Thread: Latest news on the Dong!

Originally Posted by notazbad2000

I almost fell asleep reading all the blogs. I had to be in there for hours.

Found lots of long lost friends myself.

Originally Posted by Din Diesel

Oil field gets kick-start from PM
22/05/2007 -- 6:49 PM

Ha Noi (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on May 21 approved a plan to adjust the capital investment of the Song Doc field in offshore block 46/02 to 144.6 million USD.

A portion of the capital will be pumped into the construction of another nine-well oilrig and leasing a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel that has a capacity of 360,000 barrels.

The PM urged the Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) to speed up the pace of the work.

The Truong Son joint operating company of the project is made up of partners from Canada-based Talisman Energy, Malaysia's Petronas Carigali and PetroVietnam.-Enditem

Vietnam News Agency (VNA)


Are these guys rolling in dough or what!? Uncle Ho must be spinning in his grave!

Wonder if reving up the oil production rev up the RV

UPDATE 1-FTSE-Citigroup launches Vietnam equity index

Tue May 22, 2007 3:52AM EDT
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HONG KONG, May 22 (Reuters) - Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research and index provider FTSE Group have jointly developed and launched a Vietnam equity index, tapping burgeoning interest in the country's fast-growing economy and stock market.
"We have had enormous investor demand for a Vietnam benchmark that is liquid and reflects the restrictions on foreign investment. The index that we have created with FTSE is the first to meet both of the objectives," said Justin Kennedy, managing director of Citigroup Global Markets Asia.
The index, called FTSE Vietnam Accessible Index, targets foreign institutional investors and includes shares such as dairy product maker Vinamilk (VNM.HM: Quote, Profile, Research, the Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology (FPT.HM: Quote, Profile, Research, Pha Lai Thermal Power Co. (PPC.HM: Quote, Profile, Research and Vinh Son-Song Hinh Hydropower (VSH.HM: Quote, Profile, Research.
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"We've created an 11-stock index constituting large stocks in the Ho Chi Minh index, which are investible by foreigners," Krishna Guha, Citi's equity derivative strategist, told Reuters.
"The index represents approximately 61 percent of the performance of the broader market. The Ho Chi Minh index is skewed towards larger stocks with the top 11 stocks accounting for approximately 75 percent of the index."
The index will be rebalanced each month to take into account frequent initial public offerings, Guha said, adding that Citi was planning an exchange traded fund based on the index.
Vietnam's main stock market index (.VNI: Quote, Profile, Research, with 107 listings, has risen about 47 percent so far this year after a 144.5 percent surge last year. That compares with gains of about 12 percent for MSCI's measure of Asia Pacific stocks excluding Japan (.MSCIAPJ: Quote, Profile, Research this year.
Foreign investors had poured between $3 billion and $4 billion into Vietnam's stock market this year through March, the finance ministry estimated, and investment could rise to $5.5 billion by year-end, the central bank has forecast.
To be sure, the market, which has been trading for less than seven years, is tiny compared with other emerging markets in the region.
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, which was renamed by the government this month from the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Trading Center, has a market capitalisation of about US$15 billion.
This compared with US$153 billion for Indonesia's Jakarta Stock Exchange and US$79 billion for the Philippine Stock Exchange, April data from the World Federation of Exchanges showed.

First US investment fund to be established in Vietnam14:54' 23/05/2007 (GMT+7) VietNamNet Bridge – Last week, a mission of 25 representatives of American companies came to Vietnam to seek business opportunities. James Kim, the co-founder of the Lexington Langha Fund, said after this trip the first investment fund of the US, with $50-100 million, would be established in Vietnam.

How will this investment fund be established?

The fund will be set up by three companies, Lexington Langha, Vikoa Investment Consultant and Development JVC and Heartland Funds, a famous fund in the US, which was selected as the leading fund of the US in the first quarter of 2007.

To prepare for this, we have met with reputed investors of the US. Many US investors are interested in Vietnam and want to invest in the country but the problem is how to start a project and bring their money into Vietnam.

The initial scale of the fund is between $50 and $100 million. It will be expanded later depending on specific projects. The fund will focus its investment on the stock market, real estate and the capital market in Vietnam. Firstly we will implement a general fund. If the flow of investment is large, we can divide the fund into specific areas of investment.

You have met representatives of some foreign funds in Vietnam. What have you learned from their operations in Vietnam?

We have met with Vina Capital, Indochina Capital and Mekong Capital and we see that they are very successful in Vietnam. That’s why we hope that our fund will also be successful in Vietnam.

However, the difference with those funds is that they are not US funds, but the combination of European and Asian funds. Through those funds Asian and European investors have come to Vietnam.

The fund that we will set up will be the first US fund in Vietnam and it will attract many US investors to invest in Vietnam.

Could you reveal the time of establishment?

Once a decision is made it will be performed very quickly. Moreover, we know that many companies will list their shares this year’s end and early next year so we don’t want to miss this opportunity.

Hanoi has many projects to build new residential areas to the north of the Red River with a total investment capital of more than $40 billion. Are you interested in such projects?

Yes, we are interested in these projects. Real estate projects that are near bodies of water have a lot of potential, especially projects around Hoan Kiem Lake.

Another area that attracts our attention is the construction of industrial zones in the suburbs of Hanoi. Though the fund may be located in Hanoi, investment opportunities in HCM City are much bigger.

(Source: TBKTVN)

Billion-dollar funds look for opportunities in Vietnam13:13' 23/05/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Representatives of several leading venture capital funds in the world led by the World Pension Forum chairman on Monday met local economic experts and local companies to sound out investment opportunities in Vietnam.
The World Pension Forum manager cum founder Philip A. Schaefer said on the sidelines of the meeting that Vietnam had gained high economic growth, which interests venture capital funds.
"This is our first trip to Vietnam and we see many opportunities to invest in the country including infrastructure, real estate, and financial services," he said.
The World Pension Forum, founded in 1992, mainly organizes trips and provides fiduciary education for senior executives of investment funds including public and corporate funds as well as pension and endowment funds throughout the world.
Members of the delegation told the Daily they highly appreciated investment opportunities in Vietnam.
Anne Sheehan, deputy director of a US$175-bil pension fund in California, said, "We invest in many sectors via the stock market and in this trip we can see opportunities to invest in Vietnam."
Steven Nickol, who manages a teachers' pension fund in the US state of Pennsylvania, said, "We are now looking for chances to invest outside America, because we want to bring more profits to the fund."
"We want to invest long term in Vietnam via some venture capital funds, if we find good opportunities," he said.
These venture capital funds will come back to Vietnam to look for specific investment opportunities in the coming time, the World Pension Forum manager said.
The meeting was organized by World Pension Forum and sponsored by IDG Ventures Vietnam.
(Source: SGT)

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 23/510:42' 23/05/2007 (GMT+7) Businesses raise concerns over Enterprise Law</SPAN>

Representatives from domestic and foreign businesses complained that the Enterprise and Investment Laws that were enacted to slash red tape are causing unnecessary problems to their operations.

Gathering at a symposium in Ha Noi on May 22 to review the first anniversary of the launching of both laws, businesspeople highlighted the granting of investment and business licences, the transfer of capital and changes of ownership as areas that need to be addressed.

The two laws were put on the books in 2005, with a view to easing administrative procedures for both local and foreign firms in the country. Despite the areas of concern, the vast majority of the representatives at the seminar were of the opinion that the government has made great strides over the last year in making administrative systems more transparent and effective, which resulted in a surge in investment and the number of new businesses.</SPAN>

US wants Vietnam's help to curb money laundering</SPAN>

The US wants to work more closely with Vietnam in combating money laundering, Michael Marine the US Ambassador to Vietnam said.

Marine made the comment to Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh during their financial and economic working session in Ha Noi recently.

The US ambassador also told the Vietnamese minister that the US is eager to talk with its Vietnamese counterparts on issues relating to developing, managing and running the country's capital markets, the opening of Vietnamese banks’ representative offices in the US and coordination in fighting the proliferation of weapon of mass destruction.</SPAN>

Vietnam moves from German aid receiver to partner</SPAN>

Drastic economic reforms have turned Vietnam from merely a receiver of aid from developed countries to a full economic partner that Germany is eager to do business with.

That was the statement made by Willibold Frehner, Germany’s Country Representative to Vietnam, who is a member of the German delegation, led by German President Horst Koehler, to the “Education, Economy and Law – Initiatives for the Vietnam-Germany partnership” dialogue in Ha Noi, on May 22.

“Vietnam has carried out far-reaching economic reforms, there is no need for our help in that area,” Frehner told a Vietnam News Agency reporter, “We are here to talk about economic cooperation between Vietnam and Germany rather than offering up pots of aid for the country,” he added.

In his speech at the dialogue, the German diplomat said that grassroots localities and urban areas should be empowered with greater authority and the Ministry of Justice should be given more laws to govern new economic and financial issues that arise in the burgeoning Vietnamese economy.

Meanwhile, German State Secretary Dieter Ernst, who is also Chief Executive Officer of Berlinwasser International, a water supply and wastewater treatment company based in Berlin, attended the dialogue to learn more about Vietnam’s economic reforms.

“We are very impressed with Vietnam’s commitments to opening up its markets as well as Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s determination to develop infrastructure,” Ernst said.

According to former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, Special Convoy to the Vietnamese Prime Minister for foreign affairs, President Koehler pledged to aid German small- and medium-sized companies in establishing businesses in Vietnam.

Germany is now Vietnam's largest EU trade partner. Two-way trade between the two countries reached 2.3 billion USD in 2006, with Vietnamese exports to Germany topping 1.4 billion USD.

It ranks 5th among EU investors in Vietnam, having 85 projects with a combined investment of nearly 380 million USD. It is also the third largest provider of official development assistance to Vietnam, after Japan and France, granting Vietnam 640 million EUR so far since the establishment of diplomatic relations.</SPAN>

Seafood exporters to exhibit products in Poland</SPAN>

A group of 16 Vietnamese seafood exporters will exhibit their products at an international seafood exhibition in the Polish port city of Gdansk from May 29-31.

Tra and basa catfish, tiger prawns and molluscs are expected to be the big draw cards at a purpose built 90-sq.metre exhibition pavilion.

Polfish is held every two years and is one of the pre-eminent events for the Central and Eastern European fisheries industries.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Fisheries will coordinate with the Embassy of Poland in Vietnam to organise a seminar entitled “Vietnam Trade and Seafood Industry,” that will run at the exhibition on May 30.

The seminar will highlight the opportunities available in the aquatic product trade between Vietnam and Poland.</SPAN>

EurepGAP standards to be applied in pomelo cultivation</SPAN>

Farmers growing Nam Roi pomelo in the Mekong delta province of Vinh Long will receive 40,000 USD from Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam Ltd. in order to gain the EurepGAP certificate.

Helping Vietnamese farmers to apply EurepGAP (European Retailer Produce Working Group – Good Agricultural Practices) standards in fruit and vegetables cultivation is a primary objective of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam Ltd.’s policy to assist Vietnam’s farm product exports.

The retailer’s programme focuses on mango, dragon fruits, pomelo and litchi among other Vietnamese fruits for export that have yet to be certified with the standard.

The initiative is being carried out through a 400,000 EUR (547,600 USD) project, jointly sponsored by the German Organisation for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam.

Se San hydropower plant's second turbine joins national grid</SPAN>

Turbine No. 2 of the Se San 3A hydropower plant in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai was officially connected to the national grid on May 22.

The Se San 3A hydropower plant has two turbines with a total capacity of 108 MW and will generate an annual output of 479.3 million kWh. Its first turbine linked to the national grid in December last year. T he second turbine has a capacity of 54 MW.

The 117 million USD plant, which started construction in April 2003, is the sixth of eight hydropower plants planned for the Se San River.</SPAN>

HCM City to give further incentives to Japanese investors</SPAN>

Ho Chi Minh City will continue to boost administrative reforms and improve the investment environment to create more favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Japan.

Deputy Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Trung Tin made the commitment at the eighth roundtable on trade and investment between municipal authorities and the Japanese Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City (JBAH) on May 22.

At the roundtable, Japanese General Consul in HCM City Mizuki Ikuo spoke highly of Vietnam's government efforts in amending a number of articles of the labour code. He said relevant local agencies have played an important role as intermediaries in settling strikes.

According to JBAH President Nakagawa Takuo, Vietnam is an extremely attractive investment destination and consumption market for Japanese investors.

JBAH members made suggestions on how to improve the investment and trade environment in southern provinces, especially in HCM City. They also discussed measures to deal with shortcomings regarding labour, taxation, distribution, investment promotion and the improvement of legal regulations and infrastructure.

To date, 365 Japanese enterprises have joined the JBAH as full members.</SPAN>

Oil field gets kick-start from PM</SPAN>

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on May 21 approved a plan to adjust the capital investment of the Song Doc field in offshore block 46/02 to 144.6 million USD.

A portion of the capital will be pumped into the construction of another nine-well oilrig and leasing a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel that has a capacity of 360,000 barrels.

The PM urged the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) to speed up the pace of the work.

The Truong Son joint operating company of the project is made up of partners from Canada-based Talisman Energy, Malaysia's Petronas Carigali and PetroVietnam.</SPAN>

Pepper exporters explore Egyptian market</SPAN>

The Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) has sent a trade delegation to Egypt , on a five-day working visit that began on May 22, in order to conduct market research and ramp up pepper exports to the potentially huge market.

The 25-member delegation, led by VPA President Do Ha Nam , is slated to tour freight depots and seaports and work with Egypt 's customs and goods assessing agencies at the Alexandria port.

On May 24, the delegation will be the focus of a seminar entitled " Vietnam 's pepper and spices: flavours for the Egyptian market" that is being organised by the Vietnamese Commercial Service in Egypt . The seminar is expected to draw the participation of representatives from 45 local pepper importers and exporters.</SPAN>

(Source: VNA)

It’s necessary to check investor’s financial capability: MPI07:54' 23/05/2007 (GMT+7) VietNamNet Bridge – On the worries about the suggested $30bil steel project, Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc said that it was necessary to check the investor’s financial capability before making a conclusion.
Financial groups deny cooperation with Eminence

Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong PhucIn Vietnam, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is the agency which appraises big investment projects before the Prime Minister gives final answers on proposed projects

What did you think when hearing about such a huge project?

I think local authorities should consult with MPI when it considers big investment projects. MPI will provide a ‘taskforce’ which will help appraise the projects when necessary.

I think big groups can absolutely make investment in such big projects. I know that several groups in the Middle East can arrange such a huge sum of capital ($30bil and higher – reporter), because they can make investment over a long period, 10 or 20 years. If they make investment over 10 years, they will have to spend $3bil every year.

However, I must say that we need to check the financial capabilities of investors and feasibility of projects, no matter who the investors are.

What does Vietnam need to do to check the investor’s financial capability?

Every investor must make investment registration when entering Vietnam. We will consider the information they provide and then check if they have the real capability to run the projects. We can ask for help from Vietnam’s Embassy in the US in information access.

Only after checking financial capability can we confirm if the investor can make the $30bil investment in Vietnam and if it can run the project.

Eminence left Ha Tinh without saying a word

In an effort to seek more information about the $30bil steel project, Tien phong’s reporter tried to interview leaders of Ha Tinh authorities, whom Eminence once contacted before deciding to set the steel complex in Thanh Hoa province.

In 2006, Ho Quoc Phi, Deputy Director of the Department for Mountainous Area and Borderline Trade Policies under the Ministry of Trade, introduced Yang Wu Song to Ha Tinh authorities. Mr Song came to Ha Tinh to consider the opportunities to set up a steel complex there, where there is the Thach Khe iron ore mine.

Tran Dinh Dan, provincial committee secretary twice met Eminence representatives and asked provincial agencies to create the best conditions to speed up the group’s project. After several times of surveying, Eminence drew up an ‘action plan’ for the project, and then left Ha Tinh without any explanation.
Eminence will hold a press conference on May 29 and provide more information about itself and the project to satisfy local media, according to Mr Phi, who said that he had contacted Eminence’s Chairman in the US.

Mr Phi said that he had asked Eminence to show the documents and the agreements it had signed with banks and financiers related to the project. Eminence will explain again about the material sources to be used to run the project.

Mr Phi has also asked Eminence to submit some other reports to relevant ministries.
(Source: Tien phong)

OOC, Petro-Vietnam sign MoU for cooperation in oil and gas

Times of Oman

ONA
Sunday, May 20, 2007 12:39:44 AM Oman Time

HANOI — Oman Oil Company (OOC) signed an MoU with Petro-Vietnam, the oil and gas group company in Vietnam, here yesterday for cooperation in oil and gas. Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, minister of commerce and industry and OOC chairman, signed on behalf of OOC while Dr Crown K., chairman of Petro-Vietnam, signed on behalf of his company.

After the signing ceremony, Maqbool told ONA that the MoU with Petro-Vietnam came within OOC’s strive to increase and expand its investments base in oil and gas.

The MoU includes joint cooperation in oil and gas fields and projects associated with production and refining operation, cooperation in exchanging of expertise and joint investment, he said.

Petro-Vietnam is a company owned by the Vietnam government, which operates in oil and gas exploration, oil refineries and associated petrochemicals, industries. Vietnam’s production of crude oil is estimated at 350,000 barrel per day.

It owns a gas reserve to the tune of 70 trillion cubic feet.

Rising dong may hit exports

The Vietnamese dong remained steady during 2006, but a recent sharp rise in the dollar supply could lead to an appreciation of the dong and negatively affect national export competitiveness.


The dong fell against the US dollar by 1 per cent in the first 11 months of 2006, confirming a 10-year pattern of the dong declining annually against the dollar, according to a General Statistics Office report.

However, after reaching VND16,100 per dollar for the first time ever on December 15, the dong has been gradually appreciating by the narrowing trade deficit, record-high foreign direct investment, and increasing remittances from overseas Vietnamese, all of which have boosted the dollar supply.


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Originally Posted by neno

Rising dong may hit exports

The Vietnamese dong remained steady during 2006, but a recent sharp rise in the dollar supply could lead to an appreciation of the dong and negatively affect national export competitiveness.


The dong fell against the US dollar by 1 per cent in the first 11 months of 2006, confirming a 10-year pattern of the dong declining annually against the dollar, according to a General Statistics Office report.

However, after reaching VND16,100 per dollar for the first time ever on December 15, the dong has been gradually appreciating by the narrowing trade deficit, record-high foreign direct investment, and increasing remittances from overseas Vietnamese, all of which have boosted the dollar supply.


</title> <STYLE>BODY { 'SCROLLBAR-FACE-COLOR: #EAE7D0; SCROLLBAR-HIGHLIGHT-COLOR: #8E8965; SCROLLBAR-SHADOW-COLOR: #CBAD96; SCROLLBAR-3DLIGHT-COLOR: #CBAD96; SCROLLBAR-ARROW-COLOR: #800302; SCROLLBAR-TRACK-COLOR: #F6F4E3; SCROLLBAR-DARKSHADOW-COLOR:

feels like there should be more to this article, like it cut youoff in mid stream. and boosting the dollar supply is going to do what to the dong? When is the dong going to boost? Just asking?