Ministry rejects import-export tax changes

At an earlier working session between the two ministries, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) requested the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to hike import tariffs on NPK fertiliser from the current 6 per cent to 6.5 per cent; delay imposition of a 3-per-cent export tax on steel ingots and finished steel; and slash the export tax on coal from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.

• New rules for firms in fuel trade
• Inflation control remains top priority: PM Dung
• New law hopes to regulate direct bank wage transfers

Government okays anti-dumping suit against US

A recent VASEP conference pointed out that if Vietnam failed to pursue the lawsuit, it could lose the US market to other big exporters like India and Thailand who had won a similar suit, Thanh Nien newspaper said.

• Switzerland vows all-round cooperation with Vietnam
• Vietnam-Malaysia bilateral trade hits US$4 billion
• International tourism investment promotion conference kicks off

• Adb: policy tightening will lower inflation
  In its Asian Development Outlook 2011 Update (ADO Update), the ADB said Resolution 11, a comprehensive policy package, has made good initial progress by helping the exchange rate to stabilise, allowing foreign reserves to be replenished, and lowering monthly inflation outcomes during June – August.
• HSBC, Barclays to advise Vietinbank’s planned overseas dollar bond sale
  “VietinBank has made a good choice of advisers,” said Alan Pham, chief economist at VinaCapital Investment Management Ltd. HSBC has a depth of expertise and wide distribution network globally that will help get the Hanoi-based bank a “good rate,” he said.
• Vietnam govt to service debt for troubled cement projects
  On Wednesday, state-backed newspaper Tuoi Tre said Dong Banh Cement Joint Stock Co, a subsidiary of state-owned Song Da Group, was asking the government for help in paying $3.4 million back to ANZ.
• Calm heads prevail as the forex market to remain cool
  Last week, the central bank decided to increase the reserve requirement ratio by 1 per cent to 8 per cent for foreign currency deposits less than 12 months and to 6 per cent for foreign currency deposits over 12 months.
• Further fiscal & monetary tightening in coming months
  The Vietnamese authorities deserve our applause for facing up to tough economic issues. Today’s rate hike was just another step in the long battle against inflation. Although the policy stance has clearly shifted from boosting growth to improving economic stability since February, the data flow remains challenging.
• IMF cuts Vietnam’s inflation forecast to 9.5pct in 2011
  According to IMF’s regional economic outlook, Vietnam has overcome the global crisis thanks to the substantial financial stimulus package worth 5 percent of its GDP and monetary easing policies. The IMF commented that Vietnam is of the fastest growing economies in Asia. In 2010, Vietnam posted a growth of 6.8 percent thanks to demand for both domestic and international growth. However, the expansion policy adopted during the crisis also has increased macroeconomic risks.
• Vietnam’s dong has best week since 1997 after dollar rates curb
  The State Bank of Vietnam set a ceiling on dollar deposit rates on April 13, restricting interest payments for individuals to 3 percent and those for non-credit institutions to 1 percent. Holdings of dong can attract returns of as much as 14 percent.
• Vietnam tightens control over state-bank partnership
  “The government wants to protect state assets because state-run banks have huge assets, many of which are not profitable now,” a Vietnamese analyst was quoted by Reuters.
• Foreign investors list problems in Vietnam
  “There is a big difference between what the regulations state and their actual implementation, hindering investors’ plans,” Han Jae Jin, chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce’s foreign affairs board, said.
• Foreign invested enterprises complain about customs procedures
  Arepresentative from Amcham, said at the workshop on the investment environment improvement workshop held in HCM City on April 26, that enterprises not only have to spend money, but also a lot of time to fulfill customs procedures. It takes exporters three or four days on average to get customs clearance. Especially, it would be a big trouble to enterprises, if they export perishable products and they have to wait for customs procedures.