Chinese group builds power plant in Vietnam 

China’s Shanghai Electric Corp. (SEC) will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for a coal-fuelled power plant in Vietnam’s central province of Binh Thuan.

A deal worth nearly US$1.4 billion for the services was signed by the Electricity Group of Vietnam (EVN) and the SEC in Hanoi on October 23.

The Director General of EVN, Pham Le Thanh, said the Vinh Tan 2 thermo-electric power plant will be designed with two groups of turbines with a total capacity of 1,224 MW. The plant will use modern and environmentally friendly technology that meets Vietnamese and international environmental protection standards.

According to the EVN general director, the first turbine group of the Vinh Tan 2 power plant will be operational in the first quarter of 2013 and the second in the third quarter of the same year.

Once up and running, the plant is expected to supply the national power grid with 7.5 to 8 billion kWh a year.

In the meantime, the EVN is carrying out the installation of transmission lines to connect the plant with the national power grid.

The Vinh Tan 2 plant is among three thermo-power plants in the Vinh Tan Power Centre situated at Vinh Tan commune, in Binh Thuan’s Tuy Phong district.

The Power Centre, with a combined capacity of 4,400 MW, is expected to be fully operational by 2015.

Vietnam Rubber Group celebrates 80th anniversary 
 
The Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) on October 24 celebrated its 80th anniversary in Dong Xoai town in Binh Phuoc province.

Attending the ceremony was Truong Tan Sang, Politburo member and permanent member of the Party Secretariat, and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong.

Speaking at the celebration, the Deputy PM praised the achievements of the VRG over the years. From only 47,000 hectares of old and stunted rubber trees, the area has been extended to 618,000 hectares, yielding 662,900 tonnes. VRG is now one of Vietnam’s 8 leading economic corporations.

Mr. Trong noted that VRG should promote their key role in production projections, attach great importance to the processing industry, finalise the economic corporation model as approved, fulfill the mission to plant 100,000 hectares of rubber trees in the Central Highlands, 50, 000 hectares in the Northwest regions as well as extend the area of rubber trees in the Central region, and plant rubber trees in Laos and Cambodia following the Government’s cooperation programme.

On this occasion, the State President granted the Labour Hero in the Renovation Process award to Ho Van Ngung, Director of Viet-Lao Rubber Company and the Order of Independence first class to Binh Long Rubber Company.

Hanoi-Tuy Hoa airline opens 
 
The Phu Yen Provincial People’s Committee in Tuy Hoa City on October 24 held an opening ceremony for the new Hanoi-Tuy Hoa air route, announced to establish the South Phu Yen economic zone, granted investment certificate for some new projects and set to work on coastal traffic access.

Present the event were State President Nguyen Minh Triet, Government Office Chairman Nguyen Xuan Phuc and leaders of provinces and cities in the central region.

Hanoi-Tuy Hoa-Hanoi route will conduct 3 flights every week. This is the 30th route flown by Vietnam Airlines. Together with the HCM City-Tuy Hoa-HCM City route, Hanoi-Tuy Hoa-Hanoi one is an important event for Phu Yen province to attract investment and promote trade, tourism, economic and social development and to step up cultural exchange.

Also on the occasion, the Prime Minister’s decision to establish the South Phu Yen economic zone, covering an area of 23,000ha, was announced.     

The Phu Yen Provincial People’s Committee granted investment certificates to a project to build a city in southern Tuy Hoa City with total investment capital of nearly US$2 billion, a project to widen Hon Ngoc-Bai Tram ecological tourism area worth US$60 million and project to build the Le Uyen new urban area in Song Cau town.

Also, representative of the Ministry of Transport and provincial leaders issued an order to set to work on a 15km-long coastal traffic access at a cost of nearly VND700 billion.

8th Int’l Oil and Gas Expo to be held in Ho Chi Minh City 
 
Vietnam Oil and Gas Expo 2009 will be held at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, from October 29-31.

This year’s exhibition, which covers an area of over 7,000 sqm, is a joint international event by the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Vietnam Exhibition Conference & Advertisement Joint Stock Company (VCCI EXPO) and CP Exhibition – Hong Kong.

Since 1991, the exhibition has been held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The eighth Expo takes place at a very important time when PetroVietnam is promoting their exploration and exploitation activities in Vietnam as well as in other regions around the world.

The Expo is also a place for domestic and foreign businesses to seek partners and sign contracts. It draws the participation of 157 companies from 20 countries and territories, many of which are famous brands that have taken part in previous exhibitions such as Mitshubishi of Japan, Petronas of Malaysia, Galperti of Italy, Kloeppex Therm GMbH of Germany, Compact GTL plc of England, Gazprom of Russia and Process Combustion Corp of the US.

Also attending at this year’s event are small- and medium-sized companies that specialise in machinery, equipment and accessories.

At PetrolVietnam’s 150-sqm stall, on show are images of the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant, the Phu My Fertilizer Plant, the Bach Ho Oil rig as well as the activities of Petrolimex members.

Vietnam joins Macau int’l trade fair 
 
The 14th Macau International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) 2009 kicked off in Macau on October 22, with the participation of representatives from 50 countries and territories, including Vietnam.

This is the first time Vietnam has participated in the fair, showing off special products and documents that introduce cooperation and investment opportunities in the country.

Quang Ninh province introduced at the event photos depicting its landscapes, especially the world heritage site, Ha Long Bay, traditional handicraft products and monochord performances.

A seminar on boosting trade cooperation and investment between Vietnam and Macau was co-organised by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau and the northern province of Quang Ninh.

Addressing the seminar, Vietnamese Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau Pham Cao Phong emphasised that cooperation between Vietnamese localities and Macau has always been promoted for mutual benefit.

Notably, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s official visit to Macau in April has laid the foundation for the two sides’ further trade and investment cooperation.

Vietnam and Macau’s two-way trade reached US$35.1 million last year and US$18.2 million in the first half of this year.

Macau currently has six investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of US$12.7 million.

Vietnam Airlines makes profits despite snags 
 
Vietnam Airlines has announced that its pre-tax profits this year will surpass VND65 billion despite a decrease in the number of passengers due to the global economic crisis and the A/H1N1 super flu.

The airline has resorted to a number of cost-cutting measures, including fuel-saving programmes, changing air routes and delaying the delivery of new planes.

Vietnam Airlines is not only making profits but also ensuring the incomes for its employees. It is increasing the number of its aircraft and opening new air routes such as Hanoi-Can Tho, Hanoi-Quy Nhon, Ho Chi Minh City-Dong Hoi, Hanoi-Fukuoka (Japan); especially Hanoi-Tuy Hoa and Hanoi-Pleiku in late October.

The corporation has implemented several large investment projects, overhauled its ATR72s and expanded the country’s airline industry.

More than 49,000 flights carrying over 6.8 million passengers have been safely flown this year by the airline. The number of domestic passengers was 4.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 12.5 percent, while the number of international passengers fell by 11.8 percent to 2.3 million.

Southern city strengthens trade ties with Russia 
 
The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho is carrying out a trade cooperation programme with Russia to earn US$100 million in export turnover in two years (2009 and 2010).

This is part of Vietnam and Russia’s medium-term plan to join efforts in trade and investment until 2012.

The municipal People’s Committee has instructed relevant departments and agencies to promote trade activity and advertisement, including exhibitions on the city’s specialties, especially seafood products.

The city will assist businesses to modernize technologies and equipment with the aim of improving competitiveness in international markets.

Based on this, Vietnamese authorities have requested Russia to lift the prohibition of Vietnam’s exported seafood.

Can Tho’s export turnover to Russia hit US$20 million in 2008, up by 69.4 percent year on year.

Polypropylene from oil refinery to be shipped to Japan 
 
The Dung Quat oil refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai is expected to ship 5,500 tonnes of propylene to Japan on Oct. 23.

The country’s first refinery, located in Binh Son district, resumed operation on Oct. 1 after 20 days of handling a problem in its residue fluid catalytic cracking system.

Its capacity is being raised from 65 percent to 100 percent. At present, 13 out of its 14 technical workshops are operating in a stable condition, turning out eight commercial products. The remaining one, which treats sulphur, will be operated in the next few days.

To date, the refinery sold 18,500 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas, 55,000 tonnes of A92 petrol, 8,000 tonnes of kerosene, 49,000 tonnes of diesel, 17,000 tonnes of fuel oil and 1,200 tonnes of propylene.

The refinery previously imported an additional 80,000 tonnes of crude to serve its operation at its full capacity by the end of this month. 

71 percent of people trust in high-quality Vietnamese goods 
 
71 percent of 400 respondents said that they choose to buy domestic products because of their reasonable prices and acceptable quality.

This is one of the results of a recent survey on consumer opinion on Vietnamese goods conducted by FTA Research & Consultancy Market Research Agency in the four major cities of Hanoi, Danang, Can Tho and HCM City.

Consumers in HCM City are cost conscious with 47 percent of them fond of buying Vietnamese goods because of the cheap prices while those in Danang value quality over price.

However, consumers say that Vietnamese goods should be improved in terms of design and offered at more competitive prices.

2,000 stores take part in promotional month 
 
Around 335 businesses have registered to join a promotional month at nearly 1,000 locations, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade.

Notably, 15 participants have committed themselves to slashing prices of 30-50 percent on November 15. The Department has asked businesses to sell high-quality products with clear origins.

As of October 20, 330 businesses in Hanoi have registered to take part in the promotional month, representing nearly 1,000 shopping locations. They have agreed to cut prices by 15-30 percent.

RoK to grant loan for Vietnam’s infrastructure development 
 
The Republic of Korea (RoK) has decided to provide a loan package worth around US$46 million to help Vietnam implement a series of projects on infrastructure development.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the development cooperation between Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and RoK Ministry of Strategy and Finance, together with related agreements, were signed in Hanoi on October 22 with the participation of Vice Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Hur Kyung-Wook and Vice President of the Export-Import Bank of Korea Chung Whan-kil.

Under the agreement, the RoK’s funding will be injected to a project to build a smart traffic system for the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong Highway, the Moc Chau water supply project, and a project to provide teaching equipment to the Thanh Hoa College.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Vice Minister Ha said that the MoU will be the foundation for the two sides to share their experiences on public financial management, State budget expenditures, fiscal policy and the treasury, the equitisation and management of State-owned enterprises, personnel management and others areas of mutual concern.

The MoU will also contribute to increasing cooperation in the fields of economics and trade between the two countries in the near future and bring the relationship between the two ministries to a new level.

PV