Vietnam Economy Forum

[haidian]

Sluggish economy leaves a million Vietnamese without jobs

Business Desk

Viet Nam News

Publication Date : 19-12-2012

Nearly one million people are currently unemployed in Vietnam, as the economy has not been able to create enough job opportunities for recent entrants into the labour market as well as the permanently unemployed, according to a labour report released yesterday.

The report, jointly conducted by the General Statistics Office (GSO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), also revealed that as many as 1.37 million people are underemployed, which means they are in inadequate employment situations and are available to work additional hours.

ILO points out that the economic downturn has forced many people to turn to informal jobs, which often mean low and unstable incomes.

Gyorgy Sziraczki, ILO's director in Vietnam, said more resources and support are needed to solve the problem of unofficial employment, which is linked to low productivity, a lack of social protection and low incomes.

GSO's report indicates that while the number of employed people has risen by 1.1 million over the past three quarters of 2012, the labour force has increased by the same amount.

By October, Vietnam had 53.1 million people over 15 years old in the working group, 52.1 million of which were employed. Nearly 70 per cent of them were rural dwellers.

GSO's report indicates that searching for jobs is particularly difficult for young people aged 15-24, who represent 47 per cent of the total number of unemployed people.

Ho Chi Minh City leads in unemployment with a rate of 3.9 per cent.

The Mekong Delta (not including HCM City) placed second in the ranking with 2.2 per cent and Hanoi placed third with 2.15 perccent.

The ILO points out that gender inequality is also apparent from the unemployment statistics, as 2.5 per cent of women are unemployed, as opposed to 1.7 per cent of men.

While the number of workers in foreign-invested and State-owned companies has gradually decreased over the year, employment in non-State companies, including self-employed and household businesses as well as co-operatives and private companies, has seen a stable upward trend.

According to Vietnamworks, an online job placement website, there has been a decrease in the online labour demand over the last months of the year.

Forty-eight of the 58 sectors classified by the website saw a decline in the labour demand online compared to the first six months of the year. The most significant declines were witnessed in accounting, logistics and media, which all saw decreases of 55-60 per cent.

Nguyen Bich Lam, deputy head of the GSO, said that next year, with help from the ILO, the office will conduct labour surveys and questionnaires according to international standards and release a labour report on a monthly basis.

 

[Viet]

Labour sector to create 1.6 million jobs in 2013
1/7/2013 5:43:45 PM VOV

(VOV) - The Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA) is intent on generating 1.6 million jobs in 2013, reducing the unemployment rate in urban areas by around 4 percent. At the close of 2012, Vietnam’s poverty rate was estimated at 10 percent - down 1.76 percent on the previous year.

Boosting rice exports to Japan
1/9/2013 11:22:50 AM - VOV

(VOV) - Japan has become a lucrative market for Vietnamese exporters as it annually needs nearly 200,000 tonnes of rice.

Last year, Japan imported 70,000 tonnes of rice, of which 30,000 tonnes came from Vietnam. Nguyen Van Tien, General Director of Angimex Joint Stock Company – a leading rice exporter to Japan – says Angimex is cooperating with other domestic businesses to boost rice exports to Japan, which is in need of about 72,000 tonnes of imported rice this year.

 

[haidian]

Vietnam’s economic woes: where to from here?
Jan 10, 2013 9:00am by beyondbrics

By Jake Maxwell Watts and Nguyen Phuong Linh

In both the developing and industrialised worlds, economic growth rates, like bad news, can be entirely relative. Vietnam’s respectable-sounding GDP growth of 5.08 per cent in 2012 was in fact a painful fall from 5.9 per cent in 2011 and marked its slowest pace in 13 years. Will 2013 be any better?

After charming emerging market investors for more than a decade, the southeast Asian country has had a bad year. High-profile corruption scandals, plummeting investor confidence and record levels of bad debt have battered the economy. In a 2013 New Year’s message to the nation, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung admitted to “shortcomings in the government’s management” and “economic structural weaknesses”. What happened to Vietnam in 2012?

Some analysts say a bad year was structurally inevitable for Vietnam. The economy grew at an average of 7 per cent a year throughout the 1990s and slowed slightly in the 2000s. Much of this development was driven by inefficient state-owned enterprises – a powerful force which, until recently, accounted for around 40 per cent of the country’s GDP.

But their vulnerabilities became apparent in the near-collapse of Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, known as Vinashin. The group was bailed out by the government in 2010 after accruing more than $4.5bn in debt due largely to ill-judged investments in unrelated sectors such as motorbikes and power plants. Standard & Poor’s, the rating agency, said in December 2010:

“Vinashin’s woes highlight the lack of transparency, weak accountability, and poor corporate governance in Vietnam, which is still in the early stages of transitioning from a centrally planned to a market-based economy.” Nine Vinashin executives were jailed in March 2012, around the same time that scandals at other debt-ridden SOEs stoked fears of further failures.

Compounding the problems, turmoil hit the banking sector in 2012, after the founder of Asia Commercial Bank, one of Vietnam’s biggest lenders, was arrested in August on suspicion of conducting “illegal business”. The fallout from such scandals eventually led to an unprecedented government apology for its handling of the crises and downgrades of the country’s credit rating.

Soaring debt in Vietnam has left banks saddled with a mountain of bad loans while credit has dried up. Bad debt accounts for about 8 per cent of total lending by Vietnamese banks, while credit growth was 6.45 per cent in 2012, compared to 14 per cent in 2011.

Vietnam’s once vibrant corporate sector faces rising costs of business and a dearth of funding sources. Almost 71 per cent of Hanoi’s 58,000 companies reported losses in 2012, according to the Hanoi People’s Committee, an arm of the ruling communist party.

The litany of woes is not all due to domestic mismanagement, note analysts. Vietnam, like many emerging economies, has suffered from the slowdown in key export markets including Europe and the US.

The good news is that economic difficulty has spurred government efforts to win back investor confidence. In some of Vietnam’s main markets, moves by governments to shore up consumer demand has prompted analysts – including HSBC in a report issued on Wednesday – to predict that international demand for Vietnamese goods will rebound in 2013.

There are also new signs of action at home. The Vietnamese central bank has pledged to halve the burden of bad debt in 2013 and the government has begun the arduous process of reforming the SOEs that dominate the economy.

But the tasks are daunting. The government forecasts GDP growth of 5.5 per cent in 2013, although analysts say that will depend on further economic reform, growth in the global economy and a resolution of the country’s bad debt problems.
The government is at last finally seeking advice from international bodies on SOE and banking reform, but investor confidence remains low and corruption levels high in both the state and private sectors.

Investors and analysts are left wondering whether the government is in a position to do what it takes to implement necessary reforms. Some investors, however, seem undeterred by uncertainty. In a separate note this week, HSBC identified Vietnam – alongside India and Indonesia – as among the countries most likely to benefit from a migration of foreign direct investment from China to southeast and south Asia and on Tuesday a US buyout group invested $200m in one of Vietnam’s largest food companies – the biggest ever single private equity investment in Vietnam. The message was clear: a bad year is no reason to write off Vietnam as an investment opportunity. How the government proceeds from here is the real test.

 

[Rechoice]

U.S. investment fund pours $200 million in Masan

Last update 10/01/2013 10:50:33 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – An American investment fund has doubled its investment in Masan Consumer Corporation based on its trust in the potential development of Vietnam.

KKR & Co. from the U.S. recently passed a decision to invest $200 million in Masan Consumer Corporation. So far, this is the highest investment from a private investment fund in Vietnam.

According to the Wall Street Journal, today more than 90% of households in Vietnam use at least one of Masan Consumer Corp’s products such as fish sauce, noodles and instant coffee. As a result, revenue of Masan increased from $31 million in 2007 to approximately $500 million last year. Of which, Q3 profit of 2012 increased 50% compared to the same period in 2011, to about $36 million.

This is not the first time KKR pouring money into Masan. In April 2011, this fund invested $159 million into the company. KKR currently has two people in the Board of Directors of Masan. "The doubling of our investment in less than two years has demonstrated our confidence in the growth potential of Vietnam,” said Mr. Ming Lu, Asia Pacific Director of KKR.

Masan’s General Director Truong Cong Thang said that the $200 million investment will help the company diversify products, targeting the fast-growing consumer goods.

KKR's investment comes when the Vietnamese economy experienced a year of the slowest growth in 13 years. The NPL ratio rose high, making domestic banks afraid to lend. However, Vietnam has set a target growth of FDI from $13 to 14 billion this year, compared to $13.1 billion last year.

The $200 million investment from KKR may be the biggest investment from a private fund for Vietnam, according to Dealogic, a data provider. Masan Consumer is a subsidiary of Masan Group. Since April 2011 when KKR poured its first investment, the company's shares have risen 30%.

The deal of KKR is in its strategic investment in Southeast Asia, in order to catch up the growth in this area. Last year, KKR set up offices in Singapore for market research. So far, KKR has poured $5.2 billion in the Asia-Pacific region, 20% of this is for four companies in Southeast Asia.

Recently many foreign strategic investors expressed a desire to contribute capital to local firms. Japan's largest bank Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ has just acquired 20% shares of Vietinbank with a total value of up to $743 million, marking a record of M & A in the banking and financial sector in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Life acquired 18% stake in Bao Viet, the largest insurance company in Vietnam, from HSBC with a value of $340 million.

Compiled by S. Tung

U.S. investment fund pours $200 million in Masan - News VietNamNet

 

[Viet]

Vietnam to send 90,000 workers abroad in 2013
English.news.cn 2013-01-09 14:49:59

HANOI, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam plans to send 90,000 people to work in foreign countries and territories in 2013, mainly to South Korea, Malaysia, Russia and China's Taiwan, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) on Wednesday.

In 2012, Vietnam sent 80,000 workers overseas, down 10 percent as scheduled. Of which, Japan, South Korea, China's Taiwan and Malaysia accounted for 70 percent. South Korea is the third largest market, hiring over 10,000 Vietnamese people. However, since August 2012, the country tightened recruitment for Vietnamese workers due to a large number of illegal over-staying workers.

To solve the problem, MOLISA will require the workers to make a deposit at home before leaving the country, together with other responsibility. With this move, the ministry said it can send 12, 000-15,000 labors to South Korea in 2013.

In 2010, Vietnam had to withdraw more than 10,000 workers to return home from Libya due to the local political crisis. MOLISA has plans to send 5,000 workers to Libya this year.

New markets, including Cyprus, Angola, Algeria and Hawaii account for only 3.1 percent of Vietnamese guest workers, reported the ministry.

According to the National Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, as the end of 2012 there are about 4 million Vietnamese who are living, studying or working in 101 countries and regions, of which 400,000 are guest workers.

Remittances sent home by overseas Vietnamese in 2012 would reach 10 billion to 11 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 20 percent compared with the average 10 percent to 15 percent in previous years, reported the committee.

 

[Viet]

green light for the biggest foreign investment in Vietnam

Vietnam to have US$27 billion oil refinery
1/12/2013 3:06:24 PM Voice of Vietnam

Another oil refinery to take shape in Vietnam

(VOV) - Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) has decided to invest nearly US$27 billion in a petrochemical complex project in the south-central province of Binh Dinh.

The provincial People’s Committee and relevant ministries have completed a proposal for submission to the Prime Minister in late January 2013, said Nguyen Kim Phuong, director of the Binh Dinh provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

He told the media that PTT has registered to invest in the project in the province’s Nhon Hoi industrial zone after three years of negotiations.

The refinery will be built on an area of 2,000ha and has a design capacity of approximately 30 million tonnes a year. Crude oil will be imported from the Middle East, Africa, and South America to feed the refinery to churn out more than 20 types of oil and petrochemical, mostly for export.

If the project receives a nod from the government, it will get off the ground in the first quarter of 2016 and be put into operation commercially in 2019.

Ho Quoc Dung, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, said PTT has assured that it will mobilise enough investment for the project, and it will cooperate with the Thailand national petroleum company and other Vietnamese partners to undertake the project.

 

[Viet]

Pico Plaza opens in Ho Chi Minh City
Minh Thien | vir.com.vn | Jan 11, 2013 15:47 pm

Pico Joint Stock Company has opened its first Pico Plaza in Ho Chi Minh City.

The 55,000 square-metre, five storey mixed-use block will offer retail outlets and office space. The $33 million Pico Plaza is Tan Binh District’s largest multi-purpose commercial centre.

Over 90 per cent of Pico Plaza’s retail outlets have already been leased, according to Hai.

 

[Viet]

Job bazaar for Vietnamese students in Japan
1/14/2013 6:08:22 PM VOV

(VOV) - The Vietnamese Student and Youth Association (VYSA) in Japan held a job fair in Tokyo on January 13 in coordination with Japanese businesses.

The event, the seventh of its kind in Tokyo, involved more than 30 companies and 200 students, aiming to inform Vietnamese students in Japan about employment opportunities. VYSA President Nguyen Thi Thu Hong said that many Vietnamese students have successfully found work thanks to the annual job bazaar. The presence of large numbers of Japanese firms and Vietnamese students demonstrates their keen interest in the event this year, she added.


Vietnamese nurses to work in Germany
1/14/2013 3:12:13 PM VOV

About 100 Vietnamese nurses will get training and work in Germany under a pilot programme between the two countries, according to the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Head of the Ministry's Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) Nguyen Ngoc Quynh said nurses who have a college degree and are under 25 years old are eligible to apply for a two-year training course on taking care of the elderly at a German institution.

During their study period, they will get free accommodations and a scholarship of 800-900 EUR (US$1,047—US$1,190) per month to cover their expenses.

They will then take Germany's national exam. If they pass, they will be asked to work in centres for the elderly for three years. During this period, they will earn 1,800-2,000 EUR (US$2,380-US$2,619) per month. Then they can either stay and work in Germany or return home.

Quynh said Germany's aging population puts it in urgent need of foreign caretakers. The country is trying to recruit about 150,000 workers in all sectors, offering high salaries and a favourable working environment.

 

[Viet]

Vietnamese cashew nuts dominate global market
1/14/2013 4:48:55 PM VOV

(VOV) - Vietnam ships more than 160,000 tonnes of cashew nuts abroad annually, becoming the US’ largest cashew nut exporter.

India lost its top cashew nut exporter status to Vietnam four years ago and is now a major importer of Vietnamese cashew nuts.

In eight of 2012’s months, India imported 3,245 tonnes of cashew nuts at an average price of 163.38 rupee/kg. A large proportion of that volume was supplied by Vietnam.

According to the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), the Indian market’s huge volume cashew nut imports over the past two years are likely to continue in the future.

GiridharPrabhu, Achal Cashew Export Company Director, says India’s cashew nut demand is increasing, both for household consumption and food processing.

Vietnam is a promising source of broken cashew nuts as its key export market—the US—is not interested. Local exporters are therefore keen to capitalize on the Indian market.

CEPCI estimates India needs at least 700,000 tonnes of imported cashew nuts for its food processing industry.


Vietsovpetro targets 5.4 million tonnes of crude oil in 2013
1/14/2013 5:12:36 PM VOV

(VOV) -The Vietnamese-Russian oil and gas joint venture enterprises (Vietsovpetro) plans to exploit 5.4 million tonnes of crude oil and bring ashore 3.06 billion cubic metres of gas this year.

The information was released at the Vietsovpetro conference held in HCM City on January 14.

To achieve the set target, the joint venture will begin construction on 3 exploratory oil wells and is expected to complete 22 others. Vietsovpetro pumped up more than 6 million tonnes of crude oil in 2012 and collected 1.25 billion cubic metres of gas.

It earned total revenue of US$5.43 billion, contributing significantly to the State budget. Its US$3.54 billion profit exceeded its initial target by 47 percent.


Auto sales down by one third
1/14/2013 5:12:52 PM VOV

(VOV) - The Vietnam Association of Automobile Manufacturers (VAMA) has reported 2012’s automobile sales fell by 33 percent compared to the previous year.

Despite a monthly increase of 4 percent, December’s sales totaled 9,983 units - 22 percent lower than during the same period in 2011.

The VAMA said the downwards trend was also reflected in revenue earned from trucks and four-seat sedans.

The association said that more than 7,700 units were assembled domestically in December 2012.
There was also a sharp increase in imported vehicles (2,282 units), up 28 percent on the previous month.

 

[Viet]

Bridgestone tire plant opens in South
1/15/2013 11:24:14 AM VOV

Bridgestone Tire Sale Vietnam Limited Liability Company has opened its first plant in Vietnam, applying state- of-the- art technology at My Phuoc three Industrial Park in the southern province of Binh Duong.

The Bridgestone Bandag Retread plant will implement the entire retread process, including inspecting casing conditions, repair work, new treads and a final check before they return to the market.

According to Bridgestone, using Bandag retread tires can save up to 35 percent of the cost compared with new ones.


Fuji Xerox builds digital device factory
1/15/2013 11:26:49 AM VOV

Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific Pte Ltd on January 14 started building a factory to produce digital colour multifunction devices and small LED printers in the northern city of Haiphong.

This is the sixth project in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park and the first foreign- invested project in 2013.

The factory covering 18ha, with total investment estimated at approximately US$119 million, is scheduled for completion in August this year.


EVN secures $2.58-billion loan for 2013 projects
| dtinews | Jan 14, 2013 16:54 pm

The Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) is completing procedures and negotiations with foreign banks and financial institutions to get a $2.58-billion loan for its power projects in 2013.

EVN will spend around VND106.6 trillion ($5.08 billion) to implement power projects this year, including around VND30.29 trillion ($1.45 billion) which will go to debt repayments.

In 2012, EVN received a loan of USD2.5 billion from both domestic and foreign partners, including $1.93 billion in loans from international organisations such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, with the remainder sourced locally.

EVN also announced that power prices would average VND1,459 per kWh this year, up 7.2pct from last year.


Baidu and Tencent pose threat to Vietnamese internet companies
Staff Reporter| 2013-01-14
10:57 (GMT+8)

Baidu has established local versions for Vietnamese internet users. (File photo/Xinhua)

Since Baidu and Tencent landed in Vietnam in 2012, their rapid growth will threaten the information security of local internet users, according to the news site yuenanwang.com, which added that the two Chinese internet giants would undermine local internet companies.

Baidu introduced the Vietnamese version of its search engine and other online services in January last year. Page views soared from 70,000 in April to 2 million by August.

Tencent also launched its mobile phone text and voice messaging service in April last year, attracting more than 1 million Vietnamese users so far.

Local media suspect the two internet companies of accessing and stealing information from users. Some former users have complained that the software is difficult to remove after installation, said local media.

Baidu's search engine, which is designed as a portal website, will automatically redirect usage patterns of Vietnamese netizens, said local media. If take-up passes 50% of local users, Vietnamese internet companies will lose their influence over the way people in the country surf the net.

 

[Viet]

VietJetAir unveils sixth aircraft
Updated January, 18 2013 10:37:48 Vietnam News

HCM CITY (VNS)— VietJetAir has added another aircraft to its expanding fleet of Airbus A320s, the budget carrier announced.

The low-cost carrier, which now flies to nine destinations in Viet Nam, plans to add more domestic routes and international connections in 2013.

"The new aircraft will help meet increasing travel demand during the Lunar New Year holidays and facilitate our international expansion," said VietJetAir's Business Development Director Desmond Lin.

"We plan to have up to 15 aircraft by 2015 with three to five aircraft to arrive this year," he added.-VNS



200,000 may cotton on to jobs
Updated January, 18 2013 10:49:07 Vietnam News

An employee of Hai Phong Garment and Import-Export Company at work. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

HCM CITY (VNS)— With export turnover expected to grow 12 per cent this year, the textile and garment sector will create an additional 200,000 jobs.

The sector targets a turnover of US$19 billion this year, according to the deputy general director of the Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) Le Tien Truong

He was quoted as saying by Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper that for every $1billion in turnover, the industry has typically been able to create an additional 100,000 jobs.



Largest tourist complex to open
1/17/2013 11:37:23 AM Voice of Vietnam

(VOV) - Vietnam’s the largest luxury beach resort in Vietnam - MGM Grand Ho Tram Beach - is expected to open soon.

Lloyd Nathan, chief executive officer of Canada’s Asian Coast Development Limited (ACDL), announced on January 16 that the first phase of the MGM Grand Ho Tram Beach project has been completed.

The five-star MGM Grand Ho Tram resort has 541 luxury guest rooms, world-class conference halls, a modern gaming area, a luxurious spa, an entertainment area, three outdoor swimming pools, and shopping malls.

The second phase of the project, which started in October 2012, includes building a new tower containing 559 additional guest rooms and installing state-of-art gambling facilities in entertainment areas.

Covering more 164 hectare in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the Ho Tram resort is designed to have 1,100 guest rooms, a series of luxurious restaurants, VIP areas, and a professional golf court with tourism and entertainment services stretching 2.2km along the coastline.

 

[Viet]

Amata Vietnam joins Thai bourse
1/18/2013 9:51:11 AM Voice of Vietnam

Amata Vietnam officially joined the Stock Exchange of Thailand on January 17 in a bid to seek more investment capital to expand its operation in Thailand.

After joining the bourse (with code name AMATAV), Amata Vietnam expects to increase its capital from US$12.5 million to US$15 million thanks to financial assistance from Siam Commercial Bank and OSK Securities (Thailand).

A subsidiary of Thailand’s Amata Corporation, Ho Chi Minh City-based Amata Vietnam involves in developing real estate and industrial infrastructure.

Thailand has invested around US$6 billion in Vietnam, ranking 10th among foreign investors in the country.



HAG puts $100 mln Laos sugar project into operation
| Tuoitrenews | Jan 18, 2013 17:14 pm

Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAG) inaugurated Thursday the Hoang Anh Attapeu sugar and sugarcane industrial cluster, and a namesake thermal-power center in Laos’ southern Attapeu Province after 14 months of construction.

Hoang Anh Attapeu sugar and sugarcane industrial cluster is seen in Attapeu, Laos.

The plant, with a 3,000 ton per day capacity, has produced the very first batch of refined white sugar, while the 30MW thermal-power center, fueled by the bagasses from the sugar refinery, has also generated electricity into the Laotian national power system, the cluster director Nguyen Ngoc Anh said.

The Hoang Anh Attapeu broke ground on November 22, 2011, with a total investment of $100 million.

It also includes an ethanol plant with a capacity of 30,000 ton per year, and a fertilizer plant with a capacity of 50,000 tons a year.

 

[Viet]

Property firms hit the wall
| VNS | Jan 18, 2013 16:16 pm

A real estate salesman introduces the EcoPark residential complex. The construction sector last year faced many challenges as the market stagnated.

Nearly 18,000 real estate and construction companies faced losses, went bankrupt or closed last year because of the challenging economic situation in the country.

Of this number, the Ministry of Construction said that nearly 15,300 companies faced losses.

The number of companies that stopped operations or went bankrupt totalled more than 2,600, a year-on-year increase of 9.4 per cent. This figure included more than 2,100 construction companies and 527 companies trading in real estate.

The situation was not much better for corporations managed by the ministry, with many of its companies' faring worse in 2012 than in the previous year. Total production value as well as investment value and turnover were lower than the targets set in 2012 and in the previous year.

The ministry said the construction sector last year faced many challenges as the market continued to be stagnant, while inventory of property stacked up to a high level.

Moreover, real estate prices fell in all property segments, leading to company losses and bankruptcies. In Ha Noi, about 1,800 transactions worth VND6.1 trillion were carried out on 94 transaction floors.

Meanwhile, 129 floors in HCM City reported about 4,000 transactions in 2012, with total value of more than VND11 trillion.



New Lao Airlines services to Danang starts
1/18/2013 12:03:45 PM Voice of Vietnam

Lao Airlines has launched a tri-weekly flight between Laos’ southern city of Pakse and Danang, operating a 68 seat ATR 72 aircraft. The flight will help reduce the travel time between Laos and Vietnam and tourists travel easier between Thailand and Vietnam.

 

[Viet]

Pilot projects help improve rural incomes, say officials
Updated January, 14 2013 10:46:00 Vietnam News

Farmers have earned high incomes from raising milk cows and orchids, but these activities require a large amount of capital.—File photo

HCM CITY (VNS)— The income of residents in five rural communes in outlying HCM City have improved significantly as a result of a pilot project in the government's national new rural-area programme.

The annual average revenue from one hectare has risen to VND239 million (US$11,400), up VND138 million against 2009, according to Thai Quoc Dan, deputy head of the city's Sub-department of Rural Development.

Dan, who spoke at a seminar in the city last Wednesday, said the commune farmers had switched to cultivating plants and raising animals with high economic value, including orchids and ornamental fish.

In addition, handicraft production and processing of clean salt has brought positive results.

Labourers in these communes earn an average income of VND2.5-3 million ($120-144) a month. The five communes no longer have any families under the Government's poverty line, which is an annual average income of VND4.8 million ($230)or less per person.

 

[Viet]

Wintek Vietnam - Treasure Talents
Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Vietnam Business Forum

Mr Chang Fang Liang, Deputy General Director of WINTEK Vietnam


Wintek Vietnam is planning to invest in four factories in Quang Chau Industrial Park, Bac Giang province, specialising in manufacturing LCM modules and OGS touch screens. The project is estimated to cost US$930 million. In early 2011, WINTEK Vietnam embarked on construction of factories. To date, two factories have been completed and put into production. The construction on the remaining ones continues.

Among Taiwan-based Wintek Corporation’s global production bases, WINTEK VIETNAM mainly manufactures touch panels, said Mr Chang Fang Liang, Deputy General Director of WINTEK Vietnam. Luu Hiep reports.

Why did Wintek Corporation choose Vietnam to locate its investment?
Vietnam’s geographical position is wonderful as it surrounded by large markets like China, South East Asia and Indochina; thus, business opportunities are plentiful. Besides, similarities of Vietnamese and Chinese cultures and customs facilitate local participation and communication of Taiwanese businesses. Vietnam also features stable economic and political environment, transparent legal framework and open policies. Apart from WTO accession, Vietnam is also a full member of APEC and ASEAN, and enjoys Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) from the EU, Japan and Canada. Furthermore, ASEAN - China Free Trade Agreement (ASEAN+1), ASEAN - Australia and New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN Free Trade Agreement with China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN+3), Vietnam - Japan Economic Agreement, etc facilitate Vietnam’s exports to signatories thanks to lowered tariffs..

Vietnam's human resource is of abundance and good quality. Labour costs are competitive to other countries or regions in the world. For that reason, locating factories here [in Vietnam] will hold the advantage of labour costs. Moreover, the Government of Vietnam has actively improved the investment environment, constituted rewarding - punitive policies and amended business-related laws, introduced policies on tax preferences, reductions and exemptions, broadened forms and conditions of consumption of goods made by foreign-invested enterprises in Vietnam, strengthened foreign investor protection policies, and tightened construction management. WINTEK therefore chose Vietnam to locate investment projects.

And, we advanced another step when we picked up Bac Giang province to place our factories since it was not very far from China where we could seek support and assistance from our production bases and it was not far from Vietnam’s administrative and economic centre of Vietnam and the capital city of Hanoi. We saw good competitive advantages in production operation and business development there.

Is the current economic slowdown affecting Wintek Corporation? Does the company have any response strategy?
At present, Wintek is a leading manufacturer of touch panels which generate over 90 per cent of the company’s total revenue. Touch panels are being increasingly used on the market, from smartphones, tablet PCs or consumer electronic products. At the advent of Windows 8 operating system, touch panel applications will be more used with medium- and big-sized products like ultrabooks and notebooks. So, although the economic situation is not good, the demand for touch panels still grows up. Anticipating the high demand for touch panels in the coming time, Wintek will hence continue its investment for production and research on touch product patents.

Currently, Wintek Vietnam is expanding its production and its demand for workers remains high. The company is actively recruiting talented staffs for production activities and there is no reason for staff cut. With the philosophy that personnel is the most important asset, the company makes a constant effort to improve overall conditions for workers. It also enhances the working environment and promote employee interaction. The company pledges to offer competitive wages and incentives to attract and good employees and ensure them.

You used to operate and manage business in Vietnam. Would you mind sharing your experience?
Wintek Vietnam is an export processing enterprise with all products exported. The key to success is rapid production expansion and productivity enhancement. Hence, how to recruit talents is very important. We apply harmonious policies to deal with labour issues and comply with labour laws while increasing pays and fostering skills for labourers. In addition, we always create a friendly environment for members, that is, employer and employees.