BUSINESS IN BRIEF 8/4

VN-US business forum, important milestone; Nissan releases locally-assembled vehicle in Vietnam; Dairy project targets growing market

VN-US business forum, important milestone< />

With many benefits for the business communities in both countries, the setting up of the Vietnam-US Business Forum was an important milestone in trade relations between Vietnam and the US after they signed the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) in 2001.

The US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael W. Michalak made the statement at a ceremony to make the debut of the Vietnam-US Business Forum in Hanoi on April 8.

The forum was set up by the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) under the guidelines of the Vietnamese Government with the aim of promoting economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and the US . It is also considered as a bilateral close coordination mechanism to strengthen the strategic trading partnership between the two countries.

The forum will be co-chaired by Vietnam, the US Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi and the American Chamber of Commerce in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to VCCI President Vu Tien Loc, the forum will act as a public-private dialogue channel, collecting opinions to submit to the relevant agencies from both countries. It will also be a bridge for businesses from both countries to meet, exchange their experiences and find partners for economic cooperation and investment while providing assistance, consultancies, economic and legal information.

Additionally, the forum will boost links with US business associations in Vietnam, the US-Vietnam Trade Council and the US-ASEAN Business Council.

The VCCI President added that events to promote investment like holding training courses, seminars and market surveys will be focused on to help Vietnamese enterprises get updated with information on the markets and improve their business management capacity up to US standards.

Before the official launch, in 2009, the forum created the Vietnam-US trade portal, issued bulletins, held meetings for enterprises from both countries as well as seminars and training courses on business management.

In 2009, with 495 investment projects valued at 14.5 billion USD, the US was Vietnam ’s 6 th largest foreign investor, followed by Taiwan , the Republic of Korea , Malaysia , Japan and Singapore.

Nissan releases locally-assembled vehicle in Vietnam

Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. has begun Vietnamese sales of a passenger vehicle made by a local contract manufacturer, Japanese media reports.

The Japanese economic daily Nikkei said that the Japanese firm has outsourced production of the Grand Livina, a multipurpose vehicle offering a third row of seating, to Vietnam Motors Corp. The goal is to sell 2,000 units in fiscal 2010.

Two more consigned models will be added to Nissan’s Vietnamese lineup within three years, the Nikkei added. Nissan now offers five imported models in Vietnam, including the Teana midsize sedan

The firm will open dealerships in two cities, including Ho Chi Minh City this month, bringing the total to four locations nationwide.

Dairy project targets growing market

A project on raising cattle and processing milk has been developed in the central province of Nghe An with a total investment of 350 million USD, according to project coordinator TH Milk Joint Stock Company.

The project, the biggest of its kind in the country, aims to develop an international standard dairy industry based on advanced Israeli technology and management, it said.

Nguyen Dinh Chi, chairman of the People’s Committee of Nghe An province, said this was the first high-tech project in the agricultural sector and it was expected to partly contribute to the economic development of Nghia Dan district and Nghe An province.

Hoang Kim Giao, head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Livestock Breeding Department, said the project was very important for the development of the milk industry in Vietnam because it would be developed under modern Israeli management and technology.

The project includes eight farms which will raise 2,400 heads of cattle each and a fresh milk processing factory, the company said.

The project also includes the construction of a 10,000 ha pasture farm for 30,000-45,000 cattle within two years, said Tran Bao Minh, the company director.

It needs a total area of 30,000ha for pasture and Nghia Dan district is capable of meeting the demand, said Minh. That was the reason the company chose Nghia Dan district to develop the project.

In February, the company received 16,000 dairy cows transported by sea from New Zealand and it expected to add another 6,000 dairy cows to its farms by the end of this year.

Minh said his company would invest 100 million USD to build a processing factory with a design capacity of 530 million litres of milk per year, the largest in the country.

The project is expected to meet 30 percent of domestic consumption in coming years and 50 per cent in next 10 years.

Currently fresh milk made in Vietnam has reached 250 million litres, meeting half of domestic demand.

US consulting firm debarred for fraud

The World Bank announced on Tuesday the debarment of Glocoms Inc, a US-based management consulting firm, and its CEO for having engaged in fraud in relation to a World Bank-financed project in Vietnam, the Second Vietnam Payment System and the Bank Modernisation Project.

The decision was made after the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency had launched an investigation into Glocorns for misrepresenting facts about the firm’s experience and technical qualifications, according to a press release by the bank.

Postal Savings buys into LienVietBank

Vietnam Post (VNPost) will sell Vietnam Postal Savings Service Co (VPSC) to Lien Viet Bank as capital contribution.

“Then VNPost will own 18 percent of stake at Lien Viet Bank,” said the bank’s spokeswoman Tran Thi Mai Anh. “The merge is expected to be done by the end of June.”

The deal received approval at the bank’s shareholder meeting. When it’s completed, the Hau Giang-based bank will take advantage of VPSC’s wide network, which has more than 1,300 units nationwide.

The bank’s pre-tax profit in the first quarter reached 180 billion VND (9.47 million USD) with total assets worth 21,000 billion VND (1.1 billion USD).

In 2010, LienVietBank aims to have total assets worth 60 trillion VND (3.15 billion USD) and pre-tax profits of 900 trillion VND (47.3 million USD). The bank also hopes to raise its charter capital to 5.160 billion VND (271.5 million USD) and expand its total branches in the country to 70.

LienVietBank is also planning to establish securities companies, a debt and asset management company, and wants to become a financial corporation in 2010.

Vietnam’s January exports to US decreases slightly

Vietnam exported 1.133 billion USD worth of goods to the US in the first month of this year, down 1.39 percent from last year’s January, statistics recently released by the US Department of Commerce said.

The Top 5 exports remained apparel, grossing 471 million USD, down 1.26 percent from the same month last year; footwear, 138 million USD, down 5.48 percent; furniture and bedding, 138 million USD, up 3.76 percent; agricultural products, 64 million USD, up 6.67 percent; and sea food, 62 million USD, up 5.08 percent.

Among the 15 key Vietnam’s exports to the US, machinery recorded the highest yearly growth rate, grossing 51 million USD in value and increasing 142.86 percent over last year’s January.

US exports to Vietnam were valued at 248 million USD in January, increasing 64.24 percent over the same month last year. All but two of 15 key exports of the US to Vietnam recorded yearly growth rate.

Two-way trade between and the US in the first month of this year stood at 1.381 billion USD, representing a 6.23 percent year-to-year increase.

Source: VNA

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