Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
dubai chamber fully prepared to organize the uae-vietnam business forum in hanoi
Posted: 03-09-2007 , 21:31 GMT
dubai chamber fully prepared to organize the uae-vietnam business forum in hanoi
Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry is all set to organize the UAE-Vietnam Business Forum today (Tuesday, September 4th) in Hanoi city in Vietnam, as a side event of the official visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to Vietnam.
The UAE-Vietnam Business Forum, organized by the Dubai Chamber, aims at discussing ways of strengthening economic and trade ties between the business communities in the UAE and Vietnam. The forum helps attendants to learn more about the business and investment opportunities available in both countries, discuss areas of commercial cooperation through increasing bilateral trade volumes and consider the type of exported goods that could be absorbed in the markets of both countries.
HE Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of Dubai Chamber and head of the UAE businessmen delegation that is accompanying HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in his visit to Vietnam, highlighted the importance of the forum in bringing together elite attendants of top UAE businessmen and investors who represent the most distinguished and active economic sectors in the UAE, as well as a number of ministers and leading Vietnamese businessmen who represent different economic sectors such as oil and gas, agriculture, trade and industry.
“Organizing this forum goes in line with Dubai Chamber’s commitment to enhance ties of its members and UAE businessmen, with different business communities all over the world. It is part of Dubai Chamber’s effort to help the business community improve their activities and benefit from various investment opportunities and explore new markets,” said Al Tayer.
He added that the forum would help establish stronger relations between the business communities in the UAE and Vietnam, especially after Vietnam has adopted an open economic policy that copes with global trade requirements.
Before the launch of the forum, the UAE businessmen delegation is going to visit Vinaconex Group, a multi-functional corporation in Vietnam’s construction industry that largely contributes to Vietnam’s economy. The group was established in 1988 and its basic business was concentrated on managing and exporting construction labors to several countries such as Bulgaria, Russia, Czech and Iraq. The group runs over 70 affiliated units nationwide with more than 40,000 staff.
Vinaconex Group’s business achievements helped in increasing its production, turnover and profits to more than 25%. The main business of the group now focuses on several sectors such as real estate and construction, industrial production and exports and imports. The group has strong foreign trade relations with major companies in more than 60 countries worldwide.
The UAE delegation comprises of more than 24 leading businessmen and investors representing a number of major economic sectors such as real estate, construction, engineering, food processing, banking, jewelry, printing and publication, freight forwarding, tour and travel, healthcare, education, oil and gas and others. On the other hand, the forum will be attended by more than 70 Vietnamese businessmen representing sectors like oil and gas, imports and exports, manufacturing and trading of textiles, investment protection, financial consultancy, manufacturing, real estate, agriculture, transportation and logistics services.
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Citigroup: Viet Nam able to resist US credit crunch
VNECONOMY updated: 30/08/2007
Viet Nam will weather the US credit crunch thanks to its high industrial production growth, strong increases in retail sales and foreign direct investment influxes, said a Citigroup official on August 29.
At a seminar entitled “Asian market and economic situation” in Ha Noi, Citigroup Asia Pacific Economic and Market Analysis Head Yiping Huang did however warn that the country must reign in inflation as the Vietnamese dong (VND) being continuous to be pressured by unexpected risks.
Citigroup experts have suggested that Viet Nam control inflation by tightening its monetary policy and the management of key commodity prices.
Vietnam to build nuclear power plants by 2025
Turkmenistan News.Net
Thursday 30th August, 2007 (IANS)
Hanoi, Aug 30 (Xinhua) Vietnam will build 2-3 nuclear power plants with total capacity of 8,000 mw by 2025, media reports said Thursday.
Under a nuclear power development plan recently approved by the Vietnamese government, total investment for the plants is estimated at $16 billion, according to Saigon Liberation report.
Vietnam is preparing to build its first nuclear power plant with capacity of 1,000-2,000 mw at a cost of some $3 billion, which is expected to become operational after 2015.
Vietnam's electricity demand is forecast to annually grow 15-16 percent until 2010, according to the country's Ministry of Industry and Trade.
It plans to increase its electricity capacity to 25,000-26,000 mw in 2010 from 11,400 mw in 2005, meeting demand for its socio-economic development.
http://www.turkmenistannews.net/story/277772
Business
GE to expand its operation in Viet Nam
VNECONOMY updated: 29/08/2007
The US giant GE Group will expand its operations in Viet Nam, according to a GE official.
“We want to share our resources with Viet Nam through our experiences in pioneering enterprise management, law conformity and business transparency in Viet Nam,” said Colin Low, GE National Executive for Singapore, the Philippines and Viet Nam.
GE’s tentacles are felt throughout virtually every corners of global business with its six arms or GE Infrastructure, GE Industry, GE Commercial Finance, GE Consumer Finance, GE Healthcare and NBC Universal leaders in their respective fields.
Since it established its representative offices in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City in 1993, GE Viet Nam has worked with partners such as Viet Nam Airlines, the Viet Nam Railway Corporation, Electricity of Viet Nam and the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam).
Source: Vietnam Agency
VND becomes two times weaker: expert
16:36' 23/08/2007 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Dai Lai, Deputy Director of the Banking Development Strategy Department under the State Bank of Vietnam, said that the devaluation of the local currency in the context of the devaluating greenback against other currencies showed that the local currency had become two times weaker.
The greenback has devaluated on the world’s market, but has revaluated against the VND. What would you say about this, especially about the impacts on import-export activities and consumer prices?
Nguyen Dai Lai, Deputy Director of the Banking Development Strategy Department under the State Bank of Vietnam
This is an effect of the high inflation. In principle, when foreign capital flows in large quantities and commercial banks raise deposit interest rates in order to attract capital in US$, the VND would revaluate against the dollar. However, in fact, the VND has lost its value against the dollar, and it has become two times weaker: first, it is weaker against the dollar, and second, it is weaker against the weakening dollar.
In theory, when a currency is weak, this would encourage exports. However, I would like to remind you that Vietnam has always seen an excess of imports over exports since the open national economy began operating, except for 1999 and 2002, which saw trade balance. The trade gap has reached 22% so far this year.
As such, a question has been raised about whether we should follow the policy on keeping the local currency weak to encourage exports, which means striving to reach the smaller thing and sacrificing the bigger one.
Do you think that the move by the central bank to buy foreign currencies will lead to further price escalation? What should we do to use the foreign capital most effectively, and successfully stabilise prices?
There are many reasons behind the high inflation rate so far this year, one of which relates to the biggest ever sum of foreign currencies that the central bank has bought.
As you may know, a big volume of foreign capital has flown into the stock market. However, investors cannot buy Vietnamese stocks with dollars and other foreign currencies, they have to sell dollars to get VND to make investment in stocks. As such, we have to spend a big sum of VND to convert the foreign currencies into VND. The move has certainly directly affected the money supply.
The stock market was overly hot at the beginning of the year, and then went down in mid March. Meanwhile, a part of the money has gone into real estate, the gold market or consumer market, or somewhere in circulation, thus causing inflation.
The urgent task we need to do now is to sell a part of the foreign currencies we have to get commodities. The central bank should sell foreign currencies to commercial banks, so that commercial banks sell the foreign currencies to import enterprises, which will use the money to import goods.
Besides, as the greenback now is the weakest in the last several years, the central bank should think of changing the currency structure reserve to avoid losses.
(Source: Tien phong)
Deposit interest rates: US$ up, VND down
08:10' 24/08/2007 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – Commercial banks are trying to attract US$ capital by raising deposit interest rates, while reducing interest rates on VND deposits due to the usable capital surplus.
Demand for US$ loans up
Techcombank on August 21 announced it would raise US$ deposit interest rates for six-month term deposits by 0.6% per annum to 5.2% per annum, for three-month term by 0.55% to 5% per annum. The increase of 0.45% per annum will be applied for one-month, two-month and 12-month term deposits.
Several days ago, Vietcombank’s transaction office decided to raise interest rates on deposits of 6-60 months. The new interest rates are as follows: 4.65% per annum for six-month term deposits (+0.25%), 4.755% (+0.2%) for 9-month deposits, 5% (+0.15%) for 12-month and 18-month deposits.
The interest rates offered by VIB Bank have increased by another 0.2-0.36% per annum on average. This is the second time the bank has raised the interest rates on US$ deposits. An Binh Bank decided to issue short-term deposit certificates with the attractive interest rates of 4.45-5.50% per annum.
Huynh Song Hao, Deputy Director General of Vietcombank HCM City Branch, said that the bank is considering raising the interest rates on US deposits in a bid to attract more capital. He said that the demand for borrowing money in US$ is increasing as enterprises are preparing to import goods to be consumed over holidays and year-end occasions. It is estimated that the demand for US$ loans has increased by 30%.
VND in excess
Many commercial banks have reduced VND deposit interest rates despite the high CPI with the average decreases of 0.36-0.6% per annum.
The director of a commercial bank said that he had to lower the interest rates due to the superfluous usable capital in VND. Moreover, the fact that the central bank has ‘pumped’ VND100,000bil into the market to buy $7bil for the national foreign currency reserves has led to the increase of the VND volume in circulation.
The central bank said that 82% of the pumped volume of VND had been withdrawn from circulation, and the remaining volume would be withdrawn between now and the year’s end through open market operations.
Vietnamese people prefer making deposits in VND instead of US$ because VND deposits have higher interest rates. The tendency has not changed though VND deposit interest rates have dropped while US$ deposit interest rates have gone up.
(Source: Thanh nien)
The Finance Minister there along with the Goverment needs to revalue soon to keep investors interested.Prices are way to High, Compaired to Income.And I don't think a lot of DONG investors will wait till 2010. jmo.
Kurdistan
Shia and Kurdish parties form new alliance
By Kawa Jam
---------------------------------------------------------------
23 August 2007 (Kurdish Globe)
In a new bid to help the Iraqi government emerge from its latest crisis, a new alliance of moderate Shiites and Kurds join forces.
Four Kurdish and Shiite political main parties announced a coalition in order to solve the current Iraqi government crisis, although Sunni Arabs, a main part of the crisis, have not joined the coalition.
The coalition consists of the two main blocs of the Iraqi government. It aims to reach national agreement and reconciliation, support a constitutional state and its establishments, commit to the constitutional articles, and direct the government based on national principles.
On August 16 in Baghdad, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the two main Iraqi Shiite parties, the Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council and the Islamic Al-Dawa Party, signed on to the coalition to support the Iraqi political process.
The Kurdish sides were represented by Iraq President Jalal Talabani and Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani; the Shiite sides were represented by Iraqi Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.
The agreement consists of 27 items that deal with political crises, security, the economy, services, government conditions, and working mechanisms of the coalition itself.
Distributing natural resources (including oil) income equally to all of Iraq and applying Article 140 of the Iraq Constitution are two main items for the Kurdish leaders in the four-sided coalition.
Kirkuk and the other disputable areas are to be normalized according to Article 140 in three stages. The first two stages arrange preparations for the last stage, which is about holding a referendum before the end of the current year. The referendum allows people of the disputable areas to decide whether or not they want to be returned to the authority of the regional government of Kurdistan in the north, or remain under Baghdad's government.
Kirkuk, which is a multiethnic city with Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Chaldeons, and Assyrians, is the richest city in Iraq due to its oil fields. This has left the city disputable over the past eight decades of the Iraqi state history.
After signing the coalition agreement, a number of Kurdish political parties criticized the Kurdish parties for ignoring other Kurdish powers. Other Kurdish parties now feel as if the new coalition consists of two blocs, Kurds and Shiites, while it was supposed to include the Sunni Arab powers as well.
"The coalition, without the participation of the Sunni side, will leave negative reflections by the (basically Sunni) neighboring countries," said Muhammad Haji Osman, leader of the Kurdistan Socialist Party.
In Kurdistan, political parties announced this year the foundation of the High Council of the Kurdistan Political Powers. The members of this council are the leaders of the Kurdistan parties. According to their agreement, important decisions related to Kurdistan Region have to be taken by this council.
The Kurdish discourse goes the same way as the complaining Kurdish parties; they think the new front with the Shiites is a renewal of the previous Kurdish-Shiite alliances.
"Al-Maliki's government is in trouble because of the Sunnis. For solving those troubles, the Sunnis should have been a part of this coalition," said Hiwa Majeed, a master student of political science at Salahaddin University in Erbil.
On July 25, the Iraqi Accordance Front list, which is the biggest Sunni political component inside the Iraqi government, announced its withdrawal from the current government of Nouri Al-Maliki, a Shiite. The Sunnis said that Al-Maliki has failed to dissolve the illegal Shiite militias or release thousands of Sunni detainees. Five ministers plus a deputy prime minister who belonged to the Sunni front announced their withdrawal and resignation.
Nearly 10 days later, five ministers from the Al-Iraqiya list, which is led by the secular Ayad Alawi, announced their boycott in the meetings of the ministerial council. Already, the Al-Sadr, a Shiite extremist side, had pull out its six ministers from the government. These have left Al-Maliki's government in a ditch of trouble with only one rope, supported by the two main Kurdish parties.
Yet, the new Shiite-Kurdish front has left doors open to other sides to join.
While declaring the agreement last Thursday, President Talabani announced that any Iraqi party or side can join the front when they coincide with the items of the agreement.
"Forming a moderate front leaves no advantage to the Iraqi people; it is only for saving Al-Maliki's government," was the first reflection by the Sunni leader Adnan Al-Dulemi, whose Iraqi People Conference Party is one of the main components of the Accordance Front.
Al-Dulemi threatened to convince all Iraqi sides, including the Kurds and Shiites, to work to terminate Al-Maliki's government.
Pressure from the working class in both Iraq and Viet nam could
bring about some changes.In both Countries children are starving and dieing from lack of food,Proper houseing and clothing.In Iraq These are some of the things the Terrorist use to get them on their side.By giving them Food clothes and a place to sleep,besides brainwashing them that all their troubles will be over once the INFIDELS are driven from their lands. Viet nam while it try's to paint a Rosy picture for the world to see, Has Hundreds of children in the streets Homeless and dieing from malnutrition.Will it ever change, We all hope so.jmo. Rick c
The influx could quickly snowball, especially with the dollar getting stronger..
I wonder if the WORKING CLASS will wait that long.
It appears that 2010 seems to be the confirmed checkpoint for breakout between low to middle class for South Vietnam. Though with news like this that you posted, there is a definate reality that it could come much sooner. I liked the news about Japan helping South Vietnam in the field of Oil Production. Japan has also done this 'already' and just recently for Iraq...
Its nice to rely on bonifide news :O)
Prior post-This was sent to me by a friend, Realizing this is a PAST article , I felt it would add some confidence to those who might not have seen it.
meets with UN General Secretary Ban
(21-06-2007)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (right) receives President Nguyen Minh Triet at UN headquarters in New York City. - VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Khang
NEW YORK - Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet met with United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon at the body's headquarters in New York, yesterday.
At the meeting, Triet briefed Ban on the political, economic, cultural and social achievements that Viet Nam has made during the past 20 years.
He discussed Viet Nam's foreign policy of openness, diversification and multilateralisation of international relations and active integration into the international economy.
Viet Nam, which is a full member of many important regional and international organisations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting, the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum, the Non-aligned Movement and the International Organisation of Francophone Countries, is eager to contribute to world issues, Triet said.
The Vietnamese leader said the UN's Millennium Development Goals have been integrated into socio-economic development and poverty reduction programmes in Viet Nam as well as the country's projects with foreign partners.
He also said Viet Nam is determined to implement the UN millennium targets and said he hoped to continue to receive support from the UN.
President Triet went on to convey to the UN chief Viet Nam's assurance that it would be up to the task if it were to win a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2008-2009 term.
Ban said his top priority has been to refor! m the UN . He applauded Viet Nam's involvement in the implementation of the "One United Nations" initiative and expressed his belief that Viet Nam will become a successful model in the move to streamline UN operations.
There are now 20 UN agencies operating in Viet Nam with many overlapping activities. The establishment of "One United Nations" would limit the overlap and increase the UN's effectiveness, he said.
President visits NYSE
Triet continued his US visit yesterday by dropping in at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE Euronext) and witnessing a deal between the HCM City Securities Trading Centre and the world's largest exchange.
He highlighted the growing role that the stock exchange plays in the Vietnamese economy, saying that stock markets since 2000 have emerged as a long-term capital channel for an economy moving towards sustainable development.
"Viet Nam is looking for active support and assistance from US partners in this field. Viet Nam also hopes that stock markets from the two countries will set up strategic partnerships in the near future so as to turn Viet Nam's capital market into a regional hub in the interest of the two countries," he said.
Deputy Chairman of the NYSE Euronext board, Marshall Carter, said he believed that with Viet Nam's recent WTO membership, trade relations between Viet Nam and the US would continue to further develop.
He also said NYSE Euronext is willing to help Viet Nam in developing and managing stock exchange transactions. The deal with the HCM City Securities Centre would act as a stronger bridge to span the fledgling Vietnamese bourse with the global capital ! market, including the NYSE Euronext, said Carter.
The same day, Triet met with Citigroup Inc Chairman and CEO Charles Prince and Ford Foundation President Susan Berresford, on separate occasions.
The President also lauded Citigroup for not only its business but also its humanitarian work, including projects on poverty alleviation and healthcare in Viet Nam.
"I believe that bilateral co-operation in this arena would continue to further develop," said Triet.
Regarding the upcoming issuance of Governmental bonds abroad, the Citigroup executive evaluated it as a major step forward by Viet Nam in integrating into the global financial market.
Prince said he was looking for Viet Nam's support for Citigroup to take part in the process of equitising State-owned enterprises, especially those dealing with finance and banking.
Their talks were followed by the signing of credit contracts worth almost US$500 million for Citigroup loans for the Electricity of Viet Nam Corporation (EVN), the Viet Nam Coal and Mineral Group and the Viet Nam Shipping Corporation Vinalines.
In his meeting with Ford Foundation President Berresford, Triet said Vietnamese agencies have expressed satisfaction at the quality and efficiency of Ford Foundation-funded projects in various fields, ranging from financial management to poverty reduction, education and HIV/AIDS.
"We expect that the Ford Foundation will work with other US organisations and individuals as well as lobby US politicians in increasing support for Viet Nam in this field," said the Vietnamese leader.
Also on June 19, President Triet met with respresentatives from the US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USAITA) at its headquarters in New York.
He also received a delegation of Vietnamese-Canadians who came to the US to pay a courtesy visit to the President and granted an interview to US TV channel Bloomberg on economic and financial issues and several other US and international media agencies.
Business pitch
Viet Nam should no longer be synonymous with war but viewed as one of Southeast Asia's most vibrant countries and economies, Triet said yesterday during a business to pitch to US investors.
The meeting, entitled Financial investment in Viet Nam, was organised by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the American Insurance Group (AIG) and the Credit Suisse Group.
The President told a crowded hall that Viet Nam is now a member of the World Trade Organisation, its economy has developed rapidly and its people are friendly and hospitable.
He stressed that Viet Nam is welcoming foreign investors to the country to aid its growing economy to develop at an even quicker pace.
"I would like to send you a message: Viet Nam is creating the most favourable conditions for American investors in particular and foreign investors in general, our government places a premium on the interests of investors," he said.
After the meeting, the President witnessed the signing of eight agreements and contracts worth close to US$2 billion, including memorandums of understanding between the Vietnamese Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) and the US's Wachovia Bank (worth US$700 million), the UK's Standard Chartered Bank ($500 million) and Austria's RZB bank ($350 million).
Wheeling and dealing
The Chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Vu ! Tien Loc , expressed the hope that US businesses will be the leader of the coming investment influx in Viet Nam.
Addressing the opening of the Viet Nam-US business forum entitled Investing in Viet Nam in New York on June 19, VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc noted that with geographical advantages and political stability, Viet Nam has become an attractive destination for foreign investors since joining the WTO.
Since early this year, more than $5 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) have been registered in Viet Nam and around $1.5 billion of indirect investment capital have been mobilised through the securities market, the VCCI Chairman said.
The total capital of FDI projects awaiting for approval exceeds $35 billion, he added.
Officials of the Vietnamese Ministries of Planning and Investment and Finance and representatives of foreign businesses operating in Viet Nam answered US businesses' questions on the nation's real estate market and land prices as well as its policies to encourage the development of tourist resorts, hotels and offices for lease.
US investors also showed their keen interest in Viet Nam's regulations on environmental protection for power and water infrastructure development projects. Meanwhile, US bankers were interested in the value of the Vietnamese currency (dong), foreign exchange rate and international prospects for making the Vietnamese currency convertible as well as the country's policy to keep investors.
The forum, jointly held by the VCCI and a number of Vietnamese and US conglomerates, drew more than 100 Vietnamese companies who are accompanying President Triet during his current visit to ! the US a nd representatives of US groups.
In an interview granted to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in New York, VCCI Chairman Loc said that this is the opportunity for US businesses to invest in Viet Nam as the fields that the Vietnamese economy needs investment for development are also the fields that US businesses have strength.
They include hi-tech, infrastructure development, particularly sea port development, the construction of power plants, information technology and services, he elaborated.
Regarding the activities of President Triet's entourage during the current US visit, the VCCI Chairman said this is the biggest entrepreneurs' delegation accompanying the leader so far which, he noted, reflected Vietnamese businesses' interest in the US market. - VNS
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=02POL210607
If the strength of the dollar keeps the Dong where it is and inflation takes hold...Vietnam may have no other choice but to reval if only a smidgen.
THIS PART is very INTERESTING---------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
Importers pay more
In face of the higher exchange rate, companies involved in imports said they were paying significant additional charges for their shipments.
The owner of a company specialising in imported milk powder said his company often buys milk materials from a monopoly distributor of a New Zealand firm.
"Under the signed contract, we have to pay in Vietnamese dong according to the market’s exchange rate, so the current increase in the dong-US dollar exchange rate means financial difficulties," he said.
Market analysts also said that the increase in the value of the US dollar has affected the price of most imported goods and companies that import raw materials for producing and selling domestically would suffer the most. — VNS
Strengthening US dollar gives importers anxiety
(17-08-2007)
A customer exchanges dollars at the VP Bank headquarters in Ha Noi. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet
HCM CITY — The US dollar gained strength against the Vietnamese dong in the last two weeks, putting pressure on Vietnamese importers.
Independent market watchdogs said that in the last two weeks the US dollar increased against the dong between 0.4 and 0.9 per cent compared with the beginning of the year.
At the beginning of the year, the exchange rate was VND16,048 to US$1, which rose to VND16,200 yesterday.
An official of the State Bank of Viet Nam predicted that the interbank exchange rate between the dong and US dollar would continue to slightly increase for the rest of the year to VND16,262/$1.
The central bank has a policy of regulating the dong-US dollar exchange rate in ways that would make the dong depreciate by about 1 per cent so as to encourage export activities.
Meanwhile, the interbank exchange rate has increased by 0.45 per cent, which is far from the targeted 1 per cent level, he said.
A representative of a HCM City-based foreign bank also said that the value of the US dollar would continue to go up until the year-end since banks did not want to fall into a shortage of US dollars when the market needs foreign currency for importer and exporter payments.
Other economists disagreed with these predictions, saying that the dong-US dollar exchange rate would fall to a level equal to the figure recorded earlier this year because supplies of the greenback would still be plentiful.
Their estimations were based on the fact that about US$2 billion would be poured into the country by foreign investors to buy shares of State-owned commercial banks as these banks will make their initial public offerings by the end of the year.
In the first half of the year, Viet Nam received about $2.2 billion in foreign direct investment and $5 billion in foreign indirect investment.
That meant that the central bank would meet difficulties in realising its goal of making the dong-US dollar exchange rate go up by 1 per cent, experts said.
Experts from the central bank said the US dollars from these foreign sources would not leak out because the central bank would buy up all funds that the foreigners inject into the domestic stock market to neutralise the market.
"This is also an opportunity for the country to increase the national compulsory reserves in foreign currencies."
Importers pay more
In face of the higher exchange rate, companies involved in imports said they were paying significant additional charges for their shipments.
The owner of a company specialising in imported milk powder said his company often buys milk materials from a monopoly distributor of a New Zealand firm.
"Under the signed contract, we have to pay in Vietnamese dong according to the market’s exchange rate, so the current increase in the dong-US dollar exchange rate means financial difficulties," he said.
Market analysts also said that the increase in the value of the US dollar has affected the price of most imported goods and companies that import raw materials for producing and selling domestically would suffer the most. — VNS
Global signs Vietnam double
By Upstream staff
US marine contractor Global Industries has signed a $17 million contract with Japan Vietnam Petroleum Company (JVPC) to install pipelines for the Rang Dong and Phoung Dong field development projects off Vietnam.
The contract includes project planning, transportation and installation of four pipelines with a total length of 37.8 kilometres.
The offshore installation is scheduled for the second quarter of 2008.
Meanwhile, Global will be providing Saipem underwater saturation diving services to support the repair of Thailand-based PTT Exploration & Petroleum’s gas transmission trunk line in the Gulf of Thailand.
The project is valued at about $10 million.
they should start burning the dong. Too much out there.
Central bank to issue bonds to check inflation
(15-08-2007)
The cashiers check money at the Ocean Bank in Ha Noi. The State Bank of Viet Nam plans to issue bonds in a bid to curb the high inflation rate. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet
HA NOI — The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) plans to reduce excess liquidity in the financial market by issuing bonds in a move to curb inflationary pressure.
Nguyen Dong Tien, SBV deputy governor, said on Monday that the central bank plans to continue keeping liquidity in check to rein in inflation, which accelerated to 8.39 per cent year-on-year in July.
His statements came during a press briefing held by Government bodies to announce measures to keep inflation below 8.5 per cent this year. A major cause of rising prices, said Tien, was foreign capital inflows, which the central bank has been forced to eat up in an effort to control the dong exchange rate and increase capital reserves.
"We face a historic problem in the SBV’s monetary management system: foreign capital inflows are too much. We, on several days, purchased up to US$500-600 million daily, while the total amount of foreign capital purchased for the entirety of last year was only $4 billion," said Tien.
Capital inflows have been fuelled by foreign direct and indirect investments, official development assistance and overseas remittances.
As a result of SBV buying, foreign currency reserves have doubled since the start of the year and are enough to cover imports for 20 weeks, the Government’s 2010 target, said the deputy governor. Unfortunately, it has also led to excess dong in the market, which helped drive domestic price levels higher.
State Bank officials are now considering issuing short term bonds through open market operations to absorb some of the excess cash floating in the market.
Tien said the central bank would spend the rest of the year withdrawing cash previously used to acquire foreign capital. As much as 82 per cent of cash used to purchase foreign capital in January-July has already been withdrawn from the market.
The Ministry of Finance on Monday also said it would issue bonds worth roughly VND18 trillion ($1.1 million) in the third quarter to reduce liquidity.
The central bank has already taken steps to cut the amount of capital in the market this year. The State Bank in June doubled reserves requirements for commercial banks to 10 per cent, which took out roughly VND30 trillion ($1-8 million) from the market. — VNS
I know what you mean...you nor I are getting any younger!
Well Dang , I turned 61 on the 9th of August, so Let tell them to get a move on with this Reval. Times a waisting.lol
I am 29, and hoping I get to see a nice ROI from this investment. I am still very hopeful! Have a great weekend!
Hey there RJ..I can say the same with the dong and the dinar. They are in my safe....out of sight and out of mind...lol...but I do stop in on the boards and do a quick look now and then but usually try not and post because as im sure you have noticed I get a little wound up sometimes...especially on the dinar board concerning the whole Iraq mess....anyway no need to bother yourself to look...I just saw StrongTowers post about the restriction thing and was curious...Our dong and dinar reval will happen when they happen and that will be that...I am only 51..so the good Lord willing I have a few more years to wait if I have to...Have a great evening....
I have a question; I have just started studying the Vietnam Dong and I recognize a huge disparity in value between the 250-100K Dong (large denomination) and the 5K (small denomination).
Other than the fact that obviously there is more material polymer involved with lower denominations to equal the same currency value amount (for example 1 million) with a large denomination...it still seems a huge disparity.
For example, I have seen 1 Million Dong (large denomination 100K) for purchase at about $115.00 and then for the same amount but in the 5K costing about $1,250.00.
Concern: Is this an indication that the large denominations maybe subjected to a LOP more so than the smaller? I cannot imagine the extra cost being contributed to the extra polymer.
TIA
I am not sure Rick, this is unfortunatly one of those investments that is in the back of my mind. But I will look around and see what I can find out about it! Have yourself a nice weekend!
RJ...I got a question for you...StrongT made a post the other day about the dong being restricted until the end of the year...Now I see he is busy elsewhere right now and not posting so I thought you might have an answer...I have Google searched some and cant seem to come across what this Dong restriction means...maybe I just overlooked it...But...what does restricted mean...cant be used for payment of imports into the country?...Not allowed to trade on the Forex?...what are we talking about here?
The Dong remains a good investment, the timing though, I am not sure about!
Little bit tougher to answer this, Im sure someone can make more since of it than I can.
The DONG is growing stronger against the Dollar some of the time, and the Dollar is growing stronger at times as well.
Now putting the DONG up against the EURO makes it out to be just about as stable as it is with the DOLLAR. Then putting the Dollar up against the EURO still makes them both out to be somewhat unstable.
All post below are of the same time frame as the last DONG prices that I posted. Vietnam has already said that they want there DONG to stay at or close to its current rate till years end. It was posted here some time ago.
Hope it helps,
Trav.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
1 Vietnamese Dong = 0.00004573 Euro
1 Euro (EUR) = 21'868.0 Vietnamese Dong (VND)
Median price = 0.00004411 / 0.00004573 (bid/ask)
Estimated price based on daily US dollar rates.
FXTrade: Online Currency Trading with OANDA FXTrade.
FXConverter - Currency Converter for 164 Currencies164 Currency Converter © 1997-2007 by OANDA.com.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
1 Vietnamese Dong = 0.00004540 Euro
1 Euro (EUR) = 22'026.5 Vietnamese Dong (VND)
Median price = 0.00004454 / 0.00004540 (bid/ask)
Estimated price based on daily US dollar rates.
FXTrade: Online Currency Trading with OANDA FXTrade.
FXConverter - Currency Converter for 164 Currencies164 Currency Converter © 1997-2007 by OANDA.com.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
1 Vietnamese Dong = 0.00004680 Euro
1 Euro (EUR) = 21'367.5 Vietnamese Dong (VND)
Median price = 0.00004510 / 0.00004680 (bid/ask)
Estimated price based on daily US dollar rates.
FXTrade: Online Currency Trading with OANDA FXTrade.
FXConverter - Currency Converter for 164 Currencies164 Currency Converter © 1997-2007 by OANDA.com.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
1 US Dollar = 0.72636 Euro
1 Euro (EUR) = 1.37673 US Dollar (USD)
Median price = 0.72630 / 0.72636 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 0.72323 / 0.72330
Maximum price = 0.72874 / 0.72880
FXTrade: Online Currency Trading with OANDA FXTrade.
FXConverter - Currency Converter for 164 Currencies164 Currency Converter © 1997-2007 by OANDA.com.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
1 US Dollar = 0.72557 Euro
1 Euro (EUR) = 1.37822 US Dollar (USD)
Median price = 0.72543 / 0.72557 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 0.72442 / 0.72448
Maximum price = 0.72673 / 0.72680
FXTrade: Online Currency Trading with OANDA FXTrade.
FXConverter - Currency Converter for 164 Currencies164 Currency Converter © 1997-2007 by OANDA.com.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
1 US Dollar = 0.74216 Euro
1 Euro (EUR) = 1.34741 US Dollar (USD)
Median price = 0.74209 / 0.74216 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 0.73850 / 0.73857
Maximum price = 0.74451 / 0.74458
FXTrade: Online Currency Trading with OANDA FXTrade.
FXConverter - Currency Converter for 164 Currencies164 Currency Converter © 1997-2007 by OANDA.com.
Is the Dong getting stronger or the Dollar getting weaker or both??
Looks like it is improving
Every time I read something on Vietnam it always seems to be good news. So what is the reason for the Dong to be on restriction? Until the end of the year?
Thank you in advance to who ever answers.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
1 Vietnamese Dong = 0.00006296 US Dollar
1 US Dollar (USD) = 15'884.0 Vietnamese Dong (VND)
Median price = 0.00006074 / 0.00006296 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 0.00006074 / 0.00006296
Maximum price = 0.00006074 / 0.00006296
FXTrade: Online Currency Trading with OANDA FXTrade.
FXConverter - Currency Converter for 164 Currencies164 Currency Converter © 1997-2007 by OANDA.com.
SMFG buys stake in Vietnam's Eximbank for $225 mln
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan's third-largest bank, is buying a 15 percent stake in Vietnam Export Import Commercial Bank for US$225 million, the Vietnam News Agency said Saturday.
Sumitomo Mitsui, which joins seven other foreign banks who have invested in Vietnam's booming economy, will provide risk management and technical help to Eximbank following the deal, the report quoted Eximbank's Chief Executive Pham Van Thiet as saying.
Ho Chi Minh City-based Eximbank, Vietnam's eighth-largest by assets, approved the sale on Friday. The deal will raise the unlisted bank's registered capital to VND3.73 trillion ($231 million) from VND2.8 trillion, the report said.
Eximbank will also sell another 10 percent stake to undisclosed foreign investment funds under the capital raising plan, it added.
Sumitomo joins seven foreign banks, including ANZ , Deutsche Bank , Standard Chartered Plc. and HSBC Holdings Plc., which have bought shares in Vietnamese banks, seeking to benefit from economic growth targeted at 8.5 percent this year.
HSBC holds the single biggest stake, with 15 percent in Hanoi-based unlisted Techcombank.
Vietnam caps foreign ownership in a domestic bank at 30 percent, with a 15-percent limit for a strategic investor. In exceptional cases, subject to government approval, a strategic foreign investor may take up to 20 percent.
Source: Reuters
Billions coming in, but who knows for sure?
VNECONOMY updated: 02/08/2007
While the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) joyfully announced the monthly inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has nearly ‘blockaded’ all information about the Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) flow.
According to statistics of the foreign bank which is managing the largest number of accounts for financial investment institutions, there are around 74 foreign investment funds pouring money into Vietnam, including 22 funds that have been established so far this year. Among new funds are Sumitomo Misui Vietnam, Fullerton Vietnam Fund, TongYang Vietnam, Maxford Growth Vietnam Focus, Vietnam Resource, Credit Agricole Fund.
Numbers in disorder
The Republic of Korea is emerging as a big investor with eight funds having been set up so far this year with total capital of more than US$1 billion. One of the representatives for the Korean wave is the Golden Bridge Finance Group. Within six months, Golden Bridge has established two funds in Vietnam, totalling $70 million, focusing on shares, enterprise bonds, real estate and minerals.
Besides the Republic of Korea, other funds belong to Singapore, Japan and Malaysia. While Vietnamese investors are small and dispersed, those funds continue to bear the ‘mission’ as the major catalysts creating the liquidity for the market. They are also expected to ‘warm up’ upcoming IPOs (initial public offering) of big state-owned companies since existing funds in Vietnam are exhausted in capital now while they are not ready for new phases of capital raising.
Investment funds are playing a decisive role in the stock market of Vietnam but so far there is no official statistic of the total capital being pumped into the Vietnamese market by those funds.
An official of the State Securities Council (SSC) said that FII inflow was US$5 billion. But another official of SSC said that this figure was an estimate only.
The World Bank (WB) in a report said that FII inflow into Vietnam was about $4 billion, explaining that the figure was estimated based on the market value of stocks held by foreigners, which is much higher than the principal capital.
Meanwhile, according to LCF Rothschild of the United Kingdom, the figure is $5.4 billion based on the scale of 20 investment funds in Vietnam which are listed on foreign stock exchanges.
What is the correct number? According to some agencies, only the State Bank of Vietnam can release an accurate number because all commercial banks submit to that entity their monthly reports on the situation of foreign individuals and institutions’ accounts to buy stocks in Vietnam.
Knowing everything but no need to reveal anything
According to banks, not all investment funds have periodical reports on net asset value but initial statistics show that their total assets are at around $6 billion. Foreign investment poured into the Hanoi and HCM City Securities Trading Centres is estimated at $4.8 billion.
15 years have passed since Vietnam opened its market for FII but the SBV in May 2004 officially requested that investors submit investment situation reports by issuing a circular on controlling foreign currencies in capital contributions and stock purchasing of foreign investors in local firms.
However, if the central bank only relies on those reports it can’t know the flow of this source of capital because it has been cut into many parts. One part is in foreign currency accounts, one in Vietnam dong accounts, one at securities trading firms where foreign investors open their accounts. Thus, the figure that the SBV knows is the principal capital or the amount of money transmitted into Vietnam. The bank doesn’t know how this amount of money has developed.
An official of the SBV said that it was a waste to seek an accurate number because the foreign capital flow into Vietnam came in different ways, not through the banking system only. For the official channel, he said that it was approximately 10% of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP), or more than $6 billion.
This official also said that the border line between the FDI and FII was being eliminated. VinaCapital has invested $29.9 million to own 70% of the Hilton Hanoi Hotel, $18.6 million to buy 70% of stocks of the Omni Saigon Hotel and it has also invested in many real estate projects in Vietnam, including the 260ha Da Nang Resort worth $24.8 million, Century 21 worth $41.2 million.
“If they invest a sufficient amount of capital to hold the control over projects so is it necessary to put them on the list of FII? I think we should identify and select a suitable way of measurement,” the official said.
Explaining why the SBV had never made public the volume of FII into Vietnam, he said, “The bank certainly knows each penny in the volume of foreign currencies transferred into Vietnam but is it necessary to announce all macro economic data?”
Source: Tuổi trẻ
http://www.vneconomy.com.vn/eng/?param=article&catid=03&id=966d41febb5a09
Maybe it'll be a happy New Year for us all. Time will tell.
Trav.
SEE you got me so SHOOK UP I couldn't even type RESTRICTED correctly.lol
DONGS -RETSRICTED, shhhhhhhhhhhh, Not so loud ST, or my wife will hear.lol.
The dong is on restrictions until EOY.
i wish they would burn 400 trillion of them and stop printing the damn things.
no doubt bro. at least the dinar is steadily gaining value. this dong is just limp and useless as of now.
Vietnam money: Fund surplus keeps dong rates stable
Vietnamese dong rates held steady on Monday as banks reported a growing surplus of funds, in part the result of investors selling stocks and depositing the cash, bankers said.
The central bank has said it would step up draining dong from the system in coming months to curb inflation. The annual rate jumped to 8.4 percent in July from 7.8 percent in June.
Four state-run banks, the country's key lenders, kept their overnight lending rates on the dong unchanged from a week ago at 3.0-4.0 percent.
Their six-month rates eased to between 7.2 percent and 8.6 percent from 7.6 percent to 8.7 percent last Monday.
"Commercial banks now have a relatively high surplus of funds as deposit growth is higher than lending growth," Nguyen Ngoc Bao, director of the State Bank of Vietnam's Monetary Policy Department, told the Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper in an interview published on Thursday.
The bank aims to take this temporary surplus out without raising interest rates, he said.
In the week ending July 28, the central bank took VND18 trillion (US$1.12 billion) out of the banking system by issuing short-term debt in open market transactions. That was up from VND11 trillion the previous week, central bank data showed.
Banks in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's commercial center, reported January to July deposits surged 65.7 percent from a year earlier to VND377.51 trillion ($23.4 billion), while loans surged 48.4 percent to VND291.02 trillion ($18 billion).
Higher deposits resulted from stock investors unloading shares and depositing cash in banks, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.
Vietnam's main stock market, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, has lost nearly 10 percent over the past month, its index falling to 925.44 on Monday from 1,024.68 on June 29, partly due to increased share offerings on the market.
Many listed firms have announced plans to raise funds via share issues to expand investment. Major shareholders in large companies have also disclosed plans to sell part of their holdings.
The central bank set the dollar/dong exchange rate at 16,140 on Monday, having allowed the dong to ease 0.24 percent from the end of 2006.
Source: Reuters
http://www.thanhniennews.com/business/?catid=2&newsid=30513
Stock market
First online integrated stock exchange floor opens
VNECONOMY updated: 02/08/2007
Viet Nam’s first online integrated stock exchange floor, Easy Online Trader, officially opened in Ho Chi Minh City on August 1.
The exchange floor is part of the Empower Securities Corporation (EPS)’s strategy to boost online securities trading of high confidentiality which is based on high-tech applications.
“We poured a heavy investment into the technology to provide quick, convenient, accurate and safe services for investors,” said EPS Chief Executive Offer Nguyen Huu Nam. “In the first phase, we will provide online trading training for investors.”
The same day, EPS officially launched a trading floor and representative office in Ho Chi Minh City.
The corporation reached agreements to issue 1 trillion VND worth of bonds for the Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), provide consultancy on equitisation to the Hoang Quan Real Estate Company and on initial public offerings for Vinatex’s affiliates.
It also inked business cooperation contracts with the Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank), the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam and the Dong A Bank.
Deutsche Bank wins Euromoney award on Viet Nam gains
(30-07-2007)
HCM CITY — Strong business in Viet Nam contributed to Deutshe Bank’s recent award as Best Cash Management House Asia and Best Debt House Asia by Euromoney magazine in its recent Awards for Excellence, the bank has announced.
The bank cited its success in winning cash management business in the country for entities such as Mai Linh Corp and executing landmark and innovative debt transactions for Electricity of Viet Nam and Vinashin.
Lawrence Wolfe, chief country officer of Deutsche Bank Vietnam, said the Euromoney regional awards were well recognised by industry players and clients alike and that Viet Nam had been a major factor in Deutsche Bank’s growth in Asia.
"When handing out such regional awards, the editors of Euromoney look at the strength of an organisation across all geographies in Asia. The fact that Deutsche Bank Vietnam could point to substantial new cash management business in Viet Nam and execution excellence in landmark debt capital raisings for large Vietnamese corporations was very important."
Thomas DuCharme, regional head of Global Transaction Banking, Asia Pacific, Deutsche Bank, added: "This cash management award recognises our in-country expertise and ability to provide highly customised solutions to our clients in Viet Nam and across 16 markets within the region. It’s an endorsement of our client-focused approach which should serve us well as we compete for new business in Viet Nam."
Rahul Mookerjee, head of issuer and investor coverage Asia, said: "Deutsche Bank has a proud history of bringing Vietnam issuers to international investors and thereby securing a competitive cost of funding. To win consecutive Best Debt House Asia awards from Euromoney shows that Deutsche Bank has consistently outperformed its peers in debt capital raising in the region." — VNS
I can wait till then, Just want to see some incourageing news to support our thinking on a revaluation coming. Thanks .Rick c
We won't see anything until the end of the year according to them.
I just now saw that, the addresses on the pics are probaly changed or expired.
i liked this part.
As for the monetary policy, the Government will pick up foreign currencies, while withdrawing VND from circulation
Hopefully all the news we are slowly getting is just more of the Vietnam puzzle coming together to make the dong reval happen soon...time will tell...
New trading system ready: securities official
29/07/2007 -- 9:55 PM
Ha Noi (VNA) – The automatic order matching system is ready for its July 30 debut after successfully completing tests between brokerages and the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange, says Nguyen Son, deputy director of the market development department at the State Securities Commission.
Son says there will not be another delay.
The bourse has 48 member brokerages that meet the basic technical requirements to handle the new system. Companies that do not satisfy the requirements tend to be newcomers or are not actually members of the exchange, Son said.
There is huge anticipation in the market, particularly from securities companies, as the debut approaches, despite the VN-Index lacklustre performance over the past few weeks.
“Recently, the company tried to connect to the HCM City bourse and all connections were a success,” says Nguyen Viet Cuong, deputy director of Tan Viet Securities (TVSI).
TVSI invested 1 million USD in new brokering software, which is used at financial institutions worldwide, including Thailand.
“Thus far, TVSI feels secure about the compatibility with the HCM City exchange, and the possibility of success on July 30,” says Cuong.
Le Hai Tra, deputy director of the HCM City Securities Trading Centre (HoSTC), says the exchange has sent documents urging brokerages to prepare thoroughly for the next trading system.
Automatic order matching will help investors trade shares more easily and quickly, eliminating market congestion, says Tra.
Investors, though, will still be able to trade via the old system until they grow accustomed to automatic order matching.
Son said the HoSTC and brokerages have prepared for any possible problems and will make timely announcements about any difficulties the system encounters in the first week.
HoSTC Director Tran Dac Sinh said besides the new system the centre would apply modern trading procedures in line with international standards by the end of the year or beginning of 2008.-Enditem.
Source: Vietnam news Agency
Followers
|
22
|
Posters
|
|
Posts (Today)
|
0
|
Posts (Total)
|
1139
|
Created
|
12/30/06
|
Type
|
Free
|
Moderators |
Volume | |
Day Range: | |
Bid Price | |
Ask Price | |
Last Trade Time: |