VET: PetroVietnam expects to sign five oil joint ventures

[Dao Van <daotb@yahoo.com>]

Wendnesday, November 24, 1999 VN^Òs exports to ASEAN estimated at US$ 2.5
billion in 1999

(VET)- VN's exports to ASEAN are
estimated at US$ 2.5 billion this year or accounting for 22.7 percent of
the total exports of the country, and a drop of 25 percent compared with
the actual figures of last year.  Below is the table of Vietnam^Òs
exports to ASEAN in the first 9 months of 1999:

No Country of destination

1998

9 months of 1999 1 Brunei


US$ 444,218 2 Cambodia US$ 75,154,500

US$ 65,891,436 3 Indonesia US$ 316,148,625

US$ 372,886,218 4 Laos US$ 73,291,314

US$ 157,961,467 5 Malaysia US$ 114,945,010

US$ 177,819,263 6 Myanma US$ 1,503,237

non available 7 Philipines US$ 392,650,510

US$ 323,162,549 8 Singapore US$ 1,080,088,422

US$ 695,885,855 9 Thailand US$ 295,261,349

US$ 201,831,591



PetroVietnam expects to sign five oil joint ventures

(VET)- A PetroVietnam official
disclosed that PetroVietnam expected to sign five new joint-venture
contracts with foreign oil firms to prospect oil and gas in the
continental shelf, and PetroVietnam had finalized negotiations with
foreign oil firms over these deals.  He added that contract terms had
been submitted to the Government for approval.  Two contracts are for
blocks 102 and 106 off the northern city of Haiphong, one for Block 101
in the central region's waters, and the remaining two for blocks 09-2
and 09-3 in the Cuu Long Basin near the Bach Ho oil field off the
southern coast.  PetroVietnam will hold 50 percent of the stakes in each
deal. 

American Technology Inc.  of the US would get involved in the contracts
for blocks 102 and 106, where oil and gas can be discovered.  These
blocks are located near blocks D14, D24 and B 10 in the Red River
depression, where Australia's Anzoil has found gas and oil.  Last year
Conoco entered a joint-venture deal with PetroVietnam to prospect oil in
Block 15-1.  The three blocks, 15-1, 15-2 and 16-2 are situated near the
Bach Ho oil field, which the Vietnamese-Russian joint venture
Vietsovpetro is tapping. 



ADB approves with East-West corridor project

(VET)- An official with the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam said ADB has held talks with Vietnam
and Laos over the bank's funding for the East-West corridor project
between the two countries, adding that ADB has approved of the
US$25million project.  And the work on the 83 kilometer road will begin
in the next five or six months. 

The project, part of the East-West corridor linking Vietnam, Laos and
Thailand, is aimed to develop a road from Dong Ha Town in the central
province of Quang Tri to Laos-Thailand border creating favorable
conditions to tap economic potentials of the three countries and
neighboring areas. 



SSC likely to license the first two brokerages soon

(VET)- An official with The State
Securities Commission (SSC) said SSC might license the first two stock
brokerages this week.  The Vietnam Insurance Company (Bao Viet) was
licensed to set up the Bao Viet Securities Joint Stock Company with a
registered capital of VND 43 billion early this month; and the Bank for
Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) was licensed by the State
Bank of VN to establish a stock brokerage with a registered capital of
VND 55 billion. 

The bank's brokerage will provide investment consulting and brokerage
services, underwrite share issues, and manage investment portfolios,
among others.  Pending the Government's decision to put the stock
exchange into operations, the brokerage, just like Bao Viet, will
underwrite Government bond issues and provide consulting services for
State companies to undergo equitization. 



Vissan-Tulip cooperation for food processing

(VET)- SGT reported that The Vietnam
Import Export Corporation has signed with Denmark's Tulip International
A/S Company a letter of intent to invest in a canned food-processing
project.  Tulip is a famous food processing company in Denmark and has
so far had no production project in Asia.  SGT quoted Van Duc Muoi,
manager of planning and investment at Vissan as saying that the project
was part of the Private Sector Program of the Danish International
Development Agency (Danida).  Vissan and Tulip is likely to establish a
joint venture
(JV) for canned food processing, whose products will
be for both domestic consumption and for export to neighboring
countries. 



Investment bank expected to issue bonds worth VND 2,000 billion

(VET)- An official with The Bank for
Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), who asked not to be
identified, said BIDV was scheduled to launch a new VND 2,000-billion
bond on Friday.  The five-year bearer bonds would be denominated in both
Vietnamese dong and American dollar, which would be mainly used to
finance key State projects.  The Vietnam Coal Corporation's (Vinacoal)'
s Na Duong coal-fired power station is expected to be one of the first
projects to get financing from the bank.  The project is said to cost an
estimated US$ 116 million, 85 percent of which will come from bank
loans.  The dong-denominated bonds carry an annual interest rate of 6.5
percent and 5 percent for those denominated in dollar.  Interest for the
first year will be paid at the time of purchase, but how interest will
be paid in the four following years is unknown. 



Transimex Saigon convenes shareholders' meeting

(VET)- SGT reported that The first
shareholders' meeting of Trans-forwarding Warehousing Joint-Stock
Corporation
(Transimex Saigon) was held early this week after
being equitised. 

Transimex Saigon, formerly an affiliate of the Saigon Trade Corporation
now, has a chartered capital of VND 22 billion, in which the State holds
10 percent of the stakes, its workers 63 percent and outside investors
hold the remainder.  Of the 27 percent of shares held by outsiders, Kamm
Investment Incorporated - the only foreign shareholder
- holds 5 percent.



A dangerous Cambodian criminal arrested in HCMC

(VET)- Hua Pau, a Cambodian national,
aged 26 was arrested by the HCMC Security Police early this month at a
discotheque in District No1.  He had been prosecuted by the Phnom Penh
Supreme Court on charge of kidnapping, terrorism and blackmail and the
Interpol has issued a special arrest warrant on him.  Hua Pau was
reportedly accused of committing 10 robberies, kidnappings for ransoms
worth several hundreds thousands dollars.  He fled from Cambodia to HCMC
early this month and got caught there. 



Five Thai companies licensed to produce animal feed

(VET)- The Ministry of Planning and
Investment MPI has granted licenses to five Thai companies (100 foreign
owned) to produce animal feed and fish powder for export with the total
capital of US$ 77 million, in which US$ 24 million serve as legal
capital.  The projects are all expected to be located in Dong Nai
Industrial Zone. 



HCMC Securities Transaction Center unlikely to open this year

(VET)- HCM City securities Transaction
Center is unlikely to be opened by the end of this year as scheduled,
that was the announcement from The State Securities Commission
(SSC).

One of the reasons for the delay is cited as the slow hand-over of the
pledged premises by the HCM City People's Committee to the SSC until
late September.  Moreover the Government has yet to approve its
feasibility plan to install equipment for the future stock exchanges,
which will take six to nine months, once permission is granted. 



Inflation up slightly

(VET)- According to the General
Statistics Office GSO Vietnam's consumer price index CPI increased by
0.4 percent in November.  The price of gold rose 2.6 percent compared
with last month, but the price of the US dollar still remained
unchanged. 



Rubber export price increases since mid November

(VET)- Le Quang Thung, General Director
of the Vietnam General Rubber Corporation
(Geruco) was quoted by SGT as saying
that Vietnam's rubber export prices have been running high since
mid-November with the country's common SVR3L grade being quoted at
US$680/ ton.  He added that rising prices had helped rubber companies
clear out most of their stockpiles, with this year's unsold rubber
volume expected to fall by half compared with last year's. 

After rubber prices have soared by over US$ 100/ton (from US$550/ton
late last month), some companies have halted deliveries on contracts for
which letters of credit had not yet been opened.  Meanwhile, Geruco has
asked its affiliates not to sign new contracts with quotations less than
US$680/ ton, said an official from the corporation. 



VN promises to speed up construction of oil refinery No.1

(VET)- Prime Minister Phan Van Khai
promised to visiting Russian Minister of Energy and Fuel, Viktor
Kalyuznyi in Hanoi that Vietnam would speed up construction of Vietnam's
first oil refinery in the central coastal province of Quang Ngai, in
response to Kalyuznyi^Òs concern over delays at the refinery project. 

Khai said the Government would send a team to inspect the Dung Quat
construction site in an attempt to solve problems and speed up work.  On
his part Kalyuznyi told the PM that his visit was aimed at gathering
firsthand information about the construction of the Dung Quat Oil
Refinery and at exploring in talks with domestic agencies, future
co-operation in the energy sector. 



The US$20 million OPV pharmaceutical plant built

(VET)- OPV Vietnam Ltd., started to
build a US$20-million GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice standard)
pharmaceutical plant in Bien Hoa Industrial Zone No.2 of Dong Nai
province with an aim to produce OPV's own brands.  Products of the plant
include antibiotics, cold-flu medicine, gastro-intestinal remedies,
corticosteroids, skin care and nutritional products.  The plant is
scheduled to be put into operation by the end of 2000. 

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