This is the sixth consecutive year the VIB has received this award.

The awards are based on the STP rate, a rate assigned for accuracy in electronic transfers, which must be at least 90%.

In 2009, the whole system of VIB carried out nearly 49,000 electronic transfers, all were processed safely with the vast majority meeting standards. Total revenue from Letter of Credit (LC) payments reached nearly US$620 million and turnover of money transfers gained over US$585 million.

Other banks also received this award, including Vietcombank, Agribank, Vietinbank, Military Bank and Techcombank.

Agro-forestry-seafood exports see sharp increase in five months
 
Vietnam’s agro-forestry-seafood export turnover in the first five months of the year reached US$7.2 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 16 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Of the total, agricultural products earned US$3.9 billion, up 7 percent; seafood, US$1.62 billion, up 17.3 percent; and forest products, US$1.1 billion, up 9.5 percent.  All the three commodity groups saw high export growth because the prices of almost all products were higher than in 2009.

Rubber topped the list of agro-forestry exports that saw increases in both volume and value with 191,000 tonnes worth US$513 million exported in the five-month period, representing respective increases of 3.7 percent and nearly 100 percent.

It was followed by tea with 45,000 tonnes worth US$62 million, up 11.3 percent in volume and 22 percent in value; cashew nuts with 61,000 tonnes worth US$319 million, up 4.4 percent in volume and 24 percent in value; and pepper with 59,000 tonnes worth US$181 million, up over 10 percent in volume and 47 percent in value.

For seafood exports, Vietnam saw stable growth in its leading export markets over the past five months, including Japan with an increase of 17.8 percent, the US with 16.5 percent and the Republic of Korea with 19.7 percent.

However, five-month coffee exports decreased in both volume and value, registering a fall of 11.4 percent and 17.3 percent respectively. The total coffee export volume only reached 584,000 tonnes, bringing home US$810 million. The decreases were blamed on coffee prices falling 7.5 percent year-on-year to US$1,386 per tonne.

The rice export volume in the first five months dropped 0.8 percent compared to the same period last year to 2.9 million tonnes, but the product’s export turnover rose by 3.5 percent to US$1.5 billion. In the reviewed period, the agricultural sector imported around US$5.4 billion worth of materials for processing, up 47 percent year-on-year.

Indian group sets up poultry feed factory in Vietnam
 
Venky’s, an Indian poultry feed producer, has officially launched a company of the same name that produces bird feed and vaccine in Vietnam.

Located in the An Hoa industrial zone of the southern province of Tay Ninh, Venky’s factory has an annual capacity of 54,000 tonnes. Its first products are expected roll out later this year.

This will be the first factory for Venky’s in Southeast Asia and will employ 100 local workers.

Venky’s Vietnam also plans to set up a laboratory to provide free technical services to Vietnamese farmers.

Tourism in Mekong Delta needs coordination efforts
 
Many scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs in the tourism sector from Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, and Vietnam met on Phu Quoc island in Kien Giang province on May 28.

They discussed how to make better use of river and sea-born facilities and services in the Mekong Delta and called for coordinated efforts within the Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand tourism triangle in the Mekong subregion.

The focus of discussion was organizing, building and carrying out joint projects to develop a sustainable tourism industry in the region.

Japan provides Vietnam with 18 bln JPY of credit
 
Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and the Japan International Cooperation Agency signed an agreement for a loan of 18.388 billion JPY on May 27.

The loan is part of the official development assistance (ODA) the Japanese Government had pledged to Vietnam during the first phase of the 2010 fiscal year.

The loan will help Ho Chi Minh City build its section of the new highway to Hanoi (14.061 billion JPY) and upgrade city’s sewerage treatment facilities (4.327 billion JPY). 

Five-month FDI disbursement hits US$4.5 billion
 
Capital disbursement in foreign invested projects rose by 7.1 percent in the first five months of 2010 to US$4.5 billion, the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) has reported.

During the reviewed period, the country licensed 360 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, with a combined registered capital of US$7.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent, said the FIA under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

However, only 107 operational projects registered to add US$403 million to their investment, down 91.4 percent from the same period last year.

Totally, Vietnam attracted US$7.5 billion in FDI during the January-May period, a year-on-year drop of 23 percent.

The processing and manufacturing industry drew in the largest amount of FDI, with a total registered capital of US$2.55 billion.

The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau continued leading the country in FDI attraction. It was followed by the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, the central province of Nghe An, Ho Chi Minh City and the central province of Quang Ngai.

The Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and Japan topped the list of 36 countries and territories which poured investment capital into Vietnam during the first five months.

New water system boosts rice production
 
A nine-year pilot project deploying an integrated water management system has proved its efficacy and has the potential for much wider application, experts said at a workshop in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang Province last week.

The workshop brought together local authorities, officials and experts in irrigation, agriculture and rural development in the Mekong Delta provinces, seeking to exchange experiences and lessons learnt from the pilot project.

The North Vam Nao Water Control Project, the first of its kind with a modern and unified water management model, was built and operated on An Giang’s North Vam Nao Island between 2002 and 2010 with support from the Australian Government.

The first phase of the project which ended in 2007, cost 35.7 million AUS (29.7 million US$), with 17.5 million AUS granted by AusAID and the remaining taken from the State budget.

Five old sluices were upgraded or replaced and 11 new sluices built during the first phase of the project. It also upgraded a 100-km ring dyke system to meet set safety standards, increasing its height to 5.7m. Within this system, a further 300km of dykes in the 24 compartments that the project area was divided into were upgraded to reach a height of 4m.

Roads, power lines, solid waste collection and clean water supply stations were also built during the period.

German businesses monitor Vietnam’s market
 
Asia has become a successful business story and more overseas investors want to invest in China and Vietnam, said Holger Benthien, Deputy Head of the German Business Association (GBA) in Vietnam at a meeting in HCM City on May 26. 

He emphasized that German businesses are paying more attention to the Vietnamese market and want to boost trade and investment as the country is politically stable and has a young, skilled and industrious workforce.

Other participants in the meeting marking the GBA’s 15th anniversary shared the same viewed, the Chairman of GBA, Alexander Bischoff, hailed Vietnam’s economic achievements in recent years and pledged to strengthen commercial and economic relations between Germany and Vietnam.

He said German businesses have contributed greatly to maintaining the flow of investment capital into Vietnam and are keen to invest in the country’s education, infrastructure construction and environment protection.

Serge Soucek, a representative from the German flag carrier Lufthansa said Vietnam has a rapidly developing and huge potential market and his airline plans to increase its passenger and freight services to the country.

The GBA has a total of 150 members, representing German’s major industrial sectors, including high-tech, logistics, commerce, finance and law, providing technologies and modern models of management to Vietnam.

German’s total investment in Vietnam is estimated at US$1.2 billion. Its two-way trade turnover reached US$4.7 billion last year with exports accounting for US$1.3 billion and imports worth US$3.4 billion.

Cam Ranh seaport upgrading project underway
 
The Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) officially broke the ground on a project to upgrade the Cam Ranh Seaport in the south central province of Khanh Hoa on May 26.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said this is an essential infrastructure work aimed at serving the socio-economic development and the transport of goods in the south central and Central Highland regions.

As part of the country’s plan for seaport system development until 2020, the project will also help ease pressure on Nha Trang port, which will prioritise accommodating international tourist vessels in the future, he added.

The project has a total investment of nearly VND520 billion totally funded by Vinalines.

Once completed after 14 months of construction, the seaport’s new wharf is capable of receiving 50,000 DWT vessels or 30,000 DWT containers.

Saigontourist strives for turnover of US$1 billion by 2015
 
The Saigontourist Travel Service Company is determined to reach a total turnover of US$1 billion and profit of US$300 million by 2015, hopes to become the leading tourism group in Vietnam and the region, General Director Nguyen Huu Tho said in the company’s reviewing conference on May 26.

Tho added the company expects tourism to become an important industry during the process of economic development in Ho Chi Minh City.

From now until 2015, Saigontourist will focus on its strategy titled “Trade name-Integration-Development”, widen cooperation, associate with economic sectors and deploy key projects effectively.

Meanwhile, the company will pour more investments into the region and the world, push to grow trade name and management technology and build human resources to meet international standard to create stability and sustainability in the process of global economic integration.