Quang Ngai to host 2nd national ‘sea brand’ forum

The central province of Quang Ngai will host the second national ‘sea brand’ forum from March 18-19 under the theme of “From deep-sea port to marine economic zone”.

The forum is expected to bring together ministerial officials, provincial and authorities, and managers of economic zones as well as scores of experts to discuss strategies on sea management and the development of coastal economic zones.

Studies to be presented at the forum will focus on issues such as the management of marine and island resources through new regulating tools, including certification and brand promotion.

Participants will hear theories and practical experience on how to build Vietnam ’s sea identity and its ‘brand-name’ as a nation with a strong maritime industry and port system. They will also discuss developing the new image and branding for the central region of Vietnam in particular in terms of its deep-sea ports and sea economic zones.

The provincial authorities will also take the occasion to promote Quang Ngai’s socio-economic achievements and the Dung Quat economic zone so as to draw in more investment.

Garment sector targets 10.5 bln USD in exports

The garment and textiles sector aims to earn about 10.5 billion USD from exports this year based on recovery signs from the country’s two major markets in the US and the EU.

Measures to achieve the target were discussed at a conference of the Vietnam Garment and Apparel Association’s Executive Council in Hanoi on Mar. 8.

The sector is focusing on rearrangement of production to reduce production cost and the application of advanced technology to raise productivity and competitiveness.

The sector also invests in building strategic linkage with customers, increasing the local content of products and expanding its share of the domestic market.

In 2009, the sector led the nation’s major export items despite impacts of the global economic slowdown. It earned over 9 billion USD, a decrease of 1.3 percent since the previous year.

The US remained the largest importer of Vietnam ’s garment and textiles with import turnover of 4.9 billion USD, making up 55 percent of the sector’s export value.

The sector earned 930 million USD from garment and textile exports to Japan , an increase of 12 percent. Its exports to the Republic of Korea , Australia , Canada and Singapore also saw increases in value.

Besides garment and textile products, the sector also exported materials. Of which fabric exports increased 70 percent over 2008.

Hoa Sen sells shares to strategic partners

Steel producer Hoa Sen Group (HSG) has sold nearly 12 million shares to three domestic and foreign financial institutions: the Republic of Korea ’s STIC Investment Inc, FPT Securities Co and Bong Sen Fund Management Co.

The share sale has allowed the Ho Chi Minh City-listed Hoa Sen to raise capital of 538 billion VND (28 million USD) and made Hoa Sen the first Vietnamese enterprise in which STIC has invested following nearly two years of market research, according to Kevin Lim, general director of STIC, which made a 10 million USD investment in the group.

“STIC chose Hoa Sen group for two reasons,” said Kim. “First, it is the business leadership of the company’s chairman, Le Phuoc Vu. And second, the company’s management system and employee competence attracted us.”

Vu confirmed that the strategic cooperation marked a new stage in the development of Hoa Sen and would help it achieve a target of 1 billion USD in annual revenue and 100 million USD in annual profit.

Capital raised from the sale of Hoa Sen shares would be used in building the Ton Hoa Sen Phu My Factory, which would produce up to a million tonnes of zinc-coated and cool-rolled steel per year once completed, Vu said.

Products from the first phase would be on the market next month.

Hoa Sen Group, established in 2001, currently has charter capital of 570 billion VND (30 million USD). Last year, the group earned 2.85 trillion VND (149 million USD) and posted a net profit of 189 billion VND (10 million USD).

This year, it has targeted a much higher 5 trillion VND (262 million USD) in revenue and 520 billion VND (27.2 million USD) in profit.

Local company installs underwater pipelines for oilfield

The Petroleum Technical Service Corporation (PTSC) is preparing for the installation of an underwater intra-pipeline network worth 57 million USD for the Dai Hung offshore oil field.

The corporation will cooperate with J. Ray McDermott (JRM), a leading worldwide marine solutions company, to undertake the work, which includes designing, engineering, procurement, and operation, following a contract PTSC signed with the Dai Hung Petroleum Operating Company Limited (PVEP Dai Hung) on Mar. 6.

The underwater pipeline network is part of a series of work that the PVEP Dai Hung will carry out in its operation expansion plan that looks forward to producing 18,000 barrels of crude oil by September 2011.

US firm plans to expand operations in Vietnam

The US 's NewMarket Technology, Inc. on March 8 announced plans to expand operations into Vietnam , local newspapers reported.

The company has also scheduled an initial trade mission beginning March 22 to Ho Chi Minh City .

Its CEO Bruce Noller is scheduled to conduct a webcast on March 10 to preview NewMarket 's Southeast Asia strategic update to the company's current plans to achieve 150 million USD in profitable revenue in 2010.

NewMarket provides systems integration services, including technology reseller, customisation, integration, outsourcing and support services, in Southeast Asia, Latin America and North America, as well as China , and is actively expanding its business services into the growing markets of East Africa.

US company launches Vietnamese Internet super portal

Dot VN, Inc., an innovative Internet and Telecommunications company and the exclusive online global domain name registrar for Vietnam , announced that it has launched a website able to aggregate and organise everything offered by the Vietnamese Internet.

“Info.VN”, intended to be the ultimate Internet portal, is currently in the beta test phase, which will last for 30 days and test the functionality of the site in order to optimise its design and performance.

Dot VN is offering this super portal to individual and business users in Vietnam and around the world as a main hub for news, entertainment and information available in one central and easy to navigate website. The website is available in both Vietnamese and English, making access easier for non-Vietnamese speaking users.

“This is a very ambitious project in scale based on the variety of information, products and services that will be offered through this portal," said Dot VN CEO Thomas Johnson.”

He continued: “Info.VN is the first of its kind in scope and functionality. We envision it as a central resource that people of Vietnam can use on a daily basis. Our overall goal is to revolutionize the way people access content and navigate the Vietnamese internet so that they can find everything they are looking for."

“Our goal is to create a consolidated portal that aggregates many online services that are currently scattered into one easy to use resource,” said Johnson.

Eximbank joins GlobePass alliance

The Vietnam Export-Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Vietnam Eximbank) has officially joined GlobePass, an alliance network of financial institutions in the Asia-Pacific region, to raise its prestige and the quality of service for both domestic and foreign customers.

Eximbank made the announcement in Ho Chi Minh City on March 8, saying it was the first bank in Vietnam to join such a network.

GlobePass membership will allow Eximbank to offer customers high-grade financial services and more utilities and help the government achieve the goal of phasing out payments in cash. The bank is now able to provide discount programmes for Vietnamese institutions that accept credit cards.

GlobalPass credit-card holders will enjoy privileges such as discounts, coupons, and gifts at the alliance network’s 277 merchants in 11 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

GlobePass, which now has over 100 million cardholders with cards issued from 12 member banks in the above-said countries and territories, aims to boost cooperation among global financial institutions.

Eximbank has 34 merchants that have offered 42 coupons.