded.

The two-day workshop, was held in the nation’s largest economic hub under the co-sponsorship of the National Assembly’s Economic Committee and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. It drew representatives from the Party, National Assembly and Government as well as senior experts, both from Vietnam and abroad

 

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Sai Gon River tunnel nears completion

A ceremony celebrating the linking of the final sections of the Thu Thiem Tunnel under the Sai Gon River was held in HCM City yesterday. Ninety-five per cent of work on the tunnel has been completed. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

A ceremony celebrating the linking of the final sections of the Thu Thiem Tunnel under the Sai Gon River was held in HCM City yesterday. Ninety-five per cent of work on the tunnel has been completed. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

HCM CITY — A delegation of HCM City leaders yesterday walked into the Thu Thiem Tunnel beneath the Sai Gon River from the District 1 side to meet up with veterans and other representatives of Districts 2 and 9 entering from the other bank.

Le Thanh Hai, Party Committee Secretary of the city, and Le Hoang Quan, chairman of the People's Committee, were accompanied by contractors of the East – West Highway for a ceremony to mark the completion of the tunnel.

The ceremony, held on both sides of the river was broadcast live on HCM City Television.

According to the contractors, 95 per cent of the work is complete. However, while the main work has been completed, other systems like water supply, lighting, fire prevention, ventilation, and others have yet to start.

Quan expressed thanks to all relevant agencies that helped do the project and the residents who were relocated for finishing it soon.

Luong Minh Phuc, head of the HCM City Urban Transport Development Management Board, said the tunnel will help ease congestion in the city and provide the shortest route from downtown to Thu Thiem.

Towing and installing the tunnel's four 110,000-tonne sections were a new and big challenge for the Vietnamese workers.

The construction provided an opportunity for Viet Nam to acquire technologies from international experts, he said, hailing the successful construction.

The city leaders conferred badges on 35 people, including seven Japanese, for their contribution to the project's success.

Vital statistics

It is the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia with the length of 1.49km and is part of the East – West Highway running 22km across the city.

Work on the tunnel began in February 2005 and will be open to traffic along with the highway in the second quarter of next year.

It can withstand earthquakes measuring six on the Richter scale and has a life span of 100 years.

It will carry 45,000 automobiles and 15,000 motorbikes every day, allowing the vehicles to travel at 60km per hour.

It is expected to speed up the development of the proposed Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2. — VNS

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