Ministry says bauxite projects likely to incur initial losses

Apr 01, 2015

The two bauxite mining and processing projects in the Central Highlands Province of
Lam Dong, which became operational in October 2013, would incur losses for four
to five years.
This was revealed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in a press statement
released to the media on Monday.
The ministry said an assessment conducted by the National Assembly Standing
Committee of the two projects from October 2013 to April 2014 showed that the
projects had positively impacted the surrounding localities' infrastructure
development, economic structure transition and labour.
As per the committee's calculations, the Tan Rai bauxite mine would report losses
for four years, while the Nhan Co mine would do the same for five years, as they
both had to repay loans taken during the initial period. The maximum time allowed
for capital repayment would be 12 years.
In addition, selling prices of aluminium in the world market were seeing a growth
trend. Due to this, the projects' effectiveness would be higher, and they would
quickly recover the losses, it added.
The ministry added that the designed capacity of the mines was 600,000 tonnes a
year.
The Viet Nam Coal and Mineral Industries Holding Corp (Vinacomin) had proposed to
boost the capacity to 650,000 tonnes a year and stabilise operations at 630,000
tonnes a year.
The Government has also approved the Dak Nong Power Plant or Aluminium project
(aluminium smelting project) invested by the Tran Hong Quang Trading Ltd Co in the
Nhan Co Industrial Zone that would raise the economic effectiveness of the
aluminium project.
The ministry also rejected reports that said the project was being compensated for a
loss of VND3 trillion (US$145 million) a year stemming from electricity being sold to
the company at prices that were lower than the current prices.
It added that the company would buy electricity at the tariffs applied to enterprises,
not that applied to power sold to households.
"It is because of this reason that the comparison is lame and superficial," MoIT said,
adding that the project would have a capacity of 300,000 tonnes a year.

In a document dated April 15, 2014, submitted to the Prime Minister, the ministry
had asked the Government to extend support on electricity prices sold to the
company for the decade-long period of 2016 to 2025, with VND480 billion ($22.4
million).
The company was expected to contribute to the State budget $190 million during
the period.
In addition, the project was located in a problematic area and the company also
needed support for land clearance under the current regulations.
Last week, Nguyen Thanh Son, former director of the Vinacomin's Hong River Delta
Project Management Unit, said at a meeting on the bauxite projects, which was held
in Ha Noi that the Tan Rai bauxite project would incur a considerable loss of $37.4
million a year due to backward technology.
MoIT also confirmed that the conclusion lacked adequate facilities.
Source: Vietnam Investment Review
http://www.vir.com.vn/ministry-says-bauxite-projects-likely-to-incur-initiallosses.html

PVCFC makes debut on HOSE

Apr 01, 2015
HCMC PetroVietnam Ca Mau Fertilizer Joint Stock Company (PVCFC), also known
as Dam Ca Mau (DCM), on March 31 made its debut on the Hochiminh City Stock
Exchange (HOSE) with over 529 million shares offered at the reference price of
VND14,500 each.
Closing the first trading day, 385 million DCM shares changed hands at VND13,600
per share.
PVCFC is one of the three biggest domestic fertilizer producers with total assets of
over VND15.42 trillion (some US$716.9 million) and chartered capital of around
VND5.29 trillion.
Bui Minh Tien, general director of PVCFC, said many farmers in the southwestern
region of the country have used urea fertilizer products made by PVCFC and the
enterprise now holds 55% market share in the region.
Its sales from its three target markets the Mekong Delta, the southeastern region
and Cambodia have increased steadily and now account for 80% of its total
revenue.

PVCFC said it would continue focusing on the three markets in the coming years.
Ca Mau Urea Plant has an annual capacity of 800,000 tons. But it turned out
805,000 tons for the local market last year and obtained profit of over VND800
billion on revenue of nearly VND6.3 trillion.
Tien said PVCFC aimed to sell 782,000 tons of urea, and post revenue of over
VND5.58 trillion and after-tax profit of VND662 billion this year.
DCM is the 368th stock code on HOSE. PVCFC sold out 129 million shares offered at
the initial public offering (IPO) in December last year.
Source: The Saigon Times
http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/40202/PVCFC-makes-debut-on-HOSE.html

City weighs US$180-million waste-to-power plant

Apr 01, 2015
HCMC The HCMC government has urged relevant departments to consider a
proposal by a Korean investor to develop a US$180-million plant to burn waste and
generate electricity using Stoker technology of South Korea.
Huynh Kim Tuoc, director of the HCMC Energy Conservation Center, told a meeting
in HCMC on Monday that South Korean firm Hansol has proposed contributing 80%
of the investment to the project with a designed daily treatment capacity of 1,000
tons under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. The investor requested the city
to cover the remainder.
Tuoc said South Koreas Stoker technology incinerates rubber, leather, cloth, and
hospital and household waste. HCMC has no waste incineration project to generate
power as Go Cat and Da Phuoc landfills have facilities to produce electricity from
gases at the landfills.
Nguyen Van Ly, deputy general director of HCMC Power Corporation, cited the Prime
Ministers Decision 31/2014/QD-TTg as saying that power companies have to buy
electricity of waste-to-power projects in 20 years at a price of 10.05 U.S. cents per
kWh.
Investors of waste-to-power projects can enjoy tax incentives when importing
equipment and land rent reductions in accordance with the decision.
With the buying price, the annual revenue of the project able to treat 1,000 tons of
waste daily as proposed by the Korean firm would be around VND370 billion.

Ly calculated that the investor would be able to recover investment in the project
after nearly 14 years of operation, Ly said.
HCMC vice chairman Le Manh Ha said under the citys waste treatment plan, 40% of
the waste volume will have to be recycled in 2015, 40% buried and the rest
incinerated. However, up to 75% of waste is buried currently.
Ha assigned the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade, the Energy Conservation
Center and HCMC Power Corporation to consider implementing the waste-to-power
project of Hansol to increase the proportion of waste incinerated.
HCMC currently discharges around 7,500 tons of waste a day, with organic waste
accounting for nearly 82%. The waste discharge picks up around 8% annually.
Around 23,000 tons of urban waste is discharged daily nationwide. The potential to
generate power from waste is huge but has yet to be tapped as 85% of waste is
buried.
Danang and HCMC are the only two localities in Vietnam to study incinerating waste
to produce electricity.
Source: The Saigon Times
http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/40204/City-weighs-US$180-million-waste-to-powerplant.html

Qatar National Bank enters Vietnam

Apr 02, 2015
HCMC Qatar National Bank (QNB) has announced the opening of its representative
office in Vietnam to help boost trade and investment ties between the two
countries.
The HCMC office will support Middle East-based enterprises wanting to do business
in Vietnam and Vietnamese firms with trade and investment plans for the region.
Established in 1964, the first commercial bank of Qatar has 50% of its chartered
capital contributed by Qatar Investment Authority and the remainder by private
investors. The bank has 615 branches and offices with 14,500 employees in more
than 26 countries and territories.
Last year, QNBs total assets were US$133.6 billion and net profit was US$2.9
billion, up 9.7% and 10.3% respectively against the year earlier.
According to the Qatari ambassador to Vietnam, the Long Son oil refinery project in
the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau is one of the major projects with Qatars

involvement. Qatar Petroleum International holds a 25% stake, equivalent to US$1

billion, at the plant.
Many Qatari investors are exploring business opportunities in sectors such as
infrastructure, real estate and agriculture in Vietnam.
Source: The Saigon Times
http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/40201/Qatar-National-Bank-enters-Vietnam.html

Vietnam to benefit from new wave of Japanese investment

Apr 01, 2015
VietNamNet Bridge Many Japanese companies are expected to promote foreign
investment. Vietnam is capable of receiving a new wave of investment from Japan.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has issued many new policies from defense to
economics. Abenomics, his bold economic policy launched nearly two years ago to
rebuild the economy of Japan, could create a war between "the money-making
machines" in the world. This article introduces this policy and its impact on Vietnam.
Although Japan has regained growth momentum, the economic policies of Prime
Minister Abe continue to be challenged.
Abenomics includes three main pillars: loosening monetary policy, boosting public
spending, and deep and wide economic growth policy.
According to the Japanese government, in the second quarter of 2014, Japans GDP
fell by 7.3%. The real GDP decreased 1.6% in Q3. According to experts, an economy
that decreases two consecutive quarters is falling into recession.
An opposite effect of Abenomics is the implications of a cheap yen. According to the
Tokyo Shoko Research Researchs research conducted late last year, 48.4% of
Japanese companies said they were negatively affected by the consequences of the
rapid devaluation of the yen. 22.7% said that they were under both positive and
negative impacts. The particularly negative effect cited is the increase in the price
of imported goods.
Among the businesses affected by the depreciation of the yen, 80.8% said they
were not able to adjust the import price through product prices. When asked about
measures to be taken to deal with the depreciation of the yen, 73.2% were
pessimistic, saying that they did not have feasible measures.

Another consequence is the trade deficit. It is worth noting that the trade deficit of
Japan has lasted for 29 consecutive months, while Japan is a country whose
economy relies on exports.
The economist also pointed out that Abes policies have not succeeded in increasing
income for the people. The average income of households fell in September 2014,
marking a decline in 14 consecutive months.
The bad news about the Japanese economy has caused criticism of Abenomics,
especially from Jeff Kingston, professor of politics at Temple University in Tokyo, who
said bluntly: "Abenomics is a failure".
2015 outlook
In the bleak context of 2014, comments on the outlook of the economy in 2015 of
the world's third largest economy were not optimistic.
According to a 2015 survey by the leading business statistic agency of Japan Teikoku Data Bank - conducted earlier this year, the number of companies optimistic
about the prospect for the new year declined, while concerns over the cheap yen
rose abnormally.
Specifically, only 13.4% of companies in the survey said that the economy will
recover in 2015, nearly half compared to the survey in 2013.
In addition, the pessimistic rate increased from 16.5% of the previous year to
26.8%. The cause of concern is still ... the depreciation of the yen while it is one of
the "three arrows" of Abenomics.
According to analysts, the Government of Japan has gone too far in easing monetary
policy, causing the yen's exchange rate to drop too much.
In the context of Japan falling into recession, international organizations such as the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and others lowered growth forecasts for the economy.
OECD said the third-largest economy in the world is expected to grow by 0.8% in
the 2015 fiscal year, lower than the 1.1% previously announced. IMF also cut growth
forecast for the Japanese economy in 2015 to 0.8%, lower than initially expected
figure of 1.0%.
Will Vietnam benefit?
According to economic experts, the yen weakness will cause two main
disadvantages to emerging countries in the region. There will be less need to import
products from Japan, and Japan's exports will have better competitive advantage
thanks to cheap prices. The worst affected economies will be South Korea, Taiwan
and the Philippines.

However, with Vietnam, the impact can be much less, and could even benefit the
country if it know how to take advantage of it.
In 2013, the yen depreciated by 17% against the US dollar, but Vietnam gained a
trade surplus of nearly $2 billion from Japan, with export turnover of $13.65 billion.
Also in 2014, its exports to Japan reached $14.70 billion, an increase of 7.7%
compared with 2013.
On the other hand, many Vietnamese companies using yen loans also significantly
benefit from the rising price of the VND against the yen. It also benefits companies
importing raw materials from Japan or those doing business with Japanese partners.
To reduce reliance on the US dollar as well as risks of exchange rate uncertainties,
many enterprises of Vietnam and Japan have used the yen for payment. The cheap
yen policy has brought about significant profits.
In addition, Japanese companies doing business in Vietnam also benefit by avoiding
direct influence from Abenomics.
According to a new survey published by the Japan Trade Promotion Organization
(JETRO), 60% of Japanese companies in Vietnam are profitable, and 70% of them are
planning to expand business scale. In this context, many Japanese companies will
promote foreign investment, and Vietnam can receive a new wave of investment
from Japan.
Japan is the largest provider of official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam. If
Vietnam must pay maturing debts in this period, with the current yen exchange
rate, Vietnam will save a considerable amount of the national budget.
Source: Vietnamnet
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/special-reports/126915/vietnam-to-benefit-fromnew-wave-of-japanese-investment.html

PetroVietnam leader attends Energy Security Conference in India

Apr 01, 2015
In three days, from 26th to 28th March 2015, PetroVietnam working group led by
Mr. Dinh Van Son, Member of the Board of Directors had a business trip to India to
attend the Energy Security Conference on the 50th anniversary of establishment of
the Indian Oil Company (ONGC Videsh Ltd.) and work with Indian partners on
cooperation opportunities in the oil and gas sector.

Joining the working group were representatives from divisions of International

Relations, Petroleum Processing, Petroleum Exploration, Investment and
Development under PetroVietnam, leaders of PetroVietnam Exploration Production
Corporation (PVEP), Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (BSR)
and PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PVOil).
Energy security has now become a concern of the governments around the world,
especially India, the worlds second largest populous country. The Energy Security
Conference in India URJA SANGAM-2015 is held in New Delhi for the joint
agreement and action of the state-owned companies in the energy and petroleum
sector for a bright future of this important industry. The event is to celebrate the
golden milestone of 50th anniversary establishing ONGC Videsh Ltd. and Indian Oil
Corporation Ltd. (IOC). The Indian Prime Minister and several ministers, senior
officials of the Government of India, policy makers, CEOs of the companies in Indias
oil and gas industry and in the world have participated in many activities of this
important event.
During the business trip to India, on 26 th March 2015, Mr. Dinh Van Son and the
working group came to visit and work with IOC leader at the company headquarters.
At the meeting, leaders of the two groups discussed the cooperation opportunities
for upstream and downstream projects of both sides, especially Cai Mep Condensate
and LAB (Linear Alkyl Benzene) Production Project of PetroVietnam.
Also during the business trip, on 28 th March 2015 morning, at the invitation of Mr.
Narendra K.Verma, CEO of ONGC Videsh Ltd., Mr. Dinh Van Son and the working
group visited the headquarters of ONGC Videsh Ltd. Mr. Verma thanked
PetroVietnam leader for attending 50 th anniversary ceremony of the establishment
of ONGC Videsh, and wanted to continue developing long-term relationship with
PetroVietnam. The two sides discussed about further implementation of oil and gas
contracts particularly relating to the blocks 102/10, 106/10 and 128 offshore
Vietnam. Mr. Dinh Van Son affirmed that PetroVietnam always considered Indian
partners including ONGC as strategic partners, and hoped ONGC to participate more
in the oil and gas projects on the continental shelf of Vietnam. With regard to the
development of blocks 102/10 and 106/10, he said the market using gas from Ham
Rong and Thai Binh fields was very potential, particularly in the context of
increasing growth of the gas using industry in North Vietnam. Leaders of the two
sides agreed to continue the discussion on the next implementation steps in order
that the cooperation would be more efficient and durable.
Source: PVN
http://english.pvn.vn/?portal=news&page=detail&category_id=95&id=3891

Vinacomin produces 9,6 million tons of clean coal in Q1/2015

Apr 01, 2015

In the first 3 months of this year, despite the unfavorable weather and a long Tet
holiday, Vinacomin has produced 9.637 million tons of clean coal in , up 3.3 % year
on year. Vinacomin also consumed 8,546 million tons of coal, down 8.5% to the
same period last year. Of which, coal for export down 75.2%; coal for domestic
consumption up 16.69 % on year.
The growth in coal production of Vinacomin in Q1/2015 shows the efforts of all staffs
of the Coal Industry determining to overcome difficulties and boosting production
and
business
activities..
The Group leaders directed its member units to closely follow the domestic and
international market price fluctuations for coal consumption to reduce inventories
and implement a variety of measures to ensure production cost savings.
Source: Vinacomin
http://www.vinacomin.vn/en/news/News-of-Vinacomin/Vinacomin-produces-9-6million-tons-of-clean-coal-in-Q1-2015-1961.html

Mining, manufacturing push GDP up 6% in Q1

Mar 30, 2015
Viet Nam's gross domestic product (GDP) edged up 6.03 per cent in the first quarter
of this year on the strength of "effective contributions" from mining and
manufacturing industries, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced yesterday.
Viet Nam's gross domestic product (GDP) edged up 6.03 per cent in the first quarter
of this year on the strength of "effective contributions" from mining and
manufacturing industries, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced yesterday.
GSO Director General Nguyen Bich Lam noted that the growth was higher than in
corresponding
periods
in
the
preceding
four
years
(201114).
The mining sector experienced a year-on-year growth of 6.7 per cent in the first
quarter thanks to crude oil and coal output increases of 9.8 per cent and 3.2 per
cent,
respectively.
The manufacturing industry grew by 9.51 per cent on-year during the same period,
with significant contributions from several products including mobile phones, cars,
televisions
and
animal
feed.
The industrial and construction sector posted its highest first quarter growth since

2010 at 8.35 per cent, while the service sector dipped slightly over last year to post
a
5.82-per-cent
growth.
Lam predicted that the nation would encounter difficulties in maintaining growth at
the same level in the second quarter, especially after the recent electricity and
petrol
price
hikes
that
are
likely
to
have
a
dampening
effect.
Meanwhile, a research group has predicted that the country's average annual
growth for the coming five year period (2016-20) will not exceed 6 per cent, citing
several
factors
including
low
productivity.
The group, under the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR),
said the country is unlikely to return to the high growth rates of 7.5 per cent seen
during
the
1990s
and
early
2000s.
It also said that if there was no new "growth motivation," it would be difficult to
avoid
a
long-term
slippage
in
growth.
VEPR has forecast a GDP increase of 6.2 per cent for this year, 0.2 points higher
than its growth estimate for 2014.
Source: Vinacomin
http://www.vinacomin.vn/en/news/Home-News/Mining-manufacturing-push-GDP-up6-in-Q1-1951.html

India's coal imports to jump 19% to 200 million t in 2014/15

Mar 30, 2015
According to Coal Secretary Anil Swarup, India's coal imports are expected to jump
19% to a record of about 200 million t this fiscal year, as power companies add
capacity to meet rising demand even as millions go without electricity.
Shipments into the world's third-largest coal importer are, however, likely to slide
back to about 160 million t next year starting 1 April as state-run Coal India Ltd and
private companies ramp up output, Swarup added. India, which buys most of its
coal from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa, is targeting to stop imports of
power-generating thermal coal in the next few years though purchases of highgrade
steelmaking coal will continue.
Coal India, the world's largest coal miner, is expected to boost output by 50 million t
in 2015/16 to 550 million t, Swarup said. The government has set it a target of 1
billion t by 2019/20.

Coal demand was estimated at 787.03 million t for this fiscal year and is going to
jump in the next few years, driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise to
supply power to all. About 280 million people in 56 million homes, or about a fourth
of India's 1.2 billion people, still go without electricity though coal-fired power
generation has been rising steadily.
Source: Vinacomin
http://www.vinacomin.vn/en/news/International-News/India-s-coal-imports-to-jump19-to-200-million-t-in-2014-15-1948.html