Wind power, titanium projects on direct collision course

Wind power in Binh Thuan holds big potential development, but projects in this sector are on a direct collision course with titanium ones - Photo: Khai Nguyen

HCMC, BINH THUAN – Several projects in both wind power and titanium mining sectors in the central province of Binh Thuan have been put on hold as most of the land reserved for wind power overlaps the sites for titanium mining, a provincial official said.

Ho Son Hung, deputy director of the province’s Department of Industry and Trade, told the Daily on Thursday that the provincial government had to date licensed a total of 12 wind power projects covering some 14,000 hectares.

“However, nearly 12,000 hectares of land for the wind power projects is overlapping areas of titanium exploitation with total reserves of some 500 million tons,” he said after a meeting on wind power on Thursday in Binh Thuan.

The twelve licensed wind power projects are Binh Thuan Wind Power 1, Tien Thanh, Phuoc The, Saigon-Binh Thuan, Mien Dong, Thuan Nhien Phong, Binh Thuan, Phu Lac, Van Thanh, HD, WPD, and Vinh Hao.

“This has been an awkward situation for years. We have asked the Government to give a final decision on which areas to be allowed for tapping titanium now and which titanium areas are to be reserved for next generations so that we could continue licensing wind power projects in the coming time,” he said.

“The province will hopefully receive a final decision from the Government in November this year,” he said.

Because of the overlapping situation, the province has decided to stop giving more investment licenses for wind power projects while pending a clearer plan for exploiting titanium reserves.

Hung said he had just heard that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had completed a scheme pinpointing locations of titanium around the province. Binh Thuan is expecting to have the scheme soon.

In recent years, Binh Thuan Province has been known as an attractive place for investors of both titanium projects and wind power projects. The province is said to have total wind power potentiality of some 3,000 MW to be developed between 2010 and 2020 on a total area of some 75,500 hectares, while titanium reserves in the locality are estimated at half a billion tons.

The province on Thursday organized a seminar on wind power development with the participation of many domestic and international energy experts.

Many experts agreed that Binh Thuan’s wind power potentiality will be effectively tapped if the power generated from wind is sold at a better price to ensure profits for investors.

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NAC named sales agent for Saigon Villas stateside

HCMC – The Vietnam-based Nguyen Alliance Corporation, or NAC Real Estate, announced on Thursday that it had been appointed as exclusive selling agent in Vietnam for a property project in the U.S. named Saigon Villas.

The company on Thursday began to sell products of the project invested by the U.S. Bridge Creek Group, Inc for investors in Vietnam including overseas Vietnamese and foreigners who are working and living in Vietnam.

John Nhat Nguyen, managing director of NAC Real Estate, told reporters in HCMC that the project had 150 apartments covering 65 to 110 square meters each. The condo whose construction was finished last quarter is conveniently located in the heart of Little Saigon in the city of Westminster, California.

The Saigon Villas offers a convenient setting, secured residential environment, elegant architectural design, quality materials and workmanship – all to enhance a resident’s exclusive active living experience and long-term property value, he said.

John said that housing in the U.S. had tumbled 70% in prices, which is a good opportunity for Vietnamese investors to own a low-priced house in the U.S. At Saigon Village project, it costs only US$250,000-400,000 a unit, down some 50% compared with before.

“Procedures and regulations of buying houses and overseas remittance in Vietnam are still obstacles, especially to the U.S. So, our main targets are people whose children are studying in the U.S., immigrants or investors who are to set up a company overseas,” he noted.

NAC Real Estate, which has offices and branches in Hanoi, HCMC, Danang, Canada and the U.S.,  is the local property consultant and management firm. It has served as exclusive marketing and selling agent for some projects in Vietnam including a project invested by Malaysia’s Berjaya.

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Sugar prices seen stable till end-September

HCMC - Vietnam’s sugar prices will stay stable until the end of September when the 2010-2011 sugar-cane crop starts, according to the Vietnam Sugar Association.

The general secretary of the association, Ha Huu Phai, said there had been nearly 127,000 tons of sugar in the country’s stock as of August 15.

The last months of the year would not see a sugar shortage as the Mekong Delta would start their 2010-2011 sugar crop from September 15; and other provinces would enter their crops in late October at the latest.

Statistics of the sugar association show 46,100 tons of sugar was sold in the market from July 15-August 15, while more than twice as much, or 100,000 tons, was sold at the same time last year to meet the demand of mid-autumn festival cake bakers.

Phai said the fall in sugar sales during the mid-autumn festival this year was due to the Ministry of Industry and Trade allowing confectionary and soft drink producers to import sugar to make up the 2010 import quota of 300,000 tons.

The move had aimed to help stabilize consumer prices.

“The Ministry of Industry and Trade must find ways to urge those businesses that are allowed to import sugar to import their full allocated amount so that sugar prices stay steady,” Phai said.

However, there have been fluctuations in sugar prices since the beginning of the year. The sugar price in the world market reached US$900/ton at the end of 2009, then suddenly dropped to US$470/ton in March 2010.  While many businesses have yet to import sugar, the price surged to USD800/ton in July.

According to Pham Thi Sum, management board chairwoman of the Bien Hoa sugar joint stock company, due to the low volume of sugar left in ASEAN countries, Vietnamese businesses must import sugar from Brazil or other South American countries with the tariff of 30-40%.  Sugar imported from those countries would be sold at over VND18,000/kg, an increase of VND1,000 compared with the current price. 

The association anticipates the 2010-2011 sugar crop will yield around 900,000 tons comparable to the 2009-2010 crop, meaning Vietnam would also need to import 300,000 tons in 2011.

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City’s clean buses to be refueled

HCMC – PetroVietnam Southern Gas Joint Stock Co., or PV Gas South, has agreed to provide compressed natural gas (CNG) for HCMC’s only two operational environmentally friendly buses and 21 other vehicles to be imported.

PV Gas South’s decision to resume supply of CNG following an interruption will promote the use of commuter buses running on this clean fuel.

A reduction in pollution-causing fuels has been factored into the city’s transport development plan in the years to come, PV Gas South director Tran Thanh Nam told the Daily.

The CNG supplier earlier closed its CNG pumping station as only two buses would not help it generate as sufficient revenue as required for operating the station. Then the possibility of bus operators failing to acquire 21 CNG-fired buses by September 5 was deemed as low.

The HCMC government recently wrote to the Government proposing exempting import tax for CNG-fired buses; otherwise, the city’s clean transport development strategy would turn out to be infeasible since prices of gas-powered buses are almost double those of diesel-fueled buses.

Nguyen Tuan Viet, deputy director of Saigon Passenger Transport Co., said the firm would speed up import of 21 CNG-fired buses within this year if the propose won Government approved.

After the test run, local transport enterprises saw that the CNG could bring economic efficiency and reduce environmental pollution. Their operating costs are around 30% lower than those running on diesel oil.

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Australia's Queensland sees business opportunities in VN

Companies from the Australian state of Queensland's will soon have
access to local businesses in Vietnam, a growing market where the State
Government is creating an on-the-ground presence to help give Queensland
businesses first mover advantage, Queensland's Trade Minister Stephen
Robertson has said.

According to Minister Stephen
Robertson, Vietnam presents new opportunities for Queensland businesses
looking to expand their base to South East Asia.

"Vietnam recently gained entry into the World Trade Organisation in
January 2007," he said in a recent press release, adding that "the
region is demonstrating that it is committed to continued market reform,
making it an attractive prospect for foreign investment."

The minister said Vietnam is now considered a leading growth economy
in the ASEAN region, with opportunities in a range of sectors including
infrastructure development, both public and private. Queensland’s new
representative will be based in Austrade’s office in Ho Chi Minh City,
and will also work with Queensland’s education and training sector,
assisting Queensland’s export performance in Vietnam.

He added that doing business globally meant adapting to different
cultures, languages and business practices. Local trade representatives
assist Queensland companies with negotiating and developing strategies
to address these and other issues. By providing market advice and on the
ground support with logistics, Queensland companies will be well placed
to take advantage of these growth economies./.

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Insurers see Non-life premiums climb

Non-life insurance revenue reached 8.24 trillion VND (429.21 million
USD) in the first six months of this year, according to the Association
of Vietnamese Insurers.

The increase represents a 28 percent rise over the first half of last year.

All types of insurance saw growth in the first half of the year, with
fire and explosion coverage reaching 723 billion VND (37.65 million
USD), up 125 percent over the same period last year. Agricultural
insurance followed with a surge of 109 percent and construction
insurance increased by 68 percent.

PetroVietnam
Insurance Joint Stock Corp earned the most in non-life insurance
premiums during the period with 1.97 billion VND (102.86 million USD) in
revenue, followed by Bao Viet Insurance Corp, Bao Minh Insurance Corp,
Petrolimex Joint Stock Insurance Co (PJICO) and Post-Telecommunication
Joint Stock Insurance Co (PTI).

In addition to insurance, the insurers also offered many other products and services in the first half of the year.

BIDV Insurance Co (BIC) promoted its bancassurance products in
co-operation with the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam
(BIDV) with nearly 30 billion VND (1.56 million USD) in revenue in the
first six months of this year, making up 14 percent of the company's
total revenue.

Pham Quang Tung, BIC's general
director, said that "diversifying products and expanding our network
with other banks is expected to help us develop bancassurance products."

In a phone interview, Phung Dac Loc, secretary
general of the Association of Vietnamese Insurers said: "Strengthening
our products also creates faith among our customers. Focusing on
potential markets as well as developing product distribution channels
through banks and post helps us save money and raise the effects of our
trade activities."

Loc predicted that life and
non-life insurance revenues would rise to 20 percent and 33 percent
respectively in the final six months of the year.

The Ministry of Finance has recently given its approval in principle to
two new companies, both from Taiwan : Cathay Insurance Vietnam and the
life insurance firm Fubon Vietnam . The Cathay and Fubon brands
will begin to offer both life and non-life insurance services to add to
their services./.

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Higher quality lifts tea exports in July

Vietnam exported 10,000 tonnes of tea last month, earning export
revenue of 14 million USD, according to the Vietnam Tea Association.

With the money earned in July, total tea export turnover in the first
seven months of the year stood at 91 million USD, a year-on-year
increase of 6 percent, the association said.

The
association attributed the increase to higher tea prices compared with
last year, when tea was strongly affected by the world recession.

The association added that thanks to higher quality and better
hygiene, Vietnamese tea was fetching higher prices on the world market.

Russia recently became the largest importer of
Vietnamese tea. Other markets included Pakistan , Taiwan , China
and Afghanistan .

Although the price of
Vietnamese tea this year is higher than last year thanks to improved
quality, it still remains low compared to rival products.

In the last decade, the price of domestically produced tea has not significantly increased.

In 1998, the price of Vietnamese tea stood at 1.52 USD per kilo, while prices abroad averaged about 2.01 USD per kilo.

In 2009, while tea prices on transaction floors on the world market
climbed to 2.43 USD kilo, Vietnamese tea fell in price to 1.23 USD per
kilo.

"This situation is caused by unhealthy
competition among domestic companies," said Doan Anh Tuan, chairman of
the association.

"Many companies produce and export
low-quality tea, which has strongly affected the prestige of the
national tea industry," he added.

Manufacturers have not invested in developing technology and cultivation practices.

"Vietnamese tea is cheaper than that of other countries because it has
not caught up with changing global tastes," said Nguyen Thu Hang,
representative of Estate Agencies, a regular Vietnamese tea industry
customer.

"Another reason for the poor prices is the lack of an identifiable global trademark," she said.

Hang also affirmed that her company would be ready to import
Vietnamese tea at higher prices if manufacturers could ensure hygiene
and better quality.

Thirty four Vietnamese provinces currently cultivate tea over 131,500 ha with a yield of about 6.5 tonne per hectare./.

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