Viettel launches mobile phone network in Laos

The Military Telecommunications General Company Viettel and its Laotian partner Lao Asia Telecom inaugurated a new mobile phone network called Unitel in Laos on October 16.

Unitel is a joint venture between the two companies in which the Vietnamese partner holds a 49 percent stake and the Laotian partner holds 51 percent.

Viettel has pledged to invest a total of US$83 million in the first stage of the project and has invested $79 million to date.

The Unitel Mobile service is Viettel’s second international telecom network, following the launch of Metfone in Cambodia.

General Director of Unitel Le Huu Hien said the new network has the largest infrastructure of the five mobile service providers in Laos, with nearly 900 base transmission stations, 8,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable, and covering the entire country.

Unitel now has 20,000 subscribers.

Viettel will also provide free Internet to 1,295 schools in Laos at a cost of $3 million.

Foreign banks lend PetroVietnam $145.7 mil for new plant

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) signed a contract October 15 with BNP Paribas, Calyon, and HSBC for a loan of US$145.7 million build a polypropylene plant near its Dung Quat Oil Refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai.

The plant will cost $234 million.

The refinery will provide propylene to the new plant to produce polypropylene, a material used to make plastic and packing items.

Domestic banks had lent PetroVietnam US$20 million last April for the plant.

To be built under an EPC contract, it is expected to begin operating in June 2010.

Saigon container port welcomes first ship

A French-flagged 1,200 TEU ship moored at the Saigon Premier Container Terminal (SPCT) on Octorber 16, becoming the first vessel to dock at the terminal.

Speaking at the ceremony to welcome the ASTA RICKMERS ship, Ho Chi Minh city People’s Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan said that the arrival of the ship is a testament to the effective cooperation between the city and its foreign partners in developing an operational system of ports in the Hiep Phuoc region.

The event will prompt the city to step up the tempo of moving ports in urban areas to suburban districts, contributing to boosting its sea-based economy and minimising the logjam of goods at ports, which was experienced in 2008.

Saigon Premier Container Terminal (SPCT), a joint venture between DP World and Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Company (IPC), is the largest container terminal in the Hiep Phuoc Port Complex.

The terminal, built on an area of 40 hectares, is designed to welcome ships of 4,000-5,000 TEU in loading capacity.

Malaysian firms get insight into labour laws

The enforcement of labour laws in Vietnam topped the agenda of a dialogue between Ho Chi Minh City authorities and Malaysian businesses operating in the city.

The dialogue, held with collaboration of the Vietnam-Malaysia Friendship Association, forms part of HCM City ’s efforts to answer queries raised by foreign enterprises regarding Vietnam ’s current employment regulations as well as gather their proposals to stabilise production and exports.

HCM City is now home to 140 Malaysian companies, making up around 3.2 percent of the number of foreign-invested enterprises in the municipality.

Preliminary statistics released by the city’s Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs show that these Malaysian firms are employing more than 2,000 Vietnamese workers, of whom 90 percent have signed labour contracts.

The department’s director Le Thanh Tam said most of the companies from Malaysia have abided by Vietnam ’s labour laws.

However, Tam said, some of these companies have yet to fully implement labour regulations, adding that strikes occurred in at least three businesses in 2008 and this year, one business was abandoned by its owner, leaving 44 workers out of job and unpaid.

Vice Chairman of the Malaysian Businesses Association Calvin H Yau said most Malaysian companies have found it hard to deal with disputes with workers because they don’t clearly understand Vietnam ’s regulations in the area.

At the dialogue, many businesses raised questions related to recruitment procedures, the employment of experts, and income taxes—a reflection of the fact that they are in need of better information about Vietnam’s labour laws.

PM approves foreign-funded projects

The Prime Minister has given the nod to four socio-economic development projects funded by foreign donors.

They include a 311,000 USD World Bank project to build a strategy to develop Vietnam’s capacity in gathering and compiling statistics.

The PM has given the green light to a technological support project for the upgrading of Mekong River Delta urban areas, which will be financed by the Republic of Korea through the World Bank.

The both projects are on a list of projects to be given non-refundable aid by the World Bank in the 2009 fiscal year.

Additionally, the PM has ratified the content of an agreement on a Danish project to increase the capacity of development research and policy analysis for the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) in the 2010-2011 period.

Also approved on the occasion was financial support by the Finland Government under an agreement signed on November 5, 2003 for a 7.2-million-USD project to upgrade medical equipment at the Viet-Tiep Friendship Hospital.

Most bank profits meet or exceed yearly targets

Several commercial banks in Vietnam announced they have surpassed their yearly profit goals as of the end of September, despite forecasts made in late 2008 that this would be a difficult year for banks.

VIB bank has announced it reaped 496 billion VND in pre-tax profits as of the end of September, which represents 24 percent more than the 400 billion VND target for year adopted by bank shareholders in March 2009.

Also fulfilling its set profit target ahead of time was the Maritime Bank which said it raked in 700 billion VND in pre-tax profits in the past nine months, already surpassing its goal or 600 billion VND for the whole year by 15 percent.

Some credit organisations have also said they are confident they will be able to exceed their yearly profit targets by the end of this year.

The Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank) said it is set to reap 1.5 trillion VND in profit for the whole year and has already earned 1.163 trillion VND in the past nine months.

In the past eight months, the Saigon-Thuong Tin Commercial joint stock bank (Sacombank) netted a pre-tax profit of 1.2 trillion VND, while its yearly plan was set at just 1.6 billion VND.

Cao Thi Thuy Nga, Vice Director General of the Military Bank (MB), attributed the outstanding performance of banks and the confidence of credit organisations to the Government’s economic stimulus packages.

She said the Government’s subsidised loan interest rate package has helped enterprises weather difficulties and restore production, which in turn has enabled them to pay back debts and even step up their use of banking services.

A rebound in the stock and real estate markets has also contributed to pushing up commercial bank profits, Nga said.

However, for Duong Thu Huong, who is General Secretary of the Vietnam Bankers’ Association, banks were cautious in laying out their profit targets for this year amid predictions of difficulties in the monetary market made early this year. Accordingly, they low-balled their profit goals relative to the value of their assets, credit balance and mobilised capital.

In the two remaining months of the year, banks that have not yet met their targets need to make greater efforts to fulfil their set goals as the State Bank of Vietnam continues to apply its caps on credit growth levels and prime interest rates.

VietNamNet/SGGP, VNA