Vietnam strives to link regional power systems

 

Vietnam currently has 15 power projects with ASEAN countries, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

 

Of the projects, four have gone into operation, three are under construction and eight are in the making with feasibility studies already underway.

 

The ministry said the operating plants have ensured the stable electricity supply of the regional power system as well as increased its standby system.

 

Vietnam has sold nearly 900 million kWh of electricity since 2009 when the 220kV line from Chau Doc , Vietnam to Phnom Penh , Cambodia was connected. The electricity source provided by Vietnam has partly helped the country stabilise its power supply for socio-economic development.

 

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) group regularly provides electricity to Lao and Cambodian communes located near the border with Vietnam .

 

Vietnam continues to actively engage in a programme to establish an ASEAN electricity grid and the first priorities are to link up its power grids with Laos and Cambodia .

 

Under a bilateral electricity cooperation programme, Laos expects to export 3,000 MW of electricity to Vietnam by 2015 and 5,000 MW by 2020. Both countries have started constructing transmission lines to conduct electricity from Vietnamese-invested power plants and other plants built by independent investors in Laos to Vietnam.

 

Vietnam strives to link regional power systems

 

Vietnam currently has 15 power projects with ASEAN countries, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

 

Of the projects, four have gone into operation, three are under construction and eight are in the making with feasibility studies already underway.

 

The ministry said the operating plants have ensured the stable electricity supply of the regional power system as well as increased its standby system.

 

Vietnam has sold nearly 900 million kWh of electricity since 2009 when the 220kV line from Chau Doc , Vietnam to Phnom Penh , Cambodia was connected. The electricity source provided by Vietnam has partly helped the country stabilise its power supply for socio-economic development.

 

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) group regularly provides electricity to Lao and Cambodian communes located near the border with Vietnam .

 

Vietnam continues to actively engage in a programme to establish an ASEAN electricity grid and the first priorities are to link up its power grids with Laos and Cambodia .

 

Under a bilateral electricity cooperation programme, Laos expects to export 3,000 MW of electricity to Vietnam by 2015 and 5,000 MW by 2020. Both countries have started constructing transmission lines to conduct electricity from Vietnamese-invested power plants and other plants built by independent investors in Laos to Vietnam.

 

Vietnam, Uzbekistan discuss promotion of trade ties

 

Officials met in Ho Chi Minh City on July 28 to discuss measures for long-term relations between business circles of Vietnam and Uzbekistan after viewing the current level of trade as “modest”.

 

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu and Uzbek First Deputy Minister of External Economic Affairs, Investment and Trade N. Nazhimov, were leading delegations from Vietnam and Uzbekistan, respectively, at the meeting.

 

Host and guest shared a view that the two countries should speed up trade promotion and help business circles to conduct feasibility studies in each other’s markets and develop economic cooperative ties.

 

These steps are necessary to boost trade revenues from the current level of just 7.9 million USD in 2009, they said, acknowledging that trade relations stayed below the potential and expectation of the two countries.

 

The Vietnamese head delegate said a Vietnamese business mission would pay a field trip to Uzbekistan in October.

 

The meeting was part of a working session for the Vietnam-Uzbekistan Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technological Cooperation.

 

Tourism sector sees big increases this year

 

Vietnam welcomed around 410,000 foreign tourists in July, bringing the total number of foreign visitors to the nation in the first seven months of the country to more than 2.9 million, a year-on-year rise of almost 35 percent.

 

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said the number of foreigners coming to Vietnam for work increased by 46 percent, followed by those for vacation, up by more than 44 percent.

 

The number of foreign tourists from China recorded an impressive growth of 95.4 percent; followed by Cambodia , up 93 percent, Thailand , up 32 percent and the Republic of Korea (RoK), up over 31 percent.

 

HCM City was the leading locality in attracting foreign tourists in the first seven months of the year with over 1.6 million, a year-on-year rise of 13 percent.

 

The increase in foreign holiday makers to Vietnam was attributable to the world’s economic recovery that helped boost tourism demand, said experts.

 

Vietnam has organised tourism promotion programmes and cultural exchanges in China , Japan , the RoK and Cambodia in addition to roadshows in Australia , Norway and West European countries, they added.

 

The nation has targeted 4.5-4.6 million foreign tourists this year, a year-on-year increase of more than 17 percent.

 

Travel agencies will continue with tourism promotion and sales discount programmes in August and September in a number of key tourism cities and provinces.

 

Hanoi plans to organise tours to a number of ancient Vietnamese capitals, museums and homestays to attract more tourists to the city on the celebrations of its 1,000 th birthday.

 

Gold sinks to three-month low    

 

The price of gold in Vietnam dropped by VND250,000 a tael (1.2 ounces) over the previous day on July 28 after the global price lost 1.7 percent.

Saigon Jewelry Co. bought the metal at VND27.7 million and sold at VND27.77 million.

 

At Sacombank Jewelry Co., gold was bought at VND27.76 million and sold at VND27.8 million.

 

However, the domestic price declined at a slower pace than global price. Domestically, bullion fetched VND650,000 higher than the global price.

 

Gold traders said they expected that this sharp correction would boost buying demand and improve trading volume on the bullion market, which has been muted recently. However, buyers would likely remain cautious, as local prices are much higher than global prices, while global prices are expected to fall lower.

 

On black market, dollars were traded up VND10-20 per dollar over yesterday. The dollar exchange rate was at VND19,210 for buying and VND19,230 for selling.

 

Some commercial banks started to raise the dollar exchange rate. State-owned Vietcombank purchased dollars at VND19,095 and sold at VND19,100, up VND5 per dollar.

 

Internationally, the precious metal fell to the lowest price in three months as global equities rallied, eroding the demand for the metal as an alternative asset.

 

After broadcasting positive news for about 10 days, the US economy unexpectedly presented negative data. The country’s Commerce Department announced that consumer confidence fell to 50.4 this month from 54.3 in June, the lowest level since February. This drop was triggered by concerns over the US labor market.

 

International investors worried that data on consumer confidence indicated a flagging outlook on the US economic growth, which tends to accompany low inflation, in the upcoming months. Gold is considered a hedge against inflation. Thus, speculation of low inflation is usually unfavorable for the metal.

 

In addition, gold August-delivery contracts on New York Mercantile Exchange expired yesterday. Investors sold those contracts heavily before expiration, creating debasement pressure on the precious metal.

 

SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange-traded funds backed by bullion, sold 0.9 metric tons of gold yesterday, sending its holdings to 1,300.8 metric tons. The company has dumped 18.7 metric tons this month.

 

Gold in British pounds and euros also severely declined yesterday. Analysts said the metal lost an important support level of $1,176 an ounce and would probably retreat to $1,000 an ounce.

 

Gold for immediate delivery edged down US$20.5 an ounce, or 1.7 percent, to close at $1,162.6. Earlier, the metal plunged to $1,157 an ounce, the lowest level since May 5.

 

In Asia, bullion slightly revised to nearly $1,165 an ounce this morning, thanks to investors’ buying at low price range.

 

The euro exchange rate against the US dollar was at $1.3 a euro in New York yesterday.

 

Crude oil futures for September delivery erased $1.48 a barrel, or 1.9 percent, to close at $77.5 a barrel.

 

This morning, the liquid continued to drop to below $77 a barrel, affected by negative data on consumer confidence.

 

VietNamNet/SGGP, VNA