Finance Ministry asked to lower trading fee

The State Securities Commission (SSC) has called for the Finance Ministry to reduce the trading fee for securities firms from .05 percent to .02 percent, according to the head of the commission’s market development department.

The move will help securities firms overcome difficulties resulting from the strong decrease of stock indexes and the market’s liquidity, the department head Nguyen Son said.

SSC also planned to make a request for reducing trading fees for investors, he added.

A gloomy atmosphere still dominated the Vietnam stock market as the VN-Index at the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange closed the May 16 trading session at 460.04 points, a decline of 6.63 points, or 1.42 percent over the previous session.

Only 14 shares rallied for gain, while 11 remained unchanged and 129 suffered losses.

Meanwhile, the HaSTC-Index at the Hanoi Securities Trading Centre fell 2.35 points, or 1.65 percent, to finish at 139.74 points.

Vietnam to import fertilizer from Qatar

The Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO) will ensure supply of large amounts of urea to Vietnam over a three year period, according to PetroVietnam Fertiliser and Chemical Joint Stock Company (DPM).

A principle commercial contract on the long-term supply of urea to Vietnam has been signed between QAFCO, a world leader in fertiliser export, and the DPM, a member of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

The contract also creates a legal basis for economic cooperation between QAFCO and DPM in the future.

Earlier, PetroVietnam and DPM officials signed a memorandum of understanding with Morocco’s Office Chierifien des Phosphates (OCP) on the construction of a DAP fertiliser in Morocco. The project, with an initial investment of 600 million USD, will provide the Vietnamese market with 660,000-1 million tonnes of DAP a year from 2011.

So far this year, DPM has signed contracts to import 150,000 tonnes of fertilisers. The company plans to import a total of 250,000 tonnes of fertilisers in 2008.

First private financial group makes debut

The Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank (Sacombank) officially made debut as the Sacombank Group on May 16, becoming the first private financial group in Vietnam.

The Sacombank Group with 11 subsidiaries operates on a charter capital of 5.2 trillion VND and total assets of 79.9 trillion VND. It has a total staff of more than 6,500.

During the launch ceremony, the group signed memoranda of understandings with the Industrial Bank of Taiwan and Dragon Capital to jointly carry out financial projects and set up securities trading and brokerage channels.

Ensuring consistency and transparency in business relations

A seminar on ensuring consistency and transparency in business relations was held in Hanoi on May 16.

There are different causes for corruption in Vietnam, one of which lies in weak economic management. Although the Vietnamese government has improved the country’s economic policies and laws and created more favourable conditions for domestic and foreign enterprises over the past few years, the field of economic management sill has lots of limitations as other developing countries.

According to Mai Quoc Binh, who is the government’s deputy general inspector, restrictions in economic management need rapid improvement. If not, corruption will quickly develop and become complicated, thus hindering the building of a transparent and competitive business environment. As a result, it will lead to a reduction in the competitiveness of the whole economy and badly affect the development of businesses.

Experts attending the seminar believed Vietnam will have a lot to do in order to improve competitiveness and attract investment. One of the most important requirements is to enhance the transparency, forecast analysis, stability and fairness for all foreign enterprises who invest into Vietnam.

Swedish ambassador to Vietnam, Rolf Bergman, said international organisations have provided initiatives to develop a transparent business environment. In the task of fighting corruption, the Vietnamese government should cooperate with businesses more closely.

Vietnam’s exports to US continue to rise

Vietnam is expected to export US$11 billion worth of commodities to the US while importing US$1.7 billion from the country in 2008 despite the US recession.

Vietnam’s major staples will include textiles and garments, seafood, and handicrafts, said Le Xuan Duong, Director of the Export Supporting Centre under the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency.

Mr Duong also predicted a rise in the export of computers and electronics manufactured by foreign-invested enterprises.

However, the economist said that newly arisen factors require both the government and Vietnamese enterprises to work out new policies and modes of export to maintain the country’s growth in the future.

He said most of Vietnamese enterprises currently export their products under the trademarks of US partners, which is likely to impede Vietnam’s export growth in the years to come.

Elizabeth Rose Daly, Director of International Business Division under the Office of Mayor of New York City, said Vietnamese exporters should establish their representative offices in the US to increase their sales here because such offices would increase the enterprises’ prestige and customers’ belief in them.

Meanwhile, an economic expert from the US embassy in Hanoi believed that Vietnamese businesses should pay due attention to building their own trademarks to penetrate the US market.

(Source: VNA, VOV)