Korean stars ready for concert

12:27' 03/07/2007 (GMT+7)

Paran in a rehearsal yesterday in HCM City VietNamNet Bridge – The delegation of Korean singers to perform in the Korea-Vietnam Friendship Concert to be held this evening, July 3, arrived in HCM City yesterday and attended a press conference at the Equatorial Hotel. Singer Kangta caught the most attention from the Vietnamese press due to his star status. Kangta, who was first known as the lead singer of legendary boy band H.O.T (High-five of Teenagers), is also a talented songwriter and composer. He said in the upcoming concert, he would sing 2 songs, Just one day and The best + twenty three, in addition to being one of the 3 MCs of the shows besides singer Park Jung Ah and Vietnamese MC Quynh Huong. Kangta said in his previous trip to Vietnam, he was impressed by beautiful scenery in the country. “Last time, when I was in Hanoi, I had chances to visit many places and most of them are very beautiful, especially Ha Long Bay. I hope in this trip to HCM City, I’ll have time to visit the city’s beautiful landscapes too,” said he. In the near future, he will continue to perform throughout Asia as well as play roles in new TV series. The Korean singer/actor is known to Vietnamese TV lovers through his roles in Endless Love, Magic’s Love Affair, and Talented Boys and Beautiful Girls. Another well-known name in the Korean musical sky, boy band Paran, will also sing in the concert. This is their first trip ever to Vietnam. They said they would perform the hit First Love from their successful debut album. "We hope that in Vietnam, Paran will be welcomed and accepted. So in the future, we’ll have to spend a lot of time practicing and learning foreign languages. We hope that we’ll soon become a member of the Vietnamese musical market,” said the band. Organized by Yonhanaro Communications, Square and Ben Thanh Tourism companies, the KoVina Friendship Concert is part of a series of events held this year to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Vietnamese-Korean diplomatic ties. The concert will take place at Phu Tho Stadium and later be broadcast on Korean station SBS and HCM City TV. The Korean and Vietnamese singers including Lam Truong and My Linh will end the concert with a song called Xa em ky niem (Memories of Saying Goodbye to You) which for the past 10 years has been well loved by Vietnamese youth who hardly knows that the song comes from Korea. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

New wave of powder milk price hikes approaching

13:00' 03/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Housewives are worried that their pocketbooks will undergo some losses as dairy producers are threatening to raise the selling prices, once again. Soon after dairy producers announced to raise the selling prices of a series of dairy products by 5-10% in June, they are attempting to increase the prices once again in July. The price hike wave, if occurring, will not only affect families’ budgets, but also influence the food processing industry. How far will dairy prices escalate? Dairy products of all kinds, especially powder milk, have been witnessing sharp increases recently. Nutifood powder milk, for example, increased by VND5-10,000/can in prices, while Dutch Lady increased by VND6-14,000/tin can or paper box. Vinamilk has also announced to raise the selling prices of condensed milk and fresh milk by VND24-30,000/package. Tran Quoc Huan, Marketing Director of Dutch Lady Vietnam, said that the prices of electricity, water, labour force, transport fee all increased recently. However, this was not the main reason behind the dairy product price increases, it was mainly because of the increased material price. “Dairy prices will see unpredictable fluctuations as local production depends heavily on the world’s material prices. The demand for dairy products is increasing sharply in both the domestic and world’s markets. I think the increases will mainly occur in power milk products,” Mr Huan said. Other dairy producers also said that the prices would further escalate as the input material price still keeps rising. Representative from Vinamilk said that material price amounts to 50-60% of the production cost, while it has to purchase the material at $5,500-6,000/tonne, double the price of earlier this year. Vinamilk plans to raise the selling price by 10% at maximum. Most recently, Hancofood has announced to raise the retail prices by another 5%, commencing from July 2007, representing an increase of 10% in general compared to previous months. Le Viet Ha, Chairman of Hancofood, said that the imported material price has increased by 2.5 times over the beginning of the year, and it is expected to see the price increase by three fold in some days. Localy sourced material just meets a part of demand Dairy producers said that the shortage of material is being seen in all the markets, not only in Vietnam. Two biggest material producers in the world, including New Zealand and Australia, are having bad weather. While the supply is limited, the demand is increasing rapidly: the imports by China have increased by 60%, while demand in India has increased by 30%. As the imports become more expensive, dairy producers begin paying special attention to local sources. They have been trying to collect more materials from local dairy farms by raising the material purchasing prices. Mr Huan said that his company has decided to raise the purchasing prices in order to encourage farmers to breed cows and expand their herds of cows. He said that the current productivity just can meet a small part of the demand for material. As local sources cannot satisfy the demand of dairy plants, Vietnam still depends heavily on material imports. The dairy price increase is threatening to make the production cost of the food processing industry higher. Dang Ba Tung, Director General of Vinabico, a confectionary company, said that the power milk price hike has put a burden on his business. “Though the dairy price increases, we still cannot raise the selling prices at once, thus suffering the loss,” Mr Tung said. Viet Nam Net

Hoi An opens Vietnamese class to foreigners

12:19' 03/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - For the first time, the ancient town of Hoi An has opened a free-of-charge Vietnamese class for foreigners in Tan An ward. The class is opened by the Tan An Ward Public Study Centre. According to the centre’s director Cao Kim, this is the first class of its kind in the town, which attracts 34 students who are foreign experts and businessmen of various nationalities, who are working and living in Hoi An. In late June, the Hoi An Commerce and Tourism Chamber opened a free of charge English class for pack-bike drivers who serve visitors at night in the ancient town. Through this class, the Hoi An Commerce and Tourism Chamber has helped 1,000 people get stable jobs, including 200 motorbike taxi drivers in the wards of Minh An, Cam Pho and Tan An and 120 cyclo drivers. Those people are also ‘tour guides’ of Hoi An, who contribute to advertise the town’s culture and history to visitors. Viet Nam Net

IPO roadmap should be re-drawn: expert

13:09' 03/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Head of the Enterprises Renovation Department under the Government Office, Head of the Taskforce for Group and General Corporation Equitisation Nguyen Trong Dung has emphasized the need to ‘harmonise’ the IPOs (initial public offering) of big corporations, otherwise, the market will suffer from the imbalance in supply and demand. Mr Dung said: Mr Nguyen Trong Dung, Deputy Head of the Enterprises Renovation Department under the Government Office, Head of the Taskforce for Group and General Corporation Equitisation In the current period, the quality of equitisation, not the number of equitising enterprises, is put on top priority. Big enterprises, which operate in important fields are being brought into equitisation, therefore, the effective equitisation must be seen as the biggest requirement. The method of equitising and making IPOs are the two most important issues in equitising these enterprises. Every equitising enterprise at this stage has the capital scale equal to 100 enterprises which were equitised previously. Every year, we plan to equitise several tens of these enterprises, therefore, this work must be carried out in a very careful way. For example, we plan to equitise 26 state owned general corporations. The state, as the seller, needs to thoroughly consider the demand of the market. Many experts think that there are signs of the ‘indigestion’ of the market as a series of big enterprises will be equitised and make IPO in the near future. Will the massive IPO make the market ‘overloaded’? They have every reason to be concerned about this. We plan to equitise 26 corporations in 2007, and if we try our best, we can fulfill the plan. But if too many IPO are held at the same time, the supply will exceed the demand, and the state, as the seller of the commodity, will not obtain high results as expected. In fact, ministries and branches have been aware of the risks that massive IPOs may bring to the market. The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Finance to reconsider the IPO timing. I have to point out that efficiency is the top priority in enterprise equitisation. The scenario that the IPOs of big corporations do not successfully draw the attention of investors must not occur. If the supply exceeds the demand, the prices of enterprises will be low, thus making the State, as the seller, suffer. We still have 70 corporations to be equitised by 2010. In such circumstances, I think, the equitisation would only be completed in 2015. In order to make the equitisation process effective, I think, it is necessary to re-consider the IPO timing. Will there be any changes in the IPO plans of big corporations? The list and the roadmap for equitising economic groups and general corporations from now until 2010 has been approved by the Prime Minister. It is expected that from now to the year end, at least one big enterprise will make an IPO every month. As planned, Vietcombank will make IPO in July or August, while the Mekong Housing Development Bank (MHB) in the fourth quarter of the year. Meanwhile, Sabeco and Habeco, two big brewery corporations, have hired foreign consultants, and now are under the process of corporate assessment. The biggest advantage of the two is that their member companies all have basically completed the equitisation. The two corporations are expected to make IPOs at the end of the third quarter of the year. As scheduled, Vietnam Airlines will make an IPO at the end of 2008, while the Textile and Garment Group is likely to make an IPO sooner. The Government has promulgated the new decree on equitising state owned enterprises, and under the spirit of the new decree, investors will be able to get information about the share issuance and auction more sufficiently and accurately. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

US inspects Chinese farmed seafood, Vietnam worried

17:01' 02/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The news that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will detain all farmed seafood products sourced from China for examination before granting customs clearance is worrying Vietnamese enterprises. Seafood processing companies plan to meet early this week to discuss the possible impacts of the FDA’s decision on Vietnam’s seafood exports to the US and solutions to the problem. As FDA has announced, all consignments of farmed seafood sourced from China, including shrimp, catfish, eel, red-eyed carp, will be strictly examined. The imports will be detained at border gates for examination to find out if there are residues of prohibited substances not allowed to be used in aquaculture in the US. Explaining its decision, FDA said that it had abundant evidence showing that Chinese farmed seafood products contained prohibited substances. David Acheson, Assistant Commissioner for Food Protection at FDA, said that the agency would only allow the admittance of imports that could meet the food hygiene requirements set by the US. According to Fis.com, the Deputy Director of International Marketing Specialists, which specialises in providing shrimp and seafood products, has accused the FDA of acting late in preventing unsafe products from entering the US market. He said that his company had been facing the problem of unsafe seafood for the last 3-4 years. It is very likely that China has been doing this for many years, and it now does the same thing with many kinds of food. The fact that China has ordered the closure of several thousand food processing establishments confirms this. International Marketing Specialists do not import shrimp from China any more. 7% of shrimp and 10% of catfish consumed in the US are sourced from China. From October 2006 to May 2007, FDA routinely discovered farmed seafood products sourced from China containing prohibited antibiotics, including nitrofuran, malachite green, dye, and fluoroquinolone. Mr Acheson said that the strict control over Chinese imports would last until FDA found it unnecessary any longer to keep control. He said that exporters must provide information to show that they had done everything to ensure products were safe. The move by FDA has worried Vietnamese seafood processors as Vietnam is among the big seafood exporters to the US. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) plans to gather its members on July 3 in HCM City. At the meeting, members will discuss issues that may affect seafood exports, including the shrimp anti-dumping lawsuit, the problems with the Japanese market relating to anti-biotic residues, the inspection by Russian authorities of farming and processing establishments, and the inspection by the USFDA of Chinese products. The US now is the 4th biggest export market for Vietnam, consuming nearly 20% of Vietnam’s seafood exports. Shrimp, tra and basa are the main items exported to the market. Viet Nam Net

HCM City: Gold traders arm themselves against robbers

16:45' 02/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Worried about becoming targets of robbers, many gold shops in HCM City have equipped themselves with bullet-proof glass, tear-gas sprayers, cameras, sticks… “We have recently invested nearly VND50 million to install cameras, safe boxes in our shop but we are still very worried that one day robbers may come to the shop,” said Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, the owner of the Huyen gold shop in Binh Thanh district, HCM City. Ms Huyen said that she had taken over this shop from her parents ten years prior but it was not until 2003, when the first gold shop robbery occurred in the Ngoc Ha gold shop in Tan Binh district, killing one person, did she first hire guards. As several gold-shop robberies have happened in HCM City in the last two months, Ms Huyen now hires three guards as well as installed bullet-proof glass, tear-gas sprayers, CO2 sprayers in the shop. Previously, she often took gold to her house but now she uses safe boxes to keep gold at the shop, which is protected by guards and her husband as well. However, she is still afraid that if robbers came, guards could not use those weapons in time. Three robberies at gold shops in HCM City in the past two months have stirred gold traders in HCM City. Worrying that they will be the next targets of robbers, many shop owners have bought weapons. Do Hoai Thanh, an owner of a gold shop in Tan Binh District, revealed that he and some of his colleagues, whose gold shops are near each other, had been cooperating to prevent robberies. They now carry gold together and hire guards to protect gold. They also share the same alarm system. With only one press of the button, all of those shops are alarmed. The Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC), which opened the first bonded gold warehouse in Vietnam last week, has spent a lot of money for security. Transportation of gold from the airport to the bonded warehouse and from the warehouse to goods delivery places is carried out by armoured cars by Brink’s Global Services Company. All equipment of the bonded gold warehouse is imported. The warehouse doors are opened under the principle that only when the outer door is closed, the inner door can be opened. SJC Director Nguyen Thanh Long, therefore, believes that the first bonded gold warehouse in the south is very safe and meets international standards for security. However, gold traders in some central districts are not afraid much about robberies as they believe that robbers don’t dare to act in the hub of the city. State agencies, meanwhile, have also warned gold shops to be vigilant for robbers. (Source: Viet Nam New)

Making an affectionate homeland tour

17:14' 02/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - The affectionate homeland tour of Ben Thanh Tourist was designed for travelers who have plenty of time for vacations. They can combine traveling in cars and planes. The 13-day tour, which starts in Ho Chi Minh City, gives tourists an opportunity to enjoy great sunny beaches in a beautiful country for those looking for relaxation, plus learning about the history and culture of Vietnam by visiting royal tombs, temples and world heritage sites. On the trip that includes 11 provinces and cities in the country, travelers can wallow in the sunshine of beautiful beaches at Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Dai Lanh and My Khe. It offers a variety of different activities to ensure that all participants will have an enjoyable time. When travelers get worn-out from all the sea sport activities such as water-skiing, jet skiing and snorkeling, the tour operator will arrange other pleasant programmes in the ancient city of Hue. In the city, visitors can witness a performance of nha nhac, the royal music of the former Nguyen Dynasty, and visit cultural heritage sites recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). They also can enjoy a boat trip on the Huong River to see the Trang Tien Bridge and enjoy traditional, regal Hue music while releasing flower garlands and coloured lanterns to bring good fortune. After seven days of traveling by car to provinces and cities in southern and central regions including Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, Danang, Quang Nam, Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Binh, tourists will fly to the capital city of Hanoi from Phu Bai Airport in Hue. Ben Thanh Tourist allocates six days to explore tourist attractions in the north. Hanoi is the major destination of the tour with a three-night stay in the city for sightseeing and preparing to visit other destinations such as Halong, Ninh Binh and Ha Tay. The tour takes in most of the major sites in the capital including Hoan Kiem (restored sword) Lake, Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature), the National University, Dong Xuan Market, Quan Thanh Temple, West Lake, Tran Quoc Pagoda, and One Pillar Pagoda, among others. From Hanoi tourists return to Ho Chi Minh City by plane. The tour costs VND 10.5 million per person. The tour offers two ways for visitors to choose their meals. Ben Thanh Tourist can arrange meals for guests during the 13-day excursion or if guests do it by themselves, the tour operator will refund VND 1.2 million. (SGT) For bookings, contact Ben Thanh Tourist at 86 Ly Tu Trong street, district 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (08) 520 520, Fax: (08) 829 62 69. Email: domestic@benthanh tourist.com (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Prices increase, depositors depressed

17:03' 02/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – With the currently offered deposit interest rates and the CPI (consumer price index) growth rate of 5.2% by the end of June 2007, depositors are currently struggling to make a profit. Mrs Van, a staff of a financial company, said that she made a deposit at a bank in January 2007 with the interest rate of 0.75% per month. She estimated that she could get the profit of 4.75% of the deposit sum. However, as the CPI grew by 5.2% in the first six months, Mrs Van, in fact, could not make any profit. In this case, the interest rate offered by the bank is called ‘the minus (-) interest rate’. Commenting about the minus interest rate, an economist said that in principle banks must ensure real profit for depositors with the ‘plus (+) interest rate’ policy in order to attract more capital to the banking system (the offered interest rate should take the CPI growth rate into consideration). The economist said that banks were now paying special attention to mobilising more capital in foreign currencies in order to meet the increased demand from enterprises. Banks have to raise the offered interest rates for foreign currencies deposits by 0.08% per annum (short-term deposits), and 0.1% per annum (long-term deposits) on average, compared to those in March 2007. In June alone, at least four banks announced interest rate increases. Vietcombank (HCM City branch) led the movement, announcing a new interest rate commencing on June 8 (5% for 12-month term and 4.75% for 9-month term deposits). On June 20, EAB also raised the interest rates on deposits of all terms (5.25% for 12-month, 5.1% for 9-month term deposits). Just five days later, Sacombank announced it would raise offered interest rates by 0.05-0.2% per annum. Eximbank also jumped onto the bandwagon by announcing on June 29 that it would raise interest rates on US$ deposits by 0.05-0.2%. Though the interest rates for US$ deposits are increasing, experts don’t think that people will begin making deposits in US$ instead of VND. “One should not think that he can avoid exchange rate risks by selling VND and depositing in US$. Once he needs to spend money, he will still have to sell US$ to get VND, which means he will still be subject to the exchange rate fluctuation,” an analyst said. In fact, the members of the Vietnam Banking Association in April reached an agreement on lowering deposit interest rates. However, many banks have ignored the agreement, saying that they still needed to consider the issue thoroughly, especially as the inflation rate remained high, and that banks should ensure real profit for depositors. Sacombank has just announced it will lower interest rates on all terms of deposits, commencing from June 26 (0.76% per month for 12-month term, and 0.745% for 9-month term deposits). However, in a different move, Eximbank on June 29 announced it would raise deposit interest rates with the sharpest increases for 18-month term deposits and longer. The director of a bank reiterated that the central bank had initiated the double compulsory reserve rate in an effort to reduce bank’s usable capital and control credit growth. The move by the central bank will put a lot of pressure on banks, forcing them to reduce deposit interest rates and raise lending interest rates, he said. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Stocks in first 6 months: lots of sweet and bitter

17:05' 02/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The first six months of the year saw more ups and downs than any other period since the stock market was established: sometimes it was too bustling, other times, too quiet. Peaks and valleys On March 12, the VN Index reached its peak: 1,170.67 points. Several days before, on March 9, the HASTC Index also hit a record when it closed at 454.81 points. These were higher figures than even the most optimistic could have hoped for. At that time, the stock market was immersed in what was described by media and analysts as a ‘securities fever’. Experts talked much about the skyrocketing securities prices and predicted the bubble, which would cause the collapse of the stock market. The collapse did not occur, but just one month later, on April 24, the VN Index fell to the bottom, 905.53 points, while the HASTC dropped to 284.7 points in June 2007. Meanwhile, the OTC market has been gloomy since April 2007, and there is no sign of recovery. Most OTC share items have dropped by 20-50% in price compared to early March 2007. The bustling market once propelled investors high into the sky, and then the gloomy market eventually made them disillusioned. However, Tran Ngoc Nam, a securities analyst, said that what happened was a good scenario, because the collapse did not occur, while both management authorities and investors have learned from the so-called ‘securities fever’. Dr of Economics Nguyen Quang Hung shares the same view, saying that with the VN Index recovering and hovering at the 1,000-1,100 point level, the stock market shows signs of stabilising. Paradox: blue chips prices stable, penny stocks skyrocketing The stock market has been witnessing many paradoxes of share prices. A lot of questions have been raised, like “why did BMC, TCT, SGH, LBM, HAX and SFI, little known stocks, once see their prices skyrocket, while blue chips like FPT, GMD, SSI, ACB, SAM, VNM, REE, or ITA , just see their prices remain stabile or decrease?” One time, issuing more shares was favoured by many companies as the move could help ‘kill two birds with one stone’: the issuance both could bring more capital, while companies did not have to pay interest on the capital. However, share issuance has lately become not a good choice for companies as investors have become “full” of shares. Now, giant companies are planning to launch big sums of shares into the market: ACB with 143mil more, FPT 30mil, STB 19mil, VNM 8mil, REE 4.7mil, GMD 2.8mil. These shares seem to be being issued at an inauspicious time, as the market is presently quiet. The first six months of the year was also the time that witnessed the trading volume reaching the highest peak in the last seven years since the market was established. Analysts have been talking about the huge capital of several billion dollars that foreign investors are injecting in Vietnam. However, the huge capital has not been disbursed yet as there is no more room for foreign investors and the foreign ownership in many local companies has nearly hit the allowed ceiling level. In the last month, the market became quiet and the VN Index continuously fell down, leaving the market shrouded in stillness. Many analysts have predicted the recovery of the market in the second half of the year. However, they said that the recovery would still largely depend on many issues, including the IPOs of big corporations, and improvement in the management work of state agencies. (Source: Viet Nam Net)