Thread: Latest news on the Dong!

Originally Posted by Court Jester

That would be awesome!

I agree.

Originally Posted by blackwulf

Someone WAY smarter that me could please explain this article. It has been re-hashed again today...



Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily

But I sure am Glad I deversified with the VND. Think about it. We knew all this was going to happen. And for a dollar you got upwards of 16 thousand dongs. Easy enough to of had several notes while still pondering the IQD's. Thanks for your contribution to the Vietnam Forum. Much appreciated.

Originally Posted by neno

But I sure am Glad I deversified with the VND. Think about it. We knew all this was going to happen. And for a dollar you got upwards of 16 thousand dongs. Easy enough to of had several notes while still pondering the IQD's. Thanks for your contribution to the Vietnam Forum. Much appreciated.

I just got a couple of orders from Ali (and using Rolclub discount). I can see this rv sneaking right under alot peoples noises. I'm not missing out on this one (like I did with Russia and China). Even at a penny you can get a nice return...(then buy a HUGE amount of DINAR!)

Vietnam : Export sees new high in new year
January 31, 2007

With the WTO entry and relaxation in trade restrictions, the economy of Vietnam has seen an encouraging growth during the first month of the New Year.

The General Statistics of the country reveals that the export turnover has reached US $3.3 billion, up 7.7 percent in January this year as compared to last year.

The domestic sector has added up $1.55 billion and the foreign investment has contributed $1.75 billion to the Vietnam economy.

The conventional exported items of the country like textile and garment have contributed $500 million and footwear with $350 million in turnover.

A number of new items like jewelry export have seen 39.5 percent growth over last year.

Foreign investments are also pouring in the country. 29 projects of foreign countries have received licence to invest $305 million in the first 20 days nationwide.

Ten international projects have received permit with a total investment capital of $45 million to expand their production.

This January, Vietnam welcomed 369,000 foreign visitors, 9.5 percent more than last year.

Vietnam : Export sees new high in new year - General News Vietnam

Vietnam launches action program for post-WTO development


The Vietnamese government has approved an action program for sustainable social and economic development after the country joined the World Trade Organization, heard a meeting in Hanoi Tuesday.

At the government’s regular session starting yesterday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and other senior politicians have agreed on 12 central tasks which focus on reforms of laws and administration, enhancing human resources training and improving infrastructure.

The 12 tasks were released in a communiqué following the meetings and posted on the Communist Party of Vietnam website. The read as follows:

1. Raise the awareness of Vietnamese residents about the Party’s guidelines of integration into the world economy and the opportunities and challenges on WTO entry

2. Promote reforms in laws and administration to ensure equal legal rights of all business members in the market

3. Focus on developing markets in fields of labor, lands, real estate, finance, technology and build roadmaps for adopting market prices on commodities and services whose prices the state still decides

4. Improve the effectiveness of investment, diversify capital sources and investment forms. Provide favorable mechanisms to attract foreign investors with potentials in finance, technology and proficiency to develop energy sector and transport infrastructure

5. Enhance the competitiveness of local enterprises

6. Speed up administrative reforms

7. Develop education, training and human resources

8. Develop rural infrastructure and agriculture

9. Ensure social securities

10. Strengthen tasks of protecting the environment for a sustainable development.

11. Nurture and develop cultural values.

12. Guarantee national defense, sovereignty and territorial integrity in all emergency cases.

Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily

Viet Nam's telecom and information technology sectors have many opportunities for development, especially in drawing foreign investment, after the country joined the WTO, said Post and Telematics Minister Do Trung Ta.

The Minister made this statement to Viet Nam News Agency's reporter in a recent interview, adding that almost US$2 billion from foreign enterprises have been invested in telecom services.

Investors from Japan intend to pour nearly US$1 billion in hi-tech electronic projects in the northern province of Ha Tay and other localities. The US's Intel group invested US$1 billion in building a chip assembly and checking plant in Ho Chi Minh City, he noted.

The Minister said that Viet Nam is becoming a very attractive and reliable destination for foreign investors targeting information technology and telecom sectors. The country is forecast to attract a big "wave" of foreign investment in 2007 into this field.

The optimistic forecast was made after Viet Nam's commitments to join the WTO have rendered investment environment more suitable for international procedures, facilitating investments in this sensitive field, the Minister explained.

Foreign investors are allowed to contribute up to 49 percent in a joint venture with Vietnamese partners if the Vietnamese sides have set up network infrastructure. After the country's WTO accession, the rate became 51 percent even if the Vietnamese side has no network infrastructure and rose to 65 percent three years later.

For express courier, after WTO accession, joint venture companies are allowed to operate with 51 percent foreign-invested capital with the intention to start allowing joint-ventures with 100 percent foreign-invested capital in five years.

Concerning satellite services, three years from WTO accession date, multi-national companies operating in Viet Nam will be licensed to directly use satellite services from foreign providers.

Viet Nam has also promised to allow foreign partners to connect to maritime telecom cables, in which Viet Nam is a member, and sell communication capacity to international telecom providers having network infrastructure in the country.

For virtual and added value telecom services, like Internet, which use network infrastructure under Viet Nam's control, foreign partners are now allowed to contribute up to 70 percent of capital to a joint venture.

Minister Ta said that WTO accession is also a new momentum for Vietnamese enterprises to continue to raise their production efficiency and competitiveness.

Alfred Fahringer, Communication Director of Siemens Vietnam, said that Viet Nam is a potential telecom market. It has a modern telecom infrastructure, he added.

Meanwhile, Ericsson Vietnam General Director Addie Ahman said that Viet Nam's telecom market would witness faster growth and become more competitive after joining WTO. The company will continue to expand its business in Viet Nam, an important market for Ericsson, especially in mobile telecom.

Viet Nam’s fishing industry is well on its way to earning US$3.5 billion in exports this year, said Fisheries Minister Ta Quang Ngoc.

The minister made the announcement during a discussion with the Viet Nam News Agency about market opportunities for seafood producers and exporters now that Viet Nam is a World Trade Organisation (WTO) member.

Minister Ngoc said the fisheries sector was now fully capable of doing business globally and was prepared to face a more competitive market.

Seafood exporters could benefit from new WTO trade agreements and expand their businesses, said the minister.

Seafood exports have increased in recent years, earning a total of $1 billion in 2000. By 2006, the seafood exports sector recorded earnings of more than $3 billion.

Vietnamese seafood products are becoming more popular in the EU, the US, Canada, South Korea and Japan.

Minister Ngoc told the news agency the trend was thanks to Vietnamese businesses investing in equipment upgrades and modern technology and better training for management.

As a result, seafood exporters had increased productivity, reduced costs and met international quality and food safety standards in foreign markets.

But not all is bright in the sector’s future.

Minister Ngoc said he was worried about foreign markets regularly changing the standards for food safety and that many Vietnamese businesses did not know much about international law and trade disputes.

In addition, many small and medium-sized businesses had trouble coming up with the necessary capital to buy advanced technology to compete with international companies or conglomerates.

Homegrown brands

Another issue the minister felt strongly about was creating more Vietnamese brand names.

Many Vietnamese products have been distributed by intermediaries as foreign brands. This limits Viet Nam’s visibility internationally and may make trade disputes more likely, according to the minister.

The Fisheries Ministry plans to play a central role in promoting partnerships between seafood producers and exporters to create national brand names. The ministry will also encourage businesses to put more money into upgrading technology, diversifying products and making production processes more efficient and hygienic.

The minister said if companies were able to meet these challenges head-on, then Vietnamese seafood exports would be earning $4-4.5 billion by 2010.

January 31, 2007, 2:53 AM EST

HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam's ruling Communist Party and the military will relinquish control of dozens of companies, ranging from hotels to telecoms, as part of an ongoing government overhaul, officials said Wednesday.

The 160-member Central Committee last week decided to transfer the companies managed by the Party and the armed forces to the state, said Dao Duy Quat, deputy director of the party's Ideological and Cultural Commission.

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He said the move is part of overall government restructuring that will push Vietnam toward a market economy.

However, the armed forces, including the military and police, will maintain control of some companies that are directly related to national defense and security, he said.

It's still unclear how many businesses will be transferred, but the process must be completed by the end of this year, Quat said.

The Defense Ministry, the country's most powerful sector, manages more than 100 businesses, ranging from hotels and garment factories to banking and construction companies. It owns the Viettel mobile phone company, one of the country's largest operators.

Last month, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved a list of 71 major state-owned enterprises, including national carrier Vietnam Airlines, that will be partially privatized between now and the year 2010.

There are an estimated 2,000 state-owned enterprises, down from some 12,000 in the mid-1980s. Vietnam began economic reforms more than 20 years ago and officially entered the World Trade Organization earlier this month.

Vietnam Communist Party to Drop Firms - AM New York

Deutsche becomes the third bank within a week to announce an investment in a Vietnamese bank.

It was a hat trick for Vietnam’s banking sector as Deutsche Bank became the third bank to finalise an investment in a local bank after announcements by United Overseas Bank (UOB) and HSBC. All three transactions have been announced in the same week.

The spate of interest is fuelled by expectations that banking laws in the country - which currently allow a foreign shareholder to own up to 10% of a joint stock commercial bank – will shortly be relaxed to allow 20% foreign ownership.

Deutsche Bank said yesterday it will acquire up to 20% of Vietnam’s Hanoi Building Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Habubank) and become the single largest shareholder. Deutsche will be entitled to representation on the board of Habubank. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.
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Habubank is Vietnam's sixth-largest private commercial joint stock bank by assets and is one of the best-capitalised Vietnamese banks with a network of 21 branches and around 560 employees. It ended the year with assets of about 12 trillion dong ($748 million) and profit before tax of 248 billion dong. Commenting on the acquisition, Colin Grassie, chief executive of Deutsche Bank Asia-Pacific, referred to Vietnam as “an important growth market in the Asia-Pacific region”.

This acquisition follows a move by Deutsche in October 2005 to buy 14% of Hua Xia Bank in China and underscores how important a presence in Asia is becoming to the expansion plans of global banks. Indeed, in announcing fourth quarter results earlier yesterday – the best ever for the bank - Dr. Josef Ackermann, chairman of the management board of Deutsche Bank observed: “Geographical boundaries are disappearing, and emerging markets are growing in importance”.

On January 25, UOB of Singapore announced it would acquire 10% in Southern Commercial Joint Stock Bank in Vietnam for S$46 million ($29.9 million) and would up its stake by another 10% when regulation permitted paying another S$44 million. Southern Commercial had net tangible assets of approximately S$158 million and an issued capital of S$124 million on November 30, 2006. It has a network of 46 branches and 980 employees.

Both Deutsche and UOB highlighted the technical support and assistance they would provide to the Vietnamese partner as a strategic shareholder.

On January 28, HSBC announced it would pay $71.5 million to double its 10% stake in Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) as soon as regulations permitted.

Most economists are bullish on Vietnam and believe it will achieve its target of 7.5%-8% real GDP growth over the next five years, making it one of the most attractive markets in the region. Deutsche, HSBC and UOB obviously see immense growth opportunities for their businesses in this environment and are taking steps to create a foothold.

Vietnam's banking sector heats up - Business Moves - www.AsianInvestor.net - The network for Asian investment management in Asia Pacific

Outstanding updates!! Thanks to those who have added them!