Vietnam and Trans-Pacific Partnership participants

[BoQ77]

New wave of Japan’s investment in Vietnam

(VOV) - There is a new wave of investment of Japan’s small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) to Vietnam, said Dr. Vu Tien Loc, President of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

Japan has invested in 18 out of 21 economic sectors in Vietnam, especially in the field of the manufacturing industry with 1.231 projects

Last year, Vietnam’s exports to Japan fetched US$13.65 billion and its imports were US$11.61 billion.

In the first seven months of the year, Vietnam exported goods worth US$8.5 billion to Japan including commodities surpassing the turnover of US$100 million such as seafood, coffee, wooden products and garment and textiles.

VCCI has quoted the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) survey as saying that 60% of Japanese enterprises in Vietnam were profitable last year.

Especially, up to 70% of Japanese businesses continued to expand business in the country thanks to high growth and revenue. Some surveyed businesses highlighted scale of market, growth capability, political stability and low-cost labour force.

Loc emphasized that Japanese businesses are estimated to have invested some US$10 billion in Vietnam in the future.

At present, 14 Japanese banks are seeking investment opportunities in the field of automobile, environment and waste water treatment.

Representatives from 14 Japanese banks said that despite challenges, the trend of investment in Vietnam will continue to increase in the coming time.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foreign textile firms line up for TPP bonanza in VN

A worker at Shinwon Ebenezer, a Korea-invested garment firm in northern Thai Nguyen Province. Foreign investment in the textile and garment sector is increasing rapidly as firms look to take advantage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement when it comes into effect. — VNA/VNS Photo Trong Dat


HCM CITY (VNS) — Foreign investment in the textile and garment sector is increasing rapidly as international firms seek to take advantage of the benefits Viet Nam's will potentially derive when the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement comes into being.

Several companies from mainland China, Hongkong, Taiwan, Japan, the US and South Korea have made large investments in the sector, according to Thoi Bao Tai Chinh (Finance Times) newspaper.

The textile and garment industry in the TPP member countries is expected to benefit the most from the trade deal.

For instance, products made from domestically sourced materials or imported from other TPP member countries will enjoy zero tariff when exported to signatory countries.

According to Le Tien Truong, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, up to 60 per cent of the country's textile and garment exports go to member countries.

Analysts estimate that once Viet Nam becomes a TPP member the average tax on Vietnamese garments will come down from the current 17-18 per cent to zero.

In that scenario, exports to the US market could increase three-fold from US$8.6 billion last year to $20 billion in 2020.

It is with an eye on such opportunities that foreign firms are scrambling to invest in the Vietnamese textile and garment industry.

In June South Korea's Dong-IL Corporation began building a $52 million yarn factory in Dong Nai Province's Long Thanh District.

The plant will have an annual capacity of 9,000 tonnes of fibre when it opens in mid-2015.

In HCM City, Forever Glorious, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Sheico Group, announced it would set up a $50 million weaving-dyeing-garment production chain for premium sports garments.

In March city authorities had issued a licence to China's Gain Lucky Limited, a subsidiary of Shenzhou International, for building a $140 million centre for fashion design and garment manufacture. The company produces garments for brands like Nike, Adidas, and Puma.

Also in March Hong Kong-based Esqual Group opened a $25 million garment plant in the northern province of Hoa Binh.

Not long ago the northern Province of Nam Dinh issued an investment license to China's Jiangsu Yulun Textile Group for a $68 million textile, dyeing, and yarn plant at the Bao Minh Industrial Zone.

Besides the new investments, many existing foreign garment firms have increased their investments to expand their activities.

Speaking about the strong foreign investment flow into the sector, Dang Phuong Dung, deputy secretary of the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, said the chronic bottlenecks in the weaving and dyeing sectors in terms of intensive investment, experience, technology, and workforce have been addressed.

According to analysts, the fact that more and more foreign firms are investing in the textile and garment industry would encourage Viet Nam to quickly wrap up final negotiations for the agreement.

Becoming a TPP member would offer not only the textile and garment industry more opportunities to develop but also its support industries and even the economy as a whole, they said, pointing also to other obvious benefits like employment generation. — VNS

 

[Aepsilons]

Troms Offshore Supply AS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tidewater Inc., has announced that Tidewater has entered into agreements to purchase two PSV Vard 08 vessels under construction, hulls no 791 and 792 at the Vard Vung Tau yard in Vietnam.


The vessels have a length overall of 81,70m and a breadth of 18,00m with a deck area of 830 m2.

The two ships will primarily be positioned for operations in the North Sea and arctic waters and will be managed by the Troms team in Norway. Delivery dates are expected in January and April 2015. Both sister ships are based on innovative environmentally friendly design and equipment and will be delivered with the class notation Clean Design.


In addition to the customary supply ship services, these ships will be prepared for North Sea and Barents Sea operations through the Ice C class notation and also carry firefighting and oil recovery equipment in accordance with NOFO 2009, Stanby rescue in accordance with NMD for up to 200 persons.

Troms Offshore believes that these ships will play an important role in the rescue and emergency planning in Northern Norway and in the Barents Sea.

Mårten Lunde, the CEO of Troms Offshore, said: “This investment will enable us to grow the company and will create further employment opportunities both onshore and offshore. This will benefit the northern region as we predominately recruit our personnel from this area.

We have taken delivery of several vessels from the Vard group in Norway and are confident that their yard in Vietnam will deliver vessels with equivalent quality as those constructed in Norway.”

Troms Offshore Supply AS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tidewater Inc., which is the leading provider of Offshore Services Vessels (OSVs) to the global energy industry. The company has its head office in New Orleans.

---------------------------------------

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Company wants to invest in Kim Thanh district
Posted on August 8, 2014



Mr. Nguyen Manh Hien, Chairman of the Hai Duong provincial People’s Committee, on August 1 received Mr. Shisuke Minoda, CEO of Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Company (Japan).


Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Company mainly operates in the fields of building large motor ships, producing cranes and mechanical machines, and refining some gas.

In Hai Duong, the enterprise wishes to invest in Kim Thanh district and asked the provincial People’s Committee to create many favorable conditions for its efficient production and business.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Hien appreciated Japanese businesses’ involvement in investment in the province over the past time.

Mr. Hien stressed that the provincial People’s Committee was willing to remove difficulties and obstacles to help enterprises invest in production and business.

He hoped that along with many other businesses in the province, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Company in the coming time would actively invest capital, science and technology to develop Hai Duong’s industry towards modernization.

During the investment, the enterprise should pay attention to developing sustainably, building the factory’s own character through the building of a brand name for products, and creating more jobs for Hai Duong laborers.

Good news

.

New wave of Japan’s investment in Vietnam

(VOV) - There is a new wave of investment of Japan’s small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) to Vietnam, said Dr. Vu Tien Loc, President of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

Japan has invested in 18 out of 21 economic sectors in Vietnam, especially in the field of the manufacturing industry with 1.231 projects

Last year, Vietnam’s exports to Japan fetched US$13.65 billion and its imports were US$11.61 billion.

In the first seven months of the year, Vietnam exported goods worth US$8.5 billion to Japan including commodities surpassing the turnover of US$100 million such as seafood, coffee, wooden products and garment and textiles.

VCCI has quoted the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) survey as saying that 60% of Japanese enterprises in Vietnam were profitable last year.

Especially, up to 70% of Japanese businesses continued to expand business in the country thanks to high growth and revenue. Some surveyed businesses highlighted scale of market, growth capability, political stability and low-cost labour force.

Loc emphasized that Japanese businesses are estimated to have invested some US$10 billion in Vietnam in the future.

At present, 14 Japanese banks are seeking investment opportunities in the field of automobile, environment and waste water treatment.

Representatives from 14 Japanese banks said that despite challenges, the trend of investment in Vietnam will continue to increase in the coming time.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foreign textile firms line up for TPP bonanza in VN

A worker at Shinwon Ebenezer, a Korea-invested garment firm in northern Thai Nguyen Province. Foreign investment in the textile and garment sector is increasing rapidly as firms look to take advantage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement when it comes into effect. — VNA/VNS Photo Trong Dat


HCM CITY (VNS) — Foreign investment in the textile and garment sector is increasing rapidly as international firms seek to take advantage of the benefits Viet Nam's will potentially derive when the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement comes into being.

Several companies from mainland China, Hongkong, Taiwan, Japan, the US and South Korea have made large investments in the sector, according to Thoi Bao Tai Chinh (Finance Times) newspaper.

The textile and garment industry in the TPP member countries is expected to benefit the most from the trade deal.

For instance, products made from domestically sourced materials or imported from other TPP member countries will enjoy zero tariff when exported to signatory countries.

According to Le Tien Truong, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, up to 60 per cent of the country's textile and garment exports go to member countries.

Analysts estimate that once Viet Nam becomes a TPP member the average tax on Vietnamese garments will come down from the current 17-18 per cent to zero.

In that scenario, exports to the US market could increase three-fold from US$8.6 billion last year to $20 billion in 2020.

It is with an eye on such opportunities that foreign firms are scrambling to invest in the Vietnamese textile and garment industry.

In June South Korea's Dong-IL Corporation began building a $52 million yarn factory in Dong Nai Province's Long Thanh District.

The plant will have an annual capacity of 9,000 tonnes of fibre when it opens in mid-2015.

In HCM City, Forever Glorious, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Sheico Group, announced it would set up a $50 million weaving-dyeing-garment production chain for premium sports garments.

In March city authorities had issued a licence to China's Gain Lucky Limited, a subsidiary of Shenzhou International, for building a $140 million centre for fashion design and garment manufacture. The company produces garments for brands like Nike, Adidas, and Puma.

Also in March Hong Kong-based Esqual Group opened a $25 million garment plant in the northern province of Hoa Binh.

Not long ago the northern Province of Nam Dinh issued an investment license to China's Jiangsu Yulun Textile Group for a $68 million textile, dyeing, and yarn plant at the Bao Minh Industrial Zone.

Besides the new investments, many existing foreign garment firms have increased their investments to expand their activities.

Speaking about the strong foreign investment flow into the sector, Dang Phuong Dung, deputy secretary of the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, said the chronic bottlenecks in the weaving and dyeing sectors in terms of intensive investment, experience, technology, and workforce have been addressed.

According to analysts, the fact that more and more foreign firms are investing in the textile and garment industry would encourage Viet Nam to quickly wrap up final negotiations for the agreement.

Becoming a TPP member would offer not only the textile and garment industry more opportunities to develop but also its support industries and even the economy as a whole, they said, pointing also to other obvious benefits like employment generation. — VNS

Excellent !

 

[BoQ77]

Expanding cooperative ties between Vietnam and US multinationals
Updated at Sunday, 24 Aug 2014, 07:57
The Hanoitimes - US multinational companies – Boeing, Microsoft and Carix – told Vietnam Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Cuong, who is on a Washington State visit from August 19-20, they hope to expand cooperative ties with Vietnam.
While visiting an aircraft manufacturing plant in Everett, Washington, a Boeing spokesperson announced the handover of its first Boeing 787 for Vietnam Airlines will take place in 2015.

The spokesperson said he hopes the event signals the establishment of the first direct Vietnam Airlines’ route between the US and Vietnam.

At Microsoft headquarters, leaders talked optimistically about their future development plans in Vietnam.

They told Ambassador Cuong they were paying close attention to the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations and Vietnam will be one of the company’s key destinations in the future.

Carrix group told Cuong they have plans to invest in Vietnam’s seaports.

Representatives of the Washington State Governor’s office, accompanying Ambassador Cuong on his visit, said there are many businesses in the USjust like Boeing, Microsoft, and Carrix that hope to invest in Vietnam after the TPP is signed.

 

[Rechoice]

LOL. Why would I be hurt? tpp is going to sink your country further down the shit hole which is good. Just like more Viet nurses going to Japan is good, lol. Japanese dude is making you guys look bad.

You are Hua Qiu (hoa kieu) in Denark, untrusted people, do best dish washing there and shut up.

 

[BoQ77]

You are Hua Qiu (hoa kieu) in Denark, untrusted people, do best dish washing there and shut up.

don't person attack, pls.
I reminded Jlaw, he didn't respond or revise his post.
I'm going to report his post

 

[Jlaw]

You are Hua Qiu (hoa kieu) in Denark, untrusted people, do best dish washing there and shut up.

I'm doing quite well , thanks for asking.

Hey look at this!!

Healthcare affordability: The US-led TPP comes with strings attached for Vietnam | Opinion | Thanh Nien Daily

So TTP good for Vietnam?


While Vietnam waits to become marked on the global map as an important trade destination when it joins the US led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), there is a growing outcry on the implications of the free trade agreement.
Apart from many who feel protected domestic industries may get adversely hit as the economy opens up to stiffer international competition, there is a stronger reservations over the intellectual property clauses of the deal which analysts say may impact the accessibility of medical care in the lower income nations of TPP like Vietnam as it could make generic drugs more expensive.
For diseases like HIV/AIDS generic medicines have made drugs and treatment available to a vast majority of people in developing countries.
As defined by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), countries use generic drugs under a complex structure of domestic laws supervising patents and intellectual property rights which often can be impacted by trade pacts and international agreements unless governments strike the right balance between public health interests and intellectual property (IP) demands.
The IP standards of the TPP – primarily including the US, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, Peru, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam among others together accounting for 40 percent of the world's GDP and 26 percent of the world's trade – tend to tilt the balance towards commercial interests over public health in developing countries, experts feel.
In 1995, the WTO’s TRIPS agreement imposed minimum IP standards worldwide which also included granting patent monopolies on pharmaceutical products and flexibility in balancing commercial interests and public health within its purview.
However the proposed TPP agreement, according to WHO’s UNITAID, “includes extensive obligations related to intellectual property and investor protection which exceed the minimum standards of the multilateral WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).”
UNITAID says there are serious concerns that will have adverse implications for access to medicines and the protection of public health in general when adopting TPP provisions, like low standards of patentability resulting in a greater number of patents being granted, including on medicines and medical technologies.
IP aggressiveness
Referred to as “evergreening”, this clause allows patent holders to enjoy longer periods of exclusivity on a medicine than the 20-year minimum period prescribed by TRIPS. Thereby widening scope of what can be patented leading to proliferation of secondary patents being granted, preventing fair competition for long periods.
Dr Matthew Rimmer, Australian Research Council Future Fellow working on Intellectual Property and Climate Change & associate professor at the ANU College of Law says, “With its high intellectual property standards and special privileges for investors, the TPP poses serious and profound challenges for public health, drug pricing, and access to essential medicines. As highlighted by UNITAID, there has been particular concern about access to essential medicines for infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS. Vietnam has struggled with the complexity of the trade negotiations. Of all the negotiating countries, Vietnam seems to be the most vulnerable to public health burdens, and the most ill-equipped to adapt to such intellectual property and trade standards.”
Even methods of treating patients such as surgical, diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures have been proposed to be patented which will limit availability of medical best-practices, knowledge and care.
Data exclusivity for biologics is also a provision which will result in longer periods of unaffordability of generic versions of biotech medicines needed to treat diseases such as cancer and hepatitis. Shihoko Goto, Senior Associate for Northeast Asia, Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center says, “Expanding and extending the patent scope of drugs has been seen as particularly harmful by critics. Extending patent protection would certainly benefit drug makers and may increase incentives for research, but could hurt healthcare affordability and access.”
For instance, drugs known as biologics (created through biological processes only), are proposed to have 12 years of data exclusivity.
The provision for Investor-State Dispute Settlements (ISDS) allows corporations to sue governments in private supra-national arbitration over pro-public health regulations or decisions seen to be interfering with anticipated profits.
Vulnerabilities
For Vietnam with an estimated over 280,000 HIV-positive people, and cancer among its top five health problems, it will have severe implications on managing medicine prices if TPP comes through. “This issue of healthcare access and affordability is one of the biggest issues challenging Vietnam’s support for TPP. Being a member country of the biggest, high-standard multilateral trade pact puts Vietnam’s economy on the global map, and will give it a distinct advantage among its neighbors as it competes for investments in key sectors and looks to grow its critical textile sector. Yet, public opposition stemming from fears of a greater healthcare divide is growing,” Shihoko Goto says.
Vietnam faces a huge epidemic of HIV and hepatitis C due to injecting drug use. A number of new drugs for hepatitis C are patented and are exceedingly expensive – up to $80,000 per treatment.
As early as 2005, the UN estimated 8.2 percent of deaths in Vietnam are cancer related, and there are 1.5 million new cases every year. However, only 3 percent of the pharmaceutical market account for cancer medicines according to Oxfam. What happens to the rest? How do they afford the treatment?
While about 170,000 people still require basic treatment in Vietnam, close to 2.7 percent of Vietnamese citizens rely on the second- and third-line medicines as the disease progresses, especially for HIV/AIDS, most of which are under patent and five to ten times more expensive than first-line medicines.
The US has proposed time-limited exemptions for a few of the low income countries including Vietnam where some provisions wouldn’t be implemented until a certain date or conditions are met. Experts feel it will only delay the implementation of such provisions and not curb the challenge of healthcare accessibility which the current TPP pact poses.
Goto says: “While the United States has proposed measures to exempt some countries, namely Malaysia, Mexico, and Peru as well as Vietnam from some of the more stringent patent regulations for a limited time, opponents fear that such measures will still not be enough to keep medicines affordable for all who need it, regardless of where they live.”
She adds that the US proposal of high- and low-income countries is based on classification by the World Bank, which itself has come under attack from numerous non-profit organizations. Specifically, there is concern that even in countries like the United States that is wealthy at a national level; it still has large percentages of the population that struggle to pay for necessary drugs. The challenge of affordable medicine and need for generic drugs is universal, and not just limited simply to poorer nations. As such, moves that would raise prices further are viewed as grossly unequal.
Rohit Malpani, Director of Policy & Analysis, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - Access Campaign, points out that the TPP is a product of efforts by multinational drug companies which have not only convinced the US to reverse the ‘May 10th Agreement’ under the TPP, but has also persuaded the US Trade Representative to introduce a host of other TRIPS plus rules that will have negative impacts on generic competition and access to medicines.
Essentially, the May 10th agreement was a decision by the United States to unilaterally revise provisions in free trade agreements related to issues around the environment, labor and intellectual property and access to medicines.
“With respect to intellectual property and access to medicines, the US decided to remove two TRIPS plus rules that extend monopoly protection for medicines, keeping low-cost generics off the market. In particular the US decided to remove obligations around patent term extensions and patent linkage. In addition, the US decided to reduce the severity of rules related to data exclusivity. The multinational pharmaceutical industry withdrew its support for the three free trade agreements, and has spent considerable effort to get the US to reverse this policy.”
However, David Brown, an expert in Vietnam feels the likely impact of the TPP on pharmaceutical prices or availability does not seem to be a topic of public concern in Vietnam.
“I found zero stories on the outlook for pharmaceutical prices (in local media). A very large part of the informed public has bought into the notion that the TPP, if it ever goes into effect, will be a huge benefit for Vietnam's trade, if not an unqualified good thing.”
What Vietnam currently seems to be focusing on are the incentives that come with being a part of the TPP. Prospects of economic growth seem to be taking precedence over ‘other’ matters.
According to experts if signed the pact could increase Vietnam’s GDP by $37.5 billion with an export lift of $307 billion by 2025 through TTP. Already 50 percent of Vietnam’s foreign investment flows from the TPP countries. In 2013 Vietnamese exports to the US alone jumped by 21.3 percent.
As Goto says, “For Hanoi, the question is whether the gains it would see from being a more fully integrated and equal partner in a highly integrated global economy would offset some of the compromises it would have to make. By some estimates, the Vietnamese economy could grow by as much as 10 percent over the next five years as a direct result of joining the TPP. That would clearly be an incentive for the ruling Communist Party which is focused on tackling poverty and enhancing economic performance.”
So while the deal may bring about lucrative results to Vietnam, quite evidently these prospects come at the high cost of health care accessibility. It remains to be seen how Vietnam manages to balance public health interests and economic gains.
Jhinuk Chowdhury is a former journalist based in India and is currently working as an independent writer. The opinion expressed is her and does not necessarily represent that of Thanh Nien News.

Jhinuk may be reached at jhinuk.cchowdhury@gmail.com

 

[BoQ77]

Any FTA has its conditions and requirements. As a participant, there's always rights and obligations.

 

[BoQ77]

Microsoft shifts bulk of Nokia production to Vietnam
(VOV) - Microsoft, which took over Nokia in a US$7.2 million deal last April, is closing all its plants in Hungary, contracting production in China and Mexico, and shifting the bulk of phone manufacturing to Bac Ninh province.

Earlier, in July, Microsoft announced that as part of the restructuring of Nokia, it is laying off approximately 18,000 staff worldwide, with the lion’s share of job losses occurring in China.

In an email to company staff, Stephen Elop, Microsoft’s Design Director, said the software company’s overall goal is to shift its manufacturing and marketing units to new markets where Windows Phone gain advantages.

Microsoft’s production will be restructured according to a new strategy, aimed at taking full advantage of integration opportunities and relocated to Bac Ninh province in Vietnam, Elop said.

The facilities in Bac Ninh will be upgraded to 39 production lines by the end of 2014 from six at the end of 2013 and output will be increased threefold over last year’s output.

Meanwhile Samsung – the world largest producer of Smartphone Android – is planning to move most of its production units from China to Vietnam, the Chinese press announced in May.

Samsung Electronics Vietnam has invested US$2 billion in building a hi-tech complex in Thai Nguyen and Samsung Electro-mechanics Vietnam also poured an additional US$1.2 billion into the complex.

It is expected that when Yen Binh Industrial Zone in Thai Nguyen is fully operational in 2015, Vietnam will manufacture more than 80% of the mobile phones sold by Samsung.

Intel and LG also own more than US$1 billion of production lines in Vietnam. In fact, many multinational groups have chosen Vietnam as their destinations when facing disadvantages in China.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), the average worker wage in Beijing is US$466 per month while in Hanoi is just US$145.

Vietnam has stable politics and a young hard working labour force. Additionally, lower production costs and the Government’s open door policies have made Vietnam the number one choice to conduct business of many multinational groups.

 

[Kyle Sun]

We feel no hurt at all. Maybe it's you.

Vietnam will benefit from TPP , GDP will grow very fast in short term.

But this will destroy the R&D capability also and local small company never has the chance to grow

Think about why the WTO negotiation is so hard. Everyone wants to protect its own industry .

Vietnam needs to find a balance between the GDP growing and your own industry ability.

The negotiation will be very hard if you really consider this issue in long term.

it is quite weird , i can not find Korea in TPP.

 

[BoQ77]

Vietnam will benefit from TPP , GDP will grow very fast in short term.

But this will destroy the R&D capability also and local small company never has the chance to grow

Think about why the WTO negotiation is so hard. Everyone wants to protect its own industry .

Vietnam needs to find a balance between the GDP growing and your own industry ability.

The negotiation will be very hard if you really consider this issue in long term.

it is quite weird , i can not find Korea in TPP.

WTO is quite hard. Because there're many similar countries in same industries.
TPP basically, not so hard, because it's look like a regional EC with each country specialized in specified industries, TPP promote the elements exchange between TPP participants too.
And the criteria for TPP ROO is harder from ordinary FTAs which just require RVC: 40-43% or CTH,
for TPP it's more like WO criteria which stands for Wholly Obtained Goods or take advantage of De minis principle.

S. Korea? They are going to reach bilaterial FTA with Vietnam, signed FTA with ASEAN, Singapore. It's automobile to be discussed with USA.

To avoid jobs losing, they cannot move their production lines to Vietnam or Malaysia to take advantage of TPP when selling automobile to USA, but textiles, footware, ... they can.

 

[Aepsilons]

Microsoft shifts bulk of Nokia production to Vietnam
(VOV) - Microsoft, which took over Nokia in a US$7.2 million deal last April, is closing all its plants in Hungary, contracting production in China and Mexico, and shifting the bulk of phone manufacturing to Bac Ninh province.

Earlier, in July, Microsoft announced that as part of the restructuring of Nokia, it is laying off approximately 18,000 staff worldwide, with the lion’s share of job losses occurring in China.

In an email to company staff, Stephen Elop, Microsoft’s Design Director, said the software company’s overall goal is to shift its manufacturing and marketing units to new markets where Windows Phone gain advantages.

Microsoft’s production will be restructured according to a new strategy, aimed at taking full advantage of integration opportunities and relocated to Bac Ninh province in Vietnam, Elop said.

The facilities in Bac Ninh will be upgraded to 39 production lines by the end of 2014 from six at the end of 2013 and output will be increased threefold over last year’s output.

Meanwhile Samsung – the world largest producer of Smartphone Android – is planning to move most of its production units from China to Vietnam, the Chinese press announced in May.

Samsung Electronics Vietnam has invested US$2 billion in building a hi-tech complex in Thai Nguyen and Samsung Electro-mechanics Vietnam also poured an additional US$1.2 billion into the complex.

It is expected that when Yen Binh Industrial Zone in Thai Nguyen is fully operational in 2015, Vietnam will manufacture more than 80% of the mobile phones sold by Samsung.

Intel and LG also own more than US$1 billion of production lines in Vietnam. In fact, many multinational groups have chosen Vietnam as their destinations when facing disadvantages in China.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), the average worker wage in Beijing is US$466 per month while in Hanoi is just US$145.

Vietnam has stable politics and a young hard working labour force. Additionally, lower production costs and the Government’s open door policies have made Vietnam the number one choice to conduct business of many multinational groups.

Good News. Its good that we're implementing cost cutting measures. Vietnam, here we come.

 

[BoQ77]

Trade surplus hits $1.7b as exports see growth

The United States was the country's largest export market in the first eight months, accounting for $18.5 billion in exports, or 22.5 per cent more than that of the same period last year.— VNA/VNS Photo Trong Dat


HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam has gained a trade surplus of US$1.7 billion for the first eight months of 2014, figures from the General Statistics Office (GSO) show.

The figures also showed that the nation incurred a trade deficit, worth $100 million, only in January, and began earning a surplus in February, at $244 million.

The surplus reached $1 billion in the first quarter, $683 million in the first four months, $1.6 billion in the first five months and $1.3 billion in the first half. After seven months, the surplus increased to $1.26 billion.

The nation's total exports reached $97 billion in the first eight months, which was 14.1 per cent higher than that of the same period of last year. The nation's total imports reached $95.3 billion, which was 12 per cent higher than that of the same period of last year. It mainly imported materials and sub-materials for production.

The United States was the country's largest export market in the first eight months, accounting for $18.5 billion in exports, or 22.5 per cent more than that of the same period last year.

Other significant export markets include the European Union with $17.9 billion in exports, or a 13.3 per cent rise from that of last year; ASEAN with $12.4 billion, or a 0.5 per cent rise; Japan with $9.9 billion, or a 12.7 per cent rise; and China with $9.8 billion, or a 15.2 per cent rise.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises exported products worth $65.2 billion, or 15.6 per cent more than in the same period of last year, while domestic enterprises exported products worth $31.8 billion, or 11.1 per cent more than in the same period last year.

A number of key exports achieved high growth in the first eight months of the year, including seafood with $5 billion, a 23.6 per cent rise from that of last year; textiles and garments with $13.65 billion, a 19.7 per cent rise; telephone and telephone components with $15.23 billion, a 13.7 per cent rise; and crude oil with $5.59 billion, a 14.3 per cent rise.

However, a number of agricultural exports suffered a decline, including rice with $2.46 billion, a 3.7 per cent fall from that of last year; rubber with $992 million, a 31.7 per cent fall; and tea with $140 million, a 0.6 per cent fall.

The GSO also reported that the largest import market was China with $27.6 billion, a 17.3 per cent rise from that of the same period last year. Viet Nam achieved a $17.8-billion trade deficit with China in the first eight months, a year-on-year surge of 18.5 per cent.

FDI enterprises imported $53.4 billion worth of equipment and products, or 12 per cent more than in the same period last year, while domestic enterprises imported $41.9 billion worth of equipment and products, or 13.4 per cent more than in the same period last year. — VNS

 

[BoQ77]

Legal revisions needed for Taiwan's TPP bid: Duh

• CNA
• 2014-08-26
• 10:29 (GMT+8)

Taiwan may need to amend around 50 laws and regulations if it hopes to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional free trade agreement that is still under negotiation, the country's new economics minister said Monday.

Duh Tyzz-jiun, who assumed the post on Aug. 10, told CNA that the conclusion was based on a comprehensive review of the laws and regulations that could have a bearing on Taiwan's TPP participation.

"They will be our bargaining chips and weaknesses in future negotiations," Duh said, declining to disclose which regulations he was referring to.

Premier Jiang Yi-huah directed all governmental units to complete preparations related to Taiwan's bids to join the TPP and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by July.

Confirming Monday that the "basic preparations" had been completed, Duh stated that joining the two regional economic blocs was still just "a goal," with many questions still to be answered.

For example, he said, even if Taiwan were accepted today to join the TPP, "could we open our markets to the 90% threshold" required of any economy hoping for TPP membership?

"Are we prepared (for that)?" Duh asked.

Asked if Taiwan will push for access to the United States-led TPP by opening its doors to US pork containing traces of the controversial leanness-enhancing veterinary drug ractopamine, the minister said "it is difficult to talk about future matters."

There are currently many countries, including Taiwan, that impose a ban on imports of ractopamine-tainted pork, Duh said, adding that he would not have any preconceptions on the issue, which hinges on the results of TPP negotiations.

Taiwan must also consider if it can meet the conditions needed to join the TPP and RCEP, Duh said, because if it cannot, the Legislative Yuan and the public will have to decide what they want.

"A free economy is a trade-off," he said. "If we want to get these things (access to the TPP and RCEP), we must give up something in exchange

 

[StarCraft_ZT]

You should respect the thread.
@Hu Songshan @Kaan : please help

wat? hahaha!

 

[BoQ77]

Vietnam opens doors to Lankan biz

0 August 27, 2014 2:00 am

Vietnam has officially announced that its business sector was ready for wider engagement with Sri Lanka and called for a Lankan Business Council in Vietnam to promote trade and business activity.

"The idea to establish a Vietnam-Sri Lanka Business Council in Vietnam was a good initiative, and the decision to appoint a Lankan trade official was an encouraging move welcomed by us," Secretary General of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Pham Thi Thu Hang told Minister of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka Rishad Bathiudeen on 22 August.
VCCI, the sole national representative of all Vietnamese businesses, industries and entrepreneurs, has 300 associations as members, which has 110,000 direct and indirect members, making it a powerful voice of all businesses and industries of the rapidly developing US$ 142 Bn GDP one party Communist State.


In 1997, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, realising the significance of Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, Laos and Vietnam grouping, named them as 'New ASEAN'. Except for China, Vietnam is the largest economy and the market of the Greater Mekong Sub Region.

Minister Bathiudeen, told Secretary General Thu Hang "Sri Lanka was experiencing stronger international trade and GDP growth which we expect to exceed 7.5% this year. Both Vietnam and Sri Lanka have agreed to increase bilateral trade to US$ 1 B and we now have to work towards this. This Lankan delegation's success in Hanoi in establishing a Joint Trade Sub Committee (JTSC) between the two countries is also partly a result of the commitment shown by the Government of Vietnam.

We look forward to VCCI's assistance in this regard to harvest the Vietnamese market to order more Lankan products. To this date, trade increases have been observed between both countries despite the absence of a formal mechanism. And from today, we have established the Joint Trade Sub Committee to bridge the trade gap and increase trade volumes. Your Chamber can greatly help bridge this gap. I also invite your esteemed Chamber to establish a Vietnam-Sri Lanka Business Council right here in Vietnam, on the lines of recent Sri-Lanka Vietnam Business Council established in Colombo. I am also pleased to inform you of our new initiative of the appointment of the first Lankan trade official to Vietnam who will function through my Ministry's Department of Commerce."


"We are pleased of your delegation's success in Hanoi. There are lots of business potential for bilateral trade for Lankan manufacturers here" said Secretary General Thu Hang adding that "For apparel manufacturers, many promising opportunities are available in Vietnam-given that apparel is our largest foreign exchange earner and last year our apparel exports stood at US$ 20 Bn. The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement which include Vietnam and some top global trade economies will open great opportunities for Vietnam exporters and for Lankan businesses, there are great indirect benefits from Vietnam TPP if they choose to invest here.

This Chamber is the bridge between Vietnam businesses and the government of Vietnam as well as Vietnam businesses and the international business community. We welcome Sri Lankan businesses who want to promote their businesses in Vietnam. We also welcome Lankan businesses for B2B matchmaking. The idea to establish a Vietnam-Sri Lanka Business Council right here in Vietnam is a good initiative. Our VCCI Chamber will establish the identity of current Vietnam-Sri Lanka business dealings and would take steps to establish this new entity. We have already established such Councils with many of our trading partners. Also, the decision to appoint the first Lankan trade official to Vietnam is warmly welcomed.

This will also be an opportunity for both countries to introduce bilateral businesses to each other-and a good focal point. Our international department could regularly liaise with this official and even invite them to our biz sector meetings. We will also take steps to integrate Sri Lanka trade and export profile to our Country Profile Database, so that Vietnamese businesses will have a ready reference about your country, your annual national and international trade fairs and trade expos so that they can prepare in advance."


Vietnam continues to integrate deeply into the regional and global economy being an active member of ASEAN, APEC, ASEM, WTO. In the framework of ASEAN, Vietnam is party to ASEAN – China FTA, ASEAN – India FTA, ASEAN – Korea FTA, ASEAN – Australia – New Zealand FTA. Viet Nam is now negotiating FTAs with the EU; the Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan Customs Union; EFTA; South Korea and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). As regards foreign trade, Vietnam's export value reached USD 132.2 billion in 2013 (increased 15.4% as compared to 2012) and USD 83.5 billion in the first seven months of 2014 (increased more than 14% as compared to the same period of 2013). Vietnam is among the world's largest exporters of coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, rice, and natural rubber.


At the 3rd meeting of the Joint Commission held in Hanoi in July 2012, the two countries set a target of USUS$ 01 billion for bilateral trade. At present Vietnam ranks as the 40th export destination and the 23rd supplier, accounting for 0.43% of our total exports and 1.06% of our total imports respectively. The total trade between both countries which stood at US dollars 119.5 Million in 2012 increased to US dollars 224.4 Million in 2013 registering a growth of 88%. Further the two countries have concluded a number of important documents, creating a legal framework for further enhanced cooperation activities.