Do Thu Hoang, Vice President of Toyota Vietnam, said at a forum Thursday that suppliers in the country are capable of making simple parts such as seats and wires, but for other parts like fuel caps, costs in Vietnam are 2-3 times higher than in Thailand and Indonesia. The country has to import about $2 billion worth of car parts each year, mostly components like the breaking and steering system, from countries like Japan, China and South Korea, according to a report submitted at the forum by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Pham Tuan Anh, deputy head of the ministry’s industry department, said that the large portion of imports puts the localization rate of cars with nine seats or less at 7-10 percent, even though the country had targeted a 60 percent rate by 2010. Anh said that the reason for the imports is the country’s small market size, making suppliers unable to produce large volumes to lower prices. Hoang proposed that the government provides financial support for … [Read more...] about Making cars costs more in Vietnam than other ASEAN countries
Bond market hours
Nhan Co alumina plant achieves VND3.2 trillion in revenue
Production at Nhan Co Alumina plant (Photo: VNA) According to a report from the Dak Nong Aluminum Company - the plant’s operator, the Nhan Co factory produced more than 324,000 tonnes of alumina in the first half of 2018, or 56% of the set target for the whole year. After one year of operation, the plant’s total alumina output was 600,348 tonnes. Around 303,000 tonnes of alumina produced by the Nhan Co plant were consumed during the January-June period, equivalent to 55.6% of the annual plan. Vinacomin Chairman Le Minh Chuan said that advanced technical solutions, rational production chains, and strict management of technical standards and costs are the key to reducing production costs while improving production efficiency. With more than 98.6% of alumina content, the plant’s products have been favoured in many foreign markets like Japan, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong (China), Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sweden. This year, Vinacomin inked … [Read more...] about Nhan Co alumina plant achieves VND3.2 trillion in revenue
Music shows bring Christmas cheer to HCM City
A series of drama, music and dance shows featuring hundreds of singers, dancers and theatre artists offering something for everyone in HCM City will begin this weekend. Pop star Cam Van (right) and veteran and young singers, dancers and musicians will perform in many music shows to usher in the Christmas and New Year in HCM City. — Photo from the singer's facebook Trong Dong Entertainment Centre will cheer the Christmas and New Year and celebrate its 30 years of working with a great open-air music programme on Saturday. The event, 30 Năm Ký Ức Trống Đồng (30 Years - the Best Moments of Trong Dong Centre), will feature about 100 veteran and young singers and dance groups. Pop stars Ngoc Son and Cam Van, who began their career in the 1980s, will be featured. The concert will also highlight Vietnamese-American veteran singers Giao Linh and Thai Chau. The artists will perform Vietnamese songs in praise of love and life written by famous … [Read more...] about Music shows bring Christmas cheer to HCM City
Vietnam needs to remove fishing yellow card
Pham Anh Tuan, vice chairman of the Việt Nam Fishing Association, talks on the need to follow all recommendations from the European Commission (EC) to get the yellow card on fishing removed. Fishing boats in Ninh Thuan Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Thanh Why is lifting the yellow card so important to the Vietnamese fishing sector? The lifting of the yellow card over illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is very important for the country. According to the EU, the yellow card means Vietnam has violated certain EU rules on legal fishing activities and has not fully declared where fish products came from. Such violations have prevented international authorities from tracing whether Vietnamese fish products came from Vietnam or not. These are strong indications Vietnam has failed to follow rules against IUU fishing. What’s more important is that if Vietnam doesn't make a change, it will not only receive the yellow card but even a red card (banning … [Read more...] about Vietnam needs to remove fishing yellow card
Conquering Po Ma Lung proves peak feat
Ascending 2,967 m high Po Ma Lung in Lang Village, Phong Tho District in Vietnam’s northern mountainous region is infamous for its length and roughness, the first pitstop only accessible after an 8-9 hour trek. Bearing this in mind, our group stayed over in Lai Chau Town before setting out the next morning, when we were joined by fellow adventurers from Hanoi. Two 16-seaters from Lai Chau Town dropped us in Lang Village at 8 a.m following a two-hour drive. After registering with border police as the peak is near the border with China, our group of 24 passed our luggage to local porters and commenced our journey. The first step is the deepest. From Lang Village, we walked approximately 5 km along the hillside before reaching the foot of Po Ma Lung, from which we would climb 20 km before descending. This leg of our journey provided stunning jungle greenery and magical terraced fields, a few small houses dotting the valley below. The road hugged local … [Read more...] about Conquering Po Ma Lung proves peak feat