Nghe An: First gold trading floor opens

A gold trading floor was jointly inaugurated in Vinh city in central Nghe An province on September 17 by the Vietnam Securities Joint Stock Company (VNS), the An Phu Construction and Trading JSC and the Wall Street Gold Company.

The new gold trading floor, the first of its kind in the city, aims to meet organisations and individuals’ business demands and benefit investors.

with a modern technological system, the floor provides customers with convenient, stable and secure remote trading service.

Nghe An attracts large volume of foreign visitors

The central province of Nghe An has so far this year attracted 1.8 million visitor arrivals, including 68,600 foreign arrivals, a year-on-year increase of 20 percent.

In the period, tourism has also generated a revenue of over 606 billion VND (35.6 million USD) for Nghe An.

The figures brought the province to the fourth position among cities and provinces in the country in attracting visitors, especially foreign tourists.

Tourists are lured to Nghe An to enjoy the beauty of nature, people and culture of local ethnic minorities. The province boasts Cua Lo beach, Pu Mat National Park, Giang Son hot mineral spring, among other sites of interest.

To attract more tourists, local travel agencies and authorities have been invested in improving infrastructure and service quality, diversifying services, boosting tourism promotion in the country and abroad, and personnel training.

HoSE welcomes 159th member

Cuu Long pharmaceutical company (Pharimexco), coded DCL, listed its shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) on Sept. 17, becoming HoSE’s 159 th member.

With a charter capital of 81 billion VND, Pharimexco is the country’s first pharmeceutical company to meet three quality standards, namely GMP, GLP and GSP.

It is also the first company to run a capsule production factory following the North American technology. Pharimexco’s products are being exported to some ASEAN and African countries.

The company targets to become one of the countries’ leading companies in production and trade of pharmaceutical products and medical equipment, aiming to earn a revenue of 1 trillion VND by 2010.

Vietnam pepper potential introduced to US market

US pepper importers were offered an opportunity to learn about Vietnam ’s potential in pepper production at a conference in New York on September 16.

The conference, which was held by Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), gathered 25 members of VPA and many US businesses which were looking to importing pepper from Vietnam .

Since 2003, Vietnam has been the world’s largest pepper producer, supplying for more than 80 markets worldwide, said Tran Ngoc Chau, VPA’s vice chairman.

The US imports more than 60,000 tonnes of pepper each year, accounting for 26 percent of the world’s pepper market shares.

Over the last 5 years, Vietnam shipped 10,000 – 20,000 tonnes of pepper to the US market annually , peaking at 20,000 tonnes in 2005.

Four-in-one trade show opens in HCM City

A total of 271 companies from 25 countries and territories are showcasing their products and technologies at four exhibitions that opened at the Ho Chi Minh City International Exhibition and Convention Centre on Sept. 17.

The four exhibitions, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Exhibition Services Ltd and the VCCI Exhibition Service Co Ltd, are Elenex Vietnam 2008, Building M&E Vietnam 2008, Securitex & Fire Vietnam 2008 and Industrial Automation Vietnam 2008.

The trade show is an effective platform for local and regional industry stakeholders in search for infrastructure, energy and building technologies as well as automation and mechatronic solutions, according to the organisers.

Opening the show, HKES General Director Daniel Cheung said: “Returning for the second edition, exhibitors who have joined this trade show further prove their confidence towards Vietnam ’s economy.”

Representative of the British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers Association Mary Jane Combes said this was the first time five members of her association joined an international exhibition in Vietnam with the hope of building a long-term partnership with local businesses.

As part of the trade show, a series of symposiums will be held for exhibitors to introduce their latest technologies.

The show will last until Sept. 19.

New bridge to aid cross-border trade

Cambodia will build a bridge connecting Kandal Province’s Chrey Thom District with Vietnam in a bid to boost cross-border trade.

The 20 million USD bridge would become an international checkpoint where business would increase because of easier transportation, the Phnom Penh Post quoted Em Sovannara, a department head at the Council of Ministers International Relations Department, as saying.

The Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia is looking for ways to expand trade ties. Trade between the two countries is expected to reach 1.5 billion USD this year, according to Mao Thora, an official of the ministry.

There are currently around 40 border crossings between Cambodia and Vietnam.

Turkish Airlines starts business in Vietnam

Turkish Airlines officially began operating in Vietnam on September 10 through its general agent in Ho Chi Minh City, the Huong Giang Travel Company (HG Travel).

The airline, which earlier opened its representative office in Hanoi, said it will joint Vietnam Airlines and Thai Airways to serve flights from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City to Istanbul via Bangkok, and then to over 100 other cities in the world.

Two-way ticket from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Istanbul and vice versa is offered at about 800 USD.

Turkish Airlines is the Europe’s fifth largest air carrier, boasting a fleet of more than 110 aircraft, serving 20 million passengers per year. Its flight network covers 138 cities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Systex provides services for Vietnamese investors

Systex Corporation, a leading financial information provider from Taiwan, announced on Sept 16 it would offer eMidst and eWall to Vietnamese institutional and individual investors in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Via eMidst, a profesional financial information terminal, Systex lists Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange and Hanoi Securities Trading Centre real time market data in Vietnamese including various unique indicators, foreign exchange rate quotations and international exchange indices.

Crisis leads to Vietnam market slump

Vietnamese stock prices tumbled on Sept. 16 following stock markets around the world in the wake of rising concerns over the US financial crisis.

Almost all Asian markets slumped on Sept. 16, a day after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection and Merill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America. Two more names being removed from the Wall Street map after Bear Sterns means that three of the US’s top five financial institutions have run into trouble in the last six months.

Wave of sales pushed the VN-Index down 20.81 points, or 4.36 percent, to close at 455.95. Trading volume reached 16 million shares, more than half of Monday’s figure, with a total revenue of 570.88 VND billion (34.6 USD million).

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on Sept. 16 had 148 lossers, the majority of which hit the floor. These included blue chips such as Binh Dinh Minerals (BMC). Financing and Promoting Technology Co (FPT), Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), Phu My Fertilisers (DPM) and Sacombank (STB).

Vinamilk (VNM) was the biggest loser, falling 5.05 percent. This was followed by FPT with 4.94 percent, and BMC with 4.8 percent.

STB, however, saw the most action with orders for 3.4 million shares.

Foreign investors bought 2.44 million shares and sold 2.7 million units, with net sales value narrowed to 40.2 billion VND (2.44 million USD) from Sept. 15’s 100.86 billion VND (6.1 million USD).

In Hanoi Securities Trading Centre, the HASTC-Index slipped 7.82 points, or 4.8 percent, to end at 155.08. Trading volume hit 9.12 million shares worth 339.36 billion VND (20.56 million USD).

Major stocks including Kim Long Securities (KLS), Petroleum Technical Services Corp (PVS) and PetroVietnam Insurrance (PVI) hit the floor.

Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) led the market in terms of trading volume, with 1.37 million shares traded.

The price of diesel, which greatly affects enterprises’ production and business results, eased slightly by 450 VND per litre on Sept. 16 to a price of between 15,450-15,500 VND (93.6-93.9 US cents), due to adjustments made by the Ministry of Finance.

The adjustment followed the trend in the world market, said the ministry.

Due to the dim outlook of the US economy, world oil price on Sept. 16 dropped 3.68 USD a barrel down to 92 USD, the lowest level since mid-February. Crude oil was thrown into the pile of assets being liquidated by investors around the world to fund losing bets and to cut their exposure to risk, according to a Reuters report.

Investors were waiting for more news to determine market trends. Companies’ third quarter business results and macro-level indexes will not be announced until the end of September. The market will see both ups and downs this week, however it will overall likely remain in a downward trend in the short-term, predicted Euro Capital Securities in a report.

Investors were worried about the lower-than-expected business results given by listed firms this quarter due to the petroleum price adjustment over the last few months, said Agribank Securities analyst Dao Van Khanh.

HCM City to launch trade, investment portal

A trade and investment portal of Ho Chi Minh City is going to be operational, said Truong Trong Nghia, director of the City’s Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) on September 16.

The portal project, which was launched in 2007 with the technical assistance and professional training of the Netherlands CBI and a 7 billion VND funding from the city’s budget, aims to exploit trade and investment information from the WTO and the CBI and other domestic relevant agencies.

The portal is expected to provide fast, new and correct information for trade and investment businesses inside and outside the country.

It will mainly serve three target groups including Ho Chi Minh City ’s exporters, foreign customers and investors.

Based on modern technology, the portal will help link local authorities and businesses.

Standard Chartered, Vinacomin signs 58 mln USD loan

Standard Chartered Bank and Vietnam National Coal, Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) on September 16 signed a 58 million USD syndicated term loan facility.

Of the amount, 20 million USD is provided by Standard Chartered Bank, another 20 million USD by Cathay United Bank, 10 million USD by Malayan Banking Berhad and 8 million USD by the Bank of China.

The proceeds from the facility will be used to finance Vinacomin’s capital expenditure requirements.

The loan tenor is seven years which is widely recognised as an impressive achievement under current syndicated loan market conditions when most deals are being done with a tenor of less than five years.

Addressing the ceremony, Ashok Sud, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank in Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia , said that the 7-year loan showed that Vinacomin had gained prestige in the international financial market.

He expressed his hope that the syndicated term loan will pave a way for other future syndicated loans for Vietnamese businesses.

On this occasion, the two corporations have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding, under which, the bank will help raise funding from the capital market to finance Vinacomin’s forthcoming investment in coal production, bauxite mining and power plants.

The bank will also offer Vinacomin financial solutions covering risk and liquidity management, training and other areas of interests.

Vinacomin, which is established in December 2005, is the biggest state-owned coal production enterprise in Vietnam .

Standard Chartered Bank, operating in more than 70 countries, opened its first branch in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City ) in 1904.

The bank has recently been licensed to establish a 100 percent foreign-owned bank in Vietnam.

(Source: VNA)