Central bank considers importing gold

Gold trading enterprises may be allowed to import gold if domestic gold prices continue
to surge, said the head of the State Bank of Viet Nam's Foreign Exchange Management
Nguyen Quang Huy yesterday.

The statement was made public after domestic gold prices soared yesterday afternoon.
One tael of gold costs VND33.05 million (US$1,690), a record high. One tael is
equivalent to 1.2 troy ounces.

"The central bank may consider allowing dealers to import a suitable quota to stabilise
market prices in line with global changes," Huy said.

Huy said the sudden surge in gold prices was caused by the increase in global gold prices,
which are now at a record high $1,349 per ounce. Speculation and psychological worries
also likely effected the inflation.

As of yesterday afternoon, the price of domestic gold was VND1 million ($51.28) higher
than the global price of gold.

"The unbalance between supply and demand is making gold prices 'crazy'," said Huynh
Trung Khanh, International Gold Council's senior consultant official in Viet Nam. "The
supply is drying up."

In July, the State Bank allowed enterprises to import seven tonnes of gold. However, gold
dealers said the volume was unable to meet the market's growing demand.

In August, the Viet Nam Gold Trading Association asked the central bank to allow them
to import more gold bars to process, but the proposal was rejected.

The increase in the price of gold caused the US dollar's exchange rate to increase to
VND19,850 yesterday from VND19,750 on Tuesday. – VNS

Supply of goods to meet demand

The supply of essential goods will be able to meet the country's domestic demand during
the end of this year, which will help stabilise prices, reports the Ministry of Industry and
Trade.

The ministry said during the year's fourth quarter the holiday and wedding season would
lead to consumption fluctuations on the domestic goods market.

The country now had enough food, steel, sugar, fertiliser, salt, cement, animal feed,
petrol, paper, coal and medicine to meet the country's demand, reported the ministry.
Large cities and provinces would implement programmes to stock goods and stabilise
markets.

Officials in HCM City have encouraged corporations and supermarkets in the city to
expand their retail networks to help stabilise prices. Building a retail network for essential
goods should be developed, said HCM City Industry and Trade Department's deputy
director Tran Vinh Nhung.

The Industry and Trade Department of Binh Duong Province recently spent VND120
billion (US$6.31 million) to purchase essential goods for the remaining months in this
year and for the Lunar New Year holidays, said the department director Nguyen Thi
Dien.

The industry and trade ministry said during the last quarter the domestic rice supply
would increase because farmers would be able to harvest 8 million tonnes of rice and
600,000 tonnes will be exported during that time.

The ministry said poultry and cattle would meet the domestic demand because production
during the first nine months of the year increased by 5.3 per cent against the same period
last year.

Fertiliser demand had begun expected to increase as farmers had begun planting their
winter rice crop, so the provinces should prepare solutions to reduce speculation, the
ministry said.

Medicine prices are expected to slightly increase as material costs rise and the dong
depreciates, however, the supply of the products will remain stable.

Petrol and oil supplies will increase because Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant has been
running at full capacity since August. — VNS

Coffee exports soar with spike in global demand

Rising global demand has pushed the price fetched by Vietnamese coffee exporters to its
highest level in two recent years, according to the Viet Nam Coffee and Cocoa
Association.

The price of coffee exported from Central Highland provinces stood at about VND30.2
million (US$1,550) per tonne, the association announced on Monday.

Coffee exports in September totalled $100 million, on a volume of 700,000 tonnes.

Export value in the first nine months of the year reached $1.32 million, an increase of just
0.9 per cent over the same period a year ago, while volume only climbed to 925 million
tonnes, an increase of 4.2 per cent.
These results exploded expert predictions at the beginning of the year that total coffee
exports in 2010 would struggle to reach VND1 billion ($50,000) due to low global prices.

Germany has become the leading importer of Vietnamese coffee, buying up 13.5 per cent
of total Vietnamese coffee exports. The US, the Philippines and Russia are also leading
markets.

Coffee growers, meanwhile, hope to harvest over a million tonnes of coffee before the
end of the year, a yield 2.5 per cent higher than last year's. Global yield so far in 2009-10
has totalled only 1.26 million tonnes, contributing to the spike in prices, with global
exporters shipping only 78.5 million tonnes between October 2009 and July of this year.

An expert from the Viet Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association, Doan Trieu Nhan, expected
prices to remain stable through the end of the year at around $1,700-1,800 per tonne. —
VNS

Industrial gas plant opens in northern province

Viet Nam's largest industrial gas plant opened its doors yesterday in the northern Hai
Duong Province's Kinh Mon District.

Financed by Messer Hai Phong Industrial Gases Limited Company, an affiliate of the
Frankfurt-based Messer Group, the US$20 million plant can produce 300 tonnes of
oxygen and 510 tonnes of nitrogen each day.

Sixty per cent the new plant's gases will be sold to Hoa Phat Group's steel production. It
will also supply both gases in liquid form to customers in northern and central Viet Nam.

"The new plant would help enhance our presence in Viet Nam's industrial gas market,"
said Messer Group's Chief Executive Officer Stefan Messer.

Messer Group is currently involved in the production and distribution of industrial gases
such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen as well as other speciality gases.

The group has had two companies in Viet Nam for more than 10 years, including Messer
Viet Nam Industrial Gases in Binh Duong and Messer Hai Phong Industrial Gases in Hai
Phong.

With an investment of nearly $30 million, apart from the newly inaugurated plant in Hai
Duong Province, it has also invested in filling stations in a number of provinces such as
Vung Tau, Binh Duong and Hai Phong.

It is expected to invest over $50 million in industrial gas production products in the
country in the coming years. — VNS
Wood, handicraft products go on display

Around 300 domestic and foreign firms are showcasing their latest models at the
International Furniture and Handicrafts Fair 2010, which opened in HCM City yesterday.

As part of the national trade promotion programme, the five-day annual event offers local
companies opportunities to build links with foreign importers, according to Nguyen
Thanh Bien, deputy minister of Industry and Trade, who spoke at the opening ceremony.

The fair at the Tan Binh Exhibition and Convention Centre will also feature seminars for
trade promotions between local exporters and importers from Turkey as well as Japanese
businesses.

Wood and handicraft exporters will learn about the purchasing demands of foreign
markets and product standards as well as import market regulations.

After the exhibition, an Online Expo, which has attracted the participation of more than
800 companies with 7,000 products, will help enterprises promote business-linkage
services and export opportunities.

It is co-organised by the city's Department of Industry and Trade, the Trade Promotion
Agency and the HCM City Handicraft and Wood Industry Association. — VNS.

UK port operators seek opportunities

Situated at the crossroads of maritime trade lanes with a coastline stretching 3,260
kilometres, Viet Nam has undeniably favourable conditions for developing its maritime
industry.

British Ambassador Mark Kent emphasised this opportunity during the UK – Viet Nam
Partnership in Ports seminar held yesterday in Ha Noi. The event was part of a three-day
trip made by representatives from 10 UK's leading companies in port operation and
development.

"British companies such as those involved in this mission are keen to forge partnerships
that will help to identify and implement solutions aimed at improving the operating
capacity of Vietnamese ports in the process of national industrialisation and
modernisation," the ambassador said. Marine transport has played an important role in
the country's economic growth and in its efforts to become an industrialised country by
2010, said Deputy Minister of Transport Do Hong Truong.

The Government has crafted policies to encourage domestic and foreign individuals and
organisations to invest in Viet Nam's seaport infrastructure, he said.
During the event, the UK seaport operators shared experiences in port operation as well
as exchanged knowledge and potential co-operation opportunities with around 60
Vietnamese and foreign companies operating in the port field.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the Viet Nam Seaport Development
Master Plan, which calls for a total investment of between VND360 trillion (US$18.5
billion) and VND440 trillion ($22.5 billion) by 2020. Under the plan, the estimated
volume of goods transported annually via the seaport system will be 500-600 million
tonnes by 2015, 900-1,000 million tonnes by 2020 and 2,100 million tonnes by 2030.

To achieve that number, the plan will focus on developing several international-standard
deep-water ports that can receive large ships, especially the international Van Phong
transit port in central Khanh Hoa Province designed to receive container ships ranging
between 9,000 and 15,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit). — VNS.

Ha Noi commercial property booms

The Ha Noi real estate market saw optimistic development in the third quarter and the
growth trend is expected to continue to the end of this year, Savills Viet Nam real estate
agent reported yesterday.

"Good economic recovery in the third quarter helped the office and retail sectors in the
property market," said Pham Thanh Son, Savills Viet Nam economics expert.

Ha Noi's office occupancy rate average increased to 91 per cent, a 4 per cent jump, in the
second quarter, according to Savills associate director and head of research and
consultancy Tran Nhu Trung.

The average occupancy rate in the city's shopping centres remained high at 94 per cent
and many new shopping centres opened in this quarter.

The serviced apartment sector average dipped slightly to 91 per cent from 92 per cent in
the third quarter but average rental rates increased by 0.4 per cent to US$26 per sq.m per
month, Trung said.

Son reported challenges to credit acquisition for the capital property market, which
include depreciating dong, high interest rates for loans and Decree 71, which contributed
to a decline in mobilised capital.

Son also asserted that the increased price of gold and the higher exchange rate attracted
more investors to the financial market so available capital for property projects has
declined. — VNS